Cold weather: Sedan owners beware!!

[kl]

I normally keep snow off my car, but with the recent ice storms, there's
been a coating of ice stuck onto a good part of my Outback sedan. I
went to go into the trunk the other day, I put the key in the lock,
opened the trunk lid and pushed it up a little. When it was fully open
and hit the stop, the jarring broke most of the ice on the trunk lid
loose and it came crashing down on the rear window. It then slid off of
the window (which is sloped), under the edge of the trunk lid and right
into the open trunk.

Arrrrrrghhh.

Spent 5 minutes or so picking flat, quarter inch thick hunks of ice out
of the trunk :-(

A word of warning to other sedan drivers. Probably the same thing would
happen in a Legacy. Never happend in my old Pontiac Parisienne, though.

Maybe a trunk lid heater/de-icer will be an option in 2006....

Maybe I shoulda got a wagon after all....

Maybe I'll work on getting the ice off better....

kl
2002 Outback Sedan VDC



ps - substitute "boot" for "trunk" if you must.

 

[R]

Maybe I shoulda got a wagon after all....

My wagon's rear hatch sometimes cannot be opened very far because
ice has formed in the hinge area. Why did they design a hinge
that forces the top edge of the hatch to move *towards* the body of the
car when opening???

Why did they design my fuel filler door so that ice forms around the
edge, glueing it shut? The fuel hatch on a 99 outback does not do this.
Why did they design the hood hinge on the '99 outback so that the corner
of the hood moves inward when the hood is opened? When ice is present
on the area around the hinge, the hood cannot be opened without bending
the metal.

Subaru needs to design their cars for winter use.

 

[Mike]

A few more observations on winter use:
Yeah, my fuel door sticks on the '01 OBW. The windshield wipers need
to be splined to the shafts so they don't come loose. Not much tire to
fenderwell clearance - no room for chains & the snow and ice really
build up in there. Inadequate floor heat on the passenger side. Power
steering pump whines when cold. But damn I like the AWD.

Mike

 

[Rob Aries]

The cable release levers for my fuel door and trunk ('95 Legacy FWD
sedan) both stuck in the last week, I'm assuming because of the cold.
The trunk was no big deal, I just used my key, but I was almost out of
gas when I discovered I couldn't get the fuel door open. I went into
the trunk, literally ripped out some of the lining, and was able to yank
on the cable enough to release the door. This never happened on my 91
or 92 Legacy.

 

[none]

I normally keep snow off my car, but with the recent ice storms, there's
been a coating of ice stuck onto a good part of my Outback sedan. I
went to go into the trunk the other day, I put the key in the lock,
opened the trunk lid and pushed it up a little. When it was fully open
and hit the stop, the jarring broke most of the ice on the trunk lid
loose and it came crashing down on the rear window. It then slid off of
the window (which is sloped), under the edge of the trunk lid and right
into the open trunk.

Arrrrrrghhh.

<snip>

Been driving Legacys for 13 years in Canada... here's a tip...

I use a wooden handled brush/ice scraper. Using the flat
side ot the handle I hit the ice on the trunk lid a couple of
raps. Always shatters the ice and I can then brush it off.
And no, the trunk lid isn't all dinged up! Just do it right!

 

[Mohawk Jake]

Agreed. Considering Subies are popular across the snowy regions of the U.S.
you think they would pay more attention to these details. The fuel door on
my WRX also sticks. First I bang it with my fist. If that doesn't free it, I
carefully insert a blunt item and gently pry.

Add to the list of gripes, wiper arms that ice up easily and then don't wipe
flat against the glass. Happens on my WRX and my Forester.
I had a Chrysler Grand Caravan that heated the bottom band of the windshield
where the wipers rest. Worked really nicely with the intermittent wipers,
and much simpler than trying to heat the wiper arms themselves with a wired
setup.

 

[kl]

<snip>

Been driving Legacys for 13 years in Canada... here's a tip...

I use a wooden handled brush/ice scraper. Using the flat
side ot the handle I hit the ice on the trunk lid a couple of
raps. Always shatters the ice and I can then brush it off.
And no, the trunk lid isn't all dinged up! Just do it right!

I used to do something like this on my previous cars, but I'd get a
heavy brush and hit the ice with the bristles of the brush pointing
itoward the ice as I hit it. I never worried about those cars because
they were 8 - 10 years old when I bought them, so I wasn't precious
about their looks. But my Outback was only a year old when I got it and
this is my first winter with it - I'm not used to dealing with nice
shiny paint all covered with ice!

I considered my whole ice in the trunk incident to be a comical user
error, not a design flaw. When it rains, I notice that the water on the
trunk lid slides off and onto the window and down toward the trunk. But
the trunk has a channel around it that guides the water around the trunk
opening. It just doesn't work for ice, so the user (me) needs to keep
that in mind. I've not had the problems with release cables or wipers
others have described.

While I'm on the subject, this car rocks for winter use and driving.
I've been pulling in and out of slush (and later frozen slush) parking
spots on hills without any problem at all, and I haven't had to get the
shovel & salt out of the trunk yet. I've been off to the mountains to
ski and haven't had any problems with the snow on the roads. I put snow
tires on, and I'm sure that helps a lot. The only complaint I have is
that the anti-lock brakes are too aggressive, and have taken some
getting-used-to, especially since I've never owned a car with them before.

