JohnSoPA Posted July 20, 2004 Share Posted July 20, 2004 Well, we took the plunge over the weekend and bought an '05 GT Wagon (5MT, Silver). Base model (didn't want the sunroof, decided to live without the power leather seats) but had the short throw shifter installed. All things considered, I'm pretty happy. The only mechanical thing I am unhappy with is that we definitely have occassional bucking from about 2500 rpm - 3500 under light acceleration. I noticed this on one of the three GTs we test drove before. I am hoping it is only bad gas (tank filled at dealer, but guy said it has either 87 or 89 octane in their ground tank). So, I'm laying off the throttle somewhat until this tank is gone. Nit picks (probably all mentioned before) are as follows. Hope someone at Subaru reads this. 1. No freakin' Homelink garage door opener. I guess I'll have to get one from an Outback. Ridiculous for a $28k car. ;-) 2. Power windows are SLOW. 3. Cruise control system needs to be restarted every time the car is restarted. 4. No speed-dependent automatic volume control. 5. LEDs on the climate control don't match the radio which doesn't match the trip computer which doesn't match the dash. Come on, Subaru, issue some better/consolidated specs to your vendors. Worse, the climate control LEDs seem fuzzy or out of focus. 6. No coin slots. And there should be a "remove the ashtray and get more room" option. 7. Arm rest should slide forward somehow. I guess I'll try the armrest extension accessory. 8. Please make DRLs defeatable. 9. Struts for front hood PLEASE. Things that we like: 1. Pattern and brilliance of headlights were a pleasant surprise as we have been spoiled with xenons on recent cars. 2. Good fit and finish. Good materials in general. 3. Handling is pretty good although the RE92s have way too much tread squirm. 4. Short shifter is very nice and good quality. 5. Minimal turbo lag (I guess it'll get worse once I Cobb the car) 6. Relatively low road and wind noise. In general, we're happy. This is our first Subaru. I'm selling my '99 C43 since getting this. I'll really miss the V8 torque and sound (somewhat due to the AMG work) but will be happy for the AWD, utility/space and manual trans of the Legacy. Would appreciate any feedback if any of my nits are easily fixed. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rao Posted July 20, 2004 Share Posted July 20, 2004 #3 is common to any Japanese manufacturers' cars #8 is a less than 5 minute fix - do a search Swapping in an Outback visor is a great idea. Rob IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR CAR YOU SHOULD NEVER DRIVE IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnSoPA Posted July 20, 2004 Author Share Posted July 20, 2004 Hi Rao. Actually, Honda, at least, now designed their master crusie control button so that it stays on once turned on. My wife's '04 Pilot and my dad's '04 Accord work this way. I know that DRL can be easily defeated by those in the know. However, when our dealer was asked, they said it wasn't doable. :roll: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rao Posted July 20, 2004 Share Posted July 20, 2004 DOH, you are right on the Honda's and I should know becaue my wife has one. The DRL's are very easy, you are looking for the white plug that is where your left foot would be if you put it on the dead pedal and raised it along the left side of teh car. The box has a white and a black plug on it - you want the white one. You take off the lower cover under the dash (just a few plastic clips), reach in and unplug it. What you are disconnecting is the resistor pak that sends low current to the lights when the switch on. I disabled Gtguy's a few weeks ago. It literally takes less than 5 minutes. Someone posted a great picture of the box a while back. The bucking you are experiencing may not be engine related at all - it is more likely just driveline lash, nait the throttle and see if you feel it :) Rob IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR CAR YOU SHOULD NEVER DRIVE IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bemani Posted July 20, 2004 Share Posted July 20, 2004 I don't think you even need to remove any sort of cover to disable drl. The removal of the cover was only necessary because we didn't know what to look for. The module is at the upper left front, the corner closest to your driver side strut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rao Posted July 20, 2004 Share Posted July 20, 2004 I think y ou are right for the scond time, but the first time it is hard to see what you are looking for. Rob IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR CAR YOU SHOULD NEVER DRIVE IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opie Posted July 20, 2004 Share Posted July 20, 2004 1. Homelink will be available later this year intergrated into a new compass/self dimming mirror. 3. Ever car I have owned has done this. 6. Agreed 8. They are :) Search :D and my "bucking" went away after break-in and switching from 91 octane to 92... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IwannaSportSedan Posted July 20, 2004 Share Posted July 20, 2004 [quote name='JohnSoPA'] Nit picks (probably all mentioned before) are as follows. Hope someone at Subaru reads this. 1. No freakin' Homelink garage door opener. I guess I'll have to get one from an Outback. Ridiculous for a $28k car. ;-) 2. Power windows are SLOW. 3. Cruise control system needs to be restarted every time the car is restarted. 4. No speed-dependent automatic volume control. 5. LEDs on the climate control don't match the radio which doesn't match the trip computer which doesn't match the dash. Come on, Subaru, issue some better/consolidated specs to your vendors. Worse, the climate control LEDs seem fuzzy or out of focus. 6... John[/quote] Hopefully, The homelink thing (w/new compass mirror), as well as the tire pressure monitors, and rear power recepticles with make the trip to the legacy, from the Outback soon. Otherwise it should be swappable. Cruise control is one of my gripes about some cars in general. The miata stays on. The Ranger, which I use the cruise more, I have to keep turning on... Why not just leave it on, and press "set" when you want to, and hit "coast" or the brake to defeat it? Why do people really need an on-off switch on the cruise anyway? I agree that some might be used to turning it off when they don't use it. In the new throttle-by-wire, anyway, it could be considered a moot point, as it isn't drawing extra power from anything else, anyway. LEDs on the center console would be a pet peave, hopefully it is at least a close approximation of the same color. All the rest is good info to know / look out for. Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUBE555 Posted July 20, 2004 Share Posted July 20, 2004 I think the on/off cruise control may be a safety thing in essence. Sitting in traffic with auto, someone hits cruise. OOPS! Granted some people might turn it on and leave it, but it's a little thing to cover their butts. Not a problem with me one bit. It's right on the toggle on the new ones, used to be on the dash. A bit more handy. I may do a DRL mod in the near future. We'll see how I deal with DRL's. Homelink would be rather nice, but it wasn't a deal breaker here. I'd love to have the doors built in, less clutter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBY Posted July 20, 2004 Share Posted July 20, 2004 Looks like the good outweighs the bad by quite some margin :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC GT Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 For the Homlink, check out this site: [url]http://www.mitocorp.com/homelink_mirrors.htm[/url] It sounds like these are the mirrors Opie was referring to. As for the cruise control, is the problem that you have to press the button everytime you get in the car to activate it? I don't know, because I don't have one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUBE555 Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 Another thing about cruise... At least it isn't like our older Japanese cars we used to have. Every time you stopped or got down to under a certain speed you'd need to redo cruise. PITA if you ask me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sub-attraction Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 [quote name='Opie']1. Homelink will be available later this year intergrated into a new compass/self dimming mirror.[/quote] I hope this will be available on all models, not just the 3.0 Outback models. How much later this year before available? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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