Wagon Stoke

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Starting to hear a thunking sound from the right rear suspension on my 2017 E400 wagon. Hoping it's just the sway bar bushings or the torsion link for the sway bar and not the shocks. It only happens when on a rutted dirt road and when the car rocks side to side. Never hear it on a paved road despite some frost heaves and potholes.

Still very happy with the car and this is just the first thing that has required any attention.

[alpinevibes]

Been fighting with a rear facing child seat I try back of my A4 allroad. I really love this car, but I’m starting to realize why families drift towards bigger vehicles. My wife is okay in the passenger seat with the seat behind her, but I wouldn’t ask a taller friend to sit up there. I put it in the middle to see what if that’s an improvement. Maybe time to shop for something bigger.

We did the double in a Alltrack for years. Once you go forward-facing you gain back a few inches. It’s cozy, but stick with the car you love

[plugboots]

the CVT is every bit as lousy as the reputation had me believe. I found it mildly terrifying as I was getting on fast moving LA freeways with the controlled access lights, and while flooring it, the stupid thing would "upshift"

We rented one in JH to go up to Yellowstone, etc. and I just gave up trying to pass anybody. It’s pretty amazingly shitty. After this experience I was skeptical about CVT’s, but our Prius has none of these issues. Prolly half the horsepower, but wasaaaay faster.

[carlh]

You might need a different seat. I bought a graco extend to fit that was the shortest option I could find to fit behind me in my 3 series wagon.

Been fighting with a rear facing child seat I try back of my A4 allroad. I really love this car, but I’m starting to realize why families drift towards bigger vehicles. My wife is okay in the passenger seat with the seat behind her, but I wouldn’t ask a taller friend to sit up there. I put it in the middle to see what if that’s an improvement. Maybe time to shop for something bigger.

[MontuckyFried]

We rented one in JH to go up to Yellowstone, etc. and I just gave up trying to pass anybody. It’s pretty amazingly shitty. After this experience I was skeptical about CVT’s, but our Prius has none of these issues. Prolly half the horsepower, but wasaaaay faster.

Totally. I think it's less a mechanical issue tho and more in how it's programmed in their effort to squeeze out every ounce of extra mpg they can get out of their fleet averages. It was overly aggressive in shutting off the engine at stops, and also overly aggressive in upshifting. Seriously tho. WTF, Subaru? Somebody's gonna get themselves killed someday when the car is purposely throttling back acceleration when you are trying to tell it to GO! Subaru Corp is prolly like "buT haVE yoU SeEN EyeSiGhT?! We HaVE EyeSigHT! So SAFETy!"

Bummer cuz I really used to like Subaru and have had a blast in an older Outback XT with the turbo and manual trans. Tin can but delightful power delivery and did exactly what I freaking told it to do. Is that so much to ask for in the year 2024?

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[MontuckyFried]

Been fighting with a rear facing child seat I try back of my A4 allroad. I really love this car, but I’m starting to realize why families drift towards bigger vehicles. My wife is okay in the passenger seat with the seat behind her, but I wouldn’t ask a taller friend to sit up there. I put it in the middle to see what if that’s an improvement. Maybe time to shop for something bigger.

Might I suggest shopping for a more "Euro-style" car seat? I've found some brands out there work FAR better with tighter fitment than others. Even if it's a premium, expensive Euro brand, it's FAR cheaper than swapping vehicles and keeps you in the wagon you love. Seems to be a distinctly American phenomenon to go straight to giant SUVs to accommodate our child seats. That's perhaps because our car seats are ALSO pretty big and cushy and difficult to fit in a normal size car. Some of the other brands can resolve that issue and EU safety regulations are even more stringent than ours (esp with textile chemicals), so I'm pretty confident in their capabilities and lower toxic crap. Some of the Canadian brands are great too and conform to EU regs. We've been really happy with the Clek brand (Ontario) but have also had good luck with Britax (Germany) and Maxi-Cosi (Netherlands). There are other good brands too but these are what come to mind at first. Point being, shop for seats first before shopping vehicles. YMMV.

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[johnnyg82]

Welp, I can officially strike the new Outbacks off my list for my next wagon. I just rented a new, pretty loaded one in "Touring" form for about a week. Base engine, which is gutless enough for such a porky vehicle, but the CVT is every bit as lousy as the reputation had me believe. I found it mildly terrifying as I was getting on fast moving LA freeways with the controlled access lights, and while flooring it, the stupid thing would "upshift" in a herky jerky way, causing me to lose acceleration while attempting to merge. The auto-stop/start system was also godawful. I'd have my foot on the brake at a light, and when the engine would kick back on the car would want to lurch forward pretty harshly where had to press the brake in more firmly to keep me from rear-ending the car in front of me.

