February 1, 200917 yr Are there any Subaru Diesel drivers from across the pond on this board? I'm wondering if any one has seen or heard anything about reliability. I know it's a bit soon for headgasket or other issues but I was just wondering. My 95 Wagon is finally starting to dissolve from 14 years of Chicago road salt and she might have to be taken out to the Subaru pasture. I love the new Legacy, er, Outback wagons but the gas mileage leaves something to be desired. Hopefully we'll see the diesel over here soon...
February 1, 200917 yr On the outback board there are quite a few. Some of them are whining because they dont have automatic nose blowers or some such things. The one thing they do seem to have a legit concern about (but is true to all diesels) is the passenger cabin seems to be slow to warm up. Most these complaints are coming from sweeden and norway. Also under heavy acceleration they smoke somewhat (again diesels do that). Otherwise they seem happy with them. nipper
February 2, 200917 yr Maybe you`ll Like to See this Thread: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=95473 it is not Exactly a Report, but a Original Brochure
February 2, 200917 yr Maybe you`ll Like to See this Thread: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=95473 it is not Exactly a Report, but a Original Broshure Sheesh 6 mouse clicks and it still won't download... http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15247&highlight=diesel http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15000&highlight=diesel http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14293&highlight=diesel
February 2, 200917 yr Sheesh 6 mouse clicks and it still won't download... it isn`t a Direct Download Link, it is a Link where you can Find the Download Link
February 2, 200917 yr I would be happy if Subaru gave me one of these, a gas card, a credit card for hotels and meals, a 50K or so a year salary and said bring back the car in a year with over 100K on it (basically drive the heck out of it to test it out)
February 3, 200917 yr so now who is gonna pic one of theas up when its wrecked and do the first ea:grin: to boxer turbo diesel:banana:
February 3, 200917 yr so now who is gonna pic one of theas up when its wrecked and do the first ea:grin: to boxer turbo diesel:banana: Un fortunitly that may be neerly impossible. The people on the subaru/vanagon list are asking the same thing. It turns out thier ECU is CAN bus type. In plain english it means it is mulitplexed with the rest of the car. It is a digital system, not an analog, so its very hard to fake things out. Also one may need the entrie car to do the first conversion, as who-knows what talks to what to make it run. So it would be a challange, but hey, someone will be crazy enough, er um, daring to take the lead. nipper
February 3, 200917 yr will attempt to find a wrecked car....may be years away. they arent even here yet.
February 3, 200917 yr Un fortunitly that may be neerly impossible. The people on the subaru/vanagon list are asking the same thing. It turns out thier ECU is CAN bus type. In plain english it means it is mulitplexed with the rest of the car. It is a digital system, not an analog, so its very hard to fake things out. Also one may need the entrie car to do the first conversion, as who-knows what talks to what to make it run. So it would be a challange, but hey, someone will be crazy enough, er um, daring to take the lead. nipper In any reasonable networked system, if non-critical parts of the system are missing it should just chug along without them. I mean, if the computer expects to see something on the CAN bus that's not required for engine control, it should just ignore the error, more or less. Of course everything down to the ignition key is probably networked... http://www.vector.com/vi_controller_area_network_en,,223.html?gclid=CNSurfuBwZgCFQu-GgodiiGubQ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controller_Area_Network I'd say the barrier to entry for fiddling around is a bit higher, but probably the potential for doing cool stuff is also greater. Dave
February 3, 200917 yr The ignition key is netowrked as part of the anyt-theft stuff to the ECU. SO that means you need the switch also, or some work around. nipper
February 3, 200917 yr Plenty of workarounds are available in the aftermarket. Right down to aftermarket CAN-bus guages. Usually, that's for boats and such, but it'll work. There are bypass interfaces for CAN-bus ignition systems that get around the key, so you can forget the key cylinder. I'd bet it can be done. Hell, if worse comes to worse, you can just MegaSquirt it. Though I admit that a full-on BCM in an EA car would be frickin' awesome.
