MoleMan

Some advice is needed here. Since the warm weather is upon us now I generally do maintenance on all my vehicles during the summer months that would be hard to do in the winter. My 2018 3.6 has just under 20k on it. Very rarely driven in fact the car has been driven 130 miles since last year. Would it be better for the dealer to service the CVT trans fluid or an independent shop? I just remember on one of my Toyota’s it was a real hassle to do this service and it was better off done by a dealership. Any advice would be great. I know the interval from Subaru is 30k however I figured while I was changing the oil etc it may be best to stay on a semi normal maintenance schedule. Thanks.

After spending thousands of dollars on CAI's for my cars I can give you your answer. On my American Muscle cars that I have put CAI's on I generally made power. However Most of my Muscle cars also were fitted with exhausts and headers. So the gain was minimal if best. On the Subarus I have put CAI's on it was more of a "cool noise" but no real benefit that I could feel. But i always was able to negotiate an SPT intake into the sales with install so the cost factor was nothing. With my Infinitis I placed a Stillen Gen 3 on my G37 and that did make power gains of 4 HP on a dyno. Now this type of setup is different and had the filters in front of the radiator. I did notice fuel economy go up about one MPG when everything is clean. At the end of the day when all is done you may make one HP with a cool sound factor.

Bals, Try to think of other cars other then LGT's ans WRX's. The reason these are getting more expensive is because the "racer boy/girl" crowd is flocking to them and have been for years. The huge thing is the more modded the car the faster you run when it comes to these two cars on the used market. especially when its a good price I am thinking whats wrong and why did the owner not fix the issue. if you really want a power car you need 300 and over stock and go from there. S4's come to mind I own one. But maintenance is expensive. Whats cheap are the Infiniti G37's and alot of performance parts for that car as well owned one of those as well and on that subject we have a Q50 redport 400 with a JB4 tune. The thing is you are on a budget like all of us. I would wait and save your money and something will present itself. To be blunt and honest really no point for headers on a 2.5i premium at all or for that matter any performance parts. I mean yes maybe invest in a K&N filter but that is it. Just remember whos buying what. And do you want to have the same thing as everyone? I mean if you asked me what I wanted I would say a Spec B with under 50K for under 20K. But thats not going to happen. Good luck to you.

Mark, To answer the filter question. This filter is a great filter. The problem I had with it is high performance engines seem to not like the filter. I have not tried it on something like my Honda R18. I prefer M1 filters on all my cars except for the Subarus. They are easy to source and have provided me with hundreds of thousands of miles of service. Once again this is a topic that can heat up in certain forums just the discussion of what oil is best. With Subarus you will find most people in this world tend to say stick with the stock OEM Blue(Honneywell/Fram)filter. Thankfully those of us with six cylinders still can buy the black Tokyo Roki filters which I do in twelve packs from my local dealer as they fit both the EZ30 and EZ36. Again Subarus tend to be picky with the PSI and its just to stick with the OEM. As far as the oil catch can topic. I made the comment because this is a aftermarket component that is purchased mainly by people wanting race. It is very popular with the 350/370/G37 crowd and as most have pointed out those are NOT Di Engines. As far as the original question the answer still stands on if the engine has an issue they will look at that catch can setup. However most Subaru dealers probably would overlook it just like they do with alot of WRX's and fix the issue gratis. This will not even be a factor as you stated that you will wait until its off warranty to install. Now as far as the oil catch can itself. I don't know if anyone is even producing one from a 7th gen that you can buy. Granted I have not looked at all but it seems like you might have to adapt one to fit but if you are mechanical this should be an easy task. If carbon build up is such a concern then with buy a car with a DI engine in the first place? I would say by the time this is even a concern the engine would be will over 75K. As far as the drain plug its understandable but the dealer would probably just take it and by the time you got home to inspect they would say "sorry we forgot but we can't find it" You could always go the Fumoto route as well so you can drain quicker. As far as sludge Never have seen this issue with M1 or any oil honestly in the last twenty years and I have my cars sitting and driving at 20 below sometimes. The only car I own that was known for sludge in the engine is my 2000 1MZ-FE Avalon I have never had that issue but then again M1 always in the car. where you are in Texas I would not even be thinking about sludge especially if you change your oil on a normal cycle which it seems like you do. And I would agree 5w-30 is the best for your conditions.

How is it that big of an issue. Its pretty standard. We cant have everyone in the world running 305's in the rear of their Legacys can we!

Yeah, Those tires will grab alright. The tread is aggressive enough.

