experiences with new to me 99 OBW

[Matt Levitt]

Hi,
I've been following this newsgroup since early September. My previous car,
'91 Honda Accord LX, died on me (again) around that time. Sick of putting
money into the car and in a rush to have a working vehicle to get to work
and school, I found a '99 Legacy Outback Wagon with 50k miles at a local
Honda dealer (loaded save for leather seats). Despite some reservations, I
couldn't pass up the price ($10k). My reservations were mostly due to my
treatment by the dealer. I heard a constant rubbing noise on the rear wheels
during my initial test drive. They said they would fix the issue and then
let me test drive the car again. They said the rear brakes were all brand
new and it was the bearings causing the noise, which were replaced (it took
them 2 days longer than promised to check on this). I came back to test
drive the car. The constant noise was gone, but the rubbing noise was still
apparent when braking (the car also shuddered when braking from a high
speed). I drove away with it regardless (pressured by time) with the
salesman marking that there were still issues with the rear brakes. He
wanted me to drive it for a week (he said the new rotors they put on might
need to be broken in and then the noise would go away). Needless to say, in
all my rushing, I never actually looked through the wheel wells because I
stupidly trusted that the work they said was done was actually done. The
rear rotors were rusted and pitted. They turned the rotors for me, but I
still am unimpressed the my car's braking. The car no longer studders when
braking from high speeds and the rubbing noise is mostly nonexistent. But, I
still don't feel the car brakes as well as other cars I've driven. I find
myself still tensing up when I brake because it feels like it's not going to
stop in time.

My only other issue with the Subaru is the transmission (automatic). It
doesn't feel as responsive or eager to downshift as much as I'm used to
(have heavily driven mostly 90-91 Accords, but also 94 Chevy Beretta and
97-98 Civic). Thankfully, the OBW doesn't downshift as much as the wimpy 97
or 98 Civics (or the Mazda 626 I test drove), but I am oftentimes frustrated
that it won't shift down to 1st when coming to a rolling or quick stop. The
best example of this is with the wicked speed bumps (more like mounds) at my
school. There is one placed at the bottom of a hill. When going up, I
quickly slow down to 3-5mph when going over the mound, get on the otherside
of it and then want to get going up the hill, yet the car is never in 1st
gear so that I can properly accelerate. I feel that if I slow down to such a
speed, it should definately be in 1st. I drove my fiance's 90 Accord over
that speed bump today and it had no problem with being in the 'right' gear.

Enough of me griping... I'm still very much looking forward to the AWD in
the winter...as well as the heated seats!

One quick question... when I start the car... the "AT OIL TEMP" light stays
on for longer than any other lights (save the seatbelt/airbag lights). The
manual says "If the light flashes after the engine starts, it may indicate
that the automatic transmission control system is not working properly.
Contact your nearest Subaru dealer for service immediately." The light is
definately not flashing. Could this still be an issue?

Happy driving,
Matt

 

[D H]

Hi,
I've been following this newsgroup since early September. My previous car,
'91 Honda Accord LX, died on me (again) around that time. Sick of putting
money into the car and in a rush to have a working vehicle to get to work
and school, I found a '99 Legacy Outback Wagon with 50k miles at a local
Honda dealer (loaded save for leather seats). Despite some reservations, I
couldn't pass up the price ($10k). My reservations were mostly due to my
treatment by the dealer. I heard a constant rubbing noise on the rear wheels
during my initial test drive. They said they would fix the issue and then
let me test drive the car again. They said the rear brakes were all brand
new and it was the bearings causing the noise, which were replaced (it took
them 2 days longer than promised to check on this). I came back to test
drive the car. The constant noise was gone, but the rubbing noise was still
apparent when braking (the car also shuddered when braking from a high
speed). I drove away with it regardless (pressured by time) with the
salesman marking that there were still issues with the rear brakes. He
wanted me to drive it for a week (he said the new rotors they put on might
need to be broken in and then the noise would go away). Needless to say, in
all my rushing, I never actually looked through the wheel wells because I
stupidly trusted that the work they said was done was actually done. The
rear rotors were rusted and pitted. They turned the rotors for me, but I
still am unimpressed the my car's braking. The car no longer studders when
braking from high speeds and the rubbing noise is mostly nonexistent. But, I
still don't feel the car brakes as well as other cars I've driven. I find
myself still tensing up when I brake because it feels like it's not going to
stop in time.

