mtsmiths

86 Bratman, Aloha, maybe only twenty miles of around town errands, total. In Hawaii nei we be doin' maikai'i brah! But the Subaruing has degenerated to a family car doing around-town stuffs. I did get conned by my old boss to return to work on an airport project at Keahole-Kona (KOA) airport. Sorta 'on-call' when they need me. but getting paid a generous retainer for my 'downtime'. Fairtax4me, Mahalo ... no nothing bumped, just how one forgets. I've done this in the past, just been so long it was no longer in the mental file folders (see above, not much activity in the Subaru folder for the last five years). From our lanai

I inadvertently left the ignition on while cleaning the car, and after 18 hours it was seriously dead. Got it started with a jump (yes red to red, black to black) which did take some cranking and fussing. Since then it is hard to start, idling way low (loping between almost zero and 250 rpm), stumbles, feels like it's hovering on the edge of a stall in traffic, and hesitates when driving. We live in Kailua-Kona village, a no highway beach town, so all subsequent trips have been short, slow, and in traffic. I've driven it on sport mode and kept the rpms up in the high threes and low fours a couple of trips, and I've opend the gas ca and resecured it. Has it forgotten how to Subaru? I'm thiking the computer needs to be retrained? Best way? Highway trip, reprogram, has something been damaged? :-(

I inadvertently left the ignition on while cleaning the car, and after 18 hours it was seriously dead. Got it started with a jump (yes red to red, black to black) which did take some cranking and fussing. Since then it is hard to start, idling way low (loping between almost zero and 250 rpm), stumbles, feels like it's hovering on the edge of a stall in traffic, and hesitates when driving. We live in Kailua-Kona village, a no highway beach town, so all subsequent trips have been short, slow, and in traffic. I've driven it on sport mode and kept the rpms up in the high threes and low fours a couple of trips, and I've opend the gas ca and resecured it. Has it forgotten how to Subaru? I'm thiking the computer needs to be retrained? Best way? Highway trip, reprogram, has something been damaged? :-(

To all, Mahalo nui loa ... many many thanks. The local stealership flashed the TCU and she shifts like new, smooth and no hesitation. The Pretty One is very happy. 'Course this being the 3rd world masquerading as a state, they claimed it took them 21 times to get it to reprogram. When my wife asked them how many time ut usually takes they replied 'one'. When she asked them why it took them 21 tries, for which we werre billed on the clock, they responded they didn't know. That said, thanks again to all, the USMB comes through once more!

I just entered TSB, and spelled it out on the SOA site, and it claims to not have any data under that name. I'll ask about the reflash at our local dealer. The whole thing is complicated by having imported our Outback to Hawaii, which is not recognized by SOA, I can't even enter our address, I get an 'Invalid ZIP code' flag. And on the other side of the coin, Subaru of Hawaii doesn't acknowledge or honor SOA warranty or technical information. Welcome to Hawaii nei, a third world country masquerading as a state ... but DAMN it's a nice place to live!

And buried deep in the guts of the tranny no doubt ...

Yeah Nipper, hard upshifts, tranny has always gortrten regular serviuce since new, both of us drive fairly 'easy' ... with gas at $4.60+/- per gal, we tend to keep our foot light on the throttle.

Any ideas. No change, but still a concern for the future.

Our '06 Outback (106,000 miles) is exhibiting slight rough shifting up only, downshifts apper normal.Not bad, but up to now shifting as been 'invisible'. Doesn't make any difference if loafing along or mashing the throttle. When manually shifting with sport mode, shifts are smooth. Car has had regular SOA maintenance, including AT service on schedule, with OEM tranny fluids only. Just did the 105,000 front case work, and tranny service ... still the same. Any observations.

M'kay, grossgary, Only double posted in case a vendor had a product available, rather than hitting open market. Send me a message re; your repair offer ... we allus got room and we're directly on the ocean, including a good snorkel beach and surfing break ... we can do a deal? Car isn't quite to 105,000 but close enough to go ahead and do T-belt, and maybe just boot/axle all at teh same time. I can probably find a carport to woek under, and got all the tools, except any specialty tools needed, and no timing light.

Need inner PAX side boot. I've found several on-line, but NONE of them specifiy for which model, year, etc. Are they all the same or something, I know Subarus are built on the LEGO model, but?

Are split repair CV boots available for late models, '06 Outback PAX side boot is torn. Local Stealership wants over $300.00 to repair boot!I live in condo so can't get away with pulling a wheel to replace an OEM boot, but I CAN get away with cutting the old one off, and slipping on a split boot. CV isn't making any noise, so should be able to get away with simple boot repair. Also posted in products forum

Are split repair CV boots available for late models, '06 Outback PAX side boot is torn. Local Stealership wants over $300.00 to repair boot!I live in condo so can't get away with pulling a wheel to replace an OEM boot, but I CAN get away with cutting the old one off, and slipping on a split boot. CV isn't making any noise, so should be able to get away with simple boot repair.