Don't take this to mean that it is invincible. I still take it slow
going down hills and around bends. But I'll take the Outback for winter
driving over anything else I've ever driven. Winter driving is why I
bought the car, and I certainly got what I wanted with this car.

kl

 

[Diva]

I agree on the inadequate floor heat. Try closing the left dash vent --
you'll increase heat to your feet. I discovered it by accident in my '02
OBW. I also think the seat heaters are a joke in the real cold weather. Not
much heat there, really.

June

 

[R]

I had a Chrysler Grand Caravan that heated the bottom band of the windshield
where the wipers rest. Worked really nicely with the intermittent wipers,
and much simpler than trying to heat the wiper arms themselves with a wired
setup.

They had that on the Suzukis in the other half of the Subaru dealership
I go to.

 

[David Buchner]

Subaru needs to design their cars for winter use.

This is an observation that's close to my heart. They certainly market
them with an outdoorsy, wintery angle, and the AWD makes them a natural
for folks like us, who must be concerned with things like... ice. And I
have noticed that our Impreza heats up like crazy and has plenty of
heater to go around. Do you think the company would be receptive to
large numbers of requests for winter-oriented-design stuff like this?
I'd love to see Subaru be known far and wide as The Ultimate Winter Car,
but I don't know that it would pay off for them to put very much more
effort and $ into this than they do -- since not a lot of people would
notice or appreciate it. Not enough to pay for it, anyway.

My wish list would be along the lines of high-power circulating engine
heaters, big wires to the starter and a bigger starter, an automatic
starting fluid injector with supporting software, a lockable handgun
storage compartment, and wider floormats with a lip, like that rubbery
cargo tray..

Here in Minnesota I see lots of people still driving (and shoveling out)
Escorts and Oldsmobiles and whatnot. They can't be bothered to pay a
little extra even for the obvious usefulness of four wheel drive.

So it might just be a case of there being not enough reward for
extra-thoughtful engineering.

Or maybe we need to invite some Japanese engineers to take part in an
exchange program, to come stay in our homes and ride in our cars for the
month of January...

 

[Rockin Ronnie]

Gee "a lockable handgun storage compartment" - handy when you need to get
even with the motorist who just swerved in front of you. Get a life!

Ron

 

[worzacct]

The Cold Weather package in our 2000 Outback wagon includes an area at
the bottom of the front windshield that is heated to prevent the wiper
arms from freezing. There is a separate switch to activate this in
addition to the switches for the rear window defroster and the outside
mirror defrosters.

I think that Subaru does try to provide assistance for those in cold
climates. The Cold Weather option in the 2000 U.S. Outbacks included
heated seats, outside mirror defrosters, the heated area at the bottom
of the front windshield, a larger container for the windshield washer
fluid and a limited slip differential. Together with AWD, these
additional items go a long way to make Subies all weather driving
machines.

 

[R]

So it might just be a case of there being not enough reward for
extra-thoughtful engineering.

In the '99 OBW, the fuel door worked perfectly, and never froze shut.
And the rear hatch had no interference wth ice in the hinge area.
Why did they replace a working design with one that doesn't work?
At least I can open my hood to add washer fluid on icy days.
Maybe they really aren't considering winter, and things are working
or not working, totally by accident.


yes, floor mats with a 2 gallon capacity would be nice

 

[Dan Duncan]

Subaru needs to design their cars for winter use.

My 2003 Forester XS premium has heated glass under the front and rear
wipers, heated side mirrors, heated seats, and the washer fluid reservoir
holds an entire gallon of fluid. In addition to the AWD and the blistering
heat put out by the heater, I think this car IS designed for winter use.

-DanD

 

[Diva]

The heated seats don't heat very well, the heated windshield doesn't seem to
do much either. The larger container for the washer fluid is nice. They
could do this better. They could mainly make their cars so that your
freaking FEET could get warm.

June

 

[null]

I concour. Yes the first 6 months the heated seats didn't seem to get hot
but now on high they
get get real toasty, almost too hot.
Having 60+ inches of snow over the last month and an average temp around
20F I've
had plenty of time to run them. I usually turn it on high and by the time
the car has warmed up I have
to turn them down to low. The wiper deicer works, not the greatest but it
serves it's purpose. When it's
16 deg out and the car is warm, I typically only need to run the heater at
67 on speed one to stay warm.

The heater on the feet is a little lacking when you've anything but feet
on.

 

[Diva]

Well, don't know what year you have, but my '02 OBW seats never get hot
enough -- you can barely feel them sometimes. And even when it's right on
the feet, the heater doesn't do squat. It's been a cold winter in Michigan
too, and I keep my car in the garage at night -- but it would be nice to be
able to have warm feet during my morning drive in the dark, arctic air.

June

 

[null]

I've got a 2002 sedan (H6) and it sits outside all day and night. I wonder
if there's an obstruction
in your vent as the air speed coming out of my floor vent is quite fast. I
believe there's also
vents under the seats to blow on the rear seat passengers too in mine.
Granted it's not as fast
on the passenger side front floor but I'm not sitting over there

 

[T]

Gee "a lockable handgun storage compartment" - handy when you need to get
even with the motorist who just swerved in front of you. Get a life!

Ron

I lol'ed at 1st when I read the original too but I take it to mean
perhaps a compartment in the cargo area or trunk, worthy of stowing
rifle sized arms,(as in hunting) not just, well we already have the
glove box for handy road rage access, don't we?


TBerk

 

[Diva]

I had it checked at the dealership. No, there is no obstruction. I've been
told the floor vents in the '02 OBW are pretty feeble by many owners of the
same model.

June