Juan

1,200 miles new. Parked. Engine idling. Synching iPhone Bluetooth while plugging into USB port. Hands nowhere near key. MAX A/C running. Headlights in full on position with fogs. THE ENGINE SIMPLY DIES. OFF. DEAD. AC blower stays on. No bells. No chimes. No warnings. Nothing. Turned key off and restarted nicely, even while still under full battery load with lights and air conditioning on high. Key fob issue? Anti theft? System overload? Would have been a 'bear' coming down out of the trees on a winding road. What if the power steering and power breaks failed AND I lost Led Zeppelin all at once? Any ideas?

I would like to say that simply because it is in the manual, doesn't make it a good idea. The manual says "sport mode" (manual mode) will shift up for you all by it's self-automatically. Don't worry about shifting up. Let it ride. I did that for a couple days in a loaner Subie. Great fun but, certainly would have trashed the engine shifting at red-line-governed trip points at pea-wad-fk RPMs. Can't see even a Subie taking such continual abuse. Would never subject my daily driver to that. Read your owner's manual under "sport shift" and give it a try. You will do it exactly TWICE-unless it is a loaner. Please let us know how that turns out for you. Seriously.

Still doubt that the antenna is in the floor board. I'm going with: not.

Would have never even imagined my antenna was right under my heal. Weird. How do you know it is there?

Good point, 1 Lucky. I thought this thread popped up yesterday and started at the top. I'll be more observant next time. Although, I did like the off-topic insight as to why VW parts may be so expensive.

Wow. When I take my '05 OB in for the timeing belt, are they going to flash the ECU without asking? If so, I'll take it to non-dealer. Juan.

All turned out well. Free wheel bearing on S.O.A.'s dime. Comments saved me $377. I printed the service bulletin which I found on line, gathered it together with my1-inch thick stack of reciepts from the past 9 years and took them to the service manager in person (along with his business card which was left in my car after the last oil change asking me to please give him a good review if S.O.A. contacted me.. I personally explained the wheel baering/warranty situation to him and told him I would like the bearing repaired under warranty. He explained that my vehicle was 3,000 miles and one year outside of the extended warranty BUT that I should call S.O.A. and tell them about it: he wrote the number down for me. I called S.O.A. They got back to me in a week and authorized the repair under warranty. WOW. Nothing out of pocket except 2 hours of my time. I think going down there in person with the service manager's business card on top of a stack of receipts and simply walkng up and telling him what I wanted, and why, made the difference. Now I'm going have the timing belt done and I'm going to take the car there. The knows he is going to make money on me. Thanks to all for your comments and suggestions.

I see it now. I thought he meant the price difference between the Outback and the Forester was between AU$2k and 3.5k (US$1,800 to 3,300) Missed the used part. Now I'm wondering what an US$1,800 Australian Outback looks like.

You're going to buy a new Subaru and beat it up for five months and then leave it in Australia? You can't take it home with you, the steering wheel is on the wrong side. You're going to take quite a hit when you sell it back to the dealer as used. I suggest renting. Get a good insurance policy and beat the crap out of it. I I like Outbacks. About 8 inches of ground clearance. Rent one with a roo bar. Just my opinion.

This makes me mad. The Subaru shop should have let me know about this two years ago when I told them the left rear was humming. ...................................................................................................................................................... "Subaru. has initiated an Extended Warranty Program for Rear Wheel Bearings on certain 2005 and early 2006 model year Legacy and Outback models. Coverage will be extended to 8 years or 100,000 miles. During a quality review, Subaru discovered that there is a possibility that one or both of an affected vehicle's Rear Wheel Bearings may, over time, develop a noise condition that causes the bearing to produce a whining sound. This sound does not pose a safety issue and does not adversely affect the normal operation of the bearing. However, if the vehicle experiences this condition, it should be corrected by replacing the affected bearing, which will eliminate the sound. As a result of this finding and in the interest of customer satisfaction, SOA is extending the Rear Wheel Bearing warranty coverage period for the affected vehicles to 8 years (96 months) or 100,000 miles, whichever occurs first. Technical Service Bulletin number 03-58-08" I have the reciept from the Subie shop for an oil change when I told them the rear wheel was humming. The reciept says they found nothing wrong. The milage and the date on the reciept are well within the extended warranty coverage (90k and 7 years.) My car is out of warranty, now. Can I complain and get the bearing replaced as per the warranty because the Subi shop messed up and basically screwed me over?

The rear wheel bearing on my '05 OBWagon is shot. Three months ago the Subie shop said, "Mechanic said he grabbed it and could move it around." Been humming for three years. How long will it last? I can live with the humm, but is the rear end going to blow up if I don't fix it soon? Thanks.