Hello, Here are some answers as best as I can. 1. Does not really matter. In your climate I would doubt the dealer would put 0W30 in your car but I would ask anyway as some will do this. 2.Dealerships generally will not pit an aftermarket filter on your car. Its more because of liability and the what if factor. Now Independent shops should have no issue with this. I would caution you however on the Purolator Boss filter. I have used this filter on several cars I have all different brands. The filter has a great rating however its just not right for any car I have placed it on. The best bet is to stick to the OEM filters or a M1. 3. Once again the dealerships will shy away from this as its not OEM. if you need to do this you can do it yourself with ease or take it to a shop and have then do it when changing the oil. Just remember to change out the crush washer everytime. 4. This one is tricky. Why do you need a Catch Can in a 7th gen Legacy? I don't see a reason at all. If you plan on modding this car I can say right now go and spend your money on something else that you can do that with like a WRX or a G37 or something. With the CVT in this car it will not perform at all and you will literally get smoked by base Civics. So once again if you are looking at the mod the car route spend your money on another car. And honestly back to your question if they find out the problem was caused by the catch can they will not warranty it. And the Catch can is visible so they can and will blame any engine issue on it. 5. This is already done when you purchase the car. However you can always tell the sales guy that you want to make sure just in case. All they will do is most likely plug it up to the machine and see if its all updated. Once again not to be an ass but may I ask why you are asking about catch cans in a car that has a CVT? Even if you bought the XT I am not understanding why if you are looking at mods you just did not buy a WRX. You probably will be happier. Did you test drive before you bought so you could see the performance of the car or did you just order the car? For me if no CVT was involved then I could understand. But anyone who buys a CVT trans car and then starts asking about specific mods such as catch cans really should have bought another car. I would say since you still have a month before the car is delivered go find your model and test drive if you have not. You still have time to make the decision and get out before you take delivery. For me I would be looking towards a nice used STI with low miles or a low mile WRX or even new one if you can find which are probably 90 days out when I look the local dealer.

All Leggys are the same built except for cars that were sent to heavy emissions states at the time. And the only difference is the warranty on the emissions control systems is increased. Those states are generally northeast states and California. I love not having emissions inspections anymore.

@Stuff, I have started my car from a fourth floor hotel room without issue. Granted the car was parked directly under the room with zero obstructions and no cars or trucks around it for five spaces on each side. I think the max range is 400 feet or so. I have no clue if the starlink remote app start has a distance limit or not. At home same thing however it’s parked in a garage with another car alongside it and still no issues. It seems I have more issues starting the car remotely with the dedicated remote starter fob then the regular Subaru fob which until a few months ago I did not know started the car remotely as well.

Op, Have you tried lubing up the non broken latch at all? This could help. As ammcinnis mentioned this is a very rare issue if even an issue. The only thing I can possibly think of is if the door got locked after you opened it and even though the door was open the child lock was still engaged. Good luck.

It’s funny a lot of members are getting a gift from Subaru. I have bought now going on five new Subarus in a twenty year timeframe and have received nothing from SIA except for the magazine that was put out. However I can say compared to other car brands which I do currently still own and drive the service has been no less the stellar at any Subaru dealer regardless of purchase or service.

@Silverton, 3/32 of mismatched tread is tolerable but it’s pushing what personally I would say replace. I really do not like more then 2/32 of treadwear difference regardless of what car I am driving. I think most dealers say this not to upset about three quarters of customers that would argue why the Need to buy all four. This is a common argument I see quite often at local tire shops. To the OP as others have said a fifth wheel rotation schedule is published and available. With the OP being from Australia I can very much understand the need for a extra full size wheel/Tire combo. In fact on my daily driver since I am so remote areas and stretches of I-80 I did place a full size tire/wheel combo in the trunk. However it’s more for safety then anything else.

I am guessing you got the car used? Thinking maybe the Turbo was changed because of the banjo bolt issue/recall. If you are the original owner I would say bravo! As even the most babied turbo cars generally have issues way before your mileage. I would say as far as a date code maybe SIA can help but you are probably better off talking to a Subaru mechanic that has done the turbo repair before. It’s a hard one as nobody really looks at date codes unless warranty work was done. If it was in fact used when you bought it pull a car fax and see the date of the repair and you have your answer. I believe the banjo bolt issue was for for 2005-early 2007 builds.

Both my 06 and my 08 do not have this issue and both are western cars. Only car I really have seen this on was a 2000 Jetta I owned and it was awful.

@Ncted, Funny you should say that. While I dislike Yolks because of the feel I will say I had a brand new pair of Avid Ascends put on a 2012 Camry V6 I had and got caught in a pretty bad snow storm on a mountain pass. They did fairly well getting me to where I needed to go without any major slippage. However that was at a full 10/32 of tread. Seeing your screen name you are probably located in North Carolina. You can get away with all seasons in that area. Where I am located sometimes studded snow tires are pushed because of the weather.

