My windows are RIDICULOUSLY slow

[BAC5.2]

To close all 4 windows in my 09 wagon, it takes around 45 seconds.

 

But, the worst part, is that I can't close all 4 at once. If I try, they just die a few inches from closed. The fronts will struggle up, but the rears won't even consider moving. I have to finish each window individually.

 

Does anyone else have this problem? It seems ridiculous, and I'm getting frustrated with it.

 

So far this car has been pretty good, but the little things have been bothering the hell out of me. It rattles like crazy, and the windows don't roll up! Plus, the leather on the steering wheel is coming unglued.

 

I'm contemplating taking a day off work and taking it to the *shudder* dealer to have a look at (both the window issue and to replace the steering wheel and investigate the rattles).

 

While I'm at it, anyone have sunroof rattles? Were you able to track them down?

[JonLGT]

Ive got an 05 sedan and they are slow, but mine dont take 45 seconds.

[TSiWRX]

^ Agreed, something is awry, BAC.

 

My '05's windows have always been slow when compared to either that of my wife's '05 WRX or her current '09 FXT, but they certainly don't take 45 seconds to roll up, and I also can do all 4 simultaneously (although, lacking Kung-Fu Grip, I usually only do two at a time ), and they certainly don't stop from sealing.

 

Can't help you with the moonroof, though - there's a big difference between that of the OBXT's and the LGT sedan's.

[BAC5.2]

*ugh*, I guess I'll make an appointment for next week. I HATE taking the car to the dealership though. It's just a hassle, and I don't trust dealer-techs as far as I can throw them.

[TSiWRX]

^ I trust some dealerships/techs - and this is honestly one of the reasons why I keep telling anyone who is contemplating modifications along with potential dealership-interaction issues to "check out your local dealerships." Typically, the mod-friendly ones are also going to be more technically proficient, since the former usually means that they have at least a couple of enthusiasts/hobbyists on-staff.

 

But I do most certainly agree that it's a tremendous hassle.

 

Don't forget to unmarry your AP. Not because they're looking for it or because you're looking to defraud, but rather, as a simple and honest precaution in case their techs do get too ambitious, and decide to update your ROM with the newest one out there (if there is one, that is). Remember, this is just good insurance.

 

----

 

How far are you from blackfang's place?

[BAC5.2]

Who is Blackfang?

 

I simply cannot trust dealerships. I've been in the industry too long and seen too much. It's not the technicians that I distrust, but rather management. Service advisers, almost without question, are greedy and ignorant. I know more than every single one I've met, and they ALWAYS try to lie and cheat to make a buck.

 

I am actually good friends with the mid-atlantic technical training director and I know that every dealership has a decent guy or two at them. But for every good, educated technician are a bunch of children that don't know their butt from a hole in the ground. Plus, it's the service advisers I really don't trust.

 

The "local" dealer just sent me a coupon. $149.99 for a standard "minor" maintenance. What does it include? Oil change (non-synthetic, and an additional charge for the Turbo), filter, and inspection of the car (which is BS). $150 for a basic oil change. Greed is a deadly sin.

 

I was planning on unmarrying my AP, which just adds to the hassle.

[TSiWRX]

Who is Blackfang?

 

I simply cannot trust dealerships. I've been in the industry too long and seen too much. It's not the technicians that I distrust, but rather management. Service advisers, almost without question, are greedy and ignorant. I know more than every single one I've met, and they ALWAYS try to lie and cheat to make a buck.

 

I am actually good friends with the mid-atlantic technical training director and I know that every dealership has a decent guy or two at them. But for every good, educated technician are a bunch of children that don't know their butt from a hole in the ground. Plus, it's the service advisers I really don't trust.

 

The "local" dealer just sent me a coupon. $149.99 for a standard "minor" maintenance. What does it include? Oil change (non-synthetic, and an additional charge for the Turbo), filter, and inspection of the car (which is BS). $150 for a basic oil change. Greed is a deadly sin.

 

I was planning on unmarrying my AP, which just adds to the hassle.

