2001 Outback VDC : Anyone encountered these problems?
Paul Chan
production version and delivery was early Nov 2000.
Wonder if any of you with a VDC from the same period has encountered
the following problems.
1) Macintosh sound system volume control knob. There is static when
you adjust the volume. Goes away when you shift it a little, comes
back after a couple of days. (I have had the dealer change the system
2 times already. Getting a little dissapointed with Subaru and
Macintosh.)
2) Rust on exhaust system, especially the muffler bypass valve on
driver side of rear muffler. I noticed significant discoloration on
the exhaust pipes and on the bypass valve. (FYI, car is in California.
Gets driven up to Tahoe on ski trips all winter. Now on 2nd ski season
and I'm getting worried.)
3) "VDC Off" light. I noticed previous emails on this. I fought with
this problem for the first 3 months I had the car. Subaru finally
figured out a fix and there is now a production fix for the system.
Email me for my experience.
Thanks!
Paul
Hallraker
> 1) Macintosh sound system volume control knob. There is static when
> you adjust the volume. Goes away when you shift it a little, comes
> back after a couple of days. (I have had the dealer change the system
> 2 times already. Getting a little dissapointed with Subaru and
> Macintosh.)
>
Sorry, have to point this out - It's McIntosh, not Macintosh. One is a
manufacturer of high end audio equipment, the other makes computers commonly
used in graphic arts.
I haven't had a chance to play with the new McIntosh stereo, but if it's
like other products of theirs I've used, it has a conventional potentiometer
(pot) in leui of the more common digital rotary volume control. A
conventional pot often becomes dirty after a while, the byproduct of sliding
back and forth and picking up contaminants. To give you an idea of what it
looks like, imagine a contact area shaped like a letter "C" with a wiper
that moves back and forth across the surface of the area. This movement
increases/decreases resistance which alters the volume. Dusty, humid
environments (such as in a car) can cause dirt buildup or corrosion to
inhibit the signal between the resistive surface and the wiper, causing the
static you describe. It's unfortunately normal - I've had brand spanking
new audio equipment do this right out of the box. Working the knob back and
forth will often "clean" the surface, removing the static, but it usually
comes back quickly.
-Matt
Cockatoo
Paul Chan wrote:
>
> I have a 2001 Outback VDC with 27k miles on it. One of the first
> production version and delivery was early Nov 2000.
>
> Wonder if any of you with a VDC from the same period has encountered
> the following problems.
>
> 1) Macintosh sound system volume control knob. There is static when
> you adjust the volume. Goes away when you shift it a little, comes
> back after a couple of days. (I have had the dealer change the system
> 2 times already. Getting a little dissapointed with Subaru and
> Macintosh.)
How long does the static last?
>
> 2) Rust on exhaust system, especially the muffler bypass valve on
> driver side of rear muffler. I noticed significant discoloration on
> the exhaust pipes and on the bypass valve. (FYI, car is in California.
> Gets driven up to Tahoe on ski trips all winter. Now on 2nd ski season
> and I'm getting worried.)
I'm not to sure what your worried about, all exhaust systems will
discolouration with usage, its a fact of life. If there is significant
degradation of the system you DO have a problem. Discoloration is not a
problem however.
>
> 3) "VDC Off" light. I noticed previous emails on this. I fought with
> this problem for the first 3 months I had the car. Subaru finally
> figured out a fix and there is now a production fix for the system.
> Email me for my experience.
I think we need some more details here.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Paul
Paul Chan
> Paul Chan wrote:
> >
> > I have a 2001 Outback VDC with 27k miles on it. One of the first
> > production version and delivery was early Nov 2000.
> >
> > Wonder if any of you with a VDC from the same period has encountered
> > the following problems.
> >
> > 1) Macintosh sound system volume control knob. There is static when
> > you adjust the volume. Goes away when you shift it a little, comes
> > back after a couple of days. (I have had the dealer change the system
> > 2 times already. Getting a little dissapointed with Subaru and
> > Macintosh.)
