Juan

Forget the Outback and find a Legacy L with a 2.2 engine. NEVER had a problem with mine. Still, make sure the timing belt has been changed if over 60,000 miles. Oh, and how could you live with that non-functional Ouback "hood scoop"? Find a Legacy. Lose the Outback (for that year). Juan

Take the plate and screw it right onto the bumper. I really don't see a problem with this. It's what I did to my '05. Plenty of ground clearance. You won't smack a curb and bend it. The car wash certainly won't effect it. There is no need for a bracket, unless you want to advertise for your favorite dealer. I get a kick out of people who use the dealer's brakets like it's a cool, free promo. Take a look around next time you're out and count the number of dealer plate brackets you see. What's up with that? Just screw the plate on. Really. You don't need a bracket. Juan

Think twice about disabling the chirps of your keyless-lock remote. The buttons on the fob are so touchy that you can too easily unlock your car and never know it. I just re-enabled my chirps after a couple months. Got tired of carefully holding my keys until I was out of range of the remote. Now I can just drop them in my pocket and listen as I walk away. Seriously, you'll never know if you bumped the unlock button and your car is sitting there wide open. It's a serious flaw in the system. I'm thinking of making a vinyl "bag" to slip around my remote so that I really have to try to lock/unlock the car. Juan

Here is my rule of thumb for warming up my '05 OBW A.T.--- Get in car and don't put on seat belt. Turn key to ACC and listen for fuel pump to fully charge. Turn key and start engine. *First seatbelt warning chimes activates* - Wait for *second seatbelt warning chime* to END. Fasten seatbelt and drive gently. Don't rev past 3k until temp needle hits first "notch". Don't rev past 4k until temp needle is showing operating temp. In other words: start it, set heater, seats, mirrors, radio etc and go. Long idle times simply waste gas and needlessly wear parts ie. belts, hoses, alternators, fans, pumps etc. Juan

And well you should be, Gnu. Here is how it will happen (set your own time-frame from this.) Government decides folks can't be trusted to use hands-free cell phones while driving; mandates OEM of hands-free cells in every auto which jams any secondary cell phone use in vehicle. OEM cell just happens to be linked to all vehical functions for the purpose of safety monitoring -similar to ON STAR- which in the case of emergency can be overidden to prevent your dangerous driving. It is all for everyones safety that someone controls your car when you won't/can't, right? Just my thoughts. Remember: ON STAR is ALWAYS on! Juan

Fly-by-wire throttle in Subarus simply suck. They are just plain sloppy. I"m not certain about other car makers, but Subaru sucks in this regard. Juan

I want to do this because I'm getting tired of stepping into it to merge, pass etc. and having to watch the tach. I'd rather keep my eyes on the road and enjoy. With the new "throttle-by-wire" system, I can never tell how far I'm actually stepping into it; a spring is a spring and the response lag is intolerable. There simply is no feel for the throttle position relative to the pedal position -like when they were linked by an acutual cable. On my old Subie, '98, pedal resistance was valuable input and I never took the thing above 5,000 RPM and loved every rev. I'm just looking for a comfortable/fun way to drive this thing. So far, it's simply a chore and no fun AT ALL. Juan

'05 OBW (auto tranny) owner's manual says that fuel cut off won't let me rev the engine into danger. Can I just wind the pea wad out of it and not worry that I am damaging the engine? If something did blow, would it be covered under warranty because the fuel cut off should have prevented failure? What are your thoughts? Ps. Owner's manual also says that engine-safe top speed in second is 64mph. That would be at the red line, I'm sure. Juan

How do you pronounce it: Dubbleyou are eks?I had an Aussie telling me about the new "Wahrex" a few years back. Is this an Aussie/Euro pronunciation thing? Juan

The reason I don't "...just turn the cruise control off..." is because the particular stretch of highway downgrade which brings the cruise problem to light is a notorious speed trap. I set the cruise at 62mph to avoid getting a speeding ticket. I want a new, recalibrated CPU too. Juan

You're lucky. The seatbelt clip on my '98 wagon hung up in the door jam and busted the interior-light button clean off. It was a constent problem with the seatbelt not retracting. My '05 is still kind of weak when retracting but I'll keep an eye on the grime at the top of the inlet. Thanks. Juan

I took a look at my '05 OBW manual. A couple minutes of reading and here is what I found: When you turn /adjust the brightness level of your insrumentation/display panals using the small wheel under the remote mirror adjusting knob, the trip odometer will display the illumination (ILL) level from 4 to 7 for a short period of time. Thus, ILL.4 tells you the dash/display illumination is at level 4. Maybe you are bumping it when you turn on the wiper heaters or something. There may be something deeper going on but someone would have to pull out/up an actual service manual. Still, I find it amusing that your Subaru tech wasn't aware of this. I'd say take your car soemwhere else from now on. He/she obviously doesn't know what time it is. Juan

