HB_Dad

I have the exact same car (well, my is a 2003 but everything else is the same), and I have this problem all too often. Unfortunetely, you're not going to like this, but it IS your brakes, namely your front ones. Yes, 20,000 miles is far too soon for this to be the case, but in fact, this IS the case. Take it to the dealership and get them replaced under warranty. However, they will tell you nothing is wrong with the amount of wear and it "must be your driving". Actually, they will tell you lots of BS. The real cause is unknown but probably a design defect SOA doesn't want to fess up to. I have 45,000 on mine right now and have had to replace the front brakes 3 times now, rotors twice, and Subaru insist its how I drive (and they seem very defensive on the subject). The funny thing is, I have had 2 other Outbacks and had no problems even remotely like this. Sure they were 4 cylinder instead of 6 as I (and yourself) have now, but there is only 185 pounds difference which shouldn't make THAT much of a difference. My driving style hasn't changed at all either and my commute is EXACTLY the same. Bottom line, Subaru is screwing with people like you and I. There IS a problem they are aware of, but they just don't seem to want to admit it. Prepare for heavy expenses down the road. In fact, do the work quickly and you might be able to lemon-law it depending on where you live and how quickly the cycle repeats. Good luck, and keep us posted. I am trying to gather as much info on this subject as I can...

I wish I could get anywhere NEAR 50,000 on my '03 LL Bean Outback! I've replaced the fronts 3 times now (twice included new rotors) and I only have 42,000 miles on the car!! All work is done at the Subaru dealership, so you'd expect the best, but maybe this is untrue? I have an open case with Subaru on this who insists it must be my driving. This is untrue since I drove my previous Outbacks EXACTLY the same with the EXACT same commute! Moral of the story, I wouldn't bitch about 50,000 miles on a set of brakes, because some of us are envious of your "problem"...

I've mentioned this before, but my 2003 LL Bean Outback seems to grind brakes like a banshee. I have had the car for a little over 15 months now, and have 41,000 miles and have been informed my front brakes AGAIN have worn down to 20% even though I just had ALL FOUR replaced between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is now my FOURTH brake replacement on this car. After speaking with the dealership, they tell me the following (see my answers after the quotes): 1) "It's the way you're driving." I drive this car no differently than I did either of my 2 previous Outbacks. 2) "Your foot may be depressing the brake rump roast you press the gas." For laughs, I stayed EXTRA aware of this being a possibility and made sure that the brake was in NO WAY being touched when depressing the gas. i kept my foot on the far right side of the gas. 3) "Its common when you put on the mileage you do." BULL****! My two previous Outbacks accrued the same mileage in the same amount of time. My commutes haven't hanged at all. 4) This Outback is heavier because it's a six-cylinder". The total curb weight difference is only 285 pounds, which is not much (good technical design on Subaru's end though), so the differences should be negligable. Anyway, I was wondering what you LL Bean owners out there have experienced with your brake life. Am I driving a lemon? Unfortunatly, the extened warranty i bought seems to be worth aout as much as a squirt of piss since it doesn't cover brake wear (even abnormal)! HELP!!!

Usually, these problems are attributed to design flaws and not production errors.

I'd definetely wait for the new H6. Almost 40 HP more and supposedly BETTER fuel economy than the current H6 OB, how could you go wrong? Styling and even creature comforts have been dramatically improved. I have the '03 H6 and am currently thinking of trading for the '05 when it comes in and keep it until the 7-seater is available. Again, I'd wait if I were you.

So if some of you think the new look is ugly, and apparantly think the old look is ugly too, why bother complaining? Just curious...

Like it or not, its here to stay so stop bitching all of you! Subaru's can't get much uglier than they are currently! Now a little sexy style comes along and you all bitch?!! GIVE IT UP!!! They will build it, and the people will come (not sexual)...

I like the front end look. Finally a Subaru that doesn't look like a friggin Honda!!!

I just hope for an H6 with more HP and Sportshift!!

Its nice to have an engine that doesn't have that 4-banger whine!! I've had to 2 Outback 4's previously and now the H6 and will NEVER go back!!

Okay, you're stupid! :-p Actually, the blue vehicle in the sketch is about the same height and dimensions as a Nissan Murano but longer to accomodate a third row so it is substantially bigger (in case not coming through in sketch). If you are thinking the thing looks more Outback or Forester-like, why not take a stab at it and throw us a sketch of what exactly you are picturing? This is what this thread is all about! I'd love to see exactly what you envision!

Wow, this thread died quick...

Actually, I took the front of the B9SC (scaled it vertically for a bigger SUV-like front), the rear of the WX-01 Concept car, door handles and turn light from R1E, and roofracks from scratch. B9SC's mirrors were added, wheel wells were straight modified to blend with cladding inspired by the new Outback (built from scratch in this sketch). I think that's everything...

Based on what little we know about the 7-seater (rumoured to be called "Surveyor"), and looking at Subaru's past, present, and future designs, I came up with the following possible mockup of what the vehicle MAY look like. It'll be interesting to see how close I am to the actual car when unveiled! Anyway, your thoughts are welcomed and consider this an open invitation for everyone to try to mockup their own interpretation of this vehicle's possible look!

Good point. I also think the Outback and Legacy are also redundant to each other.

The B11S is hardly in the same class as the cura NSX which is more of a "poor-man's" exotic car. The B11S is more akin to the Nissan 350Z... top sports model in its lineup, but not totally outrageous or exotic to become some rich boy's niche toy.