Thanks, grossgary. I'll keep an ear on them and keep posting. Next stop: 105,000-mile timing belt change in 2,000 miles. Juan

You where absolutely correct, Dinky. Took it up the street to small shop and had them replace both axels. I figured if two boots where shot, two more coudn't be far behind AND the right one was clunking. When they called me to come pick it up they said. "You where right. It needed both axles replaced." They showed me the old axles. Right one was shot. Left one was loose. Total repair $460 and drives like a charm. The Subaru shop would have got me in there for inner boots for $454. They would have "discovered" that both axles needed replaced for $650. They would have had me over a barrel and into a rental for $40 because my only rig would have been up on the rack for another day. After Shop Fees and Haz Mat Fees etc. I would have been into it, two days later, for a good $700 Thanks. I saved $240 because of what you guys/gals know in here.

'05 Outback 2.5i. Dealer says "left and right inner CV boots torn open" and "steam clean off grease from exhaust." Wants to replace both boots for $454. Shouldn't I assume that the CV joints are contaminated and will soon fail? No telling how long ago the boots tore "open" -they didn't notice at last oil change. Am I simply tossing away money that will be needed later to replace the joints? Not sure how much two front CV joints are going to run, but I'm willing to pay to get it done right in the first place. I am hearing click/clunks on the right-hand side at any accelerating right turn from standing stop. What do you think?

Job location changed and I ran two quarts low all of a sudden *(over six months) when I began driving 30 minutes round-trip per day at speeds of 65-75 mph at 3k+rpm. I NEVER had a problem with oil consumption over same milage/time interval traveling surface streets to work -the Subie shop would have mentioned it, right? I'm back to surface streets, new job location, same milage/time interval and have added 1/2 quart over past six months to keep it topped up. Sure, NOW I check my oil at each fill up. Sure, NOW I'm going to replace the PVC valve. Sure, NOW I'm going to ask the Subie dealer, 30+ oil changes and 100,000 miles since new, why they have never mentioned PVC valve. I have never believed in 3,000 mile oil changes. I peg it at 5,000. When is the best time to check oil level? Stone cold? Fire hot? Luke warm? I get different readings between the notches/holes at different temps.

If ANY gas dribbles outside the filler neck, you will ALWAYS get the fuel smell inside. Your first pit stop in your new rig? Maybe you missed. Juan

Do I need to replace the AT fluid as general maintenance at 90k on my 2005 Outback Wagon? Going to have the plugs and drive belts replaced. Brake fluid maybe? Had brakes done at 71k. Was that enough "bleeding" instead of replace? Anything else, at this point, that should be done, not just what the dealer wants to sell me? Dealer tried to tell me I needed the timing belt replaced at 60k. Juan Thanks Juan

OK. Picture attemptS: An hour figuring out how to send a few pictures isn't too bad, is it? Brakes so simple a cave man could do them? Juan, the neanderthal

Wanted to post how this turned out: Had dealer do front brakes at 70K -save all parts (funny look). Took brake pads home and examined them. Brakes were not squeaking because ONE pad was worn on ONE outside corner almost to the backing. The wear was not near the "squeaker". In fact, the pad was really nice EXCEPT on that one corner. (Too bad they couldn't have shown me that when they told me I had "...zero front brakes. Zippity-doo-dah front brakes." I would have had them done right away.) All the other pads were beautiful with fully defined mid channels nice even wear and plenty, in my layman's opinion, of life left on them. So. It looks like that is one reason a brake pad won't emit a loud audible warning when in need of replacement. NOW: any idea as to why one pad wore this way? I'll never know which corner it was on. I can imagine the look on the service guy's face if I asked him to save parts and note location of removal. Juan

Brakes are orginal equipment. I guess it all boils down to their defintion of "zero brakes." I may take it back and ask for that defintion, but these are the same dealer people who told me I needed a scheduled timing belt replacement at 60,000 miles. Manual says 90,000. Juan

In for routine oil change on "05 Outback. Dealership. Service tells me I have "Zero front brakes". Hard to believe. There is no indication of wear either audible, as the manual mentions, or otherwise. The discs feel fine: smooth on both sides with a barely detectable lip. Besides, wouldn't they have noticed such a drastic situation 3 months ago at last service? I know they all need replacing --it's got 60,000 miles on it-- just not today. Am I at risk here? Juan

Great thread. I have an '05. Never knew about the fuse thing. Will re-read my manual. Question: Can I use Fix-a-Flat confident in the expectation of NO torque bind? Juan

Rubber smell is gone, but so is the slush and wet pavement Could it have been the new tires were throwing road de-icer up onto hot parts? They don't use salt in Portland, Oregon. ODOT and the city spray a LOT of de-icer of some sort all over the place. It coated my car and forced me to go through an entire gallon of 20/10 windshield wash in five days. I still want to look at the CV boots. Embarrassed to say: I'm not quite sure where they would be; near the engine, the wheels or both? Jess

So far there has been nothing visible, just distinct rubber smell at full stop/full heater (kinda like a hot tennis shoe near the fire.) I'll pop the hood and look around/under tomorrow and note findings. Jess

Thanks, nipper. I'll do that right away. Since I got the tires on, I've been able to go darn near anywhere. I'm guessing driving through deep, ice crusted snow might tear a CV boot? Jess