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Subaru Automobile Troubleshooting
If you're looking for help fixing your Subaru Automobile, look no further! Our comprehensive Subaru Automobile Troubleshooting guide will explain common issues, provide tips, and show you how to read your model's error codes.
Lack of power/stalling
The throttle body is known for getting clogged up with a carbon build-up. This problem causes a lack of acceleration and can lead to the car stalling at junctions etc. You may also notice that it coughs and splutters a bit when idling. You will need to remove the throttle body and clean it out with a toothbrush and some throttle body cleaner. This will sort the issue.
Water leak in passenger front footwell
The plenum chamber can get clogged up with leaves and debris, which results in water leaking into the front passenger footwell. The plenum chamber is located next to the window wiper mechanism below the windscreen. Unblocking the holes on the plenum chamber will allow the water to drain through the holes instead of leaking into the front passenger footwell.
Clunky Gear Changes
The automatic gearbox on the car is not as durable as on other models and can wear out quite quickly. That's what's causing the problem in most cases, although there are some cases where there is a fault with the Mechatronics control system. Try replacing the gearbox first, which you can order from us. If that doesn't resolve the issue, then it's the Mechatronics control system, and you'll need a specialist to repair it.
Worn out brake pads
It is dangerous to drive a car with worn-out brake pads. The brake pads wear out due to constant friction. When they wear out, you will often notice a squeaking sound.
Besides, you will need to hard press the brakes for them to be effective. This can be disastrous during emergency braking. Have your mechanic inspect your brake pads if you suspect that there is something wrong with them.
Fix a Dim Headlight
Most DIYers think a dim headlight is caused by a poor connection on the power side of the circuit. That’s possible, but in most cases, the dim headlight is caused by corrosion on the ground connection. So check the electrical connector for corrosion and then clean the ground connection.
Remove the electrical connector that plugs into the headlight. Look for signs of corrosion or melted plastic from excessive heat. If you find corrosion, clean it using electrical contact cleaner and a small wire brush.
Fix a Squealing Belt
Of all the car problems you might encounter, a squealing belt is probably the most annoying. The high-pitched squeal is produced when the rubber belt loses its grip and slips around the pulleys. In rare cases, a worn slow-moving alternator, pump, or AC compressor bearing or component misalignment can cause a perfectly good belt to squeal. But in most cases, the belt slips because it’s worn, is loose, or has been contaminated with oil or coolant. You can diagnose all those problems yourself with a visual inspection, a belt wear gauge, and a spray water bottle.
Oil Warning Light is On
An oil warning light is one of the most serious car problems you’ll ever encounter. When the light (or oil icon) comes on, you should immediately pull over and shut off your engine. The low-pressure warning light can be mean you’ve got a bad oil pressure sensor, bum oil pump, or a significant engine wear problem. But it can also mean that you’ve simply run out of oil. You can check your oil level right there on the side of the road.
SOURCE: https://mechanicbase.com/cars/common-car-problems/
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We bought a brand new 2012 Subaru Forester. We took a trip from Georgia to upstate NY. The car was burning oil. For the next couple of years, we kept telling the service dept. that our car was burning oil. They kept assuring us it was not a problem. After checking the internet, we found out it was a real problem. We demanded that something needed to be done. They did a oil consumption test. Saturday they agreed that it was excessive and we would be getting a new engine. Why does it take the service departments so long to take action? Now my concern now is what happens to the resale value of my car?
With a 20+ year old Subaru and a 3 year old one I have unbelievable confidence in this brand. Other than an alternator failure there have been no issues. The number of winter situations they have gotten us through is a start, but the new ones safety features instill security and confidence.
I have been taking my Subaru Legacy 2011 to the Subaru service center for the fifth time with the same problem, hard shifting from park to reverse, engine shakes and lights dim, put into drive and get a flutter like cold start after engine warms up for five minutes, also while driving come to a stop and engine shuts off. Service center kept my car for four days and still am having the same problem.
My wife had a 03 Outback where the engine destroyed itself at 84,000 miles. Blew head gasket with no warning, cylinder heads had to be machined along with new rings, etc. by Subaru. The car ran fine for 5,000 miles then everything started to happen again. I spoke to Subaru USA about the first incident and was told was off warranty. I had a 05 Outback which I just traded in for a Camry. Again at 84,000 miles, the car started to break down. CV Joints, timing belt and water pump, brake lines to front wheels were replaced, AC fan and fan blower were replaced, catalytic converter failed along with o2 sensors and to top it off, the head gasket was seeping. I have owned 6 Subarus since 1997 and this is it! The cars are great until you hit the 84,000-mile wall and fall apart.
I actually recorded the issue this morning and again will be back at the dealership. The Dealership is great. However, my new Subaru Outback 3.6R Touring is not. I loved my 2013 Outback 3.6R and want it back. Never had these issues and it’s not like I can just run the vehicle down the street for issues but have to drive over 30 miles one way. I bought my 2017 in December and the screen freezes up; now a total of 6 times. The camera wont work right and there is a too long of a hesitation from reverse to drive and no one can find the problems. Dealership reset and again the same problems. The scariest was this past Saturday. Mapping, clock everything froze, literally had to pull over and stop the car and then restart it in order to make it sync and work again. If they cant fix this issue someone better be finding my 2013 Outback and getting it back for me since I never had any issues with that one. The 2017 since I have purchased has had one issue after another. It seems others are having these issues as well so why isnt this being recalled or fixed.
NOTE: I do NOT work for Subaru, nor have I ever or have ever known anyone who has on a personal basis. I own a 2015 Forster 2.5L Base Model that i have already logged 18,000 miles on! I have experienced the oil burn issue everyone is complaining about, BUT since I have a formal education in mechanics I did some research before jumping to an assumption based on internet complaints and so called rude dealerships.These cars and many, many, many other brands are having similar issues due to having to run these new high MPG rated synthetic oils in the motors. The EPA has been pushing the use of it on manufactures in order to get the MPG ratings up and is pushing for development of 0w5 oil (that will burn like crazy). This oil is almost like water and gets past the low tension piston rings that are being used to also reduce friction and increase mileage. This is why it is called oil consumption and not oil burning. Oil burning is usually referred to as leak from the valve guide seals into the combustion chamber, oil consumption is oil getting past the piston rings and is actually pretty normal for any motor because if the oil did not work its way around the rings they would not get lubricated and would cause engine failure.Keep this very important thing in mind, new cars call for service every 6,000+ miles, as opposed to the old standards of 3,000 miles. Every vehicle I have ever owned that I pushed over 4,000 miles between services has been down a half to full quart of oil by the time I changed it. Motors by nature consume oil, there is NO way around it. Pushing the service intervals further apart has only exposed this to uneducated consumers.The mistake that Subaru made was setting the oil level sensor too sensitive and premature, they have updated the ECM programing now to fix this. My light comes on at about 6,000 miles and I am about 3/4 of quart low. This is totally acceptable and expected. My 2003 Chevy truck was always a quart low by the suggested service intervals, yet the light NEVER came on.I hope this helps those of concerned with this and please pass on this info to anyone concerned about the same thing in their car, no matter what brand it is. And please, always remember that Service staff at dealerships are having to deal with sometimes 100+ people per day all upset about their vehicle having an issue. Give them a little lead way before you jump on them, kindness will always get you further with customer service staff.Have a nice day!
I bought a brand new 2.5i wagon back in 2007. Car only has 25,000 miles on it and my check engine light just came on. It was code P1443 which can be a serious repair. My 6/60 Warr. that I paid a lot for just expired. This issue makes it very difficult to get gas into my car as the nozzle keeps clicking like I have a full tank yet I am almost on empty. These cars should not be breaking with only 25,000 miles on them!!!
I purchased a used 2000 Subaru Outback in November 2011. The rear K-frame rusted through and the rear axle came loose in December. I paid nearly $1000 in parts and labor to replace it. A week or so later, I found out from a friend that I should look into a recall they had heard about. I came to find out that Subaru had issued a recall on that very issue. The sprayed undercoat for the 2000 Outback was insufficient and caused the rear frame to rot at an advanced rate. I contacted Subaru and they directed me to send them a copy of my bill for the damage, which I did.They took forever to get back to me and denied my claim, even though they contacted my mechanic and I was willing to submit pictures of the work in progress. They cited that the gentleman who had done the work was not a New York State registered mechanic, which he is not. Had I known of the recall, I would have had it taken care of the problem with a properly registered mechanic. I would have taken my car to a dealership for crying out loud. I took care of it on my own the most inexpensive way possible. Subaru should have reimbursed me gratefully as I probably saved them a large sum doing so. I feel they are being unfair and I should be compensated.
I was sold on Subaru after spending time in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana and seeing so many Subarus on the road. I traded my LR3 for the Crosstrek. Small, simple, sporty little car. I had been drawn in to the commercials selling love and tradition and warm and fuzzy emotions. I was told at purchase that the powertrain/drivetrain was lifetime. Besides the incredibly loud road noise and lightweight size of the vehicle it got great gas mileage. It was easy to zip around town and fit in any parking space. The look was sporty and cute. At 58000 miles both rear wheels had bearings go out, the alternator had to be replaced, the battery had to be replaced and I had just put new set of nice tires on it. Contacting dealer I purchased from I was told all under warranty except for battery. Upon taking to Subaru, told nothing under warranty. When purchased I was told this car would hold its value like a Jeep. I traded it yesterday and I owed 18577 on payoff and multiple dealers valued at 11,000. This was the most costly vehicle I ever owned and the most stressful. You do not want to drive near large pickup trucks or 18 wheelers. I was suckered in like a Hallmark card on a cold winter day.
I have a 2011 Subaru 2.5X 4 cylinder automatic transmission EPA 21/27. On a cold start up, my 2011 Forester engine made a loud knocking noise, similar to a spun rod bearing. The dealer says, all Forester engines are noisy. This is not a normal noise for any engine. The fuel mileage is also deplorable 25 highway on cruise. In th county/suburb 18-22. I dont drive in the city, normally. My last Subaru had no engine noise, even at 200,000 miles, and got great fuel mileage, 4-5 above EPA rating. I returned to dealer shop 3 times. There is nothing wrong with it, according to them. Foresters do not get better than 25mpg, and all are noisy. I contacted the Subaru customer service online. They talked to the dealer, but have not helped fix the problem at all. Its basically a waste of time. It currently has 9,000 miles. I purchased this new at the Richmond Subaru/Moore Cadillac.
Subaru Outback 2011 Transmission Problems - ** My youtube video catches the problem, but the transmission doesnt always engage when Im on the interstate. This has happened to me several times when Im in the mountains. Subaru claims they have to replicate the problem for them to help me. Its very dangerous, sometimes it gets down to 45 mph while going downhill.
My 09 Subaru Forester suffered catastrophic engine failure without warning. Seems there are several forums about this but Subaru claims to have no knowledge of it even after production was halted in the early introduction of said vehicle. Car has 55000 miles on it. Ive put 29000 miles on it from buying it used at Pine Belt Subaru in Lakewood NJ 3 years ago. Took out an extended warranty for 100000 miles. Car is not covered because its 5 years from original purchase date which expired 2/14 never notified of same. Im looking at $5000-$8000 to replace. Oil changed every 3500 miles and was 355 miles into its most recent oil change. Rich at Subaru of America in Cherry Hill NJ stated by email that there was nothing he could do to help with the repairs. This will be the last Subaru Ill buy as they knew about the premature engine life expectancy of this vehicle and made no effort to contact me. Ill stick to Honda or Toyota from now on.
As many other reviews I read and contained in this page, a 2007 Subaru Outback did not give any warnings, did not overheat, just all of a sudden a clunk sound, and it had to be towed away to the mechanic who says that it needs a new engine. After reading all the other reviews, it has help me to make the choice of giving it up and cut my losses now. I have to say that purchasing this vehicle brand new was a very poor investment. I thought I was going to be able to have it for many more years, not just 7 years. It is too bad Subaru doesnt take any responsibility for its faulty mechanism. NEVER AGAIN WILL I BUY OR RECOMMEND ANOTHER SUBARU.
