Blatchara Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 About 6 weeks ago, I had an unsettling experience with my 2000 Legacy GT (130K miles). The exhaust system was making quite a lot of noise, so I knew I had to get it in for repair. Before I could, though, I hit a pothole on a dirt road, and the muffler dropped. No big deal, you say, if it's happened to you in other cars. However, in this model/year, the muffler is held by hangers only at the rear. The front of the muffler dropped, dug into the dirt, and the back end of the car "pole-vaulted" over it, causing a huge lift. Fortunately, I was going straight, and didn't slide off the road. Unfortunately, it bent the entire trunk/quarterpanel up a couple of inches, requiring several thousand bucks to fix. I now have a "major accident" listed on my insurance. Has this happened to others, or others you know of? I don't know of any service bulletins or recalls, but would be glad to hear of any that exist. Any suggestions? I am thinking of reporting this to NTSB, as it could cause a pretty major loss of control if it happened during a corner. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 Wow, this is the first i heard of this with an exhuast system. With stiffer emission and noise standards, exhaust systems have gotten beefier (look how rare one has to be relplaced here). Sadly it looks like you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. On the bright side, your OK. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave833 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 I dropped the entire exhaust system on my '95 Legacy to do some trans work last weekend and couldn't believe how HEAVY it is in one piece! Sorry about your accident- it's the first I've ever heard about something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon38iowa Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 I went against the shops recomendation of " wait and see." Instead, I had the muffler and its cross over piple replaced, as well as the hangers of course. Sometimes preventitive maintenance is really the best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RallyKeith Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Are you sure the hanger isn't what initially failed and caused your problem? I'm pretty sure that ever year has two hangers at the rear and one just before the flange, on the back side of the rear cross member. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomson1355 Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Amazing story. How does the insurance company get away with calling a mechanical failure a "major accident"? I'd have a talk with them. Did it happen on a dirt road in the Amherst area? I'm familiar with many of them. My roots are in the area. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatchara Posted June 22, 2007 Author Share Posted June 22, 2007 Once I cut the muffler loose, I got a pretty good look at it--no hanger in the front. The guys at the shop that I talked to said that the hangers began appearing in the 2001 model. Someone must have noticed the omission. This happened on Long Hill Road in Leverett, MA. By coincidence, it was about 500 feet from the spot that someone pulling from their driveway failed to notice my car and pulled out in front of me. Oh yeah--he also failed to notice the 17 foot red canoe on top. At least the insurance company didn't say that was my fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 Oh yeah--he also failed to notice the 17 foot red canoe on top. so , did hte canoe become a missle or a torpedo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatchara Posted June 22, 2007 Author Share Posted June 22, 2007 so , did hte canoe become a missle or a torpedo? Fortunately, it was on tightly, and the speed at impact was about 2 mph. Still cost them 1100 bucks, mostly for a new bumper cover. It's a nice image, though, of the startled driver staring at the prow of a canoe in the window... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 22, 2007 Share Posted June 22, 2007 you had noise prior to failure, so i wouldn't call this a defect or safety issue. let any noise on a major component go and it could potentially cause issues. CV boots, axle, driveshafts, ball joints, wheel bearings...all typically make noise prior to failure. continue to drive those and serious consequences are possible. in the northeast, rust is a big issue. i've seen rust cause major...unsafe suspension issues. tires rubbing against the inside of the vehicle and other bad things. most inspections are way overkill, but looking for rust and actual safety issues is one good thing about them. if this passed safety inspection then they missed it. unfortunately on the late 90's legacy GT's, the most common failure point of the exhaust is covered by heat shield...you can still see the exhaust, but might prompt an easy glance over of the joints that usually fail. it is highly, highly unlikely for the exhaust not to give notice...like at least have a hair line fracture or leak of some sort. it would have to rust so thin over such a large area that it reaches failure right before any holes developed...highly unlikely i would think. never heard of that before either, but i have wondered about the exhaust and drive shaft doing this, coming loose under the vehicle. i always assumed the weight of the car would just crush the pipe or push it in some way....particularly if it's rusted enough to come off. sounds to me like all the stars aligned in a very bad way. glad to hear it turned out okay...minus all the damage and insurance crap of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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