Hmmm, a small slipup.

 

Outback, Outlook, Outlander...It seems 'out' is in

 

I was actually leaning towards buying an outback. I had a 99' A4 sedan, and wanted something bigger and more practical (and cheaper!). Then I DROVE an outback? Wow was it the suck! They wouldn't give me a good trade, so I decided to drive the Outie and was sold in an instant!

BTW,
My only gripes with the car have to do with the transmission. I think it hunts a little to easily on uphills. Not a major deal though.
More irritating is this little delay when you are going from off throttle to on throttle. Sometimes it's almost dangerous.. That's the only really significant gripe I have.

 

Chil_g what is your manufacture date? (its on the passenger center column) I have the same lag, almost dangerous, no one else has complained here so I figured it could be a software issue. My build date is Oct 06.

 

I can check tomorrow... I'm pretty sure it was 4/07. I'm certain it was after 2/07 because I drove an earlier model LS and heard the wind noise on the mirror. I had read that it was fixed 2/07, so I told them I wouldn't buy it, so we looked through the lot and found this later build (which I tested and was quiet). I'll check tomorrow and let you know if it's not actually 4/7.

The hesitation is like when you're rolling to a stopsign, then you get on the gas a little - there's can be this pretty annoying pause, like it's thinking about it or something. I'd estimate 1/2 to 1 second long maybe? I say dangerous because if you were kind of rolling a stop sign real slow, then caught an oncoming car you didn't see a little late - then you gassed it - that would be when I think it could kick in - worst time. (Please no lectures on full-stops at stop signs)

It doesn't do it every time, but I haven't gotten around to really trying to isolate it (I've been driving real easy with all this loose hanging interior peices from the stereo & dynomat install).

 

I've noticedthe throttle lag. It only seems to do it in full auto mode, and the last car I had (Saturn VUE with the Honda powertrain) did the same thing. The lag may have also improved over time..or I've become used to it..perhaps the tranny is learning

My transmission doesn't hunt at all. It almost holds a gear too long..Again, this could be the adapative transmission, so perhaps it has figured out that I'm trying to maximize economy. I've actually used the paddles to make it downshift since it didn't want to on its own...I now feel that they're not a total gimmick lol

The mirror wind noise fix is a 5 minute job involving adding foam on the tabs..they could have just fixed one you liked regardless of date.

My build date is Fall 06 (can't rember the month off hand..I want to say November)..So I've got the wind noise. Strangely, the bearing 'pop' went away

 

Heh, I meant Outlander, of course. The Outback was our second choice, but was a bit too pricey for what you got. We made the right choice...

 

I wont get on you about the stop sign, we have yeilds that are more like rolling stops that it does the same thing. I notice it more turning left off a busy road, that2 second pause can get you killed. Then it rockets forwardbecause youve been pushing the gas trying to get it to go.

As far as the hunting, we have a lot of hills it ocasionally hunts on. Im pretty sure its a result of the 6 speed tranny, this is not a complaint as it is a trade off of having the 6 speeds which is why I bought an 07 not 06.

I have a silverado 5 speed manual on a 350 the gearing for 5th is so high that I cant even use 5th speed under 50mph if theres any incline at all or Im constantly adjusting off 5th gear. But I get 18-20 mpg when others with auto get maybe 15 mpg if that.

To avoid the hunting I take it out of auto on the hill your having issues with, you have to be careful you dont lug the engine.

Also note>> if you tow you can cause the tranny to have issues because of this hunting, you will definately want to usemanualwhen towing. I used to tow with my miniban and had to keep it in 3rd as per the owners manual because of the hunting. I dont know why mitsu didnt mention it.

 

There has been a lot of discussion about the throttle lag in numerous vehicles lately and we have a similarissue in our 2005 Sienna. It is a characteristic of throttle controls that are non-wire(ie. there is no direct connection between the gas pedal and throttle plates. There is a potentiometer down on the gas pedal and a positioning motor on the throttle plates.) mated to high gear count auto transmissions and auto makers trying to get the best fuel economy possible out of that combination. When you are coasting down at low speed, the computer still has the transmission in a high gear to use as little fuel as possible.
When you punch the pedal, the transmission often needs to change up 3-4 gears before being in the correct gear for the acceleration that you want. That takes time, and since your gas pedal position doesn't actually control throttle plates, the computer can "wait" before actually reving the engine until the correct gear is selected and engaged.
One thing that seems to help, instead of making abrupt changes in gas pedal position, try easing your foot to where you want the pedal to be, it keeps the transmission from changing multiple gears at once and makes the transition faster. Most vehicles without throttle cables exhibit this trait.

 

About the lag thing, Tcp is pretty much on the money. I had an 04 Lancer RA with an auto tranny(wife's car) wich was also equiped with adaptive shift control. The same lag thing would happen in that car every now and then. I'm almost 100% sure it has to do with the adaptive controls, because when ever I would drive spirited and punshing the gas, the lag would be almost non excistant, since the gears would change most the time for the sort of driving habbit I was in. Then when my wife drove it (like grandma) I would feel the lag, same thing with the outi.