Potential buyer of '08 LGT 5-spd - Hesitation concerns?

Hey all,

 

I've been reading on here occasionally and following as much as possible the hesitation threads. It seems like at least 9 out of 10 owners of an LGT, both manual and auto trans, experience a severe engine stutter/hesitation between 3000-4000 rpms. It does not appear to cause any acure damage, but is very scary in everyday driving when it happens.

 

I've seen mention of a reflash for 2008 manual transmission legacy gts? Does this work, for those who have received it? I've heard Cobb AP Stage 1 seems to dramatically lessen it, but it's not available for SI-DRIVE equipped LGTs just yet. Does anyone expect this to be released in the next year?

 

I've posted on here before about my wife and I potentially buying an LGT. She's very attracted by some of the deals available right now (2008 LGT 5-spds for 25-26k) as am I. I think it's an awesome combination of luxury/performance for the price.

 

I'd like to be able to pursue this car seriously, but the hesitation concerns me.

 

Can anyone say they would not buy the car again knowing about this hesitation? Does it detract from your everyday enjoyment of the car (I'm sure she would be hitting 4500 rpms regulaly)? Do you feel you will be able to get it fixed within the next 18 months either via Subaru (doubtful, from what I've read) or Cobb (somewhat expensive)?

 

Thanks to any and all replies to this.

 

Joe

I think most LGT owners do not have the hesitation problem..at least not enough for them to notice and complain about it. I have not had any of the stutter issues that many folks have posted about. A good bdudy of mine has an 05 Auto, with no stuttering problems. Although the issue is pretty common, I don't think most LGT's have the problem.

 

Good luck with your decision.

I have an '05. Stock.

 

Only hesitation I have ever experienced is some turbo lag.

 

Just go out for a test drive and see for yourself.

The 2008 reflash resolved my stutter problems 100%

I never suffered from the "stutter/hesitation" issue with my 06 LGT.

While I do recognise that many have had this issue, I wouldnt say that 90% of people have it. I would more likely characterize it as the "vocal Minority", and I have never heard anyone characterize the problem as being "dangerous" .... more irritating and annoying.

I think only the sedans have the problem;)

 

 

I have never had any stutter on my ride.

I have had an 08 since end of august and just flipped 3k miles...

 

The "stutter" really isn't what I would classify as a stutter, it does feel like the engine just stops producing power (shuts down), but it picks back up a second later.

 

I've found in normal driving it isn't an issue and is only really noticable on an occasional hard acceleration. Granted in a car like this you're more prone to have a leadfoot than in others, but I don't feel it is a major problem others make it out to be.

 

The AP is supposed to be out before end of year is the current rumor, so you wouldn't have to wait long if at all to "resolve" the issue by going stage 1.

1) Can anyone say they would not buy the car again knowing about this hesitation? 2) Does it detract from your everyday enjoyment of the car (I'm sure she would be hitting 4500 rpms regulaly)? 3) Do you feel you will be able to get it fixed within the next 18 months either via Subaru (doubtful, from what I've read) or Cobb (somewhat expensive)?

 

I numbered your questions above so I could answer them one at a time...

 

1) If I had known about the stutter before I bought my car, I definitely would have had hesitation (no pun intended) about buying it... but now that I own the car, it is not enough of a detractor to make me wish that I had never bought the car. It is definitely a major nuisance, but like the other poster said, I don't think it's anywhere near 90% of owners who experience the issue, and the available reflash does seem to fix it for a lot of people (though it didn't for me and a lot of others).

 

2) For me, the answer is yes. It is noticeable enough that it detracts from my enjoyment of my car's otherwise-impressive acceleration virtually every time that I accelerate hard. I never did get used to it--it's always very noticeable and I'm always conscious of it. The good things about the car overshadow it for me though.

 

3) I am not counting on anything else that Subaru can do for me to fix the issue, so I intend to do the stage 1 AP when it becomes available for the '07. It annoys the hell out of me that I have to pay several hundred dollars, and potentially void the car's warranty, just to get it working the way it should, but I love the rest of the car enough so that I'm willing to do it, and it may be worth it for the horsepower increase alone.

<---take a look at my "car"

Stock 05 LGT. No hesitation since I've owned it. Seems to be some kind of gremlin that effects a lot of people, but not all.

You will only see bad reported not good. My wife has never noticed it in our 5MT LGT Wagon and me just twice when the motor was cold. It really just depends on how sensitive you are, I just view it as nit on an otherwise incredible car I got for $24k brand new OTD for my wife.

Hey all,

 

Thanks for the great feedback. I think it's something I'll keep my eyes open for upon the test drive, be aware of the possibility, but otherwise not let it hold me back.

