Subaru Outback

"Both the head and cylinder gaskets failed at 62,000. Subaru wanted to charge me $2,300 to fix. I complained effectively and the charge was reduced. I ended up paying $700 for the work"

"Cylinder head was warped. It had to be machined"

"Cylinder head gasket leaking. Had it replaced and had timing belt done at same time"

"burned exhaust valve # 3 cylinder replaced"

"Original timing belt was replaced on-schedule at 105,000 miles by the previous owner. The replacement timing belt (Gates brand) broke spontaneously with about 70K miles on it (total mileage on the engine/car was 174,000). The car was just cruising along the highway when the engine suddenly stopped. This is an interference engine (2.2L non-turbo) -- 14 of 16 valves were bent. No other engine damage (pistons, cylinder heads, etc.). I rebuilt the engine with new valves, pistons, and bearings. Nearly all other wear parameters (cylinder bore, bearing clearances, camshaft and other valve train parts, oil pump, etc.) were measured and found to be within specifications. However, the head gasket on one bank (boxer engine) was leaking oil externally pretty badly so should have been replaced by the previous owner (engine compression and coolant passages were not yet leaking). The engine wasn't exhibiting excessive oil consumption, but the oil control rings and passages were nearly completely obstructed with carbon deposits, so likely would have started consuming oil relatively soon. Otherwise the engine block, cylinder heads, crank/cam shafts, bearings, etc. were in pretty good mechanical condition for 174,000 miles. Of note, the timing belt-driven components and bearings were all in good shape, rotating freely. The timing belt tensioner wasn't leaking and appeared to be functioning properly, though I didn't measure it's tensioning force or damping. All timing belt components other than the belt appeared to be OEM, and the previous owner believes that only the belt was replaced at 105,000 miles. Perhaps if the idler pulleys, tensioner, and water pump were replaced at 105,000 miles the belt wouldn't have broken (admittedly pure speculation) -- other than the actual break, the timing belt otherwise looked to be in good condition (rubber soft and flexible, cogs were uniform and didn't show wear, no cracks or fraying, etc.). The lesson for other owners, of course, is don't defer timing belt replacement, and always replace all components with quality parts in an interference engine!"

"Check engine light came on. No real problems before that. Within a mile I made a huge cloud of smoke and steam. Could not pull off until I got through a tunnel on the PA Turnpike. By that time the engine had been destroyed. My thought is catastrophic head gasket failure."

"turbo charger failure led to loss of cylinder"

"head gasket failed then valves were ruined"

"engine seem to blow up at 58000 miles had to be rebuilt to the point of having it milled. No financial help from company or dealer but they replaced all cables while they had the engine out"

"Cracked cylinder heads at 120,000 miles. Engine had to be replaced"

"leaking head gasket required complete rebuild"

"Lots of work one on engine prior to purchase (head gasket, cylinder refinish, timing belt). Oil leak caused cam shaft to seize and shear in half, necessitating an engine rebuild"

"2007 Outback continues to use oil, not through leaks or apparent burning of oil. Having the head gasket replaced was necessary because of leaks."

"Gasket didn't fail, but was weeping. Decided to reseal engine since I was keeping the car a few more years."

"Car experienced smell of burning oil. Head gasket was leaking. Changed head gasket when timing belt was due to be changed."

"Leaking compression, loss of acceleration"

"Both heads gaskets leaked without any reason. It seems to be a Subaru motor recurrent problem."

"Both head gaskets had to be replaced (with aftermarket, upgraded gaskets) at 90,000 Km."

"My wife has had 3 Subaru wagons in her adult life. All were non turbo, automatic transmission cars. They all had very expensive problems after 100k miles. I am so sick and tired of seeing all the Consumer Reports ratings putting Subaru cars as high as Toyota and Honda. These cars all start getting sloppy interiors, with squeeky loose plastic panels due to poor materials or engineering or both. The trim parts between body and glass work is loose and last and certainly NOT LEAST are major engine transmission issues. The mechanics we have taken the Subaru's to in the past ALWAYS say, 'Oh yeah, that year had that problem' funny thing is that it was about all 3 cars and both motor and tranny problems. They are disposable junk, not half a million mile winners like most Honda and Toyota ( not all I know) No, my wife will not buy another Subaru, she has learned her lesson, maybe CR should drive cars to 200k and see what happens to them instead of publishing guestimates of their longevity."

