Steves72

I likely have a failed switch for my rear driver window. Most likely it is probably the driver switch but does anyone know if the failure of one switch will cause the window to not operate from either power window switch? Is there any type of relay bewtween the switch and the motor?Neither the driver switch nor the rear door switch will raise the window. Steve

The window is back up and it was the motor that did the work. As I was sitting there pondering what to do next, I was inspired to try jumpering the window motor using a battery charger. There was a small green connector that I disconnected and jumped the motor from that point and the window tried to go down. So I reversed the leads and the motor put the window up. Now I am off to do some searches to determine how the switches are wired and how to determine which switch failed - drivers door switch or rear door switch. Moneys on the driver door switch. Steve

Well, I got the door panel off. Yes the plastic bezel had to come off but so did the power window switch and bezel. There is another screw behind the power window switch. So, next question. Is there anyway to get the window up if the motor is bad? I am about to go off and do some searches but any quick answer here would be appreciated. Steve

My drivers rear power window will not close and I need to get the door panel off to determine the failing part and to attempt and get the window back up - in case of rain. I have located and removed two screws. One was in the arm rest and the other behind the door opening latch. I have managed to pry the door panel from most of the door around the bottom and the two sides. It is at this point that I have been unable to get anything else to release and I hesitate to exert more force for fear of breaking expensive interior parts. What do I have to do next? Does the cover of the door latch have to come off? I have attempted to pry this awar from the door panel after the one screw was removed but I have not been able to get it to move using a fairly high level of force. How do I get the top edge of the door cover to release? The very top of the door panel is a different color than most of the rest of the panel. Do these two pieces seperate? Steve

The wipers do work fine in normal and fast mode. Its only acting up on intermittent. What happens is the wipers park. Then a few moments later as they begin a sweep, the wipers hesitate just after they begin the sweep. It's almost like the electrical power is cut for a very small fraction of a second. It does not happen on every sweep but if you averaged it out my guess would be that this hesitation occurs around once every 8 to 10 sweeps. Also, this just began. I would have noticed this if it happened previously. Steve

I do not know if it will help but it cannot hurt. I will have to wait for the rain to end. I think its been around 4 or 5 days since I last saw the sun. Steve

Today I had to use the wipers and noticed a slight hesitation to the wipers when they start from the normal resting position. This issue was only noticible when using the wipers on intermittent. What is happening is that after the wiper returns to the normal stop position, waits for a few moments, then begins to start; there is a noticible hesitation to the wipers getting started. This does not happen all of the time but often enough to be noticible. For comparison I switched the operation to non intermittent operation and the wipers operated normally - without any notible hesition. I do not believe that the wiper arms have come loose as both arms act together and both arms hesitate together. (I will check to make certain that the arms are tight when I get a break in the rain.) When the wipers hesitate it is only for a fraction of a second but enough to notice it and state that it is not normal. The wipers do make a normal sweep through their full range when this hesitation occurs which tells me that the hesitation must extend back the linkage and may be motor related. Any ideas? Could this be isolated to an issue in the intermittent circuit or is likely to the first signs that the motor is weakening? Thanks for any ideas. Steve

My suggestion is to stay away from vehicles equipped with a moon roof - the Limited Edition. I had my used 2000obw at the dealers twice, in my first two years of ownership, repairing leaks associated with the drains that are supposed to channel water to the outside of the car. It's not much fun to watch water pouring into the interior of the car when its raining out. Also no fun to come out after a hard rain to find the entire back of the car wet. Steve

You can purchase cerium oxide here. http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=2010&itemType=PRODUCT Steve

Still good news. I changed the air filter, fuel filter and PVC in the fall. So everything is good except for the differentials and spark plugs. I do not know how I missed the plugs but I have to admit that I would not have thought of the differentials. Steve

Well. I am not to bad off. THe only thing which is on the list that should have been done that I did not do myself or have done was change the spark plugs. Steve

If no one can help, perhaps just a simple listing of the items that should be serviced at 60,000 miles. Steve

I was out on the highway in my auto trans 2000 obw. It turns 2750rpm at 70 mph according to the speedometer / tachometer. Steve

Interesting find. Are you certain that your TCU has the latest available maps for your car? I may ask the very same question the next time I am in the dealership. Steve

In my case that should not be necessary. The transmission was replaced by the dealer under warranty around 17 months ago. It was replaced when the car had 52,000 miles on the odometer. I have placed around 12,000 miles on the remanufactured transmission and the fluid level is correct and does not smell burnt. Steve

I do not know for certain if my transmissions behaviour is "normal" or not, but I will say that I have been pleased with most other aspects of this car. The only thing I would have changed if I could go back to the day I purchased the car was to buy the other Outback I was considering. That Outback was not a Limited and I would not have had two leaks from the lines that drain the sliding roofs. Steve

3300 rpm at 70 mph seems a little high for a factory delivered car. Are you certain that the tachometer is accurate? Steve

I recently passed the 60,000 mile mark and was checking the owner's manual to see what maintenance I have to do. Well the owner's manual referred me to another document - a Maintenance schedule - which I do not have. I was wondering if anyone could scan one and email it to me? This is for a 2000 obw / Legacy. Steve

