crudzinskas

Replaced my group 25 Duracell from Sam's Club that died at a little over 4 years of use with a group 34 Duracell. With the included spacer piece, it fit the tray with plenty of room and was the same height as the group 25. At $130, you can't get anything even remotely near this price in my area with the next cheapest options costing $100 more. 3-year warranty is icing on the cake!

I would avoid using silicone lubricants around the steering wheel as there are critical safety components in there. Silicone has very low surface energy and can wick up into just about anything. If it gets in between electrical contacts or into the strands it can create higher resistance and increase temperatures of the connection systems. If a fluke thermal event were to happen, then the silicone can degrade and turn into sand essentially and cause fretting corrosion or complete failure of the part. I would give your best attempt to clean it first as there probably wasn't lubricant in there to begin with. This is a post I made on the Outback Forum on this similar topic: "This has happened to me and I used 99% Isopropyl Alcohol which is a very effective and safe electronics cleaner. I put it in a spray bottle, used 1 spray into the the button gap, and worked the button a few times and it immediately freed up. I made sure to let the car sit a few hours to allow excess solvent to evaporate before starting the car/turning on any power. You would be fine using 91% IPA which is more commonly found in stores, but I wouldn't recommend going going any lower concentration than that." This was similar reasoning for the Subaru brake light recall a while ago: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/subaru-recalls-million-vehicles-brake-light-problem-forester-crosstrek-today-2019-03-02/

It looks like you have had a good discussion with others about this already. I am no expert on sound systems, nor am I saying what I did is the best or most effective solution out there. Just posting what worked for me. As a classically trained musician, I appreciate quality and clarity of the sound produced especially at higher frequencies and these speakers did a good job of that for me without adding anything else to the equation. What I liked most about these speakers is that I could have the volume lower than I would normally and still get great clarity of each instrument/voice. The built in manual tuning the head unit has really helps with this too. It is nice to hear ammcinnis' technical perspective also! As a musician and chemical/materials engineer, my electrical background is lacking

I used these (now discontinued it looks like): https://www.crutchfield.com/p_108R9623IX/Infinity-Reference-REF-9623ix.html I only took out the old speaker and put in the new one, no other modifications. It looks like these are the "new" version: https://www.crutchfield.com/p_108R9632IM/Infinity-Reference-REF-9632ix.html?tp=91

I was like you and wanted better sound from my '17 Legacy but not wanting to go to a higher trim to get the HK. A new pair of speakers in the front doors gave me a substantial improvement in sound quality and the correct amount of bass that blends well with the music I listen to. I did the back doors as well, but with less noticeable of a difference and if I didn't again I might not even bother with the back. Would definitely recommend starting with speakers, as this is the best bang for your buck from my experience.

I have this version too under the Valvo Max brand. Nearly identical designs, just was a little better price at the time I got it.

If you need to still remove any stains, I would highly recommend this product: https://www.meguiars.com/automotive/products/meguiars-carpet-upholstery-cleaner-car-upholstery-cleaner-fabric-cleaner I once had a can of grape pop explode in my car and it stained EVERYTHING and EVERYWHERE purple. Fortunately, with an application of this on the headliner and seats, everything came out and looks brand new again.

I have never encountered any streets missing when going to new places. I'm sure some areas are mapped better than other depending on location/population, but I would just reinstall the map update on your computer since it is quite easy and quick to do to make sure everything loaded correctly. I actually like how the ETA is calculated on the GPS since it is a good "you won't get here later than x:xx." I have found it nearly impossible to meet the estimated ETA with Google maps unless I am going at least 5 mph over the speed limit the entire trip. I normally set up both so I know the range of time I will arrive somewhere, using Google as an aggressive estimate and the head unit as a conservative one.

Petty impressive those filters can last a year with all of the gas that gets pumped! The gas must be pretty clean in the first place!

This is definitely an, "If it's not broke, don't fix it" type of maintenance item. I would wait until your fuel pump fails to change it, if you even keep your car that long. The process doesn't look terrible, but I wouldn't recommend doing it unless you actually need to.

I am pretty sure this is something you should have received in the mail, but the extended warranty on the CVT was certainly extended to the 2018 model year. (I can't confirm if 2019 has been included as well - I thought I saw that it was, but I can't find any documentation on it). https://www.subaruoutback.org/threads/cvt-tsb-16-117-18-dated-10-9-18-applies-to-2018-outback.500493/page-2

Just be sure to keep your videos as your proof. In fairness to Subaru, if the issue might happen only once ever few months, then it is more likely in my opinion that an odd situation that eyesight isn't able to handle is occurring and not an actual "malfunction" of the system.

