Rant: Subaru Bulbs (auto, gasket, windshield, AWD)

[KoobleKar]

My Daughter's 2003 Subaru Forester had a couple bulbs burn out recently on the dashboard. Specifically, it was the bulb that lights up the digital clock and one of the three bulbs in the climate control area.

It takes a bit of digging and tearing off fascia to get to these things and ID what bulbs are needed. Once I did that I took the bulbs to several auto parts stores only to be told by all of them that they are a dealer-only item.

So yesterday I took a trip to the nearest Subaru dealer parts desk and ask them for replacements. The parts guy pulls up the parts in question on his computer and then the fun starts...

The clock bulb cannot be purchased separately. They don't even have them individually. You are supposed to buy an entire new clock!!!!

Next, he pulls up the bulbs for the climate control and says they are only sold in a complete package of three. I say "OK...I'll take all three" only to be told that the pack of three costs $50.00 plus tax!!!!

Now, all of these bulbs are tiny. The clock bulb is perhaps 1/2 inch total including the base and the three green bulbs for the climate control have a glass area no more than 1/4 inches, plus the base.

Similar bulbs at a parts store wouldn't even cost me $5.00 total. I refused to pay that kind of money for three tiny bulbs and I won't replace a perfectly functioning clock just to have it illuminated at night. I find it hard to believe that you must replace the entire clock just because the bulb burned-out too.

[Lux Hauler]

They don't call them stealerships for nothing.

[Gimme3steps]

Go here and type in 85068SA020 for the clock bulb. Hope it helps.

Subaru Parts Warehouse

[sunsprit]

Guess it depends a lot upon your local dealership and their parts counter ....

my local Subie dealer is much like yours ... they don't stock a lot of stuff, most parts (even common service items) have to be ordered in, and they like to sell assemblies instead of repair parts.

But I have found two other dealerships in the region that have knowledgeable counter people that are helpful and know that little things like the grain of wheat light bulbs are available.

I think the difference in the dealership support attitude for the cars is that my local dealership essentially has a large market of Subie's with no competing aftermarket service shops ... while the two dealerships I deal with are in strong Colorado Subie markets with several very competent and reasonable aftermarket independent shops almost on their doorstep. Those two dealers know that if they get stupid with prices and parts, their customers will be down the street in a heartbeat ....

I'd also suggest that you take the time to research your car's parts availability in the aftermarket. There's a fair number of Subie owner sites with real world owner expertise on the care and maintenance of these cars ... my first experience with this was when the light bulbs went out on my 1995 heater control console. Several sites had the bulb numbers (there's two different bulbs for the three in the console), and detailled instructions on how to replace the bulbs. Took me all of 10 minutes to replace the bulbs after having the part numbers in hand for my local dealer to order the bulbs. The websites were really supportive when it came time to repair the worn wiper linkage bushings ... had the aftermarket part numbers and instructions on how to replace the bushings. Your Subie will wear out the wiper linkages, too, if you use the wipers as much as the average owner does ... be especially careful to clear the windshield of ice and snow before driving so that the linkages aren't subjected to a lot of stress trying to free up frozen wipers or remove ice (there's a reason why Subie went to a heated wiper blade area on the windshields .... they get more money for the windshield now instead of having addressed the original problem which was a weak wiper linkage design).

For the most part, I've found these cars to be very reasonable to work on DIY and inexpensive to keep on the road, although some models (like the 4-cam 2.5 motor) had their issues and could be pricey if you were totally dependent upon the dealer network to service the car. Even at that, when I bought a 1997 2.5 powered car, the head gasket failure (at 125,000 miles) only cost me under $300 to fix ... although I did additional work as long as the motor was out of the car (water pump, timing belt kit, new clutch & t/o brg). The car gave me another 75,000 miles of flawless service before I sold it to a neighbor for his kids to commute 140 miles roundtrip daily to school and their after-school activities in a reliable AWD car .... which it's now done for 2 years without requiring any work except routine oil/filter changes.