Subaru , are they any good

[Music Lover]

I drove a 2007 Impreza for 10 years, gave it to my mother 4 years ago and it still runs great. She loves it. The AWD is certainly nice to have in a winter climate.

 

[6miths]

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. It’s a decent car, but it’s nothing special - and I don’t plan to buy another Subaru. The boxer engine is inferior, there’s a good reason no other volume carmaker uses boxer engines (Porsche is a different price point and application). And the tech in a Subaru is inferior to the systems in Honda’s and Toyota’s. Subaru is a relatively small company, without the R&D resources to develop their product like larger automakers. That’s why they don’t have hybrids, and no EV plan. They have to go outside for tech solutions more than larger automakers. The Eyesight system is inferior to Honda Sensing, we also have a 2019 Accord - it’s a better car period. The Starlink NAV system is inferior, voice commands are useless - Honda and Siri are much better. As they say YMMV.

A lifelong Honda driver who is very happy with a 2019 Impreza as my first ever Subaru. I found Eyesight very good and Consumer Reports lists the Honda Sensing system as one of three with lowest customer satisfaction (along with Acura [Honda tech] and Jaguar). I have absolutely detested the Honda Nav system in my 2014 Odyssey and found the voice recognition system useless. I will never again pay for a proprietary car maker nav system when I could use Google Maps or Waze with CarPlay. Although it's not fair to compare the new Subaru with the Odyssey, the voice recognition in the Subaru works very well.

 

[ERObjd]

here in the midwest they use lots of salt on the roads, manufacturers since about 2001 have been using higher density components and better paints that will at least deter rust better,however since about 2010 cities have went to using a liquid beet juice salt brine and it is much more corrosive than the old rock salt sand mix that was used before. Even brand new vehicles will get lots of rust if this salt brine is not washed off the exterior of vehicles regularly. Some winters are mild and one can get to a car wash..but when you have many days below zero washes can not open and that brine does it's damage. At any rate, the key is to get that brine washed off as soon as possible.

 

[ponyboy]

All subarus burn oil, so be prepared to add between oil changes. You'll be lucky if you find one that doesnt leak. Also, timing belts used to be a thing with them. They would break and destroy the engine. Subarus are hip though, and they are tanks in the snow.

 

[euro]

All subarus burn oil, so be prepared to add between oil changes. You'll be lucky if you find one that doesnt leak. Also, timing belts used to be a thing with them. They would break and destroy the engine. Subarus are hip though, and they are tanks in the snow.

I have had 4 Outback’s since the mid-90ies. All purchased new. One of them did burn oil (And I do believe it actually burned it because there was never any trace whatsoever in/under the engine compartment or on the garage floor of any oil leaking). The other 3 never required even a top-off between oil changes. So, I don’t think it is accurate to generalize that “all Subarus burn oil”.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

All subarus burn oil, so be prepared to add between oil changes. You'll be lucky if you find one that doesnt leak. Also, timing belts used to be a thing with them. They would break and destroy the engine. Subarus are hip though, and they are tanks in the snow.

I have had 4 Outback’s since the mid-90ies. All purchased new. One of them did burn oil (And I do believe it actually burned it because there was never any trace whatsoever in/under the engine compartment or on the garage floor of any oil leaking). The other 3 never required even a top-off between oil changes. So, I don’t think it is accurate to generalize that “all Subarus burn oil”.

I agree with @euro. We did have a 2012 Impreza that burned oil; this problem was widely reported on the interwebs. For other reasons*, we traded it in for an almost identical 2015 Impreza, which does not burn a drop. Our previous 1998 Impreza, which we had for 12 years, also burned no oil.

*Other reasons: My DW dislocated her shoulder, and we regrettably had to go from a manual transmission to an automatic.

 

[finnski1]

All subarus burn oil, so be prepared to add between oil changes. You'll be lucky if you find one that doesnt leak. Also, timing belts used to be a thing with them. They would break and destroy the engine. Subarus are hip though, and they are tanks in the snow.

Well we've had 3 Outbacks in the last 23 years and none of them have burned oil. Very happy with them. In NH they are about as good as it gets for AWD and utility in the snow, mud etc and the Limited that I have now seems downright luxurious compared to my old ones. Averaging 28 mpg with full time AWD is pretty damn good to me.
Sold the last one after 14 years to my mechanic for $2500.

 

[OldShooter]

All subarus burn oil ...

