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Subaru Troubleshooting
Subaru is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Subaru Corporation, the twenty-first largest automaker by production worldwide in 2017. Subaru cars are known for their use of a boxer engine layout in most vehicles above 1500 cc.
Automobile Troubleshooting
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/
Subaru Troubleshooting
Subaru problems
Subaru broken
Subaru issue
Subaru difficulty
I purchased a Subaru Forester in 2016. Five years later I’ve been told I have to replace a valve body for the CVT transmission. This is going to cost me $1700. Subaru knew they had problems with the CVT. They should’ve issued a recall, instead they extended the warranty to 10 years or 100,000 miles. that means that you are at risk of having to replace your entire transmission after 100,000 miles. In addition Subaru is the only place you could have it repaired. They do not issue approval for after parts. A new transmission is $7000. THEY ARE A FRAUDULENT COMPANY.
Bought a 2015 Subaru Outback 3.6 on Jan 2015. Never had a car like this before. To think that they supposed to be reliable. On its 30 month or about 40k miles the engine went dead, on a warm morning weather. Attempted to jump start but to no avail. Road service responded and attempted to jump start but unsuccessful. Finally towed to Bill KOLB SUBARU, ORANGEBURG, NY. BATTERY AND MASTER FUSED CHANGED. Gregg of service dept said, maybe an interior light was left on. But could not be, once alarm was pressed it shuts everything off. Charge - $524 - 180 for battery and 300 for labor for finding the problem - a blown master fuse. Were supposed to be computerized now but it took them 3 hrs to diagnose the problem. Im very very disappointed with Subaru. Thinking of trading it off before it act out again in peculiar situation with my entire family on it.
Can describe this car in two words: HATE IT. The driver seat is so uncomfortable Ive bought a cushion and even that doesnt help (aside from now pushing my head up against the ceiling). There is something in the seat bottom that pushes on the nerves right below my buttocks that make my butt and lower back scream in agony. Unfortunately on a test drive you dont find this out and sitting there for longer than 15-20 minutes it soon becomes very apparent. This makes being in the car torture. The other thing is the EyeSight. Great safety feature set but it is really super annoying to hear the damn car beep for one thing or another that it is warning you about. It does this constantly. You can turn off all of the features, but then why pay for this expensive option if you have to do this? They need to have a better way of informing the driver like Cadillac uses with a seat vibration. Also the window lock feature (a must with kids) is so ass-backwards. If you activate it, none of the window controls work including the drivers controls! You have to unlock it, do a window, then lock it again. Other cars the driver controls continue to work. So stupid. The Starlink feature is also convoluted and has so many apps and functions with menus and submenus that you need the EyeSight working because you cant drive and work the thing without seriously having an accident. Talk about distractions. And even though it is keyless entry and push-button start, it does not have a remote start function, not even as an option which extremely odd as pretty much every other manufacturer that has this type of system does this, and the door locks are from 1980 because you cannot program them for any option at all. They dont lock when in gear, they dont unlock when you turn off the motor, and they dont lock when you walk away. I am constantly leaving the car unlocked while driving and the places I drive thats a real safety issue. Remembering to do this on a car that is rich in features is a bit mind-boggling. I thought I was buying a good car, but after reading all the issues other Subaru owners are having I seriously want to dump this POS car tomorrow and Im not too impressed with the dealer because buying this new it took them 3 weeks to schedule me in to fix a fog light defect. Great way to welcome a new customer! So based on my experience and reading what others are going through I will never buy a Subaru again. Terrible, terrible car.
My son Jake was killed in 2013 in a Subaru Outback in Montana. The commercial Subaru has on TV when they show a smashed up Subaru and all they say is THEY LIVED OR THEY SURVIVED. Well my son didnt live! Do you have any idea how disturbing that commercial is to me??? Every time it comes on the TV I relive the day I got the news my son was killed in a Subaru. Please, is there any way it can be taken off the TV? Im sure Im not the only person that has lost a loved one in a Subaru.
Bought used Subaru Legacy 2.2L manual transmission, 264 000. Had it five years now at 560 000, never given me a problem. Rock solid car, put maybe $2000 in parts into it. I would happily buy another Subaru. All fluids synthetic. Purrs like a kitten.
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.
I really believed that Subarus were reliable cars. I still owe $11,000 on my 2013 Legacy thats now worth $5,000 now and my transmission went. Since I have 121,000 miles on it, Im out of luck. Subaru is aware of issues they have with their CVT transmission and in 2017, extended their warranty to unlimited miles. That extension expired on 7/31/18. Their response is that they can offer me a $500 coupon off of a new car. I completely lost faith in them. I thought that my car would last until 300k miles at least.
I was driving in the highway at 65mph when all of sudden I heard an explosion. When I stopped and checked the car the sunroof exploded as if someone had punch it from the inside. This is a new 2014 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid with only 9000 miles. The dealer now tells me this is very common for the Subarus. I had minor scratches and thank God nobody in the back seats.
My car is a Subaru Impreza, and I do not recommend it to anyone. Ive only had this car two months but already there is paint damage from rocks. Right! Ive owned several cars and never had paint damage from driving. The dealer promises 30 miles per gallon, yet its costing me so much more than my last car that had 200,000 miles vs 4,000 on 2-month-old Impreza, getting only 17 mpg. Dont buy this car!
2014 Subaru Crosstrek - What a cool looking little SUV crossover. Loved it for the first 3 months. Then the steering wheel started locking up on its own, both when the car is on and when it is off which results in the ignition locking up. I have taken it back to the dealership - Earl Tindol Ford Subaru - twice. They have done nothing to fix it. They burned up 1/2 tank of gas and put 100 miles on it and told me it was pretty much my fault. I finally went to the dealership yesterday and demanded my vehicle back and drove up on a salesman/service man and some blonde chick pulling into the parking lot at the same time and getting out of MY Subaru. I left it there for repairs - not as a vehicle for Earl Tindol Fords employees to use as their own personal vehicles. I left a message for the dealership owner, but got no response. EPIC FAIL! My first and last Subaru and this dealership is HORRIBLE!!!
I leased Subaru xv October 2012. After 2 months it stopped suddenly. They said it was the flywheel and it was on the warranty. Then after another two weeks the clutch failed again and this time I was to blame. It was my driving style. Then after another one and a half year the clutch failed again! Before that I had my driving skills tested with the car authorities, who said my driving pattern was not a threat to neither clutch or engine. It does not help. I had to pay for the clutch and rental car. Never Subaru again. SHAME ON YOU, Subaru.
I have own 25 cars in my life, I am 54 years old. Never had any engine failures. But my 2008 STI just blew up.
Im a long time Subaru owner and enthusiasts however my 2013 Subaru Crosstrek began making a noise. When I took it to the dealership they proceeded to tell me it needed a $8,000 transmission and Im 8000 Miles over the warranty. It currently has 68000 miles on it. How many people expect your transmission to go out at 68000 miles? Let me know if youre having the same problem. Im currently trying to get into contact with Subaru about this problem. It has to be some sort of defect in the transmission. Still waiting for them to contact me. Everyone thinking about purchasing a vehicle like the Crosstrek should probably get a standard not an automatic. Why in the world would a transmission cost $8,000? That is crazy and go out at 68000 miles.
I was in love with this car until starting to hear strange noises, mostly on bumps. Took it in for the first 10,000 km service and found out that the front passenger side strut failed. I only drive on highways and a bit around town (Toronto). No dirt roads, no impacts during these first 10,000 kms. Use it mostly for commuting. I am pretty disappointed with Subaru, expected more. Customer service said that this was not a quality issue... first and last Subaru I will ever have.
I bought a 2012 Outback in February 2012. When I rotated the tires at 10,000 miles, I noticed that both rear tires were severely worn at the outer edges. The dealer had the wheels aligned. They were out quite a bit. But now after about 11,000 miles, the tires are worn to the tread gauges in the outer tracks. I dont think I will get 20,000 miles out of them. I think Subaru should replace these two tires. The other two tires are fine but at 20,000 miles, I may have to replace all four tires because it is a four wheel drive.
As I said, I lease this vehicle. Checked the passenger side, soaked. Brought to Quality Subaru, 3 days later, still leaking. Call SOA to file complaint. Goes back to dealer tomorrow, 2nd time. Give new car/or out of lease.