I bought a new 2013 Subaru Outback 2.5 Wagon August 29, 2013 (3 month old vehicle). In December the engine started making a squealing noise. When I took it in to be checked I was asked what I had done to the engine??? I had never opened the hood on my car - in fact I didnt know where the hood release was. It took 3 times bringing it in until one of their techs came outside when I brought it in again in January and took a look and said he knew what was wrong with it. The belts were glazing over. The pulley system was redone and the belts replaced. I thought this was the end of the problem. I contacted their main headquarters in New Jersey and after working with customer relations was given a 100,000 mile warranty. I am so happy I did this because the engine problems didnt end there.In August of 2015, my engine light came on - I pulled over and called the dealer and was told if it was the flashing one to not drive it and have someone tow it. It wasnt the flashing one and wasnt told I could continue to drive it. I drove the car to the dealer and told them I wanted it fixed. It was under warranty. They replaced a sensor. They had my car for 5 days. I picked the vehicle up and drove it for about 3 days and the light came on again. I took it back to the dealer, they gave me a loaner vehicle, couldnt find the problem (after having it in the shop for 2 weeks), turned the engine light off and called me to come get it. I picked it up and drove it for about 3 days and the same thing happened. I took it back - they gave me a loaner vehicle. When the service manager called they said it was a vacuum problem - and it was how I was braking. I said that was not possible. I got another call, the service manager told me that it was dirty and the catalytic converter was dirty too. He asked where I was buying gas and told me that I should only be using gas from Costco, Shell or Chevron 92 octane (even though the manual says otherwise). They said they would get a data recorder from Subaru and it would take them about 3 days to get it - I was told I could keep driving the loaner or pick up my own car and drive it and bring it back in when they got the recorder. I chose for them to keep it until they got the recorder. I didnt hear anything for 2 weeks. On a Saturday the service manager called and yelled at me that I hadnt picked up my car. I asked if they had the data recorder yet and he said no. They wanted me to be driving my car so the warranty would run out. On November 6th they called and said they had gotten the data recorder. I was already home from work when they called. I picked my car up on the 9th. Three days later the light came on again. I took it back to the dealer. They called and said they think they corrected the problem. The rear sensor was replaced.I dont believe they would have done any of it if I hadnt contacted their headquarters. It took over 3 months to get the problem corrected. Because of how I was treated by the dealership and the reliability of the cars, I will never buy another Subaru. Subaru does have a class action lawsuit against them now for the excessive oil burning issue. Their remedy is to give an extended warranty! Its not worth it!
Our 2014 Subaru Outback (purchased new) has an intermittent stall problem that lasts for several seconds at low speeds when trying to accelerate into traffic. It has caused 2 near collisions and my wife will no longer ride in the car because of it. This issue has been discussed with the dealer several times and were told by the Service Manager that it is a common complaint and an engineering defect in the CVT transmission and that his 2013 Legacy has the same problem. The factory Zone rep. drove the car briefly and said it drove normal and that they were not going to work on it but would give us an allowance on a 2015 model. This car drives normal 99.9% of the time because this only happens in slow in town driving of which we do very little but when it fails it could be catastrophic. We are in our seventies and purchased this car new because it has all the hi-tech safety devices on it such as Eyesight collision avoidance but this is of no use if we are t-boned in heavy traffic. Since when is an engineering defect in a drive train normal?! We left the car with instructions that they could drive it home or wherever until such time that the problem occurred (and gave them a list of the perimeters that seemed to cause the problem to manifest itself) then they should fix it under the new car warranty but they told us that it was just going to sit there until we pick it up as they are not going to do anything with it. We also asked if they would buy it back if they are refusing to repair it and they of course declined that also. This indicates to us that they dont want it either. We will probably be forced to dump it at a big loss. ANYONE ELSE HAVE THIS PROBLEM?
We bought a manual 2014 outback in black. All of the rear windows come tinted (not optional) and it is a safety hazard, because the dark tint makes it nearly impossible to go in reverse at night due to severely compromised visibility. There is no back up camera on this model.At 5400 miles, our clutch slipped in stop and go traffic on a long steep hill in a snowstorm. Fortunately had enough left to get to our destination, but there was a horrible smell of clutch fluid for 60 miles. The dealer blamed our driving skills on the clutch failure, although my husband and I have driven standard transmissions for 30 years each and have never killed a clutch. They replaced the clutch, But the next one is your responsibility. For 4 months after the repair, we still smelled clutch fluid.Tonight I was backing out of a steep driveway and noticed the familiar nasty smell of clutch fluid and prayed that the clutch wouldnt slip again. Crossing my fingers that well get the normal life expectancy out of this clutch, but suspect that it is very poorly made and will fail again. Would love to know how many others had the clutch fail in an extremely short timeframe.
Buyer beware. It seems Subaru has a long standing manufacturers issue with the head gasket that should have been addressed via recall. Instead they are piecemealing the issue with small repair discounts. My car has only 66k miles (6k miles outside warranty) and been well-maintained. I am discovering that this has been an issue since the mid to late 90s. Just like the class action for heavy oil use, it seems Subaru will wait for the lawsuit to finally be forced to address the problem. 4th family Subaru and I will tell everyone I know of my experience and never to buy a Subaru again.
We purchased a 2016 Forester in October 2015. In June 2017 we were hit on the passenger side causing our Subaru Forester to be totaled in an accident that also resulting in an emergency c-section. We paid $24,000 to buy a brand new model and drove it less than 2 years before accident. During the accident I hit my head hard against the side and no airbag deployed. I have had painful headaches since and am seeing a physical therapist for head and neck pain. The body shop that inspected our vehicle told us the airbags should have deployed based on the fact that we were hit directly on the passenger side where the side sensor was. We waited over 6 weeks for Subaru to inspect the vehicle and get back to us with an answer about airbags. They gave us a very generic response that because we were hit at an oblique side angle the airbag may not always deploy. The next vehicle we buy brand new and spend $24,000 on will certainly have working airbags in any situation. It is federal law to have airbags in vehicles, to have a scenario in which the manufacturer can declare the airbag may legally fail is baloney to put it nicely. Before the accident we absolutely loved our Forester and I truly wanted to be able to say that the Subaru company was helpful to us during a rough time. I felt we were ignored and all of my husbands attempts to discuss our situation were handled without care. I would have liked for someone to have spoken to us on the phone directly instead of feeding us generic emails basically saying there was no answer and we had to wait. I would have liked to have known the $24,000 vehicle we invested money into might have bought us more care when being in an accident and being left without our car with a newborn.
I own a 2013 Subaru Impreza. The car is currently undergoing work for a SECOND CVT transmission. With the first transmission, I was at 55,000 miles, and there were audible queues. I was lucky enough to bring the car into the dealership to be diagnosed. I was informed I would need a new transmission and it would be covered under my extended (60,000 mile) warranty. The car was fixed and I believed everything to be fine.Last week, I was on vacation with my two small children (2 and 5, both requiring car seats) and driving from St Augustine FL to Atlanta along I-75. I was just outside of Macon, GA, and in the far left lane, when the car jerked violently and then stopped accelerating. There was a transfer truck to my right, and a few vehicles came up very quickly to my rear. I was able to coast off to the left hand side of the road. The vehicle was stripped of all gears and no longer even had a park. The emergency brake had to be utilized to keep it from rolling.I called Subaru roadside assistance and the car was towed to Macon (about 40 miles north) to a dealer there (with me and my two kids in the front with the driver, a very nice man). Once I arrived at the dealership, I was treated with a we cant look at it today, what do you want us to do about it attitude. I called Subaru Customer Care and Lisa arranged a rental car through Enterprise. I was not allowed to take a dealership loaner since I live in Hickory, North Carolina and would be taking the car over state lines. The car broke down at 11:00 AM and we were not back on the road until 5:30 PM.Since then, this was over a week ago, I have expressed my worries with Subaru. They have assured me that the extended CVT Transmission warranty issued by Subaru last month would cover my car, even though it is at the 88,000 mile mark, but would anyone want a car on its second transmission that essentially stalled while going 70 mph on the highway???I have asked Subaru to do the right thing and either pay off the loan or allow me to trade in the vehicle, but they refuse. Now they are stating that the rental car will not be covered for the entire time of the repair and that I will have to travel back down to Macon, GA (6 hours from my home) to pick the car up once it is fixed later next week. Thats over two full weeks in a rental car and a whole lot of a headache to pick up a car that may or may not work for another 30,000 miles.If this was my first transmission, if this had only happened once, I would not be writing this. If my kids had not been in the car when it stopped accelerating on the highway, I would not be writing this. I, like everyone else, need reliable and safe transportation. I have neither of these things and Subaru refuses to right the wrong.For those looking into buying a car with the CVT Transmission, please dont. I would hate for someone to get seriously injured by this. Its dangerous and something Subaru should not ignore. A recall should be issued. My first transmission gave me a warning sign with a noise, the second one just stopped... there was no warning.
I purchased a 2009 Outback 2.5XT manual transmission new. For the first 60,000 miles it was flawless. Shortly after the 60,000 mile service, the check engine light came on and the dealer said the rings in the #4 cylinder were stuck. The engine was removed and repaired. Approximately 3000 miles later the incident repeated itself. Once again the engine was removed and this time all of the rings were replaced (at my suggestion) and the valves ground. Shortly after that one of the air tube valves failed. Then a few thousand miles later both the NOX and oxygen sensors failed. Then at 73,000 miles the engine started knocking but no check engine light. At the bottom of the pan directly under the oil pump intake there is a large dent but no scratches or any sign of impact. The dealer says that the restricted oil flow resulting from the dent caused the connecting rod bearings to fail. I am a 78 year old engineering executive in Southern California. 90% of my driving is on the freeway, no off road, no dirt roads. I cannot believe a modern car can have these kinds of problems. This is my first experience with Subaru. Subaru paid for the first 2 overhauls but I have paid for the other repairs and am expected to pay for a new short block replacement.
My son bought a 2016 Subaru WRX STI from a Ford dealer. He had problems with it right after buying it. Fast forward to a year later and it needs a new transmission. The warranty that was sold with the car was actually void because the person who traded it to Ford had put aftermarket parts on it and a tune. We contacted Subaru about the problem and they are going to honor the warranty and pay for the repairs. I am happy to say that Subaru is a great company. There are not many companies that stand behind their products these days. Thank You Subaru!
There’s so many to choose from but our Forester has truly been exceptional! The safety features are phenomenal, the price was the best option, the ride is smooth, and the company treats you like family.
My 2015 Subaru WRX was great prior to the Pre-Ignition Recall and ECU reprogramming. They replaced my engine because they thought it was damaged due to the poor programming. After breaking in the new engine, I have significantly less power and the car is totally different. The dealership has been working with Subaru of America technical support and Field Engineers for months and have gotten nowhere! I am also outside of my Statess lemon law, although fully within my manufacturers warranty. I have not driven my car all summer and have been in Subaru Forester loaner for months.I involved Subaru of America customer service early in the process, and have experienced what I can only describe as the worst customer service experience of my life. Not only are they unwilling to help me get into a new vehicle, they provide no information on what theyre actually doing to fix the car. I can get better service from their call centers auto attendant. The truth is, they have no idea how to fix the car, but continue to drag this issue out. The Subaru dealer who has the car is at their wits end, and wants Subaru of America to do something to resolve this. They simply wont and I have absolutely no recourse other than to hire a lawyer and give him half of whatever he gets me. I guess this is what makes a Subaru, a Subaru.
My 2011 Forester failed a recent oil consumption check. I had it done because the warranty expires in May 2016 and my daughter had the same problem with her 2012 Forester that was warrantied by Subaru. I hope to have mine warrantied also. In my case though, the dealer has warned that I may be liable for all expenses since the interval between oil changes exceeded recommended milage. Reading Subaru message boards leads me here to Consumer Affairs to learn if mine and my daughters is not an isolated incident. I think not.
I am having a terrible issue with my 2011 Subaru Outback paint rusting. It is only on the top of my car and the top of the hatchback. I have owned many cars for this long and never ever had an issue with paint. I have spoke with the dealer and Subaru and they will not do anything about it. I live in the south where the weather is mild.