You are able to just plug in a new radio and be on your way. I watched them do it for mine at the dealer and they did not program anything after doing the swap. You can find used ones on ebay for under $200, but from the pictures, it looks like most of them will have the "grid lines" that can appear after a while. The grid lines don't affect the function, but they do make the screen a little harder to see and give the head unit a cheap look. This is why most people recommend the aftermarket route if they are replacing on their own dime.

If your limbs are long enough you can just remove the front seat and sit in the back seat and drive from there.

This is easier and more convenient than turning the lever up two clicks from the auto position to on? Wouldn't this mean it would work? For it to always turn on you would want to try it into thinking it is always very dark.

I think it is very clear in your video the rear wheels aren't starting to spin. If you believe this is an issue with the CVT then I would say take it to the next Subaru dealer despite the distance. If it is not an issue with the CVT then you won't be under warranty for the repairs so it might be worth it to look into a local independent shop you trust for a quote to repair. If Subaru wanted to be strict with their rules, they could probably deny a warranty claim if it is CVT related as your tires fall well out of tolerance if there is a 4/32nd variance across the car. If all else fails, call Subaru customer service. With your video documentation of the issue, I think they would be willing to work with you and the dealer to confirm the vehicle has nothing (or something) wrong with it and not just the dealer refusing to do the work.

That's pretty representative of what I see as well - around a 5-6 mpg drop once the cold hits.

I cannot speak to the actual electronic portion in terms of quality, but the plastic they use is certainly fit for the task. If I remember correctly, I remember seeing "PPS" on the part which stands for Polyphenylene sulfide. This polymer is very good for high temperature electrical applications, has excellent long term thermal stability, and is inherently flame retardant. This is definitely a "premium" polymer they chose to use that a larger company would certainly argue is "over-engineered" and too expensive for the purpose it serves. But at the price point of their bulbs, it is nice to see they used it. For those who like to learn: https://www.solvay.com/en/brands/ryton-pps

I performed this fix from the Outback forum and it seemed to solve the issue. Very inexpensive and relatively easy way to rule out a possible axle or CV joint issue. See post #184: https://www.subaruoutback.org/threads/front-end-rattle-clunk.377209/page-10

Reading more on the Outback forum it looks like this could be the potential cause/solution: https://www.subaruoutback.org/threads/front-end-rattle-clunk.377209/page-8 (Post #160) The TBS and the poster made it seem like the repair is fairly straight forward. It it written that it can be performed without taking the cover off so I might try to locate the EPS rack and verify the lot number next week when I get some time. It looks like my car is in the VIN range for this as well. Hopefully this is the issue since it's a relatively cheap and (what looks to be) easy fix that rules out any more serious/expensive suspension issues.

Recently, I have noticed a small knocking/popping sound that is coming from the front end when I turn the steering wheel back and forth. It only happens (or is at least audible) when the car is completely stationary and does not seem to happen when it is moving. It also only happens right at the transition of turning the wheel left to right and not during turning in the same direction. Any suggestions on what might be the issue would be helpful. I still have about 6k miles left on the power train warranty if this might be something covered under that. I prefer going into my dealer as educated as possible, having a strong idea of what it could be because they are notorious for the old "that's how they all are" line. Or better yet, "We would be happy to replace it under warranty, but Subaru would never approve for the work to be done." (When replacing my head unit under warranty, which Subaru immediately sided with me after I had to contact them directly.) From my own research, I have really only been able to find discussions about this happening when the car is in motion, specifically when turning at low speeds, turning in general, and slowing down.

In my experience, a steep driveway that quickly transitions to flat is the only situation where I have personally found RAB to engage when you don't want/need it to.

For what it's worth, you can change the adaptive cruise control setting back to "regular" cruise control as well.

I personally have not had great luck with Rain-x on my Legacy as it tends to cause the wipers to chatter and a slight film of water that glares especially at night for me after about a week after application. On the other hand, I have a '09 Corolla that I love using Rain-X on and do not have any of the issues I find with the Legacy. I have found that bugs seem to stick equally as well to a rain-x coated windshield compared to a bare one. For cleaning the windshield, I like Rain-X X-Treme Clean Clear Surface Cleaner which does a good job of removing everything on the windshield as well as old rain-x. A little of it goes a long way. As others have said, you can use a pre-mixed glass polish by one of the big brand names or buy some cerium oxide powder and mix with water to make your own for cheap.

I would check this first. If you have the brightness set to maximum (the dial wheel thing on the row of control buttons for lack of me having a better term) then the screen will be on "day" mode regardless of the time/headlight settings. Try adjusting this to see if that lets your Nav go into night mode. You'll feel a "click" on the dial when you enter and leave the maximum brightness setting.