I have owned Hondas, Mazdas and Saabs and there is no question that the Subaru Outback is the most uncomfortable and annoying car I have ever owned. I just traded it in after only 2 years, and I am so relieved and thankful to have gotten rid of it. Just so that you know the importance of this, I always keep my cars 15 years. I have never, ever in my life traded in a vehicle. I usually keep my cars for 15 years and then sell them to a private party for a couple thousand bucks at the end, usually b/c they are in such great condition. I am writing this because I want to help others avoid making the same mistake I made, a very expensive mistake.I had a 2014 Subaru Outback, the Limited version, with the 2.5 engine, auto transmission. I was interested in this car because I had always heard how great Subarus are and I wanted a comfortable and larger car that was dog-friendly. I test drove this vehicle three times before I bought it. ***None of the issues listed below are either evident during a one-hour test drive, and/or become annoying until you have driven the car for a few months.*** I recommend that you ask for (at least one) day-long test drive of any Subaru, especially the Outback, before you buy one. Heres why I got rid of this car (NOTE: All of the issues below I addressed with the dealers and they told me this is all normal behavior for these cars; also many of these issues are common complaints from owners):Worst transmission in the industry. I do not know how anyone can stand to drive this CVT transmission day in day out. I had an automatic. Imagine stepping on the gas and the car feeling like its about to choke, like the transmission is failing. It is especially bad when the car is cold. I did not notice this during the test drive. I believe you have to have a few thousand miles on the car, and/or be in normal traffic or driving conditions to understand how bad this transmission feels. Rough, choky, sputtering doesnt even begin to describe it.Worst A/C in the industry. When you are in Arizona (or DC or Florida or anywhere where it gets hot) and its 108 degrees, the last thing you want is a car that doesnt cool. The A/C on these cars STOPS COOLING when you step on the gas. Dont believe me? Put your hand in front of the A/C vent and step on the gas. The A/C keeps blowing but the air is warm. Ridiculous. Worst seats in the industry. If you have even the slightest back problems, do not buy this car. Also do not even think of long road trips in this car either. The seats will kill you.Worst handling in the industry. Speaking of long road trips, another reason why you will not want to take long trips with this car is the fact that the car wanders on the road. You are fighting with the steering wheel constantly to stay in the lane. Yes, again, all this is normal behavior for this car, according to several Subaru dealers. And this wandering is among many issues with steering/handling that people have complained about on this forum, with little to no resolution. I rented a Ford Escape last weekend and I was shocked at how well that SUV handles, compared to Outback, which costs $10,000 more. (The Escape has other negatives, however.)Worst infotainment system in the industry. If this is important to you, keep shopping. DO NOT buy this car unless you get the navigation, which comes with a big infotainment screen. Otherwise you will be dealing with a tiny little screen that is smaller than your phone. If you have an iPod or a USB drive full of songs, good luck trying to get the Outback to play the songs, or specific songs. Want to find Dave Mathews Band? The song search is pretty much impossible. The Bluetooth is crackly and terrible (another common complaint). The audio sound is awful, but I know nobody buys these cars for acoustics and audio sound. Speaking of sound, also, the car is very very noisy, but I know no one buys these cars for the soundproofing either.Worst backup camera in the industry. The resolution of the camera is so bad, I dont know why they bothered with the backup camera to begin with. Dont expect to see much of anything from that camera if its raining. Worst auto body in the industry. When I go to Costco or whatever, I park my cars away from other cars, in the farthest space possible. Thats just how I roll. And yet this car already had several door dings and chips and scratches. The exterior paint/metal will not last 15 years. In fact, it looked like junk after only 2 years. The Subarus are also no match for bird poop or tree sap; both had already damaged the hood.Horrible fuel economy (I never got more than 19.7 mpg) despite being a supposedly green automaker. I only did city driving, but thats what I got. Also, the major reason why I did not buy the larger 3.6 engine is because I did not want to buy a gas guzzler. But in fact the 2.5 is also a gas guzzler. So I ended up with a really slow, under-powered car (read: zero pickup off the line) that guzzled gas.I do have two good things to say about this car. A, it doesnt require premium gas. And B, it has excellent resale value (because I guess theres a lot of people out there who dont care about the above-mentioned things and just want a car to haul stuff uphill or in snow). If your only interest is having a very basic AWD hauler, then this may be the car for you. If drive quality, comfort and fuel economy are important to you, arrange for full-day test drives, preferably several of them, before you buy. I feel like Subaru, especially with the Outback, tries to market itself as a step above other compact and intermediate SUVs. They should give their marketers a raise, because they sure conned me. Hope this helps someone avoid making the pricey mistake I made.
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.
Its a Subaru. Really close to the safest car on the planet. Its our fourth. Saabs including an Aero convertible, Nissan 350Z. Fast (at least to 50mph). And safe, safe, safe.
Since the purchase of a 2008 Subaru Outback two years ago, I have had nothing but big money problems. When the car only had 100,000 miles on it, I had to replace the head gasket, exhaust, and faulty air bag seat belt problem to the tune of over $4000.00. Now six months later the catalytic converter to another tune of $1200.00. I have a 1995 Honda Civic with almost 300,000 miles on it and have never had to do anything to the vehicle except for normal wear and tear and still drive it with no problems. I take good care of my vehicles and service them when they are supposed to be. I grew up with a father who was a mechanic and know how to take care of a vehicle and know a head gasket on a vehicle SHOULD NOT have to be replaced at only 100,000 miles! So I will never purchase another Subaru and will make sure to tell everyone I know not to purchase one also!
I love my 2013 Subaru Impreza and had no issues up to now. I know Im part of a class action suit, and I reviewed it and saw it was not only for oil issues but also for CVT transmission problems. My car is 62,000 and Ive done all of the services. After my 60,000 check up, where everything checked out fine, I heard an odd grumbling noise and was told I needed a new transmission, which luckily is still under warranty. However, there are simply no parts available in all the USA and it could take weeks or months due to back order. I was told it was safe to drive, but I live alone and drive country roads and was told it could stop at some point. To me thats not safe. I find it unacceptable that a car so popular should have such a serious issue. Ive been in touch with the customer service hotline and someone keeps promising me hell try to expedite getting the part, but theres been no action. I cant even get a guesstimate. Ive been offered $500 for a rental car, but thats only 10 days and that will not even begin to cover that it could take weeks. So, its worthless right now until I can even get an estimated arrival date. Im beginning to think I need to trade in the car, but after this, not sure I want another Subaru. Buying a new car is hard work and Im not in the mood for all of that. I dont like driving around with a faulty major part of the car. Im disgusted and angry. Im going to write a letter to the Chief Operating Officer at their headquarters to see if I can get some action.
I have been a loyal Subaru owner. I have owned 4 Subarus. In the last 6 years I have leased 2 outbacks and am planning on leasing my third. I have called and asked for my $500 Loyalty Reward which I used on my 2016 lease. I keep getting the runaround, transferred from one department to another with no results, how much more loyalty is needed! I will continue to try for another week, but I will lease a Toyota and become their loyal customer! Shame on Subaru!
We purchase a brand new Subaru Forester in 2009 and the transmission went at just above 60,000 miles and just over 5 years -- warranty expired barely. We took it to Maple Hill Auto Group in Kalamazoo where they replaced the transmission. All the maintenance records were submitted to the warranty group at Maple Hill. All the preventative maintenance was completed by a reputable company who does a thorough job. We received backlash that some of the work was not completed at a Subaru dealer. The bill for the transmission was greater than $5,000 dollars. Maple Hill did not provide a vehicle and took 3 weeks to replace the transmission. When it was finally replaced, I paid for the vehicle and drove off. After 1 mile the vehicle would go over 25 MPH. I returned and told that they must have received a defective transmission from Subaru. I waited another week and 1/2 to finally get a transmission that cost over 5K. No vehicle to get through the time period and no assistance from the Warranty Group. We will never purchase a Subaru again. We have receive feedback from consumers who own GM products. They provide 100K warranties and they help assist with issues that arise just after the warranty expires. Do not purchase a Subaru. They do back their vehicle the way they should and expect you to overpay for service on their vehicles. They do not value customer satisfaction. They view problems with the vehicle as an avenue to gain profitability.
My first purchase, the one that instantly catapulted me into adulthood was my purchase of a brand new 2015 Subaru Impreza Sport Limited. I had researched the car ad nauseam. I had gone to many many dealerships around my state (MA) until I found the dealership that was able to make all this work come to fruition, Singer Subaru in Plaistow NH helped me sign on the dotted line and now I was the proud owner of a blue 2015 Subaru Impreza Sports Limited with black leather interior. I adored her. As it happens though a million devils follow the thing you love most, so a highway pothole claimed my first tire, so back to the dealership I went needing to replace the tire and the disk. And these past 3 years have followed suit with issues, a recall or two and more money spent on this love of mine. My dealership was bought by AutoFair and relocated to Haverhill MA.This past August I took the car in for a heck up and aside for the regular filter replacement and oil changes, it also needed its CVT transmission changed. Today, 3 weeks later I wake up to a check engine light on. And I was beyond upset and worried. I bought a brand new car however I feel like the money I have spent for maintenance and fixes has taken a toll. Facing another bill in the hundreds for a pressure valve, I called Subaru Customer Care at 800-782-2783 to just voice my frustration and basically have someone hear me out. The lady was AMAZING, I wish I had remembered her name. She was beyond patient and kind and UNDERSTANDING. She said she would look into the issue and see if she could help me. I was happy to hear that I could be getting a discount but honestly having someone on the other line hear you out was amazing. An hour or so later someone from customer loyalty department called me back and informed me that they had reached out to my dealership and would be helping alleviate the burden. I am glad I chose Subaru 4 years ago, and I will gladly be their customer for many years to come. I will pass this vehicle on to my father so he can finally retire his 98 Ford Windstar. Thank you Subaru!
We found out today that our Subaru Forester at 60k miles has blown a Head Gasket. The repair is over 2k!!! With the other repairs, the bill will be $3,000. Now that they have our permission... I expect it to be even higher when we pick it up. Happy New Year... right? Upon researching this problem (after our shock), we saw many complaints about Subaru knowing these cars have this Head Gasket problem and yet they dont do anything about it. They let unassuming people pay good money for these cars and its tick, tick, tick.... until the HG blows. Then its $$$$$$$!Our car will be 7 years old in March at only 60k miles is a crime and total incompetence of Subaru to knowingly sell a car that has a reputation like this and that down the line, the owners will have to pay THOUSANDS to repair the car or junk it. We paid $21k for this car and I will never buy another Subaru because of this failure of this company to not fix the problem that has been going on for YEARS! I will discourage anyone I know from buying a Subaru from this day on. The ** & hype on these cars is just that--all false. Our dealer told us IT usually happens at 85k miles and I almost fell down. What kind of company admits they KNEW the whole time they were BSing you about buying this car that the Head Gasket will blow at a certain mileage? Furthermore, they said that our Head Gasket blew early! We have low mileage for 7 years. We take the car in regularly for service. Now we know the repair men know about this Head Gasket problem and no one at the dealer ever warned us.
