Subaru - Outback :: Small Cracks In The Sidewall Of Tires?
Sep 3, 2014
I drive a 2003 Subaru outback wagon. The roads are terrible during the six months of winter we have. The tires on my car are Michelin hydroedge from 2007 with a treadwear warranty of 90,000 miles, since the tires were purchased the car has gone almost 110,000 miles. In June the tread was measured at 6/32 for three of the tires and 4/32 for the fourth tire. I've started noticing some small cracks in the sidewall. This car has a brutal winter ahead of it and a long drive from the Upper peninsula to Connecticut in May, if I need new tires I would rather find out sooner than later. My question is do I need new tires or not?
View 19 Replies
Advertisement
2006 Subaru Outback. It has around 121000. I bought it at 113,000 last October since my previous 1998 Subaru made it to 240,000. So far I've taken it in for all new wiring and a tune up. And I was assured by the car salesman that the timing belt had been changed prior to my purchase. Anyway, since August I've had a rattly/whirring sound that I am experiencing over 15 mph. It seems to be coming from the back of my vehicle. It sounded like I had a hole in the muffler because it was reminiscent of when I lost my muffler on the highway with my 1998 subaru a few years ago, but this sound is definitely not as loud. The sound does increase in volume at high speeds on the highway but has so far not been as loud as my previous experience. (and the muffler is still there when i look under the car)
When I took my car in to get the oil changed a couple months ago, I asked the mechanic to check and see if he saw anything while under there. They told me it was my heat shield.
Recently the noise started being a little bit louder on the highway so I thought maybe it was my tires since they were very due to be replaced. I bought new tires within the last few weeks and there has been no change with the whirring sound on the highway. Yesterday, I noticed a light thunking sound that started happening between the speeds 10-40mph. It seems to be in the front of my car and occurring with the rotation of my wheels. There are no sounds when Idle.
View 3 Replies
The problem with the caller from CA's Subaru smelling like burnt rubber is the actual tires are heating up due to an improper torque split between the tires. Subarus are very sensitive to changes in tire pressure and thus the diameter and will wear the tires down. The driver mentioned 8 sets of tires. He has a bad torque split in the AWD system.
View 13 Replies
Recently I took my 2006 Subaru Outback wagon on a trip in the mountains. I parked my car in the driveway overnight and noticed oily fluid on all of the tiresand on the ground in the morning. The fluid spill was worse on the driver's side front and rear tires, but was noticeable on the passenger side as well. I did not notice an odor to it. I used the brakes alot on the way back down from the mountains..... I have taken this car places where I have used the brakes a whole lot but have not noticed this before. How bad is this? Is it possibly "normal?
View 5 Replies
I have vossen cv3 with Kumho ecsta 245/30/22 front and 295/25/22 rear they are only 6 months old and the front tire inner sidewalks are cracking.
View 14 Replies
So I just got my 30k oil change done on my 2012 GTI and the dealer found an air bubble in the sidewall of both rear tires (Pirelli P Zero Nero). Luckily I bought a third party wheel and tire protection plan from the dealer where I purchased the car so the tires were covered. Tires were replaced and rotated to the front. Drove home the next day (all interstate travel), and woke up the next morning to find another bubble in the sidewall of the right rear (rotated from the front). 4th tire with a bubble since last August. I know this is an issue with low profile...
View 24 Replies
So I hit a pothole driving on the freeway a few weeks back and I have a small sidewall bubble developing on the right rear tire. I am asking around and apparently none of the shops carry tire shavers anymore.
Since our car is AWD my understanding is that depending on how much the difference is, they can either replace 1, or 2 (same axle) or have to replace all 4 tires.
Also is there any chance in hell since these are OEM tires that came with the car that VW would be of any assistance with the replacement of the tire?
View 19 Replies
Is there a way repair a small bumper crack myself?If yes, what are the steps and the products?
View 4 Replies
I have a 2003 cavalier ls, The tire size that is on it is 195-70r-14 I am thinking about getting tires which are 175-70r-14 because I was told that the smaller sidewall size would give better bottom end performance (0-40, 0-60, Which is what i'm looking for) However He also said that it would alter my speedometer rating, and the amount of mileage that is put on the car, That it would read that there are more miles on the car that I would actually be putting on. Is there a way to correct the sensor or device which reads the tire revolutions?
