Burt Posted July 27, 2008 Share Posted July 27, 2008 Hello, I am new hear. We have 2 2008 Outbacks. One LLBean Limited 2.5 with 7000 miles on it that is almosyt flawless and one preowned 2.5. In the the preowned car we are experiencing an intermittant sort of burning odor inside thre car. I have brought it back to the dealer twice and of course they can't smell it but every one other then the dealer can. It seems to be coming from the drivers sie and I smell the same odor under the hood near the power steering pump and the coolant cap and also in the drivers wheel well. It doesn't occur all the time. It doesn't much help to put the recirculate button on or off with or without airconditioning. My daughter thinks it smells like burning maple syrup., Does any one out there have any ideas. I have googled this and came up with sort of the same thing in older model outbacks. The other Outback does not have thois intermittant odor. Thanks for any feedback you can give me. Burt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtsmiths Posted July 27, 2008 Share Posted July 27, 2008 "My daughter thinks it smells like burning maple syrup.," That is the typical, nay 'classic' definition of coolant leaking and hitting a hot surface, like an exhaust manifold. I would start looking for coolant loss, perhaps around the head on the drivers side. I thought Subaru got the head gasket leaks resolved, but his just might ba an esternal HG problem. Check you coolant level, look for staining in the are you smell the odor, and take it back to the dealer, it's THEIR problem not yours on an '08. weasels :-\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burt Posted July 27, 2008 Author Share Posted July 27, 2008 Thanks for the help. So exactly where should I look for this staining. Can you send me in the right direction. Also waht is an external whatever yoiu said lol. I appreciate it. Burt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burt Posted July 27, 2008 Author Share Posted July 27, 2008 Oh I got it an external head Gasket problem I presume. The smell is coming in to the car though. Can't smell it in the engine compartment unless I lift the hood and almost press my nose up againt the area of the Steering pump and reservoir and also the coolant cap. I see nothing staining the street, driveway etc. However if it's hitting the manifols it wouldn't have time before it burned off to see it. The other issue is the fact that is' intermittant and doesn't occur constantly when driving or the engine is idling. Sometimes I get in the car prior to starting the ignition and it smalls and sometimes not. Sometimes when I am driving along it smells and then it quickly goes away and then a little later it returns. It's like a Seinfeld episode. It didn't help when I brought it back to the dealer that the Service Manger was bathed in cheap cologne and couldn't smell anything but that. Maybe he went to his locker, slapped it on so he wouldn't have to bring the car in to the shop. Ohter then this problem the car drives very weel with 17,000 miles on it. I did notice that I had to fill the coolant reservoir up from low to high and then yesterday when I opened the hood it was on low but when the car warmed up it went back up near high. Burt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burt Posted July 27, 2008 Author Share Posted July 27, 2008 Sorry for the mispelled words I am alwyas in a hurry. Burt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtsmiths Posted July 27, 2008 Share Posted July 27, 2008 Sorry for the mispelled words I am alwyas in a hurry. Burt No worries, I can spel I jest can't type worth a damnnn. Check your coolant level at the radiator (with the engine cool) not the resevour. Smelling on start-up would seem to indicate a cold leak, that then cooks the coolant. also does it smell when you are driving hard and hot, and using the A/C and other accessories that work the engine harder? Not unusual to smell things in the cabin and not under the hood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burt Posted July 27, 2008 Author Share Posted July 27, 2008 Doesn't seem to make much difference. I think if I rev the car at idle the smells sometimes come through more but I have to check that again. It's very odd and I can tell you that I have had about 60 cars in my life from The cheapest to some of the most expensive and collectors as well and if this car wasn't such a good car that I never thought I would get I would have gotten rid of it a week in to ownership. I must say with all candor that these Outbacks are the closest thing to a perect motor vehicle. All purpose pretty nice looking nw, comfortable, but they do use a lot of fuel. The car is actually my sons this one that is emmiting this smell and I want to make sure it's OK before he takes it back to college in three weeks. Although he will will probably crap it up. Burt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted July 27, 2008 Share Posted July 27, 2008 Welcome to the forum Burt and since these vehicles are so new you probably won't need much help from us here. I hope you get a lot of good driving from these cars. I have an '01 LL Bean myself. It does sound like there is a small coolant leak near the water pump, in front of the engine. Most likely due to a loose hose clamp, a minor issue but it does need to be found and fixed. These kind of leaks usually only leak slightly and only under pressure, when the engine is hot. Tell the service shop you suspect you have a leak and to look for it near the water pump. I think they can use a special light to look for signs of a leak also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burt Posted July 27, 2008 Author Share Posted July 27, 2008 Thank you I have an appointment on Thursday at another Dealer closer to home. Let's see if these yo yos can figure it out. It's amazing you buy two of the same car from the the same dealer and although they weren't rude they just didn't want to waste their time. So I will be calling the owner of the Dealership to let him know that he won't be seeing me in their showroom anymore. You would figure in this Car economy they would bend over backwards for a two time customer HUH? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted July 27, 2008 Share Posted July 27, 2008 I can understand your frustration about that. You should be able to have some effect if you do this right. If I was doing this I would write a letter to him instead of calling him. To me, a letter has more impact and in writing you can state things better sometimes than with just a quick phone call. In the letter just state the facts of what happened and who you spoke with in the service area and when. I assume it wasn't the owner you dealt with, but he should get with his employee and speak with him about your dissatisfaction with the service. The service employee is going to listen to his boss if he is wise. The letter may just go in the trash and a phone call can just end when it is hung up. If you do this in a correct manner it should get some results. You may even get an apology letter back. If the owner is truely customer oriented you will hear back from him, since you are a good customer that no good business would want to lose. You could include your phone number in case he would like to talk to you personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucky92 Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 ^ what cougar said...my local dealer used to treat me like garbage..I was even told by thier parts manager that I should junk my old Subarus and refused to order parts. I ended up talking to the co owner and SOA about them..well..the Co Owner got me into my 08 Impreza with ease..and now I am on a first name basis with everyone there and get the royal treatment. I am also one of the few customers allowed out into the work bay area while my car is being worked on.( They have learned that I actually know my stuff ). If done gracefully ..something should be done.. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 ..the Co Owner got me into my 08 Impreza with ease..and now I am on a first name basis with everyone this co owner must be a silver tounged devil, to turn a disatisfied service customer into a new car buyer. any way congrats on the new ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burt Posted July 28, 2008 Author Share Posted July 28, 2008 Or I can crap down their throats. Burt:banana: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.