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.
First, let me say that I have a 2010 Subaru Forester that I have had no problems with it. Bought it new and now has 71K on it. Because I had no problems with it, and I can put insane amounts of mileage on a car, I bought a hail damaged 2013 Subaru Forester Premium with about 16K on it, have driven on east coast, Alaska, Yukon, west coast, with no problems consistently getting 30+ mpg. This June, while in Yosemite and on my way to LA, the low oil pressure light started flickering at around 47K miles. Subaru said it was a bad oil pressure sensor. Changed to a new one and then in the middle of nowhere South Dakota, at 10:00 p.m. it came on. I then tried to go really slow in case there was something really wrong with my car. I went 35 mph on the highway until I got to Bismarck, ND, where I went straight to the Subaru dealer. My cousins live there, so if my car got stuck there, at least they were there.I got no sleep that night because I was so worried about my car and the fact that I had promised to drive my cousins kid who has Hodgkins lymphoma and a tumor on his heart and spine to the Mayo clinic in Rochester, MN for chemo twice to take the load off of family members for a couple of weeks. I was doubly upset about the low-pressure light coming on, especially since I had just replaced the switch. I am a single woman who is always out on the road alone. I only buy cars that are reliable, up until my 2010 Subaru, its been nothing but Hondas and Toyotas.I had an Oldsmobile Achieva once, and that was the biggest POS Ive ever owned, whoever designed the front brakes that needed changing like clockwork at 22K, the whole serpentine belt and having to support the engine and undoing the engine bolts should be credited for Oldsmobile going out of business. I work on my own cars, so I know the quality of oil, gear oil, brakes, etc. going on them. When people ** me, I know. This car may be the one mistake I have made. It remains to be seen if Subaru will make it right. If not, I will be the Poster Girl for the anti-Subaru campaign.Bismarck, ND has one Subaru dealer in town. They scanned my car and said no problem, ignore the light, and drive on. I dont know what else they did, but my mileage dropped from 30 mpg to 25.5 mpg on the way to Rochester, and 27 mpg on the way back. I changed the oil, new filter. Called the Bismarck dealership and asked why my mileage dropped, told me it was the gas. Called SOA, no help there either. Mileage was similar on second trip to Rochester, and the low-pressure light came on during the trip back from Rochester. I ignored it but checked the oil. 1/2 qt low. Called Bismarck dealership again, and got the ** about the gas again (because consumers are stupid, right?).As if I wasnt getting sketchy gas in some of the places I went in Alaska and in the boonies in Canada and my mileage didnt tank like this. On my way back to Denver (home) my mileage came up to 27.6, but my low oil pressure light would come on after about 10 hours and I could smell a faint burning smell. When the engine cooled off and started back up, light is off, goes on about 10 hours later. Went through Missouri on my way home, about 1200 miles, checked oil when I got home, at the low line on dipstick. I also had ordered the new part that Subaru said I need for the low oil level light. Its installed, along with the rubber cap. Guess that is to keep the light off, while my engine burns up... I am still in denial, but its becoming clearer and I think I have one of the bad engines that burns oil in large quantities. It remains to be seen if they will fix the engine. Im still under 60K.There is nothing worse than being on the road when your car is malfunctioning, especially when you are carrying sick cancer patients that cannot be exposed to excessive germs and environment. So, when I am reading about all the Subaru complaints, believe them. My strong advice is to avoid Subaru until they start putting quality cars back on the market. What I just went through is disgusting. Problems on the road. I am not happy and am wondering how much this is going to cost me and I have talked with enough idiots at dealerships and at SOA to believe that this ** will kill the Subaru name if they dont correct it.I have also warned my friends that were influenced by my love of Subarus (before this incident), Hondas, and Toyotas. They bought a 2015 Subaru Forester and a 2016 Honda Accord because of my cars. I have faith in the Honda, but NOT the Forester. I am also now telling everyone else I know to stay away from Subarus. Perhaps their success has made them greedy and uncaring. VW did the same thing, they lost market share. Make it right Subaru!!! I will be the Poster Child you dont want!!!
Driving on the interstate late one night we started hearing a knocking in the engine of our 2009 Subaru Forester and discovered that we had no oil in the car. We have always done regular maintenance on our vehicle with regular oil changes so we were shocked to find out there was no oil in the car. Neither the oil light or the check engine light ever came on to warn us there was a problem. Our engine only had 94,000 miles on it. After researching on the internet we found that this is an ongoing issue with the 2.5 liter engines that Subaru has known about for years. We filed a complaint with Subaru of America but were told that since a couple of the oil changes were done at just over 6,000 miles that they would not help us with the cost of fixing it. They want $5,000 to rebuild it or $6,000 for a new engine. Today, we are taking a trailer to the dealership in St. Peters, MO (Lou Fusz Subaru) where our car now sits and loading our car up to bring home. We dont have the money to fix it. Subaru vehicles dont live up to the claims of their advertising and this is not a vehicle I would hand down to my children! We plan on eventually getting it fixed and rid of it at the earliest opportunity. I will never have another Subaru.
I purchased the Gold Plan extended coverage service contract for $1500 on a pre-owned 09 Legacy. The engine blew a rod at 85,000 miles and they insist on breaking down the engine to determine if it is covered. If they decide it is not covered, I have to pay $1000 for breaking down the engine and Im stuck with a car with a blown engine that I cant afford to fix.
My husband purchased a new Subaru Outback in 2011. It has continually had oil problems, with the oil light coming on and off. The Subaru dealer assured him this was normal and his car was fine. It was serviced on a regular basis with the recommended work and oil changes. Last week the car stopped in the middle of the road (while driving) and he had it towed to the Subaru dealer for diagnosis and repair. Diagnosis: They dont know. Recommendation: It needs a new engine! Really Subaru? 130,00 miles and no help from Subaru! Unbelievably bad reliability!
I like the Subaru Legacy because it has a lot of power. The color is look like an elegant color. All I need is in there and all in the navigation especially the most important. But I dont like it looks so old.
42,000 miles on Impreza Sport, gone through two sets of tires. Subaru does not recognize this problem. Local dealer ignores it. Dealer where I bought it says there is a problem. Time to get it out to the world. Subaru did replace first set of tires but said thats it. Anyone else with this problem?
I have a Forester with about 25,000 miles. The overall experience with the car is reasonable to good but the customer service and specific knowledge of their representatives is not only negative but almost aggressive and unqualified. They call themselves customer consultants and at 15,000 miles wanted me to pay close to USD 3,000 for a routine inspection in order to maintain my warranty. The car is already extremely expensive in Brazil, and going by the book, the service personnel continuously threatens their customers to void the warranty if the maintenance book is not signed and all recommended services provided. This is an absurd attitude and contrary to what a reliable vehicle should be about. At 25,000 miles, I had to replace two rear tires because of uneven wear. The front tires touch and wear out the plastic wheel cover behind the front bumper, and nobody can tell me why. The wheels and tires came with the car when I bought it from the dealer. Please contact me by e-mail to further elaborate on this fiasco of the Brazilian Customer Service.
Outback owner since 1995. Purchased 2013 outback in February of 2013. Began burning oil at 50,000. Dealer told me was normal due to thin oil. Now using a quart of oil every 2000 miles. Just found out there was a class action lawsuit in 2016. Too late for me to join and receive compensation. Called Subaru and asked to be compensated for excess oil usage and was denied. Never notified me of this manufacture defect. No longer trust this company.
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.
2014 Suabaru Outback Limited automatic CVT - I bought the car brand new April 2014. March 2015 check oil light came on while on vacation. Spent three hours at the dealership in Tallahassee Florida, changing the oil. Ever since then every 1200 to 3K miles the oil light would come on. I have repair ticket after repair ticket with them checking it tell me nothing is wrong, that the oil is low and they would either add oil or change it. I was never told that similar vehicles without a CVT were part of a class action suit. I was told the oil level being low was usage. Then I later find out that this is not normal and start demanding something be done. They did nothing, I have ticket after ticket where I complained about this while the car was still under warranty. They never mentioned anything about an oil consumption test. After I researched online I found out about the engine issues. Took to the dealership where they put me through 4 oil consumption test in one year, due to not documenting the test, losing paperwork, technicians leaving, or overfilling the oil. Now the car is out of warranty and needs a new short block. Subaru does not want to replace it because it is out of warranty. I have my documents where this was an issue under the warranty period and they dont want to fix it. The technician and dealership should have contacted Subaru corporate about my car immediately when I started complaining about the issue instead of brushing it off as not part of the recall.
I have a 2014 Subaru Outback that I bought new. Until now, I loved my car. A few weeks ago, I noticed it having difficulty starting. This happens both when I use the key to start it and when I use my auto start. When it began, it wasnt cold out (I live in Minnesota). It was almost 50 degrees. The car would take longer to start and keep turning over before firing up. Other people even noticed it. I took it in for service and they tried doing a computer reset and told me that should do it. It didnt work, so I took it back.Meanwhile, I had done some research and found that some Subarus can start doing hard starts, which is exactly what this seemed to be. Unfortunately, the dealership I took it to did not take me seriously and tried to tell me that it was normal for my car to start that way in the cold weather (by this time it was in the teens outside for temps). They were unwilling to see it as an engine issue and told me that all cars do this, which was completely ridiculous. Prior to bringing it in, it almost would not start one night and I thought I might have to call a tow truck. If this is what my car is going to do at 3 years old, it needs to go. A Subaru dealership is telling me this is normal for the car and it cannot be fixed, and apparently it isnt that uncommon for this car. I need a reliable vehicle. I plan to get rid of it and get a vehicle I can trust to start. Its disappointing because I really liked this car.