>
> How long does the static last?
Static present only when adjusting the volume. The crackle is loud
enough to be heard through whatever is being played on the CD/Radio.
>
> >
> > 2) Rust on exhaust system, especially the muffler bypass valve on
> > driver side of rear muffler. I noticed significant discoloration on
> > the exhaust pipes and on the bypass valve. (FYI, car is in California.
> > Gets driven up to Tahoe on ski trips all winter. Now on 2nd ski season
> > and I'm getting worried.)
>
> I'm not to sure what your worried about, all exhaust systems will
> discolouration with usage, its a fact of life. If there is significant
> degradation of the system you DO have a problem. Discoloration is not a
> problem however.
I take back the use of the term "discoloration". The bypass valve
literally has flakes coming off it right now. Am still waiting to hear
back from the Subaru rep on this.
> >
> > 3) "VDC Off" light. I noticed previous emails on this. I fought with
> > this problem for the first 3 months I had the car. Subaru finally
> > figured out a fix and there is now a production fix for the system.
> > Email me for my experience.
>
> I think we need some more details here.
Problem had to do with the VDC software. Would go into a false-error
mode on a certain stretch of freeway (HWY 17 between San Jose and
Santa Cruz). For those of you in the area, you'll know that this
stretch is both steep and has lots of sharp, banked turns. According
to Subaru, they fixed some of the software parameters and have made a
production fix to all new VDCs. So far so good for me on this one.
The Captain
"Paul Chan" <chan...@stanfordalumni.org> wrote in message
news:69a5ea23.02012...@posting.google.com...
> Cockatoo <bu...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:<3C489A40...@hotmail.com>...
> > Paul Chan wrote:
> > >
> > > I have a 2001 Outback VDC with 27k miles on it. One of the first
> > > production version and delivery was early Nov 2000.
> > >
> > > Wonder if any of you with a VDC from the same period has encountered
> > > the following problems.
> > >
> > > 1) Macintosh sound system volume control knob. There is static when
> > > you adjust the volume. Goes away when you shift it a little, comes
> > > back after a couple of days. (I have had the dealer change the system
> > > 2 times already. Getting a little dissapointed with Subaru and
> > > Macintosh.)
> >
> > How long does the static last?
>
> Static present only when adjusting the volume. The crackle is loud
> enough to be heard through whatever is being played on the CD/Radio.
>
This is clearly dust in the potentiometer (volume control) contacts.
Nothing Subaru or McIntosh can do will fix it. It's just the design of
volume pots. From your comments, it appears that you live in SoCal, where
sand/dust is a common environmental factor. Add to that the fact that the
air ducts vent close to the stereo faceplate and the volume pot just gets
saturated with dust. Furthermore, any electrical appliance generates static
electricity fields that just suck in the dust (look at the back of your TV
or VCR to understand). The simple fix is the easiest. Before you start up
the car, just turn the volume pot up and down several times as fast as you
can turn it. This will kick out most of the dust. Beyond that, a regular
pulling of the stereo unit and cleaning the contacts may be in order.
Changing the unit completely isn't going to be a long-term cure; until you
reduce the amount of dust getting into the cabin, this problem will recur.
One off-the wall solution may be to inquire with local stereo nuts about
finding a truly air-tight volume pot with the same electrical specs as the
one in your current unit. Pull it, swap out the pot for the sealed unit,
and cross your fingers.
john de cristofaro
it's dust - i think the tap on the pot. is cheaply manufactured and that it's
getting frayed after using for a while.
-john
Begawk1
haven't had much of a chance to drive with the windows down and the auto
climate system is supposed to have a filter to minimize dust. The problem is
reduced by turning the knob back and forth quickly.
One more problem is the lack of a cd changer for the mcintosh. nobody at subaru
seems to know anything and mcintosh said that the subaru unit is using a
different language to talk to the changer than their consumer models. They will
use the same language on their new consumer models starting at some point in
'02.
Brian