Bicycles, cross bars, Subarus

[daker13]

I'm pretty close to buying a new Forester, and I want to get a bike rack as well. My first one, and I don't know from nothing.

If the car has roof rails, do I need cross bars when I get a bike rack installed? What are the cross bars for? They're an extra $200.

The salesman is, um, not a cyclist.

[vav]

AFAIK the bike rack/bar rests on top of the cross bars so yes, I guess you need them.

http://tfe.me/image/480_345/AR2228.jpg

I bought a CR-V without roof rails and ended up with a hitch and a hitch bike rack. Cost of roof rails + cross bar + roof bike rack really added up fast. Though if the Subaru comes with the roof rails I guess make things a lot easier.

[Aaron O]

Not sure if this will be helpful, but sharing it just in case...

We're also buying a subaru this week and I want a hitch in the rear. The salesman told us the subaru branded hitch mis crap and told us to get it done else where. I like the rear hitch racks far more...less affect on mileage, less bird and bug grunk on the bike.

[R3awak3n]

But you can't open the trunk when the bike is in it which is one of the cons of a hitch rack. However it's cheaper, no gas mileage lost and no chance to drive the bike into something that is too low (harder to parallel park though).


I have a roof rack because my car had factory rails and the gas mileage on that stupid car is already so low (land rover) that the rack barely affected it. Yakima was having a 35$ rebate too so it made sense to me but I actually been reading that many people prefer hitch racks.

[Aaron O]

But you can't open the trunk when the bike is in it which is one of the cons of a hitch rack. However it's cheaper, no gas mileage lost and no chance to drive the bike into something that is too low (harder to parallel park though).


I have a roof rack because my car had factory rails and the gas mileage on that stupid car is already so low (land rover) that the rack barely affected it. Yakima was having a 35$ rebate too so it made sense to me but I actually been reading that many people prefer hitch racks.

Wouldn't it be nice if at least one thing in life was clear cut with no trade offs? :banana:

You're exactly right - it's just which disadvantages you can live with. I prefer hitch, but your points are good.

[r_mutt]

fwiw, i was able to open the hatch on my subaru wagon with a bike on and off the hitch rack. lot's of factors here. it's a case by case thing.

as far as roof racks- i have Whisper cross bars and a Rocky Mountain Euro Pitchfork- a perfect combo.

[steelbikerider]

I recommend what i have done with my 06 Forester. Use the factory side rails and get the proper Yakima towers to attach to the factory side rails and use either the round or aero Yakima rails. My 25+ year old Yakima is on its 4th vehicle now. At my Subaru dealer, I see that most of the cycling roof racks are Yakima fittings but they cost more than at REI or the internet

[veloduffer]

Get the factory crossbars and then buy a fork mount that has a universal fit. You will save $300 from not having to buy the towers and cross rails. The factory rails are fairly sturdy and we use them to carry our kayaks on our Outback, as well as the bikes

Subaru uses a smaller hitch (1.25"?), it is not the bigger class 3 hitch (2") for towing heavy stuff. Hitch racks have levers so it will swing away enough to open the hatch. They are much more convenient, especially if you are vertically challenged.

I've owned Yakima and Thule racks for years. Good stuff but the crossbars and mounts are overkill to carry a bike.

On my Highlander, I had an aftermarket hitch installed and use a Thule T2 rack.

[Veloo]

Have you owned a Subaru before?
Let me forewarn you as I am going through issues with my 2013 Impreza wagon lemon. Main issue is burning oil. Low oil level warning light has come on 3 times in a year and a half. I am now starting oil checks every 1000 km with the dealership starting yesterday after I did a type B service and asked them to take my issue serious and not just top up. Here are some links.

http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f183/2011-excessive-oil-consumption-merged-thread-119562/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/07/18/subaru-oil-burner-lawsuit/12859865/

There's a vid on youtube of a very pissed off owner who is/ was burning insane amounts of oil. I can't find now but it ends with him saying F@#$ YOU SUBARU.

My first Subaru and I am very disappointed. AWD doesn't trump basics of a vehicle not working.

Also totally contradicts their claim to being a green company and having green processes if they allow oil to be burning into the atmosphere.

[CunegoFan]

I recommend what i have done with my 06 Forester. Use the factory side rails and get the proper Yakima towers to attach to the factory side rails and use either the round or aero Yakima rails.

That is what I did. I took off the Subaru cross bars and used Yak Lowrider towers to attach Yak cross bars.

