Subaru

Edd said:

Yeah, I’m very glad we got that. The adaptive CC works amazingly well. I drove in stop and go traffic on Rt 1 in Maine yesterday and that was a surreal experience. Set it to 25 mph, planted my feet on the floor and watched it nearly drive itself for 10 minutes.

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I use it everyday. Like auto pilot on a plane, I literally use it all but the first and last couple minutes of driving. It is a great insurance policy.

thetrailboss said:

I use it everyday. Like auto pilot on a plane, I literally use it all but the first and last couple minutes of driving. It is a great insurance policy.

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Same. I just wish eyesight cc would stay on when the car stops for more than a second. I think stop and go traffic is when it’s most useful.

benski said:

Same. I just wish eyesight cc would stay on when the car stops for more than a second. I think stop and go traffic is when it’s most useful.

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Agreed on both points

For now that's technically a legal thing, Uncle Sam has some regulations that make it not doable for now as things are in most vehicles. The cars are able to do it, at least most are, with the sensors and systems they currently use so you'll see that change in the future.

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sull1102 said:

For now that's technically a legal thing, Uncle Sam has some regulations that make it not doable for now as things are in most vehicles. The cars are able to do it, at least most are, with the sensors and systems they currently use so you'll see that change in the future.

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What, drive themselves? Or at least threw stop and go traffic.

Both, but I'm talking next year or two you should see ACC opened up so manufacturers can allow the system to work as it was always intended in stop and go. And then five years down the road or so is when you'll get the genuinely autonomous, not just Tesla's autopilot, features in high end luxury cars.

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sull1102 said:

Both, but I'm talking next year or two you should see ACC opened up so manufacturers can allow the system to work as it was always intended in stop and go. And then five years down the road or so is when you'll get the genuinely autonomous, not just Tesla's autopilot, features in high end luxury cars.

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Why don’t they work as intended now. Holding the break in stop and go traffic for more than 3 seconds seams like little to ask for.

Edd said:

Test drove a Crosstrek today and was impressed with the interior room. If I can get the wife on board it’ll be a likely replacement for her car.

I’m at 116k on my 2010 Forester with no significant maintenance issues. If the HG blows on me I’ll probably eat shit on the costs and keep it running as long as I can.

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Your car might not be worth salvaging if the HG goes out.

You need to replace it, IMO, soon based on your mileage to enjoy another 100k worry free miles. Much much cheaper to do now. If you wait until the HG goes out you could be looking for a donor engine.

edit: I see I'm late to respond and maybe you have a new car already

bdfreetuna said:

Your car might not be worth salvaging if the HG goes out.

You need to replace it, IMO, soon based on your mileage to enjoy another 100k worry free miles. Much much cheaper to do now. If you wait until the HG goes out you could be looking for a donor engine.

edit: I see I'm late to respond and maybe you have a new car already

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I saw awhile back that you were recommending preventative maintenance for HGs. That’s new to me. I’ll check with our mechanic to see if it’s worth doing.

Edd said:

I saw awhile back that you were recommending preventative maintenance for HGs. That’s new to me. I’ll check with our mechanic to see if it’s worth doing.

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Don't be shocked if he says oh yeah you should always do those on a Subaru. With HGs on any motor there are signs to look for check your coolant see if it looks oily, check your oil see if it looks like coffee or at all milky. Also check your coolant levels, if you notice over time that some is disappearing then you my friend have a decision to make in the next 3-6 months cause it is going to happen, just a matter of when.

As for is it worth it to do the job, well if you own that car outright aka no payments on it title in your name that's a big bonus. A lease on something comparable is going to be a nice $240+ monthly payment plus a little bump on the insurance, but its also a brand new car. You could sell that 2010 fozzy as is right now before the HGs go and then it's someone else's issue. You take the 8-10 grand from the sale on the lease and it's paid for for three years. Personally, if I owned that car since it was new, cared for it properly and everything else was in good shape, I'd replace those head gaskets and the timing belt all at once, yes I know it's tough to pull the trigger on a $2200 job but that car would last me to 220K easily with all that work. You are basically deciding if you want that Forester around until 2024 or dump it now.

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benski said:

Why don’t they work as intended now. Holding the break in stop and go traffic for more than 3 seconds seams like little to ask for.

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Uncle Sam's different laws and regulations prevent it, for now. Same reason we can't get certain options on vehicles that are available abroad, things like sonar to detect water levels and until fairly recently laser LED headlights. One example would be the BMW i3, when it came out you could not get a sunroof here in the states, but you could drive one on US roads with a sunroof if it had vehicle manufacturer plate on it. The way the glass panels were designed didn't meet crash regulations or something along those lines, but it did meet the EU regs so it was available overseas from Day 1. Here it took two model years before regulations were changed and the option sheet grew a bit.

