Subaru , are they any good

[nap470]

It's been a few years since I owned a Subaru Outback, so probably not a good comparison with the newer models. I loved the vehicle and put 130K of fun miles on it with nothing more than routine maintenance. I traded it in for a Honda minivan for the family cross country trips. The AWD was outstanding. The first winter I owned it, I climbed an ice covered hill and passed a couple of 4-wheel drive trucks in the ditch along the way. I told DW that I probably sold a couple of Subaru's today.
Again it was about 15 years ago, so not a great comparison to today's models but they do have a good reputation. Really loved by the outdoor crowd.

 

[JoPeter57]

Always get Comp ins. with $0 ded on windshield replacement. My Daught's 2017 Outback had to get it(windshield)replaced and of course, they had to calibrate the eye-sight. $0 out of pocket.

 

[Which Roger]

I have a 2017 Forester. Right after the warranty expired, the AC condenser developed a crack. Replacement was labor-intensive and cost about $900. A few months later, I received a letter from Subaru indicating that they had extended the warranty on condensers, and if I had already had the repair, I could complete an online form and be reimbursed. Check for the full amount I paid showed up a couple weeks later.



I was impressed that the company was proactive for something like this. It wasn't a safety/recall/liability issue, but they identified a problem with one of their parts and made things right. If they had done nothing, I and others would have just assumed that the failure was just bad luck.

 

[ncbill]

One thing to watch for, per Scotty Kilmer is water pumps driven off the cam chain. As I recall, the Subaru 6 cylinder engines have this arrangement. Not only is it expensive to replace the water pump, but if it leaks, it leaks into the crankcase oil.

Flip side of that is the H6 engines never had the head gaskets problems the 4-cylinder engines did...though, to be fair, it was a bad original head gasket design...the redesigned replacement gaskets don't fail.

But since relatively few H6 were sold (H6 now discontinued) it's probably moot.

One thing to watch on new Subarus is their 3rd-party, JATCO-made CVTs.

JATCO CVTs don't have a very good record for reliability compared to CVTs designed by OEMs like Honda & Toyota...might want to price a Subaru extended powertrain warranty.

 

[1242Vintage]

I drive a 2015 Outback with 55k miles on it. I visit Mom and brother who live at higher elevation every week and it tackles slippery road conditions better than the other various SUVs and 4wd trucks that I have owned over the years.

We have had a couple auto body repairs done due to minor collision that weren’t our fault. A car hit me while I was parked at the gas station and a large deranged coyote rammed the passenger door when I was on the interstate headed into Los Angeles. Both were fairly inexpensive.

Beyond routine maintenance the only other annoyance was a clogged AC drain line, which made the passenger side carpet wet. Simply blew out the cob webs in the line with compressed air once I figured out the problem.

 

[MRG]

We live in snow county average is somewhere around a hundred inches yearly with more at the passes. I see an equal amount of Jeeps, Subarus, and 4x4 pickups. I have never been inside a Subaru but all these people aren't wrong.

 

[Ramen]

Be sure to read the owner's manual about tire changes. The AWD depends on all four tires being the same. If you have a flat and need to use the emergency spare, you might need to deactivate the AWD. This was the case in the 1998 Legacy I used to own. Also, if you blow or damage a tire, you might need to replace all four so they match well enough for the AWD to work. I would hope this has changed or been improved by now, but it's worth inquiring about before something happens.

 

[teetee]

Trusting the salesman at a car dealership is really a mistake of yours. A cursory search shows that 2009 pilot is a clunker, even before knowing how the car was maintained.

https://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/Pilot/

The initial reliability for most of new cars are fine these days. The sport trim of the 2021 model has the 2.5L engine from Legacy which is not a new design so it is likely to have the good reliability as well.

 

[Gumby]

Be sure to read the owner's manual about tire changes. The AWD depends on all four tires being the same. If you have a flat and need to use the emergency spare, you might need to deactivate the AWD. This was the case in the 1998 Legacy I used to own. Also, if you blow or damage a tire, you might need to replace all four so they match well enough for the AWD to work. I would hope this has changed or been improved by now, but it's worth inquiring about before something happens.