My 2014 Forester sucks down oil. When you call Subaru corporate they deny the problem, even though theres class action lawsuit and the dealer told me they had to replace the engines. I have to keep driving it back to the dealer every time the oil light goes on for the oil consumption test. I now have a lemon law attorney going after them. Its a shame because I really like the car, but Subaru plain ol lying to me has soured me for good. Never again. Oh, and btw, they sent their dealers a manifesto to fix for the problem. Ya know, the one they nothing of, and basically stated that whenever you do anything but park the car, youll burn oil. Subaru must be Japanese for jokesters or liars I guess.
The Subaru Impreza has been fairly reliable. I appreciate how great it handles in the snow and rain and other extreme weather conditions because it makes me feel safe. I chose this car because it was affordable in price and great qualities for its price. However, I wish it were easier and cheaper to maintain. The maintenance required to keep up the car has been very pricey and annoying. I also wish I had a higher more upgraded model that has nicer interior parts like leather seats.
2010 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport - This car was bought new and received all recommended service. At 40,000 the motor had to be replaced. Subaru insisted that the car be towed over 50 miles to a dealership, and before even looking at the engine, the dealership placed the blame on the local shop that did the last oil change. Dealership told us the most it would cost to repair the engine was $6000 for a new engine. They ended up charging $6000 for rebuilt. Several mechanics with no affiliation to Subaru have said this was an engine malfunction. An internet search reveals that a leaky gasket is a common problem with this engine. Subaru has done everything possible to avoid honoring its warranty and recently delayed our court case. I cant say enough bad things about this car and this company. This is by far the worst experience I have ever had with a car, new or used.
My 2013 Subaru Outback needs the transmission replace at Subarus expense. All Im getting is comments that because there are so many vehicles with this problem they do not have enough transmissions to fix the problem. At first we were told it would be 7-10 days for the necessary parts. Then we were told it would be 4-5 weeks. We have surpassed that time frame with no idea when my car will be fixed. I am not able to use it as I need. This is totally unacceptable. Pressure from various agencies needs to happen now.
Subaru advertises free map updates. However in Canada you have to try and download from a website as the vehicle option is disabled. So the map downloader has glitches and the customer service has no clue. If you go to the dealer he will charge you labour but does not have a clue as well.
Ive always been an American car buyer, but Ive always been intrigued by the Outback. I have been researching your vehicles for some time. So I decided to buy my first Subaru. I went used, and I bought it from Subaru of Melbourne Florida. Here is my nightmare of an experience, this the letter I wrote to the dealer: Hi Shannon, I dont know if you remember me, but we talked about 4 weeks ago. I was interested in a 2011 Outback that you had for sale. As a matter of fact I did come down from Michigan and buy it. It was one of my worst buying experiences ever. I told Larry to have everything ready. I would be there by noon on 4-3-2017. I was on vacation and didnt want to waste a lot of time. Got there by noon, left by 3. Here is a list of problems and delays:1. In the picture on your website the car had a trailer hitch. I wanted that, but no hitch. Larry said they had to take it off because it wasnt a Subaru hitch. It was after market. So I have to buy a hitch. U-Haul is 300.00. 2. In the picture on your website it had a rear cargo mat. No mat. Larry said it was bad, so they threw it out. He finally gave me a used one from another car. 3. It took 45 minutes to find the second set of keys. OK, so I got the car, drove it home to my place in FL. Waxing it and notice a dent in the front fender passenger side. I had it removed by a dent removal service 195.00. I did ask for detailed pictures that I never received, and I also ask Larry if there were any paint deficits or dents. Of course he said no.The final thing, drove it to work yesterday in the dark and notice a headlamp out. Now I know there is an extended warranty for bad headlamps on 2010, 2011. So I replaced the lamp myself and found that Larry and your dealership had left non Subaru HID headlamp conversion kit on the car, so now I dont know if Subaru will honor the warranty.
K of Lonsdale, MN on Oct. 22, 2010 wrote something that is nearly identical to my experience, except mine is a 2010! I have two warranties on my Subaru. Major engine failure requires new block. Before I get to the complaint, I would like to offer a quick current real-life analogy that applies in this case. I needed an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan of my left leg this week, with the cost resulting to approximately $2,000. My insurance company did not need any pre-authorization, it was all fine, and they are paying x percent. Now imagine if something completely different transpires. What if the insurance company said no, we are not paying anything. You have to pay for it all unless you can prove for the last 2 years with records, you have been taking vitamins. It is extremely unlikely that vitamins had anything to do with a stress fracture, but I am swindled out of my money unless I either come up with the records that will satisfy them or fight them on their denial.That is nearly my exact position with Doug Smith Subaru in Utah. I am not unfamiliar to fighting when companies do bad things. I had a cement contractor try to make off with $2500 of my deposit and not do any work. I was highlighted on a local television news episode of Get Gephardt and I got the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing involved. I prevailed in that incident. I have a 2010 Subaru Forester, with approximately 44k miles on it. I had picked up my 10-year old son from school, was getting on the freeway on ramp and accelerating to 65mph with the engine revolutions between 4000-5000 (it is an automatic). All of a sudden, a clicking sound started - not too loud, but noticeable. I got off the next ramp and examined the engine. Nothing unusual could be seen, nothing leaking, nothing loose, no engine lights, no warning lights, nothing. I proceeded home, but the noise got much worse by arrival. I didnt want to drive it further, so it was my idea to have AAA tow it to Doug Smith Subaru, where I had purchased the vehicle. At the time of purchase, I was strongly encouraged to also get the extended warranty for 6 years/100,000 miles, which I did at rather substantial cost. I was told 2 days ago by the service department at Doug Smith that bad things had happened inside the engine. It was broken rod, I would need a new block and Subaru is not going to pay unless I could produce every single oil change record since I purchased the vehicle. They said they had no oil change records, so I would need to produce those. I said, wait a minute, I had the oil changed a lot by other people, but I know for a fact you guys changed it once as I had a coupon for it. They said, hold for a minute. Then they came back to the phone, oh yeah, we found that one and we also saw that you had a sticker on your windshield from last year, but we need more than that. They are refusing to pay anything. I have had it changed in Seattle, changed in Sacramento and here in Utah and I am scrambling to find records. This is outrageous, absurd and smacks of what can be seen in some legal defense firms - deny everything and assert reasons no matter how farfetched, ridiculous, unlikely or impossible. I have started networking to the people I know. Everybody I have talked to is stunned and shocked. I work with someone who was an auto mechanic for 20 years (they are in computers now) who said that is just ridiculous. Since I have purchased the vehicle, never has even one engine warning light comes on. It only has 44k miles on it. No check engine, no oil, no temperature, nothing. I checked all fluid levels usually once a month and also before going on any trip. This vehicle is not some turbo-charged teenage car that is abused. I am nearly 55 years old, this is a station wagon and I had my 10-year old son in the car. I have owned and maintained dozens of cars in my lifetime and this is absolutely crazy. I scrambled to produce the records back to the beginning of purchase because not in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that Subaru of America and Doug Smith would look for any reason not to pay. I have owned between 20 and 30 vehicles in my lifetime and had warranty work done from Dodge, Ford, BMW, Porsche, Nissan, GMC. Never, never was I asked to produce every single service record before any warranty work would be done. Doug Smith and Subaru cannot prove that there was an engine failure due to negligent service. They are only citing a phrase in a book to get out of paying. I have a huge list of people following this event and what the outcome is. I have a complaint on file with the BBB, but the dealership and SOA is refusing to budge. To people who want to purchase a Subaru, buyer beware!
Engine light on, brake light on and cruise light flashing - I took my 2012 Legacy in two times for the same problem. The second time I brought it in, I had to leave my car there and they gave me a rental. When the car was done, they told me I had to pay for the rental. I said the car only had 20,000 miles and not even a year old. He said I still have to pay for the car rental. I told him that I was not very happy that I had to pay for the rental. I will never do business with them ever! The Subaru dealer was in Merrillville, IN. Do not go there for any service.
What the hell is this Subaru dealer in Jordan? I am really shocked when I saw the underground garage. Its hidden and so dirty. No one can see it and they dont have a system at all. They dont even know the history of the car service schedule. There is no clean waiting area for customers. Please just come to Jordan without informing the dealer of your visit and see this with your own eyes. It is unbelievable. They lied to Subaru by convincing them that the garage is the one above ground close to the gas station. It is not, it’s the Renault garage .Subaru in Jordan is dying. There are a lot of Subaru lovers in Jordan waiting for solution .By the way, there are no available spare parts in the dealers warehouse. Just come urgently without informing them of your visit and see the disaster.
I bought a used 2012 Subaru Legacy from a non-Subaru dealership and 4 days later there was something wrong with the transmission. The dealership at first couldnt identify the problem. So I googled it and discovered what was wrong. Thanks to a YouTube video. They then didnt want to help fix it and my warranty doesnt kick in till 30 days after date of purchase. And the vehicle wasnt safe to drive, it stalled if I broke too hard. So I couldnt wait the 30 days and go without. I called Subaru and they paid $1000 towards the repair! They didnt have to do that and they did because thats good customer service.
Love my Subaru???? Great car for the value. Feel safe every time I get behind the wheel. Especially when it comes to bad weather. Snow sleet driving rains cant keep me off the roads. Would recommend to everyone.
I just bought a 2014 Subaru Crosstrek and have only had it for 2 months. I was driving on the freeway going about 65mph when my Crosstrek felt like I had no control of the wheel, it felt like the wheels lost grip to the road. I slowed down and it corrected itself within seconds. I thought, Wow that was strange. I was on the bluetooth with my husband and he told me to pull off and see if the tires were low or flat. I did no problem with the tires. He drove it when I got home and it felt fine. We just thought maybe something on the road. Car drove fine for a while then 3 weeks later I was driving down the highway in the desert area and the wind hit my car and my car starting swirling all over the road. I held on to the wheel and slowed down. It corrected itself and continue to drive fine. I thought, Well maybe this is how suvs drive. Last weekend we were almost killed in this car. We were coming back from our cabin going 40mph in a 50mph zone when the wind hit my car and cause it to go out of control. The wheels were not griping the road correctly and we started to slide we could not correct the car. The steering wheel was not responding it would not do anything! We went over the embankment about 20 feet down and rolled about 4 to 5 times before coming to a stop upside down. We survived but are pretty sore and banged up. Please if anyone is having steering problems with your Subaru take it back!! I feel that this car had a defect in the steering system or the AWD system. Unfortunately, since I was not hurt bad no one will investigate to see if this car had a problem!! Please be careful, I dont want anyone else to go through what we just went through!
The Subaru flagship has terrible engine alert system. Apparently, when there is an engine problem instead of just a check engine light, all feature lights go on and the extra safety features, eyesight etc. become disabled! Subaru service says that the car does this so youll bring the car in to be serviced and that most cars do this. I have never had this experience. Why disable any safety features! We are dealing with the all lights on, no safety features, for the second time. When I inquired about our lost garage opener left in their loaner car, that loaner was out more than two weeks because they couldnt figure out what was wrong with the owners car. I thought I was buying a good car for my son and now Im really starting to wonder.
Absolutely horrible customer service. Been working with both a dealership and with Subaru of America and both have been utterly horrible and useless. I have a continuous issue with my head unit (Google 2015 forest Bluetooth issue) and you’ll see I’m simply one of hundreds if not thousands of people dealing with this issue. Subaru refuses to acknowledge it and will not help with the fact they have placed a faulty head unit in my car. I will never buy Subaru again and I’m telling everyone to avoid them due to their extremely poor customer service. They do not care about their customers.
With - 28 C in Ottawa today, it was not surprising that my car did not want to start. The dealer could only suggest calling their emergency roadside assistance service 1-800-263-8642. After punching several options on my cellular phone, I was put into a waiting line and after 45 minutes, I could no longer stand their stupid music and I cancelled the call. Thanks to my personal battery charger, I solved the issue. The car runs nicely but Subaru fails on the service aspect.
I own a 2005 Subaru Forester. It has a factory installed lift bar on the back hatch. This bar has been replaced 3 times, due to a rust issue (from the rear washer fluid spraying on top of it). My local Subaru dealer said that it is a Subaru flaw, and not only are they no longer able to get replacements from Subaru, but will not cover the cost under my bumper-to-bumper warranty.