February 4, 200917 yr Because Peak torque is 1800 I'm still envisioning electrical generator possibilities.
February 4, 200917 yr Standalone management anyone? Seems like the way to go on a CAN system. i'm all ears It's a standard, so its just a multiplexed system. Basically how hard can it be
February 10, 201016 yr Hi, i have a Forseter Diesel since august 2009 and it has 20000km (12000miles). True its a bit long before its warm in the car but then it gets really hot - and in the meantime the heated seats are great - winter so far has been really cold with - 15 celsius (i live close to Cantal the coldest place in France) and snow for weeks. No issue at all with the engine so far - it takes a few second (up to 7) to start when its really cold outside (the car sleeps outside). The diesel engine (as all modern diesels) is sensitive to the quality of the fuel you put in it (cheap diesel is noisier and mileage is not as good). Mileage is at worse below 7 liters for 100km and at best 5.8 for 100km (this is real mileage calculated at the gas station... the computer is more optimistic (by 12% in my case). Last but not least the diesel is really quiet and there is no vibration at all (less than my previous Volvo D5 or my neighbors Mercedes E220CDI), on the other hand the road noise is too high. Overall a great machine
February 10, 201016 yr Seems there are some reports of premature clutch failures over the pond. nipper
February 10, 201016 yr Seems there are some reports of premature clutch failures over the pond. nipper Guess the clutches can't handle the diesel engine's torque
February 10, 201016 yr Guess the clutches can't handle the diesel engine's torque Thats my thinking. There have been some complaints that 1st gear may not be a low enough ratio. Sooby may have thought with the engine torque they could get away with a taller gear, but the clutch is taking the brunt fo the abuse. Another clue is that some people have noticed that the sweet spot for starting from a stop takes a little getting used to.
February 11, 201016 yr Thats my thinking. There have been some complaints that 1st gear may not be a low enough ratio. Sooby may have thought with the engine torque they could get away with a taller gear, but the clutch is taking the brunt fo the abuse. Another clue is that some people have noticed that the sweet spot for starting from a stop takes a little getting used to. What about Automatic trans with the Diesel? Is it as sluggish as with the gas engines? Or they don't get it over there?
February 11, 201016 yr What about Automatic trans with the Diesel? Is it as sluggish as with the gas engines? Or they don't get it over there? No such thing........yet. i have the feeling they are testing the CVT with a diesel. They were having problems making a torque converter small enough that could handle the torque. nipper
April 19, 201015 yr The diesel engine seems to be reliable, and the savings on gas are on the 40% range. I would love to have one with a 6 speed manual. Maybe we should write to soa and ask them to make the diesel avaible here???
April 21, 201015 yr 1. cold issues solved with webasto 2. must have STRONG clutch 3. if no dual range, then atleast make a 7 speed close ratio gearbox 1 crawl 2 medium 3 normal "first" 4 good for 15 - 25mph 5 good for 35 - 45mph 6 good for 45 - 55mph 7 use only above 60mph 4. keep the engine in the sweet spot someday I'll have a diesel wagon.... even if I have to relocate to sverige, which I likely will ... soon looking for vindkraftverk jobb nära mälmo and my experience comes from driving 50hp diesel VWs perhas I did get a little bit off topic
April 21, 201015 yr I'll weigh in on the diesel discussion. I recently bought a VW Jetta wagon TDI. I know, I know... it's not a subaru. The new subarus just weren't doing it for me. So I went this route. So far it's been amazing to drive. The low RPM torque feels great to drive. And the mileage is amazing. I averaged 45mpgs from Portland to Vancouver, BC and back. It regularly is 30mpg for city driving. It's a 6spd manual which is also really fun to drive. VW makes an Auto Trans but I haven't driven it. The longevity of the engine is supposed to be great. 10,000 mile oil changes seem like a good thing. I would really like to drive a subaru diesel!
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