Subaru of America resolved this issue.
My 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX consumed excessive oil, resulting in bearing pieces being circulated throughout the engine ruining it. This was my first Subaru and my last. I called Subaru but was told the car was out of warranty. Even though the engineering was defective the company would still not stand behind its product. I am currently having to pay over $8,000 for a new engine & labor. Have never been more disappointed in anything that I have bought ever. If a company knows its product is defective you would think they would have an obligation to offer pay for at least part of the engine. Awful, awful experience. Im going back to my German built autos, never one problem with them.
I have a Subaru XV 2013 and on the highway, the glass roof exploded without reason. No other cars close and a perfect road. Temperature 0 Celsius. Subaru refuse to cover it on guaranties. The car has been in traffic less than 30000 kilometers. Unbelievable.
I bought Subaru Ascent 2021. It’s my biggest mistake I did the wrong decision. My SUV have issues with seats. My driving seat is shaking while driving especially when you stop on signal or stop signs. When you move driving seats is shaking feel me be. I fell down backside so it’s scary and my SUV 2nd row right side seat is give bad noise when you are driving bumpy street like rough road. It’s only 10000 miles and feel I drove old car. I take my SUV on Subaru service center twice. They are not able to fixed that issue. I guess they don’t have experienced technicians. They tried to fix and said it’s manufactured fault. Right now I am confused. What I gonna do. This SUV is not value to money so I decide to give review about my experience for helping people be careful before buying this suv make sure first check the seats in this SUV. After buying no one take responsibility. My car is under warranty but they didn’t fix. I go every week in service center and request them please fix my car.
There are no common sense option packages. Either the WRX comes with too few options or none. Big difference in lease rates from dealer to dealer. San Francisco Bay Area dealers are very inflexible but they talk a good game. I had one local dealer tell me they had the car then I went in and it did not have the one elusive option thats on the website: The Harman Kardon system. I had the Burlingame dealer hang up on me when I did not agree to purchase one in stock. He said “You need to order it” then quickly hung up before I said a thing. I have bought several cars in my life from different companies. Subaru behaves like its a Porsche or Lamborghini dealership. Even Audi is more flexible and respectful.
I bought a brand new Subaru Outback 25i limited in 2011. Ive had regular oil changes and followed the maintenance schedule religiously. I had 55,000 miles on the car. I wasnt super pleased with the interior because I have dogs and though Subaru claims to be dog friendly, their thin plastic fabric below the windows rips very.... Ok.. I thought kind of cheap but I put up with it... Then, three weeks ago, my check engine light went on.... I called the dealer who told me not to panic, that it was probably nothing but to get it in. I got it in the next day (the light had gone off by then but I brought it in anyway). Turns out there was no oil in the engine and the brakes had rusted. They told me I neglected the cars maintenance. My neighbor has the identical car and the exact same thing happened to her but hers was still under warranty. They rebuilt her engine. They claimed mine was neglect. They would not help me. I dumped the car. Took a major hit because of the issues but I no longer trusted it. Ill never buy another Subaru or recommend them to others.
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.
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?
Dismayed, disappointed, disgruntled. These are the feelings engendered by coming home from a two-week trip only to find that the battery in our one-month-old Subaru Forester had died while we were away. Consumer Reports April automobile issue convinced us that all the new safety and navigation technology innovations in the 2015 models would make it worth our while to replace our 2007 Forester. But neither CR nor you mentioned that all those enhancements would drain the battery even when the car wasn’t driven. When we took the car back to Subaru, we were told it was our fault for leaving the car for two weeks, as if we were the only folks ever to have done such a thing. Subaru service also suggested we get a trickle charger and keep the car plugged in when we’re away for an extended period of time.We did a great deal of research before buying the car and found no mention of the problem. Having experienced it, I googled “Subaru battery drainage issue” and discovered that the problem was not unique to our vehicle, nor even only to Subaru. Apparently Hondas and Fords are similarly afflicted. These facts were further substantiated by the AAA technician who came to recharge our battery. She fields many calls similar to ours.It is clear why Subaru and the other manufacturers would not want potential buyers to know about this poor engineering. Accordingly, there’s nothing in the owner’s manual that says “do not leave car undriven for more than a week.” You have to look hard to find that after a battery “interruption” the power window needs to be reset, as do the date and time, and perhaps other things I never bothered to set up. A setting comparable to airplane mode on a phone that shuts down some of the background functions would be a wise and welcome fix. What is not clear why there’s so little written about this issue in the automotive press. My husband and I feel doubly burned: by Subaru for its inept engineering and by the consumer gurus who should know better.
Subaru 2014 Legacy (manual) 9000 miles, under warranty. Last week of June 2015, suddenly first thing in the morning, the car reeked of gasoline (or other hydrocarbon). I went to the nearest garage (with all the windows open, it was that bad) whose owner said Subarus are notorious for gas leaks but he could not deal with that kind of problem.It was then towed to Subaru dealer whose head mechanics diagnosis was... mice (!) had chewed the gas lines. He said that this was not covered by the warranty- $600-$800 repair. Interestingly, we overheard him on the phone with another Subaru owner concerning a gas leak caused by mice! No loaner available to us, but he could supply a rental car. When I took exception to that, he said no charge for the rental.This could be a weird coincidence, or weird mice. But this diagnosis (as opposed to loose connection or clamps, or whatever) works very well for the dealership. They get $600 from me (and the other guy) instead of having to cover the repair cost themselves. Somehow this seems fishy: plastic- gas-loving mice lying in wait in my shell driveway?I see online a lot of current dissatisfaction with Subaru design and service and a company that does not admit to defects in their products or have trained their service departments. Loved my previous Subaru Legacy, also a manual. But this car seems to have been designed by a bunch of geeky kids fooling around in a basement somewhere. Weird coincidence, weird mice, or dealer ploy?
Has late night purchase, gave finance manager $15000 cashiers check us and additional $2000 cash to get my monthly payment down below $400/month. After reviewing my paperwork couple days after, realize they added $1000 to my agreed purchase price. Before confronting Jay, salesperson, about this problem I went through my car details including the price he gave me. Two separate times he agreed with the price he had given me by phone on more than 3 occasions before I committed to purchase. This price was the original price Jay told me at the beginning. After he reconfirmed his and my price two additional times, I told him that I had given extra cash during financing and told him exactly $1000 added to my initial price. He hesitated, then said it was the changed figure. It was obvious he was covering for finance and Moe sales manager.So I gave Jay and Moe a week to come up with solution... Long story short they didnt. So contacted GM, Jobe **. He said he would find out info and get back to me... He didnt. Finally got him on phone week later and he told me he had talked to owners and he has good and favorable news for me, put me on hold so he could get my paperwork. After holding for short while, unidentified person came on phone asking if the could help me..(?) I told them I was holding for Jobe. That he had asked me to hold awaiting answer for my situation. Person, Moe, sales manager, said Jobe was in a meeting. That he wanted to know how he could help me(?) Not wanting to rehash again with someone who had previously refused to do anything for over 10 days after knowing of problem. Since then... I contacted Subaru of America for help communicating with Glendale Subaru, Jobe, GM because he refused on 3 separate occasions to take my phone call. Plus I called Lane ** general sales manager. He didnt return my call. I asked Moe, by email twice to relay the owners and GMs solution, but he and GM refused to return my call. Now he told corporate Customer service agent trying help me get info that the GM and Owners had decided. Its become obvious the GM put this $1000 cash fraud back on Moe... Because Moe, Glendale sales manager, refuses to relay this message. Seems likely he is directly involved in this late night fraudulent buying transaction. I would advise ANYONE looking to purchase a Subaru... I 1000% would never do business with Glendale Subaru!! They protect and cover for each other with dishonest transaction. From GM by washing his hands of the situation by not getting involved and leaving it up to his dishonest sales and finance department to get out of this situation alone. In my opinion, Jobe lacks a backbone because he refuses to talk to dissatisfied customers. Yet he blows smoke up peoples rear, by saying he and his dealership are honest and he wants to make thing right and wants to make sure THEIR customers are happy. The GM and THEIR sales staff at Glendale in my opinion are ripping off THEIR owners $$... Very very unhappy Glendale Subaru and Corporate Customers service for allowing this GM to say he is happy with his dealerships customer outreach (ha ha) towards me. Dismissing all my attempts to get him on phone and to complete telling me his owners good and favorable decision. Absolute appalling customer care and outreach. What a rotten egg dealership. Makes me wonder how much $$$ they have defrauded other customers. Ive consulted other car dealers, GMs and previous Subaru Dealership owners. They know exactly what happened. They told me its obvious the GM, Jobe, knows too. He doesnt want to write a check so he just told culprits, his finance and sales to handle the situation they created. BOTTOM LINE. This lack of customer care and outreach to take care of this issue. Receives 1 on scale of 10 for honesty and true care for all customers. I know now I was foolish to give Glendale Subaru any cash. Especially at last transaction of work night. That further explain why the finance manager stuck the cash $ in his pocket... Thought that was highly unusual.
