2002 Subaru Outback

I REPLACED THE LEFT HEAD GASKET (AT A LOCAL SERVICE CENTER) AT 122,000 MILES DUE TO OIL LEAKAGE. AT 123,000 MILES THE RIGHT HEAD GASKET FAILED. I CONTACTED SUBARU BECAUSE I DON'T THINK IT'S COINCIDENTAL FOR BOTH HEAD GASKETS TO FAIL THAT CLOSE TOGETHER. THEY WILL NOT HELP ME BECAUSE OF THE MILES AND BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE THE FIRST WORK DONE AT A DEALER. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 SUBARU OUTBACK. WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH, THE CONTACT HEARD A GRINDING SOUND COMING FROM OUTSIDE THE VEHICLE. A LOCAL MECHANIC STATED THAT THE BEARINGS IN THE TRANSFER CASE FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED BY THE MECHANIC; HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED THREE MONTHS LATER. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN DIAGNOSED BY THE DEALER. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 60,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 55,000.

FOR THE PAST 2 WINTERS, I HAVE EXPERIENCED A STRONG FUEL SMELL IN THE PASSENGER CABIN FOR THE FIRST 20 MINUTES OR SO OF RUNNING THE CAR IN TEMPERATURES BELOW 25 DEGREES, INCLUDING IDLING AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT. IT SEEMS TO BE GETTING PROGRESSIVELY WORSE. I BROUGHT IT TO MY PRIVATE MECHANIC LAST WEEK, AND HE WAS UNABLE TO PINPOINT THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM. IF YOU DO A GOOGLE SEARCH ON "SUBARU GAS SMELL" YOU WILL FIND 25,800 HITS OF PEOPLE REPORTING THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THEIR SUBARU'S, FOR A VARIETY OF MODELS/YEARS. BASED ON THOSE VOLUME OF COMPLAINTS, I'M VERY SURPRISED THAT THEIR HASN'T BEEN A RECALL? *TR

I OWN A 2002 SUBARU LEGACY OUTBACK WAGON. LAST WINTER (2006-07) I STARTED TO DETECT AN INTENSE SMELL OF GASOLINE IN THE CABIN OF THE CAR WHEN THE TEMPERATURE DROPPED BELOW 30 DEGREES F. TOOK IT TO MY LOCAL REPAIR SHOP (NOT A DEALER) BUT THEY COULD NOT FIND A PROBLEM. THE SAME THING IS HAPPENING THIS WINTER (2007-08). I SCHEDULED TO BRING IT IN TO A LOCAL SUBARU DEALER BUT THEN THE TEMP ROSE ABOVE 30 DEGREES, SO THERE WAS NO POINT IN BRINGING IT IN SINCE THEY WOULD NOT EXPERIENCE THE PROBLEM. I AM NOW WAITING FOR THE WEATHER TO GET COLD AGAIN SO I CAN BRING IT IN FOR THEM TO CHECK. IN THE MEANTIME, I GOT ONLINE AND FOUND A NUMBER OF OTHER SUBARU OWNERS WHO ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE SAME PROBLEM. SOME OF THEM HAVE HAD THE PROBLEM CORRECTED, AND IT APPEARS TO BE A FUEL LINE LEAKAGE (O RINGS OR CLAMPS OR SOMETHING). THEY SEEM TO HAVE DETERMINED THAT GAS IS LEAKING INTO THE AREA UNDER THE HOOD. ONE OWNER DESCRIBED SEEING SPARKS. I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THE SAFETY OF DRIVING THE VEHICLE AND WONDERING 1) UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES A RECALL IS ISSUED, AND 2) UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES SUBARU WOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR COVERING THE COST FOR REPAIRS. ALSO WONDERING WHAT I SHOULD DO ABOUT TRANSPORTATION UNTIL THE PROBLEM IS CORRECTED, AS I USE THE CAR TO TRANSPORT MY CHILDREN AS WELL AS MYSELF AND DON'T WANT TO PUT US AT RISK OF INJURY. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT SMELLED A STRONG ODOR OF GASOLINE IN THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE HEAD GASKET NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE CONTACT FILED A FORMAL COMPLAINT WITH THE MANUFACTURER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 96,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 103,000.

