My '05 Legacy GT has been the most disappointing and unreliable vehicle ever

...

I can certainly understand your situation. My 2000 Celica GT-S was the most unreliable car I've ever owned. While my experience with that particular toyota was terrible, I know my experience was not the norm for that particular car or that manufacturer. I would never buy another car with that engine in it, but I can't hold anything against toyota. Ever manufacturer makes lemons, you just happened to get one.

Do you think the engine stuff could be mostly software bugs? It sounds like you got an early one, perhaps before they identified all the problems in the engine management software (which they probably should have figured out before selling the car, but, then again, microsoft should have worked out the bugs before selling vista)

You should check the lemon laws for NY and see if you meet any of the criteria. I had a similar issue with a reoccuring problem with my last VW and I was pissed too. My family has had numerous TDI VW's before, all with no problems, and mine was the POS. In the end VWOA did the right thing and refunded every penny I paid for the car, I was even able to get back what I paid for the gap insurance. The whole experience soured me to VW's and I will never get another one but as I said in the end they did the right thing. If you believe you have a legit case, seek an attorney specializing in lemon law for your state. If the first one turns you down try another. Most of them work on contigency and won't take the case if they don't think they will win. This equals no expense for you, except headache. I'm sorry you feel this way about subarus. On the flip-side, I just turned 77k and haven't had any problems; except for what I have done to the car. Best of luck..

Do you think the engine stuff could be mostly software bugs? It sounds like you got an early one, perhaps before they identified all the problems in the engine management software (which they probably should have figured out before selling the car, but, then again, microsoft should have worked out the bugs before selling vista)

 

+1

 

My Legacy has been perfect since day one, overall it is a very reliable car with good consumer reports marks; it sounds you like you just had a lemon bro. In every kind of car, there is always a few lemons, it doesn't matter if it's a BMW or not. I should know, My folks drive 2 BMWs, which have been swapped out for newer ones since 2000. They've had their share of Luxury lemons. Look on the bright side, at least you didn't pay $50K to $90,000 for a lemon. In fact, didn't you lease your LGT?

...

Oh, damn. Alright, you definitely need to check out the Lemon laws for NY then.

Oh, damn. Alright, you definitely need to check out the Lemon laws for NY then.

 

Yeah he doesnt fit the criteria unfortunatly

I really think SOA should do something for you even though you dont fall under the lemon law.

sounds like its time to trade in to another dealership,. get yourself a new car.

Yeah he doesnt fit the criteria unfortunatly

 

He would have had to have made 3 trips within 12,000 miles or the first year for it to qualify as a lemon, I believe.

 

Unfortunately, the only people that can help you are Subaru of America. This is the typical run down:

 

1) Show false concern and act compassionate.

2) Refer you to your dealership.

3) Dealership will say they will look at it if you drop the car off for an entire day.

4) Dealership will say, "The vehicle is within specifications."

5) If you want further follow-up, Steve/Rick/Dave/etc., the regional rep, will be in touch with you.

6) The regional rep will never call you.

...

IMHO I would keep contacting SOA and keep harasssing them. Tell them how bad the car runs every day. I think they will eventually do something.

Hey Mike, sorry to hear of your troubles. I bought my LGT about the same time as yours. I have the 5EAT Limited Wagon. Other than replacing both headlamps and resurfacing my rotors twice, I have no other problems. Those 2 issues were handled under warranty. I change the oil every 3500 miles. Got the AP Stage 1 after 5 months of owning the car. Went to Stage 2 last Oct. I will upgrade the brakes in the next six months or so.

 

I hope you will have better luck with your next car. And I hope SOA will do the right thing for you.

...........The injectors and coil packs have been replaced, but lastnight, after coming home from the movies - I parked the car, and put her into Park and the car started trembling. ............

 

Are these the only parts that have been replaced?

...

...

coming over from GM, i have been nothing but pleased and problem free, unlike my last 2 GM's, so i can sympathize with you. after reading of your dealership troubles, it doesn't sound like to me that they are very competent. i've seen plenty of problem vehicles with strange issues, and any good tech who takes pride in their work would see that these concerns were resolved.

Very sorry to hear about your problems - All I can say is that I'm glad it's not happening to me.

Have they replaced the spark plugs? I got new plugs on my '98 a couple years ago and one was bad. It generated the misfires and trembling, and a CEL would come on for a little while then disappear. After the third or fourth CEL, I brought to the dealer and found it was a bad plug. They replaced it and I never had misfires or shuddering again. They said they do occasionally get bad plugs.

 

Just offering possibilites...

 

 

Here is the story of my craptastic Subaru ownership experience:

...

...

 

From the sounds of it, you've really only had two issues: bad tires and misfiring.

The RE-92s are a known issue, and the misfiring should be a solvable issue. You now have different tires, so, once the misfiring is resolved, your ownership satisfaction should go up drastically.

It sounds like you have been dealing with a seriously crappy dealer! Have you been taking it to this same dealer for all of the warranty work? I would take it to a different dealer to have the work done. I bet the guys in your regional forum could recommend someone around you with a much better service department and track record. I wouldn't give that dealer another dime. Who knows maybe a dealership with a better service department can actually fix your car!

wow. i'm very sorry to hear your 05 LGT 5EAT woes. my 05 has been completely reliable, even after the heavy modding of the car. it was build pre Aug 04 as well and i bought it in April 05 from the local dealer here. i have a feeling a lot of the issues you are having probably stem from the poor dealership and their service dept. even before my husband started working for the dealership, i always had excellent service. now that he's worked for them for 2 yrs now, i know the subie techs very well. i do know that not all techs are the same and we are blessed with ones that are mod friendly, mod minded, and really know what to look for.

 

in fact, one of the guys (AK Wagon) had a similar stutter problem at idle and they were able to track it down and fix it. it had to do with a couple things, vacuum leak and bad injector. that was only about a week ago i believe, on his 05 LGT Wagon 5MT. i think i read in another post they already checked your plugs, injectors. what about any leaks??

the misfiring stuff happens on so many cars it should be a TSB or recall or something.

 

I had my cylinder 3 misfire at 53k. Got a used but flow tested set of injectors off snodork and it's been purring like a kitten ever since. (although its only been 3 months and 1k miles.)

...