Then there's the overly aggressive seatbelt warning. Just trying to get through a parking lot at crawling speed? Doesn't matter. bong bong bong bong, then 5 seconds later, BONG BONG BONG BONG! Put it back in Park? Doesn't matter. BONG BONG BONG BONG! "Dammit, car! I've parked already! Lay off!" Have to click in to shut it off. Glitchy ass Eyesight is also pretty agro. Kept telling me "Keep Eyes On Road" when I actually was. No sunglasses either.

So WHILE Subaru's clearly making an attempt to be aggressively "safe," they simultaneously give you the most stupid, laggy infotainment screen that I've dealt with, that makes you go back to the home screen just to get back to other basic functions like changing A/C settings or playing with the radio. It's super distracting and not intuitive at all.

Perhaps I'm spoiled by Volvos and now my older (but newish to me) Mercedes, but fak me I did NOT like this gen Outback. At least not for the $40K+ this version goes for new. THAT'S what does not compute with me at all. For that much coin, I'll stick with used Volvos/Mercedes. Leagues better. Not even remotely in the same category.

Seatbelt ding is an easy fix, same instructions for a new Subaru as well as 20+ year old models;

To turn off the seatbelt warning for a single trip; click your seatbelt into and then out of the buckle three times. That only stays off until the next time the car starts.

To permanently disable; get in the car, turn it on and then buckle then unbuckle the seatbelt 20 times within 30 seconds, and the warning is permanent disabled.

[4matic]

Starting to hear a thunking sound from the right rear suspension on my 2017 E400 wagon. Hoping it's just the sway bar bushings or the torsion link for the sway bar and not the shocks. It only happens when on a rutted dirt road and when the car rocks side to side. Never hear it on a paved road despite some frost heaves and potholes.

Still very happy with the car and this is just the first thing that has required any attention.

Have you checked the wheel wells, tool kit, spare tire tensioner, etc?

[MontuckyFried]

Seatbelt ding is an easy fix, same instructions for a new Subaru as well as 20+ year old models;

To turn off the seatbelt warning for a single trip; click your seatbelt into and then out of the buckle three times. That only stays off until the next time the car starts.

To permanently disable; get in the car, turn it on and then buckle then unbuckle the seatbelt 20 times within 30 seconds, and the warning is permanent disabled.

Good to know! I'll definitely have to do that next time I happen to rent one. Drove me freaking crazy. I've driven a lot of cars over the years and I've never experienced such an overly aggressive seatbelt warning. Haha. Also, what's up with the crazy deep cupholders? Being that I don't usually rock teh Big Gulps, my small coffee cups were tough to fish out. I heard they should have some kind of spacer but my rental did not have them.

On the plus side, it DID offer plenty of cargo space which came in handle for a family of 4. Loads of room, so there's that. I'm sure in snow/rain, the vehicle shines. In LA traffic, not so much. Thing was also STRUGGLING going over the mountains as I bounced back and forth from the city to the PCH. Poor car. My guess is the option for the 2.4T is WELL worth the upgrade.

[MontuckyFried]

Have you checked the wheel wells, tool kit, spare tire tensioner, etc?

Ha! That would be awesome if that's all it was. I've totally had that happen before on another car, and yup. Just the tool kit rattling around the spare tire area and maybe the jack not being tightened down in place is all it was. Phew!

[schuss]

Yeah, base engine in an outback is a user error thing as it's only for those that like to putter. I've never had an issue with the turbo cvt, there's a mild delay when you stomp it, but no worse than a high pressure turbo spool or traditional AT kick down

[johnnyg82]

Good to know! I'll definitely have to do that next time I happen to rent one. Drove me freaking crazy. I've driven a lot of cars over the years and I've never experienced such an overly aggressive seatbelt warning. Haha. Also, what's up with the crazy deep cupholders? Being that I don't usually rock teh Big Gulps, my small coffee cups were tough to fish out. I heard they should have some kind of spacer but my rental did not have them.

On the plus side, it DID offer plenty of cargo space which came in handle for a family of 4. Loads of room, so there's that. I'm sure in snow/rain, the vehicle shines. In LA traffic, not so much. Thing was also STRUGGLING going over the mountains as I bounced back and forth from the city to the PCH. Poor car. My guess is the option for the 2.4T is WELL worth the upgrade.

Deep cupholders keep the COG of the car low; handles better that way, lol!

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Have you checked the wheel wells, tool kit, spare tire tensioner, etc?

Yes, yes, no spare tire. Run flats were OEM but now I'm living dangerously. It's a fairly common issue at least according to the MBWorld forum.

[4matic]

Yes, yes, no spare tire. Run flats were OEM but now I'm living dangerously. It's a fairly common issue at least according to the MBWorld forum.

