New to the Forum

[Rogue38]

Been lurking around the last few weeks.

2007 Limited, 155k miles, wife and I inherited it from her parent’s (both passed in Oct, 11 days apart).

We decided this will be my daily commuter, replacing my BMW e30 (decided to start restoration after 33 years and 234K). Been driving a Nissan Frontier 4x4, the last two years. (too much gas!).

This is our 5^th Subaru: 84 GL wagon, 2011 Forester, 2018 Forester, 2021 Ascent (Wife’s current ride).

Not a bad car, kind of like it. She handles nice and has some get up and go. I’m not a truck/SUV guy, I like my performance cars. I was thinking of getting a new Legacy or Impreza before this because I need something for winter mountain driving.

A few things I have noted:

• ·       Averaged 31.5 mpg (according to the computer) on the 7-hour drive from eastern PA, on ethanol laced fuel. Is that normal? I was expecting 27 mpg.

• ·       CEL came on during the trip P0171, lost cruise control (Annoying!), pulled over and reset to get cc back. I’ve tried a few things to correct this but have not got the car registered yet to drive it full time yet.

• ·       No Bluetooth, Grr. Ordered a Bluetooth Aux adapter with mic for now. I’ve read about the issues with swapping out the radio with the Dual Zone HVAC. Another annoying issue.

• ·       Speedometer is almost 6 mph slower than GPS at 70-75mph. Most error I’ve seen on cars are 3mph on my BMWs. Been reading up on that too.

• ·       Timing belt is due in 2 years, less than 30k since it was changed. This will be my first Subaru timing belt change. My e30 takes about 4 hours to do.

• ·       Going to keep an eye on the head gaskets, I told my father in-law to have them looked at, but never asked if he had.

Any other items I should look over? I’m a Certified Aircraft Mechanic, Retired USAF Flight Engineer and been a gearhead my whole adult life. I don’t take my cars to the shop much, I prefer to take care of things myself.

[m sprank]

Welcome to the forum.

The po171 could be maf or o2 sensor related. Could be a vacuum leak.  Could be fuel pump or regulator. Could be a ground. At the cars age, could be a few things. But best to figure it now. You are running lean. 

Depending on driving style and conditions you can get 30mpg. I could get 28mpg from the turbo model on road trips. 

[Rogue38]

I found the hose from the maf to the intake box slightly cocked, so I cleaned the maf and straightened the hose up. Hopefully that was the issue.

[NORULZleggy]

Oh how I miss my N/A 2008 Legacy. After I fixed the HG, the car was mint. No turbo problems lol. This car should last you very long. Just do regular maintenance and you will be set. You can go the JDM DD route for a new radio if you really want, but it cost. Great car take care of it. 

[GearJamr]

My previous 06 2.5i had separate HVAC controls, easy to replace the stereo with a Metra kit and you can install any single or double DIN head unit.

[Rogue38]

Unfortunately mine is a single piece audio and climate control.