Can the cooling shrouds/fan from a type !! engine be swapped onto a regular VW four banger? If not ,wil a pancake motor bolt up to an older tranny, pre-curved windshield/wide-nose bugs? Project percolating in back of mind.

Some life in the Kingdom of Hawaii update. Little known Subaru fact (apparently, judging by national ads, not even by SOA). Subarus in Hawaii come from a dealer conglomerate named Servco. They source their cars direct from Fuji Hvy. Ind. They do NOT honor SOA warranties, even on brand new cars. A lady bought a new Subaru on the mainland, including the top-of-the-line bumper-to-bumper/floor-to-ceiling maintenance/warranty program. Drove into the local Stealership, only to be told, 'sorry lady, that piece of paper is worthless here, and if sumpin breaks ... tough sh!t'. ater the service manager got SOA to do a backup, but the por woman has to pay for all service/repairs, and then wait from a check from SOA. Also our local Stealership, hmmm how can I say this ... 'I don't trust them'? And I'm coming up on 100,000 + on our '06 Outback, so timing belt front case is looming ahead. On the other hand the little we drive, it's at least two years in the future. A friend bought a used Jeep there, and left it overnight for a couple of minor fix-ups. When he went to pick it up they had swapped the tires for some run-outs. When he called them on it they claimed it was just as he purchased it. When he busted out his cell phone with a picture of the car, the sales manager, and a prominent view of a front tire, there was a lot of mumbo-jumbo, until they finally swore they would put the original tires back on. He said, 'No you won't, how would I know they are the same tires? You'll take it to the tire dealer of MY choice and pay for the tires I Choose, or I'll file criminal fraud charges against you'. OH, and the cell phone I showed you the pictures on and put back in my shirt pocket? ... voice memo is on RECORD ... oops! But, hey, the foods great, the sun is warm, the surf is up (well, not right now) and all is well in Smith geezerland.

The fark of it? The truck was delivering materials for the Keystone tarsands oil pipeline.

We used Six Star for quick work while passing through Sandpoint on my 2011 cross-continent bicycle trip. Great indie shop!

Ordered, THX! 'Course to Hawaii 4-6 weeks ...

AM? Wassat? Nah, nah, nah, will check thx.

Hi Paulie, you too, stay warm, brah!

Wagon, which side? How does one test it? I've got a ham friend that may be able to help.

Why? You already live in a foreign country.

We've recently imported our 2006 Outback to Hawaii from it's hiatus in WA. I find that the FM reception sucks for the stations I want (NPR, down near the bottom of the dial). I know our signal is weak (comes from Maui), but my 2001 PT Cruiser picks it up just fine, the Subaru, ZIP! Park them side-by-side and I can pull in everything on the Petey, but nothing but static on the Soobie. Not a radio problem, local stations are fine, just a signal strength problem. Where is the hidden antenna, and can anything be done to improve reception? Mahalo

mtsmiths has Subaru again. Well, never didn't have it, was in garage in Port Ludlow, WA when we weren't on the mainland visiting. Our mainland retirement loose ends are pretty much tied up, so we shipped my wife's baby over to Moku Nui (the Big Island). Since the state dealer organization (Servco) doesn't honor S.O.A. commitments, will not order parts from the mainland, and S.O.A won't ship to Hawaii, I will probably be haunting these pages once more. Hawaii is basically a third world socialist country masquerading as a state, the closest thing to a foreign country that you can't be deported from (well, maybe Puerto Rico is more so). All that said, check my album and you'll see I have little cause to complain.

Aloha all. mtsmiths from many moons absence. We've reconnected with my wife's beloved Subaru that had been left in WA when we retired to Kona, Hawaii. Finally shipped it over since we are pretty much done with the mainland. Having to cope with the lousy Subaru attitude in Hawaii. All Subarus are sold by a company called Servco, which basically denies the existence of S.O.A. They do not honor mainland warranty programs, either after-sale or even brand new Subarus imported from the mainland. They also will not order parts or supplies from S.O.A. When I try to order anything from S.O.A. the website refuses to accept a Hawaii ZIP code ... weird. Anyhow, I need to deal with some minor garage rash the car accumulated during it's three years in Port Ludlow, because we live right on the beach and salt spray mist (spindrift) is a serious issue. You don't allow open scratches to remain or they become holes as you watch. I've done all the sand-out and primer, and now find that I can't get spray-can touch-up from Subaru, Duplicolor doesn't make it, and no one on our island can mix my color, except in a two-stage, catalytic process. I don't have the equipment or experience to deal with that, never mind what the condo assoc. would say about me setting up a spray-rig in our parking spot. So, I need Atlantic Blue Pearl, 2006 code: A33. Does anyone here know of a source, can anyone mix me a quart and ship it (I can get the load-it-yourself bottle spray cans), or do I have to just find the closest Duplicolor and put up with mis-matched paint spots? I sure hate to do that because this car is in like-new condition except for the few spots needing touch-up. Feel free to redirect this if another forum might be better for a response. Mahalo, all