Fuel consumption and low performance Liberty 2.0R DRange

klam · Post by **klam** » Wed Dec 28, 2011 4:33 pm

Hi,

my first subaru, my first post and my first questions. Not native english speaker so pardon me any errors.

I've bought Subaru Liberty MY04 2.0 DRange manual transmission car a month ago and I'm bit worried about the fuel consumption and the performance of it.
It's got 94K kms.

1) the consumtion is 11.2l/100km combined hwy/city driving and that took me by surprise as it's a bit off the cars specs (9.2l/100km or so). I'm not pushing the car much that's why I wonder. Is this ok?

2) I have a feeling like the car lacks a go. I know it's not the best engine probably but I've expected a bit more. Any tips on what to do or where to get it done in order to bring it more power?

3) when starting of at the first gear, I have to add it quite a lot of 'gas', or press the gas pedal bit more than I was used to and I'm not talking about a slight difference. I have a feeling like the engine gets quite noisy. Otherwise it chokes and dies at the scene

The engine gives a car a few shakes usually when on the first gear unless I give it more.

4) any ideas on where to get/upgrade the head unit? It;s the basic line.

questions 1/2/3 are my main concern, but given the fact that this is my first subaru awd ever, it might be just that that's the way it is and it's ok. But something might be wrong as well.

Thanks for your time.

sven '2' · Post by **sven '2'** » Wed Dec 28, 2011 5:24 pm

Firstly welcome!

1) fuel consumption is pretty spot on - the claimed figures from the manufacturer are a bit 'generous' shall we say.

2) the motor is not the most powerful, but should zip about without too much fuss.

3) being a AWD, they do need a little more throttle than what you perhaps used to.

4) easy replacement - any stereo shop can advise. The value these days even in the <$150 is amazing for a name brand, you'll have USB/ipod/CD/MP3/FM.

Re 2 and 3, would suggest a decent service, including upper cylinder head clean, to establish a baseline.

You are close to your timing belt as well (100K km), so you may as well suck it up and have the works done. If it just out tune and in need of some love, it will be like a new(ish) car when you are done.

Some of NSW members can recommend a good mechanic I'm sure.

Sven

klam · Post by **klam** » Wed Dec 28, 2011 8:03 pm

Thanks for your response.

Well, make me feel slightly better that I'm not the only one, but I still feel a bit disappointed. You know, having a 1.9TDI car previously, where hwy/city fuel consumption was 4.6l/100km this is kinda a shocker!

Regarding that car audio, you reckon is specialist needed to do the job or it just as straightforward as takin the old one out, put new one in plug it properly and that's it? Does it have standard DIN slots?

And I'm still quite interested into fine tuning the car by some specialist. If anyone can help, that would be great. [Sydney based]

Thanks!

Brumby Kid · Post by **Brumby Kid** » Wed Dec 28, 2011 8:09 pm

klam wrote:And I'm still quite interested into fine tuning the car by some specialist. If anyone can help, that would be great. [Sydney based]
Thanks!

If you can afford it, it would be best to take it to a subaru specalist.
They are often better, but tend to be a bit more expensive.
Otherwise any recomended mechanic should be fine.

Cheers Cam

taza · Post by **taza** » Wed Dec 28, 2011 8:17 pm

Coming from having the same 2.0l engine in my Forester I would of thought you would be getting better fuel economy. I get that most of the time (11l per 100km) but I drive hard, have a roof basket on, accellerate and brake hard. If I drive like a normal person (lol) I can get about 8l per 100km.

Being your Subie is a lib and way more areo dynamic I wuld of though yo should be getting better. Around 650km to a tank if yu doing mix driving.

As said try a Subaru Specialist. Some Upper Engine Cleaner should help quite abit.

