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experiences with new to me 99 OBW

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

Reply to
Matt Levitt
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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.

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??

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!

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!!

Reply to
D H

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.

Reply to
Clayton

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. :-)

Reply to
Matt Levitt

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