Starting and warm up

[Jake2c]

Yup, 2wd will get stuck in sand, or off road in muddy areas very nicely in Fl just like everywhere else. And it will also get stuck in the snow when I drive north as well as slip and slide on ice, snow, wet pavement etc . . . I don't know why the environment does not realize I have Fl plates on the car.

[subiesailor]

Originally Posted by lrjet55

This is my first new car in 20 years and I'm wondering about the warm up procedure for the car. Do you need to let the car idle settle from its initial higher setting before putting the car in reverse/drive? The manual is vague?

What say you all?

The warm up is more for you being comfy in the cabin with heat - and having clear windows. Other than about the first 30 seconds the car is running your free to roll.

New cars need no more than about 30 seconds to get all the fluids moving after that its more about comfort in a cold car.


As for trading in AWD for FWD only reason to do that is for a better handling wagon vs the OB - the cost of AWD vs 2wd with subarus is pretty much a wash and unless you get a very different 2wd car built for max mileage your not seeing a dramatic difference in fuel consumption between the new subarus and other similar sized wagons.

My mother owns her first AWD subaru its a Legacy she has about 38,000 miles on it and her words "It is the first car she has ever felt really safe in - and she loves the way it handles when the weather is bad" Her prior car was a very nice top trim Altima.

[Rockin Ronnie]

On the coldest of days, start it up, put it in gear and drive judiciously for the first few minutes. Warming up a modern car in any weather is a waste of money. I agree with what others have said.

Ron

[Subyblue]

Originally Posted by lrjet55

Thanks for the replies fellas.

I've decided to start the car, drive immediately,without allowing for the warm up, straight to a dealership to trade in my unnecessary AWD vehicle for a front wheel drive version.

Sure hope you're not in the market for a new Subaru FWD. Not available, as they only sell new AWD now.

[Saint J VT]

Originally Posted by Rockin Ronnie

On the coldest of days, start it up, put it in gear and drive judiciously for the first few minutes. Warming up a modern car in any weather is a waste of money. I agree with what others have said.

Ron

Ron,
When you live where there can be as much as 1/2" of ice on the windows, underneath the foot or two of snow, you start the car first, put on all heat and heated windows, seats, etc. Then you go snowblow the driveway. By the time the driveway is done, most of the snow and ice is then off the car.

Or, you could scrape, scrape and scrape and put all manner of scratches in your windshield anywhere you happen to be scraping ice off a dirty windshield. I know, as I need to remind my wife that I don't like scratches in my windshield.

Some people even scrape the snow and ice off their hood and trunk. In this climate, forget trying to keep your car looking like new. If you want to do THAT, you will be keeping it in a heated garage eight months out of the year. If you are going to use it, it will certainly look WELL-USED before even five years, or so, is up!

[subiesailor]

Originally Posted by Saint J VT

Ron,
When you live where there can be as much as 1/2" of ice on the windows, underneath the foot or two of snow, you start the car first, put on all heat and heated windows, seats, etc. Then you go snowblow the driveway. By the time the driveway is done, most of the snow and ice is then off the car.

Or, you could scrape, scrape and scrape and put all manner of scratches in your windshield anywhere you happen to be scraping ice off a dirty windshield. I know, as I need to remind my wife that I don't like scratches in my windshield.

Some people even scrape the snow and ice off their hood and trunk. In this climate, forget trying to keep your car looking like new. If you want to do THAT, you will be keeping it in a heated garage eight months out of the year. If you are going to use it, it will certainly look WELL-USED before even five years, or so, is up!

Good friend in NJ once said - never own a car till you can afford a home with a garage - in places where it is icy cold and snow covered in the winter. He worked a deal with the older neighbor across from him - he paid for the car insurance and maint and she let him use her car for local stuff. Both of them had a good deal going then again both of them were Adults who respected each others belongings etc.

He now owns a home with a heated garage and has two cars.

[Saint J VT]

I hear you!
One drawback with a heated garage here is that there is so much frozen slushy ice stuck in the wheel wells and underneath the car. As long as it is frozen, the salt in it is not corroding. Pull it in a heated garage for all that frozen brine to thaw and rust will happen a lot more! Not to mention, if you happen to have a concrete garage floor, the brine will etch (disintegrate) the concrete surface! Your nice, flat, shiny concrete floor will look like a bomb hit it within several years!

The car is typically in our garage which I don't turn the heat on for, unless I am out there in the cold for some reason. As for my work truck, that is too large for the garage so that is always outside. My garage is in an old barn (c1850), my garage floor consists of 2" thick hemlock planks (large, heavy wooden boards). There are cracks between the planks where water can drip through the floor to the dirt floor located about one to two feet below the garage floor.

[OBnube]

Originally Posted by lloyd123

I think - could be mistaken - that only the new Limited's have a conventional temp gauge and that the base and premium models still have the blue light and the eco guage as previous years.

Yep, As much as I yearned for an old school temp gauge in my 2011 I have to say after getting one in my 2013----I miss that blue light.

[Rockin Ronnie]

Originally Posted by subiesailor

Good friend in NJ once said - never own a car till you can afford a home with a garage - in places where it is icy cold and snow covered in the winter. He worked a deal with the older neighbor across from him - he paid for the car insurance and maint and she let him use her car for local stuff. Both of them had a good deal going then again both of them were Adults who respected each others belongings etc.

He now owns a home with a heated garage and has two cars.

Yes, I have a garage. Makes life easier.

Ron

[Rockin Ronnie]

Originally Posted by Saint J VT

I hear you!
One drawback with a heated garage here is that there is so much frozen slushy ice stuck in the wheel wells and underneath the car. As long as it is frozen, the salt in it is not corroding. Pull it in a heated garage for all that frozen brine to thaw and rust will happen a lot more! Not to mention, if you happen to have a concrete garage floor, the brine will etch (disintegrate) the concrete surface! Your nice, flat, shiny concrete floor will look like a bomb hit it within several years!

The car is typically in our garage which I don't turn the heat on for, unless I am out there in the cold for some reason. As for my work truck, that is too large for the garage so that is always outside. My garage is in an old barn (c1850), my garage floor consists of 2" thick hemlock planks (large, heavy wooden boards). There are cracks between the planks where water can drip through the floor to the dirt floor located about one to two feet below the garage floor.

Good points. While I have an attached garage it is not heated. However it never goes below zero. Must be some radiant heat coming from the house. For the most part the ice underneath the body stays on the car during cold nights though the surface snow melts off. I think Subaru's rust protection is good enough to keep rust at bay.

In the fifteen years that I have had the garage the floor is fine although it was properly sealed when new.

Ron