 

blackfang is/was inside a MD/VA-area (I don't remember which, as I don't live there ) dealership, and was among those who helped us with the "Stop-Sale" longblock replacement verification here - as well as remain active in the community helping fellow enthusiasts. If his dealership is close to you, I'd recommend going there.

 

As for your cynical view of dealerships, how can you maintain that view, and yet still say, as in your past post in this thread: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/ap-stage-1i-137745.html?highlight=bac

 

I've got 72,000 left on the warranty so unless the dealer puts, in writing, that a downpipe and a stage-2 map won't void the warranty, I'll wait until then to further the mods.

 

If you don't trust the dealerships for something as little as a quick service, I would say that you can't trust them for *anything* - even if they should put it in-writing (after all, like I said in that thread, what's theoretical and "supposed to be" is just fine and dandy, but the real-world trouble that it entails is a completely different story), and particularly on something as big as a catastrophic claim on your powertrain warranty.

 

You can't have it both ways.

 

What you need to do, in this specific case of your windows, is to find a technically competent dealership service department, period.

 

Alternatively, the only other ways to go would be a trusted independent facility or your fellow local/regional Subaru enthusiasts/hobbyists.

 

What you'll need to do - if you decided to further modify your vehicle - would be to find a technically competent and mod-friendly dealership.

 

The latter can wait, but the former is something that you'll need to pursue, right-away, in case you have further problems, or problems of a more pressing nature (ones that, say, if your "mod-friendly" dealership is somewhat of a drive away).

 

If you haven't done so already, be sure to become more active in your local Subaru scene.

[BradyCat]

yeah my windows are disturbingly slow too. definitely the slowest windows i've ever seen in a car. probably subaru just making them 'safer', so your kids don't get their head/hands/arms stuck in there as easily...

[BAC5.2]

I do all of my own service. The only reason I'd take it to the dealer, is for warranty work and even then begrudgingly. Having worked at a prominent Subaru shop, I'm comfortable with just about any and every aspect of work. I've rebuilt transmissions in my previous cars (built myself a dogbox), rebuilt motors, all kinds of stuff. I don't, however, want to do any of that on a brand new car with a perfectly applicable warranty. My distrust of dealerships has nothing to do with an ineptitude for maintenance or work. My distrust of dealerships stems from years of being in the industry and seeing first hand how well they take advantage of people. The Volkswagen dealer tried to tell my wife that they couldn't do an alignment on her Passat because the alignment wasn't adjustable and that if something is out-of-whack, then they can replace the broken of faulty parts, but that was it. When I told them that I do alignments on my own vehicles, and had done one on hers when we first started dating, they told me that it wasn't possible and said that "the solid axles in a Subaru Forester are completely different than the Passat".

 

That statement was really more mocking than anything. I know they wouldn't do that, so I'll wait until the warranty is up before modding. If they DID, then I'd simply take legal action if necessary. I'm not willing to chance it, so like I said, I'll wait.

[TSiWRX]

^ The problem with the "then I'd simply take legal action if necessary" statement is that it sounds good in theory, but in the real-world, it's just as much trouble.

 

I've known plenty of people who took various marques to-court: the end result was virtually always the same - did they get money? yes, but they also paid a mighty sum for their legal fees, and in the end, the money they got, while it did pay in-full for their repairs, barely covered the trouble they went through, in terms of the hassle. And, of course, they still had to pay for the initial repairs out-of-pocket. In-retrospect, a good number of them said that they'd rather have just taken the loss, outright; and another subset also were undecided that they'd ever tackle the legal route again, due to differences in lifestyle/time-management.

 

I, too, use the dealership service department as a matter of convenience - like you, I am also a hobbyist wrench, and abhor the hassle of the dealership.

 

Nevertheless, since you do have time, it would be strategically beneficial for you to scout out what dealership in your area will meet your service standards, as well as what may be more accommodating, when it comes to modifications.

 

 

And as for mods, honestly, in my view, you've already breached the ECU with the AccessPORT "Stage I." At this point, at least in the way I see things, why bother holding back any more?