hkshooter

I think the last Subaru sedan tv commercial I saw were the Paul Hogan - Crocodile Dundee - Outback sedan ads back in the late 90s or early 2000s I think. Those led me to my first Legacy in ‘03 or ‘04 which led to my ‘06 Legacy GT Limited. Since the Legacys and Outbacks share so much it costs little to keep making them side by side, and they sell enough to be profitable. Plus it’s always been somewhat of a prestige in having something that not many other people have. But there are a lot of them out there, I even occasionally see one of the old Outback Sedans. And currently in my mid-Atlantic region I’m seeing an explosion in sedans. Toyota especially must be selling the hell out the Avalon, except for Teslas, which I’m seeing a boatload of new ones, I’m seeing a lot of new Avalons.

 

Before I firmly decided on my 2020 Legacy I considered a Camry and an Accord, and since I had to wait 7 months to get the Legacy I really started pricing everything out on those cars wondering if I was ever going to get the Legacy. I would have probably gone for the Accord Sport 2 liter turbo but it still wouldn’t have given me what I got in the Legacy. I had seen a few Avalons in that time and thought they really looked nice but didn’t give them much thought. Now I see them everywhere and love the way they look. If for some reason I had to make a choice again and Legacys weren’t available I would really take a strong look at them. But sedans will be around a long time. I see so many new Teslas, BMWs, Audis, in addition to the Avalons, Camrys and Accords that the sedan market seems very healthy. But who knows maybe those fools who predicted the demise of the sedan 40 years ago will be proven right one day, I won’t hold my breath.

I hear you.

When I mentioned to my wife (SIA acssociate) that people are saying the Legacy isn't selling she gave me an odd look and said "Well, I don't know what they are doing with them then because we see lots of them coming down the line every day and the lot is full of them."

Local Subaru dealer says every car they have delivered is presold and will be for months, also told me if I want a Legacy I'll have to wait longer than the two months the Outback would take for it to arrive. Demand or not producing them?

I have a confession to make, I'm actually considering an Outback for my next car.

My 2016 3.6R is at 157k and nearly paid off. The market for used cars about guarantees I'll have positive equity in the car even if I trade it tomorrow. Between this and the special employee lease prices it's nearly a no brainer.

But the reasons I'm considering the OB are higher ride so easier to get me and my bad knees in and out of, same for my wife's and I elderly mothers, extra cargo room for those rare but annual road trips.

I'm very torn because I'm a car guy at heart and love something spirited, even if just a little, and the Legacy handles curves much better than the OB. I'll drive the car 365 days and I'm just not convinced I'll be happy in the OB. But the OB attributes are attractive.

I'm still trying to figure out what I'll do but in the mean time I'll continue to love my 3.6R. Wish I could have got good enough numbers to trade it on a 2019.

No matter if I go Legacy or OB, I'm getting the XT Limited.

I commute over an hour to work each day, there and back, 2 hours. So I see a lot of vehicles. By far, sedans out number SUVs and pick ups around 5 to 1. Sedans aren't going anywhere around my area. And I'm not talking just Subaru but across the board. IMO, if a sedan isn't selling it's because others are more attractive and the maker isn't promoting it. Subaru is bad about this, they say the cars don't sell but then what do you see in the multiple TV ads? I don't remember the last time I saw a Legacy in a TV ad. It doesn't help that the Legacy's styling has been outclassed for years by other better looking models. Subaru is letting Legacy die on the vine.

One can argue "why advertise a car that won't sell" and to that I'd say "so it WILL sell". Subaru doesn't promote the Legacy anymore, all they are interested in is big number SUV types. If there's a car they need to dump because sales suck they should look at the WRX.

And hope your dealership doesn't blame the aftermarket piece you put on the engine if you have any issues down the road while under warranty.

Have you installed a catch can? How do you intend to mitigate the valve deposit problem?

How much is this walnut blasting service that should be done every so often? I drive 25K a year and would hate to have to spend $700 a year to deal with an issue a catch can would handle for a couple hundred bucks permanently.

Is there a particular brand or style of catch can folks here recommend? Are there directions available to install it?

I'm still not sure how PCV works on a forced induction engine as I'm used to engines with vacuum in the intake, not a positive pressure. Would a catch can work on the turbo engine?

SOA said that, but get a catch can or IAG or radium unit and feel safe.

I know what a catch can is but not the other two nor how they are implemented.

For that matter I cannot fathom how PCV emissions are handled on a positive pressure intake system like a turbo.

So we have not heard from someone who has or knows of a Subaru 2.4DIT that's had valve deposit problems yet?

I like Subaru's answer to the question but in my mind it really doesn't address crank case emission deposits. Maybe I'm reading it wrong.

Catching up, this thread is a very good read, lots of good info.

I'm at 155K+ at the moment. Front pads replaced, rotors still in spec but at the bottom end of useful life, next time they will be replaced.

Rear pads, working on the second set of replacements. Subaru seems to have put a big bias towards the rear brakes as the pads wear out much faster than the fronts.

Some time after both the front and rear pads were done I noticed a shimmy to the car when I hit the brakes. It wasn't in the steering wheel. Odd thing is it would come and go, sometimes getting better as you drove, other times the opposite.

After finally getting on my nerves long enough I took it to the shop I use and told them something was warped and after driving the car and experiencing the issue themselves they recommended rear rotors.

Original rear rotors replaced at 155k, everything is back to factory smooth and I'm happy.