[Aaron O]

Have you owned a Subaru before?
Let me forewarn you as I am going through issues with my 2013 Impreza wagon lemon. Main issue is burning oil. Low oil level warning light has come on 3 times in a year and a half. I am now starting oil checks every 1000 km with the dealership starting yesterday after I did a type B service and asked them to take my issue serious and not just top up. Here are some links.

http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f183/2011-excessive-oil-consumption-merged-thread-119562/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/07/18/subaru-oil-burner-lawsuit/12859865/

There's a vid on youtube of a very pissed off owner who is/ was burning insane amounts of oil. I can't find now but it ends with him saying F@#$ YOU SUBARU.

My first Subaru and I am very disappointed. AWD doesn't trump basics of a vehicle not working.

Also totally contradicts their claim to being a green company and having green processes if they allow oil to be burning into the atmosphere.
Have you done any research on if this is a common issue or an unhappy exception?

Edit - a quick google search says you're not alone :(

Unfortunately checking any car model seems to give informations like this of some sort.

[veloduffer]

Have you owned a Subaru before?

Let me forewarn you as I am going through issues with my 2013 Impreza wagon lemon. Main issue is burning oil. Low oil level warning light has come on 3 times in a year and a half. I am now starting oil checks every 1000 km with the dealership starting yesterday after I did a type B service and asked them to take my issue serious and not just top up. Here are some links.



http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f183/2011-excessive-oil-consumption-merged-thread-119562/



http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/07/18/subaru-oil-burner-lawsuit/12859865/



There's a vid on youtube of a very pissed off owner who is/ was burning insane amounts of oil. I can't find now but it ends with him saying F@#$ YOU SUBARU.



My first Subaru and I am very disappointed. AWD doesn't trump basics of a vehicle not working.



Also totally contradicts their claim to being a green company and having green processes if they allow oil to be burning into the atmosphere.


Sorry about your Subie. We've had good experiences with Outbacks for several years. We just replaced our minivan with a 2014 Outback. So far so good.

My neighbor had tranny problems with the older Outback. Nevertheless, he replaced it with a Forester. Maybe it's a cult. :-)

[ergott]

Back on topic. I went with Whispbar cross bars and carriers. They quality is better then my Thule counterpart and the aero crossbars look better than stock on my car.

http://www.whispbar.com/

[rwsaunders]

But you can't open the trunk when the bike is in it which is one of the cons of a hitch rack. However it's cheaper, no gas mileage lost and no chance to drive the bike into something that is too low (harder to parallel park).

Just purchase a hitch rack that tilts...I have a Yakima unit that we use on our Odyssey with no problems.

[daker13]

Have you owned a Subaru before?
Let me forewarn you as I am going through issues with my 2013 Impreza wagon lemon. Main issue is burning oil. Low oil level warning light has come on 3 times in a year and a half. I am now starting oil checks every 1000 km with the dealership starting yesterday after I did a type B service and asked them to take my issue serious and not just top up. Here are some links.

http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f183/2011-excessive-oil-consumption-merged-thread-119562/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/07/18/subaru-oil-burner-lawsuit/12859865/

There's a vid on youtube of a very pissed off owner who is/ was burning insane amounts of oil. I can't find now but it ends with him saying F@#$ YOU SUBARU.

My first Subaru and I am very disappointed. AWD doesn't trump basics of a vehicle not working.

Also totally contradicts their claim to being a green company and having green processes if they allow oil to be burning into the atmosphere.

Sorry to hear that. I've owned several Subarus, currently drive a 2002 Forester. We may get a Forester, may get a CR-V (which provoked a similar lawsuit), it's still up in the air, but I'm leaning towards the Subaru.

What do you mean by "I am now starting oil checks every 1000 km with the dealership starting yesterday"?

I like to think I check the oil regularly on my current car, and many of the complaints seem to involve oil use that I wouldn't really consider excessive. I did read up on the issue a bit, but so far it's not enough to sway me.

[Veloo]

I got the car at the end of Dec 2012. I've never had an oil warning light come on on any of my other vehicles - Pontiac Phoenix, Honda Civic, Chevy Cavalier, VW Golf.

Here's a bit from the file I did up about the times I brought it in cuz the light came on.

May 31 2013 - no volume of oil indicated on invoice - 5533 km
Sept 27 2013 - 0.3 litres added - 8863 km
Mar 24 2014 - I topped off the oil myself with OEM Subaru 0W20 oil. Dip stick was below 1/2 mark - 14333 km
June 19 2014 - 1.5 litres added - 16395 km

I think it was the Mar - June period that had them realize there was something possible to the trend. They said let's start recording every 1000 km so I'll be bringing it in every 1000 km.

I only "met" one other person with an oil problem on a Subi forum. No one else I know personally has the issue but I have 2 friends with issues and 2 friends of friends that had issues.

I don't wanna hijack your original thread so feel free to PM me.

[Mr. Pink]

Well, as a long term Subaru owner, I can tell you that you have a lemon, and should start a procedure that eliminates that car from your life. No car today leaks or burns oil, especially a Subaru. Be the squeaky wheel now.