Cheers
Taza

fredsub · Post by **fredsub** » Wed Dec 28, 2011 8:45 pm

klam wrote:
And I'm still quite interested into fine tuning the car by some specialist. If anyone can help, that would be great. [Sydney based]

Thanks!

what do you imagine there is to fine tune in these cars ? Unless its on a dyno and engine ECU parameters are being adjusted, IMO there is nothing anyone does that is claimed to be fine tuning. There are no needles or screws to adjust like old cars.
So why do we say "out of tune" ?
Well there is a number of components that wear which contributes to this, so air filter,oil filter, plugs, plug wires,O2 sensors,AFM etc. And and also the timing belt, as it ages it stretches, despite the tensioner, just fractions of a degree can de-tune it some.
Replacing these components don't really need specialist skills, except maybe the timing belt, but its easy too if your capable. But only trust a mechanic
that is known to work on subaru engines, i have seen mechanics totally confused and inept with the flat 4 engine, however subaru cars are a bit more common these days.

at 94k, car is still newish, and air,oil,fuel filters are due, and the timing belt soonish.
The O2 sensor could be running out of spec a bit early maybe too.
11.2km/100km is a bit too much IMO, however you didn't say what fuel you put in, the dreadfull green E10 would do that, nor how many passengers/luggage ie load.
Also how much of your drive the engine is performing at cruise.

klam · Post by **klam** » Wed Dec 28, 2011 9:29 pm

hm, it's been just me in the car while driving, no load so far (soon will be once the rest of my family arrives).
I'm driving pretty "normally", nothing wild.

That's why I've asked the question, if there can be anything done to get the fuel consumption at least at 10l/100km. Now all I can get is the 460km on 52liters. I know I can't do any better with the driving, like I've said, I'm not a mad man on the road.

I filled it up with premium petrol only. (Are there any specifics I should be aware of when it comes to different petrol companies?)

You reckon the standard 100K kms service will improve things up?

Thank you.

taza · Post by **taza** » Wed Dec 28, 2011 9:47 pm

I would say some Subaru Upper Engine Cleaner to start off with. I did a fuel test on my Forester and got 640km from 56l in city driving. I think giving it a good clean will help quite alot. I would believe you could get better once the car is running better.

Klam where are you from?

NachaLuva · Post by **NachaLuva** » Wed Dec 28, 2011 11:03 pm

G'day klam

Your English is fine...

The 100,000kms service is a major one. It includes the timing belts which means taking the front of the engine off. I would strongly recommend you do some research on a good Subaru mechanic as he will find it straightforward. A general mechanic will prob take longer (which means more expensive as you pay labour by the hour) & may not do the best job. Everyone seems to recommend doing the water pump at the same time as its in the same part of the engine. IE a lot of the labour has already been done to do the belts..

When they do this you should also get em to check the other things mentioned like O2 sensor, leads, etc.

Can any Sydney members recommend a good Subie mechanic?

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Wed Dec 28, 2011 11:11 pm

taza wrote:I did a fuel test on my Forester and got 640km from 56l in city driving.

Sorry Taza, but I'm calling BS on this one! 1st: you're a P plater, 2nd: you're driving in the city, so I presume stop/start driving - if you're talking city driving on a freeway it's not the same!

80km/h will save you fuel compared to travelling at 100km/h. But I prefer the speed limit

Klam, check out these guys - all drive subaroo, they're in Peakhurst NSW

And the issue with the 2 litre engine in the later model vehicle is simply the size and weight of the vehicle that the EJ20 is being asked to haul around the place, especially in hilly, stop/start city driving

Cheers

Bennie

klam · Post by **klam** » Thu Dec 29, 2011 6:28 am

Thanks guys for helping me out with this. I really love the car and subaru's in general, but like I've said already, bit sad by the fuel economy and the performance as well. I wouldn't worry about the performance if the consumption was 9l/100km

Taza : I'm from Slovakia.

To all other guys, the log book says it's been serviced in by Subaru service in Alexandria, so I reckon they should do the job properly. There is some subaru specialists at Meadowbank.

But since I got the references on "All Drive Subaroo", I might end up there.

