Airbag recall -- good dealer in east bay?

Need to have my 05 LGT passenger airbag replaced per the recall. Been waiting on parts for around a year but I'll be looking to have a dealer do the work. Any suggestions?

Rhitter, I forget which dealer you suggested. I'm in the East Bay but don't mind driving a little farther to a dealer with a tech who knows how to do it.

I took mine to Fairfield Subaru and they did a fantastic job. Little bit of a drive but I think it'd be worth it. And I think Rhitter went there too.

Had no problem at Carlsen, other than them running overtime and giving me a loaner to come back tomorrow. Well, they did crack a vent, but I just bought a used one for $20..

Hey Franz, did you always live in the east bay? Or did you just move here?

Moved here fairly recently

kool welcome, if you wanna do some track days some time lemme know! Sears point and Laguna are callin your name...

Yep looking forward to getting on track out here! Car might be too loud for a laguna track day so I need to figure something out for that.

I took mine to Fairfield Subaru and they did a fantastic job. Little bit of a drive but I think it'd be worth it. And I think Rhitter went there too.

 

Same went to Fairfield (they gave me a loaner) remember to bring cash for the toll. They did a good job and so far no issues with my dash.

 

Bolt in muffler? My wife was laughing at how loud your car was.

have you looked into laguna pipes yet? They direct the sound away from the measuring station.

 

What part of the bay are you? I'm in Oakland.

Same went to Fairfield (they gave me a loaner) remember to bring cash for the toll. They did a good job and so far no issues with my dash.

 

Bolt in muffler? My wife was laughing at how loud your car was.

 

lol yeah I set a car alarm off today driving down the street.. oops

the nameless 5 in mufflers don't do a whole lot when the rest of the exhaust is so free flowing including the turbine housing. so I think I'll look at having a fab shop use some Borla mufflers and sell the nameless ones. It's the cams that really made things louder

 

and marky I'm in Oakland too

Speaking of track time.. I'm interested in doing some track time, and maybe some auto-x. Hopefully not threadjacking too much (I seem to have a bad habit of that).

 

Current situation: '05 LGT wagon (5EAT + Hexmods + bnr16g + fuel mods + DP/TMIC) with 127k. Car feels fun most of the time, even with the 5EAT, but I know the brakes are a weak point - sometimes I get fade just from 2-3 hard stops, even with Bobcat pads on the front.

 

Can I have fun on the track/auto-x with a 5EAT, or will I be banging my head against the wall after only a short time wishing I'd gotten a 5/6MT? I did the "dream car" thing in Vegas, and those cars were all autos, and shifting wasn't THAT important - I tended to shift too often.

 

Wife's ok with me buying another LGT and building one of them up as a part-time track car (i.e. lots of upgrades). If I get another 5EAT/Hexmods, maybe a built 5EAT, I can drive it all the time: kids to school, to/from work, with the family, to Tahoe, etc. and the wife can drive the other LGT when she wants more fun than the minivan.

 

I doubt I'll ever turn into a real hardcore racer. Just want to make sure I'm starting off with the right expectations.

 

Have also considered a 335i/xi with 40-50k on it and some light mods. Am a little worried about expensive repairs or stuffing it. I have a pretty good feeling for the price of repairs on the LGT. I know next to nothing about the Bimmer world (although I had some VWs and those weren't that cheap).

 

Thanks, and if this is too far off-topic, just let me know..

get some hp+ and you'll be good =) I also have a 5eat now, it makes it easier to focus on improving driving skills instead of having to time your heel tow.

 

Tires are more important after brakes, what tires do you have now? Do you have outback calipers or LGT calipers?

I have LGT calipers, but they suck - already replaced one a few years ago, and still get pulling to one side at times under hard braking. May be the rears, I don't know. Tried HPS pads, IIRC, and to me, they felt worse than everything else - not much stopping until you warm up. Panic stops on 880 became REAL panic stops when I pushed the pedal and had almost nothing for 3-4 seconds. Bobcats have been the best I've found for the street (IMHO) between stock, HPS, Stoptech street/sport and Bobcats. But they're not track pads.