Interesting thread. My 2016 3.6 is at 153K. Haven't had any big problems, failures, leaks. Third set of tires are on now and the brakes were done at 145k.

The car still does the mule/fart/honk thing occasionally but it's become much less frequent for some reason. Still no lights or indicators, bells or whistles going off.

Third windshield, here, too. Wife's 2019 is on it's second.

My driver's seat has what appears to be a tear in the leather bolster on the left side. The side one slides over to get in and out of the car. I get with the local vinyl repair guy, he looks at it and tells me it's not leather but vinyl that's cracked and torn open. I was extremely disappointed to learn the only leather on the seats is the center section panels, not the bolsters. C'mon, Subaru!

I'll have to live with it or replace the trim on that seat cushion.

This issue is persisting. Now the sound has changed to a grunt followed by a squeak but it's still there and still random. Talked to my dealer's service dept about it but haven't turned the car over to them yet. The anomaly still only occurs randomly and I have no engine or warning lights.

I'm open to input if others have had experiences or have advice to share.

At 147k right now.

It sounds like you DID find the cause, so...thanks for the heads up in case it happens to one of us.

 

In all honestly, though, your thread seems more to point out that your dealer's service department is inept and not able to follow through with correct trouble-shooting an obvious DTC code than anything else. Good on you for figuring out it.

 

I wouldn't waste any time going to the dealer, unless you bought the part from them and can somehow prove that it was the correct fix. This would NOT be worth the headache for me.

I wasn't clear in my post so please accept my apologies. The experience with the dealer that was unable to diagnose the issue with my car was a Toyota dealer and my car was a 2001 Solara.

Still, I have little faith that my current Subaru dealer will be able to figure out my currently flatulent Legacy.

The noise has morphed into a somewhat squeaky little gremlin now. It still has the same short and low rumble but now it's followed by a squeak or squawk. It's kind of amusing when it happens but a little unnerving at the same time.

The video posted above only confirms the problem I found with my old Toyota and because of that experience I abandoned the practice of topping off my tank long ago. My current Legacy has never had the tank topped off and I've owned it since it had 8 miles on the ticker. The dealer filled it up before delivery so they may have topped it, only God knows.

I'm eventually going to find and inspect the charcoal canister just to see what I'm dealing with and if the problem gets worse I may simply replace it.

The jury is still out on whether or not I should let the dealer take a crack at the issue.

Thanks to everyone for their input. Will update.

I don't even know how to describe this but my 2016 3.6R has started making an odd noise. It's very subdued, low in frequency, very short in duration, happens at random times, and rarely happens at all. Once or twice a week, usually once in any given day. Today, however, it happened twice.

But then it'll go a week and not do it.

The sound is so odd it's easy to blame on road conditions and so short you wonder if you are hearing things. But I've heard it on a variety of roads and different surfaces so I've discounted road conditions.

So far I haven't been able to find a pattern of any kind that leads up to the noise but I've noticed the noise only occurs at highway speeds, never at city speeds.

The last time I observed a noise similar to this was with my last car. That car had an engine light on, made a low frequency, short duration reverberation type noise, and was nearly impossible to add fuel to the tank. Two visits to the dealer didn't solve the issue but my own code reader and Google did. The car's charcoal canister was damaged or plugged up in some way and a vacuum valve on the unit had failed. A sensor on the valve is what set the code.

The car would make a very similar noise as my Subaru is at random times and as said, would not take fuel. My Google diagnostics led me to order a complete new canister which when installed cured the code, noise, and fueling problems all in one fell swoop.

Before I try to convey all this to the service department (at which point I'm sure to get blank stares) has anyone experienced anything similar and found a cause?

You bought a used car, your experiences are not indicative of the reality of the majority of Subaru owners. If you want a true picture of what Subaru is as a car and car company buy a new one.

I'm sorry your first one sucks. As others have indicated above something is hidden or amiss with your car. I'd ditch it and move on.

Yes.

They build way more Outbacks than Legacys and currently run about 380-400 cars per shift counting all models. The number of OB's out there vs Legacys doesn't surprise me. Count on the number of turbo OB's to decline with no resupply. 1000 units across how many websites? Nationwide? That's not a lot of cars, depending on perspective.

Just a little FYI. When I complained that turbo Legacys were like hens teeth, (I want to test drive one but there are none around here) it was shared with me there may not be any available for some time. It seems the manufacturer of the turbo went out of business and so far Subaru hasn't sourced another.

In a nutshell SIA has zero turbos so can't build the car.

Damn.

Awww, C'mon Shooter .... you have the same year, same model (albeit a bit more mileage) as me ..... drain and fill the tranny fluid and keep it, ... I was counting on racing you to 300,000K [emoji38]

While I read these reports with a little concern I have no intention of getting rid of my car over an issue I don't have. There are too many variables for me to make such a decision and besides, I like my car. When I bought it my intention was to put 200k on it and then see how it goes after that. 300k might be a bit of a reach but time will tell. I'll still race ya to 200k though. Lol!

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The high cold idle bugs me as I'm ready to move before it idles down and my 3.6 nearly wants to rocket out of the garage. Irritating. So I wait until it drops below 1500 before putting in gear. Takes a minute. If I'm in a hurry I stand on the brake so the car won't slip when going into gear.

I never considered modding the harness to defeat it. I'd be interested I'm seeing your schematic for this.

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Buy an ECT, gut it for the connector.

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I'm at 136k, no leaks, original trans. This all makes me wonder if I should preemptively ditch the car.

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