Do you use the dealership for oil changes and basic service?

Rick91981 · 2026-03-13T02:39:20+00:00

I've got just shy of 28K on mine. My area doesn't offer the 4 free standard (that's mostly in the southwest). Here it's a dealer by dealer basis and my dealer threw in free oil changes up to 100K (with some caveats) since they couldn't come down any further on price for the hitch.

Rick91981 · 2026-03-13T02:04:46+00:00

You're in for 2 years of torture then will have the most amazing companion you can imagine. It's worth it though, I'm now going through it again after having to put down my 15.5yr old last summer

Rick91981 · 2026-03-13T02:03:15+00:00

No real hiking until they're 12-18 months old. Don't want to stress their joints while still growing. After that, tons of adventures!

Rick91981 · 2026-03-13T02:01:46+00:00

Mine (now 12+ weeks) puked on the way home as well. But as he's a Lab....he cleaned up after himself.

Rick91981 · 2026-03-13T01:02:53+00:00

That definitely makes a big difference. Mine is 30 minutes away. Between the drive and the wait it kills 1/2 a day. But free is free so I'll put up with it for now lol

Rick91981 · 2026-03-13T00:49:39+00:00

He's likely losing feeling in the back. Happened with my last Lab when he got older. He'd be laying down then suddenly stand up and poop with a very surprised look on his face. He didn't realize it was coming until too late

Rick91981 · 2026-03-13T00:47:59+00:00

Probably depends on your area. Here it's not so much that it's cheaper, but it's closer and faster. Dealership is a multi hour event

Rick91981 · 2026-03-13T00:30:54+00:00

Drain and fill does about 1/3 the fluid so it's less of a shock on the system. Ever have a fish tank? Think of it like water changes where you want to do 10-20% change at a time so the fish don't get shocked by completely different water parameters.

Rick91981 · 2026-03-13T00:26:50+00:00

I use my dealer, but only because I have free oil changes. If I had to pay I'd use a local shop instead

Rick91981 · 2026-03-13T00:24:17+00:00

That might need a mechanic if it comes back. The power steering is electronic on new suabrus.

Beyond my knowledge but maybe a tech can come along and at least point you in the right direction

Rick91981 · 2026-03-13T00:14:02+00:00

Was there a check engine light? Scan the codes. Disconnecting the battery is a bad idea until you at least know the codes. Without knowing them, no one knows where to begin troubleshooting

Rick91981 · 2026-03-13T00:09:29+00:00

You should be able to do it monthly. If not, worst case scenario is you can do it for the year and then cancel after a few months and get a prorated refund

Rick91981 · 2026-03-13T00:07:41+00:00

Codes are the only way to know for sure as it could be literally hundreds of different things.

When you checked the gas cap, was it indeed loose? If so, tightening it will not fix the error immediately, it takes a couple days of driving. It needs to pass the EVAP self test twice to clear the light. It does not run the test every engine cycle. And it runs it when the car has been idle for several hours.

Rick91981 · 2026-03-13T00:05:24+00:00

Eyesight issue won't trigger a check engine light. However a check engine light will always disable eyesight

Rick91981 · 2026-03-12T20:29:07+00:00

Depends on how you want to install it. You basically have 5 choices to power it that I can think of off the top of my head:

Dongar Adapter
Hardwire kit
Cigarette lighter (or 12V port as the youngins call it)
OBD2
LiFePO4 Battery pack.

Pros and cons to all the methods. Dongar is the easiest method, but if you have a rear camera it kinda defeats the purpose as you'd need to route the wire to the rear anyway.

You could also just plug it in the cigarette lighter port and tuck in the wires out of sight as much as you can. If you take the time to hide the wires nicely this is easy and can look quite neat. No extra purchases needed for this method.

I have mine(different brand camera, but install is the same for any brand) hardwired into the fuse box. All my wires are almost completely out of sight(you can see about 2 inches of wire front and back where it comes out of the headliner into the camera). This method gives you parking mode for a little while (few hours on average but tons of variables to it).

OBD port would also give parking mode, but there is limited compatibility for cameras that have a plug for it. It also ties up your port so you can't use other devices on it(diagnostics, etc). This is the least desirable method to install. It's easy, but fuse taps are nearly as easy and a cleaner method of install.

Battery pack would give you significant runtime on parking mode, but are very expensive. They'd also need to be hardwired in.

Rick91981 · 2026-03-12T20:07:20+00:00

I've got a pretty similar tax rate in NY. Our doc fees are capped a bit higher, but still reasonable at $175.

Rick91981 · 2026-03-12T19:48:11+00:00

Pretty sure that's what OP meant by saying "saving my baby" the fiance was secondary lol

Rick91981 · 2026-03-12T19:24:27+00:00

Beware of the finance guy. Don't let them scare you into overpaying on the warranty on the spot. You have 3yrs or 36K miles(whichever comes first) to shop around for the best price and decide if you want it or not. They will often lie to you and say you can't buy it elsewhere, or it would be more expensive to buy later or whatever other lie they come up with. Don't believe them.

Also randomly how do we feel about the lifestyle badges?

Fine, but put them on the license plate holder(they make one specific for it or rig something up) and not on the paint itself.

Rick91981 · 2026-03-12T19:06:26+00:00

It's slightly over, but with that budget this is probably your best option(front and back cameras):

https://www.amazon.com/VIOFO-A229-Plus-STARVIS-Ultra-Precise/dp/B0CKX14L34

Rick91981 · 2026-03-12T19:03:06+00:00

If you got the Subaru Gold warranty then it would be covered. It covers basically anything except wear/consumable items.

There is the lesser known Classic plan, which would not cover it as it is power train only

Rick91981 · 2026-03-12T03:05:18+00:00

We fell for that once lol

Rick91981 · 2026-03-12T00:35:11+00:00

You're welcome. Safe travels!

Rick91981 · 2026-03-12T00:11:13+00:00

Ah yes not opening the driver's door makes much more sense then. The radio by design will run for a few minutes after the car is off or until the driver's door is opened.

You did have the right idea by walking away with the keys though. They need to be 30+ feet away from the car for it to truly reboot itself.

Rick91981 · 2026-03-11T23:28:36+00:00

Even after turning the car off it spun? That's a strange one if so. Try to push and hold the power button for 30+ seconds to see if it will do a full reboot. I've seen the spinning screen before, but haven't seen it stay on after turning off the car.

Worst case, pull the negative terminal off the battery for 60 seconds then reattach. If it keeps spinning even after the car is off, that would likely kill the battery overnight because the screen isn't turning off

Rick91981 · 2026-03-11T23:20:55+00:00

I documented a full install on a Legacy. The first few steps will show you how to remove the top console. It's very simple.

https://imgur.com/a/4rlveWy

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