Ranger missing from this list, Tacoma isn't

[Dr. Zaius]

I love me some Subarus but now they all seem to come with a CVT (excepting the WRX variants).

I'm still a bit leery of those things even though now it seems everyone uses them on a least a few vehicles, especially with hybrids.

That's my FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) contribution for the day.

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[CB750F]

Subaru + Ranger too

Yup. Subaru's have issues, some do drink oil. Yup Ford has issues, yup
GM has issues, ever have a BMW which has over 60k miles... some have issues & the cost to fix! I'd buy a Subaru any day.
I loved my Suzuki, it had all sorts of issues, changed axels several times,
at 10yrs the chain broke & it's an interference engine, so dropped a scrap yard engine in, changed trany at 14 yrs but we travelled all over the east
with it, I thought it was a great car.

 

[Tom_C]

Sub did have some engine problems from the late 90s through around 2009, maybe a few years after that. They could lose a gasket and cause coolant to get into the oil. I seem to remember they did minor head re-designs over the years in collaboration with Toyota. I think did a major redesign of the boxer engine for the 2010 and later models.

 

[Joeiconic]

I have a family member with an Outback that’s a couple of years old. She loves the vehicle, but has been disappointed with the reliability. It has been In the shop several times with electrical/battery gremlins they can’t chase down. With all the complex systems in cars today, it seems like electrical problems are more common than mechanical and no manufacturer is immune to it.

 

[BDoc]

Not to get off track but, Subarus have always appealed to me but I've never owned one (I did lease a new Forrester fo my MIL though) I was recently shopping for a new car for my daughter and was considering an Imprezza or Outback and I heard nothing but warnings from multiple mechanics about head gasket issues. Each one told me to stay away from them especially 2012 and earlier models. Some poking around doing research online did not alleviate my fears either.

Is this not an issue with Subaru engines? They've been known to burn oil as well?

Is some of all of this true?

Pretty much what everybody has already said. My '05 did burn oil and at the end (10+ yrs of ownership) it was going to need some work done. Instead of forking over $5k+ on repairs, I took that money and bought the '16 Outback. I loved that car except for one thing: The CVT - and I stand firm that Subaru uses this term incorrectly...it's an automatic! But I didn't like it either way. If I wanted to accelerate, I had to give it 5 seconds for the car to make up its mind. My wife's '19 Legacy is much nicer in that regard with the same engine, so maybe it's the weight of the Outback or they've improved the CVT/engine combo ?‍. Either way, we're likely a Subie family for life.

 

[VAMike]

My 2013 Crosstrek was recalled for a valve spring replacement. Seems that of over several million sold world wide, 8 or 10 had improperly made valve springs installed, and they failed. So Subaru recalled and replaced every valve spring in these vehicles.

Nobody does a global recall for 10 bad builds.

 

[mtbikernate]

another Ranger + Subie household here. Wife was itching to replace her Crosstrek recently, but supply wasn't really there for the options she wanted. So I managed to convince her to wait. Her car is fine and is almost at 100k, but she definitely got jealous of all the extra safety and tech I got in the Ranger.

 

[SICKQK]

Thanks for the replies.

So it probably was the fact that used prices are so high that we were looking at Subarus that fell in the years that they had some issues.

Frankly, the amount of problems mentioned in some of the responses seem like a lot to me, and I would think would have turned me off to the brand. I may just be spoiled though, my daughter was coming out of a 2010 2.5L Mazda 3 Hatchback that I bought new and it was never was back to the dealership after I took it home. It finally gave up the ghost at 240,000 miles and the only parts outside normal maintenance that were replaced were the thermostat which I did this year, an evap solenoid 2 years ago, and a control arm 3 years ago. Under $200 in parts.

 

[Grumpaw]

Nobody does a global recall for 10 bad builds.

