I really would like to get excited about my OBW

[Nicolaas]

I have received some bashing for the negative comments about MY 05 OBW.
I wish that I could get excited about Subie like many of you obviously are,
but I can't. I have taken my OBW to the dealer 3 times in the past 2 months
for problems I have had. A few of the problems include antifreeze smell,
hesitation when engine is cold, poor gas mileage, passenger side seatbelt
chime would go on when the seat was unoccuppied.
I hope that the problems will go away and I can enjoy the car like many of
you obviously do.

 

[Kurt C. Hack]

I'm sorry to hear about your experience, thus far, with your Subaru.
Not to excuse Subaru of their responsibility to fix the vehicle, but
this is the first model year for the new Outback. As such, I think you
would be hard pressed to find any new vehicle without a few bugs to work
out.

In regards to your poor gas mileage, it took my 02 OBW about 8000 miles
until the engine was completely broken in and I started realizing the
MPG that I expected.

I'm now at about 50k on the vehicle and am pleased with its continued
performance and utility. I had a few snafoos in the beginning, but all
were covered under warranty. These issues included replacing a seal on
the air conditioning and performing the clutch\flywheel TSB issued for
clutch chatter. Both were handled reasonably and quickly.

From my own experience, and that gathered from posts here, it appears
the Subaru's dealer network is rather lackluster. But, I have never
received worse service from Subaru than I have from any other dealer.
In fact, its been somewhat better than VW, a self-declared "luxury" brand.

-Kurt

 

[Nicolaas]

Thanks Kurt. Yes, I'll be patient with the mpg's and see what happens in a
few months.

 

[John A. Mason]

I'm sorry to hear about your experience, thus far, with your Subaru. Not

to excuse Subaru of their responsibility to fix the vehicle, but this is
the first model year for the new Outback. As such, I think you would be
hard pressed to find any new vehicle without a few bugs to work out.

Kurt,
I find myself in the position of now wanting to 'defend' Nic... there is
*no* excuse for a car to come of the line with *any* problems in this
day-and-age... *none*. Especially true for Subaru, in my opinion. A new
customer/buyer needs to be made esctatic about their new car. If not, you're
going to lose a customer. And for a niche market like Subaru, that can be
deadly. I agree that Subaru's dealership network is 'lackluster'... and that
is a shame. It seems to me as if Nic is really trying to like his new car...
Subaru should do everything necessary to make that happen.
Regards,
John

 

[Kurt C. Hack]

I agree that Subaru, nor any other manufacturer, should have these
problems with the testing regimens used. However, history tells us that
there usually is some problems with new models, indeterminate of the
manufacturer. Even legendary Honda and Toyota seems to be afflicted
with some new-model woes when new technology is implemented. Although,
I do recognize that the aforementioned makes do seem to get the basics
down pretty well the first time around, which is where Subaru seems to
have some issues.

I also agree with you about the dealership experience. Since they are a
niche market, they should take a page out of Saturn's book and sell on
that uniqueness and customer service. This is even more appropriate
given Subaru's recent decision to move their marquee upscale. Had I not
been in the engineering field and was able to appreciate the engineering
aspects of my car, I doubt I could have been sold by one of the salesman
at the dealer.

-Kurt

 

[Nicolaas]

Thanks guys. You are right, I want to jump up and down and be excited about
my 05 OBW.
I agree that new production models do occassionally have some "bugs" in
them.

 

[Freedom55]

Thanks guys. You are right, I want to jump up and down and be excited about
my 05 OBW.
I agree that new production models do occassionally have some "bugs" in
them.

I have had my 05 Subie for about 10 months now. I have noticed that gas
mileage has taken a dive in the winter months due to two reason: cold
weather and snow tires. I am waiting for the spring weather to see what
improvement I will get. In the summer and fall I was getting excellent
gas mileage (for a Subie). We'll see! Otherwise the car has been a dream.

Ron


--
And it really doesn't matter if
I'm wrong I'm right
Where I belong I'm right
Where I belong.

Lennon & McCartney

 

[John Rethorst]

However, history tells us that there

usually is some problems with new models,

Which can be less with Japanese makes than any other. It's been a while, but I
remember the excitement when the Saab 9000 came out. Finally, a car with all the
things that Saabs were famous for, plus sleek and fast! Road & Track magazine
got one for an extended test/research report. I remember reading there how,
after they _replaced_ the engine _and_ transmission within the first year, they
were finally able to start testing it . . .

 

[Hallraker]

I have received some bashing for the negative comments about MY 05 OBW.
I wish that I could get excited about Subie like many of you obviously are,
but I can't. I have taken my OBW to the dealer 3 times in the past 2 months
for problems I have had. A few of the problems include antifreeze smell,
hesitation when engine is cold, poor gas mileage, passenger side seatbelt
chime would go on when the seat was unoccuppied.
I hope that the problems will go away and I can enjoy the car like many of
you obviously do.

At 10 years old, my Subaru has little in common with the latest models. But
it's been absolutely amazing over the 60k I've driven it, for a total of
174,000 miles. At that age, most vehicles are worn out or close to it, but
honestly my Subaru "feels" like a 4 or 5 year old car, with the unfortunate
exception of some rust near the driver's side rear wheel well. I do have a
bit of an oil leak that needs to be taken care of, but aside from the smell
it isn't too bothersome - works out to about 1.5 quarts leaking out every
3000 miles.

As for keeping it on the road, aside from a few accidents it has only failed
once. My alternator bit the dust shortly after I'd spent a week
jumpstarting several vehicles at work that wouldn't start due to extreme
cold. Little did I know that the stress on the charging system probably did
my alternator in, but a failure is a failure I guess. Anything else that's
been fixed amounts to quickies like sensors and CV joints.

I'm planning on getting another one soon, probably within 2 years.

-Matt