That was okay. I cannot believe I just watched this entire review. One thing that was misreported, the rear lower half of the back seats pull up and the back of the seats then lay perfectly flat making for a fantastic cargo area.
So... a couple things. 1. As put by others here, the rear defrost next to the cruise is the front wiper defroster. For those of us in areas seeing snow and ice in particular, it is a very handy feature to help unstick the wipers from the windshield while you warm the car up and scrape the rest of the windows. 2. There is a cloth loop on the rear seat, between the bottom and seatback that will fold the seat bottom forward and your rear seatbacks fold flat (after removing the headrests). 3. The center shoulderbelt does unhook, you use a key or screwdriver at the buckle to release it, and it retracts to the ceiling. 4. Doubt the shaking is a bad motor mount, unless the car is really jerky when changing from deceleration to acceleration. Probably is more indicative of a poor mixture while idling, which could be a multitude of things. These engines are not usually known for a vibrations, boxer 4's are inherently balanced and are known for smoothness. Now they are known for noisiness (solid valve lash adjusters) and their issues with headgaskets from time to time.
@@elbeno9304 Do you still have that issue? If so it may be the IAC - www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NGH3V3D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
My thinking being a Subaru specialist is spark plugs are probably worn out. If you treat these cars well; they will treat you well.I have owned 5 Subaru's all ranging from the early 90's to the mid 90's. About to buy my first 2000's outback tomorrow night. I learned mechanics on the classic ej22 engine. Solid performers.
I just bought one of these a few weeks ago. It's in extremely clean condition, one owner, 124K miles, 2002. The 3 big expensive issues are all done, less than a year ago. Timing belt/water pump, head gaskets, steering rack. Nearly $5K spent. No corrosion as it spent its life in Florida. I live in the snow belt so this will be a beast. Looking forward to it. Many clean versions of these for sale but listed at over $4-$5k and no verifiable maintenance/repair history and I paid $2600 for mine. I feel very lucky because I got everything you need when buying one of these. Without good maintenance/repair history I wouldn't want one of these for free. I had 4 previous outbacks of the same generation. I learned my lesson.
@@nobunnyspecial It's perfect. Just changed the oil a few weeks ago when I got annual inspection, every thing else clean. Last winter was a rough one and it did it's job. I bought an unlimited plan with the car wash and ran it through all the time to keep clean in the winter. Rims are still shiny, no rust on the bolts. Original owners actually purchased rustproofing when new. Getting ready to store my '97 Maxima(46K miles) & 2002 Accord (52k miles) for the winter. Not a drop of oil leaks from this Subaru. Has about 5,000 miles since I purchased it.
@@zachadams7921 The car might be great but how do you know? If you know they've never been done then you certainly should be concerned. Also if timing belt, water pump, radiator not done, and you don't have maintenance history...............I have mine almost done with 3rd year winter and 2.5 years owning it. Next week I take to a garage for front wheel bearing assembly. Will cost nearly $600, the most I've spent and mileage is up now to 145,000 miles. Burning oil but not leaking and car still looks great. I might be moving south, and don't know if I'll keep it. It has been a workhorse but it's old and has lots of miles. You can end of spending a fortune if you don't check it carefully. If you have no history of maintenance then don't know if worth it.
I believe the rear seat bottoms lift up so that the backs can fold flat. I was looking at 2 '00 Outbacks when I was looking for my first car. I passed on one because it was a base model and the other (a Limited) because it needed way too much work. Ended up with an '05 Ford Taurus that turned out to be a complete money pit and developed tranny problems a year and a half later. Now I've got my mom's former '98 Honda Accord that has been very good too me. In the year and I've owned it my biggest repair was new brake calipers for the front. Everything else has been normal wear and tear except for a leaking tire and a wheel that was a bit out of alignment (probably from bumping a curb).
I have the same exact car except it's the base model, I have 240k+ miles on it and it has no rust just paint chips, it was well cared for and should get another 100k out of her! Btw even the color is the same and the guy before me painted the tires black and has dark black tinted windows it looks very nice with those slight mods
Also the guy that I bought it from has had a mini sub/speaker (I'm not sure what) installed where the "missing in action" cup holder is, it adds a little more flavor to the sound quality. My stereo is stock but it can hold its own, not sure what to get as an after market one
@@racheljwallace I can't believe I posted this 4 years ago lol. Yes my outback is still alive with 290K miles. It had to have its fuel pump replaced, and I add a little oil and coolant every 3 weeks. I still plan on driving it for a few more years or until the wheels fall off.
@@bradendahlke197 Ha! Time passes so quickly and also so slowly. Mine is a dark green sedan named Esmeraldo but I've run into a problem caused by the dealer and I've taken it to about 5 different mechanics and none of um can figure it out. So I'm asking myself if I really like it enough to have to jump it every time I wanna use it. And I kind of do. I only drive a couple days a week. Thanks for the insight :)
@@racheljwallace Yeah I hate electrical problems, they are the hardest to find. Sometimes a good google search can help find the weird problems that a mechanic can't. Good luck with Esmeraldo! I hope to see you on the road haha.
The "ummmmm defrost... rear defrost" button is actually the front wiper defrost at the base of the front windshield. This outback has the all weather package - heated seats, mirrors, and windshield. the rear defroster is below the a/c / fan control, next to the circulation and a/c buttons. also, the rear seats DO fold perfectly flat. the rear seat cushion flips up, and the seat backs lay down into that space.
@@Disappearit Not the wipers, but the portion of the windshield where the wipers rest when they're switched off. There's a series of conductive lines painted on to the windshield, similar to the rear defrost lines on most cars' rear windshields.
Brett Perry I see. But where does those lines get power? What happens when you use your wipers or it supposed to be only used when the wipers are resting while you are scraping ice and snow off your car? Can I use that as I’m defrosting the window too?
@@Disappearit They're on the inside of the windshield, behind the dashboard, so if you were to remove the dashboard, you would see a wire soldered to the end of the lines. Yes, you can use them alongside the defrost feature, and they're just meant to melt the dam of snow/ ice that forms between the hood and the windshield, freeing up the wipers.
I know this video was done 10 years ago but I wanted to comment that the seats do flatten all the way down. How you might ask? In the back seat behind the passenger side there is a gray strap sticking out where seatbelts are; you want to pull on that which brings the bottom seat up so you can lay them flat. If you have an owners manual it will explain it.
Mine does not have the heated seats. Where those switches are for the heated seats, there are coin slots. I don't have the heated mirrors either, where the button for that is, there's a blank, solid button that does nothing. Good catch on the "hazard lights button" on the wheel because it isn't your hazards. It turns on the very sides of your headlights on really low so don't leave those on it will kill your battery
Nobody seems to have mentioned it but what you said about the car being painted once before is not necessarily true. Often certain parts of a car's plastic exterior is given two different coats of paint. A flat paint, usually a primer, and the exterior paint that can be flat or glossy. This is to help making repaint jobs easier as well as to provide more protection for the plastic of the vehicle. Two coats of paint is far better than one coat. Simply because if the exterior paint is damaged, the paint takes the damage before the plastic does.
I have this car this exact one now my golden metal snake baby, id sell for 10 grand 10 for the golden year. The stereo is SOSSOSO GOOOD, if u actually like this kinda stuff
I know this is two years late, but I have a 99 as my first car. It's in reasonably good condition. Its a jack of all trades as far as driving, interior space, and occupancy. The all wheel drive is also a plus for snow. The one thing is obviously the headgasket issues around 100k miles, the fix can be expensive. Personally I find the car to be deceptively long, so keep that in mind when navigating parking lots.
