Suzam

Hopefully this is all being documented at Jiffy Lube Personally I would talk to the manager and tell them that you are uncomfortable with the situation and you'd like a Subaru dealer or certified mechanic fixing the problem at Jiffy Lube's cost since they can't diagnose the problem because of their non functioning equipment. You have gone too long without satisfaction. Try to have a reasonable conversation, but don't be afraid to ask for the number for the regional manager of Jiffy Lube or even mention small claims court if you feel it's necessary. You could try having the battery disconnected again for a few minutes them try attaching it again. Maybe the weak battery caused the problem when it was first connected.

On our old 98 outback the LED (which was in one of the switch blanks on the dash) was actually a button used for the valet mode. As I remember, when the engine is running you physically push the LED and it should start acting normally.

You seem to have answered your own question. Was this a new or rebuilt unit? You can have the whole charging system checked for free at most chain auto parts stores.

Have you localized the "ratcheting" sound you mentioned? If the noise went away with the FWD fuse it could be because as you do the 360º turns without the AWD working it can take stress off of the drive shaft and rear u-joints. You could still have a bad U-Joint on the back end of the car.

How may miles on the car? A p0420 can be the result of a o2 sensor getting lazy. If it's running fine you can reset it if the CEL is still on and see if it returns. I had one that would pop the CEL after a highway run at higher speeds every 6 months or so. I'd just reset it since it ran fine and there was no drop in MPG. As long as it was well before the emission check the car still passed without trouble.

I wont have the car for a few days... so what could happen when I put the fuse in? With the fuse (any size BTW) installed in the FWD plug under the hood, the FWD light on the dash will come on and the car will only have front wheel drive, the rear will not get any power (unless the duty C is bad in which case TB would be very apparent). and what does each result lead me to? If the noise you describe goes away the problem may be from the rearward part of the drive train. Have you considered a bad Universal joint? They can bang in a type of rhythm you described. If you can have someone walk along side the car while slowly doing circles you maybe able to localize the noise. There were no AT flashes...altho...I did not look to see if the light was functioning.... Is there one of these lights on the 95? Yes there is and it should light with the fuse installed

The battery maybe getting tired, it really isn't that old, but cold weather with all the accessories being used like the heater fan, heated seats, windshield wipers, headlights and fog lights and window defrosters running in combination can exceed the alternators ability to keep up so the car will draw power from the battery without allowing a charging period. Have a service center test the battery condition, it may only need a charge boost to be back to full capacity.

I totally missed that it is a 2002. The limited slip rear came standard on all Outback models starting 2002 not just the LTD model, so my remarks do apply.

I thought MY99 2.2 timing belts were still 60k miles. http://www.cars101.com/subaru/subaru_maintenance.html#90-99maintenance

Sometime aftermarket front axles will cause this problem.

How many miles and is this a Limited model? Does the rear seem to clunk in after the delay and is the delay REALLY a few seconds (that's a long time) as you say or a lot shorter? The reason I ask is that I have a 2001 OB Ltd that has always seemed to have a delay in the rear wheel engagement when compared to our older 95, 97 and 99 Subarus. I was convinced there was something going on whenever I accelerated hard in snow it would seem to be slower to respond in the rear. I finally tracked it down to the limited slip rear that was standard on the Limited models in 2001 models. it's a viscous clutch system, not a true closed differential gearing setup. The rear has a slight delay in working compared to a true limited slip closed rear. It made it seem as if the rear wasn't working but the limited slip would kind of clunk and the I could tell the rear was "locked" and spinning both rear wheels. Test the front wheel drag by putting a fuse in the FWD plug under the hood to disable the AWD and see it it changes the problem.

No CEL? I'm just guessing, but maybe the cat bit the dust. If it has dislodged innards it could be partially blocking the exhaust.

Can't hurt to try it. I have a 2001 Outback that still gets a little wet on the driver's side underneath where the head meets the block. I put the conditioner in at every coolant change.

the '01 2.5's are documented for head gasket external leaking you should see evidence of the leak under the car where the head meets the block, they usually just seep and drip. Did you use the Subaru head gasket stop leak? You should put the approved Subaru stop leak in every time the coolant is changed. Get some right away and follow the directions.

