Introducing myself (long)

Hi, I'd just thought I'd introduce myself, since I'm new here. I bought a black '97 SVX LSi a few weeks ago, with 45K miles on it.

It's in terrific condition. The dealer I bought it from was over an hour's drive away from home, and both times I saw it before taking it home it was raining, but looked very good. While waxing it, I noticed some paint-finish problems that lead me to beleive it's been repainted at some point (not to mention the SVX emblems on the sides are missing), but you can only see these problems when your face is practically in the paint . The only noticeable wear on the car is the driver's seat (the other seats are pristine) and on the suede where the driver's elbow rests. (Another thing that blew me away when I drove it the 1st time... suede?!?!?! I LOVE IT!!!)

The dealer I bought the car from bought it at auction, so they don't know much about it's history. I ran a CarFax check on it, which only came back with 3 title activities, (sale from dealer, buyer titling the car, and a renewal?) all in Cleveland, OH. However, there is a big sticker in the engine bay (also very clean & shiny, BTW) from Amherst, MA (original dealer who traded it to Cleveland?)

The tranny seems pretty solid, and the fluid remains clean after driving it the last few weeks (500 miles or so), but I'm paranoid about any non-perfect behavior I've noticed that when the A/C is on the torque converter tends to "thunk" a little when I'm crusing off-throttle at low speeds, then lightly touch the gas again. Also, when starting out 1st thing in the morning and going up the hill from my house, very light throttle, the tranny seems to shift strangely (feels like it goes into 2nd early, then changes it's mind and goes back to 1st?) but after that it's fine for the whole day. One other little thing worried me the first week I had it: I romped on the gas from a standing start, and the tranny seemed to balk a little before shifting into 2nd. I could not reproduce this behavior immediately afterwards, or since that time. I've chalked it up a) the battery was probably disconnected for a while, so the motor and tranny are probably learning all over again and b) I haven't driven an automatic on a regular basis for almost 6 years, so I might've inadvertantly lifted my foot off the gas a little at the top of 1st, then put it back on while the car was trying to shift or something

The car appears to be bone-stock, and I've recently ordered an Amsoil air filter (works terrific on my '01 Impreza RS with my home-made CAI), Amsoil engine oil and tranny fluid, and new NGK Laser Platinum plugs. I ordered all this stuff at once because I was worried about my gas mileage being horrible. My RS gets ~25 mpg, and it seemed like the SVX was doing a lot worse. After calculating it over 2 tankfulls though, I've found that it gets around ~22 mpg, and that when I fill her up just above E, it only takes 12.9 gallons, but the tank supposedly holds 18! So I've got ~ 5 gallons still in there.... is there a gas Idiot Light?

My other car is the above-mentioned '01 Impreza RS (now my wife's.... long story) with CAI, amsoil filter & SPT/Brospeed muffler. Our last 4 cars have been a '00 Z3, a '00 323i, and two 318ti's (I ditched my wife's Accord for the SVX) Alas, BMW's aren't in our budget anymore (they never really were )since my wife is going back to school and we have a little girl The RS is almost as fun as the bimmers to drive, and the SVX is on par with the 323i in terms of civility and luxury mixed with driving please, and I like it more than the '98 328i w/luxury pkg. & auto trannny that my friend is looking at buying.

I was able to obtain a child seat tether anchor from my dealer, but not the cupholder adapter (parts guy said "no longer available"). I've got an order in at subaruparts.com for the cupholder, so we'll see what happens with them

Yikes! This is a really long post! My future ones will be shorter though So, how many other '97 LSi owners are there here?

[Mr. Pockets]

BadDog,

Welcome to the club! I'm glad to hear you enjoy your SVX. Sorry, I don't have a '97 LSi - mine's a '93 LS-L (same difference).

I only have one bit of advice (the same advice I'd give any car owner) - don't thrash your SVX. Take care of it and it will take care of you. Mine has 122k miles and has not needed a single major repair - no transmissions, no wheel bearings. People here will ***** about the SVX's reliability, but the truth is that it's a very reliable car if you treat it well.

Are you planning on driving your SVX in the snow? If so, you're in for a treat.

Again, welcome, and I hope you have many happy miles in your SVX.

[eddycat2000]

Welcome to the site. I hope you'll enjoy the time you spend here.

As far as the transmission goes, they all feel strange at times, for various reasons. I know all those reasons and still don't like the way they shift, but it's the way they were designed. As for your question about the power light on the other thread, seems to me that they got rid of the light, you still have the power mode, just not the light, but I could be mistaken about that. You might ask Larry III if his '97 has it, I can't recall if my '94 has it or not.