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 my Outback new in summer 2007. Always did oil changes every 3,000. At just over 60K (just out of warranty), the head gaskets blew. Six months later, car started leaking oil and head gaskets were done once again (under warranty of mechanic). Now, Im facing blown head gaskets again!!!! After just 20,000 miles after 2nd job. My car only has 82,000 miles. I will never buy another Subaru which is unfortunate because this is the 4th one Ive owned. The others were older but better.
2016 Subaru Forster is ok. But compared to the Rav4 it is not as comfortable. There is not enough heat in the winter and the cabin floor needs more installation.
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.
I bought my third new Subaru last fall and noticed the drivers seat shifted forward and back about 1/4 in each direction. Every fast stop or start you notice the seat and your body shift slightly. I took it in the first time and the dealership said that it was within tolerances. On the second visit after contacting Subaru corporate they told me that I had the seat too high and that had I lowered it the movement would stop, but they were going to replace the entire seat anyway. I waited for 3 weeks until they finally told me to take the car home until the seats come off of national backorder. The third visit they replaced either the seat back or the entire seat depending on who you speak to, but the seat still moves even if it is lowered. More calls to Subaru corporate to finally be told that the movement is within their tolerances. I told them I would never buy another Subaru and they were okay with that. They dont seem to care about the quality of their cars any longer and dont seem to care if they lose customers forever.
I leased a 2012 Subaru, signed a contract, and took the vehicle home. The dealership messed up the contract, lied about it to get me to sign another contract under the guise that it was a better deal for me. The truth of the matter is that they either made a mistake, or they are running a scam to get you to sign one contract, take the vehicle, then offer you another contract within a few weeks, or they are just incompetent and unprofessional. When I decided that I did not want the new contract, they became angry and rude. The general manager assured me that he would take care of it, but he did not and I had their company calling me about a vehicle that I had returned (2009 Subaru) to the Subaru dealer a month earlier. The vehicle was on their lot and in their possession. I have returned the new 2012 vehicle because of how I was treated and because the general manager, during his shouting match with me indicated that if that was the way I felt, he did not want to do business with me anyway. I am glad you have enough Subaru business that you can afford to throw away customers who purchased 3 Subarus within four years. I will make it one of my goals in life to make sure that people know you do not want business from me or people like me. Of interest, is that a similar situation happened with this same dealership three years ago. At that time, a few weeks after the 2009 car was purchased, the finance manager called and indicated that he had made a mistake on the contract and that the payment should be higher. Once again, I refused and told him that I had a contract, and he could not go back and change the terms of that contract. What is going on at Subaru AutoBarn of Countryside, Illinois? Are they incompetent, or crooked or both? They definitely could use some training in customer service as you have just lost two customers. Since I have returned the 2012 Subaru last week, I am in the market for an SUV. Guess what, it wont be a Subaru. Someone should investigate further the practices of Subaru Autobarn of Countryside, Illinois. I know I will be continuing my investigation and legal options. Not only am I angry, as noted above, I am inconvenienced and suspicious. I did not check the first box below because I am pursuing all options including legal options. Yes, an attorney can contact me about my complaint.
2015 Keyless Legacy Outbacks electric shuts down, no recourse - Several months ago a purchased a new Subaru Outback from Herb Gordon Subaru. First, I truly did not understand what keyless technology meant in practice. When I got it home the trunk lift would only lift halfway. I took it back. They fixed it. It broke again. It later fixed itself. But, one day I moved the car in the driveway and forgot to put it in park. Apparently my husband opened it to put something in. When I came out I could not get it in park and it would not start. It was in total lockdown as if the electric system had totally shut down. I sat with the unreadable instruction book and figured out how to manually get it in park but no luck on starting. My neighbor, an engineer, tried, no luck. Finally after several hours called roadside assistance and they jumped it and all was fine. Friday my husband moved it again in the driveway and forgot to put it in park. Same thing. I got it into park but then nothing would work. It was a Friday so called dealership service.The guy talked me through a few things but said that he thought it was a bigger problem and I should bring it in (a two hour drive). Roadside assistance sent the fax to the wrong place and 3 hours and many phone calls later roadside assistance showed up but this time it would not jump and we arranged for him to come back the next day, Saturday, and tow it to the nearest dealership which is in Waldorf Maryland and hour from my house. I spoke with the woman on the phone, she took the information, but no one has called back as promised I assume because it is the weekend. So I will begin Monday. But this is what I want to say. I hate this car. I love everything but this shut down thing and I dont trust that it will ever be fixed and I think it is an outrage that I buy a brand new car and it does something like this and no one even gets in touch with me.This is my third Subaru and I have loved them in the past BUT the last one had a minor electrical problem (it was an odd year, 2006, in which they tried to combine the heating controls with the radio and you can imagine the result) but it was not like getting stuck for 3 days luckily at home. I feel helpless to do anything but to go onto every consumer website I can find and tell my long sad story. I am giving the car the worst rating possible because it flunked the reliability test so all other things make no difference.
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.
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.
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.
I have owned Subarus since 1972. Of course, then you had to shift into AWD. I have had a 1996, 1999, 2011, and 2017 Outbacks and a 1998 Forester. My son has had two Subarus Impreza sport, and a Forester. and my daughter has a Forester. We all feel safe in these and love the way they drive and handle. Presently my wife and I have the 2011 and 2017 models that we bought after they we turned in off lease by other owners. Both cars have been trouble free.
It was a broken #4 piston ringland at 1,987 miles. The warranty was initially denied but after much fighting, was reimbursed for engine replacement as a goodwill gesture because Id bought 6 new Subarus in 4 years.At just over 9000 miles (or 7000 on the new engine), #4 piston ringland broke. I drove it to the dealership running poorly but was staying on top of the oil situation as the first motor had chugged its oil. Months later, I had to have the car finally flat-bedded home and it looked like itd been driven within an inch of its life before having the engine dismantled, then all the parts careless thrown into the car, destroying things like my radiator and intercooler and even the seats. Many fasteners were missing because theyd been simply left under the hood. The oil pan and oil filter was smashed as if engine had been dropped from a decent height.I fought with them over it for nearly a year as the car sat engineless in my garage, then finally filed suit when I was able to get the dealership to give me copies of the work orders, which were nothing short of blatant lies.I have filed suit and rather than step up and explain to a judge and jury how theyre not at fault for the second ruined engine (and Im far from the only person whos had this failure), theyre just delaying things by challenging venue, then getting a continuance on their venue challenge.The 08 STi (and reportedly other years, but the failure numbers are staggeringly high for the 08) is very simply a product Subaru is selling knowing full well it doesnt meet merchantability requirements and theyre just getting by as cheaply as they can until the warranties expire on them. I was a loyal customer, buying a new one every year until the 08 destroyed itself after only 2 months of ownership then again before itd reached 2 years.To say Subaru and especially Subaru of America is unscrupulous is a whopper of an understatement. And, sadly, its also not an understatement to say that the 08 completely changed my life, for the worse. It brought an abrupt end to a hobby (driving school instructor) that was the catharsis that enabled me to be the successful president of a rapidly-growing dotcom.When you are so egregiously victimized and disrespected by a company, the effects are far-reaching. Please, do not buy any 08-11 STi as their failure rate as a percentage of units sold is astronomical. But aside from a few of us squeaky wheels (and I may get crushed further in seeking justice, but I have to try), theyll be able to simply sweep this horrific ripping off of their customers under the rug because of it being such a comparatively low-production car, it likely wont have the absolute failure *quantities* to get the attention of any agency who can force them to do right by their customers.
All of the bells and whistles leered incorporated into the Touring model. The convenience options make the car a pleasure to drive. On the open road I’m averaging 26 mph and handles well in all weather conditions.
I bought my 2013 pre-owned Crosstrek November of last year and I have been in and out of the service department ever since. They ran 3 oil consumption tests to finally figure out that a wire wasnt on. Each visit takes several hours. I went with Subaru because I thought they were above selling faulty cars. Ive tried to get a new Subaru and count my loss but when I took it back into the dealership they gave me a low-ball offer for my trade in. I went into a Chevy dealership and they offered me a way better offer on a my trade in, and that was without me buying a Chevy. Everything about owning and buying my car has been a nightmare.
We bought a brand new 2009 Subaru Outback in OKC just before moving to Colorado. We had no big issues with it until the engine blew at 57,028m. There were no engine or oil warning lights. The dealer said they would not cover the engine because we did not have all of our maintenance records. It was around $7k for the new engine. Not happy. Now, two years and less than 38k miles later, the engine is failing again. After the nightmare of the first engine mess, we kept excellent oil change records. The dealer says the engine is outside of its one-year warranty, regardless of our records. I took this up with Subaru Corp who graciously have offered me a $1000 credit on the repairs (a goodwill gesture) and the dealership has reduced the total repair cost to only $3800. So I have to pay $2800 for another engine. Is this how Subaru stands behind its products? Am I expected to replace my engine every two years? Not to mention it took them almost two months to get back to me with their decision. Meanwhile, we havent been driving the car so as not to damage it further. A huge inconvenience. Needless to say, I will never buy Subaru again and they will be hearing from our attorneys. There is no way this is normal.
