Rocktman Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 Took my 17 Legacy to the dealer for a LOF, new wiper blades (under warranty) & to see if the weird exhaust noise the car has can be diagnosed. I've had this noise for at least a year, but since it didn't seem to be affecting anything, I didn't feel like wasting my time at the dealer for a noise they can't find. To recap: the noise happens after driving & putting the car in park. You will hear a popping or put-put or farting noise (depending on your point of view) come from the exhaust. I've had it a long time. So of course the service dept. only wanted to idle the car which would not present the problem. They wanted me to believe it was temperature change between the exhaust & the air. I said it does it all year around. I explained to the service writer twice that the car has to be driven, idling won't do. He said that they really didn't have time for someone to drive with me & was sticking to that until I said that when my lease is up it will be the next owner's problem. At that point he said he would try to find someone to drive with me. The mechanic who worked on my car came out & we went for a 5-10 min drive. We got back to the dealership, he parked the car & left it running. We went to the back of the car & after maybe 15 seconds, sure enough, the exhaust makes the sound I was talking about. The mechanic immediately said, "you need a muffler." I said a muffler (car has under 34K miles)? Yes, a baffle came loose, probably due to a bad weld. So they're ordering it & it will be replaced when it comes in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldguy Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 TSB 09-66-16 Rear Muffler Shell Rigidity Enhancement This bulletin announces a change in the production procedure for the rear muffler assembly. Spot-weld locations securing the outer shell portion have been changed to improve overall rigidity. A gap may develop at the spot welded seam as a result of repeated thermal shock (heating / cooling) which occurs during normal use. The gap does not create an exhaust leak. In some cases, a rattling sound from the muffler may develop. Information contained in any technical document found on the STIS web site should only be used as reference material for highly trained automotive technicians. Only automotive technicians have the training and the special tools/equipment to repair Subaru vehicles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocktman Posted January 18, 2019 Author Share Posted January 18, 2019 Thanks for the info, waldguy. However, my sound isn't a rattle (although others may hear it differently) & it only occurred after driving & stopping. The mechanic said it was a loose baffle (hopefully he's seen this problem before) & not a seam weld. The service dept. is willing to replace the muffler. I hope the new muffler has the new spot welds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldguy Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 Good point. Others have reported the loose baffle as well. Seems the robot making the mufflers never got its certification papers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocktman Posted January 19, 2019 Author Share Posted January 19, 2019 Good point. Others have reported the loose baffle as well. Seems the robot making the mufflers never got its certification papers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocktman Posted January 28, 2019 Author Share Posted January 28, 2019 Muffler replaced today. Hope that's the last of my motorboating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legacyboy1991 Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 TSB 09-66-16 Rear Muffler Shell Rigidity Enhancement This bulletin announces a change in the production procedure for the rear muffler assembly. Spot-weld locations securing the outer shell portion have been changed to improve overall rigidity. A gap may develop at the spot welded seam as a result of repeated thermal shock (heating / cooling) which occurs during normal use. The gap does not create an exhaust leak. In some cases, a rattling sound from the muffler may develop. Information contained in any technical document found on the STIS web site should only be used as reference material for highly trained automotive technicians. Only automotive technicians have the training and the special tools/equipment to repair Subaru vehicles. Does this TSB apply to the 2018 3.6Rs? Subaru repurchased my 18" 3.6R back in August of 2018 for an 'unidentified' clanking sound coming from the trunk area of the vehicle. They had an engineer out and had it in the service department 6 times before they finally gave up and just deemed it a lemon. Now this TSB makes me wonder if they took my old car back to the factory and tore it down to find this issue. I told them repeatedly the noise was coming from the exhaust but they said that the exhaust wouldn't make noise if it was tightened properly.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legacyboy1991 Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 Took my 17 Legacy to the dealer for a LOF, new wiper blades (under warranty) & to see if the weird exhaust noise the car has can be diagnosed. I've had this noise for at least a year, but since it didn't seem to be affecting anything, I didn't feel like wasting my time at the dealer for a noise they can't find. To recap: the noise happens after driving & putting the car in park. You will hear a popping or put-put or farting noise (depending on your point of view) come from the exhaust. I've had it a long time. So of course the service dept. only wanted to idle the car which would not present the problem. They wanted me to believe it was temperature change between the exhaust & the air. I said it does it all year around. I explained to the service writer twice that the car has to be driven, idling won't do. He said that they really didn't have time for someone to drive with me & was sticking to that until I said that when my lease is up it will be the next owner's problem. At that point he said he would try to find someone to drive with me. The mechanic who worked on my car came out & we went for a 5-10 min drive. We got back to the dealership, he parked the car & left it running. We went to the back of the car & after maybe 15 seconds, sure enough, the exhaust makes the sound I was talking about. The mechanic immediately said, "you need a muffler." I said a muffler (car has under 34K miles)? Yes, a baffle came loose, probably due to a bad weld. So they're ordering it & it will be replaced when it comes in. Is this the sound that you were hearing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocktman Posted February 5, 2019 Author Share Posted February 5, 2019 Is this the sound that you were hearing? No. My noise was only heard from the exhaust when the car was idling AFTER being driven. The dealer tried to replicate the noise by just idling the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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