idosubaru

A non occupant can't lock/unlock the door while the driver is moving...not without some fun mental gymnastics. It also prevents the alarm from going off while driving. It could be designed to disable the alarm only, but alas it wasn't done that way.

I'm fairly sure online commentary heavily favors MT's. I've never kept data on it, but it seems people who favor MT's will be inclined to internet car forums more than people who favor AT's - by a long shot. I know far more MT lovers/owners in Subaru forums and groups than I do personally or work on weekly locally. Seems kind of how it goes - online forums will be heavily MT biased. And that crowd often hates AT's. I'm not suggesting Subaru AT's are awesome over all - they may have drawbacks, they may not perform as well as in some situations or compared to other automatics, they might not feel as smooth, etc. I don't care about those things - I only like they for their longevity, forgiveness, and reliability. If you're buying a new(er) car then longevity, forgiveness, maintenance might not matter as much and people focus more on feel, performance, comparing it to other manufacturers vehicles. I'm not talking about that. So there's good reason to favor MT's and I'm not trying to change anyone's mind. Except there is a predominate genearl perception that MT's are more reliable and cheaper which is no longer the case. But for practical and reliability reasons - it's a very good transmission to have, particularly on any vehicles with age/mileage. Anecdotally the 4EAT's also seem more resilient in the face of a large portion of the public who never change anything but engine oil. The 150k+ MT's that i've seen with grinding synchro's and popping out of gear when driving haven't ever had their transmission fluid changed. Meanwhile...I don't think I've ever helped anyone with AT issues except to change the fluid to firm them up, address torque bind, or get out of the 99 delay-park-to-drive issue. I've encountered multilple MT failures and no catastrophic undriveable AT issues...and i see waaaaay more AT's than MT's. Anecdotal since I'm not a shop or full time mecahnic and don't see a lot of trans failures overall. But I've seen enough to encounter almost every common MT issue.

If the keyless system operated when in the ignition it would be really easy to lock the keys in the car with the car running. Someone goes out to start the car - runs inside because they forgot something - meanwhile a second FOB (due to toddler, spouse, friend, erratic FOB behavior) locks the car. It also might increase the chance of locking someone in the car due to user induced error or faulty keyless entry system. You don't want someone grabbing the keys in the ignition to turn it off or pull them out after a wreck and accidentally fumbling with the keys with no lights and locking themselves inside a vehicle with already damaged systems. Or locking themselves in...it would be a wild scenario but it would happen and is more likely than any issues to have the system designed the other way. I can think of other scenarios but it makes sense to me to align control of a currently running vehicle to one person and if they inserted the keys they still have the door controls right there.

You could get a direct wire FM transmitter and use a portabe CD player! lol

did you notice any damage or dirt to mechanical items - moving parts, levers, guides? There's no shortage of CD issues in vehicles so I assume the additional cabin/atmospheric dust, vehicle movement/vibrations, toddlers (not uncommon for them to stuff things down the CD slot), pets, exposure makes them ripe for debris accumulation or fatigue. i'd be looking for that debris accumulation around any moving parts if you go into it again. if you can get behind the face plate i'd see if there's any spilled beverage residue impacting the controls/interface, etc.

I’ve thought about it. I think there’s other companies too. Good OEM axles are still worthless, few will pay $600 for boots. $600 buys a lot of axles and boots.

I’ve never seen anything remotely helpful. The guy LT mentions dove into them fairly deep. FM transmitters are a nice work around. If you’re willing to put forth this much effort then get the wired kind instead of Bluetooth. It’s necessary in urban areas with trashy airwaves anyway Id place a stop limit for the time investment on this rabbit hole. How much time is too much?

Late 90s 2.2 alternators are about $80 from dealers. Call or look them up and ask as prices can vary from dealer to dealer.

Oddly 99 has TWO EJ25s. Outback legacy got the dreaded DOHC EJ25D. Forester got the far more forgiving first year SOHC EJ25 Yes for Subarus (and many other modern vehicles) manuals are more expensive and problematic to own for a number of reasons. Clutch maintenance alone is time and $ sucker. Those 90s 4EATs were so robust they could out run MTs all day long. Clutch replacement, Throw out bearings, cracked forks, warn snouts, less forgiving torque bind, synchros wearing, and the hydraulic clutch slave cylinders abs hoses frequently are problematic and need replaced and they’re annoying to bleed. And you can’t go FWD or install a diff lock switch like you can to lock the AWD like an auto. Lose lose lose lose lose. waste of my time. The 4EATs aren’t crisp when they age, that’s normal but they’ll run forever and are the !@!!&@ energizer bunny of subaru transmissions and a win for practical utilitarian low down time low cost Subaru owners.

Hahahhaa. The rain and ice is annoying, from freezing cool wet straight to 85 and humid this year...eye roll If you get any codes (or any non swap codes), post the numbers and not descriptions or what online or auto parts stores tell you if you’re unsure - clear them all and see which ones come back immediately (like the first mile and 10 miles). It could trip some right away and then others later. if you can access a memory mode - read those too. Same thing - clear those as well so any new codes have a clean slate.

Manual swap is irrelevant. I don’t know why that keeps coming up, it doesn’t matter at all. Check the codes. Ignore the codes due to the trans swap. what other codes exist? People ignore emissions, engine swap and trans swap and turbo codes all the time. swaps give a 100% predictable set of codes, most/all of which don’t impact drivability, they just ignore them. All the rest of the potential codes are relevant. Typically problematic codes are MAF knock cam crank injector misfire O2....none of which are impacted by trans swaps. If those are set then they’re telling you there’s an engine issue not related to the trans swap.