The AWD still requires all tires to have approximately the same wear. I had to change all four tires on my Forester in 2020 because I got a screw in the sidewall of one and it couldn't be patched.

 

[Big_Hitter]

yes subarus are awesome, I own 2 FXTs now and have owned several over the last 20 years

depending on the model, you may need to install an aos as the pvc systems are bad but other than that, they rock

 

[Big_Hitter]

I bought a 2004 Forester new and still have it. Driven thru 13 inches of fresh unplowed snow multiple times including stopping at stop signs and starting with no problems in over a foot of snow. If you live in a place with snow get the a Subaru. If you live in the mountains I would suggest the turbo Forester otherwise the Crosstrek should be adequate.

+1

 

[neihn]

Bought a 1998 subaru outback in 1997 donated it in 2018 - Other than oil changes, tires changes, a few tune up and a head gasket replacement, there was no major maintenance issue. When I donated it had 180k and still run great.

 

[ERObjd]

I have a 2010 subaru good vehicle overall but it did develop head gasket issues and that cost me $ 1400 to get replaced. After 2010 subaru used higher quality head gasket and that issue went away, prior to that Subaru advised putting in a bottle of coolant stop leak as a cheap band aid .Instead of cheaping out Subaru should have owned the problem issued a recall and replaced the sub standard head gaskets for the owners for Free. Had i done some research and known about the head gasket issues I nevr would have bought a 2010 forester I would have bought 2011 and up. I would sya if you buy a subaru stay above 2010 model year or expect a big repair bill when head gasket leaks. For some people on here a bill of $1,400 is loose change in the couch cushions but for us it was big deal. Stay above the 2010 models overall subarus are solid cars and with decent maintenance they will make the 500K mile club easily. I see old subarus from the 80's still buzzing around town. the body will rust away long before the engine or transmission dies. Since Subarus are all wheel drive they do well in snow as long as you run decent winter tires.

 

[Mark1]

We have both a 2016 Outback and 2019 Avalon with eye site technology. The one thing that really annoys me is how inferior the newer Avalon eye site technology is when comparing the two cars. Per my cousin, the better eye site features which allows for changes in tracking distances, is only deployed within the Lexus line. This alone will keep me from ever buying another Toyota.

 

[Midpack]

We have both a 2016 Outback and 2019 Avalon with eye site technology. The one thing that really annoys me is how inferior the newer Avalon eye site technology is when comparing the two cars. Per my cousin, the better eye site features which allows for changes in tracking distances, is only deployed within the Lexus line. This alone will keep me from ever buying another Toyota.

Toyota doesn't have/never had EyeSight, that's Subaru's safety suite. Toyota is the Safety Sense suite. There are several comparison reviews of the two systems online for anyone interested. I can't speak first hand on the Toyota system but we have a 2018 Outback with EyeSight and a 2019 Accord with the Honda Sensing Suite, and the Honda works significantly better. In addition, the Subaru NAV system (Tom-Tom) is the worst in any car we've owned, our Honda NAV (Garmin) is much better - and Apple Maps or Waze via CarPlay are better than either OEM system.

 

[OldShooter]

I have always liked the Soobs for the boxer engine and hence lower center of gravity, slightly better handling. Maybe a decade ago I did a test drive and instantly rejected the car because of severe understeer. That has subsequently been fixed.

Three years ago I bought a WRX, which is basically a grocery-getter that wants to be a performance car. I has a few bad habits due to its aspirations, but it's been a solid citizen -- maybe 15K miles now. I think all WRXs are manual transmission.

A year or two ago DW went shopping. She kind of liked the Soobs but wanted a manual transmission, which was available only on a low trim version where IIRC she could not get her required heated seats. So she ended up with a Mini Countryman, which is an OK car with an absolutely disastrous driver controls design. But that's another story.

All in all, I remain favorable on the Soobs.

 

[euro]

A month ago I got mad at my Honda Pilot . I had a Ridgeline 212,000 miles but I thought it was time to go no problems. So I go to my trusty Honda dealer , he shows me a 2009 one owner Pilot . I bought the Pilot and it was a piece of junk .
It started leaking oil and I have a motto if I can fix cheaply I keep it but we could not find the leak. So a good detail and to Craigslist it went . Everyone wants Honda’s . Sold soon and after I sold it I was in Costco . Costco was advertising
Subaru Crosstreks at a very good price. Did my online paperwork and off to Costco. The dealer was really great and a week later I gave in and bought a 2021
Crosstrek . This is not like me but everything seemed right .Has anyone here had
Subaru , I understand Toyota owns some of Subaru.