I purchased a brand new 2017 Subaru WRX roughly three months ago. Upon immediately driving onward I was noticing a really bad smell shifting gears and I brought it into a shop nearby. I had the service manager come for a ride-along to view my driving habits and he told me it was OK and that the smell would go away. Now, a couple of weeks ago, I was noticing the gear was tougher to shift into first, and then eventually the gears werent selecting properly. Id be in gear 3 and itd say gear 2, and so forth. Also, the biting point became completely non-existent. I took it into the nearest dealership with only 7800 km on the odometer and the clutch was completely gone.I called Subaru of Canada about it and as they reiterated many times throughout the conversation, the clutch was not covered under warranty since it was a wearable item. The dealership also said it was due to driving error. Upon doing research into this, Im seeing a lot of the earlier models are having the exact same issue and its the highest complaint on record for the 4th gen wrx in both the 2015/16 models - that cant be coincidence. Anyways, Im having to fork 1000+ out of pocket for the expenses and more for the rental Im using since the dealership didnt have any loaners on hand.The lady I was speaking to even said the clutch will go out that quickly depending on driving habits but Im a spirited driver, at best. And theres no reason a clutch should go out in less than 10,000km. Hopefully this helps anyone think twice about their next big purchase, especially the wrx, to actually do some homework and check into any policies or warranty information. This is my first Subaru and probably my last.
My 2005 Outback was taken to the local Subaru dealer - St. J Subaru in St. Johnsbury, Vermont for the brake line recall inspection. We waited 1 week for the appointment and were told following their inspection of the brake lines that our car - of the 600 or so that they had inspected for this recall - was the first to fail. They then said that they had no part in stock to fix it with. There was only one part in the country but they would try to get it. 2 days later. I stopped in to check on progress and was told they did get the one part in the whole country, but they probably wouldnt be able to fix the car for up to 3 weeks because they were booked up. So the car sits in their lot while we wait for them to get around to fixing it. Is it usual and customary for Subaru dealers to treat recalls like this?
I currently own a 2015 Subaru WRX that I CANNOT DRIVE. I had an issue where the pitcher stopper mount. Literally tore itself off my firewall. I came to find out that is was a design error from manufacturing date. I called them to get this claim settled so I could go on about driving around and enjoying my vehicle. Well as of January 2020, they denied my claim stating the air struts installed on my vehicle were determined to be the problem. Well... thats weird; I put those on 5 days prior to even going into the dealership. Well I went on about seeking ways to get this repaired until around late August of 2020 I saw a TSB posted by Subaru in 2017 showing that this repair was to be fixed under warranty no matter what. Well, I was lied to by the first rep who was taking care of that back in January, let me call again with this new info and see what they would be able to do for me. And so I did. I was told by this new rep that this TSB expired in June of 2019 (which I was not even mentioned or told about) and basically said, Good luck, that isnt our problem to deal with. I cant drive my car without having any drivability issues and I am currently looking at my options because I cant afford a $2000-3000 bill for a problem I didnt do. Honestly, I am beyond upset with how Subaru handled this and wish they let their customers know when there is issues that have to be looked at before just kicking us to the curb. Ive been a loyal customer for 10 years but this will be my last Subaru I ever own.
Being a Subaru owner brings peace of mind to many drivers. With an all-wheel drive transmission that is supposed to be the best in AWD, and an engine that is supposed to go 300 thousand miles, many people feel like they made a good choice in purchasing a Subaru. However, I have news for those of you with false hope. My car made it 30 thousand miles before it needed a new engine. The whole engine was replaced which cost about 10,000 to repair (what I was told by the technicians). A field technician inspected my car for abuse; of course he didn’t find it, instead he found that it was a manufacturing defect. One month later I got my car back.At 33,000 miles my car was once again “like new”! However, only 26,000 miles after a new engine, a “defective camshaft pulley” broke causing damage on my camshaft, valves and overall one of the heads. I was simply driving down the road and it felt like the car ran out of gas and it would not turn on again. Subaru did not cover the tow. Once again they repaired my car which took another month. I would like to mention that they did in fact cover the repair once again because my car is under warranty. The 2nd major repair was also a few thousand dollars. One mile down the road from Subaru (Bob **, Subaru, West Lafayette, IN) a carelessly installed fuel-like sprayed gas all over my hot engine! This has honestly put my life in danger. The car could have caught on fire or blown up!!!These bad repairs and “defective” parts from Subaru make me feel like my sporty car is made out of glass. I drive my “sports car” like if it was an old car that could break at any time. OF COURSE I NEED EXTENDED WARRANTY. My car is a little over 1,000 miles away running out of powertrain warranty. Keep in mind these repairs happened 1 month ago. Later I got into contact with Linda **, the Subaru of America Customer Service Supervisor, and she said there was nothing she could do to help me. Such a massive company like Subaru could not offer help for a defective car they sold me. They could not offer me extended warranty, they could not give me extended warranty at a discount, NOR COULD THEY EVEN SELL ME EXTENDED WARRANTY. Im not asking for anything more than extended warranty from whoever you would like, or the $2,000 it costs so I can buy one.How can Subaru not do such a simple thing? They sold me a defective piece of junk and I have to deal with it. They do not back up their own cars. I would not recommend that anyone buy a Subaru in the United States. It will break. It will be expensive. And it will certainly not last 300,000 miles. If you have warranty, at the very least it WILL be an inconvenience not having a car for a few weeks while it is being fixed. Please tell me if you think my car will make it 200,000 miles at least.I am very unhappy with the customer service Linda ** provided me with. She did not do anything towards helping me. She did not meet me halfway nor tell me who I could speak to that would solve my problem. She also talked to me in a disrespectful tone which honestly could just have been her “customer service” voice. I need 100,000 or 4-year extended powertrain warranty. Is really impossible from Subaru? Please know I am awaiting for this issue to be resolved.
Went to the dealer for the FIRST 30K miles service on my 2010 Forester. The car was purchased new AND has been serviced at the dealer from day 1 according to Subarus recommended schedule. Everything was fine until the dealer told me that both rear struts are leaking and need to be replaced. The estimate is almost $1,000. I point out that I have purchased the extended warranty which has a $100 deductible. I felt that even the $100 was a rip off given the car has only 30K miles. Really? 30K miles and I have to replace both rear struts? The car is mostly used by my wife for city driving. We occasionally carry a couple bikes on a hitch mounted rack or a kayak on the roof rack with a weight of less than 100 lbs, way less than the 150 lbs limit - occasionally, not every day!! They advertise their cars as outdoors vehicles!! I bought this car with the intent to keep it for at least 15 years given that we put only 6K miler per year. My 2001 Toyota Camry runs like as Swiss clock with 120K miles on it. Never done anything to it other than religious maintenance. So I called Subaru USA and complained and they kindly told me I wont have to pay the deductible to the dealer as they would take care of it. No complaints there, nice service. But my question is, should I keep this car past the extended warranty? I dont trust it anymore. My brother-in-law has the same car but 2009 model. With less than 50K miles on it, he had to replace the head gasket. Since his warranty had expired only the previous month, Subaru USA was kind enough to fix it for free. Again, great service!! Otherwise it would have been a $2,000 repair. I lost faith in Subarus reliability. I was thinking to buy the new Outback this year to replace my Camry, but I decided instead I will sell the Forester once the warranty expires and will buy another Toyota, and I will keep my Camry!! Too bad because the new models look really nice. But reliability is the most important factor for me when I purchase a vehicle. Subaru: your reputation is NOT deserved.
New 2017 Subaru Forester with 2500 miles when has a small puncture while driving about 40 MPH. I immediately stopped the car and changed to the cheap junk spare. My local tire dealer examined the tire and said he could repair the puncture easily but the sidewall was delaminated rendering the tire unusable. Since he is a trusted friend, I value his opinion and the delamination was obvious. Subaru is selling cars with these junky Yokohama tires. Its my life and my familys that they put at risk selling this junk. I purchased the new Subaru based upon reputation and never thought to check the tires. Im now out $145 for a new tire as well as the inconvenience. Fair warning Subaru - I do not forget and I do often comment.
I purchased my new 2013 Subaru Forester in July of that year after having a 2003 Subaru forester for ten years hoping that l would get as good as run out of 2013 as l did out of the 2003. But in the three years that l have had this car (2013), l have a short motor put in at 100,000 kms which had to pull the motor apart twice as the dealership put the old shim valves back in it so they had to put it apart to put new shim valves back in. The front lower control arms bushes have been replaced twice both front CV Joints on both sides have been replace. Bluetooth unit has been replaced 3 times and still giving me problems. The HILLHOLD/ABS/ADC warning lights had been coming on repeatedly which l was told it was a faulty brake light switch. The sensor for the horn has also been replaced and all wheel nuts and hub bolts have all been replaced twice. So this experience has put a bitter in my mouth to back to buy another Subaru.
Soon I will be rid of this 2012 Subaru Forester and will never buy a Subaru again. The oil consumption has been a quart per 1,000 miles. The manual said that this is normal. The dealerships have been unconcerned and unwilling to try to stop the consumption as it is normal. The car has 26,000 miles and 26 quarts of synthetic oil have been poured in it between the recommended oil changes. All sorts of excuses for the consumption have been given; however, I have owned very many other models of cars and trucks (probably over 50) and never had one that consistently used over a quart between changes even though some had over 200,000 miles on them. This poorly designed and supported car is unacceptable. Subaru got me once never again!
Im writing this review on behalf of my son who owns a 2014 WRX. On April 29, 2016, my son was returning to Plattsburgh, N.Y. from training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Tx. He was about 40 miles west of Nashville, Tn., when his WRX blew its motor with about 15,500 miles on it. Subaru had the car brought to Downtown Subaru in Nashville, where it took 40 DAYS to repair. During the time it was at the dealer, we were lied to about the progress of the repair! As of today, June 27, Subaru has not reimbursed my son or myself for retrieving the car and car payment and insurance. Its a shame that Subaru treats military personal in this manner. I cant imagine how they treat the general public!
My 2014 Subaru Forester was amazing when I first purchased it in Nov of 2013. I loved it. That loved was short lived. This vehicle burns SOOO MUCH oil. Its not even funny. I complained every time I took it to the dealership and they just said it was normal and to keep watching it. I recently went into the dealership and found out that back in 2015 Subaru issued an extended warranty for the oil consumption issue, however, I was WAY over the mileage. Why did no one mention this to me??? Why did I get no communication through the mail??? I emailed the corporate customer service area and they wanted to argue with me over this, saying they had sent communication and they would not honor the warranty since I was over the mileage. The ONLY assistance they wanted to provide was $500 off a new purchased or leased vehicle. Ummm, excuse me but I dont have a car payment and no way in heck Im going to get one because of another Subaru. So, instead Im spending $6,000 to get the engine rebuilt and never purchasing another Subaru. Reading all these reviews just confirms that Subaru has AWFUL customer service and they dont care if they lose customers or not. Im sorry but Im going to purchase my next vehicle from a car company that cares and works with their customers. Sorry Subaru but you guys suck.
On May 27, 2014, we purchased a 2014 Subaru Outback. We have complained multiple times about a leak in our roof and were told that the roof tracks had to be cleaned out regularly. The first leak occurred when our cup holders filled with water. The second leak occurred at a car wash which filled a cup with car wash fluid. Again, today while going through a car wash, my husband witnessed the leak from the corner passenger side vanity mirror. We have also complained about a chronic moisture issue to no avail.
I used to think Subaru is a good and reliable brand name, but I change my mind now after the transmission failed after only 6 yrs on the road. The mileage is just around 98,000. Luckily that Subaru has extended the powertrain warranty that I dont have to pay a costly repair. This failure on CVT transmission should be a recall rather than giving out extended warranty. They said that the reason for this warranty extension is that it is not a safety concern!! Really??? What if my outback got stalled on a highway, would this cause an accident. For sure in my opinion. What if my car transmission failed just after the warranty expires?I own a 2011 Subaru Outback, by the way. I also own a 1998 Sienna van from Toyota. And the transmission is still fine. Toyota has put money in Subaru, I think they should reconsider their take. And luckily that last summer I bought a second hand Toyota RAV4 for my daughter instead of Subaru. I was looking for a used Subaru, but thank God I changed my mind for a Toyota. NEVER BUY A SUBARU AGAIN!!!