I don't know this to be true. It isn't' true for me and, apparently, for several other posters here. Is this your own fact or can you provide a link to some data that supports your statement?

 

[Dash man]

I don't know this to be true. It isn't' true for me and, apparently, for several other posters here. Is this your own fact or can you provide a link to some data that supports your statement?

It’s not true for me either. The Subaru is a great brand.

 

[pb4uski]

All subarus burn oil, so be prepared to add between oil changes. You'll be lucky if you find one that doesnt leak. Also, timing belts used to be a thing with them. They would break and destroy the engine. Subarus are hip though, and they are tanks in the snow.

[MOD EDIT] We're on out third Subaru and have never had to add oil between oil changes. [MOD EDIT]

 

[RunningBum]

I've never added oil between changes for my '14. My son's '13 does burn, so it's definitely something to be aware of, but say to "All subarus burn oil" is [MOD EDIT - incorrect].

 

[ERObjd]

2006 to 2010 were the model years where subaru had the leaking head gasket issues. Subaru's solution... pour i a bottle of Coolant conditioner( actually a stop leak ) those cause their own problems like clog up the heater core and radiator and then you have overheating issues. Subaru cheaped out instead of fixing it right. Anyway my indie mechanic who replaced head gasket had the heads resurfaced and he used a very high quality head gasket set Fel Pro and over 50 thousand miles later no leaks at all and it runs like a top.

 

[retiredunder50]

I own 2 Foresters (2010 & 2018) that I purchased new. I absolutely love them, find them to be very reliable with low operating and insurance costs.

The 2018 has yet to have any issues. It has only required basic filters and oil changes (the clearance for this and the 2010 allows you to easily change the oil without having to jack the car up). Two of the nice differences are that the 2018 has a timing chain vs the 2010's timing belt and the oil filter is easily accessible when you open the hood. The Subaru CVT warranty for the 2018 is 100K. I don't like that Subaru of America is telling all that the factory transmission fluid is lifetime. I am going to change it maybe every 60K or so.

For my 2010, maintenance is mostly minimal. I change my front brake pads every 60K and the rears around 40K. I get tires from Costco that seem to last around 80K miles per set. Kirkland full synthetic oil is around $25 for 10 quarts or $22 when on sale. I replace the battery every 6 years. At 80k I changed the plugs with Iridiums, changed the differential and trans fluid. I got the timing belt (pushed my luck and waited until 135K), water pump, & tensioner replaced - and that is something I didn't think about when purchasing this vehicle. I have the original parts and they looked to be in pretty good shape but I can sleep better at night. 135K is also the time I changed the coolant for the first time (the recommended interval is 137.5K) and the fluid looked very clean. I don't follow the overly aggressive recommendation of brake fluid changes every 30K.

The 2018 gets over 30 mpg on the highway and about 26 mpg around town. My oldest son drives the 2010 mostly on the highway and gets 28-29 mpg. We try not to exceed the speed limits.

There were 2 problems with the 2010. One, that thankfully was covered in full by the powertrain warranty - the dreaded headgasket! I would not be a happy camper if this fell outside the warranty. The other issue was the transcooler lines needed to be replaced. Aside from these, the engine runs great and the transmission shifts properly and the car is all original parts. They seem to be fairly easy to work on if necessary.

It snows here & I feel safe with these 2. Early in my life, I have experienced hitting a patch of snow & doing a 180 and that ain't as fun as it sounds when you are on a highway. My main complaint is that both cars don't have a temperature gauge.

 

[retiredunder50]

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.

I have a 2010. I live 2 miles from the ocean and the roads get heavily salted during the winters. There is no rust problem, yet. The exhaust is all original. On the other hand I had a couple of Geo Prisms (basically Toyota Corollas) that I had to get rid of as the rust was so bad, it was difficult to find good places to jack the car up (I had to use some wood to distribute the load).

 

[aldo]

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.

I just learned that my 2017 Forester has a recall for the AC condenser by inputting my VIN at Subaru's recall website. Notice yet to be mailed, but service is scheduled for Thursday.

WRB21--Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is initiating a service program to check and, if necessary, replace the air conditioning condenser assembly in certain 2017 and 2018 model year Forester vehicles. Subaru will check the part number of the air conditioner condenser assembly in the vehicle, and if necessary, replace the condenser at no cost to the owner.

