Interesting Day at the Dealer - Routine Maint / Manual Q's

[plain OM]

Originally Posted by GBMaryland

Wow... and thought the manuals were expensive!

Not sure what you mean.

The Factory paper versions are costly. The downloadable pdf's can be acquired with a $35, 72-hour subscription, along with the time and patience to do it. That's for a full, up-to-date, factory document. I don't think there's any aftermarket that can match that (price and coverage).

Some folks have subscribed to ALLDATAdiy.com Leading Source of Factory Automotive Repair Information. For about $29 a year, it provides, I believe unlimited, on-line access to one "reconstituted" manual, which according to reports here, covers pretty much everything the FSM has. Their website also says it updates the documentation periodically if the car maker makes any changes. So that can be a reasonably good approach as well. (I'm not sure if it allows "save to file" or printing of pages. If not, I guess this can be a downside if your computer is in one place, and you're in another.)

[island21638]

The dealership is trying to screw you. Wait until they charge you $130.00 for a cabin filter that takes 3 minutes and $16.00 to install. My outback has 37,000 miles on it 2012. I rotate every 15K. The tires look new with more than 8/32nds-9/32nds left. Zero wear on front or back.
Just inflate 2 lbs over door jamb and you will be fine.
Change you oil and filter (Subaru only) every 5-7K depending on highway (7) or city(5) driving with a good synthetic, Air and Cabin filter every 15K and you will be fine. Check for any leaks at every service and enjoy. At 60K plugs if needed Fuel filter.Check brakes with every oil change until you have a good sense on how they are wearing. I checked mine at 35K and they looked almost new with 7/32 front and 9/32 on rear. I should be fine till 60K, even though I might just throw a set on at 50 just because. $65.00 a set and 30 minutes labor if you do it your self. Very easy. I enjoy doing my own work and this way I know it was done right!

[GBMaryland]

Completely forgot about AllData... Truthfully, they were not great 10 years ago.

So, the FSM for the 2013 only covers the engine, and basics around the engine.

Coming from a Honda world, these manuals pretty much suck, as well as are super expensive.

Still navigating Subaru land... But it's clear they're playing a game in this department.

No coverage of the body at all, or the dash area, etc.

Wow... I guess the outback may be cheaper than other comparable AWD vehicles (fully loaded), but I think they hose you in other fees / places.

I wonder if the OTC Genisys I have will work on a Subaru?

[GBMaryland]

Originally Posted by MetroWestMA

Everyone,

No matter if you have an AWD/4WD/FWD/RWD car you are a dumbass if you don't rotate the tires every 10K or so. They will last 60K and you can replace them at the same time because they will be worn out the same.

Also if your car starts pulling to one side, check the inflation and if that doesn't fix it you or your spouse probably hit a curb or hit a pothole. Get an alignment to fix it.

This is car ownership 101.

MW

I'm going to need to see some hard statics on the FWD assumption here. I called Dunlop on Friday and asked their technical support if this should be an issue. NOPE.

(Btw: I just read that on non-AWD it appears BMW and Volvo don't recommend tire rotation... I'm assuming sepecific models...)

As long as the compound is not worn off, tread at or above the wear indicator, it's not and issue.

On a different note, I picked up the manuals and told the service manager that it was explained to me that I wrong about giving him crap about the tire rotation with AWD... And he smiled and told me not to worry about it.

He told me to bring the car in on Wed and he'd just have the techs do it...

[plain OM]

Originally Posted by GBMaryland

. . . . So, the FSM for the 2013 only covers the engine, and basics around the engine. . . . .No coverage of the body at all, or the dash area, etc. . . .

I don't understand what you're referring to; I just had a look at the contents of the 2013 version on the Subaru website (http://techinfo.subaru.com/index.html). It covers it all: Engine, Transmission, Chassis, Body, and Wiring. (But if you're referring to another source, or to a paper version, then that might be the case.)

[summerswind]

Les Schwab and Discount Tire in my area rotate your tires for free and fix flat tires for free even if you didn't buy them from them.

Mine get rotated once a year.
I just tell the service adviser I get them rotated for free else where

[mpnret]

Originally Posted by GBMaryland

I'm going to need to see some hard statics on the FWD assumption here..

Pretty simple. Just open the owners manual to whatever car you are referring to.

[1 Lucky Texan]

I have replaced tires in pairs on FWD vehicles many times and never experienced a seroius problem. Doesn't mean it was the best practice because, the tires didn't get re-balanced as they would with Discount Tire's rotate/balance service for instance. Who knows, may have made a slight difference in longevity and also been a little safer with front and rear axles at the same tread wear. I also don't recall what the manuals may have suggested on those cars (may not have HAD the manuals on some that I bought used)

[GBMaryland]

That's a good point... I had them balance all of the tires whenever I had the new tires put on the front of the car.

My thought was always that as the compound wears down, the dynamics of the tires change.

Interestingly, with the Prelude especially, I actually got to the point that the rear tires needed to be replaced not because of loss of tread... but because of aging of the side walls.

(Start seeing dry rot / cracking of the side walls after three years, and I went through a set of fronts per year. I've also had sets of snows on separate wheels, and only replaced the fronts when the rears showed no sign of wear. ...all on FWD vehicles.)

[GBMaryland]

Originally Posted by mpnret

Pretty simple. Just open the owners manual to whatever car you are referring to.

I refering to all cars or all makes and model. I know of at least two manufacturers that don't recommend tire rotation, there are probably others.

Chester eh? Speeding down Rt 206 / 202 too fast causing undue wear on your tires? ...or are you racing up and down Schooley's Mountain. -wink-