Again, thank you for all your help.

fredsub · Post by **fredsub** » Thu Dec 29, 2011 8:15 am

nachaluva wrote:G'day klam

...
Everyone seems to recommend doing the water pump at the same time as its in the same part of the engine. IE a lot of the labour has already been done to do the belts..

except your adding another near $200. At 95k its still near new for the pump,
unless the prior owner has been completely negligent with coolant quality.
You could cost the $10 for the gasket just to check though.
....just trying to save you money intelligently.

when the prior Lseries with 1.8carby could do 7.5l/100k, going to 11l/100k for the 2.0l which is really the replacement of the earlier models is going backward fuel efficiency, so how would a manufacturer get away with that? .....I really think it should do better.
Think I get about 10l/100k in the OBW if I drive with boredom
(ie risk falling asleep at the wheel!:mrgreen:), which is bigger engine and much heavier body.

good luck with it.

Brumby Kid · Post by **Brumby Kid** » Thu Dec 29, 2011 8:33 am

Here is a list of all GENUINE Subaru service centres within 50km of your postcode (north strathfield) I searched the Subaru Australia website.

Locations within 50km of 2137 Suburb Distance*

Suttons Subaru Chullora CHULLORA approx 2.9km
Tom Kerr Auto Centre GLADESVILLE approx 3.2km
Sydney City Subaru LILYFIELD approx 4.3km
Denlo Subaru ROSEHILL approx 4.9km
Subaru Service Artarmon ARTARMON approx 5.9km
Subaru Lindfield LINDFIELD approx 7.1km
Suttons Subaru Service EAST SYDNEY approx 7.3km
Suttons Subaru Rosebery ROSEBERY approx 7.8km
Subaru Waitara WAITARA approx 10.1km
Subaru Service Castle Hill CASTLE HILL approx 10.9km
McGrath Subaru LIVERPOOL approx 11.4km
Tynan Motors KIRRAWEE approx 12.0km
Bill Buckle Subaru BROOKVALE approx 12.5km
Bill Buckle Subaru MONA VALE approx 17.8km
Subaru Service Campbelltown CAMPBELLTOWN approx 21.0km
Subaru Fast Service Narellan NARELLAN approx 23.4km
Subaru Narellan NARELLAN approx 23.4km
Penrith Subaru PENRITH approx 24.5km
Subaru Penrith PENRITH approx 24.5km
Subaru Service Blue Mountains VALLEY HEIGHTS approx 31.2km
Central Coast Subaru GOSFORD approx 33.7km

klam · Post by **klam** » Thu Dec 29, 2011 9:14 am

this is just not good. I've bought a car that needs servicing and I don't even know if it's going to help or not.
How much you reckon is the cost of the 100km service and what's being done at this service? How do I know I'm not being tricked by what's on invoice and what's been really changed? [guess you will never know that unless you do it by yourself]
... otherwise I'm going to get rid of it ASAP ...

fredsub · Post by **fredsub** » Thu Dec 29, 2011 9:42 am

Hi Klam

you are stressing over nothing. At 95k, your car is just "run-in" going
by our forum standards.Hopefully you saved a lot of money by buying 2nd hand. Now some of that saving does need to be ploughed back for the 100k service, which is an important one.
Even if you had bought a new car, you would then be required to perform the scheduled services, lest you risk the manufacturer's warranty, so there you already have scheduled costs over the purchase price with a new car also.

Seems like this is the first car you have ever owned ?

The main item for the 100k service IS the timing belt. They are specified to
replace after every 100,000km. The first one did the stress of breaking in a new engine so I really wouldn't be too tardy about getting it done.

Brumby Kid · Post by **Brumby Kid** » Thu Dec 29, 2011 10:05 am

ANY car you buy klam would have to have had this done.

If it didn't fix it, i would be VERY surprised.

As Fredsub said, at this stage in your cars life, timing belts NEED to be done.
What they will do is check everything, most likely use subaru upper engine cleaner, do the belts, tune it, make sure its working well, and give it back.

When checking everything, if they find something, that needs attention, then they will fix it.