 

Carter - I've read your thread and it looks bad. Seems like the 5EAT's get it worse, or possibly more often.

 

Thanks all.

 

Joe

I have a stock 05 5EAT and I've never experienced any stutter..

It's really hard to put a percentage on the number of cars which experience this problem but 90% seems excessively high.

 

I bought my 07 (brand new) in August and after almost 5000 miles, it's given me nothing but smiles.

I did notice a very slight studder on my car stock. That being said I only noticed it once I read people on here complaining about it, where-upon I went out and duplicated the driving conditions where it acts up. (Part throttle, heavy load between 2,5- 3.5K RPM's). If I hadn't read on here people compalining I would probably never have noticed it, mine was that minor. It never detracted from my driving experience and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another!! Now that I am Stage 1 it's not possible to reproduce the stutter at all. So when and if it becomes an issue for you I'd say go to Stage x and be done with it...Cobb will come out with an AP for the Legacy, it's just a matter of when.

 

I also think it's a vocal minority that's being heard and for me the studder was certainly not dangerous.

I have an '08 LGT 5MT, I agree with legacy_y_tu, I didn't notice until I read about it on here, then I became aware. I would not say I regret in the least purchasing this car because of it. It truly only happened for me when changing from low to max throttle and it was only for a slight moment.

 

I beleive the people declaring it will cause an accident are being a bit over-dramatic. If you are going to put yourself in a situation that you must accelerate at full potential to avoid getting hit, don't do it, I don't care what you own or how it drives. And if someone else puts you in the situation it's unavoidable anyway, what would do if you had a Kia?

 

As for the reflash, I got it and haven't noticed the problem since. I would suggest talking to the dealer and telling them about your hesitations (these puns are too easy ) and ask them to look into the reflash before you test drive.

 

Enjoy your new LGT, your gonna love it

Actually...wouldn't all NEW 08 LGTs come from the factory with the reflash?

 

I had a Drive-By-Wire (DBW) reflash on my 06 SI due to hesitation, jerkiness when engine cold, and a rev-hang condition upon throttle lift. After the reflash was issued, all new SIs were produced with it.

 

Anyone know if that's the case here and how long the reflash has been in effect?

 

Thanks,

 

joe

I would think "NEW" ,as in you ordered it and waited 6 weeks to get it, would be "reflashed" but if they have it on the lot it may have been built before the reflash. I got my car in early September with approx 150 miles on it, so it had been on the lot a little while. It would hurt to ask them to check if it has the latest ECU Map in it. If anyone can tell me how to tell easily the build date, I'd be glad to let you know when my was built.

I jumped on the 07's as soon as they became available, meaning I've had the hesitation issues longer than most. It's annoying, but not a deal breaker. I had the reflash done a couple of weeks ago and it's much better now! Not fully cured, but much better than before. With the AP2 rumored this year, no reason for this to be that much of a problem.

 

I just hit 34k miles, and it used to annoy me a couple of times a week. Now I only notice it when I'm looking for it...

I read about the problem in detail but still decided to go with my 08 GT, no problems so far 11K on almost 3 months later.

I never suffered from the "stutter/hesitation" issue with my 06 LGT.

While I do recognise that many have had this issue, I wouldnt say that 90% of people have it. I would more likely characterize it as the "vocal Minority", and I have never heard anyone characterize the problem as being "dangerous" .... more irritating and annoying.

 

You didn't see Carter's long, long long, long letter thread? (Sounds like a Lucy Ball/Desi Arnez movie, doesn't it?)

 

 

Test drive the exact car you intend to purchase and don't monkey around with it like Carter did. You'll be fine.

My dad got an 07 GT after the 08 were out and he mentioned to me that the car hesitated under hard acceleration. Thanks to this forum I was ready for his claim and I directed him to go to the dealer to get the reflash. The dealer had never relashed a Legacy before so that should tell you how rare it is. That was 5K miles ago and all is well.

 

Knowing about the potential stutter issue, we bought our 08 and experienced the hesitation also under WOT acceleration. I had the dealer do the reflash and ''voila' the stutter has been exorcised.

 

The odds are in your favor that you won't get a stutterer. If you do get the stutter, the odds are the dealer reflash will fix it. Also as others have mentioned, if Cobb releases the AccessPort in Decemeber, not only it fix the stutter, but you'll get more power to boot!

 

Fear not!

Got the reflash at the dealer yesterday and the stutter is gone. Hope it stays that way!

Wasn't there a poll done here on the hesitation issue??

I feel that the 90% figure is way high also.

My 05 gt wagon when stock,no hesitation issues.

I have 40,000 miles on my car. A little turbo lag is all I feel. I love the accelleration.