Have had a 2010 Subaru outback for 3.5 years. Have done all required maintenance at subaru dealers. Had a gold plus” warranty for 1st 70k, sunroof stopped working at 71k, no love from Subaru. 1800 quoted for complete replacement of unit. 133k, took it to dealer for high pitch whine in front right. 2 hours later was informed that the cvt trans was failing and needed replacement, dealer quoted 7300 for a rebuilt from subaru or a used trans (salvage) for 3300. Warning: if you have a little old person driving a subaru with over 110k you might want to tell them that 7300 is not a good investment in a car with only 113k. These cars are supposedly supposed to last 250k or more (if you can afford these types of repairs) obviously I should have known that going in but I thought the new 2010-14 subies had all these great improvements. I have never towed anything and driven this outback anything other than gently, too bad loved the driving part, great on snow but can’t afford these types of repairs. Pleaded my case with North America Subaru, they would knock the 7300 down to 4200 at a subaru dealer. So that means the little old person would have been probably paid 7300 and I can see that happening. Short story is a tranny shop is going to put a used one in for 2500 parts and labor (friend of a friend). Maybe I just am not used to modern cars since my family has a camry with 198k and I had a tundra with 178k, 12 and 14 years old with no major mechanical repairs. Soon to be Subaru-free in the Midwest.
Recently we purchased a 2007 Subaru Outback, our 14th Subaru. This is the worst SUBARU that was ever made! It had 107,458 miles on it, so we thought we would be driving it at least to 250,000 or more. However, on day 6, the engine caught on fire in Virginia, 699 miles from home. SO we paid to have it towed home, another engine was put into it and guess what. That is now gone too. In between these 2 engines the brakes had to be replaced because the lines rusted and broke causing fluid to leak all over the place, but because Im the 2nd owner SUBARU of AMERICA will not help at all.EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED, especially finding out that they have been having engine problems and brake issues with these vehicles. BOTH issues have been causing these 2007s, vehicles to catch on fire. SHAME on you SUBARU of AMERICA, consumers need to know these vehicles catch on fire because of engine and brake issues. WE were a SUBARU family, but this month I bought a TOYOTA and a CHEVY, its the first time in 26 years that I DIDNT BUY ANOTHER SUBARU. Clean up your ACT BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT or even KILLED!!!
This car is a death trap and Subaru will do nothing about it. We really liked the car until about a month ago the gas pedal stopped responding in the fast lane. Just started coasting; had to get to the shoulder with no acceleration. It suddenly started working again. Drove it straight to the dealer. They had it overnight but couldnt find an issue due to no error code being produced. On the way home it did it again. No response in the gas pedal. Again, had to coast to the shoulder. Drove it right back to the dealer. This time they have it 2 weeks and replace the entire CVT assembly. Driving home from work the next day, it does it again. Take it straight in. Now theyre telling me there is nothing wrong with my 3 year old, 30,000 mile Forrester. To top it off, Eric from Subaru Corporate made it seem like Im making the whole thing up. I dont even know what to do. I cant put my kids in this thing.
2014 Forester with 35k miles. Our Bluetooth is not working properly. I thought this would be an easy fix, and I was not too stressed by it. In my error, I forgot to mention it to the service department when I brought the car in last time. Three months later I had the car in to the service dept. for a standard check up and mentioned it to them... The whole radio unit needs to be replaced in order for the failed Bluetooth to work again! If only I had mentioned it during my previous checkup it would have been covered under warranty. Subaru is charging over $500 for this replacement. I will go without. My chief question is, why is the Bluetooth failing? Its not that old and its not as if it is an item (i.e. brakes, or tires) that might get wear down from overuse.In addition, when you press the accelerator on the 2014 Forester, a small delay and then it takes off. Very disconcerting. We have many family members who own Subaru and at our last family reunion everyone was grumbling about their Subaru and saying they will not buy another. Its a shame. This was our first Subaru purchase after many years with Honda. We were tempted to try a new car and had heard such great things about the Subaru. We will be going back to Honda.
Last week I took my 2012 Subaru Forester in to the local dealership repair shop for my 90,000 mile service, annual state inspection, and to find out what the noise was that I had started hearing from the engine compartment. I was told by my customer rep that there was a problem with the lower end of the engine so no point in doing the 90,000 mile maintenance since the small engine block would need to be replaced. He advised I could either spend about $5000 for the repair as the 60,000 mile warranty had expired, or trade my vehicle in towards the purchase of another. He did not mention that my vehicle actually had an extended warranty of 8 years or 100,000 miles, but did tell me that 90,000 miles is pretty low for an engine to go bad and suggested I contact Subaru customer service to see if they could offer me any help. After following this suggestion, I went online to see if there were any other complaints about these Subaru engines and discovered a class action suit had recently been settled with Subaru about excessive oil consumption causing the engines to fail, resulting in replacement of the short block. Hey, sounds like my problem! Today Subaru of Americas customer service rep called me back to say that they would pay $3500 toward my expected $4800 cost to replace the engine block. I told them I wanted them to pay for the entire cost since it appeared my problem was caused by the excessive oil usage. They asked if I had the oil consumption test done. No, I had not - I did not know I needed to have one done because I didnt know I had an oil consumption problem. There is no indicator light in my vehicle that tells me the oil is low and we always took the car in to the dealers repair shop for scheduled maintenance and oil changes. So I asked if I could have one done now. Nope, cant do it - car is not safe to drive the 1200 miles needed to do the test because the engine is that bad already. So, catch 22 - cant do the test because the car is not safe to drive, and they wont approve full cost of repair unless an oil test is done! But, by the way, the repair shop at the dealer did pass my state inspection. So is it safe to drive or not? All I want is for Subaru to cover the full cost, not just partial. Its pretty obvious the early engine failure is a result of a problem with their engine since I the scheduled maintenance on the vehicle done. Theyre already willing to pay $3500 - whats another $1300 to make a customer happy? I will never buy another Subaru and recommend no one else do either if this is how they treat their customers.
2016 Subaru Outback limited - As my first Subaru and all the serious hype about how great this car is, I was personally very disappointed. Initially I was disappointed the limited had neither a panoramic sunroof, heated steering wheel and power folding mirrors. The interior pocket room is very minimal. Glove and center compartment very small. I did not find it works for me as a parent of young kids. The backseat is small. The spacing barely contains a convertible reverse facing child safety seat. The materials are cheap and feel cheap.MY MAJOR COMPLAINTS and reasons I am offloading my Subaru are: THE BATTERY my car came with a 325 amp battery out of the factory. I live in NE. Its cold. The car is high electronics. The crank power of that battery was not sufficient. Imagine my amusement when the day before Xmas eve in a snowstorm. I am stuck at work because my car wont start. Upon replacing the battery in my practically brand new car the passenger side window stopped working. Easy fix at dealer but still the inconvenience of getting to the dealer. THE STARTER the remote starter is AWFUL.The range is very poor and it only works 50% of the time. Dealer refuses to replace. THE ACCELERATION Sometimes, when its cold the car does not accelerate as it should. It seems to really struggle. THE SOFTWARE UPDATES my car started stalling and chugging. It turned out to need some software fix. Yet another trip to the dealer with a brand new car. THE BLUETOOTH extremely finicky. Sometimes it just drops connection mid call and wont reconnect. No idea why.
Experience is well. Its a used 1999, so it has its fair share of problems, but runs overall pretty smooth. Theres not many other features built into the vehicle because its so old. I am still working on getting a few minor things fixed on it. But its a basic car that will get you around. The car has a CD player that was installed into it and has been kept up in pretty good condition.
I had talked my mom into a Subaru Legacy 3017. I took it in with less than 2000 miles saying it shows the oil is really low. The tech looked at it and said oh its fine and I could not believe it but it showed full at the dealership. The next time I checked it in the drive it showed low again. I thought well there is a slight slant to the drive. That must be it. We had the battery go dead 4 times over the winter. I mean to the point that my jump box that will start my pick up that someone hit in the rear end. I only drive it when I have to haul something so its usually pretty dead. It will start it right up it took forever on this one. Today I am totally lost as to why I called several places and I just get told each place, Oh you need to call here or there. I called about the maps part of this on a 2017 Subaru Legacy that just came from being serviced at 3100 miles and it does have problems they cannot duplicate. I was a Service Manager for GM for years and a service writer. I LOVED the job, but I could at least answer some questions. I have yet to get one question answered. I was going to buy a used Subaru from the same dealership but at this point, I think I will stick with a GM car... I can at least get an answer. I first started to ask if I need to PAY for Starlink to be able to use the maps as every site I look at says with Starlink and maps its so nice. I have not once been able to get the maps to go anywhere by voice commands if I do get a response other than being told she did not understand. Then I would get other states coming up... It took 15-30 minutes to manually get one time the map to work right and every other time I just grabbed the Garmin and said well they have always been my choice of GPS and very easy to get to a location. I asked this girl where the SD card is in the vehicle. She said well didnt I go to that site. The one I am at now and I said YES and have already downloaded the toolbox but on a video, it said they could be located in several different spots. She said call toolbox as she only deals with Maps. I said isnt this all part of it. She said no. Is there anything else she could help me with. I said, I guess not. You did like every other Subaru Phone number I called... telling me to call someone else. They had no idea about Starlink or Sirius or what I was talking about.My next call is going to be to the Attorney General since NO ONE wants to help at all... but boy they were sure there to sell the vehicle. I honestly was going to get a Subaru until I seen how hard it is to get 1 question answered and I had several to ask and was cut off every time... I do better calling DirecTV or my Insurance Co. and they get me to my boiling point after all the BS. I think they need a Class Action suit as we just had the oil changed they said they had to do an update for the battery. The next time I go to drive it the Nav system kept telling me it didnt understand or would send me to other states. I tried to put it in manually and had trouble. I called and got that run around. I have the feeling if we dont pay the Starlink yearly they will even lock you out. I read about that on other sites. One being the piXXed off the page. I am VERY VERY dissatisfied the way I have been treated so far. I just drove the car without the radio on and think I had better check the oil myself as it does not sound right at all... I think I will stick with GM and not get a Subaru like I was going too... Best wishes to all Subaru owners. I did talk to a guy at the after-hours place and I said I would just wait until they are open Monday since he said he could not help at all with why nothing was working.
Subaru MADE good vehicles... But, then they went cheap. My 2013 Forester burned oil worse than an old WWII airplane... Its normal, Subaru said. Traded it for a 2015 Forester, no more oil burning issues, but now a crappy CVT transmission that bucked, stalled and hesitated upon acceleration all the time... Its normal Subaru said. Well, no more Subarus for me. No more CVTs for me. Got me a Toyota Rav4 with a normal automatic transmission and ZERO problems in many miles ever since.All of these CVTs are junk and causing problems, just Google CVT Problems with Nissans, some Toyotas, Subarus, etc, etc., and be ready to read pages upon pages of negative reviews. Many manufacturers like Subaru and Nissan have current class action suits pending. What a joke! To gain maybe 1-MPG, they jeopardized the goodwill and loyalty of their customers. Good to know that many other companies have not gone this way. Maybe thats the reason they have top sellers like the Toyota Rav4 with a normal automatic transmission. Do yourself a BIG favor, avoid headaches and stay away from CVTs at all cost!
Very expensive repairs, poor gas mileage, the battery was a major issue, left us stranded at least 10 times in 2 years! Finally replaced by Subaru, but frustrating. There is no vent in the back so the backseat is sweltering during the summer. The service department at the dealership is great, the best part of owning the car!!!
Ordered new car and was told to expect it in 1 week or sooner. Did not make it. Was told it was on truck and delivery next day. Did not make it. No one knew where exactly the car was. Should expect sometime next week! They had no problem cashing my check immediately.
Best car Ive ever owned. Great in snow, very comfortable, reliable. Couldnt ask for a more well-made vehicle. Even better than my old VW which I adored and drove into the ground!!