I HAVE A SUBARU 2002 OUTBACK. THE FOLLOWING IS WHAT I PROVIDED TO THE DEALER IN THE LAST VISIT. EARLIER THIS YEAR, BEFORE MY WARRANTY PERIOD HAD EXPIRED, I HAD ISSUES WITH LEAKING FUEL FROM THE FUEL LINES AT THE TOP OF THE ENGINE UNDER THE INTAKE MANIFOLD. I TIGHTENED THE CLAMPS ON THE FUEL LINE AND THE LEAK SEEMED TO STOP. THERE WERE ADDITIONAL SMELLS OF FUEL IN COLD WEATHER SO I BROUGHT MY CARE IN TO THE DEALERSHIP. THE TIGHTENED THE CLAMPS AND COULD NOT FIND ANY OTHER LEAKS AND SPAYED A WHITE LEAK DETECTOR ON THE FUEL LINES. I BROUGHT THE CAR IN A FEW WEEKS LATER AND NO ADDITIONAL LEAKS WERE PRESENT. AT THAT TIME, SINCE THE ISSUE ONLY SEEMED TO HAPPEN COLD WEATHER, IF THE ISSUE RETURNED I WAS TOLD TO RETURN TO THE DEALER. THE GAS SMELL RETURNED AND I WAS NOT ABLE TO ID THE SOURCE. HOWEVER, DURING HE COLD WEATHER LAST WEEK, I DISCOVERED IN COLD WEATHER SHORTLY AFTER STARTING THE CAR THAT THE SAME FUEL LINE CONNECTIONS UNDER THE INTAKE MANIFOLD WERE LEAKING FUEL AGAIN. AFTER I TIGHTENED THE CLAMPS, THE FUEL LEAK STOPPED. SEVERAL CLAMPS WERE LOOSE ON OTHER PARTS OF THE FUEL LINES. THIS IS THE SAME SCENARIO THAT TOOK PLACE IN FEBRUARY '07. TO ELIMINATE ANY FUTURE LEAKS CAN I HAVE THE TSB 09-36-03 WORK COMPLETED ON THE FUEL LINES. THE ISSUE IN MY OUTBACK IS THE SAME AS THE ISSUE NOTED IN THE TSB. HOW CAN I GET THE SAFETY ISSUE ADDRESSED AND REPAIRED BY THE DEALER? *TR

IN MAY OF 2007, MY 2002 SUBARU OUTBACK WITH 71,000 MILES FIRST BEGAN HAVING OVERHEATING ISSUES. I TOOK IT STRAIGHT TO A SUBARU DEALER WHERE THEY UNPLUGGED A RADIATOR CAP AND ADDED SPECIAL COOLANT CONDITIONER. 3 MONTHS LATER, THE RANDOM OVERHEATING STARTED AGAIN. I TOOK THE CAR BACK IMMEDIATELY TO THE DEALER. THE RADIATOR CAP WAS REPLACED, BUT THIS DID NOT SOLVE THE OVERHEATING. THEY REPLACED THE THERMOSTAT AND THIS DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. FINALLY, THEY DISCOVERED IT WAS HEAD GASKET FAILURE WITH A WARPED HEAD. THE CAR WAS AT THE DEALER FOR OVER A WEEK FOR THE HEAD GASKET REPAIR. I CONTACTED SUBARU OF AMERICA WHO SAID HEAD GASKET FAILURE WAS COVERED BY AN EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR 98-2002 MODELS, HOWEVER, MY 2002 MODEL FELL OUTSIDE OF THE COVERED VIN #S SINCE IT WAS MANUFACTURED AFTER THE PROBLEM WAS CORRECTED (NOT ALL OF THE 2002 MODELS WERE COVERED IN THE EXTENDED WARRANTY). THEREFORE, MY HEAD GASKET REPAIR WAS NOT COVERED BY SUBARU'S EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR THIS FREQUENT PROBLEM. I GOT MY CAR BACK FROM THE DEALER AND ON THE WAY HOME IT OVERHEATED. I TOOK IT BACK IMMEDIATELY TO THE DEALER WHERE THEY REASSEMBLED IT TO MAKE SURE IT WAS ASSEMBLED PROPERLY AND REPLACED THE RADIATOR AS WELL JUST TO BE SURE THAT WASN'T THE CAUSE OF THE CONTINUED OVERHEATING ISSUES. THIS SEEMS TO BE A VERY COMMON REPAIR AMONG SUBARU OWNERS. SUBARU DECIDED TO GRANT US A "GOOD WILL WARRANTY" TO COVER THE HEAD GASKETS WITH US PAYING A $300 DEDUCTIBLE AND THEY COVERED THE REST OF THE HEAD GASKET REPAIR (THEY DID NOT COVER THE RADIATOR, ETC - WE STILL PAYED AROUND $1,000 OUT OF POCKET FOR THE DEDUCTIBLE, RADIATOR, ETC). I AM HAPPY THEY DID THIS FOR US, BUT IF OUR VIN FELL WITHIN THE EXTENDED WARRANTY, WE WOULD NOT HAVE HAD TO INCUR THESE OUT OF POCKET EXPENSES. IT IS CLEAR SUBARU HAS A DEFECT IN THEIR HEAD GASKETS DURING CERTAIN YEARS, BUT IT SEEMS THEY NEED TO STAND BEHIND ALL THE CARS AFFECTED, NOT JUST SOME OF THEM. *TR