Subaru made net profits of $480,000,000 (Reuter.com) in 2012, billions of dollars in gross profit and yet, Mr. Takeshi Tachimori, Chairman, President, and CEO of Subaru of America, refuses to provide me with some oil. I purchased a new 2011 Subaru Forester. The computer system crashed at night in the rain on the freeway with 5 passengers. The engine failed in the Joshua Tree desert. Subaru finally replaced the engine short block after great time, energy and resources expended by me. The seat belts were recalled, parts (gas door opener) fell off; etc. Car has a horrible overheating problem that they cannot fix. Car continues to consume oil such that I have to add oil between oil changes. After many failed efforts, I wrote on Dec. 24, 2012 to Takeshi Tachimori, Chairman, President, and CEO of Subaru of America, stating that: engine short block malfunctioned; ECM reprogramming required the vehicle emission recall campaign (Nissan Subaru dealership claimed that they had reprogrammed ECM on 24 Feb. 12, & on 25 July 12. Mazda Subaru dealership claimed that the reprogramming had not, in fact, fulfilled this recall malfunction, and that they had to fulfill this reprogramming on Dec 21, 2012); seat belt recall; tank lever broke within first 100 miles (See repair, 26 Apr. 2012); replaced motor is still, as of Dec 21, consuming oil. In conclusion, 100% of authorized Subaru repair shops/mechanics spoken with state that it is not normal for a new Subaru with less than 15,000 miles to consume any oil at all, period. I asked billionaire Tachimori, for simply, I am requesting of you, that you authorize the local Subaru dealerships I have used (copies enclosed) to add oil to my car between oil changes without a cost to me. So little is asked of the Subaru billionaires, yet they refused. I will provide free advertising to any Toyota dealership. I wish so much that I had purchased a Toyota again, not a Subaru. If Mr. Tachimori will allow oil to be added when low, I will graciously provide a retraction.
I need to give some history on my previous 97 Outback before getting to my current 09 Forester. The 97 Outback had no major problems till about 120k, head gasket blown. Problem fixed at $1800.00. Sold shortly after to buy a newly redesigned 09 Forester. Was told head gasket problems are thing of the past, so I purchased the 09 Subaru Forester with high expectations. Things Ive noticed since putting miles on my 09 Forester. During cold winter months the engine starts over very hard and until the engine is warm it sounds like a diesel. My guess poor lubrication. In cold weather the gas flap which is opened from a latch inside of my vehicle will freeze making it very difficult to gas up at the station. I live in a region that uses salt and the exhaust system is taking a beating. My radio when in use gets feedback from my engine at different revs. I stopped using my sun roof - the motor has been acting funny. At highway speeds above 70 mph the engine tends to use oil, have tried conventional and synthetic oils alike with similar results. The front doors have had rattles since day one, sounds like plastic on metal. Things which have been repaired and or replaced while under warranty: reprogrammed ac unit, engine was pulsating at stop lights at 12k miles, front wheel bearing high pitched whining sound at 35k miles. With that said the warranty is up. I have 76k on my 09 Forester, on my second set of brakes, second set of tires, second set of spark plugs, second battery. I went in for an oil change the other day at the dealer and on the multipoint inspection was noted oil bleed on head gasket. You can guess where this will be going. Quoted at over $2000.00 to replace the head gasket and at the 100k mile mark it is recommended that the timing belt be changed $950.00 and since I have a manual clutch transmission it will probably need replaced soon for $1300.00.On the positive side the symmetrical AWD system provides excellent handling in any road driving conditions, the engine provides ample power with great fuel economy and while under warranty there were no real issues. Now that the warranty has expired the wear issues are becoming apparent and Subaru knows it. Im sorry to say, this will be my last Subaru. Many fond memories of vacations in remote areas with my family camping and backpacking will no longer be made in my Subaru. I will probably give Toyota SUV or Trucks a try. My wife drives a 2003 Camry XLE and is still going strong!
I purchased a used 2008 WRX Sti with 20,000 miles back in February of 2012. The person I bought it from was Dave **. Dave was at the time (until very recently) a member of the Subaru USA rally team and this car served as his daily driver. Never raced or rallied in the slightest. Just a fun car to drive around town. At 17,000 miles under his ownership he blew an engine. Apparently he was doing some donuts in the snow and redlined it a little too long causing the engine to pop. He had some mods done to the vehicle which would technically void the warranty. Keep in mind this car is made to be modded as its not the everyday thing you take to the grocery store. Anyways.... Subaru agreed to warranty his engine under the pretense that they put most of it back to stock. So the new engine is put it and the car is back to normal. I buy it 3k miles later with the impression that I am getting a car with 20,000 miles but an engine with very little miles. Great right? Well no... not so much.Flash forward exactly 20,000 miles to December of 2013. I had just changed the oil as I was about to leave from North Carolina and drive to Minnesota for the holidays to see family. Made it all the way there with no problems. Stay the first night and then the next morning (Christmas Eve) I leave from my aunts home to my grandmothers with my young brother and sister in the car with me. No racing, no donuts, no hard driving whatsoever. Simply a morning commute to my grandmas with the family in tow. I get a quarter mile from my destination and the car shuts off and is blowing smoke out the back. I literally coasted into my grandmas driveway, thankfully. This now begins my so far month long battle with Subaru and getting a fair deal out of this.I had it towed to the closest Subaru dealership (200 dollars) where it sat for a solid week and a half before it was addressed. The dealership guessed what was wrong with it and told Subaru it had been previously modded and flashed. Subaru, based on simply that alone, denied my warranty claim. Speaking of warranty.... The car has a 5 year/60k mile warranty on the powertrain. I was 3 months out of the 5 year warranty yet still 20k miles below. Back and forth with Subaru and eventually I get to someone higher up on the chain who says the car needs to be torn down in order for them to truly decide. Im skeptical to authorize the dealership to tear it down as I dont want to get stuck with the bill when Subaru potentially leaves me in the dust after. So the lady (Linda **) was very helpful in the sense she offered to split the cost of the tear down with me granted they deny me any further warranty claim after it was diagnosed. I reluctantly agreed to this based on the fact that I thought for sure they wouldnt just leave me hanging.Well upon tearing it down... the dealership indeed found out that it was a blown engine. Again. Who would have thought that the same faulty engine they replaced the last faulty engine with would have blown again? This car is absolutely notorious for blowing motors AND especially in cylinder 4. Where did mine blow? You guessed it... cylinder 4. Where did it blow the first time when Dave had it? Again... cylinder 4. Subaru comes back with a complete denial of any responsibility and refuse to help with any sort of help with the repairs. To their credit, they still were standing by their word of splitting the cost of the tear down. The labor was 1300 dollars. Leaving me with a 650 bill and them a 650 dollar bill. Now after the 200 dollar tow, the 300 dollar rental car charge, a last minute plane ticket to get me home while it stayed there... Im at my wits end. Next up will be to ship it to North Carolina (900 dollars) and begin the fix myself (another 3,000 or 4,000?). I am not a rich man and simply cannot afford to dump this much money into a car I still owe money on. I bought a Subaru worry free and never in a million years would expect to be going through this at 40,000 miles. Its just plain unacceptable.Anyway, Point of the matter is I am out of warranty technically but then again... Im still WELL within my miles limit. A quick blown motor Subaru Google search will show you that they have countless amounts of cases where their engines blow. It is not uncommon for their cars to blow 2 engines in under 50,000 miles. The fact that this is so common only leads me to believe that there has to be some sort of lawsuit I can look into to forcing them to make this right? I am absolutely blown (no pun intended) away that such a massive companys reputation is only worth 650 dollars to them. I have since accepted that Im going to get stuck with the cost of the repairs and I offered them an easy way to compromise. I asked simply that they pay the full tear down price and offer the OLI (owner loyalty incentive) of 1500 that they originally tried buying my best interests with. Not that I ever plan to use it, Subaru might as well be dead to me as a company... but I still want to them to own up to that.To recap, they offered 650 of the 1300 tear down and the OLI. Im simply asking for them to pony up, attempt to save face of their awful company and make things right in the simplest of ways. 650 dollars more? Come on, Subaru. Really? Does anyone have any similar stories they could share that have or havent ended up in their favor? A company as big as Subaru should be ashamed of this mistreatment. This engine issue has been publicly acknowledged by them through press releases and this is most definitely not an isolated issue. Thanks for reading and I look forward to any replies or comments. My email is ** if you would like to share anything privately that way.
Purchased new, great vehicle for engine and drivetrain. The execution of function and maintenance of the interior and exterior is a poor effort. The front end is a bug catcher. The interior could have been better appointed with holders and storage. The gas pedal position is horrible and extremely uncomfortable, with no remedy from your company. The paint and body is a joke. Dont spit too hard on it!!! Too bad you came up short. A pickup with this drivetrain with practical appointments with form and function... At least you have room to improve. Feel a bit cheated...
Me and my 12 year old had a lady pull out in front of us in my 2012 Subaru Forester. We ended up hitting a telephone pole on the drivers side. Thank goodness but my side impact air bag did not deploy, I was slammed into the pole very hard and I was doing 20mph when I started down the hill, factor in the velocity of the slide on ice and snow and I was doing well over the 8mph needed to deploy the air bag. I hit hard enough to crumple the rocker sill inside the door and snap the bumper clips and flatten the front tire. We had seat belt bruises of course, my daughter hurt her knee on the door, I injured my arm and shoulder, and slammed my head violently. When I contacted Subaru about this, they did not seem overly concerned, Im still yelling at them about this. I dont know about anyone else but I feel this is a serious malfunction. Ive had other problems too, faulty seatbelts, engine running rough and smelling bad, brakes going bad, stalling, loss of power. And every time I take it back to the dealer, they say we cant do anything, the check engine light is not on. To say the least, this is the most frustrating thing Ive ever heard it makes me want to pull my hair out. I bought my Subaru because Ive owned 3 older ones like 80s and they were good old beaters ya know, so I figured Id buy a newer one. Mine only had 20,000 on it, like new. I wish Id never bought this car, what a mistake.Anyone else feel this way, these big companies always getting away with rooking us little guys? I even contacted a lawyer, he said good luck. Im like really? they almost killed me. I think Im going to try to take them on myself!!! Anyone else interested? If you are write to me **. Im so sick of these guys rooking everyone. You pay 30,000 for a car, it shouldnt be a piece of junk death trap that stalls and does hesitates when you step on it so you can get hit by people real nice. But ya know the check engine light isnt on so we cant fix it. Hey I have no brakes. Well the brakes look good to us we cant help you. Really??? God, such crap.