January 2017, I decided it was time to upgrade my Subaru. I went to Dick Hannah and found a 2015 Subaru WRX (certified Preowned) still under the factory warranty. Sold. The car was wonderful... for about three weeks. Then it was downhill for the next 6 months. The check engine light came on and was of course taken to Dick Hannahs service department to be repaired. They claimed to have fixed it and a week later, light comes on again. So I go back and forth about 8 times (about 3-4 months, same light same problem) and I finally go to the general manager and see if this is a lemon. Apparently I missed that by about a month. Okay cool. Now what? I am treated poorly by them and there is nothing they can do. I moved on to Gresham Subaru, and at this point I get Subaru of America involved. Gresham claims to fix the car... same light, same problem a week later. Now we are at 9 visits to the shop for the same problem. As if Im not frustrated enough... I cannot get a hold of anyone at Subaru for probably two weeks. Their customer service reps would say okay 24-48 hours and you will get a call from a supervisor. Never happens and I continue to call and wonder what is going on. So it doesnt qualify for a lemon OR a buy back - no explanation, just no it doesnt qualify - Im wanting a collateral exchange at this point... 7 months later, 10 visits for the same check engine light issue, the techs are literally scratching their head at my car. And everyone at Subaru of America is beating around the bush. Wont answer my calls, keeps saying that they wont know anything until their engineers take a look at my car, they keep ordering and replacing and testing parts and I feel like I am a victim of a scam. This is the most awful experience and Subaru is showing their true colors and do NOT stand behind their vehicles when there is a problem. Clearly the 1 and half stars by everyone else explains enough. I HAD to rate this as one star but it doesnt even deserve that.
Please, stay away from the dealership in Richmond, BC...I wish I would give less than 1 star for this dealership. My friend help me gave the car key to the receptionist to have my car stored there while I was out of the country. A few days later, my friend called to ask whether he could come to have insurance canceled; but they couldnt find the car key at that time. Then, only until I came back to pick it up 2 months later, they found that my car was stolen??? What the heck!!!My Subaru Outback 2016 was found abandoned in Vancouver after only a week it was found missing??? Someone had been driving my car more than 5,000 km. And what is more ridiculous is that the items left in the car was belong to their receptionist who was given the car key, which caused me wonder who actually stole my car??? I am very disappointed about how they handled the case, especially from their management, the guys named Tim ** and Mathew **. I have seen none of them said any words of sorry to me, never followed up with me, and kept asking me to deal with my insurance as if they didnt have any responsibilities. I am the fan of Subaru, but would never buy or recommend anyone to buy car from ANY OF SUBARU DEALERSHIP AGAIN.
2009 Forester - Subarus are quirky cars just like most English cars of the 60s-90s or modern millennials. It is generally a good runner, but little annoying things like the mirror with compass went out and needed replacement after two years. Front suspension joints needed replacing after 80K. Now my front door mechanisms flip on and off at random, almost like the car is haunted. More money needed to address this issue now. The car is quirky (maybe too cutesy) and you get that sense by reading the owners manual. I guess after owning Hondas, Isuzus, and Toyotas, I could not help but notice these annoying things since my previous Japanese cars had none of them. Would I purchase Subaru again? Probably not. I would return to Toyota most likely or maybe even Hyundai.
The company had a problem with the sunroofs of 2014s. They did provide new carpeting the first time our car flooded, which is an admission its the companys fault. But now nothing and were left with a flooded, mildewed car, which by the way induces asthma. Terrible response from the company. Will not buy a Subaru again.
I purchased my 2013 Subaru Outback February 2013. I have servicing done regularly. However, from the very start, my oil light comes on between 2500 to 3000 miles after an oil change. I was told by the dealership that this is normal for these cars because they do not have as much oil as other cars. Told me to bring it in when it happened, or let the car sit for five minutes, and check the oil levels. This is great - Im a woman in my 70s - and it is scary to try to get to an exit when you are on the expressway and your oil light is on.Now, just to feel more secure, I keep a quart of synthetic oil in my car to add when Im on a trip and my oil light comes on. Very distressing. I had a Toyota Highlander for ten years, 210,000 miles on it and never had any problem like this. Unfortunately, it was totaled by a falling tree, and everyone encouraged me to get a Subaru. Nice car, but not truly reliable. I would have to rate it a 2.5 star reliability rating (which is not a choice below).
We bought two Subaru Outbacks in January of 2012, and they both had windshields that cracked in the same place under the same conditions about four months apart. It was a cold day and while sitting there warming up the car, there was a pop and a crack from left to right about five inches up a long crack appeared. The first time the dealer claimed that there was a rock hit when he ran a ballpoint pen across the crack and found a pit, which I knew wasnt there before he dug his pen across the glass. This second time, I made sure that there was no pit along the glass before I brought it to the dealer, but he insisted hed be able to check it with a pen. I watched as he dug the ballpoint across the crack until he found a microscopic spot where I saw him pop out a minuscule piece of glass and claimed it was a rock hit and therefore not covered under warranty again. Anytime glass cracks, you cannot conclusively say that the crack will stay intact without finding a microscopic pit or weakness where the glass expels itself. This is a scam. We have seen other Outbacks on the road with the same crack. We even pulled one over and asked the owner, and she said the same thing happened to her windshield. This needs to be investigated.
For a long time, I wanted a Subaru Legacy car, being fascinated primarily with the reliability of the Japanese cars and also with this brand (studying the history of the brand, the beginnings, the technology, ...) and now I managed to buy one In second hand (because I could not afford a new one, though, with that money, I could have bought another car brand almost nine). I took it from a known, serious person, knowing the history of the car. Its a Legacy, a 2008, 2.0-liter, 150cp diesel boxer that has 220,000 km. Series: ** / 2008. Nr. Identification: **. Engine: Tip EE 20; Series **. I was glad that the person she bought her took care of her, he invested heavily in her (at that moment thinking he was unlucky), but it seems that bad luck continues to me and not only, But to all who have this Subaru model; After I was interested in the Romanian specialty forums, I found out that all the owners of this model are talking about a serious problem with this type of engine and even if it had a proper use and proper maintenance, none have ever reached More than 200,000 km without total engine failure. The mechanics say there is a fault in vibrochen, which breaks and it in turn destroys the entire engine block, and the whole engine becomes unusable. This is what happened with more than 90% of these market engines in Romania. I, even though I have not bought it for too long, have rectified the turbine, replaced an injector and it seems that I will have to replace the other injectors, including the turbine again (repair kits are not in Romania, as well The other parts, special mechanics, are no longer there, there is only one representative in the capital city of Bucharest and which does not represent the interests of the clients, let alone the authorities) and yet the engine is not heard at all and I am Afraid to go a long distance with her (I do not have the courage to leave the city), for fear of happening to me the same way, to break the vibrochen and to stay who knows where in the field... discouraging! What is the value of the description on the official website? This engine is not just a new evolution of diesel models - its a revolution! Its the first time that a diesel engine with horizontal roller mounted is installed on a SUBARU BOXER DIESEL... the revolution lies in the fact that it does not last (while other manufacturers guarantee these km) more than 200,000 km. The answer I received from the representative was that I did not document myself before, I did not know what I was up to! The guarantee is 200,000 km, which she does not guarantee “and we All the owners had to change their engines or give them old beasts, losing money!” I would have liked to have sent a letter of appreciation to represent Romania or to Europe or directly to Japan (where it is impossible) and to express my gratitude for having this brand and the joy to lead it but I have spent More time in repair centers than to use it, but it seems that things will not stop here, as it is already compromised. I would have liked this mail to be sent directly to Subaru Corporation, the Customer Consumer Division, or in the worst case to the Romanian authorities, not to you, but no email address is available for you. Japan and send to the Romanian representatives, proved to be equal to ZERO. If you can help me with a Subaru Corporation mailing address, Customer Consumer Division, to find a compromise solution.
Clutch failure on 2015 wrx with 120 miles less than 24 hrs after. Dealership states it was owner inflicted since they gave pictures of this happening and it was from rally and review. The car would go into reverse but no other gear had it towed and will meet with Subaru tomorrow though they have stated that they will not honor warranty and we must pay for a new clutch. Will find out more tomorrow.
I purchased a brand new Subaru Ascent from Toyota/Subaru of Corvallis about two months ago. I also purchased the extended “bumper to bumper” warranty for the car that is good for 7 years/100,000 miles. The Sunday before last (August 11th), the middle seat (the Ascent has 3 rows) quit sliding forward and backward on the track that it was on. I made an appointment on Friday, August 16th for the dealer (Subaru of Corvallis) to take look at the seat. They confirmed that the seat was not functioning correctly and informed me that they would need to schedule another appointment to fix it (they needed an entire day to do it). So I scheduled an appointment on Monday, August 19th, for them to fix the seat. They called me around 11:30 on Monday, August 19th, and told me that there was a rock stuck in the track of the seat, and that they had tried everything to get the rock out of the track but had failed. They then informed me that my “bumper to bumper” warranty would to cover replacing the track, and that it would cost me around $1300 to get an entirely new seat assembly (apparently the track cannot be replaced separately, and that the entire seat assembly must be replaced). The car has approximately 2,000 miles on it! They also told me that they could not put the seat back into the car the way it was because it was a liability for them, and that they needed to fix it before I could get the car back.Needless to say, I was angry that the “bumper to bumper” warranty wouldn’t cover the issue, and that I would be without a car until they could order the part for the track and get it replaced (they said that they would need to order the part from the east coast somewhere). I called Subaru customer service, and they stated that the issue was not a design flaw, and that they would not cover the repairs. They said that a rock getting into the car was a foreign object and there was no design flaw of the track for the seat. Apparently, I can never allow another rock to get into the car again! I then called my insurance company (State Farm) and filed a comprehensive claim. They are still debating whether or not they can cover it. My questions are these: For a company that is known for their rugged image and adventurous spirit, is Subaru going to stand up an admit that a little rock can completely ruin their seats? Apparently that is the case here! How is this not a design flaw???
Last week, my wife was pulling into a parking spot at 5 MPH when our 2005 Subaru Forester suddenly sped up and hit a fence in front of the parking spot. Then it began reversing rapidly and backed up for about 12-18 feet and hit a wall. Then, it suddenly died. The car had some damage to it, and our insurance company is totaling the car. She is an extremely careful driver, and this was either a transmission or engine failure. There are others on this forum and elsewhere who have had a similar issue with their Forester. Hopefully, Subaru will do something about this.
I purchased a 2013 Subaru Outback with VST. One thing I noticed right away was that when I backed out of my driveway onto the road, when I put it into Drive, there was about a 3-second hesitation. Same happens when I go from Drive into Reverse. I complained about it a couple of times and they told me at Subaru that it was normal. They told me that several people have complained about it. I really like the car, but now there is the oil usage problem. It is happening to me, too.
I am having issues (multiple) with 2011 STI. When I’m driving in the rain and don’t touch my brakes for 5-15 minutes and go to apply them, they act like they don’t work. The engine knocks when it sits for 2 days. It makes the most horrific noise when it’s started and cold (I have video documentation of the engine noise). I spoke with a Subaru Rep named Bob **. He was very kind in setting up my appointment (took 3 days), but everything afterwards has been below average. I took my vehicle into the dealer he scheduled and after the technicians looking at my car, they said there was no problem. Allegedly, the brakes were fine as far as they looked (but they never got the brakes wet). The technician Kurt said he’s never heard that noise before from the engine. I spoke with Bob ** and he said that the dealer’s service manager had talked to me and told me that everything was okay. Well, either Bob ** is a liar or Jeff the service manager from Suburban Subaru is a liar because I never spoke with Jeff ever, other than to ask what him and Bob spoke about and he said that he was just told to fax the info over. Bob said that Jeff had told him they found nothing wrong with my car and since they have found nothing wrong with it, they won’t send out anyone to look at it. I have a safety concern that others are having and they won’t even look at it? Seriously?! I have researched the web and found tons of others complaining about the brakes not working when it’s wet. So this is a problem that Subaru is aware of but won’t acknowledge. I don’t feel safe driving my car when it’s wet because in an emergency situation, I won’t be able to stop and I could kill myself and someone else. All I want is a Subaru rep to come out and take a look but they won’t. I was repeatedly lied to by Bob **. I will never buy another Subaru again.Another thing to add, I took the technician for a drive to show him how my diff clunks when I’m shifting under hard acceleration. So I took it up to 6000 rpm and shifted the car. The gears and the clunk were heard. The technician then said You’re putting this under a lot of stress. How am I putting the car under stress? People rev there STIs up to 5000 rpm and dump it, bounce off the rev limiter, down shift from 6th to 3rd. All I was doing was shifting going in a straight line down the road. The car can’t handle 6k rpm shifts? Why does the motor rev to 6k rpm then? Why it isn’t electronically governed? Subaru is the worst auto company in the world. Never buy a Subaru because from day one, they will screw you. I bought the most expensive car they have and they treat me like crap!