I think if your side airbags went off, you would have bigger fish to fry (how about a new side of the car?)...

If B11S goes into production, judging by the specs, the car would probably go for about $35,000 for the base model nad go up to about $45,000. This is all in US Dollars. However, recent rumblings hint that B11S may be scrapped altogether. Others say it isn't scrapped and, in fact, the B11S IS the new Impreza, so who knows?

The new Outback is increasingly redundant with its Legacy kin also coming at the same time. However, the Outback rides smoother and sits a little higher. Visual differences between '04 Outback and '05 Outback are pretty much limited to the heavier cladding around the bottom trim of the car. However, the new Outback has something the current ones don't, a retuned H6 engine that is roughly 40HP higher than the current H6's . DVD navigation is also a huge new feature (to me at least). More headroom, better materials used, increased fuel economy (just barely), lighter weight, etc, etc. The proto I saw in person also had a large single moonroof instead of the goofy and pointless dual roofs (why not have the roof open over you instead of the back seat? That's what a moonroof is for!!). I have a bad feeling the final Outback reverted to the dual though. Anyway, the new Outback seems to be a MUCH better vehicle. However, if you like the two-tone, stick with an '04. I DID see a black and dark grey two-tone '04 the other day that almost made me soil myself! Anyway, I think I may have carried on a little long here...

One of the optionsfor Outback is for "premium sound". What they leave out is that there are two levels of it too (my dealer neglected to tell me on my last outback). As a result, I got stuck with a sound system tha had the tweeter kit and Subwoofer (which are both a good investment), but the stereo itself has no Mid range control (only bass and trble). If you tell them you want Premium 2 (price difference is minor), you get a full range stereo which is much better. My new Outback has the full premium system (standard on LLBean system but still not as good as the VDC model's McIntosh system) and I love it. Again, get a Subwoofer and tweeter kit. I listen to extreme music (punk, hardcore, metal, metalcore, etc) and it sounds really heavyand real. My wife likes country (I hate it), but the sound comes out superb, even when listening to the radio! Jazz comes out pretty cool too! Anyway, adding these things really makes a difference, but if you can't control the mid range, it never sounds right. Anyway, hopefully you can follow all of this! I think I may have fallen asleep on my keyboard at some point...

WHATEVER YOU DO DON'T TRY PUTTING THE CD IN AGAIN!!! Sorry about the caps, but I can't stress it enough. Bottom line, Subaru factory stereos are nice, but the workmanship SUCKS! Mine ate all of my CDs (6 disc changer) one day a few weeks or so back. My subie dealership's repair facility said they had to ship the crapped out CD player back to Subaru, Subaru would get the CDs out and send them back to the dealership for me to pickup. Although my CD player was replaced in one day by the dealership, my CDs have yet to be returned and that was over 3 weeks ago!! I am pretty anal about my property, especially CDs (being a collector and all), and having them for out of my possession for so long is driving my nuts (why couldn't the dealrship just "crack" it open?)! Anyway, I hope the same doesn't happen to you as it is not a fun predicament to be in! Go to your Subaru dealership, and they may cover a replacment under warranty is you ask them nicely enough.

I,m on my third Outback, and I've NEVER had trouble with the ol' "butt-warmers" on any of them. In fact, my wife uses them religiously in those "oh so cold" Southern California nights (she gets cold easily). One thing to try is that there are two modes of heating depending on which way you flip the switch. One is high, one is low. Low doesn't do much, but high does. Unfortunetely, due to design "genius" of the switch, it is unclear which way is supposed to be high and which way is supposed to be low.

I had an opportunity to speak with several people within Subaru's corporate structure the other day. When inquiring about the 7 seater, I gained a couple of little tidbits of information: 1. The biggest suprise is the release. Apparently, when Subaru said for sale in '05, they meant it is in fact an '05 model, NOT an '06 model as speculation had it (which would in turn mean a mid to late '05 launch). As a result, the car should be at the dealers 1 year from right now (mid to late '04)!!! Knock on wood... 2. The car apparantly DOES look a LOT look a Nissan Murano from the side (to me, that is a good thing since I love the look of that vehicle). I know that this has been mentioned in another thread, but I was pleased to hear this confirmation from someone truly on the inside. Anyway, yes, the B11S front end design is apparently a reality on this vehicle. I was reassured that it looks very tasteful so keep your groaning to a minimum. One representative is pretty sure that there is a picture of it online SOMEWHERE (he/she thought maybe the FHI site, but that proved untrue). If it IS online and you know where to find it, someone PLEASE post it!!! Anyway, if anyone has ANY new details on this vehicle (especially pics), PLEASE come forward and post what you know here!

I own a 2003 LLBean Edition Outback Today, as I was driving into work, I had a CD changer FULL of CDs (all 6 slots). Anyway, disc 3 was playing and when I pressed eject so I could take the disc with me, the CD wouldn't come out. I tried repeatedly, but the "3" simply blinks and nothing happens. Now, not only can I not eject ANY of the CDs, none will play either. Has this happened to anyone else? Any ideas how I can salvage my CD discs? This is not my week for Subarus. This happens on top of the fact my front brake pads are in need of replacement for the 4th time, even though the car only has 31,000 miles!!

The B9 Scrambler is the best looking gas/electric hybrid I've ever seen, and as far as I know, the only one with AWD!!!