Thanks for your reply... BTW before I "signed up" I poked around for a little while, and I really enjoy your posts in your "Garage"
Say.... do you think you can shed some light on my posts in this thread ?

[Seraph]

First off, welcome to the network and glad you could join us. How is it going?

Originally posted by BadDog
Hi, I'd just thought I'd introduce myself, since I'm new here. I bought a black '97 SVX LSi a few weeks ago, with 45K miles on it.

It's in terrific condition. The dealer I bought it from was over an hour's drive away from home, and both times I saw it before taking it home it was raining, but looked very good. While waxing it, I noticed some paint-finish problems that lead me to beleive it's been repainted at some point (not to mention the SVX emblems on the sides are missing), but you can only see these problems when your face is practically in the paint . The only noticeable wear on the car is the driver's seat (the other seats are pristine) and on the suede where the driver's elbow rests. (Another thing that blew me away when I drove it the 1st time... suede?!?!?! I LOVE IT!!!)

__________________
Paint issue: The SVX comes with 5 year factory warranty on paint. You might want to check with your Subaru dealer on the paint issue. Also check under your hood to see if the car was colour changed. If you do a search, or go to my faq page, the colour codes are lying there as well.

The dealer I bought the car from bought it at auction, so they don't know much about it's history. I ran a CarFax check on it, which only came back with 3 title activities, (sale from dealer, buyer titling the car, and a renewal?) all in Cleveland, OH. However, there is a big sticker in the engine bay (also very clean & shiny, BTW) from Amherst, MA (original dealer who traded it to Cleveland?)

The tranny seems pretty solid, and the fluid remains clean after driving it the last few weeks (500 miles or so), but I'm paranoid about any non-perfect behavior I've noticed that when the A/C is on the torque converter tends to "thunk" a little when I'm crusing off-throttle at low speeds, then lightly touch the gas again. Also, when starting out 1st thing in the morning and going up the hill from my house, very light throttle, the tranny seems to shift strangely (feels like it goes into 2nd early, then changes it's mind and goes back to 1st?) but after that it's fine for the whole day. One other little thing worried me the first week I had it: I romped on the gas from a standing start, and the tranny seemed to balk a little before shifting into 2nd. I could not reproduce this behavior immediately afterwards, or since that time. I've chalked it up a) the battery was probably disconnected for a while, so the motor and tranny are probably learning all over again and b) I haven't driven an automatic on a regular basis for almost 6 years, so I might've inadvertantly lifted my foot off the gas a little at the top of 1st, then put it back on while the car was trying to shift or something
_______
Tranny is probably learning new tricks. Also you mentioned that you are going up hill. The tranny might think you have enough speed then change it's mind. It's sort of normal with the automatics. I have seen it many a times with the SVX depending on the hill.



The car appears to be bone-stock, and I've recently ordered an Amsoil air filter (works terrific on my '01 Impreza RS with my home-made CAI), Amsoil engine oil and tranny fluid, and new NGK Laser Platinum plugs. I ordered all this stuff at once because I was worried about my gas mileage being horrible. My RS gets ~25 mpg, and it seemed like the SVX was doing a lot worse. After calculating it over 2 tankfulls though, I've found that it gets around ~22 mpg, and that when I fill her up just above E, it only takes 12.9 gallons, but the tank supposedly holds 18! So I've got ~ 5 gallons still in there.... is there a gas Idiot Light?
________
I am getting about 22 on highway and 18 in city and about 20 mix driving. The Tank does hold 18.5 G. But the light will come on at 12.5 or so. That means you have 5 G to go. The way I see it on my SVX is that when the light comes up, I have 100 miles to find a gas station. That's amazing on road trips. My GF gets worried while I just keep smiling and driving pass one filling station then pull in at the next stop about 60 miles later.



My other car is the above-mentioned '01 Impreza RS (now my wife's.... long story) with CAI, amsoil filter & SPT/Brospeed muffler. Our last 4 cars have been a '00 Z3, a '00 323i, and two 318ti's (I ditched my wife's Accord for the SVX) Alas, BMW's aren't in our budget anymore (they never really were )since my wife is going back to school and we have a little girl The RS is almost as fun as the bimmers to drive, and the SVX is on par with the 323i in terms of civility and luxury mixed with driving please, and I like it more than the '98 328i w/luxury pkg. & auto trannny that my friend is looking at buying.
___________
good choice. I have been into cars for a while. I have seen them all over the world and the next car I would ever get would be a porche. After the SVX, any other car is just a car.