Cheers Cam

niterida · Post by **niterida** » Thu Dec 29, 2011 11:19 am

El_Freddo wrote:Sorry Taza, but I'm calling BS on this one! 1st: you're a P plater, 2nd: you're driving in the city, so I presume stop/start driving - if you're talking city driving on a freeway it's not the same!

Taza's city driving is really country town driving so its nothing like real city driving. I would say what he does is halfway between city and highway driving so his figures won't be realistic for Sydney driving. As a comparison my 2.5 Outback in the same town (but with less spirited driving - in fact granny driving really) gets about 9km/l or 400kms to 45l tank.

I would say the 2.0l in a Liberty is just working hard to pull the weight - especially if the aircond is on full blast. But as said a service is due and the Timing Belt MUST be replaced - if not it will likely snap within 10-20,000kms and then you are up for thousands of dollars to repair bent valves etc.

Are you running your aircond on full ? Try turning it up to 23 or 24 degrees instead of 18. I know I did a trip to Perth (420kms) with the aircond off and instead of the usual 10km/l I got closer to 12km/l.

NachaLuva · Post by **NachaLuva** » Thu Dec 29, 2011 12:39 pm

fredsub wrote:except your adding another near $200. At 95k its still near new for the pump,
unless the prior owner has been completely negligent with coolant quality.
You could cost the $10 for the gasket just to check though.
....just trying to save you money intelligently.

Good to hear

Cam, 21 Subie dealers within 50kms! Crikey!!!

Good detective work!

Klam, I would give a few dealers a call & ask for a quote for the 100,000km service, they won't all be the same price. I'd perhaps call in to all drive subaroo & have a chat if you can.

Try not to stress so much, all modern cars need a major service at certain intervals. Subarus are every 100,000kms so after this you wont have to worry for a long looong time

klam · Post by **klam** » Thu Dec 29, 2011 1:18 pm

yep. will most likely call a few and see if they can be of any help. I'm bit worried about the price though... heh, I've just came from overseas, bought a family car, rent and set up the apartment (beds,fridge, wmach.. everything), just started work (luckily).
service related expenses is the last thing I need, but if it helps I will go for it.
hm, and fyi I've bought it for 15K$ cash. The guy was selling it for 16.5K but I've pressed him because of the rego due to 03/2012 and the major service, the guy have said it's going to be around 600$, but now I don't think he was telling me a truth :/

Don't you think there might be some sort of transmission issues that could be part of the fuel consumption problem. We call it 'gear chaining', mean something like how well and smooth is the gear change performed and how efficient it is.

Oh, there is another thing I wanted to ask... the clutch pushes back so bloody much that after a while in a traffic my leg is sore !
Also the first gear is sometimes harder to 'find', needs couple of tries. Haven't noticed that on my test drive..

I can't thank you enough guys.

taza · Post by **taza** » Thu Dec 29, 2011 1:26 pm

niterida wrote:Taza's city driving is really country town driving so its nothing like real city driving. I would say what he does is halfway between city and highway driving so his figures won't be realistic for Sydney driving. As a comparison my 2.5 Outback in the same town (but with less spirited driving - in fact granny driving really) gets about 9km/l or 400kms to 45l tank.

I would say the 2.0l in a Liberty is just working hard to pull the weight - especially if the aircond is on full blast. But as said a service is due and the Timing Belt MUST be replaced - if not it will likely snap within 10-20,000kms and then you are up for thousands of dollars to repair bent valves etc.

Are you running your aircond on full ? Try turning it up to 23 or 24 degrees instead of 18. I know I did a trip to Perth (420kms) with the aircond off and instead of the usual 10km/l I got closer to 12km/l.

Very true, our city driving is nothing like Perth, Sydney or a big city. I refuse to use my aircon unless on the highway anyway as it takes so much o the cars power away I struggle to take off from a stop on an incline (when at full blast and 18c).

I would say do the water pump with the timing belt. I just had to redo both at 163,000km due to it not being done properly by the previous owner. Thiss cost me over$ 1000 which I shouldn't of had to fork out until 200,000km.

Sorry for going off topic guys.

Taza