Subaru Outback - reliability (2020 onwards)?

[Anonymous]

We are looking at Subaru, but according to Consumer Report's, the Subaru Outback has some reliability concerns. I wanted to see if owners of the Outback from around 2019 onwards can confirm or deny that this is true? We are also looking into the Forester as well. If you have had problems, when did they start? And, was the dealer responsive?

TIA.

[Anonymous]

I would not buy a new Subaru. They are not anywhere near as good as the old ones and miss some features other car companies have.

The Outback has always been a great car til 2019, but reliability is just not there any more.

My mechanic suggests Honda or Toyota over the Subaru now and Honda has had some issues as well with CRV's 2013 -2018 at min.

[Anonymous]

I have a 2017 Forrester and it is perfect. No reliability issues at all.

I don't have an Outback though, so.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, PPs; appreciate the input.

Keep it coming!

[Anonymous]

I have a 2022 Ascent and zero issues. I also have a 2015 and aside from the brake light issue which was covered under recall I also have had zero issues.

[Anonymous]

We have two Outback’s- a 2012 and a 2022. The 2012 has 200k miles. The only big issue was getting transmission replaced at 150k. This costed about 3k. The 2022 has been fine except for some warped rotors at 30k miles. Luckily the warranty covered this. IMHO Outback’s are good cars, but not great or at the level of a Toyota or Honda. Where Outbacks shine are in the snow. They literally plow right through it. This, unfortunately, doesn’t really matter as much around here since we don’t have winter anymore. If you’re going out to Canaan, WV or New England, Outback provides great piece of mind at a decent price.

[Anonymous]

We have a 2015 outback. It has been reliable other than one major issue with the engine (it's the v4) constantly leaking oil during our first couple years with the car. Fortunately, it was under warranty but it took around 10 days for them to fix the issue. Apparently, they had to take the engine out of the car, take it apart and put it back to together. Our mechanic said that oil leaks with subarus are very common and that it's just a byproduct of the design of the engine.

The other annoying, albeit more minor, issue is that car battery not being able to hold a charge. The original batteries on all subarus are undersized apparently. In addition, there is apparently another issue with the car battery not properly recharging itself, which leads to car batteries wearing out faster than they otherwise would. This is an easy enough fix, but it's a huge inconvenience.

The subaru is otherwise all good and fine. That being said, because of the foregoing issues, we will likely not get a subaru again.

[Anonymous]

Subaru CVT automatic transmissions are garbage. Expect noise to start at about 85k miles, and drivability problems to start about 110k miles.

The front CV axles will start to chatter in turns at about 90k miles.

Wheel bearings will start making noise any time after 40k miles.

Will begin consuming oil after about 50k miles.

Head gaskets will start to seep at around 5 years if you don’t drive it daily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a 2015 outback. It has been reliable other than one major issue with the engine (it's the v4) constantly leaking oil during our first couple years with the car. Fortunately, it was under warranty but it took around 10 days for them to fix the issue. Apparently, they had to take the engine out of the car, take it apart and put it back to together. Our mechanic said that oil leaks with subarus are very common and that it's just a byproduct of the design of the engine.

The other annoying, albeit more minor, issue is that car battery not being able to hold a charge. The original batteries on all subarus are undersized apparently. In addition, there is apparently another issue with the car battery not properly recharging itself, which leads to car batteries wearing out faster than they otherwise would. This is an easy enough fix, but it's a huge inconvenience.

The subaru is otherwise all good and fine. That being said, because of the foregoing issues, we will likely not get a subaru again.

Both of the bolded parts are true.


Subaru does NOT make very good cars anymore in terms of reliability. They crash well, but that’s about the only thing noteworthy about them.

Their product marketing team is the best there is, though.

[Anonymous]

https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-reliability-owner-satisfaction/who-makes-the-most-reliable-cars-a7824554938/

Subaru is #6

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-reliability-owner-satisfaction/who-makes-the-most-reliable-cars-a7824554938/

Subaru is #6

Mini is #3 for reliability?

Consumer Reports has officially lost all credibility now.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you so much for the detailed responses! Definitely food for thought.

Consumer Reports ranks the Forester really high for reliability. On the other hand, they also really like the BMW X5 and the Tesla, so PP may have a point. https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/best-cars-of-the-year-10-top-picks-of-2024-a4675085257/?itm_source=parsely-api

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you so much for the detailed responses! Definitely food for thought.

Consumer Reports ranks the Forester really high for reliability. On the other hand, they also really like the BMW X5 and the Tesla, so PP may have a point. https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/best-cars-of-the-year-10-top-picks-of-2024-a4675085257/?itm_source=parsely-api

Tesla is in the EV category, not overall reliability. CR categorized the best cars within each category.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-reliability-owner-satisfaction/who-makes-the-most-reliable-cars-a7824554938/

Subaru is #6

Mini is #3 for reliability?

Consumer Reports has officially lost all credibility now.

Would you consider JD Power reliable? Because they have Buick and Chevy as more reliable than a BMW. Mini is up there. What ranking is reliable to you?

https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2024-us-vehicle-dependability-study-vds

[Anonymous]

I saw one in my neighborhood that I liked but was then informed by my kids that Subarus are for crunchy granola types from Colorado. So, I’m still looking.