I was able to obtain a child seat tether anchor from my dealer, but not the cupholder adapter (parts guy said "no longer available"). I've got an order in at subaruparts.com for the cupholder, so we'll see what happens with them
__________
Subaru price for cupholder is about 3.5 bucks. It's no longer in stock world wide from Subaru/FHI. You might find it elsewhere. Do what I do. Make the passanger hold it (unless she is your SO).



Yikes! This is a really long post! My future ones will be shorter though So, how many other '97 LSi owners are there here?

I own a 94 L -- The difference is I have FWD vs. AWD. Post away. That's how you know all the people here. Check out larry III post so that you are aware of the 10th. anny. meet next year. Since you are in OH, perhaps we can have a mini meet in IN sometime.


Lwin

Seraphim,
I'm pretty sure the car was originally black... it has tan interior, inside of doors etc. is black...
I think it was re-painted because when I looked at it up close while waxing, I noticed the paint doesn't give off a "smooth" reflection... also, there are tiny imprefections here and there (like a piece of dust under the paint)... but the worst offender is the rear bumper. I doesn't even look like the paint was smoothed out after spraying.... i.e. there's some wax residue, in swirls, that I can't buff out. Luckily, the car has to be perfectly clean and you have to be very close up in order to spot it.

That's reassuring about the tranny

LOL about the passenger/cupholder... my wife got a call from subaruparts.com saying no-can-do on the part .... no more coffee on my morning commute, I guess

So there definitely is a gas light? I can't find it... does it come on with the rest of the lights when you switch the ignition on too? Maybe it dissapeared with the "Power" light by the '97 MY ?

Oh, and sorry for the confusion, but I'm not in OH, I'm in upstate NY

Mr. Pockets: Yes, I plan to baby the car if I can... like I said, all that Amsoil stuff is on it's way My dealer said they've only seen 1 other SVX in their memory, and it's beat to s*** Regarding reliability, I am hoping that Subaru had most of the bugs worked out by '97

[cocacola08]

I went to my dealor and he said he (obviously) didn't have any in stock, but gave me a printout of 5 dealors in their "network" that show it in stock.. I'm still working on checking the actual availability of them

Thanks man, you rock!

[wasions]

The cupholder is (in my humble opinion) WORTHLESS as a cupholder anyway. You'll not only knock your coffee/Coke around with your elbow, you may end up breaking the console pad. Do yourself a favor. Either only drink out of capped cups (like the ones they have for little kids, heheh) or, better yet, don't drink in your new SVX.

Steve

Welcome, by the way.

LOL wasions, so what do you do with your coffee cup/drinks?

[cocacola08]

I held on to the no drinking-eating in the car for several months after i got my car two years ago, then I got married, and we had a baby...

and it all fell apart from there....


Including the time when my wife was driving my car and it got a nice hit and run in a paring lot.....which i still have to fix!!!!

yikes!
Well my wife just called me and told me that my mother-in-law, who will be watching our daughter Friday while I'm at work because my wife will be out of town, wants to take MY CAR (she has a pickup truck and our child seats won't work well in it) for when she has to run errands during the day!! ARGH!!!!

[Seraph]

Originally posted by cocacola08
I went to my dealor and he said he (obviously) didn't have any in stock, but gave me a printout of 5 dealors in their "network" that show it in stock.. I'm still working on checking the actual availability of them

if you find them, get a hold of one for me. I will drive down to get it.

Lwin

[cocacola08]

sure thing If anything I'll give you the # of everyone that has them except of course whoever has it the cheapest....

sorry gotta fend for myself sometimes too!!

[SVXphile]

Welcome BadDog! I think you will find this site informative and entertaining; we have a wonderful cast of characters here..

As to cupholders, I have fiddled with several types. The best so far is a .99 cent plastic dohicky from Target. It has little prongs inside to adapt to most sized cups, including the "I gotta go before I get half-finished" jumbo big gulp things. It has a simple "L" shaped hook that I drop down into one of the slots on the side of the door. I've modified mine with a bit of Velcro, so it won't swivel so much, and its not half bad. The only other thing is to use a container with a closeable top and hold it between your legs (insulated is GOOD!) I believe some have ones that hang off the air vents. I think we are all looking for the ultimate solution. Don