Hey! Again, thanks for the welcomes. I'm glad to be here!
Inspired by the quick replies and circumstance (friends showed up), I ended up running downstairs and pulling the fuse (which was very easy to find and clearly labeled on the fuse chart, thanks all).
Now to set the mood ... it just finished raining here, and the streets were glistening, SLICK!! A light drizzle remained ... What better opportunity to test AWD for the first time in my life?
I had two friends in the car, and we set off. I gunned it down a few blocks and took several turns under heavy throttle.. also ran over some patches of snow/ice that lingered from the storm a few days ago.
Hmm.
Felt like we were driving on dry asphalt. You know, kinda normal. There was a certain apprehension on my friends faces. Was the AWD working?
For good measure/contrast I put the fuse back in and de-activated AWD, whoa, what a difference. The car was losing traction all over the place, especially turning. So to answer the question, yeah AWD is working and it rocks!
That made my night, definitely.
I took a look again at the grille and hmm .. I dont think the 'grille' (mesh) itself is messed up, rather the center plastic piece below it is badly cracked. Looks to be the same material as the light covers. Is this considered part of the "grille" or another piece altogether?
I'm considering replacing the headlights and turn signals for a clear set .. since my passenger's side turn signal is cracked anyway, plus the center piece. The headlights have that yellowish aging look as well .. though I have to admit, I don't know if I could install the whole kit myself. If anyone has a set .. I'm interested. I found a set on ebay but it didn't seem like a newb-friendly installation and cost ~$350 + shipping. (
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Subar...spagenameZWD1V)
Below is a (ghetto) example (not my car) of what's cracked.