View 9 Replies
Car is a 1999 Honda Civic.
My car was inspected yesterday. I needed the A pipe replaced (exhaust pipe connected to the muffler) and a radiator leak repaired or maybe the radiator replaced. I'm in dire straits, and this was paid for by a charity. I really need my car, as I will have nowhere to stay as of this coming Saturday. Anyway, the repairs were made and the car passed inspection.
I drove off, made a stop somewhere, happened to glance at one of my tires, and noticed deep cracks in it. Odd that I hadn't noticed these before, because I've had trouble with dry rot before. These are top-of-the-line tires (bought back when I had money as an investment against skidding accidents), but they're four years old now.
Granted, I needed it to pass inspection, but would it pass with tires that have dry rot? The first time I had dry rot, the cracks were barely noticeable and had to be pointed out to me. (That time, they were only one year old, within the warranty period and so got replaced.) This time, the cracks are much bigger and deeper, and in all the tires (easy to see, once I looked). Now I'm worried that I'll have a blowout very soon.
Not much I can do about it with no money, but I'd like to at least know what to expect. Seriously, if the cracks are that bad, wouldn't the mechanic fail it for inspection?
Last question: Is dry rot the same thing as weather cracking? Is weather cracking dangerous?
View 19 Replies
The roads here in Maine this winter were especially awful with potholes and bumps. My '03 Ford Focus Wagon has recently developed a noise that I can't diagnose. The noise can be best described as a "rattle" from the front end when going over very small bumps/cracks in the road. It almost sounds like loose shocks. They are the original shocks and have 130k miles on them.
Big bumps are not a problem. Car does not bottom out, sway upon braking, or bounce when I put my weight on it and release. Several years ago I had a "creaking" from the front end and my mechanic replaced some bushings which fixed the problem. I originally thought this was the same, but it doesn't sound like that - worried it could be the struts but I want to diagnose it a little better before I bring it to a mechanic and just say that I have a front end noise...
View 1 Replies
My 2000 outback wagon has only 67k miles. About a month ago, the check engine light came on. I took it to an Auto Zone and although unfortunately I didn't write down the code, the person who checked the car seemed to think it was probably just a bad tank of gas. I ran through that tank of gas and filled up with premium gas. Light didn't go off until THAT tank was near empty. Filled up a third time and light remained off until tank was near empty and it came on again. It has not yet gone off. I'm not sure how many more tanks of gas I should run through! The car isn't running poorly so I thought the bad gas was a good explanation.
A side note: about 6 months ago I had to have the head gasket replaced. I argued with Subaru and got some extra work done in exchange for the head gasket payment since my car missed the recall by a few digits but I was obviously stuck with an inferior product. I'm hoping they didn't do an inferior job. Even though it was 6 months ago, it wasn't that many miles ago - you can see my the year/mileage on my car that I don't drive a lot. Does that gas explanation sound reasonable? Anything about a head gasket related?
View 13 Replies
Having problem with corrosion of the tie down on a battery? The terminals are fine. It's just the metal plate that holds the battery in place with bolts. The paint has corroded off. I clean it up and cover it with dielectric grease. I have to do this every 4 to 6 months or so, because the corrosion keeps coming back. I had the same problem with my 2004 Subaru Legacy, and had to replace the battery holder as a result.
View 1 Replies
my car has tge 3.6 motor and has 2500 miles and seems to be loosing coolant...
View 2 Replies
Our 2011 Subaru Outback 3.6R, which we bought brand new back in Feb ’11 and only has 4k miles, seems to be having issues with the cooling fan. The cooling fan will come on when the engine is cold and it will stay on the entire time the engine is running. I’ve read that the cooling fan will run the whole time when either the A/C is on or the vent control is set to defrost, regardless of whether the engine is cold or hot. In my case, the cooling fan comes on when the engine is cold, even with the HVAC off and it will remain running at full speed when the engine is running, again with the HVAC off.