There is nowhere to buy a tire for the 2014 Subaru Forester. I contacted dealer, NTB. They both told me it is on back order, at least 3 weeks. What am I going to do for 3 weeks?
I bought this low- mileage 2019 Forester used and admittedly have only 4 months experience with it. Most things seem fine except for one BIG issue: from time to time there is no response when I press the accelerator. After 2-3 seconds it picks up again, but by then I could have been rear-ended! This is the same issue described by Margaret of Harrisburg and is not new. I found other websites dating back to 2015 with dozens of complaints about this same problem. This is a clear safety issue and should be the subject of a recall. I bought a Subaru because it used to be highly rated but, as I research this problem, I now find more and more complaints about this and other issues.Other things I don’t like include the auto-shutdown at stops. I had to turn it off because it caused a hesitation and was annoying. And the drivers manual is a mess — 550 pages with supplements and I can’t find how to, for example, dim the dash lights. It seems there’s never one spot that fully describes a function. Pages referring to other pages, referring to other pages that eventually come full circle. And the index is almost useless. Think “dashboard light dimmer” is there? Nope. This is only one function for which I find Google much more helpful.
I do not normally write reviews on vehicles as I understand that with any car..business..dealerships..you are going to have bad experiences and things are going to happen to vehicles. I am by no means a Subaru loyalist or fan. When I purchased my first one I admit I fell for the hype. Being a mountain biker/cyclocross/road biker dude and outdoor kind of a cat, I fell for the whole Subaru/nature blah blah blah...but having been in a Subaru for almost 4 years I started noticing some things about the Outback but thought it was just me. After reading some of the stories here, apparently my imagination was not as wild as I thought it to be so I write this in the event anyone out there in the cyber world falls upon these reviews while researching cars.My first 2012 Outback was the premium with cloth seats. The seats really are bad in these cars..not very comfortable and after some use, they began to settle in per say in a manner that seems to make them feel a little harder/thinner than they were new. Say around 7500 miles for me on that vehicle, the road handling was ok, not great, nothing to inspire one but then again it is an Outback. Do not lean too hard on these cars as they feel flimsy like they are made of cheap sheet metal. The interior plastics really do feel cheap and look cheap. The kicker- driving down the road one day and at 15,000 miles, the check engine light comes on - vehicle shuts down. I pull off the road and get out to check the issue as I smell coolant..radiator fluid is all over the ground. Call road side assistance...they arrive and transport the vehicle to the nearest Subaru dealer in the area. Three hours of sitting in the hot Texas sun, I get to the dealer and await their verdict.I am advised that a rock must have hit my radiator and put a hole in it and dumped the fluid...ok, I am thinking possible. Never had that happen but trying to be fair, I ask them where the hole is. The service manager advises me the hole is about the size of a bb and is on the back side of the radiator about 8 inches up. Now I am getting a little skeptical..a rock about the size of a bb hit the back of my radiator and punched a hole in it. “I want to see the hole” I tell him. So we walk over to the service area and they raise the car on the lift and show me a hole on the backside of the radiator. The hole is a perfect circle, about the size of a BB. So the service manager then tells me that he surmises a rock flew up from the road, hit the frame, ricocheted backwards and hit the radiator - a freak deal as he calls it. To replace radiator he advises me around 800 dollars including labor - no coverage as it was not a manufacture’s defect. So even though this seems really weird to me I tell myself, well, I guess anything is possible and I really have no way to argue or prove otherwise.While I was there I was looking at the limited model and had kind of thought I should have got one of those instead. So I ended up trading the premium in for a 2013 Limited - seemed nicer with the leather and upgraded radio and moon roof, etc. So things I noticed and apparently I am not alone. Interior still looks cheap with a really over all plastic toy feel. I have never achieved any MPG better than 25mpg on either Subaru. The exterior metal feels flimsy and will give with very little pressure applied. I too experienced the object in one tire (staple) and would need 4 new tires at 23000 miles because of wear pattern on tires and AWD system requiring close tolerances to ensure damage not done to the AWD system.At around 29000 miles on the 13, I started noticing when I backed out the driveway and out the vehicle in drive from reverse, I would get a hesitation of a few seconds before the car engaged and moved forward. The paint is cheap and if you sneeze on it right, a flake of paint may fly off (exaggeration) but it really is bad. The leather seats in the 2013 did the same thing as in the 2012. They seemed to compress and get harder over time like they lost their shape. The molding around the seat came loose after about 1000 miles and Subaru never did fix it even after pointing it out on each service of the vehicle. The carpet and floor mats wore out to the point they looked like they belonged in a car with 100,000 miles instead of 30,000. They over all feel of driving the car was well like just driving a car..nothing great or inspiring.So in order to be fair, I never experienced any problems with the radio, blue tooth, or plug-ins for phones, etc. - everything synced up and worked each time. Home link always worked. The vehicle had ample storage space for my bike gear and kept it in a secure place while I was riding. My bike rack fit on the car with the added 2 inch hitch receiver I had installed at U-Haul. The power mirrors always worked and defrosters as well as heated seats. The extra storage in the rear under the floor mat was nice. I never really took to the looks of the Outback. I never experienced the oil issues as others at all. One reason may be I ditched the 2013 with 30,000 miles on it because my gut was telling me when I noticed the stalling issues that something was not right. Even with an extended warranty on the vehicle from my previous dealings with Subaru dealerships, I knew any problem would be a head-ache.I really wanted to like this car and when I bought it like I said I fell for the hype. For the price I paid for a Outback limited, honestly it was a real let down. The Subaru seems to show its age a little pre-mature. Even though the Limited is loaded, the 2013 still felt a little dated compared to other vehicles in the same class and though the MPG was acceptable compared to the Jeep Wrangler I gave up to get in the Subaru brand, it never came close to the promised projected estimates of their commercials and advertised MPG ratings. And for the most part I drove the car like a dude driving a station wagon, cruising around at posted speeds, easing in and out of stops and traffics. The dealership I bought the last one from pretty much blows. They could care less about customer service..never rude to me, never really wanted to help either on any issues. The first one was ok, just too busy with too few employees and you know how that played out. I know there are the Subaru loyalist and I get that. I still am a Jeep Wrangler fan even with all of its reported problems but I love the Wrangler so that makes it a little easier to handle and the last Jeep Wrangler I had, I drove for 5 years and the only issue I had was a dead battery and the black plastic fading which was an easy fix. After all, it sat outside in the parking lot in the Texas Sun...cannot hold that against it too much.So any potential Subaru buyers out there - do your homework and look for unbiased information on the vehicle you are researching like a site that is not dedicated to the brand. I am not going to say I hate the brand...hate is a harsh word and no one twisted my arm to try the brand. I did and because of my experience I am now an educated consumer of the Subaru brand which I will never purchase again.
Subaru has had a history of head gasket failures due to the flat, boxer-style engine design! I heard from a local mechanic that the issues from around 1999 to mid-2000s had been addressed and corrected. No way! This will always be a chronic, ongoing issue with Subaru engines! I am the original owner of a 2010, 2.5 4c Subaru Outback. I have babied my car and had all maintenance done on time, including oil changes and 60,000 mile service at a local Subaru dealer. It is low mileage at approx. 94,000 miles, purchased in May of 2010, so just over 8 years old as of October, 2018.Please also note, if you are in the market for a used Outback, that with the new body style starting in 2010, Subaru removed the engine temperature gauge from the dash and didnt reintroduce until 2015! There is no way to monitor if your engine temp is running high normal or not, especially when there is a head gasket or A/C issue during hot, summer month! Buyer beware!!!My coolant started to boil out of the reservoir and the only way I was alerted to this problem was due to the low coolant light flashing on and off for a brief moment at a time, twice over two days. It turns out, this was the beginning of a head gasket failure... at slightly less than 94,000! When contacted, Subaru corporate did not stand by their product, even knowing that hg issues are a built-in weakness/ongoing issue due to the shape/configuration of their flat boxer engine design vs the V configuration of say a more reliable Toyota SUV. Their staff dismissed my issue and would not help out in any financial or emotional way. They were actually aggressive, non-empathetic and accusatory!I ended up paying well over $2,500 to get my car back on the road, not including a $400+ tow to my nearest dealer, in another state. It is interesting that Subaru advertising works so had to convince buyers that there is longevity to their product as in 98% of Subaru vehicles are on the road 10 years later. They fail to mention the cost to the owners to keep their cars on the road for that amount of time!So, bottom line, if you are considering a new, newer-used or used Subaru, I would highly recommend 1) you do your research, 2) consider a different, more reliable brand such as Toyota, Lexus or Acura and 3) dont expect Subaru to stand by their product if you do have a major mechanical issue in the future, regardless of age and/or mileage! My entire family used to drive Subaru vehicles. They now all drive Toyota SUVs. I was the last holdout. I guess I am a slow learner, lol. Please save your hard-earned dollars and buy something much more reliable than a Subaru product! Happy car shopping!
These guys don’t care about you, your car, or your experience. Not at all supposed to see the low rating. Thankfully before I submitted my application to be a Subaru of America ambassador, they showed me their true colors and let me know that they were not at all concerned with their customers or with having integrity. I hope I never have to call them for any reason ever again.
Blown head gaskets at 27,400 miles. 2012 Outback, top of the line version, so granted, its not a new car, though we dont drive hard, have aged out of teen drivers, and follow service schedules. We live on a public transit line and this car has never, ever been used in rush hour traffic. Has anyone ever heard of any car, Subaru or otherwise, blowing head gaskets at mileage this low? Truth be told, this is our 3rd -- and no doubt last -- Subaru. None have made it to respectably high mileage. Theyre junk for high traffic suburban and urban driving. RIP, Subaru.
Subaru Outback Impreza 2013 - Around seven months ago, I heard a scraping sound coming from the right side of my car as I was driving. When I pulled over, I noticed the front of the side bumper was dragging against the ground. Completely horrified, I had my passenger lift it from inside and hold it in place until we could get to her place where we taped it (to avoid further damage) until I could get it to the dealer. At the dealership, they sent me to Parts, and told me that this would need to be filed under a collision repair, and that the part they needed to order and paint would either be $600 out of pocket or a collision incident through my insurance. As it is a leased car (and did NOT interact in any way with any sort of collision), I was hesitant to pay out of pocket, but decided that was the best move. Until....A week ago, I was driving with family in town. When we got to our destination, and after a few trips back and forth from the car, to unload our possessions, did we notice that the frame around the light in the front of the car, a grey frame that must be no more than 14 by 10 had completely fallen off and was nowhere to be found. We checked the other side and saw that its light frame was still there. Same side as the side bumper incident but of course, nowhere near the part that had previously become loose.(Frankly, Im not sure how the side bumper was ever secure, because if you take a look at whats against the vehicle frame behind where its supposed to be, there are a series of small plastic knobs that seem too flimsy to carry such weight. In fact, we really thought we might be able to get the bumper back on seven months ago because it seemed that easy and there was no damage to the bumper, aside from some scraping it had endured against the road. A few of those knobs were bent and broken, from the inside, so I really thought that when I took it in, they would see this was an internal issue.)Alas, thats not what happened. And like I said, I offered to pay the $600 when the part came in. It took several months to get that call and at the time I did not have the money to pay, so I put it off. Then, this past week, when the light frame mysteriously popped off the car, I called the service manager at Subaru and was greeted with a very rude response. He did not understand how this could happen, as, Parts just dont come off cars. Well, sir, they do. And they have. And I cant be the only one!He questioned if someone had popped it off and taken it. I laughed. When? While Im in the grocery store? At night at the foot of my driveway? I live in a house, in a quiet neighborhood. And that part was still there before we took off on our trip. No. This likely happened while we were on the road. The real question is: Should a pot hole in the road or a rock or anything on the surface of what were driving on be the reason why a part just pops off? Probably not.With that said, please respond if you have had ANY issues with your Subaru where parts suddenly pop off, especially on the exterior of the car. Light panels, frames, bumpers. I didnt even know it was possible for this light frame to pop off like that. I was questioned repeatedly as to if there is any damage around it, and though I kept telling the same story, I was asked if there was any kind of an accident. There wasnt. And when I take it in to the dealer, they will notice that. I understand where they are coming from. But, Id also like to come in armed with evidence that this CAN happen and DOES happen to other Subaru drivers.I am a two-time Subaru driver. The first vehicle was a leased 2011 Outback Sport, same make and model, and I drove it across the country twice. Zero problems. Ive had this vehicle for under a year, and Im already dealing with parts falling off. Once again, please respond if you have had any similar experiences. It will make a better case. I appreciate it!
