swc7916

I have had dealings with 2 dealerships in my area (Seattle): Chaplin's and Eastside. I have purchased 5 Subarus from Chaplin's. Both their sales and service are first-rate. Eastside's sales department sucks but their service rocks. I had a coolant smell in my 2001 Outback and took it to Eastside without an appointment to see if they could tell me what the problem was - they took it in, diagnosed it as a headgasket problem, and had it fixed by the next morning! And under warantee too!

The Baja hood should work.

I don't really know, but with a remote the first hit unlocks the driver's door and the second hit unlocks the rest of the doors. What if you hit your power lock switch twice?

I vote for the parking pawl being jammed.

I have had 5 Subarus with the 2.5 liter engine and had no pinging with any of them with any brand of regular gasoline. I have used Arco, Safeway and Chevron with no pinging anytime and under any load.

In the past couple of weeks we have taken two trips of 350+ miles, one in the 2002 Ouback and one in the 2004 Outback. The 2002 got 28 mpg (and that included driving over the North Cascades Highway) and the 2004 got just over 27 mpg. I have found that it takes a long time for the fuel gauge to go from full to half-full but after that the needle drops rapidly. I always fill before the tank gets below 1/4 full.

Is that how it's done - You disconnect the battery and hold down the brake pedal? How hard to you have to depress the pedal and for how long? How does the TCU reset when there is no power to it?

My Baja definitely rides and handles differently from my two Outbacks. I like the Baja better - it seems to be higher and a little stiffer. Is the suspension system in the Bajas different than the Outbacks?

If you have $20k to spend, buy new. You know the history of the car and you get a warantee. My 2003 Baja was a left-over that had arrived at the dealership in late 2003 after the 2004s were in and didn't sell. I bought in the fall of 2004 for $17,950 with 10 miles on it. I purchased my 2004 Outback when the dealer was advertising $49 over invoice minus holdbacks, and there was a $1500 factory rebate on top of that! The car cost under $21k before tax and license.

I like Subarus but their automatic transmissions are a sore point with me. I have had experience with 5 Legacys with the automatic transmission, and they are all different. I don't like the transmission in my '04 Outback - it upshifts too early and downshifts too late. I especially hate it when I try to accelerate from about 35 mph and am stuck below 3000 rpms because it won't downshift. The thing that really irks me is that I traded a '00 Outback for it because I didn't like ITS' transmission. I liked the way my '96 Outback shifted - it was almost too hard-shifting. My wife's '02 Outback is a great car; all of the appropriate planets must have been alignment when it was built. My '03 Baja is also a great car. I have complained to the dealership about the shifting problems and I have been told that Subaru fine-tunes the shifting of the transmission each year based on customer comments. Apparently, people complained that the positive-shifting transmission that I prefer is too "violent" for them (that's the word the shop forman used.) I have driven an '05 Legacy and it's transmission shifted far better than mine. If I buy another Subaru, I am almost considering getting a manual transmission so that I have control over which gear the car is in. One thing to try is to drive the car harder so that the transmission "learns" a different shift pattern. I have found that it has helped with mine. It seems that if I drive the car really easy it learns that driving style and won't respond when I want it to.

Wow, you have a lot of pictures! Your camera must be really greasy, you wash your hands a lot, or you have someone else take the pix for you.

I've been in a Wal-Mart once.

I used to be particular about the oil that went in my cars and only used Valvoline, but anymore I've gotten to where I use whatever is on sale or is the lowest price at Costco. This week it is Chevron. Since I change the oil every 3 months or 3,000 miles and always replace the filter with a genuine Subaru filter, I figure that any brand-name oil is as good as the next. In reading the Suburb Service website (an independent Subaru garage near Seattle) I found this statement: "We use factory-recommended Castrol in you car, plus we use only GENUINE SUBARU oil filters. The other guys typically use high paraffin base, less expensive motor oil..." Does the factory recommend Castrol motor oil? Is there a quantifiable difference between motor oils? What oil do you use?

