K9Leader

I have a rust problem on my '03 Baja in the driver side rear door well: The other side appears to be okay and the problem has not shown up on my '00 Outback. My body shop guy had never seen this before, but a Google search indicates it is not an uncommon problem. Seems that welds/seams are not quite right, which allows the dread water in. Only fix I have seen is to cut out the affected area and weld in a section scavenged from another Baja/Legacy/Outback. However, I'm not sure this will permanently resolve the problem. Anyone with first-hand experience with this issue and its resolution? K9Leader Newark, Delaware

The whole process whereby insurance companies determine whether to total a vehicle perplexes me. My 2000 OBS Ltd. has been fixed by the insurance company twice when I was sure it would be totaled. In 2011, my son rear-ended someone and trashed the whole front end - $4800 in repairs and they didn't total it. Unfortunately, I live in Delaware and he was in Virginia at the time and the shop in Virginia that did the repairs did a great job on the body repairs but a lousy job on the mechanicals - I had to redo the radiator and other underhood components only a few months later. Then in August 2012, a tree fell on the cargo area - right front quarter, tailgate,bumper, etc. Again, big repair - $4,000+ but they didn't total it. Ah, well, it has had most of the body panels replaced/repaired & repainted between the two incidents. Looks like new . . . until you see the cracks in the driver's seat cushion and the coating of dog hair in the cargo area. I agree on minimal repair and bank the extra cash. Good luck!

I have a 2000 OBW Ltd., automatic (with the 2.5L H-4). I have had it 15 months since March '03 and have put 17,000 miles on it. My overall fuel mileage during that time is 19.8 MPG, mostly suburban driving, some highway/long trips. The best it has done was on a long trip, all interstate, was 26 MPG. Around town it is in the 18 - 19 range. Somewhat disappointing but not surprising when you consider: -It is a relatively heavy car for its external size -- 3600 lbs. (due to lots of features, heavy duty components as part of AWD/offroad function) -Automatic tranny -Laws of Economics (relatively low gas prices in U.S. compared to rest of world and U.S. public demand for big, heavy, feature-laden vehicles with fuel economy being of minimal concern, and regulatory climate of diminishing federal pressure on automakers to improve overall MPG) resulting in automakers not making fuel efficiency a priority in R&D But it is better than the Explorers, Durangos, and Trailblazers that all my neighbors and coworkers are driving. And it does pretty much all the same things and holds all the same passengers and cargo, but is safer in addition to being more fuel efficient. Life is a series of compromises. --K9Leader, Newark DE

I tried the search function but am having trouble finding that thread. Can you provide a little more information? What is the full name of the product (303)? Thanks! K9Leader Update: Okay, I googled a little and found the web site: http://www.303products.com/main.php?infopage=protectant

The problem is that a large percentage of the population fails to make this choice even when it is necessary. Whenever I am out in darkened, overcast, rainy conditions, I see many, many vehicles without lights on. Correction, I don't see them, and that is the problem. These people failed to make the choice to turn on their lights when it was necessary for safety. And their failure to make this choice directly threatens my safety and the safety of my children. They may have the right to make dumb decisions that threaten their own lives and safety, but they don't have the right to make dumb decisions that threaten my safety and my children's safety. --K9Leader

There are a few thousand (tens of thousands?) of Ford Windstar (mostly 1995) owners who would beg to differ. --K9Leader, who knew enough not to own a 1995 Ford Windstar

You need to elaborate -- what did you plug in that blew a fuse? Was it cell phone power cord/charger? A mini-vac? An air pump? Which outlet are you talking about -- the one on the dashboard (which should be able to handle more than a cigarette lighter) or the one in the cargo area (which is definitely intended for things other than a cigarette lighter)? I find it hard to believe that the usual suspects (cell phone charger, inverter w/laptop, etc.) would blow a fuse when a regular cigarette lighter would not -- cig lighter's take a lot of juice to get heated up. I have my cell phone power cord/charger plugged in all the time to the dashboard (don't think I've ever used the one in the back). --K9Leader, 2000 OBW Ltd., 46K miles