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 have never owned a Subaru before. After this car I will never own a Subaru again. What a piece of crap this car is. The only good things about this car are the generous cargo space, the (so far) lack of repair bills and the resale value. That is it. Everything else BLOWS. The acceleration is abysmal. The braking is ridiculously soft and bad. The handling, well, there is no handling on this car and good luck taking it on road trips; you will spend 75% of the time fighting with the steering wheel to keep the car from wandering all over the road. Oh and dont even think about taking a corner fast with this car! The A/C is adequate, but god forbid you step on the gas, IT WILL STOP COOLING! The CVT transmission hesitates, is jerky and Subaru says thats perfectly normal! The sound system and entertainment screen is just an embarrassment. The backup camera of course is very LOW-RES. The MPG on the sticker is a BIG LIE; I have never gotten anything over 24 miles per gallon with this car. I wont even keep typing, as Subaru doesnt deserve for me to spend another second writing about this substandard vehicle. Make sure you test drive this vehicle many, many times before you buy it, and for the love of god do not even think about buying the 4 cylinder, unless you like to be blown off the interstate by trucks since your car will not be able to accelerate enough to merge. This car is for people who are not drivers. At this point I am just waiting for the car to start burning through oil, as 99.9% of the Outbacks are doing. The car is only good for hauling stuff in the snow. It gets two overall stars from me for that. Thats about it.
I purchased a 2009 Forester XT in April of 2008. Three days after purchase, Subaru announced a stop sale order on turbo Foresters made after Jan 1, 2008 (mine was mfg Jan 26th 2008). They issued the stop sale order because of manufacturing defects in the engine that led to knocking and then catastrophic engine failure. My car had knocking at 1030 miles and now at 92K the engine has had the catastrophic engine failure. Subaru refuses to answer the question if my car was affected by the stop sell order and takes no responsibility for repairing my car.
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 took my Subaru Impreza Outback Sport 2011 in for routine 45000 mi maintenance, for which I was charged $243.75. I was told the brakes all needed new pads, for which I was charged over $600. I was then told the battery needed to be replaced, for which I was charged $144. Then I was told I needed 4 new tires which would cost $900. I had just taken my car for routine service 3 months ago and was told that everything was fine. I believe that for all the additional charges I had to pay today, Subaru could have at least waived the $243.75 45,000 mile service fee. This car has awful tires - skinny lo-pros that should never be sold here in the Northeast, the pothole capital of the world. I wouldnt drive another Subaru again if they paid me a million dollars to do so. Unfortunately, even though I have paid off my car loan, I am stuck with this thing now that I have paid close to $3,000 for repairs. I bought this car from North End Subaru Mazda in Lunenburg, MA. If you go there, hang on to your wallets - they are definitely trying everything they can to steal from the customer!!!
I purchased a used 2012 Forester in August 2015 with 27,000 miles on it. I drive 80% highway miles. Last week, at 70,000 miles, the car became suddenly hard to shift, the clutch pedal was sticking to the floor, and the interior filled with smoke. I limped the car to the nearest Subaru dealer, and was told that the clutch and flywheel has burned up - at 70,000 miles??? Unbelievable. $1,500 to replace. My prior car was a 2003 Honda Element that had the original clutch in it at 240,000 miles and was still working fine. I will NEVER buy another Subaru again. Their claim of reliability is a joke.
I recently purchased a used 2010 Tribeca 3.6 L engine, my first Subaru, and am rather pleased except for a howl in my automatic transmission. The sound changes as goes up through gears and especially noticeable from start through 2nd. Dealer has determined it is the alternator since engine speed also changes as gears change. Cannot believe any auto manufacturer would make their top of the line touring vehicle with this howl or whine as I have been told by others. Either way a defective alternator OR transmission needs to be replaced.
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 Impreza from Subaru of Burlingame 9 months ago. I never bought a used car before but I figured I would be safe buying it from Subaru dealership as is. I was so wrong. 17,000 miles later I have blown head gaskets about the car at 45,000 miles. It is currently at 60,114. After taking it into the dealership and being diagnosed I called Subaru of America right away, explained my situation. I had a Subaru representative tell me he was advocating for me but in the end they told me, Sorry not our problem. Only owned this car for nine months. I am devastated. I still have a very large loan on this car I’m paying for and have no car to drive. I’m going to do everything I can, to fight these people through social media platform, through the city of Burlingame, to anybody who will listen to me. This was my first Subaru and my last!!!
Sorry to say this is turning out to be the worst car buying experience that either of us has ever encountered in over four decades of driving. First off the sales person lied to us about the accessories options available for our vehicle, and the finance guy was condescending. So I went to the parts department and began ordering the accessories that I was told were not available. The L E D side view mirrors were installed by the supervisor of the service department. He admitted damaging the inner workings of the mirrors and ordered replacements. Another trip back to the dealership and the problem was even worse. He tried to convince me that it was normal to see through only half of the mirrors as they could not be adjusted properly to be able to see the lanes to either side of me. He eventually got frustrated with my insisting that they be fixed to the way they originally worked, and told me to go home to my wife. I called the corporate office and it has been over two weeks with no resolution in sight. A week ago I try to remote start before I left to work. The STARLINK system would not connect. When I went out to the car to start it. The dashboard and ignition lights were blinking and it would not start. I had it towed to the dealership, they gave us a small dirty loaner car and yesterday, a week later, they called to say it was fixed and ready to be picked up. We made the trip there to find that it was not true, the vehicle was not ready as the STARLINK was still not working. Were back in the loaner vehicle, its the next day and we have not received another call about the status of our car. This car is two months old and its their top of the line SUV. Do I have a lemon? More to come.
In 2012, I was attempting to park in a space with my foot on brake when I heard a roaring noise from engine and car sped up a incline and hit a tree smashing front. It then careened backwards hitting another car and continued in a backwards drive hitting another car and then smashed into a brick wall and stopped. Police were amazed I was alive. Brought up case with Subaru who denied claim. Just discovered another owner in your comment who had same experience as I did. I am reopening this matter with Subaru.
I bought my car new from Schumacher of Delray, The purchase experience was the best I ever had, however I now have the car approximately 5 months and the radio head unit went bad. The safety features of the car were inoperative, and the gas gauge didn’t work. I took the car in immediately and they took it and loaned me a Forester. It is now 8 days and counting and I still don’t have my car back. I was planning to go out of state but they told me I couldn’t take the car out of state. We had to cancel our trip. I called Subaru of America, they told me they would get back to me and to date haven’t. This is my fifth and last Subaru.
After driving a 2001 Forester we were so happy to get a newer version. We bought ours in February, it is a manual (2013 Forester) which we felt would only extend the life of a vehicle that has a reputation for a long life. Last week we got stranded, the clutch would not work, it would not go into gear. We had it towed to our mechanic who told us it was a common issue with manual Foresters where a part of the clutch breaks within the transmission and destroys the transmission. Subaru knows this is an issue because they have part that you can buy and install to prevent this from happening to the next clutch and transmission you put in your car. Wait, yes I said it... They have not FIXED THE ISSUE. They put a band aid on it and only AFTER you put a different transmission in.The Subaru is past the powertrain warranty of 3 years or 50,000 miles and we didnt want to pay $400 to get it towed an hour away at the nearest dealer so we had our mechanic fix it... Who by the way fixes TONS of Subarus. You would think Subaru would care about the little guy that helps them sell the reputation of their brand, the customer who shares the reputation of their brand, or THEIR BRAND! I called Subaru and they told me they would not talk to me, let me write a letter, review my situation, NOTHING because I didnt tow it to the dealer 45 minutes away when I didnt even know what was the issue. We cant do ANYTHING to help you is what I was told.I am thoroughly disgusted that they know they have an issue they dont fix and just keep taking our money. Instead of me telling everyone what a wonderful brand Subaru is, I will be telling them this story... You would think they would give me the money I paid for the used transmission just to shut me up and keep me as a customer.... But I guess they have enough customers and dont need me. Your loss Subaru.
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?
I bought Outback 2017 in Sept 2017. 3 mos later GPS froze then hatch flew open while I was parking & my dog jumped out. Dealer said electronics needed reprogramming & done. A year later, GPS froze again, hatch slightly jammed on rubber mat, hatch stuck closed. AAA to the rescue, dealer said needed reprogramming & done. New battery. 4 mos later, I used radio while car stopped for 10 min, drained battery, needed AAA again to jump. Told I was using too many electronic features like the radio! Now 3/2019, GPS froze, hatch stuck shut, AAA jumped. Dealer said rubber mat jammed - NOT, it was 1 mm over the space, I am careful, but yes dog jumps in & out. Told interior light of hatch was on because it jammed & drained battery overnight.Extremely unreliable and unsafe in my opinion. Have spent hundreds of dollars in time, Ubers, taxis not to mention lost doctors appointments etc. Internet has websites of hundreds of Subaru owners with identical problems with 2016 - 2018 Subaru outbacks and foresters. Complaints of similar parasitic battery drainage for numerous reasons. They need to redesign the electronics, especially the malfunctioning sensitive hatchback and interior lights, size of battery and hatch rubber mat. Will it take a class action to get them to do this? For sale: 2017 Outback, 19,000 miles, all the bells and whistles, then some. CHEAP. (getting a Volkswagen).