The front on my w211 has had rattling since the day I bought it. Various components replaced along the way. Just had the front air struts done and it rides like new (all seven airmatic components have been replaced in the last 4 years). I had them double check all the bushings and ball joints. No trouble found..it still rattles on bumpy roads. Here’s the rub for now. If the car sits for a day or so the ride is dead smooth except for a slight vibration at 60. I was at Palisades today and went slowly through a bumpy patch and of course heard rattles and a slight loud click. On the drive home the vibration is more pronounced at 60; this is not a new symptom. It’s been doing this for a while. So, there is something in the front suspension that is worn but is not obvious. Conclusion is to keep driving it until something breaks.

That would be my advice to you. Just drive it until something breaks or a bad vibration.

I did search your problem and it seems the cars under warranty get new shocks but that doesn’t always solve the issue.

[gravitylover]

Check the strut top bearings (or whatever MB calls them).

[4matic]

Check the strut top bearings (or whatever MB calls them).

Yeah, the struts were just replaced and not sure they checked those. Solid shop though. I should have asked them.

[gravitylover]

It's not uncommon for them to be torqued wrong. KYB is notorious for it on their complete strut kits.

[twomartinis]

Maybe time to shop for something bigger.

not sure where you are in the procreation timeline; but we went from an A4 to XC90 primarily because of the rear seats, needed 3 car seats for a spell… XC90 was one of the very few that could do it iirc. plus the center seat w/ built-in booster was money, also independently adjustable! some thoughtful design right there

and in random sighting news, this [technically] does have a long roof



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[ski-wpk]

I went from V50 with one kid to XC7O with two kids to LX 470 with three kids (first non-wagon in 16 years) and now LR4, still with three. LR4 is definitely not a wagon but it drives like one and I can’t say I don’t love the extra height, cargo space, and ground clearance.

[MontuckyFried]

I went from V50 with one kid to XC7O with two kids to LX 470 with three kids (first non-wagon in 16 years) and now LR4, still with three. LR4 is definitely not a wagon but it drives like one and I can’t say I don’t love the extra height, cargo space, and ground clearance.

3 out of 4 vehicles on your list will confidently make it to 1/4 million and beyond. Guess which one won't.

All kidding aside, glad you're enjoying your whip.

[MontuckyFried]

Deep cupholders keep the COG of the car low; handles better that way, lol!

Hahaha. Knowing Subaru, I'm willing to be there's something in the marketing literature or owner's manual about just that! Kind of like when I was reading the manual of my late Grandma-in-law's (pretty base model) Cayenne to figure out how to use something, it had a whole page talking about Porsche's racing heritage and how that goes into them having the key on the left, blah blah blah. Yeah, ok. [/hardeyeroll] Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge Porsche fan, but I found it comical in the context of a pretty vanilla SUV owned by a granny.

[gravitylover]

Hahaha. Knowing Subaru, I'm willing to be there's something in the marketing literature or owner's manual about just that! Kind of like when I was reading the manual of my late Grandma-in-law's (pretty base model) Cayenne to figure out how to use something, it had a whole page talking about Porsche's racing heritage and how that goes into them having the key on the left, blah blah blah. Yeah, ok. [/hardeyeroll] Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge Porsche fan, but I found it comical in the context of a pretty vanilla SUV owned by a granny.

Our 06 Outback came with a thick foam ring to put under a cup in the too deep holder but it only came with 1. The holder was also pretty wide so a Big Gulp would fit so regular cups/cans/bottles rattled and banged into the sides, if it was carbonated would fizz over.

[BmillsSkier]

the center seat w/ built-in booster was money, also independently adjustable! some thoughtful design right there

That was one of the slickest design bits on our old XC70 - the built in booster seats. Could quickly go from hauling kids to hauling adults without having to wrestle a booster seat/car seat in and out.

[MontuckyFried]

That was one of the slickest design bits on our old XC70 - the built in booster seats. Could quickly go from hauling kids to hauling adults without having to wrestle a booster seat/car seat in and out.

For real! Was high up on my list with our last shopping experience. Found a single V90 in town with them and after seeing them in action, it became a requirement if we were to go with another Volvo. That would make life SO much easier. We went with the Mercedes instead due to it being the last wagon around with the cargo capacity it has, BUT I still really wish I had built-in boosters. Especially since we're 'bout to go 3 wide with the kid seats. At least we have the 3rd row bench available for when the doggo's not with us or not hauling stuff so still plenty of room, but still. Those boosters kick ass.

[ski-wpk]

3 out of 4 vehicles on your list will confidently make it to 1/4 million and beyond. Guess which one won't.

All kidding aside, glad you're enjoying your whip.

LR is 13 years old with 141k miles and no issues. Sold the Lexus at 17 years old and 208k miles. Both Volvos at somewhere around 100k miles. 4 for 4 so far.