Yes, GM owns all or part of Subaru, Suzuki, Isuzu, Fiat, Opel, Saab, and several other "foreign" makes. Ford owns Mazda, Jaguar, and others. Chrysler is owned by Daimler-Chrysler, which means it is owned by Mercedes. The whole domestic vs. foreign thing is gone, is never coming back, and we need to stop thinking in the limiting "foreign vs. domestic" terms. My 2000 OBW was built in Lafayette, Indiana, by people named, Becky, Mark, and Jose. It was sold to its first owner by a car dealer in West Chester, Pennsylvania, by a salesman named Howard assisted by Lissa from finance, and I have it serviced in Delaware by guys named Ed, Tim, and Anthony. Same for my wife's Toyota Sienna (substitute Georgetown, Kentucky, for Lafayette, Indiana). And if these vehicles were not satisfactory to me, I have no problem buying something made elsewhere -- Mexico, Japan, Korea, England, Germany, wherever. That's economics and the whole "foreign vs. domestic" argument ignores the realities of economics. --K9Leader

DMc-DE: I would rather repeatedly jab very sharp, red-hot, foot-long needles in my eyes than have anything to do with the incompetent liars and thieves at Matt Slap. They got three strikes before I declared them out -- sales was terrible, service was terrible, parts was terrible. Incompetent and dishonest -- the daily double! It is a shame, as that dealer is the closest to my home (I'm in North Star). I have had much better luck with Castle Subaru in New Castle -- further from home (but it is close to my office), and seem to have some level of competence and integrity. If/when I get to the point of painting the bumper, I will check out a few body shops. Since moving to Delaware in 1996, I have only needed a shop once (for a fender on an Acura Integra), and used one on Newport-Gap Pike, sort of across from Delcastle HS (can't remember the name of the shop, although I drive past it regularly!). The work was good, so I will check them out as one possibility. --K9Leader

MJB: Is the "240Z" part of your name a reference to a certain legendary Japanese sports car? I had a 1975 280Z -- wonderful car, but I sold it in 1987 when my first child was on the way (no room for the car seat). Plus it needed a new transmission, new rear end, and the driver's side floor pan was just a memory. --K9Leader

I am the second owner of my OB. It's a 2000 that I bought in March 2003 with 32K on it. I did report the ownership change to Subaru and registered on My.Subaru.com. The 3 year/36K miles b2b warranty was up but the 5 year/60K powertrain is still in effect. If you contact Subaru of America customer service (1-800-Subaru3) and report the HG issue, they should cover you for the 8 year/100K extended coverage. Good luck! --K9Leader

MJB240Z: Let's say that the Bars Stop Leak is essentially the same as the coolant conditioner being used by Subaru, does the same job, works equally well, has the same effects (whether beneficial or detrimental), etc. Bars, though, does not extend the warranty for the head gaskets to 8 years/100K miles. Using the Subaru coolant conditioner does. You indicated when you first posted several months ago that you were at 65K, so you probably still have 20 - 25K before you hit the 100K point. A flush and refill with the Subaru stuff added in would be worth it to extend the coverage. Just my $.02. --K9Leader

