hoovman

According to my.subaru.com, my vehicle has had no recalls issued on it. (If you're not a member, try it. It's free and it tracks service and recalls etc.)

One thing that aggrevates me in my 05 OBW 2.5i Limited is that the stupid lock switches are unlit! I hate the fact that I can't SEE if the doors are locked or unlocked and I can never remember which way to throw the switch to lock/unlock! I've been thinking about surface-mounting an LED (with appropriate resistor) in the doorwell near the door handle and wiring it to the headlights. Has anyone done this?

Now one of the replaced bulbs is out! So this will be my *third* replaced headlight bulb!

I found these threads: http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26232 http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26451 It looks like folks are swapping up their steering wheels and getting shift and radio controls. Anyone know if it would work on an 05 OBW?

I saw this cool mod for adding Homelink trainable garage opener to any car for cheap: http://www.flickr.com/photos/patrickkeane/39518758

NOTHING! The dealer is replacing so many of these that they *know* it's a defect and do them for free, just like they should, under the warranty.

I've had 2 replaced, driver side at less than 11K miles and then passenger at less than 13K miles, both at no charge no questions asked. The service tech told me that they've replaced *loads* of headlights on the '05 Outbacks. Probably most dealers now accept it as Suby's fault, but even if it's even cheap and easy to do myself, I will make a point of having the dealer do it, and if they burn out again after it's out of warranty and they give me *any* grief, I will pitch a fit! I hope Subaru is smart enough to continue to eat the cost of the replacements. This is my first Suby. I want to like my dealership enough to want another one someday.

I had the dealer replace one burned out headlight at under 11k miles and I just had them do the other at under 12.5K miles. The tech told me they do *tons* of headlight replacements on the 05 OBs. More than a few are both lights at once - people don't notice when one is out ( ), then the other goes out and they go to the dealer thinking the switch is bad.

Same designe still exists in the '05. The sales guy made it a point to show me on delivery, because so many people bring it in right after delivery for the very same "problem". I wonder if people in other countries are confused as much as we are by this design.

I have not personally worked it out, but there's some good info out there on other forums. As a result of the combined AC/radio, it's harder on the '05s than on many other cars, since you can't swap out the head unit.

So I'm looking at installing satellite radio in my '05 OBW Limited and I haven't been able to find anything that gives the measurements of the cubby and/or the cigarette lighter. Sure I can measure, but I thought if someone knew where I could get "official" numbers it would be better. Thanks, Jeff

Thanks for the heads up about the wires on the Roady2 - I'll look at the Commander. Unfortunately, Subaru decided to have no aux on the factory radio, so I'll be using FM modulation. It's OK, I'm used to it from my VW. You think with all the new airbags in the columns and stuff that audio pros still know what they're doing?

I've settled on what I want to do for satellite radio: http://xmradio.com/roady2/ It's currently the smallest on the market, and will velcro mount between the shifter and the buttwarmer switches. It has a built-in FM modulator (since Subaru makes it near impossible to replace the radio in the '05). Now here's the catch: airbags and antenna routing. The 05 suby has way more airbags (like 6?) than my old '97 vw had (2). I don't want to route the antenna cable myself for fear of obstructing airbag components. The dealer won't do it and suggested I take it to a professional car audio installer. When told the service advisor that I wondered whether even a "professional" would know how to route the antenna properly, he shared my concern and suggested I call SOA. Unfortunately, SOA doesn't have technical people on the 1-800-subaru3 line. SOA suggested I talk to the service mgr of my dealership, but I don't have high hopes. So if the svc manager doesn't pan out, is that it? Am I stuck w/o satellite radio?

A picture of the '01 Impreza one is here: http://www.panavise.com/f/comm/indash/indashviewfinalimage.html?modelID=3198329145533087 Installation doc for the '01 Impreza is here: http://www.panavise.com/f/comm/indash/instruction.html?partn=75134-298 And for $23, you can buy one for the '01 Impreza here: http://www.tessco.com/products/headerProductSearch.do?searchType=All+Words&searchText=75134-298&searchField=Common+Search+Fields

Cool! Thanks for the reply!