Pilot1226

The more and more I look at the Ascent the more and more I want to go test drive one. The pricing of the Ascent Premium comes in a few thousand lower than the Outback 3.6R Limited, and I don't have to deal with some features I don't want or don't care about: keyless PB start, auto rear gate, etc. I would miss the HK Audio though.

I’m seeing on cars101 that there is a full fluid change for the 2019 ascent listed at 90k. I wonder if they’re going to do routine CVTF changes at 90k going forward. Trying to find a 2019 maintenance schedule. Looks to be difficult

Right, I get what you're saying about the temperature range. I haven't used BtSSM. I'll look into it - I've used RomRaider in the past and use ActiveOBD/Torque with my OBDLink LX right now.

I agree the TC was the issue, at least it was on my 2011 that had the "flawed" design that had to get replaced. And yes, the VB/Solenoids and then lastly the chain/pulleys had issues. Why are you suggesting such an aggressive change interval at 30k? Personally I am planning for a 60k interval with my new 3.6 - even though I'm USA - that's what Subaru Canada requires. My CVTF Deterioration Rate at 87k miles is under 3% according to ActiveOBD app.

Eh, yes and no. Is it a big deal for me to do? Not really. But I don't want to see Subaru get swept up in a whole DI carbon fiasco.

Agreed, @SubOperator - biggest reservation is DI buildup issues.

What'd you go with? How much did it cost?

I’ve heard of a floaty feeling that was vastly negated by the RSB upgrade. Wonder if it’s the feeling of electric vs hydraulic power steering. I had a similar experience when I drove my wife’s Honda with EPS until I got used to it. But yes always start easy - check tire pressure, tire wear, etc.

Keep in mind your power train is 5/60 anyway.

I agree with acoustic glass possibly being an issue. I don’t have the specs but I’d be curious as to the depth of the Gen4 or Gen5 windshield glass vs the Gen6 glass

From what I've heard on the 3.6, you can access it easier from the bottom, but you kind of have to do it by touch since you won't be able to see. Might need a helper to guide you.

I would feel a lot better about my CVT if it had a fluid change interval in the manual to be honest. 60k would be fine for me. But I am freaking out about it because there have been a lot of posts. The new head gasket problems... Back to square one. Wish I kept the 09 Legacy. :/ or got a stick!

Yeah, even if you changed to a halogen style bulb, the throw pattern is different because it's built for LED's. This is why changing your halogens in a Gen4 like my Outback isn't effective, the light is too diffuse. It's more than just plug and play. Enjoy your LED bulbs - envy envy envy envy. Also: They fixed the "going through the wheel well" thing in the Gen5's. You don't have to do that any more. And yes, it was quite the pain. Nothing's worse than those little orange position lights above the turn signal though. My arms are still scarred from fighting my way in there.