This is a reprise and update of my posting on another thread soon after my 2000 OBW with 44K miles had the HG leak dealt with via the conditioner. Mine was done just a few days before word of this as an official SOA procedure was out. If this really does fix the problem and does no damage to other components, then I have no problem: --Offering to extend the warranty to 8 years/100K miles does show good faith on Subaru's part and indicates a high level of confidence that it will work. In my case, that gives me another 4 years/55K miles. --Every $600-800 head gasket repair under warranty will show itself in the higher sticker price of the next Subaru I buy. I'm not out to screw Subaru just because it's a big, bad corporation. Besides, through my various mutual funds, I probably have some sort of ownership shares in Fuji/Subaru and/or GM (which owns, what?, 40% of Subaru). --The head gasket replacement is a major job, and who knows what else could be screwed up, continuing the problem or creating new ones. Yes, I know all mechanics should be competent and do the job perfectly every time. But this is the real world. Just as major surgery is the last resort to other less invasive treatments . . . --I had the car back in a day instead of in three or four or however long it would have taken to get the parts in and do the job. My initial reservations were that, when it was explained to me, the service manager didn't tell me that this was an official Subaru thing and that I would get a letter officially extending the warranty. It sounded like it was a deal that he and the district rep were offering just to me and in just this one instance. Even though I got it in writing on the receipt, I was a little concerned that if there were a problem down the road no other Subaru dealership would honor it or, even, that this dealership would renege on the basis of "it's not in our records" and/or "he didn't have the authority" and/or "he hasn't worked here in X years and we don't honor anything he promised anymore." If it is an official Subaru of America policy/program, I am confident that is unlikely to happen. I am willing to give it a try. It has been several weeks now, and things seem okay -- no odor, no smoking, no visible leaking. Yes, I know, if something bad is going to result from this, it will be down the road a ways. Back when I took it in to the dealer and the initial take was that they would replace the gaskets, I posted my concerns on another site (as well as on this one) and an SOA customer service supervisor who frequents that other board responded. She e-mailed me with a case number and the name and number of one of her reps who would work with me. The rep called me and the dealership service manager, and kept in touch during the entire process. In addition to explaining the coolant conditioner fix and the extended warranty, after it was done, she offered that SOA would pay for my next major servicing. So, when I have the 60K servicing done, SOA will reimburse me. At this point, I am satisfied. Subaru acted in good faith. However, I do understand everyone's concerns, but having been through it, my concerns are alleviated. And, I am usually one who sees the glass as half empty. Well, actually, I don't see it as half-full nor do I see it as half-empty; I just see a dirty glass one of my kids left lying around that I now have to clean up. --K9Leader

The paint on the front bumper of my 2000 OBW Ltd. has started peeling over the past few months. It is doing it in several places, particularly along the indented line along the upper half, but in other places as well. The flakes that are coming off are the metallic titanium. Underneath is paint that is almost the same color, but not quite, and seems to have a "grainier" metallic flake to it. Does anyone know if that "grainier" paint is some sort of underlayer, perhaps a paint layer between primer and the titanium color layer? Or, perhaps, it is the primer? If the flakes are just the clearcoat flaking off, would the flakes look like I have described or would they actually be clear? I bought this car in March 2003 from the original owner -- the paperwork and a Carfax confirm that he was the only owner. But is it possible this is a replacement bumper (or the original that was repainted) and the new paint is now flaking off? He didn't tell me anything like that was done, and did not mention any accidents, and Carfax would not note any accidents that did not result in a title change (i.e., car was totalled by insurance). And, no other parts of the car show even the slightest indication of any accident, although it is possible something happened just to the front bumper. The rest of the car is in excellent condition. There are some chips in the rear bumper, but those are chips due to getting nicked or hit (teenage son and his Scout buddies loading and unloading gear into or out of the car) or along the edge of the unpainted black ribbed section, and not the same type of flaking as on the front. If the front bumper flaking continues, it will soon look pretty bad and will need repainting or replacement. But the entire layer of flaking paint would have to come off or be taken off or else repainting would not work. As for replacement, do the replacement bumper covers come already painted? Unlikely, but since all OBs have the titanium painted bumpers (before going to the monochrome look this year), I thought they might come painted. I suspect that this is a replacement bumper pulled off of an Outback where the titanium paint was slightly different (a 2001/2/3?) and that the previous/original owner had it repainted to match. I could contact him, and maybe he would level with me (even though it appears he may not have when I was buying it). Any ideas or words of wisdom? K9Leader

I take it this particular Legacy has the time-machine option and you have traveled to 2006 . . .? Ok, ok, how about this: I did a 36-hour charity dance marathon once. I thought 36 hours was tough, so I can imagine how tough it was to do 14 years in the driver's seat. At least we got 10-minute potty breaks every other hour. Sorry. I just had to. --K9Leader