I purchased my 2013 Subaru Crosstrek mainly due to Subarus great reputation for reliable vehicles with low maintenance costs. At 86k miles I started hearing a louder whirring noise from my transmission. I took it to the dealer and had to get the CVT transmission replaced. Luckily I bought the extended warranty, otherwise I would have had to pay close to $10,000 for the repair. Considering I bought the car for $19,000 and the blue book value on the car is around $11,000 this is completely outrageous. I expected this car to go at least 150k miles before replacing a transmission and expected the cost at that time to be at least half that cost if not less. I will never purchase a car with a CVT again. I will likely be selling this car before the current warranty expires and will likely do the same with my Wifes Impreza before its warranty is up as well since it has the same transmission.
Just bought a 2014 Subaru Outback. The seats are breaking down, the cushion is compressing and the leather is puckering. I was told they are all doing that and it is not covered by warranty. Seriously! A $40,000 and the seat looks like crap with less than 1000 miles? I have 5 friends who have 2013 Outbacks and the seats look brand new. Also, is anyone having their seat warmers turn off? I was told they turn off once they get to a certain temperature but this is not stated in the manual and this does not happen on the 2013 models. Could not get an answer as to if this were a new 2014 feature. Basically left the dealership feeling like I just need to suck it up and live with puckering seats. Would love to hear if anyone else is having this issue. We all need to rise up and revolt! Maybe then Subaru will fix what obviously is poorer quality seats from 2013.
Beware Subaru Starlinks incompetence. Ive had an incredibly dissatisfying customer billing experience... 6 months and counting! At the conclusion of my first years trial of Starlink, they auto-renewed my subscription, which Id already asked them not to. I immediately contacted them about the error. They suspiciously werent able to reverse the charge on my credit card. I was told that a refund check was in the mail. 6 MONTHS LATER, I STILL DO NOT HAVE MY MONEY BACK. I call every 3-4 weeks, and each time they tell me theyre sorry (!), and that THIS time the check is in the mail. Again and again and again. Needless to say, I dont believe them, and could not be more disappointed. Gimme back my money, Starlink!
I had an Outback in 1997 and loved it... wish I had kept it. I recently bought a very well cared for single owner 2005 Outback 2.5i with 150K miles. I knew it had a minor oil leak... When it got worse, I fixed that, and while the engine was apart, put in many new parts including timing belt, hoses, thermostat, mounting bolts, machined the cylinders, etc. It was fine for 6 months and then had intermittent sputtering at idle and when starting to drive, along with after a slowdown off the highway to 35 or so and then speeding up again. I also noticed it was strangely low on oil, despite no visible leaking. My mechanic said that the prior owner did a (dealer-done) tune up without replacing the wires, so we did that and the problem seemed fine... for a while. 2 months later, same exact sputtering. One stall after starting the car and putting it in reverse but not driving yet. And... almost no oil in the car (again no visible leaks). Problem as yet undiagnosed so any feedback is appreciated! Also, minor complaints. Had to change the rear door latch when I got the car. The plastic latch that opens the gas cap keeps falling off. And now the drivers window button is sticky and sometimes doesnt want to make the window go up or down.
The ECO system on my 2015 Legacy isnt working properly. I have been to their shop several times and phoned several other times. Have received 5 different explanation how it works and none matched the handbook. Finally a man spoke with me, the foremen I think, he told me they could not fix it and could not or would not replace it. I BOUGHT THE CAR IN Oct 2014. EVEN NOW I only have just over 14000 miles on it. This has been going on since the first week of May. I know it has nothing to do with the drivability of the vehicle but its on there and I paid for it so it should work. I received no paperwork as they only drove it and turned the system on an off
I would give negative stars if I could. My family has owned 3 Subaru vehicles because we believed their lies about it being a safe and reliable car. We have young children. Never have I entered a car thinking there is a possibility that the engine will suddenly die and then burst into a raging fire. It is a miracle I am alive. It is a miracle our 3 year old is alive. Subaru and their lawyers are only offering credit for a new car. Seriously? Never will we buy another Subaru. Buy a Subaru if you’re okay with dying and your family dying just by driving their car.
I like the cars performance in bad weather like rain, snow and ice. The car keep me comfortable. I also like the all-wheel drive and heated seats. But I am disappointed with my Subaru in the cost of repairs. They are very expensive. Also, the windshield has been a bother and has broken numerous times. Rocks hit it and instantly put holes in the window. We have replaced the window five or six times.
Subaru Forester 2015 got broken windshield after 1 1/2 years. I went to a glass dealer who contacted Safeco Insurance who approved replacement. Then 1 year later, the EyeSight started giving trouble. Eventually it quit working altogether. The Subaru repair place said the problem was an aftermarket windshield I had purchased and they would not fix the EyeSight until I replaced the windshield with a Subaru brand windshield which cost about $1000. The Subaru man said the glass and insurance companies all know about this. But the glass companies say they have no problem with aftermarket glass and Safeco says they take no responsibility unless I use one of their approved glass companies.So now I have a Subaru with no cruise control with all of the companies telling me that the EyeSight problem is my fault because I didnt know to get an official Subaru windshield by an approved Safeco installer and they wont fix the EyeSight until I make everything right again at my trouble and expense. I dont believe the windshield has anything to do with the EyeSight failure.
When I brought my car in for service on Friday May 15th 2015 the problems were hesitation to start and ticking sounds in the engine. ** your service manager advised me to leave my car overnight for repair. When my husband arrived on Saturday morning 05/16 to pick up the car after receiving a call telling us the repairs were done he paid the service fees $695.52. Because DEVOE of Naples Florida dealership is advertised as an authorized Subaru service center, we trusted that our car was service properly. After paying for and picking up the car from your service center, while driving home the car suddenly stalled and stopped in the middle of traffic requiring to be jumped and towed home. The following day Sunday the car continue hesitating to start. Again the car needed to be jumped and taken into a repair center for analysis. Mechanical analysis showed that the battery was worn unable to hold its charge supply energy to the engine. Being in your service center overnight was more than ample time for your technician diagnose and replace my battery. After becoming stranded being jumped and towed to replace a worn battery totaling charges $140.00. Your excessive service charges were unnecessary when all my car needed from the beginning was a replaced battery.I am requesting a refund due to excessive maintenance charges and inadequate services totaling $405.39. I am totally disappointed in your service center: will never buy another car from your DEVOE dealership or use your service center again. Your service center over charged me, didnt repair my car, and put me and my family at risk of being killed in a car accident.
I bought my new 2014 Subaru Crosstrek and it had steering and handling issues. Two trips to the dealer where I bought the car no troubles found. Feels like a new Crosstrek. Tried a different dealer service center. Test drive can not reproduce problem. At 11000 miles I had my local alignment shop check it and the alignment was out and one tire was not true. That tire is now on the back and can no longer be rotated. Top it all off, I find out dealer service centers are not required to have wheel alignment equipment by Subaru of America. This is my 3rd Subaru and the first 2 were great cars. This one feels cheap. Has rattles and the overall quality has gone way down in 10 years. The car sure doesnt feel planted like it has all wheel drive. Buyers, if youre looking at this car stay away from internet chat rooms forums because you will get nothing but sales people telling lies about how good their cars and the company are. Judging by the complaints here Im not the only person.
I bought a brand new 2009 Subaru Forester with a 5-speed manual transmission. From day 1, I had problems getting into reverse. It got so bad, that at times, I could not even get into reverse. Complained many times to the dealer and their response was it was normal, nothing was wrong with the car or that it had to be broken in or it was me. I finally brought it into the dealer and they told me, that they would have to take apart the transmission and Subaru will inspect it. If they deem it to be customer abuse then I would have to pay $4000.00 to fix it. Of course I opted not to do it. But to make matters worse, the engine had no pick up. I had to floor it and it still would not go. What a lemon! I would never buy a Subaru again.
While I love the car I purchased in November 2013, I have yet to have the dealership iron out my motor vehicle tags. Id like to escalate it to the CEO because Im tired of wasting my time. If you have located the email, please send it to me.
Unable to use cell phone with 2015 Subaru Forester because there appears to be no way to take advantage of contacts/phone numbers contained within either an iPhone5 or an HTC M8. Forester does NOT have a NAV unit. It appears to be able to accept manual insertion of contact on a one at a time basis... a task I am unwilling to undertake. I am interested in any recommendations that will allow calls to be made from either phone using contact names.
My husband backed my new 2017 Impreza 2.0i Premium with Eyesight into our plastic trash container at low speed. The trash container had no damage. The Impreza was badly dented. In addition, the paint over the dent cracked and fell off. I am dismayed that a low-speed collision with plastic was able to do so much damage. The steel skin of the Impreza is weak. The paint is brittle, since it did not follow the contour of the dent (which was round and not sharp). The paint adhesion to the steel is poor since it peeled away after it cracked. Subaru proudly advertises the strength of the cars high-tensile steel skeleton, but they do not mention that the skin and paint are weak. I am afraid that the appearance of the car will deteriorate rapidly as it accumulates the inevitable dings over the years. I do not yet know whether the dealership will repair this dent.
They charged me $84 for wiper blades! They changed the brake fluid in just the reservoir and nobody does that. For another $80, Ill go to another mechanic-parts store from now on.
In 7/2015 we purchased a 2014 Sub Outback w/ extended Gold plus package warranty (an additional $1,295.00). In 11/2016 engine began to slip, stall & burn excessive oil. Took to 3 Sub dealerships in our area. All completed oil consumption test acknowledged excessive oil burning but cannot duplicate customers complaints of slipping or stalling. We continued to complete all recommended services through Sub dealership. At each time Techs would perform oil consumption test acknowledge excessive oil lost but cannot locate source. Customer should add oil every 2000 miles. At each visit we complained about slippage and stalling. At each visit they claimed vehicle was fine other than oil consumption. Side note our coolant was always overfilled...The kicker is we were in so much, we began to develop a relationship with the techs, to the point some of them would tell us that our vehicle needed a new transmission and we were right!! Then one visit to our surprise, The cust. serv. MGR approached us, apparently he had been going to bat for us and had obtained CORP approval for new Transmission. The dealership kept our Outback for 10 days. Came to pick up our vehicle. To our surprise the vehicle wasnt touched. Apparently the owner of the dealership felt he needed to look things over but couldnt do so because he was out of town. CANT MAKE THIS ** UP. He then told us he wanted to drive the vehicle to verify it did in fact need a new transmission. Keep in mind we have the GOLD PLUS WARRANTY package which covers the transmission!!!We took our Sub back and were told by the owner if we felt any foul play to contact corporate. So we contacted Corp and opened a case, spilled out all of our past issues and waited. During the wait our Outback began to make a weird noise from the wheel area. Well back to the dealership we go. Car inspected. Were informed the noise is from the tires. Supposedly tires were not fit for the car. So the vehicle, which we bought from them, had the wrong tires on it... OK so we buy new tires, noise remains. CORP. calls us back after their investigation found nothing wrong with our vehicle. Also tells us nowhere in their system did he see the dealership have our vehicle for 10 days?!?! So we then had to prove that was incorrect with rental car paperwork as well as receipts etc... Apparently after that CORP still found no foul play or issues with vehicle.On 2/17/18 we take our Outback to a certified 3rd party mechanic. Mechanic found transmission is about to give out, wheel bearing needs replacement, oil low (but they found the leak) and additional problems that were never revealed by the dealership. We have now composed a letter with our findings to Sub of America consumer complaint division in hopes someone will address this rogue dealership and assist us with our issues. If any of you have some useful information that will shed some light or assist us in our battle with this Behemoth it will be gratefully appreciated.

