rgeo13

I have experienced the same issue with rattling in the front drivers side, which seems to get worse in the winter. I believe the cause of the noise is the front stabilizer link assembly, because it has to connect two pieces of metal in the suspension and the assembly holds grease within a rubber gasket. If the rubber gasket fails or separates in cold temperatures, you will hear the noise of two components rubbing against each other without sufficient lubrication. See TSB #05-80-20 for a potential fix. I had my car recently repaired (January 2021) and when I have a chance to test drive over a course of a few weeks, I will provide an update to see if this technical service bulletin addressed the problem.

For those that got this done, and the steering rack, is that something that is covered under the powertrain warranty?

I had something similar on my 5th gen. I had a premium model, no sunroof. After torrential downpour one day I got in the car and it was super humid. After a bit I noticed a large puddle of water on the passenger front floor liner (s/o weathertech for catching it all lol). It was late at night, so I dumped it out and shined my flashlight around and couldn't figure anything out. It was passenger front floorboard only.

Went to my parents house that weekend, my dad has a much larger collection of tools and knickknacks and I removed the glove box assembly, the blower motor, basically everything I could get to under the dashboard, I removed and inspected. Could not find anything at all. Inspected the A-pillar, inspected the windshield seal, everything. Could not find anything. I even got the pressure washer out and soaked allllll the way around the car at every angle just trying to figure something out...with no luck.

3 months went by and I had chalked it up as a freak but worrisome one-time incident. I was going through the automatic carwash when I heard water, looked at the passenger floor liner, and water was pooling in. It was coming from back behind the glove box, straight down, almost dripping. It was so weird. Sopped it all up and went back the next day, but I took out the glove box and under dash assembly so I could see. Same thing, waterfall from behind the blower motor assembly. I was baffled. Again, went to parents house and ripped everything out, soaked everything with the pressure washer, and came up empty.

I have absolutely no idea how it was getting in, but I was worried about going through winter with water getting in up under the dash board. The last thing I wanted was water freezing up back there and messing things up electronically or with the airbag. That, along with the fact that I was within 2 years of needing a new clutch and new tires, I cut my losses, disclosed the water issue, sold it, and bought a 6th gen.

Sorry for the long post, just wanted to be as informative as possible. My issue was water ONLY on the passenger front floor, nowhere else.

Literally yesterday, I was scrolling facebook and saw this post in my local subaru group:

"A few months ago I posted about our 07 outback having a problem with the passenger side front footwell getting wet. Well, I finally took it apart and identified what was causing it. The water was coming down the windshield under the plastic trim where the wipers park and then instead of running to either side and going down the firewall drains, it was dripping into the fresh air intake for the HVAC system. The metal above the vent had rusted and was sort of like a funnel directing all the water into the vent. I cleaned the metal up and coated everything with JB Weld to stop the rust and I added a bit a aluminum flashing to direct the water away from the HVAC vent. Problem solved."

I'll try to attach the pictures he took, but, after reading this, this sounds EXACTLY like what I was experiencing in my 2011.

Update: Won't let me post pictures that the guy posted on facebook. PM me your email address and I'd be happy to send them over to you!

Thanks for the information. I appreciate it. I will stick to the following:

 

Oil and filter change,

Replace brake fluid,

Replace spark plugs,

checks of the fluids and look for leaks of any type.

 

I usually buy the parts myself and have my local mechanic do the labour.

 

Lisa

Not a bad idea to throw PCV valve in there as well. $25 part and very minimal labor. I intend on doing mine every 60k when I do plugs!

The good:

-Fenders look untouched

-Car is older, lots of aftermarket/used parts available from a body shop perspective, so the repair may not cost as much as you'd think like it would for a newer car

The bad:

-As stated above, radiator core support. That's a big one there.

-Looks like some damage to the condenser, if it is bent youre looking at $500 or so just in terms of AC work. Insurance company will write up a used AC condenser around 50 bucks, then evac, recharge, and labor associated with remove and replace.

I think it may be close but I think they will total it unfortunately. I am a claims adjuster, I deal with this stuff daily. My advice would be to CLEAN the interior really well asap before someone comes out to take a look at it. Interior is graded based on carpets, seats, headliner, and dashboard. Most of the time they will just take photos of the driver's carpet and the driver's seat, so make sure to scrub out any salt stains in the carpet and such. Half an hour of cleaning can net you hundreds more. The condition adjustments can make significant changes in your settlement. Additionally, gather up any and all receipts of work you've put into it recently (recently being within the last 2 years or so). Make sure your adjuster gets all of that and they "should" take it into considerations. Additionally, never accept the total loss settlement without asking for and reviewing the market valuation report first.

If you have any questions about it, shoot me a PM. I'd even be willing to look over the valuation and make sure everything is fair in my opinion before you accept a payout. Who is your insurance company?

I had something similar on my 5th gen. I had a premium model, no sunroof. After torrential downpour one day I got in the car and it was super humid. After a bit I noticed a large puddle of water on the passenger front floor liner (s/o weathertech for catching it all lol). It was late at night, so I dumped it out and shined my flashlight around and couldn't figure anything out. It was passenger front floorboard only.