 

I plan to get something like Endless MX72 pads (expensive, but supposed to be the best "ok on street and track" pads), or a dedicated set of track pads, but only after upgrading the brakes. I just don't trust the stock brakes enough for me to be comfortable on a track with them. Part of the plan is definitely 18's + STi MBC + Brembos or similar.

 

Tires are Pilot Sport AS3+ at the moment, but need new ones soon. Would get a dedicated set of wheels/tires for the track, probably.

 

Thanks!

hadvw, I tried a one pad fits all with the Endless but I ended up going through pads really quickly. I tracked with the stock calipers for awhile using dedicated track pads (Carbotech XP8). You're right about the Hawk HPS. I don't know why they are so popular. So, I recommend keeping your Bobcats for street and getting an XP8 track pad to swap in for track days.

 

Better brake fluid is really important too, a DOT4 with at least 500F dry boiling point (ATE or Prospeed are my favorites).

 

The 5EAT should be fine, just pay attention to any high temperatures.

I will be getting my 09 Forester airbag done in 2 weeks at Livermore Subaru. I will let you know how it goes.

 

XP8's are my go to track pads. I have XP10's right now because I needed new track pads and was in a pinch, but I will definitely be going back to XP8's. I run Bobcats for my street pads on both the LGT and FXT.

 

And I only use ATE Type200 brake fluid.

I did my airbag recall at Downtown Toyota and Subaru in Oakland. Before, no dash rattle. After, noticeable squeaks and sounds. I would advise against them, personally. The customer service lacks greatly. Took the air pump recall to Marin Subaru. A little hectic upon arrival, but work was done efficiently. Even picked up a battery terminal cleaner down the block at harbor freight because I'd seen corrosion a week before. Dealership cleaned it up before I could. Half ass wash, but we're just getting out of the drought, right?

Walnut Creek Subaru. I was a bit nervous going in, but overall im satisfied... they did what needed to be done. Went in with occasional dash rattle, came back with occasional dash rattle

You mean Diablo Subaru?

You mean Diablo Subaru?

Oops - Yeah, Diablo Subaru in Walnut Creek

^They didn't do a fantastic job on my airbag replacement. Little dents in the dashboard around the Nav bezel, broken tab in the driver-side corner causing the classic dash rattle, wouldn't fess up to causing the damage.

 

Maybe they've improved since having to repace a LOT of these.

 

Diablo is still WAY better than Livermore Subaru though. Never again.

I had Diablo in Walnut Creek take care of our TOB and related powertrain work. Their service building(s) were (and possibly still are) under construction. Their organization actually wasn't that horrible given their band-camp-like working conditions. Ultimately the work was iffy and delayed many days, but communication was there and we were at least given a rental Subaru.

 

I'm hesitant to utilize them again until they get a solid bench of experienced techs on their roster.

 

All said, I now have two recalls (wiper motor assy and pass airbag) that need to be taken care of, so I'll need to make a decision soon to visit a dealer. We use our Subie when we go out together, so we don't really have the option to just not use the passenger seat.

Livermore did a great job on my Fozz today, except for this. Didn't get any push back and they ordered me a new trim.

 

I had Diablo in Walnut Creek take care of our TOB and related powertrain work. Their service building(s) were (and possibly still are) under construction. Their organization actually wasn't that horrible given their band-camp-like working conditions. Ultimately the work was iffy and delayed many days, but communication was there and we were at least given a rental Subaru.

 

I'm hesitant to utilize them again until they get a solid bench of experienced techs on their roster.

 

All said, I now have two recalls (wiper motor assy and pass airbag) that need to be taken care of, so I'll need to make a decision soon to visit a dealer. We use our Subie when we go out together, so we don't really have the option to just not use the passenger seat.

 

 

Well, took care of recalls almost immediately after posting this. They moved us up the schedule when I insisted and mentioned how we take this car 'everywhere', so we don't have an option of just not driving it.

 

I didn't see anything awry with the work Diablo Subaru did this round, nor did I look really closely to be honest. Although, I can't seem to access the cabin air filter anymore....

 

Probably just me.

Livermore didn't do a great job with my car.. I had some extra wiring for gauges but it shouldn't have been too tough to deal with. They gouged the dash around the cubby piece (looks like they used a screw driver) and lost a screw for the dash cluster trim. Anyway, not a huge deal for a 13 year old car but still.