"Car sat for a year without being driven. No surprise head gasket was bad. Successfully treated with Bars Leaks head gasket treatment."

"standard problem with this engine in this model year"

"The head gasket has been slowly degrading over the past 5 years. It is a known problem with this model."

"Head gasket was blown, allowing exhaust gasses into the coolant, causing overheating. Required engine to be removed from car, disassembled, repaired and assembled. Told is was a problem for that year of Subaru - it's a 2006, not a 2007."

"The head gasket blew just after 100,000 miles. The car began leaking oil. When I had it repaired they also found the power steering pump leaking and the oil pan seal leaking"

"I just don't think one should have to replace a head gasket on a car with less than 66,000 miles but evidently this is a huge problem for Subaru, at least for several years around 2007 models. They tell me they've redesigned the gasket and this isn't a problem any more"

"We've actually had dripping oil from head gaskets, going back many years. Frustrating, since the problem was a known design flaw, and supposedly was corrected before our model year. Fix involves removing engine from car, and this started around 38,000 miles"

"Had to replace the head gasket on one side it was leaking oil so the engine was pulled out to replace the head gasket so did the other side at the same time also did the timing belt"

"Small leak.found some fuel in coolant"

"Went to mechanic for oil leak and smell of burning oil. With car up on lift could see oil leaking from head and running down exhaust pipe. No problem since repair"

"leaking oil and had the head gasket replaced"

"blew after radiator leak repaired"

"Seals were leaking and the engine had to be completely resealed"

"Found on head gasket leaking, got both replaced. cost was about 1,800 dollars"

"Needed to replace head gaskets at only 75000 miles. It was expensive. Later learned this is a common problem with this model"

"I had to have the head gasket replaced at 90,000 miles. The service manager of the Subaru dealership that did the work said that was VERY common with Subaru's"

"leaks and have to add oil and coolint"

"Actually valve seal failure"

"Engine had to be retooled"

"head gasket replaced at the same time the timing belt was replaced"

"premature head gasket failure, requiring engine removal and repair"

"head gasket failure, leaks oil"

"Subaru had a service bulletin or recall on head gaskets on previous models. When the problem occurred on my 2007 Subaru should have immediately admitted the problem and fixed without complaint on my part"

"At only 69,000, miles the dealer discovered that the head gaskets were leaking. The extended warranty had expired. As a long time Subaru customer, I contacted Subaru about it, particularly the low mileage. They reimbursed me for one half of the c"

"Head gasket leaked oil onto the exhaust headers. I just had the head gaskets replaced during the scheduled timing belt replacement - $3000 total"

"Leaking head gasket"

"Moderate oil leaking attributed to head gasket"

"Poor original head gasket leaks both oil and antifreeze. Had heads and block milled and a new thicker-better quality head gasket installed by independent mechanic"

"Head gasket needed replacing after 65k miles, city conditions. Very lame. Subaru comped me ~25%"

"The engine was leaking oil and diagnosed as having head gaskets that needed replacement and since they were into the enging that much it was cheaper to replace the timing chain then, rather than do it separately when schedule 10000 miles later"

"Because there are two head gaskets the parts were <$100, labour was >$800"

"Warping and had to re-machine the heads and replace the head gasket at 90K. This car has never been overheated and has had regular oil changes"

"Big oil leak around gasket. Had to pull engine to replace. Should have been caught earlier buy dealer when it was under warranty. Took it back for leaks/smells and was missed every time.Very expensive"

"leak around head gasket leaked oil on spark plugs"

"blown head gaskets"

"aluminum engine warps had to remove engine and grind it down and replace gaskets"

"My head gasket blew with less than 56000 miles on it and just after the 5 year warranty expired. Luckly my salesperson went to bat for me and I only had to pay for the labor(around $200)"

"Oil leaking from front of engine. Cost to repair--$2500. Have not repaired yet"

"Head gasket started leaking at 70,000 miles. Cost of repair was over $2000"

"Had to have new head gaskets and found out later that Subaru is noted for having to head gaskets replaced. Cost me $3000"

"Had this done at the same time the leaking head gasket was repaired"

"Recommended change by Subaru after 100000 kms."

