vixen220

Refresh-- I've posted to several other "overheating" threads to try and get folks to document the issue here. I'm seriously considering suing SOA for at least the cost of my repairs, if not a new vehicle. If I can collect enough anecdotes, perhaps a class action might be effective at fixing the issue for all of us. Thanks again, Vicki

Please respond to my thread on overheating research. I'm trying to compile a list to document the problem. Thanks Vicki

Folks with overheating subarus, please respond to my thread on the ultimate subaru message board under "overheating" I'm trying to compile a comprehensive list of these things. Thanks, Vicki

Hey folks-- If you have overheating issues with your subarus, please respond to my thread on the ultimate subaru message board under "overheating". I'm trying to compile a complete stack of issues. thanks, Vicki

My 99 OB wagon suddenly and inexplicably overheated in Nov 03. In short, I parked the car after a 30 minute highway commute, and there was steam coming from under the hood. The temp gauge, however, read normal. At the end of the work day, I topped up the coolant and drove home--temp guage was normal until I got home, when it went up to the 3/4 mark as I was idling. Next day, I drove 3 miles to my mechanic's shop--the engine stayed cool. After checking the cooling system pressure, the water pump, and the thermostat, my mechanic checked the head gasket--which was also fine. However, the cylinder walls were deeply scored and the exhaust valves were destroyed because of high temperature damage. I posted this incident on the NHTSA complaint board. Since then, three other people have posted similar NHTSA complaints, and one of them says this is problem is cropping up frequently in the Phase 1, 2.5L OB engines. My mechanic, in a small city in Connecticut, has had 4 of these cases since mine. All the same engine, all around 125K miles. I'm trying to find: 1) Other owners and mechanics have had to repair this problem 2) Year/model/mileage of vehicle when it occurred 3) What the repair was and how much it cost. Thank you to any and all who respond to this posting! Vicki

Well! On 17 November, with no history of cooling issues, after a 30-minute commute, my 1999 OB Legacy Wagon (man tran) pulled up steaming and smelling of hot coolant. The temp gauge was normal. I figured I had a pinhole leak, and waited for it all to cool off before I tried to look at it. When I got down and looked, no puddle; no obvious drips; little bit of coolant on the engine. The kicker--no coolant was visible in overflow reservoir or in radiator. Topped up coolant and drove home—no problems, temp stayed normal. Took car to Soob specialists—they pressure tested, no problem. They test drove car for 30 miles, and had the same result—loss of coolant. Replaced thermostat, same problem. Replaced water pump, same problem. Pulled engine—head gasket fine, block not cracked. HOWEVER, the cylinders were scored, and the exhaust valves were irreparable. Has anyone had anything similar? V

Again--thanks for the feedback and validation! I went to my mechanic on the way home from work, and it was the #4 cylinder again. Weird thing is, we changed the plug wires back in October as part of its 90K checkup. The car wasn't hesitating then...the hesitation started back in February/March. It got a new timing belt in June, when we discovered it hadn't been done when it was supposed to have gotten done. Anyway, my mechanic told me to make the CE light come on one more time, just to be sure it's *always* the #4 cylinder, and then we'll fix it. I'll make the CE light come on when I'm heading home tonight, now that I know I can do it whenever I want to. V

Hi folks! Thanks for the info. I've found I can make the CE light go on if I replicate the conditions of the first time it went on. I.e., if I "baby" the hesitation by backing off the gas and downshifting to boost the RPMs, the CE light stays off. If I "bull" the hesitation by tromping on the gas (no worry about acceleration, since the car is practically dying...heaven help me if I try this trick and the engine doesn't continue to misfire...) the car hesitates even more, runs rough, coughs, sputters, bucks, and generally acts very sick, THEN the CE light comes on. I just got the CE light again, and I'm taking back to the mechanic for another code read and reset... Thanks again, Vicki

I have a 99 Legacy OB Wagon with manual transmission. About 6 months ago, it started running rough when the RPMs dropped below 2K in any given gear. It was skipping/missing/bucking on acceleration from stops and from just slowing down. My mechanic could find nothing wrong, even though he could reproduce the problem. FINALLY, it had the problem Friday, and the "Check Engine" light came on. My mechanic said it was a P0304 error, and that SOA was recommending a complete replacement of plugs, coil, and wires. However, my mechanic says he has another customer with the exact same symptoms, and this complete replacement did not fix the problem. Any advice, comments, suggestions? Thank you, Vicki