Aberdeen Chris

It may be your brakes on caravan aren't adjusted correctly, the 'spreadlever' brakes on the van may be binding. this would be noticeable after reversing and you move forwards again you'll hear/feel the caravan bind then suddenly release as you pull. I had a similar problem when reversing at a slight angle and slightly uphill. Thing is the car's quite powerful so it's easy not to feel that much resistance, it's just when you go forwards again you can hear/feel it grab then let go. The extra load on the clutch will cause some heat build up and in the car you may smell it, and it smells like a fish just died lol. If you think your symptoms relate, the solution is to adjust the caravan brakes, or if they haven't been changed for a while the shoe may be binding in the drum when reversing. What kind of van do you tow and what year is it ? Chris

Lol, That sounds fab Rizmo. My wee Jack Russell likes to sit on the armrest between the front seats, and sit up like a meerkat. She thinks their's three seats across the front and one was just made for her ! Chris

Hi Swayze88 I connected my OBDLink SX USB to my new XV 2.0D se prem 2016 model tonight. It connects to my windows 10 laptop and I'm using the standard OBDwiz software that came with the multiprotocol OBD-11 Scan Tool; which I bought bout a year ago from eBay. It works great heres a couple of not very good screen pics. I'm not shure if the JF1GPDKZ3GG167911 OR JM4B001E in pic named obd2 first being Vehicle identification number and second Calibration id - are what your looking for. But the above tool with software plugs straight in and shows any trouble codes with the option to clear them. It goes without saying that a cleared code will just come back if the cause isn't addressed and a fault persists, but I think a useful tool to talk to the Scooby's brain about it's heart anyway lol. Also it would be great to have the ability to tell the car to run a forced DPF rejuvenation, potentially useful at some point down the line, but I have no idea if this will be possible with this scanner so far. Chris

Thanks IanR, My dog is very small Jack Russell, but it's good it comes with instructions and is designed specifically for that car. Chris

I'm getting one from the subaru dealer. When he quoted the £240 fitted I asked what the price would be not fitted and he told me 190. It'll be fun to fit myself, and I guess save 50. It's made for the car and I'm sure will come with instructions. My wee Jack Russell is used to sitting in between the front seats and often sits up like a meerkat, but I'm sure she'll be happy enough in the back as she can still put her paws up on the back seat and see where we're going. A cage sounds a good idea too. Never thought of that and the idea if an escape hatch, that's real scooby thinking : - )

I agree bout the diesel, I've always been a petrol head, but the figures stack up in its favour when you compare with the 2.0 pet XV - not enough power and no torque ! It will take me a while to get used to driving the diesel, but it really can shift 50-70 mph and from the lights, not that I'm pushing a new engine too hard. I had a 2.0 turbo Leggy it produced about 200BHP, not as much as a Blobeye but fun all the same. I remember how pedestrian it was until the engine hit three thousand revs, then with a vortex of turbo noise it came alive. I can tell you for a fact the XV really pulls inextricably well from 1500 rpm which isn't much over an idle, and in standard form with 350 NM of Torque lol. However it will never sound as beautiful as the burble of the older petrol motors! But averaging 47 mpg on my daily commute with a great infotainment system, working through Mirrorlink or Starlink easily overcomes the lacking burble. The Diesel XV's a real sleeper. I hope they put a 2.5 turbo in one for fun :-) and the Aussies have built a 2.0D rally Legacy which seems to be doing quite well. Chris

Is it keyless push start Craig. If so I read something in the manual bout holding fob against start button for a few secondary once you've opened the car with the removable key. I think you need to re-insert key back inside fob for it to work though. Good luck Chris

What about an XV 2.0d and theres a company that can up the power to 198 bhp and 400 NM Torque just with a re-map. If you go over 180 bhp you need a different DPF though, but the torque on my standard 2.0D makes it feel friskier than my Leggy 2.5GX. and you'll probably still get 40+ mpg too lol

We get lots of slow tractors between Aberdeen and Macduff, especially this time of the year! I wish the XV had a duel range gearbox. So useful when on a Motorway crawl of 2 miles per hour and towing a caravan. First gear in the low range is perfect to crawl without having to go in and out of gear. I have yet to see how the Diesel XV copes, but it needs to have driven 1000 miles before I can use it to tow.

I believe it still has a very small impact on the clutch. So if you regularly sit at the lights in gear there is a cumulative effect on the clutch causing it to wear out earlier. Mike has had Subaru's himself and replaced quite a few Subaru clutches. He says they're not good for clutches generally. The dual mass flywheel can have it's issues also, although I've nearly got 100K from my Legacy's despite its making a little noise at idle occasionally. But to sum up - don't sit in gear at the lights and your going to get way more miles out of the clutch. I've replaced about thirty clutches myself over time and Mike's advice feels right to me. Although my XV has only about 80 miles on it so far, but i'm going to try and make the clutch last as long as possible lol. I had a Volvo V40 which I traded in for the XV and I got 130k on the original clutch with no problems.

I think the XV has Hill assist. So if you stop and sit in gear there is still wear on the clutch happening. It's the same with my 2.5GX Lecacy. The best thing to do is always go to neutral when stopped and not be sitting with the car in gear and clutch pedal depressed while waiting. The local mechanic Mike told me this, and the cause is the Hill Assist.