Last fall I bought a 2004 Manual Outback after test driving the 2003. Relative to the 2003, the clutch was rougher. More importantly, the car lurches its passengers forward whenever letting up on the gas - especially in lower gears, as in stop-and-go traffic. The kids were getting motion sick! Our interpretation is that the fuel mapping has changed - and fuel is cut off too quickly when the driver lets up on the accelerator. Furthermore, the mileage is much poorer than the literature would suggest. We got 8-9 km/l on the highway, but the specs suggest 11 km/l. I've not before encountered such a large discrepancy between promise and reality in mileage. Our dealer was very sympathetic, and attempted multiple tweaks in the shop- but ultimately, we drew in customer relations at Subaru Canada. Although they initially acknowledged there was a "driveability problem" with the 2004, and they knew there was a "fix in the works", they left the dealer to their own resources to resolve our problems. Ultimately we moved to an automatic, paid the difference, and a little more for "wear and tear". The dealer likely made no money on the deal. They unloaded the car on a jeep owner who likely spends little time in stop-and-go traffic. Overall, having the manufacturer leave the table, after acknowledging a problem has me loose confidence in the product. Has anyone else had similar observations with fuel mapping or mileage, specific to the 2004 Outback?
- posted
20 years ago