Why do you think it is too late to try the conditioner? Unless it has gotten so bad that the gasket is blown, it is worth it to try the conditioner. Subaru will extend the warranty on the gaskets to 8 years/100k miles if you try the conditioner. Extending the warranty does demonstrate Subaru's good faith and confidence in the fix. If the stuff works, then you have avoided major surgery on your engine (and all the potential problems that come with it), you get the car back quicker, the problem is solved, and you are covered to 8 years/100K miles. If it doesn't work, then you are still covered to 8 years/100K miles. Good luck! --K9Leader

However, offering to extend the warranty to 8 years/100K miles does show good faith on Subaru's part and indicates a high level of confidence that it will work. If this really does fix the problem and does no damage to other components, then I have no problem: --Every $600-800 head gasket repair under warranty will show itself in the higher sticker price of the next Subaru I buy. --The head gasket replacement is a major job, and who knows what else could be screwed up, continuing the problem or creating new ones. Yes, I know all mechanics should be competent and do the job perfectly every time. But this is the real world. Just as major surgery is the last resort to other less invasive treatments . . . --I had the car back in a day instead of in three or four or however long it would have taken to get the parts in and do the job. My initial reservations were that, when it was explained to me, the service manager didn't tell me that this was an official Subaru thing and that I would get a letter officially extending the warranty. It sounded like it was a deal that he and the district rep were offering just to me and in just this one instance. Even though I got it in writing on the receipt, I was a little concerned that if there were a problem down the road no other Subaru dealership would honor it or, even, that this dealership would renege on the basis of "it's not in our records" and/or "he didn't have the authority" and/or "he hasn't worked here in X years and we don't honor anything he promised anymore." If it is an official Subaru of America policy/program, I am confident that is unlikely to happen. I am willing to give it a try. --K9Leader

Yep, this is what they did for me this week. My 2000 OBW Ltd. with 44K miles went in for the coolant leaking from the head gasket at the #4 cylinder on Monday. Although the dealership initially said they would replace the head gaskets, they instead used some sort of Subaru-branded "coolant conditioner." The service manager swears that it's not just another stop leak (although it sure sounds like it). The turning point from gasket replacement to the additive was when the service manager spoke to the district rep (or something like that), who touted this as the solution rather than gasket replacement. By the time I found out about it, it was already done. They did agree to extend the warranty on any gasket-related problems to 100K miles and that is clearly stated on the receipt. On the one hand, I am dubious about a stop leak type product being used and I wish they had spoken to me before doing it. I am also skeptical whenever the preferred and pushed warranty repair is the cheapest and easiest one available. On the other hand, I still have a year/16K miles left on the regular powertrain warranty and, with the extended warranty, 56K on the gaskets, so if the problem resurfaces, I can probably get it resolved. Also, replacing the gaskets means major disassembly/reassembly work, with potential for . . . well, errors. The leaking has stopped -- no coolant odor, no drips or puddles, no decrease of coolant level. So, if this stuff really works, and does no damage to other components (radiator?), then I'm okay with it as the fix. It helps a lot now that I know it is an official Subaru policy and not just an off-the-cuff deal the service manager and district rep offered just to me. --K9Leader, Newark DE

Mike: Great work on getting Subaru to pay for the sway bar! I suspect that the labor will turn out to be more than $35 -- they have to drop the exhaust to get the old bar out and the new one in, so it is more like an hour to hour-and-a-half job, so somewhere in the $85 - 125 range. K9Leader, Newark DE

My 2000 OBW with 44K miles is at the dealer awaiting new head gaskets (thankfully, under the powertrain warranty). Any advice whether I should have the timing belt and water pump done at the same time? It does only have 44K miles so it is rather early for both of those parts and they have given no indication of problems (and they are still under the powertrain warranty for another year), but, labor would be $0 (or should be) as it is all apart for the gasket replacements. What is the wisdom of the board? Thanks! K9Leader, Newark, Delaware

MJB: Thanks for the info -- I will give it a try. However, if it is the head gasket, it should still be covered under the powertrain warranty, which is, IIRC, 5 years/60K miles. I am still under both. You said you have a 2001, so you are still under the time deadline. If you are still under 60K, then yours should be covered as well. Good luck! --K9Leader