 

[retiredunder50]

I just learned that my 2017 Forester has a recall for the AC condenser by inputting my VIN at Subaru's recall website. Notice yet to be mailed, but service is scheduled for Thursday.

WRB21--Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is initiating a service program to check and, if necessary, replace the air conditioning condenser assembly in certain 2017 and 2018 model year Forester vehicles. Subaru will check the part number of the air conditioner condenser assembly in the vehicle, and if necessary, replace the condenser at no cost to the owner.

Looks like they are going to also extend the warranty period for it from 3 yrs 36K miles to 5 yrs and unlimited mileage.


https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10179387-0001.pdf

 

[Big_Hitter]

My main complaint is that both cars don't have a temperature gauge.

you can get an OBDII tool that will hang on an air vent and monitor whatever you want monitored - I use it for water temp sometimes on my FXT

 

[TexasPE]

Have a replacement tire shaved

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.

Buy a replacement tire and have it shaved to the same diameter as the remaining three tires. Check locally or order from
https://tires.tirerack.com/tires/Shaving

 

[Big_Hitter]

Buy a replacement tire and have it shaved to the same diameter as the remaining three tires. Check locally or order from
https://tires.tirerack.com/tires/Shaving

oh schweet! I didn't know tirerack shaved tires - we always had that issue when I lived in houston. No one shaved tires at the time.

 

[Gumby]

MODERATOR NOTE: There have been two problems with this thread. The first is unsupported generalizations. I have a Subaru. I have added a little oil between oil changes. From that alone, I cannot conclude that all Subarus burn oil. I cannot conclude that none burn oil. I can only report my own experience. You are free to report your own experiences. However, if you don't have data to back it up, a blanket condemnation is likely to generate more heat than light. This principle extends far beyond cars and oil.

The second issue has been personal attacks that violate the community rules. Posts have been edited to remove them. Feel free to disagree, but please address the issue or argument made, not the person who made it.

Thank you.

 

[Chuckanut]

Buy a replacement tire and have it shaved to the same diameter as the remaining three tires. Check locally or order from
https://tires.tirerack.com/tires/Shaving

I had not thought about tire shaving for years. Back in the 70's I had a friend who always had his muscle car's new tires shaved just a bit. He claimed it improved traction. I have no idea if that is true.

 

[Music Lover]

I had not thought about tire shaving for years. Back in the 70's I had a friend who always had his muscle car's new tires shaved just a bit. He claimed it improved traction. I have no idea if that is true.

Tires with no tread have great traction on smooth and clean pavement...that's why Formula One cars use them. But they're useless in real world conditions.

 

[Out of Steam]

Two of the nice differences are that the 2018 has a timing chain vs the 2010's timing belt and the oil filter is easily accessible when you open the hood. The Subaru CVT warranty for the 2018 is 100K. I don't like that Subaru of America is telling all that the factory transmission fluid is lifetime. I am going to change it maybe every 60K or so.

Agree on the oil filter visible at the top of the engine. It's the only car I've ever owned where I started changing the oil myself from new, instead of waiting for the warranty to expire. On the other hand, I drove it so many miles that it was getting 4-5 oil changes a year with synthetic oil.

I had the CVT fluid changed at 80K miles, though it was almost all highway driving. No issues at 135K miles. Will do it again at 150-160K if I still have the car.

 

[Joylush]

I have a 2018 Forrester, turbo model. Love it! So glad I got the turbo. They discontinued it after 2018. Such a fun car to drive and great in the mountains.

Only issue I had was a problem with the passenger side airbag sensor shortly after purchase. It was under recall and took several months to get the parts. They essentially forbade me from driving it. I was given loaner vehicle free of charge. Eventually I complained to the corporate headquarters as the wait time got ridiculous. They compensated me fairly for the inconvenience and I’ve had no real problems since except for a failed tire pressure sensor but it was easily replaced under warranty.

We previously had a Subaru Baja and loved it as well..never a single issue.

 

[ncbill]

Agree on the oil filter visible at the top of the engine. It's the only car I've ever owned where I started changing the oil myself from new, instead of waiting for the warranty to expire. On the other hand, I drove it so many miles that it was getting 4-5 oil changes a year with synthetic oil.

I had the CVT fluid changed at 80K miles, though it was almost all highway driving. No issues at 135K miles. Will do it again at 150-160K if I still have the car.

Send your used oil out to this company & they'll let you know if it needs changing that often:

https://www.blackstone-labs.com

My vehicles only get their synthetic oil change annually.