B&K

I visited the Subaru dealer yesterday for a closer look at the 2010 Outback wagon and I was (mostly) not impressed. I don't NEED a bigger car, I don't feel the need for more power and acceleration, and I am not enamored of the body styling changes (larger areas of plain-jane sheet metal, black cladding along lower edge, choice of paint colors). Looks like a cross between and American SUV and a Subaru. Plus the roof rack is UGLY, and might not even be suitable for carrying a canoe (unless Subaru offers gunnel brackets for their factory crossbars), since the opening for attaching a Yakima rack allows only about 2' space between crossbars, not adequate for a full-size canoe. On the plus side, though, the interior might be more comfy, especially for back seat passengers (who get more legroom and whose seat backs are adjustable now), the dash material seems tougher and should be more resistant to scuffing and scratches than our 2009, there is a recessed tray in the dash where you could put items that wouldn't move around while in motion, more cup holders (in the doors), the seat fabric is a little nicer...But the door panels seem to have been cheapened up, losing the nice grab bars of the 2009 in exchange for molded pockets in the flat door armrest. Sat in it and noted that the driver's visibility to the back is still pretty impaired from the rear corner post forward along the entire driver's side - for this 5'4" driver anyway. I had NO problems with my 87 GL 4WD wagon, but I've had to remove the 3 rear head rests to have any confidence in backing up or changing lanes with my 2009, and don't see any improvement in the 2010. Interested to hear what others think of the 2010.

I took the car yesterday to the dealer to look at the dash and they agree that there are visible marks that shouldn't be there, but act like they haven't had this complaint from anyone before. I took the opportunity to check out the 2010 model, and noted that the new Outback has a harder vinyl for the dash than our 2009 does. A sign that Subaru recognizes the problem with the old material?

We got our 2009 Outback wagon just before the 2010s came out, and I think we're glad we did. From what we've seen, the new models interiors have been cheapened up and don't look near as nice as last years models. One reason we chose the Outback over the Honda CRV and Toyota RAV4 was that we didn't like their interiors as well. Now there seems to be less difference. Has anyone else got anything to say about the 2010 models and how they are different from the 2009 and earlier? (If this thread is not posted on the right part of the forum, let me know where I should re-post it.)

I find that the new Outback is so tight that even though the doors are light, they don't close all the way without a good push. Air pressure keeps them from closing easily. I also learned my lesson. And get it reinforced every time the light reflects off the remainder of the dent I made with my hip...

So actually, one SHOULD leave lots of accessories on, sort of as an early-warning system that their battery is about to fail! ;-) So that they won't be stranded at a trailhead somewhere after having parked their car in the middle of nowhere while they backpacked for a week...

The rubber nose cone on the old Camaro/Firebird was a nice touch, too, when your sibling backed into your car in the driveway! Bounced right off, without any major body damage.

I'm almost ready to stop flogging this dead horse , but don't some of these things USE power from the battery while they're powering down, such as the power antenna? And finally, when you turn the key to the ON position but not yet to the START position, all of the accessories you left on when you turned off the car come back to life, don't they? Isn't that a big (unnecessary) drain just before you make another big draw by turning the key to Start?

So in the absence of a "starting problem" you see no advantage to preventing a big drain on the battery each time you start it up by having headlights, wipers, AC and radio already turned on? Wouldn't it prolong battery life to NOT do this?

Actually, DON'T bump it near either edge of any door. The double layers of metal and welds make it impossible to get out the dent you might make. If I had bumped nearer the center of the door, the Dent Pro guy could have completely eliminated the indentation. But he can't get his tools into that last 1/2 inch of space near the edge....

john, your clever reply is a little too cryptic for me. I don't have a weight problem, but I did have a question about battery drain...

But doesn't the antenna motor pulling the antenna down use as at least as much energy/battery as leaving the radio on? Better to turn it - and lights and windshield wipers and heater fans - off when you turn off the car, or at least make sure they're off before you start the car, no?

Is there a product that is specifically recommended as a "dressing" for the type of material used on the new dashboards? Something that won't give a body shop, or anyone else, fits later?

Guess I need to just slam it hard the first time, so it overcomes the air pressure and closes fully. So hard adapting to a new car - the old suby was 22 years old...things have changed a bit since it was made.

My husband is cleaning it to death, apparently! He does that with all his cars.

If you take advantage of the fact that turning off the ignition switch on your Subaru also switches off the headlights, aren't you overlooking the extra drain on your battery required when STARTING the car with the headlight switch in the ON position? Isn't it the same as leaving the radio, heater fan or windshield wipers on? Just more work for the battery. Another argument for DRL.

Nope, no harder than usual to fully close a half-latched door. I guess I don't have enough padding on my hips to protect the new thinner sheet metal...something I should be glad for. ;-) Cars are so airtight nowadays that they require a goodly push to close them, even using your hand on the handle instead of your hip. The reason for the hip bump was to make sure that the door was actually locked. In many cars, if a door doesn't close all the way, bumping it closed UNLOCKS the latch mechanism. Apparently with the new subaru, the door stays locked even if you don't get it all the way closed. But does the dome light stay on? That's something I need to check, now that I know I wouldn't need to bump the door closed for security reasons. Will the battery run down if I just leave it half-latched?

Our new 2009 Outback Wagon got its first dent in a most unexpected way: I closed the door and it didn't close completely. Since I had clicked the automatic doorlock before closing it and had my hands full, I didn't use the key to open and reclose the door. I just bumped the door closed with my hip - as I have done hundreds of times before in 40 years of driving. Next day, I noticed a nice round indentation, right at hip height. No paint chip to indicate that someone had opened a door into the car, plus I'd been careful about where I'd parked anyway. Could only have been from my hip. I was blown away. They sure aren't making them like they used to, are they? Is the sheetmetal thinner these days? Fortunately the Dent Pro guy was able to remove most of the damage done by my hip bump, except for the part too close to the edge of the door where there's two layers of metal welded together. Moral: don't close new cars' doors with your hip.

Has anyone got any suggestions for removing/preventing the scratch and rub marks that so easily appear on the dashboard of our new 2009 OBW? Even wiping dust off the dash seems to cause rub marks! Also, the rubber tray protecting the cargo area is susceptible to scratching and scuffing. Our old 87 GL wagon's dashboard was made of stronger stuff, because after 22 years it had fewer marks than the new car does after only 1100 miles! Is there a product that will minimize the appearance of these scuffs and scratches? Surely Subaru can do better than this soft vulnerable material they're using for dashboards lately.

We just bought our second new Subaru in 22 years - both "pavement-colored" cars - and are very glad to have DRL on the Diamond Gray 2009 Outback after years of feeling vulnerable in the Lucent Grey 87 GL 4WD. Our non-Suby vehicle, a 1997 Mercury Mountaineer, didn't have DRL, so we tried an aftermarket kit that worked great until it didn't, completely draining the battery - disabling the keypad entry system - while we were backpacking miles from civilization. Apparently the nice feature that turns off anything draining the battery 45 minutes after shutting off the ignition wasn't part of the loop that the DRL kit tied into. Fortunately we had a spare key with us to get into the car -the driver left his key in the console, so without my spare we'd have been locked out of our own car. So at least we could sit in the comfort of the car with access to food and water, while we waited for someone to come along and jump-start us. Thanks, Subaru, for incorporating the DRL feature into the newer models.