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sull1102 said:

As for is it worth it to do the job, well if you own that car outright aka no payments on it title in your name that's a big bonus. A lease on something comparable is going to be a nice $240+ monthly payment plus a little bump on the insurance, but its also a brand new car. You could sell that 2010 fozzy as is right now before the HGs go and then it's someone else's issue. You take the 8-10 grand from the sale on the lease and it's paid for for three years. Personally, if I owned that car since it was new, cared for it properly and everything else was in good shape, I'd replace those head gaskets and the timing belt all at once, yes I know it's tough to pull the trigger on a $2200 job but that car would last me to 220K easily with all that work. You are basically deciding if you want that Forester around until 2024 or dump it now.

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Had the timing belt replaced at 101k along with a ton of other work. I’m good about oil changes and tire rotations, but I’m neglectful about tune-ups. Unfortunately, maintenance of the HG did not come up, and I just checked the bill to make sure.

As it turns out, my wife will take over the Forester for her primary car; she does 25k miles a year and we don’t want to subject the new Outback to that. A lease would not work for her with the mileage. At the moment, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’ll last 2+ years. Not the best plan ever but sometimes you get lucky.

Edd said:

Had the timing belt replaced at 101k along with a ton of other work. I’m good about oil changes and tire rotations, but I’m neglectful about tune-ups. Unfortunately, maintenance of the HG did not come up, and I just checked the bill to make sure.

As it turns out, my wife will take over the Forester for her primary car; she does 25k miles a year and we don’t want to subject the new Outback to that. A lease would not work for her with the mileage. At the moment, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’ll last 2+ years. Not the best plan ever but sometimes you get lucky.

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Good move on the timing belt! That was very smart, see a lot of people that try to push it and blow those Subaru motors. If you've done the belt, to me at least, the decision was made then to keep it and invest. I can tell you if you go out there today check your coolant level today with a cold motor, write it in your phone where it is in relation to the full line, then check it in a week. If there is no change, check it September 15th WITH A COLD MOTOR if there's no change by then your head gaskets are 100% okay for now. Just go back and check it every three months at that point, or more if you are willing. As soon as you notice any change or you notice that oily rainbow when you pop the reservoir cap, well start saving because time is ticking.

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Good advice from sull1102 ... if you don't want to do HG know what to look for in the coolant.

Only thing I'm questioning from Sull and a lot of people is the bill to replace HG preemtively. If the heads are damaged or warped from overheating (HG failure) it's gonna be $2000.

But anyone looking to do this preemtively... call John's Suby Repair in Goshen MA. I don't want to give quotes on their behalf but the bill is a fraction. When you get a low quote from a good shop like that it becomes a total no brainer if you like your car.

Not just beating this dead horse for Edd but for anyone reading I think it's important to settle the topic. This applies to all 2.0, 2.2, 2.5L naturally aspirated EJ series motors. I don't know if it applies to FA20 or FA24 (newer direct injection) but I would not want those motors anyway (on those you get the pleasure of walnut blasting your valves every 50,000 miles).

I still drive a Subaru because it's the best bang for the buck with a manual transmission, best AWD(depends which model though) and fun/fast to drive. I don't have head gasket concerns though because I've already learned that lesson (and anyway I have an EJ255 forced induction now with 140k on the clock and perfect compression/leakdown tests).

TBH if you don't want to do HG on that Forester I'd just sell it on Craigslist and buy a cheap Rav4 2005-2012, similar enough and less stuff to worry about. The Rav4 from those years have an optional V6 that I highly recommend for fun factor. This is what my wife drives and it's no slouch.

My 2018 Crosstrek roof rails look like they are on backwards. They are wider towards the front than the back. I think this is wrong. Am I correct? It looks like I could take them off and turn them around.

benski said:

My 2018 Crosstrek roof rails look like they are on backwards. They are wider towards the front than the back. I think this is wrong. Am I correct? It looks like I could take them off and turn them around.

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That sounds nuts but doctors operate on the wrong body parts. They don’t look like this?

Edd said:

That sounds nuts but doctors operate on the wrong body parts. They don’t look like this?

View attachment 23958

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I can’t tell which direction the rails are facing.

The more substantial connections between the rail and the roof are towards the back of the car. The front looks to have a thinner pillar. If you’re correct, I’m sure the dealer will readily correct it. I wouldn’t try to change it myself.


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That is the correct orientation, the design is looking to improve aero and wind noise.

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Edd said:

The more substantial connections between the rail and the roof are towards the back of the car. The front looks to have a thinner pillar. If you’re correct, I’m sure the dealer will readily correct it. I wouldn’t try to change it myself.


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I am talking about the rail itself.