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.
I have had at least 10 problems with the light bulbs on my headlights. The bulbs are not cheap and a lot of people do not know exactly how to put them on, very unsatisfied with this problem. Some dont even last 3 months. Is this a defect in this model? Every mechanic says they are hard to get to, to replace and want to charge high labor. Is there something that can be done about this? I love my car but this is getting aggravating. Thanks.
After only 7k miles and 6 months owning a new Subaru Crosstrek the Check Engine light came on. Turns out the car has a failed Oil Control Valve. Been in the shop for 3 days. The car feels like an oversized toy. This looks like a sign of many more problems to come.
I purchased a Subaru Impreza for my wife on April 24th, 2013 with an agreement that they will order seat covers since the model did not have leather seats and we have 2 small dogs. They give us a certificate acknowledging it. After several visits to the dealership (Subaru of North Broward in Plantation, FL), we realized they had no intention of honoring the deal. When we received a survey questionnaire, we answered explaining what had occurred and provided a copy of the voucher issued by the dealer.On June 1st, received a call from Subaru of America. Mr. David ** who assured me that he will take care. We came to realized that Subaru does not make seat covers for the Impreza 2013. So he asked me to purchase a set and send him the invoice. When I call to speak with him, he had been promoted so Molly ** took over and she explained that the notes that David ** left said that was only for invoices from Subaru dealers. Well, they dont sell them. Im very happy with the car but the customer service is very poor. Going for a new car should be a reason to rejoice not regret and thats exactly how we feel. Bye bye, $387.95.
I have been a loyal Subaru owner over the years. As with other manufacturers being someone who has run a service center as well as being able to perform the task of replacing head gaskets and I cant understand why there hasnt been either a recall or class action lawsuit. I have never seen a Subaru that has not needed head gaskets. I currently drive a 2005 outback with 233000 miles, head gaskets have been done twice with machine shop labor performed every time. These cars are designed to fail. A lot has to do with battery location. Everyone has seen the bottle of special coolant conditioner at the dealer, why the need for it? And heres the simplest explanation, small amounts of electricity pass thru engine parts which reacts with the coolant and the metal in the head gaskets. Its a chemical reaction, over time it eats thru the gasket. Aluminum and steel do not mix as well. Corrosion develops so as you see by design it is set for failure which in 90 percent of cases the customer pays and you all know the cost - anywhere from 3200.00 to 4800.00. Now my car is at the dealer for a brake recall which failed while I was driving and lost brakes so I decide let me look around for another Subaru at some of the dealers. I only looked at cars between 85,000 miles to 110,000 miles, the ten I looked were a mix of Outbacks and Foresters, all had blown head gaskets all of them. So this car in my opinion and Im sure the opinion of many that this car is designed to fail so the dealer can make money and the fact Ive done over a thousand head gaskets in my career is disturbing. And they are all usually outta warranty so when it goes at 85000 your forced with a choice to either spend money on the motor which will blow the gasket again or trade in and get another. But also be mindful on that second head gasket job. The aluminum that the block was made of was so porous the threads came out with the head bolts so I redesigned the motor where the block has studs and you slide the heads on and use grade 8 nuts to complete torque specs. I shared the design with Subaru, not interested at all. So in a nutshell I did head gaskets at 87000 miles and 156000 miles. When I did the redesign it now has 233000 which by my math and experience Im either gonna be due for a head gasket job soon or my redesign has worked with relocation of the battery. Enjoy the photos, this is what had to be done to avoid buying a 5000 dollar used motor that more than likely needed head gaskets. I think Subaru owes it to its customers to design a quality engine. Youre making cars that stop themselves and tell when youre drifting in your lane but cant use better grade metal for the engine or relocate a battery.
I have only 160 miles on my 2014 Subaru Crosstrek. Last week, while running the air conditioning, the engine started chirping & squealing. Took it back to the dealer I leased it from, and the tech told me its a defective Serpentine belt, which is COMMON for their Legacys & Outbacks, but this was the first time shes seen it on the Crosstrek. And best of all, they DONT have the belt in stock (IT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED). So, they have to ORDER it and I will have to be inconvenienced once again to bring it back so they can replace it.
Subaru Outback 2016 - I am unable to change radio stations from the steering wheel when my screen is in Phone mode. In order to change the stations, I have to hit the Home button on the screen, thereby defeating the purpose of the steering wheel button. Has anyone else had that issue?
I purchased a new 2016 Subaru Forester SUV. The electronic rear door (hatch) will not open at times. This has been a persistent intermittent since the first week I got the car. At first I was told that I was not doing it right. It should not be that hard to open the rear hatch on a car that a college educated intelligent person cant open it! After some time and the realization that it was nothing that I was doing wrong, I started bringing it in for repairs. After three repair trips to several dealers -still no fix. BEFORE you consider purchasing this car, I suggest that you google this problem. You will find that it is a persistent & common problem with Subaru Forester and that Subaru has not redesigned or fixed this problem. What a drag standing outside my new 30K SUV with hands full of groceries in the rain and being totally unable to open the hatch! (Disconnecting the 12V battery and resetting everything will make the electronic hatch mechanism finally reset itself.)
In 4.5 years, I have to replaced 5 low-beam headlights in my 2010 Subaru Legacy. The dealership gave several different excuses for the high burnout rate. Their solution was to tell me not to use the automatic headlight feature, which did not help. I called Subaru headquarters, and the representative decided that replacing a headlight an average of every 22,000 miles was an acceptable burnout rate. At $70 per replacement, I cannot afford to keep this car. I wish I had known about this problem and Subarus lack of caring before I set foot in the dealership.
I heard a wind sound at speeds of 120 km/hr or more and fine dust between the doors and car body and I went to the service center. The service center told me it`s normal, that all Subaru XV model 2012 have the same issue after we tried another car.
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.
Ive been into Subaru 5 times for the same problem. Finally they figured out it is a Software Update, but that wont be rolled out for 6-9 months, after the lease is up. I had planned on keeping the car, as I drive for a living, and this was the car I picked up that met my work needs. I am over the mileage by 3,000 and will be much more at end of lease. I want to keep the car but not if it isnt repaired. I have reached out to Subaru and they are researching my options and now wont return phone calls or emails regarding the issue. Our family of 3 each own a Subaru. We are loyal to this brand, but not after what has happened. I believe Ive reached the point now that I need a lawyer to get out of this lease.
2014 Outback- Until now I have done all my oil changes at the dealer (Tom Wood Subaru). On 3 occasions the oil light came on and I had to add one quart of oil. This occurred about 3000 to 4000 miles after the oil change. When I brought this up with the service rep the first time he told me that apparently during assembly, one of the three piston rings had not been installed in some vehicles resulting in excessive oil consumption. Consequently, Subaru had instituted a usage test involving retesting for loss of oil after 1200 miles (loss of 1/3 quart). The dealership has run this test twice and reported no excessive loss of oil in either case. I believe that the test being used by Subaru is not precise enough to detect the problem after 1200 miles and should actually be done between 3000 and 4000 miles. The other possibility is that excessive oil consumption occurs under certain conditions. If this is the case, Subaru needs to share this information with the vehicle owners.
Got this Legacy 2 years ago as a lease return. Had not experience any problems besides locking and unlocking it. I strongly recommend this car to people but before buying it go to Subaru dealer and check it up. Never buy any of a car without doing a full check up.
I purchased the 2015 Subaru Outback brand new, the sticker says 33 mpg highway, I have traveled on the Highway in Kansas (flat, no traffic, no turns, straight highway), and get about 26-27 MPG which isnt even close to the 33 MPG they are advertising. I have emailed Subaru customer service with no reply. I have tracked my mileage and now have just over 5000 miles on my car and have averaged about the same the whole time. The rest of the car is fine.
What Fool I was, I thought Subaru Pre-Owned Certified meant that I was likely to get a decent car. So foolish of me. I know the saying “buyer beware”. Well Dear Santa Fe fellow buyers do beware and go somewhere else. Subaru Impreza 2015 $20,000 39,000 miles Pre-Owned certified. I thought if it said I had 50% of my brakes when I bought it that it was safe. I should have known when the blades on the wipers were shot even though they were checked off on the two page Pre-Owned Certified document. Should have given it back then. The brake pads are shot, and apparently have been since I got it. Which is what the brake light flashing when I make a right turn means. Almost $500. Major safety issue. They advertise a car wash with every service, but for me, only if I ask. The AC got “fixed “. it worked for one evening. The same issue happened with “Auto Start”, it was fixed and broke within 10 days. It was fixed again yesterday. They fixed the brakes for free after a winter of driving on dangerous snow-covered steep narrow twisting dirt road. The kind of road Subaru is good at it, with brakes. Everyone who drives my road blanches when I mention Subaru pre-certified bad brakes. Tried to trade straight across, they wanted to up sell me. Then I got rear ended in a hit and run, now it has had an accident. Can’t wait to dump this car. Don’t buy from Honda Subaru they happily sold me Pre-Owned Certified a car with dangerous brakes. “Buyer Beware”. So is everything else checked off on the pre-owned certified an error as well? Go To to Hueberger in Colorado Spring, or to Toyota, CarMax, Sweet Motor Sales, the funky places on Cerrillos Road. Avoid Subaru Honda!! And stay away from Gregory **. They fixed the brakes, as I drove home everyday of a snowy winter, but not the relationship. Avoid this dealership and Greg **. BUYER BEWARE.
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.