Every time I go to start the car after it has been sitting for an entire day and the engine is cold, when I turn the key to the “On” position, before the engine is even started, the cooling fan comes on. How is this possible when the engine isn’t even running and the engine is cold. Again, the HVAC is off. Once the car is started, the cooling fan will remain on until the car is shut off. The fan is running as such a high speed you can hear it over the noise of the idling engine. Once I turn the car off the fan shuts off.
Since we’ve owned the car there were two other issues First, the transmission pan gasket wasn’t properly installed and it was leaking transmission fluid. That issue was fixed and is good now. The second issue was that oil was leaking from the timing chain cover. It turns out that the timing chain cover gasket was also improperly installed. This too was fixed, and doesn’t seem to be a problem anymore.
View 5 Replies
I purchases a 2012 Subaru Outback i2.5 Premium in January. The car has been stalling out after getting gas; I've put gas in it about 10 times, and it's stalled out or nearly stalled out after 4 or 5 of those times. The first time it happened I had to have the car towed back to the dealer. At the time, they thought it was bad gas, but the repetition of the problem has them stumped. There are no warning lights or error codes. I have had the car back to the dealer on four occasions, and unfortunately they can't replicate, find, or correct the problem. Now Subaru is involved. The car also runs rough and shifts rough, compared to the identical 2012 Outback I was given as a loaner the last time I had it in.
View 6 Replies
Where the heck is the gas cap release. Just bought it to get back home as the jeep needs broken motor mount fixed and had to leave it in town. The subaru is pretty beat up so the gas cap release could be hiding (as in handle gone) ?
View 5 Replies
I own a 2002 Outback. It is overheating. We have replaced hoses, thermostat, water pump, the temp sensor, had the radiator tested. Nothing has changed our problem. My husband is at a loss and the mechanic who has is now has no clue as to what else it could be. The mechanic is referring to it as a ghost problem.
View 19 Replies
I have a 2001 Subaru Outback with the 5 speed manual transmission. About 6 months ago the clutch went out and we had it replaced. We did not go to a professional shop and instead used a friend of my father-in-law who used to be a mechanic. Last weekend I drove the car on the beach to go fishing and got the car stuck in the sand.
After 2 attempts to get unstuck the clutch started smoking and blew out. I only attempted to get unstuck 2 times and was not "rallying" the engine hard. I realized I was good and stuck and stopped because I didn't want to spin the tires and dig myself so deep I couldn't get towed out.
My question is this; what are the chances that a brand new clutch would blow after 6 months? The car is used mainly to drive on paved roads to and from work and the grocery store. Both my wife and I have driven manual transmission cars for years and we don't ride the clutch. It goes through the usual wear and tear of everyday driving and yet, one incident that requires a little beef from the clutch and it blows?
View 5 Replies
I have a 1998 Subaru Legacy Outback (automatic) that has 176,779miles on it. I live in San Francisco and only drive the car occasionally every 2-3 weekends out of the city. Recently within the past month I have noticed that after turning on my car and once it is in drive for the first 10-15 minutes it has a hard time getting past 20 mph. When I put the foot on the accelerator to go past 20mph the rpm goes way up to 4, 5 or 6. Once it gets past this then car is smooth and I have no problems. This problem seems to go away within 10-15 minutes of driving or if I turn my car off and then on again it seems to go away. I called my mechanic and they said it could be that the transmission fluid is low. I checked the level and it is perfectly normal.
View 2 Replies
I am about to buy a 2003 Subaru Legacy Outback Sedan H6-3.0. When it gets up to about 40-45mph it begins a low hum or moan and gets louder as it goes faster. At freeway cruising speed the whole car is moaning with what I would describe as a mild vibration. My first inclination is to think it is a wheel bearing issue.My wife thinks it might be a tire issue. She said she remembers the friend that we might buy it from saying that she had replaced two of the tires on it. I know that on all wheel drive vehicles you have to replace all 4 tires at the same time. Could that cause a sound like this? If so how long might it take to cause damage to the drive system with different size tires?
View 5 Replies
