riggyrow

If I'm thinking about the right piece...and I'm pretty sure I am (it's a rectangular-shaped cover that snaps into place, right?)...your local Subaru dealer's parts department should be able to order that for you. Have you checked there yet? They'll probably charge you an arm and a leg for it though, so I would go there only as a last resort (also, it won't be painted if you get it from the dealer, it will just be matte-black plastic).

I'm pretty biased against Safelite, but have heard good things about Diamond and Royal Auto Glass. Safelite has done 3 windshields for me since they're my insurance company's preferred shop, but they've done a pretty shoddy job each time. The first time they used the universal molding and installed glass with the greenish-blue shadeband when I specifically requested they use glass without the shadeband, and I had to bring the car back twice because the windshield leaked. On the second car they worked on, they ripped the hell out of my headliner, and again put in glass with the shadeband when I asked them not too. On the third car, they once again used a shadeband windshield when I asked them not too, and they did such a poor job lining up the molding that the cowls (which they mangled when they removed them) at the bottom corners of the windshield would no longer fit on properly.

Yep. No oil in it at any rate. Radiator cap was cleaned too...there was the tiniest amount of grit of some kind under the gasket, but I rinsed that all out. My real concerns at this point, more than the coolant level itself, are 1) the smell--because it sucks to be driving on a nice day with the windows down and have to smell that smell and 2) the fact that the dealer doesn't seem to be documenting my complaint all that well (as was the original poster's experience) so that if this does develop into a larger problem I don't have the strong R.O. history that I would like to have.

I won't argue that some coolant loss due to evaporation isn't normal, but the amount seems a little excessive--simply based on my experiences with all of my other cars. What is more annoying than having to keep a closer eye on this car's coolant level than I'm used to (and believe me, I'm not one to treat cars as "plug and play") is the damn smell of coolant burning (or evaporating) off. Normal evaporation typically doesn't happen at such a high rate as to produce such a strong smell. BTW, I hit 30k miles a few days ago and just changed the coolant...as well as plugs, transmission fluid, oil, brake fluid, and air filter.

I see this post is a few months old, but on the off-chance you check back in... I'm having the exact same experience with my 2006 Outback (see my post under Mysterious Coolant Leak). The symptoms and the dealer response have been the same as you experienced. Even after I've shown them digital pictures of the empty reservoir (I've had to fill it 3 times over a 30K mile period), they write on the repair order something along the lines of "All fluid levels normal; no leak detected." The only thing I can figure is that there is a very small leak in a hose or seal that is just big enough to cause coolant loss over a few months/couple of thousand miles, but not big enough to register on a pressure test. Given their shenanigans with not documenting my complaint properly on the repair orders, I'm not really sure how much effort the dealer has put into detecting the problem--or they know this is some kind of systemic problem (I've been finding lots of people online with the same or similar experience) and they're trying to put off as many people as possible until after the warranty period expires. At any rate, I would be very interested to know if you ever got this resolved!

BahHaHaHaHaHaHa! That's awesome! Lil bastard.

I actually read that post of yours before submitting mine, and thought "Ah, well, at least if I'm nuts and this is all in my head then this guy is crazy too." I've actually found quite a few other people who have had/are having the same experience. No one has posted about getting it resolved though. The Outback is going in for its 30K service some time in the next month or so, and I'll be having them check this out again (I checked the rad. cap as suggested and it seemed fine, and there didn't appear to be any evaporated coolant around the filler neck). I would love to hear if you get this fixed or at the very least find out what's going on. I'll post it if the tech. has anything worth reporting after the 30k service.

Yeah, you're right. Although, since this is technically my wife's car, I'm more worried about my warped head if I do this. I'm just frustrated that the dealer has yet to acknowledge that there is even a problem. I showed them the time/date-stamped digital pics of the reservoir slowly emptying over the past month, with the last pic showing the reservoir almost empty on the morning I last brought it into the shop, and they still wrote "All levels are fine" on the R.O. I didn't now Subaru's didn't have any type of warning for low coolant in the reservoir or the radiator though. That's...interesting.

At about 9k miles I brought the level up from just above "Low" to just below "Full"...I'm not exactly sure how much that is, I just keep a pre-mixed bottle of 50/50 Subaru brand coolant on-hand. I had to do that again at 19K miles (this time it was well-below the "Low" mark) and again at 27K (again, well-below the "Low" mark). I have to do this after getting the car back from the dealer, because they're not topping it off and as I mentioned above, they're writing "All levels are fine" on the repair order. I'm not sure if they're trying to cover their butts or what, but I feel like I'm headed for a major confrontation/hassle over this. The fact that I can smell the coolant and that I've had to fill the reservoir 3 times leads me to believe this is something more than normal loss/evaporation.

Thanks for the info guys. Regarding the dealer and warranty...I bought the car from Annapolis Subaru, and have had them look at it twice, and took it up to Wilkins in Glen Burnie twice. Both said essentially the same thing: We can't find anything wrong and there is no pressure failure. The really disturbing thing is, both dealers keep writing on the repair orders "All fluid levels are fine at this time," despite the fact that the reservoir has been either on "Low" or almost completely empty when I've taken the car in (I actually had to ask them if they were checking the level when the engine was warm and the coolant had expanded into the reservoir, because that was the only way to explain the difference between their readings and mine--I always check it in the morning after the car has been sitting overnight). I've been reduced to taking pictures of the reservoir with my digital camera to show the gradual reduction in coolant and the almost-empty reservoir...I'm not sure how well those are going to protect me though. At this point, I'm considering no longer re-filling the reservoir, letting the coolant in the radiator drop down to the point that the check engine light comes on, and then taking the car in under conditions that force them to acknowledge that there is a problem.

I have a 2006 Outback that has been leaking coolant since the day I bought the car. 27K miles, and I've had to fill the reservoir three times (from well-below "Low" to just below "Full"). No puddles, no stains, no evidence of a leak anywhere (that I have been able to find), but I can smell the coolant when I roll down the windows or when I exit the car, particularly on/after longer drives on very hot days (can't smell it coming through the vents though, so I assume this rules out a leaking heater core). The temperature gauge never indicates the car is running hot. I've had the car pressure tested 4 times, most recently idling the car for 3 hours to get it nice and hot, but still no dice. No hydrocarbons have been detected in the coolant. Oil looks good/not cloudy as well, and I haven't seen any vapor coming out the tailpipe. I'm stumped. Any advice out there?