Please don't presume to lecture me about debt - I don't owe a thing for any of my cars; they were all purchased new and paid for in cash. I may be willing to buy more expensive cars than you would, but that is my business. Ok, off MY soapbox. ;-P

What a bunch of cheapskates! You pay $20,000.00+ for a car and then want to save a few bucks on spark plugs! I agree that $60.00 for 4 plugs is kind of expensive but it's only once every other major service. I have 4 platinum plugs that I bought on eBay and don't have a use for because my 1996 Outback was totalled last October.

Just follow the maintenance schedule (like you would any other car) and enjoy! I have gotten the best service from genuine Subaru parts, especially oil filters and brake pads. I don't price-shop for gas; I use Chevron exclusively. The AWD shouldn't be an issue until you have to replace the tires or have the car towed. Always replace all 4 tires at the same time, even if one is damaged and the others still have good tread on them. Read the manual for towing instructions. I had a 1987 Subaru GL 4WD with the hill-holder and liked it.

You have a good point; how a car fits you is the deciding factor in purchasing a car. I have tried a number of cars that were highly rated and I wanted to like, but I wouldn't buy because I didn't like the fit. It's bad enough with two pedals to deal with, but three can complicate things. I barely liked driving our (now deceased) 2005 Outback Sport because the clutch travel was too long; when I adjusted the seat so that I could operate the clutch, the gas and brake pedals were too close for comfort. My wife is especially sensitive to this - most of the reason that we have Subarus is because she likes the fit. The new ones have too much brake/gas pedal offset and the seat cushions are longer, so we probably won't replace either of our Legacys with a new one.

What's a cargo jacket?

We have twice towed a U-Haul trailer loaded with household goods between San Francisco and Seattle with our 2003 Baja. I would estimate that the load was in excess of 1500 lbs, especially the second time. Towing through the Siskiyous was no fun; there are several grades that are over a mile long and we were down to 40 mph on some of them. Rough or buckled pavement was terrible to drive on. In general, though, the car did pretty well but if I were to purchase a Subaru thinking that I would be pulling a trailer regularly, it would be a 6-cylinder one.

Ick! I do have a question about the 2006 Imprezas: From rumors that I have seen on the web, the Impreza will get the 173 hp 2.5 liter engine that the new Forester will have and the WRX will get the 230 hp turbo engine in the 2006 Forester XT. Will this make the WRX an Impreza XT? Is this a good/bad/neutral thing? How will this engine compare with the 227 hp 2.0 liter engine currently in the WRX? Should I run out and buy another 2005 WRX?

I just towed a 5x8 U-Haul trailer from San Francisco to Seattle with my 2003 Baja - it is no fun, especially in the mountains. The Baja is rated to tow 2400 lbs and even though most of the after-market hitch makers say their hitches are Class II rated, the factory hitch is Class I rated. I would not tow more than 2000 lbs with a Forester unless it is only for a short distance. To read an on-line manual, create an account on MySubaru.com. You will need to enter your VIN.

Cool!

I am considering a short-throw shifter for my new WRX and would like to know if anyone has experience with one. Subaru sells one for the car but I see that there are also after-market manufacturers. If you have one, do you like it? How difficult are they to install? Do you recommend the official Subaru part or are there better after-market shifters? Thanks.

About the armrest extension: I had the dealer swap it out. It might be OK with an automatic transmission, but with the 5-speed manual I hit my elbow on it.

I use Zaino Z-2 for clear-coat finishes on the entire car including the plastic and windshield. A note on preparation: The Zaino site recommends first thoroughly washing the car with Dawn to remove all waxes and oils from the finish. Then clay bar the finish using either soapy water or their Z-6 gloss enhancer as a lubricant. Dry the car to remove all water spots (mineral deposits) before applying the Z-2 (be sure to use ZFX.) 2 ounces will cover the car. Subsequent coats will use less. This stuff is great. It lasts longer than conventional waxes and if you keep you car clean you won't have to through the whole washing/clarbar process again. Just apply a coat of Z-2 every month or two and the car will stay slick and shiny. I don't sell Zaino products or have any financial interest in the company. I only know that I was tired of using conventional waxes and having them leave white residue in the crevasses or hardening so much that it was impossible to buff off.