What check engines codes are showing when the check engine light codes are accessed ? It only happens at WOT?

OBDII is meaningless here - pre OBDII stuff still gives codes. When you read the check engine lights what does it show? If it stumbles take notice if its: 1. recently wet/humid 2. happening when you let off the gas entirely (throttle closed) 3. is it ever hard to start or restart? Do you have access to spare parts? Hate to suggest guessing but MAF sensors are easy to swap on EJs and I’ve seen them cause starting and drivability issues without throwing a code The grounds are probably to the frame rail, I do t recall Subaru grounds on any radiator I’ve worked on. But maybe that’s indicative of my memory?!? Lol It’s unlikely the grounds anyway. Almost every Subaru I see and drive has corroded and detached grounds and runs fine. Yes they can be problematic but that pic looks like a clean car, engine came out and you had a good look at it and it starts.

Same - they're scrapped when I encounter it. As a testament to the heat - some folks I've let fish my pond drive an impreza or low vehicle and kill about a 10 square foot area of vegetation under the car where the converter resides. In the future i'll only let them fish if they have their heat shields installed LOL Mine are all higher off the ground Tribeca/OBW/lifted and that never happens.

If they could adjust the rear without replacing those rear bolt and bushings that always seize - have a party! Or they’ve already been replaced. I wouldn’t worry about that front caster. Front camber and toe is good. But I’m no alignment expert. I’d ask about the rear left toe and why that couldn’t be brought in range Ideally you talk to the guy that did it and they remember your car. The people checking out or answering phones won’t know, it’s gets lost in the transmission or the guy won’t recall which one yours is of the 37 alignments he did this week. Definitely ask, but depending how big and busy the shop is getting accurate info isn’t always as easy as it seems.

Manufacturer designed it - only they would know. If it doesn’t say and has the holes for it, that could be understood to mean they expected shields to be installed as the factory unit was. All of this you already know. I don’t know that any of us install enough of these and follow them for 5 years to have any statistically meaningful feedback. If it’s not giving any check engine light snd you’re passing emissions or inspection then it’s doing it’s job at the moment at least

Those are almost never preventatively replaced. They’re relatively easy to do in the car. Pull axle and replace. I wouldn’t do it unless the history and/or condition of the trans and seals wowed me. I might make the decision based on condition history storage. But they do leak occasionally, that’s a very old trans, and are very simple to do right now Mark exact location and count turns if you do. It needs installed the exact same location and depth to orient the front diff guts.

This. Plug and play and be done. It’s not the 90s, under seat changers have lost all novelty and no benefit.

That new shouldnt have internal degradation. Is that from the bulbs failing/overheating/exploding? Or do the headlight assemblies/wiring have some other issue that’s causing bulbs to blow and internal lens oxidation/coating damage? Moisture, aftermarket, wiring, previous work....? I don’t trust those LED fans for longevity. Moving parts on high heat light bulbs. Nope I’ll lean towards passive heat sink if they work. Pigtails doubtful. 90s pigtails were bad over the long term - worse than 80s and newer stuff. On a 2012 it would be caused by rodents, accident or hack job which you haven’t seen and said isn’t the case.

Awesome! Way to give it away! I need to start looking for some hail damaged Subaru's out your way....

It says only a very few number of early 2012s. Wow. The fix is indeed to replace bulbs for 10 years. No reference to causation - even though they surely know the cause if they have it dialed into a very specific production number. Come on Subaru! You mention fog on the lenses. Are you sure it’s not the typical exterior oxidation? That can be polished off and clear coated. Very common.

Check fluid level - brake and trans and coolant for good measure. Alt test is a great suggestion. Charging issues can cause dash light weirdness in other Subarus. Id ignore the middle light it’s just telling you dynamic control is turned off because those other lights are on. Fix brake abs trans light and that one won’t come on.

What he said. It is 10 years old and far away so maybe not a good fit. But they do address older vehicles sometimes depending on the issue. Might be worth a call or stop in if you’re ever out that direction in the future. I’ve seen 10 year old multiple owner subarus repaired free by the dealer before. Legacy dash, legacy front coils, and ABS relay are examples I recall personally. Of course they might not either. Doesn’t it seem like they’d do more than a bulb change? If they install a bulb then the next time you change bulbs yourself - you’re right back to where you are now. Seems like if they’d want more longevity than that. That would irritate customers more than help. Voltage conditioners are designed to prolong bulb (and other devices) life and fidelity. Long haul trucks have used them to increase bulb life. The chief fatigue happens during voltage irregularities - start up, shut down, other devices with start up loads (compressors, etc). All that to say - if you see any flickering or other devices causing unexpected noises or symptoms that might indicate load changes you may want to take note.

1. Explain how you see you can do better? What did you see? 6. I would guess whichever bulbs stay the coolest or last longer (more robust/forgiving). I think that’s sometimes the basic low end bulbs as the brighter ones can be hotter and/or not last as long But I’m not a bulb hobbyist Yes I wouldn’t do a bulb conversion on a vehicle that’s suspect of having wiring, or other, unknown issues.

I also agree that old stuff is cool and easy to keep around. I just don’t think it’s because of any inherent design from the original factory except some help due to less electronics. But why doesn’t matter anyway. Own all of them! That’s the way! Beat up the Subarus and show off those GTOs!