They had a handful of engines go belly up because of the bad springs. The springs were traced back to several hundred thousand worldwide that the recall was meant for. Guess they figures it was cheaper to recall and replace springs instead of replacing engines. And it only affected 2013 and some early 2014 vehicles.
My bad about "millions"

 

[dtech]

this link shows a list of the Subie model yrs with head gaskets issues, I'm the type that likes to experience for myself so when a friend asked me to replace the head gaskets on his outback , well I did it with the engine in the car - not fun. The pic in the link I think shows why the head gasket would be prone to seepage, given the position where the oil and coolant accumulate.

https://www.licmotorsports.com/blog/the-dreaded-subaru-head-gasket-issue

 

[ScrappyLaptop]

Not to get off track but, Subarus have always appealed to me but I've never owned one (I did lease a new Forrester fo my MIL though) I was recently shopping for a new car for my daughter and was considering an Imprezza or Outback and I heard nothing but warnings from multiple mechanics about head gasket issues. Each one told me to stay away from them especially 2012 and earlier models. Some poking around doing research online did not alleviate my fears either.

Is this not an issue with Subaru engines? They've been known to burn oil as well?

Is some of all of this true?

Our Forester was a 2004 and had the head gasket issue (also the cause of the oil leaking/burning) at around 60k-70k or so. Cost around $2500 to fix, but the work was done by a local Subaru specialty shop that also replaced everything that might need replacing over the next hundred thousand+ miles. That and a bad A/C coolant line were the only problems we ever had with the vehicle (never skipped regular maintenance). By now most of the ones from that era either have had the original gasket(s) replaced with the turbo version or maybe are not going to fail. It was redesigned for the next generation, by the way.

 

[ScrappyLaptop]

this link shows a list of the Subie model yrs with head gaskets issues, I'm the type that likes to experience for myself so when a friend asked me to replace the head gaskets on his outback , well I did it with the engine in the car - not fun. The pic in the link I think shows why the head gasket would be prone to seepage, given the position where the oil and coolant accumulate.

https://www.licmotorsports.com/blog/the-dreaded-subaru-head-gasket-issue

" and yes its a result of a bad/faulty design with the gasket "

Would've been nice if Subaru would've said, "oh, hey - we messed up, here's the redesigned gasket" but most didn't fail until just out of warranty.

 

[thomas461]

We're also a Ranger + Subaru family, have been for a quarter century. It's just a good balance and things like safety & utility matter to us.

3 Subaru's and 2 Rangers Currently! Wife's 2020 Outback XT Onyx behind my truck. Sold my 2005 Outback XT Limited (Gen3) for the 2019 Ranger

 

[thomas461]

Not to get off track but, Subarus have always appealed to me but I've never owned one (I did lease a new Forrester fo my MIL though) I was recently shopping for a new car for my daughter and was considering an Imprezza or Outback and I heard nothing but warnings from multiple mechanics about head gasket issues. Each one told me to stay away from them especially 2012 and earlier models. Some poking around doing research online did not alleviate my fears either.

Is this not an issue with Subaru engines? They've been known to burn oil as well?

Is some of all of this true?

No, this is not an issue on modern Subaru's. I have had 11 of them and work on them almost every weekend. The mid Aught EJ25's had issues. The Turbo's didnt have the head gasket issues. After 2012 the head gasket and oil burning problems that plagued the EJ25 have all but disappeared when Subaru changed the head design. Once you pull the motor, plane the heads, check the cylinder deck for straight and apply a new head gasket they are bullet proof. Now, if you dont take care of it and run it out of coolant/oil and overheat a Subaru, the head gaskets will leak.

 

[thomas461]

this link shows a list of the Subie model yrs with head gaskets issues, I'm the type that likes to experience for myself so when a friend asked me to replace the head gaskets on his outback , well I did it with the engine in the car - not fun. The pic in the link I think shows why the head gasket would be prone to seepage, given the position where the oil and coolant accumulate.

https://www.licmotorsports.com/blog/the-dreaded-subaru-head-gasket-issue

The LIC Guys make some good head gaskets. Six Star as well.

It now takes me about 50 minutes to get a EJ25 out of a Subaru (I have done a lot of them ). I couldn't imagine swapping the gaskets in the car. Granted I was a little hesitant pulling my first Subaru Motor. But after that I have all the tools to take them out and turn them around.

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