My dad had a 2004 TL (first model year of that generation I think) that I thought was the coolest car. Then I saw the TL-S 6mt in the showroom during a dealer service visit. Man I was totally set on buying one someday.

Then when I was finally in the market for one (2012 timeframe), the low-mileage ones were still selling in the $25-28k range. So kept waiting until I saw the deals going for brand new 6mt G37s (via a site called Truecar).

If the current gen TLX had a AWD and 6mt option, it would’ve def been very high on my list.

 

I paid $32,000 for my G37. It was less than a year old, with 3,900 miles on the odometer.

That's midrange Altima kind of money today, LOL.

 

Here's a bit of a quandary. Occasionally my wife and I will catch an exhaust smell inside the cabin of her Subaru. Only occasionally, and not overwhelmingly so. There is no CEL on the dash... yet. Our shop ran a smoke test and sniffed around (literally), and came away relatively sure there was a leak with the catalytic converter. There are two cats on the Forester, one downpipe and another at the engine. The one at the engine is a single welded piece that includes the exhaust manifold.

The problem is that 2 years ago NY State passed new emission laws to match California's CARB approved model. There is no CARB approved aftermarket manifold that I can find, so that means OEM. And that means $3300 plus installation.

And if that isn't a WTF moment, I don't know what is. God damn.

If I purchased a non-CARB compliant exhaust manifold & cat, for $300 give or take $50, I could get it installed... but not by a certified service shop. It would have to be installed by someone who doesn't give a fck about New York emission laws. Once installed, it would pass NY Inspection because "There's a CAT... check." But I am so way way removed from finding a person/shop like that. I don't even know where to begin... probably ask around at some of the local speed shops. Are there still any? Yikes, I haven't thought about that. Plus, I'd have to buy it from eBay, because legally most places won't ship a non-CARB exhaust to a State that requires CARB compliance.

The whole thing is a problem. I've probably got time to figure it out... the car just got inspected today, and there is no CEL (yet).

 

You need a new manifold for the car? Cat and Downpipe?

CARB is still very new in NY, so I suspect that you can find salvage parts. OR, go onto FB marketplace, which is essentially the wild west. Is the Manifold->Cat->Downpipe shared with another subbie, like a base model WRX?

We have had CARB for a while and emissions shops are constantly "trained" (read between the lines, threatened) to enforce compliance or else. If I needed a cat today, I would buy one off FB marketplace from someone like you guys in the Midwest and TX, then pay the shipping. Contents description "muffler". Emissions folks here just check to see if you have cats and that they match. The big thing this year was oil catch cans. I watched the tech look for one and you would think he was trying to find the Infinity Stone under my hood.

 

Yes the cat near the engine is welded to the exhaust manifold... it's all one piece.

It occurred to me as I slept on this problem that I could take it to a shop that does exhaust repairs, not just replacement. I know of just the place. Have them remove all the heat shielding, and hopefully see the hole or crack, get out the welding tools and repair things.

Like I said, it just passed inspection, so I've got plenty of time.

We also discussed trading it in for something new. 8 years and 100k miles later... it could be time. She sure does love her car, though. I do too.

 

Good point. If its a small hole, perhaps it can be repaired? My wife is similar with her car, 2017 Pilot with 92K miles and it still looks almost new. I also just had the torque converter replaced (5K) under warranty (hats off to Honda for extending because they destroyed it with their "VCM") and the timing belt service performed (1Kish), so I may keep it around for a few more thousand miles. New Pilots start in the 50K range and are less reliable because of poorly executed tech.

 

Fun new noise from the engine bay last week. Car was sitting for a few weeks, so very cold start up (outside temp also dropped quite a bit during that time).

Sound went away once the car warmed up, like after 10 minutes or so

Seems like this noise is likely serpentine belt?

For reference, I'm at about 58,000 miles and haven't ever serviced any belts yet (my mechanic checks them at least once per year but never flagged any for repair/replacement)

 

58k miles, but 13 years. Or tension pulley maybe?

 

99% likely one of the idler bearings are giving up the ghost.

Simple to check. Just remove the belt and spin each by hand. They should spin smooth like silk. Any roughness or excessive wobble and that's your culprit.

 

Thanks for the quick replies. I’m away from the car until next week, I’ll poke around to see if I dial down what’s wrong.

Ultimately will use my trusty mechanic for the work, but having a sense for what might be failing is super helpful

As far as maintenance, I’ve basically only done fluids, filters, brakes, and known failure points (sunroof leak, heater hose connector). Given the mileage, anything else you guys would recommend to proactively replace? I’m going to continue to drive the car for only about 3 to 4000 miles/year

 

If I recall correctly, I proactively replaced the drive belt around 50K miles, but the old one looked as though it had life left in it. If you have not already done so, I would also replace the PCV valves, radiator and gas cap (EVAP CELs).

If you remove the engine cover, also check the evap hose near the back of the engine as mine dry rotted yet the other hoses in the same area looked fine.

 

Yes, sounds belt/pulleys related.

I have a set of oem pulleys and tensioner + belt waiting to be installed. Already replaced the radiator cap and have an oem gas cap on the way from Amayama.

Do you have a part number for the pic valves?

 

PCV Valve- p/n: 11810-EY00A
PCV Insulator- p/n: 11812-6N200

I included the insulator as some may choose to replace that as well.

Just note you will need 2x- 1 for each bank.

 

Awesome. Thx. Got them on order!

 

This has been giving me trouble for over a year now. I replaced the bulbs 9 months ago twice, even claiming warranty on a pair because I thought the bulbs were defective. Turns out they're not, because I still have the same issue now. The bulbs worked for 3 months then stopped, and now they're taking turns randomly working on the left, right, and sometimes none work. These pictures are 3 weeks apart so it's a different story every few weeks whether or not one or the other will work. How do I even begin troubleshooting this? What do I ask the mechanic to check? Is it a wiring issue? Water getting into the headlamp? Leak somewhere??? 🙏🙏

2012 G37X AWD, 200,000KMs