Went to my parents house that weekend, my dad has a much larger collection of tools and knickknacks and I removed the glove box assembly, the blower motor, basically everything I could get to under the dashboard, I removed and inspected. Could not find anything at all. Inspected the A-pillar, inspected the windshield seal, everything. Could not find anything. I even got the pressure washer out and soaked allllll the way around the car at every angle just trying to figure something out...with no luck.

3 months went by and I had chalked it up as a freak but worrisome one-time incident. I was going through the automatic carwash when I heard water, looked at the passenger floor liner, and water was pooling in. It was coming from back behind the glove box, straight down, almost dripping. It was so weird. Sopped it all up and went back the next day, but I took out the glove box and under dash assembly so I could see. Same thing, waterfall from behind the blower motor assembly. I was baffled. Again, went to parents house and ripped everything out, soaked everything with the pressure washer, and came up empty.

I have absolutely no idea how it was getting in, but I was worried about going through winter with water getting in up under the dash board. The last thing I wanted was water freezing up back there and messing things up electronically or with the airbag. That, along with the fact that I was within 2 years of needing a new clutch and new tires, I cut my losses, disclosed the water issue, sold it, and bought a 6th gen.

Sorry for the long post, just wanted to be as informative as possible. My issue was water ONLY on the passenger front floor, nowhere else. Hope this helps.

This is a neat thread. Just bought my 6th gen a little over a month ago (previously had a 5th gen). Farthest I've had the chance to take it was Cleveland, which is 52 miles one way. Other than that, it has been restricted to work and back :/

Looking at another trip to NYC or maybe Tennessee sometime in the spring/early summer, interested to see how this one compares to the 5th gen on long road trips.

Had the same problem. Read through the old threads and saw someone used industrial strength velcro. I bought some on Amazon really cheap and slapped it in there, good as new.

Also, sort of funny, I too used paper towel rolls stuffed between the headrests (all the way up) and the roof to hold it there for a while. It worked perfectly, and I would recommend that too.

As far as interior, I've had 2 weird sounds that I was able to track down. Wouldn't really call any a "squeak" but worth checking as it would take 3 seconds.

My driver's side visor makes a teeny bit of noise over rough roads/bumps. Its the plastic slider insert thing moving around, so now that I know it isn't a big deal I ignore it.

My headliner in the rear began to sag. This didn't cause a squeak but more of a flapping noise.

Not sure if any of this will help. Good luck!

Rgeo13

What was the cost of the parts on Rockauto?

What did the shop charge for the rest of the work?

thanks

Denso Condenser was $81 on rockauto, paid $30 for expedited shipping.

refrigerant, o-ring kit, schrader valve kit, compressor oil, and AC flush solvent $75

~4 hours labor at independent mechanic ($85/hr for the guy I use)

Includes leak diagnoses via UV dye test, refrigerant evac, replace condenser (requires radiator pull), flush the system with solvent (since the leak was there for over a year, clear out gunk/moisture), replace all o-rings, replace schrader valve assemblies, coolant refill, recharge of system.

Comes to right about $580 but with doing the preventative maintenance (orings and valves) I shouldn't have any future problems with it...

Wanted to update this thread. The issue was definitely due to low refrigerant. Not long after I refilled, it slowly got warm again, confirming that there is/was a leak. Since it was the end of summer and AC season was coming to an end, I decided to hold off on getting it in to the shop till spring.

Took it in yesterday and my mechanic found a teeny pin-sized hole in the condenser. He is replacing the condenser, all o-rings, and the Schrader valve assemblies while the system is evacuated. Might as well.

For what its worth, it was cheaper for me to buy a Denso condenser on Rockauto and one day ship it to my mechanic than it was to buy an OEM, or any replacement from any local parts store. So, if anyone here ever has a similar issue, just something to keep in mind. I hope this helps!

Hey, just wanted to update the thread so people in the future who have this problem can see what solved my problem.

Got a tip from someone in one of my other subie groups to try recharging the system. Oddly enough, it worked. Ice cold and equal flow on all vents now. Thank you to those who gave insight on this!

Hi, just an update:

Spent the morning disassembling the dash to poke around and see what I can see. Blend door actuator is functioning, it moves when I change the dial from hot to cold. Blower motor is working great, everything else under there looks good.

Doing further research online, I see some cars have an “air mix actuator”, is this something our cars have/something that would explain my situation?

Also, for what it’s worth, the shiny silver tube right by it is really hot.

Hi all,

Yesterday as I was driving home I realized that my AC blows ice cold in every vent except my driver's side vents, and it has been doing this for about a week now, I just thought it needed recharged until I felt the passenger vents.

After doing some research, I've seen stuff saying it could be one of the little doors inside the vents that is stuck closed or something, I've seen stuff saying its an actual problem with the AC system (specifically a bad o-ring), I've seen all kinds of stuff.

Driver's side is blowing just as strong as passenger side. Seems almost like a dual zone climate with ac on passenger side only, but that isnt the case.

2011 Legacy 2.5i Premium, single zone climate control. Any and all input is appreciated!!