1 week in the Outback 3.6R dislikes - likes

[whittex10]

Originally Posted by mpnret

Good luck with that and be sure and post if your dealer is able to do anything. But, this is a known issue with the premium and base model that when the A/C is set to max you will get very cold air out the vents (approx 42degrees) for about 10 minutes then it ramps up to over 50 degrees. If you just power off the A/C for a few seconds and turn it back on the air temp will go back to very cold for 10 minutes until the process repeats. The Limited doesn't have this issue. It can below the very cold air all day long. This has been verified by a Subaru factory rep and is not considered a design problem, just the way it works. A search will find a lot of discussion on this issue.

I have not noticed this AC issue on my 3.6 premium and I have just gone thru about 5 weeks of 100 degree+ weather. I think it blows colder than most AC systems I have had. I will keep an eye on it and see if I notice this.

[mpnret]

Originally Posted by whittex10

I have not noticed this AC issue on my 3.6 premium and I have just gone thru about 5 weeks of 100 degree+ weather. I think it blows colder than most AC systems I have had. I will keep an eye on it and see if I notice this.

You will, they all do it except the Limited. Just remember if it's 100 degree + outside and your A/C is blowing 55 degree air that 45 degree + differential feels pretty good. It's more noticable when you need the A/C on at like 68 degrees outside temp. Then the differential isn't so great and it's more noticable especially if you also own a Limited to compare it to. The Limited uses it's electronic controls to vary the output of the variable displacement compressor to keep it from over working. The premium/base uses what appears to be a timer.
It's not really a bad system, more of a minor annoyance.

[awd-gg]

I like the roof rack!!!

[drcandon]

Ditto ..I like the roof rack as well - it works as I want it to, and it stores out of the way..I have had no problems with tie downs...now if you want a roof rack that sucked, you should have had the one I got rid of with the Saturn Vue...

[lfdal]

Just crossed over 1000 miles in my 2011 3.6R Ltd and to me its a mixed bag.

Actually I'm having a fairly heavy dose of buyer's remorse at the moment.

Seats are comfortable and its easy to find a great seating position. Leather seems of good, but not great, quality. Dash is pretty well laid out and I can't complain about the Harmon Kardon sound system.

The backup camera in the rear view mirror is excellent and the range lines overlaid on the screen are pretty accurate.

The cabin is overall decently quiet although for a car in its price range nothing special.

The ride is very busy, harsh even, very few smooth roads around here. Lots of road feel transmitted back into the steering wheel, but so far none of the dreaded steering wheel shake so many others have reported. Definitely needs a bigger rear sway bar IMO for better handling.

Front end makes a decent clunking sound anytime I'm turning into a driveway at anything other than a crawl. Same if I'm transitioning between smooth and rough pavement while turning when I'm driving. Also perfectly normal, and in fact there are a number of posts on here detailing that issue.

Brake pedal is noisy as the devil if you release it quickly. Lots of side to side lateral play in the pedal. Also normal.

The real downside on mine is the 5-EAT. I seem to be the only one around that has a true POS gear hunting, engine lugging abomination of a gear box.

According to the service department, this is the normal mode of operation, shudders included, and is the TCU/ECU trying to maximize the fuel economy.

The only way it drives decently acceptable is if I paddle shift, but if I wanted a manual I would have gotten one.

Under moderate to heavy acceleration, its fine. In moderate traffic cycling back and forth between 15-30 mph and 1000 to 2000 rpm, it shudders, a lot. Perfectly normal.

My bad luck that my test drive, which covererd highway, side streets, and everything else I could think of, didn't include a heavy dose of traffic.

Oh well, I'll decide in a month or two if I can make peace with it and if I can't I'll take my beating on a trade for something else besides a Subaru. I spend way too much time in traffic to drive a car that's going to aggravate me on a daily basis.

BTW - this was number 6 for us and by far has the least satisfaction for the dollar. The winner in that set was my 04 FXT, which was really the best car I've ever owned.

[Somerset Max]

Originally Posted by lfdal

The real downside on mine is the 5-EAT. I seem to be the only one around that has a true POS gear hunting, engine lugging abomination of a gear box.

According to the service department, this is the normal mode of operation, shudders included, and is the TCU/ECU trying to maximize the fuel economy.

The only way it drives decently acceptable is if I paddle shift, but if I wanted a manual I would have gotten one.

Under moderate to heavy acceleration, its fine. In moderate traffic cycling back and forth between 15-30 mph and 1000 to 2000 rpm, it shudders, a lot. Perfectly normal.

Neither the 3.6R that I test-drove before ordering, or my own 3.6R, shift like that--ergo it is not normal, as you correctly surmised.

Any time that a dealership is not giving you the service that you deserve, you need to "kick it up a notch" by involving SOA at the corporate level. Contact info should be in your Owner's Manual.

If you can demonstrate this abnormal transmission behavior to the Subaru Zone Representative, there is a good chance that he will direct the dealership to repair the transmission.

Don't give up and roll over so easily!

[lfdal]

Originally Posted by Somerset Max

Neither the 3.6R that I test-drove before ordering, or my own 3.6R, shift like that--ergo it is not normal, as you correctly surmised.

Any time that a dealership is not giving you the service that you deserve, you need to "kick it up a notch" by involving SOA at the corporate level. Contact info should be in your Owner's Manual.

If you can demonstrate this abnormal transmission behavior to the Subaru Zone Representative, there is a good chance that he will direct the dealership to repair the transmission.

Don't give up and roll over so easily!

There-in lie the rub. Took it for a drive with the tech this afternoon and it was fine. An hour later it wasn't. I'm either going to have to find a way to absolutely, every-single-time reproduce it or hope it's nice enough to fail on its own.

If I keep it that long.

[mtberman]

Originally Posted by NoFlyZone

LOL! uh oh, only had the car for a week and haven't actually used the rack. Wonder what I'll need to get may Yakima box up there.

Hope it doesn't blow that bad...

I like the rack too, mainly because (1) I don't have to remove the cross bars and (2) Yakima or Subaru rack stuff works right out of the box with the factory crossbars. If you have a Yak box, all you need to do is buy a set of the 4 little clips for about $25 from the parts department. Slip them on to the factory crossbars and your box bolts right on.