Subaru Automobiles

[MossRoad]

Synched my mother in-law's garage door to my wife's Outback. It was much easier than the Chevy's we own/owned.

Found out I have several ways to open/unlock the doors and rear hatch.

- key fob buttons for the doors
- just put my hand on the door handle and it unlocks.
- just put my finger on a little slash mark on the door handle and it locks.
- push the buttons inside the car to lock/unlock the doors.
- push the button on the key fob to open or close the rear hatch.
- push the button on the dash to open or close the rear hatch.
- push the button under the handle on the rear hatch to open it.
- push the button inside the rear hatch to close it.
- wave my hand in front of the Subaru logo on the rear hatch to open it if I have my hands full.....

Yeesh!

 

[IndyIan]

I own a 2009 Forester. The VW beetle equivalent, it has virtually no options at all. Manual transmission. The clutch bearing went out at 114k miles. Its a pretty serious repair. They suggest the transmission has to come out, which would mean pulling the front suspension to remove the drive shafts, remove the exhaust (not gonna happen on a Michigan vehicle unless its with a sawzall) and then remove the transmission itself. I elected to do the job the other way around by removing the engine, still a bear of a job. Of course the last nut that goes on the stud adjacent to the inner CV joints stripped and I had to cut off the stud with an angle grinder. Massive rip off getting new fasteners from the dealer, like $7 per fastener... Best part is that the new clutch bearing is just as junk as the old one, no seals on it whatsoever, stamped races instead of machined ones. Never seen anything so bad in my life. No doubt it will be finished in another 100k miles... Otherwise it has been a pretty reliable vehicle. Mine is the first production year of the newer model, it has rear suspension issues that means it wanders badly in a crosswind, makes it very tiring to drive long distances (I had a weekly 5 hour 1 way commute to Dayton OH, so I did that a lot). There is supposedly a fix for that, but no doubt pretty expensive. The Audi A6 I had prior, bought as a 3 year old car was a much better car in every possible way. This will be my last.

For your wandering, you can try having an alignment shop set the rear toe and camber to the minimum specs. My parents have a 2015 forester and it drives much more stably after doing this.

 

[California]

Synched my mother in-law's garage door to my wife's Outback. It was much easier than the Chevy's we own/owned.

Found out I have several ways to open/unlock the doors and rear hatch ....

Yeesh!

Wow just the opposite of my experience. I've had only a couple of annoyances with my '99 Outback over 23 years, but the most annoying one is: I've spent over $100 four times now to make the remote lock the driver's door properly.

Then after a while it goes back to sounding the alarm if I don't unlock that door, open/close it, lock it with the key. The remote controls the other doors properly.

This was the first year of a new alarm supplier. Nobody knows of a fix or documentation for this.

That issue, an Autozone alternator, and $1k to repair the speedometer/odometer after 20 years, are the only repair costs for the car beyond recommended maintenance. So I guess I'm ahead of most car owners. Still, its a nuisance.

 

[MossRoad]

That sounds like an excellent return on investment!

 

[Torvy]

Just paid off our 2018 Outback Limited 2.5 liter...had 0% for 5 years.

So far it has been good. Low, low miles due to the 'problems'. We had the washer tubing chewed by vermin. We have also had intermittent problems with the electric windows. (Maybe related to vermin?)

 

[California]

Best Subaru review ever!

This rally-style driving on an unimproved route is what the Outback is best for.

There's 20 miles like this into our gold mining claim after leaving the pavement (in steep mountainous country.) Maintaining good speed over rough ground is where the Subaru excels. Getting back out of there after a surprise snowfall is important too, climbing quite a ways to get up over a snowy ridge halfway to the FS road.

 

[MossRoad]

Getting ready to put about 1800 miles on the Outback this weekend.

 

[westcliffe01]

For your wandering, you can try having an alignment shop set the rear toe and camber to the minimum specs. My parents have a 2015 forester and it drives much more stably after doing this.

I dont need it anymore, my young wife has never driven a stick, so I will be selling it. An 09 Forester with 120k miles and a new clutch, new timing belt, new water pump and idlers, new serpentine belt should sell pretty quick for $6k....

 

[California]

I dont need it anymore, my young wife has never driven a stick, so I will be selling it. An 09 Forester with 120k miles and a new clutch, new timing belt, new water pump and idlers, new serpentine belt should sell pretty quick for $6k....

How much did the timing belt / water pump project cost?

I've put off doing that on my '99 Outback for over a decade beyond the recommended maintenance interval, thinking that due to the cost I'll just run this till it dies. I've gotten estimates near $2k while the OB is hardly worth that. It's our second car used only a couple thousand miles per year now.

 

[prairiegirl]

I am always wondering: how does the lane assist work? Does it 'see' the lines when I can't? Dark / rain / snow / fog?