It is now making little puddles, but only under certain conditions: drive a little, then park, and it leaks out a small puddle (an ounce or two). It happened this morning - drove my son 1/2 mile to his bus stop, sat idling for 3-4 minutes, drove 1/2 mile home, and parked in the driveway. Twenty minutes later, came back out to take my daughter to her bus stop, and there was the puddle. But it didn't leave a puddle when I parked it last night for the night. I am at work now, so I will go back out in 1/2 an hour to see if/how much it has leaked after the longer drive to work. I am wondering if short trips don't give the seals of whatever is leaking enough time to warm up and swell up so that leaking is minimized. Of course, I am now carrying a jug of coolant and a funnel everywhere I go. If it weren't the dead of winter with snow and ice predicted for later today, I would have left it home and taken my other car. The other car, however, is a Mark VIII, and not so good in the snow. I put it up on ramps and crawled under it last night. There is coolant dripping from the crossmember brace, but I could not tell the original source -- will have to leave that up to the dealership shop. Perhaps I spoke too soon about the head gasket . . . but I thought the head gasket was more limited seepage until it reaches the catastophic failure stage. Mine is somewhere in between, although it has definitely worsened with the much colder weather, although not sure if the two are related or just conicidental. I am a little frustrated that I bought this car (last March) partially so I would have something capable in the snow. It was in the shop last month (for the broken front sway bar) during our first snow storm of the winter, and now it is laid up for the predicted second snow storm of the winter. I know it is just bad luck and bad timing, but frustrating nonetheless. Suzam, I am using Castle Subaru in New Castle. Matt Slap is closer to my home (I live in North Star just west of Limestone Road & north of Paper Mill Road) and would be more convenient, but the attitude, service, and level of competence of that dealership (in every single department -- sales, service, and parts) is so abysmal that I will never go there for anything again. Castle is close to work, so not totally inconvenient, although it is a hassle for my wife when we have to do the drop off/pick up. I had used Castle a few times when I had Acura Integras, and was reasonably satisfied. I had them replace the sway bar when it broke last month, and they didn't give me a hard time when I provided my own part (the sway bar). I would prefer to use an independent shop that is just around the corner from my house (Dempsey's - used to be Whiteman's - on Paper Mill Road in Newark), but they usually have a 2 - 3 week wait on appointments, and, if this is head gasket related, it would be better to be at a dealership for warranty purposes. --K9Leader, Newark DE

I can't shed any light on this particular seat heater problem, but one thing to keep in mind is that the elements are delicate and are most often broken by someone kneeling on the seat cushion. I have threatened my children with disinheritance if their knobby knees ever touch the seat cushion. --K9Leader

Over the past several months I have noticed the odor of coolant on occasion with my 2000 OB Ltd. wagon (44K miles). But it was only occasionally, and I couldn't find any indication of a leak -- no puddles, no dried deposits, no noticeable lessening of the coolant level. Two different shops (one independent and one dealership) said they couldn't find anything. Last week, during the cold snap, the smell got stronger (but still intermittent) and was accompanied by smoke (or steam?). It tends to happen when the car is just warmed up, after being underway for 3 - 5 minutes, and is noticeable when I am stopped at a light (or to drop my daughter at the school bus). The smoke/steam seems to be coming from the front of the engine compartment (so I am somewhat relieved that it is probably not the head gasket under cylinder #4). I still can't find any obvious source. I'm now carefully watching the level in the overflow bottle -- filled it last night to the full line when cold and after drving to work this morning and letting it cool I see it is down about half an inch from the full line. I have an appointment at the dealership for next week, but if anyone can offer any advice or suggestions . . . Thanks! --K9Leader Newark, Delaware

The swaybar part should be between $93 (what I paid through one of the online dealers) and $125 (list price). If the dealership you go to tries to charge more than $125, try to get them to cut the price to at least list price, or order it from an online dealer. The labor should be about $120 to $150. Good luck! --K9Leader