That's lousy. Also, I don't find the seats comfortable in the Pilot in the front. The second and third row are actually nice. Not as nice as they would be with ventilated, but still decent. I also am starting to hate the whole rear power lift gate thing. I know this is where the industry is headed, but it was never "inconvenient" to me to shut the rear hatch. I could see added convenience of it linked to a button on my fob if I had my hands full, but you're not supposed to manually close the Outback (and in this case, Honda) rear hatch. Furthermore, there is a lot of talk on the 9-speed transmission on the Piloteers forum because it spends more time looking for a gear than actually staying in it. The 9 is available on the Elite or Touring trims. The EX-L we have (and everything below it) has the 6-speed transmission. I don't mind the 6AT, it's pretty quiet, but I don't have paddleshifters, so there's no way to control the torque unless I either set it in Overdrive Off (which makes it a 5AT) or Low (which I have no idea wtf the limits of that are). I really missed my Sport# and Sport mode here... You never know how much you miss the little things until they're gone. That being said, I'm confident that the head gaskets won't blow on the Honda (3.5 V6 EarthDreams DI engine), but I'm sure there are a hundred other little electronicy things that are going to drive me nuts. The most prevalent right now is the fact that intermittently (my favorite issues to troubleshoot) the presets on the bottom of the radio are blank. They're there if you touch them, but they're literally blank, so if you don't know what tab you saved them on, it's a guessing game. Also not a fan of the way they have their infotainment system. Very cluttered, not intuitive. And, anytime you're within 15% of the oil change interval, which I think has been around 6000 miles for us - so around 900 miles or so - there's a super bright orange informational LED that illuminates forever, with a chime that sounds every couple of minutes, to notify you you're within about 3 weeks of your oil change due date. And no way to squelch either of them. And you have to use the up/down arrows to pan through the informational screen to find actual useful info, like distance to empty, or digital MPH readout, or tire pressure. Shoot me now. I'm glad I'm not the daily driver of that thing. Again, I would probably go for a Highlander if I had to do it all again (two years ago - waiting for an Ascent wasn't exactly a viable option), but I'll obviously be pushing exceptionally hard for an Ascent to get us back to an all-Subie family when she decides she's had enough of the Pilot too. It's tough to say that you can't wait to be done with a 40,000+ dollar SUV, but I really won't miss that thing a bit. The Misses actually suggested that I get an Ascent for my next ride to replace my Outback and that way when hers gets older she can just take my Ascent and I'd get something new, but I'm pretty adamant on getting one of the last 3.6's. Good thing I didn't get a Baja years ago :D (If I could go back that far ago, we're talking almost 20 years, that car always had that cool factor to it...)

Electronics are finicky. Engine is DI - so waiting to see on carbon issues. The AWD is lousy in comparison to my Outback. Xmode was okay but you can’t go fast or it turns off. Honda Transmissions have had some issues. There is a slew of TSB and recalls all over already.

Heard great things about Hellas on the OB forums...

I've heard of this issue before. It feels like your back end was just floating/fishtailing a little as you drove in a straight line? Wonder if it's a side effect of changing from hydraulic to electric power steering?

Cool. Should be a pretty straightforward installation. Don't forget to upgrade your bushing s from the OEM rubber to poly. (See post above yours)

I find the oil thing interesting because there was an earlier shot at the debut auto show that I think clearly said 0w20 which I found surprising.

Did you happen to verify 0w20 oil on the cap? I have been hoarding a ton of 5w30 in anticipation of the turbo or H6 needing that. OMG - Dual Injector Setup would be perfect. Shut up and take my money. Regarding towing - is the hitch stock, or an additional accessory (I think it's like $550 on the Outback to install...) I might have to seriously think about an Ascent Limited with package 23 (PMR, HK Audio...) but only if there's dual injectors. Not doing the WSB thing every 30k.

My wife is the daily driver of a current mode (2016) Pilot. It is riddled with several minor annoyances mostly due to the infotainment system but I have long term concerns about the new DI engine in it. We chose the Pilot for its space over the Highlander but in hindsight i wish I made more of a case for the Highlander. I knew I wasn’t going to be driving it so I didn’t care.

Forester looks ugly! Man, I am not digging the rear.

Well, here in Northern NJ, I'm no stranger to crushing traffic - it's probably the biggest reason I don't have three pedals. That being said, yeah, I could see it very useful for highway cruising. I've heard of people that used ACC daily in traffic through urban areas, and the person was complaining that they needed new brake pads at 36k. I'm sure the ACC is not as good as a human that would just take their foot off the gas and coast first instead of brake, but since I've never had a car with ES, I don't know how aggressive the computer is in terms of using brake to modify speed or just reduce throttle input, and then back to the pre-set speed you've assigned. My cars in the past - my Legacy and Outback are no exception - seem to rev up pretty high (3k ish?) when they go from a slow speed to "RES" with a high speed plugged in; such as, when accelerating away from a toll plaza, and you're doing ~15 mph and the limit is 65. VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

Haha, you're freaking me out about EyeSight. I'm actually contemplating not getting it now!

Any reason in particular you went with MGM over CBP or any of the other colors? I'm torn. I love Black, so hard to keep clean, and I've seen a Leg 3.6 in MGM around here, not sure if from my town or not.