You would need to get the specs to see if it would fit. The pictures seem to show a little wiggle room for modification. However you would probably be better off buying individual gauges from AEM or another vendor and buying a two hole gauge mount. I personally would fit the mount and get it super tight. Should not pop off. You can always use something like superglue etc to make sure it won’t move but I would probably use some double sided tape so removal is easy if you ever want to remove the setup.

@Dougkelly20, I have found with the DWS the “S” will start to rub away at about 6/32 or so of tread, the W at about 5/32, and then the “D” goes at about 4/32. Generally I replace my tires at 4/32 regardless and that’s the tread depth needed for max proration credit on a new set. Yokohama’s to me just feel weird. Not saying I have ever had an issue with any Yolks I have owned but to me they just feel non responsive. And the warranty of the Yokohama’s are junk. Continental, General, and Michelin all give time based test ride warranty’s where you can exchange them if you don’t like them. I will say this. The DWS is a very smooth driving tire at speeds over triple digits for an extended amount of time.

@Oldpilot, You are very correct. The snows are louder then all seasons. Now I have had Michelin Ice-X as well as my personal favorite the Bridgestone Blizzak in the WS70,80, and now the 90 series tires(Bridgestone just updates the model and tread design every few years) and have found the Bridgestones to be very quiet. If the vibration is an issue that’s just a balance issue from the installer. That can be corrected easily. But as far as noise once again some roads do that especially when going from crap pavement to good pavement. I have also found that in anything above 32 degrees you will feel a big difference in performance as well. @JRu17 you probably have the 980s unless you got old stock of the 970s. It’s a good tire nothing to complain about. I still am hooked on the Conti DWS series.

Welcome. At 85 Thousand miles or 137Ks I would be looking at a few things especially since it’s on the third owner. Has the car been modified in anyway? If so are their recipes for any major engine mods? Has the turbo been replaced? What about the block? Timing belt would be a concern but that’s a fairly minor replacement cost of about $800. Since the current owner most likely knows what they bought ask them about oil consumption and oil type they are using. Did the current owner track the car at all? Try to get a sense of the car was driven hard. Personally I see way to many used GTs and WRXs at dealers that still have mods and access ports on them. To me that’s a huge walk away alarm as honestly if I put those parts on the car I would also have driven it hard. Any and all info would be of great help here.

@Whitexc, I will be happy to take a pic for you tomorrow when I get back home from my business trip. First time anyone wanted a pic of my old truck! The exclusive part is its a manual! Don’t really see a lot of manual Diesels anymore. @Sliverton, I remember when COVID hit In 2020 the highway patrol where I live were clocking people on an average of 90 and sometimes 100 and it was all over the news urging people to slow down. They were not pulling anyone over because nobody knew how serious COVID was at the time. It says something that when the state troopers don’t wanna pull someone over unless they have to what’s going on. I generally don’t want someone right next to me pacing my speed when driving lol. But to your point people I think are just over this and feeling pushed and in a pissy mood. I think we are all trying to make the best of it and all have rants as you saw with me!

@Sliverton, Yes it is really neat. The hack to show how to do this is all over YouTube. The G has a pretty crappy AWD system anyway. The Attesa system is nothing compared to what you you find in a GTR. The system is 100 percent to the rear in normal driving and will split the traction 50/50 if it detects slippage. However having one of these cars I can say the car gets loos really quick since the system does not grip like a Quattro or a Subaru. In fact I prefer my 2006 2.5 over my 3.0 or 3.6 in the snow because of the manual trans. My S4(well wife’s) has the eleusive 6 speed as well and that car to me is just a hair better in the snow then the Subaru but just by a hair if that.

@Sliverton, I somewhat agree with you. It’s a good choice for people that like to hammer on turbo and N/A engines. The added Zinc pack is great for that. However most people I see running it are running it in a race specific car and will change it after a day or weekend of hard racing. I have used it a few times and can say it’s not a good daily driver oil unless as stated you like to completely hammer your engine to redline every chance you get. Besides that it’s expensive at about $12 bucks a quart. To your conclusion on Mobil 1. I have been using it since 2004 and the only car that I have that hates it is the Infiniti as for some reason it burns off quicker so I use Penzoil Platinum in that car. All my other cars take regular Mobil one with a M1 filter and they couldn’t be happier.

I you want a AWD drive car that you can just pull a fuse and go 100% RWD just go get a Infiniti G37x. You can do what you want and its easy to switch back and forth. No mods needed except pulling a simple fuse to go back to AWD. And yes you have your choice Coupe or Sedan. But sadly the "X" model only comes in a seven speed auto.

Thank you, I do not worry about PCV valves. Generally change them out at 100,000 anyway. Its a part that is either broken or not. No in between.

Problem with Motul is that is on the same level as Redline when you want to buy it. Nobody stocks it and you need to order it. And someone mentioned Castrol. I would not even put that crap oil on my kids bike chain. I have had nothing but issues everytime I have used it.