what is wrong with these cars?

[1ABAJA]

Hey Meeky,

How did she total your Safari?

 

1) Accidently parked it in a flood plain before a storm

 

2) It "stalled" on the railroad tracks

 

3) A moose ran into it

 

Just curious,

 

Josh:D

[Meeky Moose]

haha, it woulda been better off if a moose hit it...

 

 

she ran a red light, got broadsided (pas side) by a nissan 200SX doin 65 mph... nissan didn't even slam on the brakes, just slammed into her... anyways, i got picks of the van afterwards, if anyone wants to see just gimme a holler i'll email'em to ya..

 

 

frame was bent, both side doors, mangled, they had to pull the pass side wheel to get it on the flatbed to haul its sorry rump roast away... no broken glass tho.. it even broke the center console that covers the engine, so it had to have bent the firewall to break that..

 

was pretty nifty

 

her and baby were fine, baby was on drivers side.. guy in the nissan went away on a stretcher, alive...

 

when he hit, it spun the van 90degrees and slammed it into 2 other cars sittin at a stoplight, totaled out one ford tuarus sittin there, the other taurus just got a broken headlight.. van wouldn't go in park, and the keys were stuck in it after the wreck too go figure..

[cowboystrait]

i will guarentee u that u fix this car put money in it will last goooooooood looooooong time:grin:

[BigMattyD]

I have found in my experience with my Subaru vs. other cars I've had, that I have had to perform maintenance and repair on my Subaru at about the same or maybe a little lower rate than on other cars. The big difference, however, is that it is so much easier to work on than any other car I've had.

 

 

It is normal to replace the timing belt, front oil seals, and maybe even valve cover gaskets at 85000 miles. If you live in a snow area, you can count on rattling heat shields after about 5 years. The climate control lights are a common failure point, probably because the bulbs have a green rubber cover on them that causes them to overheat. The bulbs are cheap and simple to replace.

 

If you like to work on your own cars, the Subaru is a dream. even if you don't, you can find a good, knowledgeable and honest mechanic who will properly diagnose and repair the car for a lot less than the dealer.

 

The only time I ever set foot into the dealership is when I need a part that I absolutely can't get anywhere else.

 

Matt

[teppichkopf]

In 20 years of owning vehicles I have never had a single car like this one. My 96 Legacy Outback is either trying to win some award for most time spent at a shop or a game called locate the world's worst customer service reps.

 

 

 

Is this a EJ25 or EJ22?

[LosDiosDeVerde86]

GMC Safari van.

 

antilock brakes would lock on dry pavement

 

new engine burned 1/2 quart of oil between changes.

 

fuel pump went out, they had to drop the tank to fix that one.

 

headlight was gettin moisture in it.

 

 

my parent's had one of those once.

 

my parent's new(er) yukon just got recalled for the exact same thing.

 

that's normal.

 

that's what you have to do if the fuel pump is in the tank.

 

you'll have that.

[MDW25gt]

Dump the dealer and find a good indepandent mechanic. My guess is 80% of you problem is some moron at the Subaru garage. I am on my third Subie. first was an 87 gl 10 traded with 176000 miles and running good. (wish i still had it)2nd was a 90 legacy with 2.2 This was the lemon of the bunch. torque bind, air suspension sold with 145000. 3rd a 99 leg gt wagon. replaced the engine due to head gaskets. but consider this to be my oversight. the problem was there when I bought it. This is a subaru problem! I love my GT. the best car i have owned. with the fresh engine it runs strong. keeping my fingers crossed on the head gaskets.

[Lesbaru]

Citabrikr-

 

Sounds like you bought my 96 Legacy after I gave up on it and traded it in for an 05 Impreza!

[thingol]

I am not trying to be smart or anything, but a bunch of the things you listed do not suprise me as needing replacment whatsoever. However, the mileage at which you are having to get them replaced, and the cost you are paying does. Things such as timing belt, water pump, oil seals, valve cover gaskets, rattling heat-shields, etc are kind of par for the course, but you usually don't see them until between 150,000 and 200,000 miles. And the check engine lights are notoriously finicky too. If you haven't, it may be worth getting a carfax report to see if there are any discrepancies in the odometer, because most everything you listed sounds pretty routine for higher mileage cars.

 

Regarding the cost, your dealer is ripping you off. If my local (independent) mechanic did all of that it would not have been over $1200-$1400 total, and if I had done that (most all of what you listed is actually pretty simple), it would have been half that. Get a Carfax, find a better mechanic, and see what they have to say.

 

BTW, the head gasket issues are only for the 2.5L engine, which you may or may not have. If you have an automatic with the hood scoop, you have a 2.5 in the 96. If you have a 5 Speed or an auto w/ no hood scoop, you have a 2.2.

