Bmm001

Turns out my brother bumped the "lock" switch by accident, simplest fix ever!

never mind figured it out. Mods feel free to delete this post!

My dad has a 2015 Crosstrek. Compared to my '14 Legacy I would say it's slightly noisier inside, but that's mainly due to the engine having to rev a bit higher during acceleration. It's not objectionable or obnoxious though. As far as wind/tire noise cruising down the highway, it seems just as quiet to me. Both cars are light years quieter than my '03 Outback. As far as space goes, they've fit a La-Z-Boy recliner in it with the seats folded flat. I will say that the trunk isn't very big if you don't fold the seats down. It's tall and boxy, but not very deep front-to-back. So when the 4 of us went to the beach, with 4 beach chairs, a cooler, beach bags, etc. it was up almost to the roof. Brian

Another voite for the CS4s from me. 20k on mine so far and still at 9/32". Quiet, good wet/snow traction.

Nope, definitely water, not antifreeze or gas. I'll check out the plugs and wheel well. It is starting to get a bit rusty so wouldn't be surprised.

With all the snow/rain we've been getting recently, I noticed the floor on the rear passenger side is sopping wet. I do not have a sunroof, and the only area of the car getting wet is the 15"x15" or so area on the floor board. Way too much water to just be snow melt from the floor mat. Up front on the passenger side is bone dry, my first thought was a clogged A/C drain line. The door frame/trim there is also dry--I thought it might be leaking through there somehow. How else could the water be getting there? Thanks! Brian

My '95 had 82,000 miles when I got it back in 2004 and now has over 212,000. Past two inspections it hasn't needed a thing. Biggest unanticipated repair I've had lately was a right front wheel bearing last month--left one is starting to get noisy so that one is next but can't complain, stuff wears out! Do all the regular maintenance and don't let little problems turn into big problems and you'll be fine.

My car is a 2003 OB Limited Wagon with 74K. One of the backlight bulbs lighting up the left portion of my instrument cluster seems to have died (fuel gauge, lower left part of speedometer). For the last few months it would intermittently not work, but could be resurrected with a whack to the dashboard. This morning, no such luck. How difficult/labor intensive (expensive?) of a fix is this? How many bulbs are there? The right side (temp gauge) occasionally needs a dashboard whack, so I'm thinking it might be on the way out too. Probably a good bet to replace them all at once? Thanks, Brian

Posted in the wanted, we're checkin' some hubcap places too. Trying to cover all our bases

I already posted in the classified, but was curious if anyone has had success or knows of a brand of aftermarket hubcaps that would work for a '97 Impreza L? My dad's missing two, and the set we tried from Autozone did not work... tabs were too long and there was no way those buggers were going on! What a bad idea on Subaru's part! Brian

This is what I've heard too. My independent Suby shop says they've only had a few after about 2004 models.

What is the percentage of EJ25's that have had HG problems vs. the total # of EJ25's on the road? Anyone know? More specifically, compare that percentage for Phase I vs. Phase II. Now compare the percentage of owners/posters on this forum, or any other Subaru forum to the total number of Subaru owners. So how bad is it really? Many times, but not always, people gravitate to forms to find an answer to a problem, so I'm asking if the perspective could be a bit skewed? I'm not denying that Subaru could have handled the whole situation better. I think they were in denial too long, and took too long to fix it once they admitted the problem. I'm also not denying that overall it seems that the EJ25 is not quite as bullet-proof as the EJ22's, particularly the pre-interference iteration of the EJ22. But every time I drive my '03 outback, which did have a HG external leak at 30K that was fixed, I realize how much smoother and quieter it is than any of my family's EJ22 Subarus. Plus, it gets the same gas mileage with 30 more hp in a big heavy car like the OB! Just trying to provide another point of view for the OP. Brian

I thought Subaru had a TSB/Recall program for this issue in their Turbo motors? Anyone? Brian

I'm not disputing the ice instability of the '05's, as I have no knowledge to say one way or the other.. sounds like a suspension geometry design flaw, but I also wonder whether Subaru's tire/wheel choice exacerbates the inherent instability? I agree with this. Even my '03 OB that has much larger tires than our other Subarus (mid-late 90s Imprezas and Legacies) is less sure-footed in bad weather. The solution: slow down. Back to this situation: an outback isn't a sports car. It's a tall, heavy quasi-suv that probably shouldn't be driven this fast just because it can be. Should it be behaving this way? Probably not, but I think a little common sense should rule. Brian

Of all my family's Subarus (an Impreza, Legacy, Legacy wagon, Impreza Outback, Outback), I think my dad's 97 Impreza sedan is the least reassuring in the snow. I think it's mainly because of the short wheelbase, performance all season tires, and the lack of ABS. We should probably all remember that just because we're driving an all wheel drive car doesn't mean we can drive faster than "regular" cars in the snow. Brian