2013 Outback with water on carpet after crossing big puddle.

[rentonoutback]

Well I used to drive a 94 Geo Tracker soft-top, great 4WD, pretty bad noise from the top. Anyway, I took this thing thru water that was a couple inches over the door bottoms. Took about a minute to cross, not a drop got inside. We all know those older cars weren't the best at sealing and gaskets, yet it did just fine. So did my 2008 Outback and 2010 Forester, albeit in lower water.

Frankly, I see no reason why the water should have gotten in. the dealer said none of the floor seals failed; the door gaskets were bone dry, and the water came in thru the door drains (!). Doesn't sound like this is appropriate. Does this mean that anytime I drive thru some water, those drains will flood the interior with water? I see that some of you guys are jumping in with judgment and criticism, but don't tell me you've never done stupid things in your car before.

Forest roads are considered off pavement ie off road by the way
Well then I guess the gravel road I used to live on is considered off-road too.

[subiesailor]

You seem to missing the key point here - driving through a puddle or stream is not the same as sitting in the middle of one. All cars will leak water into the floor pan if you park in a puddle deep enough to reach the floor pan. If you drive through the puddle most cases you'll never see a drop of water on the wrong side of the floor pan

[rentonoutback]

What difference does it make? Pressure would in fact be higher when moving, then when sitting still. It's not like I was in 3 feet of water, we're talking about the pressure caused by maybe 2 inches of water!

[rasterman]

It's not like the car is equipped with a depth gauge. This is bad for you because you can't prove how deep or shallow the water was. Neither you nor the dealer has a lot to go on, and you're both motivated to not spend money on the problem.

I'd probably be a bit disappointed if my car took on water during a 3 minute stop in twelve inches of water. But I don't know that I could be more than just disappointed... there's just too many what-ifs. What if I'd had to get out for some reason? Even if I went through the windows, I'd be coming back in with very muddy feet. Once you have the vehicle out in that sort of environment, some of that environment is going to come inside.

Regarding TV commercials- having worked on some, I can tell you that we always edit out the parts that don't look awesome, like bailing water out of the footwells for example.

[foxrider68]

Originally Posted by rentonoutback

What difference does it make? Pressure would in fact be higher when moving, then when sitting still. It's not like I was in 3 feet of water, we're talking about the pressure caused by maybe 2 inches of water!

Frankly the reason I feel no sympathy for you is you were looking for the dealer to wipe your bottom for you. If you owned up to it more it'd be different. You say the water was only a foot but how would you know from the drivers seat inside the car. You also said you got stuck. Rocking back and forth can cause all kinds of swells of water around the car. Ask about some good carpet cleaner and maybe you'll get some friendly advice about how to fix your own screw up.

I slid my Legacy into an ice pile but I didn't ask Subaru for a new bumper either. **** happens; own it.

[subiesailor]

Originally Posted by rasterman

It's not like the car is equipped with a depth gauge. This is bad for you because you can't prove how deep or shallow the water was. Neither you nor the dealer has a lot to go on, and you're both motivated to not spend money on the problem.

I'd probably be a bit disappointed if my car took on water during a 3 minute stop in twelve inches of water. But I don't know that I could be more than just disappointed... there's just too many what-ifs. What if I'd had to get out for some reason? Even if I went through the windows, I'd be coming back in with very muddy feet. Once you have the vehicle out in that sort of environment, some of that environment is going to come inside.

Regarding TV commercials- having worked on some, I can tell you that we always edit out the parts that don't look awesome, like bailing water out of the footwells for example.

LOL - I did some TV work many years ago - you would be amazed at how far they will go to make something look amazing. Remember those toyota commercials using real owners doing their thing? Family friend one of the top Fly fishing guys in CA would spend almost his whole summer in Yellowstone at his Cabin. The director didn't like his cabin so they built a new one with the right look! Not kidding! The cool thing though he got royalties off that commercial for several years made a pretty nice chunk of money off it.

My sailboat was used in a commercial for a Pontiac mini van the director didn't like the mast hanging over the van - so I had to take the mast off the trailer cradle. Commercial showed the van towing the sailboat missing a mast HA HA.

[rentonoutback]

Well, the dealer doesn't pay for warranty repairs, Subaru does. So the reason I started this thread is for some guidance on talking to SOA. This whole episode IS quite disappointing to me, it seems that Subaru has followed the trend of removing the off-road abilities of their vehicles (AKA Nissan Pathfinder). Like I said, the dealer said the water came in thru the door drains somehow, NOT anywhere else. So it comes down to a question of whether these drains just freely allow water to come into the car. Unless they're equipped with some sort of one-way valve, it wouldn't make a difference whether I was in the water for 30 seconds or 5 minutes.

[rentonoutback]

You say the water was only a foot but how would you know from the drivers seat inside the car

Uh, because the water was below the Outback logo on the plastic trim, and it was also below the headlights. I got out and checked. The water was BELOW both the driver's door and passenger door. If we're talking about a couple waves causing this, that's way more ridiculous than submersion.

[subiesailor]

Originally Posted by rentonoutback

Well, the dealer doesn't pay for warranty repairs, Subaru does. So the reason I started this thread is for some guidance on talking to SOA. This whole episode IS quite disappointing to me, it seems that Subaru has followed the trend of removing the off-road abilities of their vehicles (AKA Nissan Pathfinder). Like I said, the dealer said the water came in thru the door drains somehow, NOT anywhere else. So it comes down to a question of whether these drains just freely allow water to come into the car. Unless they're equipped with some sort of one-way valve, it wouldn't make a difference whether I was in the water for 30 seconds or 5 minutes.

You do know that the OB is a legacy wagon right? Subaru hasn't removed any off road ability of the Legacy since the day they slapped plastic kick panels to the bottom of the doors on a legacy and tossed some raised letter tires on them.

[rentonoutback]

You do know that the OB is a legacy wagon right? Subaru hasn't removed any off road ability of the Legacy since the day they slapped plastic kick panels to the bottom of the doors on a legacy and tossed some raised letter tires on them.

Yeah, I know, but adding funky drain mechanisms that make it easier for water to come in the opposite way and infiltrate the cabin doesn't sound like my idea of improving the car's abilities.