I'd like to know which seal you're talking about. If it cam seals which usually start leaking around 60k or another minor repair like oil pump then an investment in replacing these would be the way to go. For a couple of hundred you can have it nice and tight oil wise and while your in there replace the timing belt and water pump then you should be good to go until 170k miles before you need standard engine maintenance.

It also might be as simple as snugging down the nut under the rubber plug on the bottom of the arm. The parts are made of softer metal and will "strip" a little if the blade has been frozen or pushed heavy snow on the windshield.

I have a 2001 that does it every so often, tightening the clamps solves the problem. It is currently smelling again and I plan on replacing the small rubber tubes when weather permits. This post on the board had a diagram in the #7 post showing the locations of the hoses with clamps. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/142832-2000-legacy-gas-odor-inside/

Wow, sorry you had a bad experience. There are going to be people who will want to argue with you about the saftey etc. but you obviously has a set opinion of the car. Perhaps a higher model would have satified your wishes. There are many Subaru Legacy owners happy with their cars and will be driving them for years to come. It's not possible to please everyone, if you're happy with your Infiniti and Mercedes enjoy them. There are people that enjoy their personal choices of cars as much as anyone else.

The only problem I have with a pre-2014 Forester is the old style 4-speed auto. My father-in-law lives near Denver and his 2013 downshits early and stays in lower gears longer keeping the revs up, much like all the Suabrus do starting in the mid 90's models. The CVT model provides improved MPG and the style update makes it a nicer car in the interior and back storage area. Even my mother-in-laws 2011 Outback with the older engine and older design CVT are and improvment over the Forester's 4-speed. My 2013 Legacy has the newer engine and improved CVT and the engine/trans is great in hilly and mountain roads and highways and a better combo than the 2011 Outback. Test drive and test fit as many models that you can before you make a desicion.

If you have an HD radio and you listen to AM stations it is normal. The radio switches back and forth from HD to standard AM depending on the signal strength. Can you tell us which radio you have? There were a couple of available options.

I can say that my mother-in-law's 2011 Outback Premium is "noiser" than my 2013 Legacy Limited. There is more wind, transmission and engine noise. Since the Outback is a wagon you can also hear more coming from the back, the CVT and the engine are the "older" designs that had changes in the 2013 models. I'm not saying that the 2011 Outback is loud on it's own, but the 2013 sedan is noticably quieter.

My experience with the Michelins was like this: The first 20K the tires were good for wet and snow. I noticed that during this time the treadwear was dropping fast by a good 30 -35% (estimate by measuring with a penny) then the traction started to suffer and I developed an understeering problem in snow first then wet. I even went so far as to have the alignment redone at a mechanic I trust. I then discovered, trough research, that the rubber compound in these Michelins becomes different as they wear down, the more wear the harder the compound becomes as the tread becomes thinner. Softer tires will wear faster but I'd rather have a tire perform more consistantly for 45K life than have it degrade to the point that you modify your driving habits for saftey reasons for an additional 15K.

If you're staying with Costco, I've had the Michelin MXV4 on out 2001 Outback LTD and they lasted about 50K before I replaced them for the winter. I would say they were just average as far as wet traction. I replaced them at Costco with the Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus and they ride much nicer and are better in wet than the Michelin Primacy MXV4 were. Since snow isn't your issue I would consider them as a better choice. We haven't had much snow the last 2 seasons but I have no reason to think they would not perform as well as the Michelins and the Bridgestone's a more tame ride and better handling tire.

Welcome to the board! If it drives perfectly after warm up then, whatever the cause it is possibly a vacuum or sensor issue. In any event it shouldn't be cost prohibative for purchase. Possiblilities include a Coolant Temp Sensor, Throttle Position Sensor a dirty MAF sensor or just a cracked or disconnected vacuum hose. I would also try a computer reset by disconnecting the battery for half an hour before trying to diagnois anything else. A reset of the ECU may solve the problem in which case you'd luck out.

You may want to replace the Coolant Temperature Sensor. I has a similar problems a few years back where the idle would stay at 1200 RPM or drop down to 500-600 RPM because the sensor was not working. Once repaced it correctly went right back to 750 RPM at warm idle.