Just have to chime in that they really screwed up the Outback roof rack by making it a propietery system that basically sucks. Thule and Yakima don't even make an anchor system for it, which is wild, because we're talking about one of the most popular cars for years to carry outdoorsy quivers. I was going to buy an Outback, again, a few years ago until I discovered this, so I went with a Forester. Wish I went with the Crosstek instead, but it was new and the salespeople were dicking me around with pricing and availability. Easier to get the bike and skis on top.

[Louis]

FWIW I have just under 20k miles on my '14 Impreza hatch, purchased in Nov '13, and have had zero oil-related issues with the car. In fact, zero issues at all (except that I sort of wish I had gotten the WRX instead).

[ohsnapitsed]

Well, as a long term Subaru owner, I can tell you that you have a lemon, and should start a procedure that eliminates that car from your life. No car today leaks or burns oil, especially a Subaru. Be the squeaky wheel now.

Just have to chime in that they really screwed up the Outback roof rack by making it a propietery system that basically sucks. Thule and Yakima don't even make an anchor system for it, which is wild, because we're talking about one of the most popular cars for years to carry outdoorsy quivers. I was going to buy an Outback, again, a few years ago until I discovered this, so I went with a Forester. Wish I went with the Crosstek instead, but it was new and the salespeople were dicking me around with pricing and availability. Easier to get the bike and skis on top.

Yea - we just got a 2015 Outback and it's the roof rack looks nice in theory, until you realize that there is not anchor system for it. Oh well - I just got a tray that fits directly to the weird fold out crossbars.

[classtimesailer]

I have an 09 Forester. The kids wish I got fancy wheels. No factory rails. I got towers and round Yakima bars. I wish I had done that with my 94 4-runner. I also got the downtube cobra grabber things. Have fun. I wish the kids didn't learn to drive in my Forester. It was a nice car.

[carpediemracing]

We used to have a 1998? Outback wagon. In 2010 we got a Jetta Sportswagen. I didn't know it but the same rack fit them both, but I went ahead and bought new feet for the JSW (my brother was driving the Outback and I didn't realize that he didn't have the feet for it on the car, they were in our garage the whole time). At any rate you can mount regular rectangular or round bars on the factory rack.

Picture of our set up on the JSW, I used literally the same set up (same mounts) minus the tandem mount on our previous Civic, and the same bike mounts sat on the Outback.

The tandem mount makes the most noise. I noticed it after a thread here asking about wind noise from roof racks. I am debating removing it since we haven't put the tandem on the car in years. Without the tandem mount I think I wouldn't notice the rack. With the tandem mount it sounds like one of the windows is cracked open.

On the Outback I used a canoe type mount between the bike mounts so I could carry an extension ladder. Handy when I needed it. Not on the JSW, but I still have the mount set up. I'm thinking of a pod thing for more luggage room.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jM7yZ30RdT4/UVCtnZ5hOaI/AAAAAAAAEvo/pBNitKjUOjk/s800/DSC_0129.JPG

On the OT side of things we have two friends that got new Forresters last year to replace their old Forresters. They have had no problems with them.

[iPaul]

I went with the Subaru crossbar for my Crosstrek and some Yakima fork mout racks and regret it. I do not like how the bikes sit on an angle due to the crossbar having a curved shape. I will be swapping out the crossbar with a Yakima round or whisper.

[YoKev]

Just chiming in, but my '12 Impreza Sport 5-speed was burning about 1.5-2 quarts of oil every 5,000 miles in mixed driving conditions. Dealer said it was normal. Of course, when it came time to do the oil consumption test, the engine seemed to not burn a drop. #@#%%!!!

After dealing with three EJ-25 head gasket failures on two separate vehicles, I dumped it this past January before any drama began.

[ergott]

Some cars burn oil at a faster rate by design. They run looser rings to decrease friction and improve mileage.

[arazate]

I'm on my second Outback. Always used a hitch mount (aftermarket 2" draw-tite) that I installed myself. Easy, takes about 30-45 minutes and the outback is prewired for trailer usage.

Hitch comes in handy for my kayak trailer.

[MattTuck]

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=91852

Talk to me :)

[Louis]

Some cars burn oil at a faster rate by design. They run looser rings to decrease friction and improve mileage.

That may be, but that sure can't help emissions. Plus, IMO any new car that burns or otherwise uses oil at a rate greater than 1 qt per miles / time between oil changes is burning it at an unacceptably high rate.

[hudsonp]

I have a 08 Impreza (no oil issues, but that's a different topic)
I went with 2 Rocky Mountain Tierods on factory load bars and haven't had a problem in many years. Just keep the cams lubed on the mounts! They can seize up like a b$tch!