 

That said, it is possible that you just got a bad one, and nothing you do will help it. Fortunately, the bad ones seem to be few and far between, as we have had 7 with no major problems whatsoever.

[rweddy]

BTW, the head gasket issues are only for the 2.5L engine, which you may or may not have. If you have an automatic with the hood scoop, you have a 2.5 in the 96. If you have a 5 Speed or an auto w/ no hood scoop, you have a 2.2.

 

BTW none of the 96 legacy obw have hood scoop 2.2 or 2.5.

If it is a manual 5 spd then it is a 2.2, if it is automatic 2.5

 

Also the 2.5 is not the only subaru motor that has had HG issues, 2.2, 1.8, etc. have also had issues.

[thingol]

I could have sworn that the 96 2.5s had the scoops. Regardless, the transmission information is correct.

 

I have never heard of any issues with the 2.2 or 1.8 headgaskets whatsoever, certianly not with the earlier 2.2s (96 and earlier). I am sure there have been failures, but there are sporadic failures present in any engine......I have never heard anything about an endemic problem such as is present in the earlier 2.5L engines.

[zyewdall]

I could have sworn that the 96 2.5s had the scoops. Regardless, the transmission information is correct.

 

I have never heard of any issues with the 2.2 or 1.8 headgaskets whatsoever, certianly not with the earlier 2.2s (96 and earlier). I am sure there have been failures, but there are sporadic failures present in any engine......I have never heard anything about an endemic problem such as is present in the earlier 2.5L engines.

 

Well, the EA82's blow head gaskets if you overheat them badly enough several times Is that an endemic problem, or should I just stop doing that....?

[rweddy]

I could have sworn that the 96 2.5s had the scoops. Regardless, the transmission information is correct.

 

I have never heard of any issues with the 2.2 or 1.8 headgaskets whatsoever, certianly not with the earlier 2.2s (96 and earlier). I am sure there have been failures, but there are sporadic failures present in any engine......I have never heard anything about an endemic problem such as is present in the earlier 2.5L engines.

97 was the first year of the hood scoops, but this is an easy swap.

 

Yes there are issues, the 1.8 and 2.2 have some rare HG issues. I just purchased a 1990 Legacy for my brother that blew a HG and it has 135,000 miles. It is fixed now and ready for another 200k. It is rare but still could be an issue. The 2.5 has a higher failure rate but probably around 10-20 percecent failure rate.

[Gnuman]

Well, the EA82's blow head gaskets if you overheat them badly enough several times Is that an endemic problem, or should I just stop doing that....?

 

You should stop doing that

[jcase321]

I agree with some of the other postings. What condition did you buy the car? Also the previous owner must have beat the crap out of this car but probably did almost NO maintenece. On the contrary suburu is one of the top rated cars in reliabilty. I guess there can be a lemon out there too. It even happens to Honda.. I have a 2001 OBW with 137,000 miles on it and have not made a maintenece repair yet!!!! to date. My only repair I will have to make soon in new boots up front. The right side is cracked, but i have 137K on them..

 

 

 

In 20 years of owning vehicles I have never had a single car like this one. My 96 Legacy Outback is either trying to win some award for most time spent at a shop or a game called locate the world's worst customer service reps. Since buying this car used from a dealer in mid-February it has been back for a knock sensor and major oil leaks (the day after the purchase, check engine light came on 30 miles after leaving the dealer), timing belt, water pump, tensioner, oil pump seals, camshaft seals, valve cover gaskets, plugs, idle air control, ECM, water leaks, brakes (twice to stop the rattling), rear gate handle stopped working, starter, windshield washer pump, catalytic converter, rattling heat shields, inop glove box light, burned out climate control lights...what is with these things? If the car would be even slightly reliable I would probably love it, but this is a real lesson in tough love. I have easily spent over $3000 in maintenance in the last 6 months. Every time I try to convince myself that there can't possibly be anything else that can break the car ALWAYS proves me wrong. :madder: I worked for GM for almost 10 years and never saw a car we had like this, even the damn Chevette. It almost seems like there is no single bad point but it actually seems to have problems in ALL areas. Reading the board does me even less good because now all I see are the things I still have to look forward to going wrong like head gaskets. The dealers? So far, the worst I have ever encountered. Nothing is their fault, they cleared the code so that was what was wrong with it, till it gets towed back in the next day and they don't stand behind their work, "well we fixed what was wrong with it yesterday, this is a different problem even though it's the exact same symptoms and it has the same code..." I'd like to get a newer one but it doesn't seem like they really have fixed any of the problems. How can a company continue to crank out cars that all have the same inherent problems and never feel the wrath of the customer, is it just good advertizing that keeps selling them, cause it can't be customer satisfaction. :moon: Subaru...wake up.