But indeed it does, right? I'm thinking that you probably are just going
to have to adapt to brakes that do not FEEL the same as what you've been
used to. We have two 99 Foresters, which MIGHT or might not have the same
brake setup, I don't know. In our case, we had to adapt to the brakes on the
first one feeling as you describe, almost as if one is not going to get
stopped in time. (But we always do.) We learned that we just have to apply
more pressure to get the brakes to start responding enough to slow down as
we have been accustomed to. Our second Forester is much more like what we
were used to previously with other cars. Yet over 5 years, we have not had
any GENUINE braking problems with that first Forester (though they did do a
recall of it that required a master cylinder exchange.) When one of us
drives the other's Forester, we both notice the difference all over again,
but we deal with it just fine in spite of the very real difference in
characteristics.
I'm not saying you don't have issues to watch, but it is possible you
just have to adapt your expectations of these brakes. They definitely MUST
perform correctly, but give them a chance by stepping down harder on the
pedal and see what they provide in the way of braking.

My only other issue with the Subaru is the transmission (automatic). It
doesn't feel as responsive or eager to downshift as much as I'm used to
(have heavily driven mostly 90-91 Accords, but also 94 Chevy Beretta and
97-98 Civic). Thankfully, the OBW doesn't downshift as much as the wimpy 97
or 98 Civics (or the Mazda 626 I test drove), but I am oftentimes frustrated
that it won't shift down to 1st when coming to a rolling or quick stop. The
best example of this is with the wicked speed bumps (more like mounds) at my
school. There is one placed at the bottom of a hill. When going up, I
quickly slow down to 3-5mph when going over the mound, get on the otherside
of it and then want to get going up the hill, yet the car is never in 1st
gear so that I can properly accelerate. I feel that if I slow down to such a
speed, it should definately be in 1st. I drove my fiance's 90 Accord over
that speed bump today and it had no problem with being in the 'right'

gear.

Can't help you much here, other than possibly just referring to my
previous advice about getting used to it. I will say that if the car is
still relatively new to you, this might improve over time as the car's logic
system figures out your habits and adjusts its behavior accordingly. My
wife's Forester shifts down much faster than does mine, and I think it is
because she asks it to more. She drives a bit more "suddenly" than I do,
tromping down harder and faster on the pedals, both to start up and slow
down, while I tend to do these things a bit more efficiently, saving both
gas and brakes by anticipating slowdowns and coasting up to stops more
often. I also start off more evenly, thought I still drive faster overall
than she does. The car does anticipate your responses based on previous
experience, so maybe this will improve some for you if you have only had it
a short while at this point. Hopefully, right??

Enough of me griping... I'm still very much looking forward to the AWD in
the winter...as well as the heated seats!

Yup, you'll like them on those cold mornings. We finally moved into our
new home with basement garage last winter, so at least in my case, I don't
use them as much anymore. My wife uses them year round, however!

One quick question... when I start the car... the "AT OIL TEMP" light stays
on for longer than any other lights (save the seatbelt/airbag lights). The
manual says "If the light flashes after the engine starts, it may indicate
that the automatic transmission control system is not working properly.
Contact your nearest Subaru dealer for service immediately." The light is
definately not flashing. Could this still be an issue?

I don't think so, Matt. It is going out pretty fast, in spite of some
delay, right? And it is not staying on at other times, right? Relax and
enjoy the car!!

 

[Clayton]

I've had the same issues with my 99 OBW which I have recently
purchased used from a dealer in september. I love the car, but the
braking is far less responsive than hondas and toyotas that I've
driven regularly in the past. I have been getting used to it, but I am
also going to bleed the brakes and see if this helps tighten up the
pedal response. In regards to the tranny downshifting too slowly. This
seems to be a subaru problem. They have since upgraded the tranny
design and it apparently works a lot better in newer models. The best
thing to do is to get used to it. I've also had problems with the auto
tranny rev'ing too high in acceleration. The best way to counteract
this is to let off on the gas when speeding up at about 4500 and it
will shift for you, and then you can continue to accelerate if need
be. Despite these issues, my 99 OBW is a very enjoyable car to drive.

 

[Matt Levitt]

Thanks for the replies. Makes me feel a bit better about my purchase (I know
the car had sat on lots from March until I bought it in September. Carfax
reported 350 miles difference from a reading in March til Sept. I wasn't
sure if this had a bad impact on the car outside of the rusted rotors). I
know my issues with the braking and shifting can only be helped by my
getting used to them, but it can still be frustrating. I despise how I was
treated at the dealer and felt rushed to get the first car I found. But I
still think I got a great price on it and I do enjoy driving it. It's not
the sports car I wanted, but it was definately the practical choice for
winters here in Rochester.