I have had several Outbacks and I'm totally satisfied with Subaru.

 

[aaronc879]

I have a 2010 subaru good vehicle overall but it did develop head gasket issues and that cost me $ 1400 to get replaced. After 2010 subaru used higher quality head gasket and that issue went away, prior to that Subaru advised putting in a bottle of coolant stop leak as a cheap band aid .Instead of cheaping out Subaru should have owned the problem issued a recall and replaced the sub standard head gaskets for the owners for Free. Had i done some research and known about the head gasket issues I nevr would have bought a 2010 forester I would have bought 2011 and up. I would sya if you buy a subaru stay above 2010 model year or expect a big repair bill when head gasket leaks. For some people on here a bill of $1,400 is loose change in the couch cushions but for us it was big deal. Stay above the 2010 models overall subarus are solid cars and with decent maintenance they will make the 500K mile club easily. I see old subarus from the 80's still buzzing around town. the body will rust away long before the engine or transmission dies. Since Subarus are all wheel drive they do well in snow as long as you run decent winter tires.

I have a '04 Forester and never had any problem with the head casket. I have never had any major engine issues. The rust under the vehicle will take it off the road before the engine does.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

I have a '04 Forester and never had any problem with the head [-]casket[/-] gasket. I have never had any major engine issues. The rust under the vehicle will take it off the road before the engine does.

This!

There a lot of Subarus in the rust belt where I live that have rusted-through body panels after about 7-8 years. Of course, other vehicles rust too. It just seems to me that a lot of Subarus got rusty pretty quick.

It does appear you can still get a Crosstrek with a 6-speed manual but then it doesn't come with Eyesight or the computerized enhanced traction modes.

 

[Out of Steam]

If you need four wheel drive, Subaru has a very good system. Otherwise I’d buy a Honda or Toyota over a Subaru - as the owner of a 2018 Outback Touring.

I bought this Subaru while I had a long, hilly commute to a place with snow closure policies that were erratic, at best. Now living further south, when it does snow here, there's no vehicle that will help with driving safely.

I'm open to another Subaru, but more likely to buy something else. High resale values for average reliability does not make for the best used car buys.

 

[Breedlove]

I see Scotty say one thing about a car today and then he will make a video and say it is the worse car in the world . He used to say that a Toyota Corolla was the best car in the world . Now Toyota has changed.

 

[teetee]

I see Scotty say one thing about a car today and then he will make a video and say it is the worse car in the world . He used to say that a Toyota Corolla was the best car in the world . Now Toyota has changed.

Scotty's video is full of clickbait. He is an entertainer.

Here is a different youtuber that give concise summary of the reliability history of a number of japanese cars that I find helpful.

https://youtu.be/A2a63sO_tUE

Another techician who is down right technical for people who are hungry for knowledge about subaru boxer engines:

https://youtu.be/bJSYDBjkJNQ

 

[orchid55]

I loved my Subaru Legacy station wagon. I bought it new in 1998, had no problems at all over the next 22 years. I finally traded it in for a Honda in September of 2020. I didn't get a new Subaru because we no longer live in the snow belt, so AWD is not really necessary.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

I have a 2006 Subaru Outback, bought new. Besides an old Camaro, it is the longest I've ever kept a vehicle.

Where I live, and how I live (skiing in the winter), having the Subaru's manual transmission and AWD system (along with snow tires) is a game changer. Winter? Snow? No problem.

Yes, you give up a bit of gas mileage and perhaps not as elegant as some other vehicles - but if I were buying another car it (Subaru) would be at the top of my list to look at closely.

 

[powerplay]

I have a 2017 Forester that is now a little over 4 years old and under 30k miles. The AC has been a disappointment as I'm now on the second problem in less than a year. The car has been comfortable and I especially like the heated seats and steering wheel all which were a great comfort the last few years going through cancer treatment and being so very sick.