I have a pair of legs for the engine block. They bolt to the block where the motor mount normally is mounted. This will distribute the weight on two steel runners that are about 2 feet long and one inch wide. I still do not think that is enough distribution for the tray. I think I will try the plywood idea and maybe remove the tray at the same time. Steve

The automatic transmission in my 2000 obw is the single biggest disappointment I have experienced with this, my first, Subaru. I purchased this car used at a Subaru dealer and the transmission was replaced about 60 days after I bought the car. I was very luckly to discover that the transmission was still under warranty. However, the remanufactured transmission still is a huge disapointment. In my 30+ years of driving, I have mostly had GM automatic transmissions, when I have had automatic cars. Those transmissions were always so much better then the slush box in my Subaru. I personally do not mind a manual transmission but my wife cannot drive a stick and this car had to be available for her when it was necessary. Specifically, here are the various things the transmission does that drive me crazy. When it is cold out and the transmission is cold, the car almost refuses shift out of first. I can have the engine up to 4000rpm with light thottle and it will not shift up into second. This symptom disappears within two blocks of my house but it is not "right". When the transmission is cold upshifts are so slowwww that the rpms of the engine will often shoot up by around 300 to 400 when the transmission shifts between first and second. The engine speed increases around 100 or so rpms when it shifts from second to third. This too disappears once the transmission is warm. There is a short uphill run that I make every day on my way home from work. BY this point in my drive the car has reached its full operating temperature. I can feel the transmission downshift twice climbing that hill at 45mph. At the top of the hill I turn onto a side street that is flat and has a 35mph speed. It takes over a 1/4 mile for the transmission to finally upshift. It will take that long even if I take my foot off of the gas completely. It's like the computer cannot sense that the load has been removed. Once a week, I drive a fairly hilly road. None of the grades are very steep but there is a lot of up and downs for short stretches. The transmission lags at following the engine load. In short the auto transmision sucks! If this one problem could be corrected, I would fell much more comfortable about driving this car out of the rebuilt transmissions' warranty period which expires in October of this year. Steve

I am certain that the car body can take the weight. I am more worried about collapsing/breaking the cargo tray. Steve

Anyone have any idea how much weight the cargo tray can take in the wagon? Soon, I will have to cart around a big block Chevy motor to and from the machine shop. I will guestimate that the block weighs around 280, the heads at 80 each, the crankshaft comes in around 70, and add another 30 for rods, pistons, covers, etc. That takes the total over 500. While the first trip will be with the block only. One trip will be with most of the parts on following the assembly being balanced. Steve

Today I was off and it was rather pleasent outside so I went back to testing the windshield. It appears that the heating element must be working as the voltage on the battery terminals was 12.7v with the key in the on position but not running. Turning on the heated windshield caused the voltage to drop to 11.8v. So something must be happening. It just seems to be very incompetent at melting the snow and ice off of the wipers. I also rechecked the owners manual and did discover that the circuit is fused. In fact it shares a 20a fuse with the heated mirrors. Steve

Nipper - you are correct the element is laminated to the windshield. It is so low that you cannot touch it from inside the car, so testing its operation in this fashion is not possible. Its one reason why the element itself normally cannot be damaged by use. The rear window grid is easily damaged. Even aggressive cleaning can leave one or more of the lines non functioning. I like the idea of turning on the circuit with the car not running - I should have thought of that! The frost on the windshield is another possibility for the next frozen windshield morning. Checking the back of the switch is an idea that might work. I suspect that I will find power at that location because the indicator light does function. Any clues on how that switch is mounted? My guess is a couple of small screws on the back side of the dash hold the switch in place? I also just saw on another thread that the service manuals may be downloaded from Subaru - but a $35 fee for 3 days is required just to find out what content is available. Anyone know what year 2000 info is actually available on the web site? Are the wiring diagrams available? Steve

Sorry for the lack of replies. I got caught up in other projects and was not getting on the web much this past week. To answer the questions posed. The owner's manual does not list the circuit as being fused. My guess is that it probably operates through a relay but not having a wiring diagram I just do not know. I am fairly certain that the heated windshield is not functioning for 2 reasons. First the owners manual suggests not leaving the windshield heater on for more than 15 minutes as this may draw down the battery. From that statement in the owner's manual, I reasoned that such a draw should have a visable appearance in the brightness of the headlights. It does not. I see no change in the headlights brightness, no slowing of the engine as the load to the alternator should have jumped, and no drop of voltage as measured at the battery terminals. Second, the snow and ice of last weekend did not melt from the base of the windshield. The button on the switch does go on and off when the switch is operated but fo the reasons I stated in the previous paragraph I do not believe that the heating element is operational. What would be nice would be to locate a test point. Or, knowledge of the wire color and diameter that carries the current to the heating element, or the location of the relay (if so equipped). I have a volt / ohm meter and can test things if I had some idea where to test. I just hesitate to begin tearing apart my primary transportation for something that I find annoying but not required for the safe operation of the car. Steve