Subaru Outback - reliability (2020 onwards)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

My Subaru is at 110K miles and I haven't had any of these issues.

[Anonymous]

Doesn’t really answer your OP but I have a 2017 Outback with 117K all years registered in CO and VT and it’s doing great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

JD Power also seems to rank Jeep both above average overall AND about 4% higher than Subaru.

So you tell me? Is JD Power still credible to you now?



(And I’m not a Jeep hater - I’ve owned SIX of them. I just find it amusing that they’re ranked that high)

[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.

Yeah gasket problems. You are very very lucky that the issue presented itself while the car was under warranty. If it happens afterwards it’s a huge expense more than the remaining value of the car. Happened to us 18 months after being past warranty. Never again buying Subaru.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

My Subaru is at 110K miles and I haven't had any of these issues.

That makes you a statistical outlier, not a typical representative sample.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

JD Power also seems to rank Jeep both above average overall AND about 4% higher than Subaru.

So you tell me? Is JD Power still credible to you now?



(And I’m not a Jeep hater - I’ve owned SIX of them. I just find it amusing that they’re ranked that high)

My point is that one can find fault with any ranking when they disagree with it.

Posters disagreeing with CR, JD Power... I can come up with another ranking site, and someone will disagree with it and find it not credible.

[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.

the battery thing is part of a class action lawsuit. I just got mine replaced for free. It covers 2015 models.

https://dataconomy.com/2024/01/09/what-is-subaru-battery-settlement-2024-and-can-you-make-a-claim/

I had a 2004 subaru that I drove until the gasket issue started to become an issue in 2017/8, then finally bought another subaru in 2019.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Yeah gasket problems. You are very very lucky that the issue presented itself while the car was under warranty. If it happens afterwards it’s a huge expense more than the remaining value of the car. Happened to us 18 months after being past warranty. Never again buying Subaru.

Yeah leaking head gaskets basically mean an engine replacement.

That’s $3,500 for the remanufactured short block (plus a refundable $1,500 core charge), and about 20 hours labor at $125/hr to pull the old engine, move all the components to the new block, and reinstall the whole thing back in the car.

So figure a minimum of $6,000 for that. Pretty hard to accept when the value of the car might only be $8,000-$10,000 at the time

[Anonymous]

I own a 2012 Subaru Impreza and will never buy Subaru again — oil leakage/consumption issues galore. Had to have engine removed and oil leaks fixed at 85k miles, now at 125k again some major oil leaks. Bad engine design, inherently flawed.

Also had an expensive CVT issue.

[Anonymous]

I have a 2021 Outback Onyx XT. Zero problems on the Subaru side.

...now if you can get the construction workers building the house 2 doors down to clean the street of nails and screws.....I've had 2 flats from that!

Oh, and the wiper blades need to be winterized for my ski trips.

Other than that I've had 100% reliability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a 2021 Outback Onyx XT. Zero problems on the Subaru side.

...now if you can get the construction workers building the house 2 doors down to clean the street of nails and screws.....I've had 2 flats from that!

Oh, and the wiper blades need to be winterized for my ski trips.

Other than that I've had 100% reliability.

A three year old car is 100% reliable?

Uh, yeah, it damn well better be.

[Anonymous]

We have a 2019 Outback with 44K miles and its pretty much been maintenance free aside from oil changes, a new set of tires last month, and clearing out the AC condensation line from spring time debris (we don't have a garage so we park outside under a ton of trees and are constantly dealing with debris...not the car's fault).

If you are concerned about reliability, you should absolutely buy the Subaru Gold extended warranty. Totally worth it and covers you for a long time.

https://www.subaruoutback.org/threads/subaru-gold-plus-extended-warranty.564893/

[Anonymous]

2019 Outback with 6cyl engine. Routine scheduled maintenance only and over 45k miles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

You let your kids make major purchasing decisions for you based on on what they heard from ignorant sources?