Are the '06 O.B.s higher off the ground? An extra inch of ground clearance with 17inch tires would be nice. I'd take the 17s for this reason alone. Tires cost money no matter what size they are. The few extra dollars for larger tires (and chains) is pocket change if you can afford an '06 Outback. Bye the way, what is the difference in price between the two vehicles you are considering? That would be the deciding factor for me (I like to keep my pockets full of change.) Jess

Could swear I saw something in the owner's manual about trip odometer flashing as you describe. As I recall, it has something to do with neglected maintanance, disregarded warning lights or security system malfunction. I'll pull the manual next time I'm in mine and take a look. Jess

I think the folks at Subaru are on top of your complaints. The 2005 (6?) doesn't allow use of brights and fogs at the same time. Still, I wonder if the fogs shut down when I pull back on the lever to flash the brights. I will have to check. I drive with my lights full on all the time -not just in 'default' driving-light mode- and keep my fogs on 90% of the time as to be seen. I figure it's less expensive for me to replace bulbs than to have someone repair my car. I don't think people get into a head-on because of bright fogs. Been driving for thirty years in Pacific Northwest and the thought never even crossed my mind. Jess

My '05 OBW dash rattles just left of instruments. If I press down on the dash near the defrost vent it stops until I let up. It's getting anoying and I'm going to have to take it in. Problem is, it doesn't happen all the time and I don't think I can replicate it at the dealer. Juan

Took me two days to notice the crappy gas pedel position , and my 98L WAS much quicker than my current 'O5 OBW; hands down. This thing is a slug when I step into it. Juan

Won't snow and ice packing around hot cylinder heads and engine block crack them? Happened to me in my OLD Firebird after ramming through piled snow in a parking lot; cracked the block. Just seems that the boxer heads are more exposed. What do you think? Juan

The Web site makes no mention of the recall on my '98 Legacy L in which the rear differential seal(s) were replaced due to leaking on hot exhaust system. Juan

Buy the one that you can drive without getting a back/butt/leg/knee ache. In other words; test drive each for a minimum of twenty miles. If the dealer won't let you do this, move along because it will be the Subaru dealer and he's/she's hiding something. Juan

My '98 2.2 L wagon topped out at 112mph too. It was hardly pushing 5,000 RPM and wasn't loud at all. In fact, it wasn't until the computer cut the fuel and stalled the engine that my wife woke up. You're right, powder, I thought something had blown. Turned out the only thing blown that day was my wife's fuse when she woke up and saw how fast we were going. Juan

There was a Subaru recall on all the '98 auto linkages. Was yours completed? Also, don't believe the owner's manual. There is no way to get the armrest plate over the shift knob unless you remove the knob from the linkage, or bust the plastic plate. I'm guessing your recall work wasn't completed. Juan

You're right, Steve. I didn't test drive my new OB as well as I should have. Having driven my old wagon for more than eight years, I simply assumed that I would, again, be a highly satisfied Subaru customer. I never even considered looking at another brand when I went to replace my beloved old wagon. Don't get me wrong, I'm still high on Subaru quality and safety. However, as a Subaru customer, my level of satisfaction with my recent purchase is dramatically less than the level of satisfaction associated with my last subaru purchase. Is it my own fault for not taking a longer test drive? Probably so. Has my customer level of stisfaction dropped dramatically? Yes. Will I strongly consider other brands when I go to replace this OBW? Yes. Will I take longer/harder test drives next time? You bet ya. Juan

Traded '98 L wagon for 05 OBW and I can tell you why there is lower satisfaction: Too heavy. Underpowered. Auto tranny defines SLUSHBOX! Unresponsive fly-by-wire throttle, EXTREMELY uncomfortable seats, and seating positions. Classified as a Utility Vehicle (UT) as per DMV and insurance definitions. If you must have a Subaru, stick to the Legacy. There is NO reason to pay more for an OB, well, unless you NEED an extra inch-and-1/2 of ground clearance. Juan

I was dropping nothing of the sort. I was thinking of dropping the other shoe but... Wait a minute! Where did that shoe go? Oh. There it is. You're wearing it, Richard. Now. On to cars. Why aren't car reviewers calling this thing ugly? Afraid to lose Subie advertising $$? Unspoken car review rule that you don't disrespect a manufacturer? It couldn't possibly be that most of them find this thing 'not' ugly, could it? Juan