"Turbo has failed twice. Was told it has to do with defect in tubing getting oil to turbo. Was told other subaru turbos have experienced similar problems. Subaru denies there are any defect in design"

"failure"

"The turbocharger "blew up" and sprayed oil all over, lost power, needed to be replaced"

"blown turbo 2 x's"

"Failed and required replacement"

"cv boot & axle replacement"

"both front CV driveshafts replaced"

"Just had a boot leak around the ball joint. Had to replace the boot and the ball joint"

"First time replaced so..."

"Some dry rot from sitting for a year"

"There was a bad wheel bearing that progressively got louder and louder. It was repaired and the noise stopped."

"The bushings on the lower control arms wore out and had to be replaced (I'm trusting my Subaru dealer that this problem actually existed). The repair included a requirement for a front-end alignment. Previously, both CV axles had been replaced"

"Both sides: Front suspension control arm rear mount bushings & related sway bar links replaced at 60,280 miles for $690 + tax"

"The control arm bushings showed wear. They were replaced"

"Actually it was both front cv axles over the last several years. Boots split and leaked. I also needed rear struts last year, and a wheel bearing several years ago"

"Needed to replace the power steering pump. Pretty expensive parts and labor."

"the noise of the failing pump was terrible."

"The alternator was replaced last year, and I don't believe the belt was properly replaced. It began to wear and squeal and the lack of tension caused the power steering to stop working."

"The pump or hoses have some kind of leak that causes air to be mixed in the system, making it noisy. I have heard that this model needs the pump replaced usually at 100K miles"

"The rack and pinion assembly had to be replaced"

"This vehicle would be very reliable, but suffers major rust damage underneath, including shocks and struts."

"Shocks and struts were not damping as much as they should - they were significantly worn. But amazingly at 174,000 miles they had not actually failed - most drivers wouldn't have noticed their degraded performance. They were not leaking, and even maintained a significant portion of their nitrogen gas charge."

"This was an expensive repair. The total invoice including some other much lesser items was over $2,700. They needed to be replaced totally, all 4."

"First time replaced"

"This is a very expensive repair."

"rear struts rusted so badly they began to leak oil."

"worn out"

"Spring broke"

"Failed and needed to be replaced"

"Struts weak to soon, most all the driving on paved roads"

"needed replacement"

"Rear struts needed replaced. I wasn't hard on the vehicle"

"leaking strut/shock"

"Needs new struts and shocks"

"Front axels needed replacing"

"Rack and pinion leaking"

"The power steering pump and rack and pinion both wore out 3 months ago at 103000 miles and both had to be replaced for $1500"

"Original part would have been >$1000. Not including labour"

"wor out"

"One of the front drive shafts need to be replaced due to boot leaking causing loss of lubrication. Also the left side engine mount had broken. These were the first repairs, except normal maintenance, since bought the car"

"went thru brakes in 6 months; have always gotten great mileage out of brakes in the past; rotors were warped; suspect poor quality on previous brake job"

"The car lived in the Northeast until 3 years ago. Lots of undercarriage rust that we new about when we bought it used. Its a great car with a rustic past"

"This vehicle would be very reliable, but has a lot of rust damage underneath, even affecting the wheel bearings."

"Gradually developed whirring sound. Thought was tires. Isolated to bearings at maintenance."

"This was at least the second time we have replaced wheel bearings."

"For an AWD car with low miles (we live in the country) it was very beat up by our 1/2 mile dirt driveway. It uas only been 2 years in dirt road. Bearings, control arms, cv boots etc. seems like a cute AWD city car but actual dirt on a very limited basis seems too much. Also fit and trim was weak, small issues on finish"

"replaced front bearings due to excessive noise"

"Bearing failure. Replacement needed"

"Needed new rear driver side wheel bearing"

"Had to replace both wheel bearings at different times"

"Experienced noise at highway speeds. Both rear wheel bearings were replaced"

"Dash board electric componets intermittently go off and on including: air bag light, and engine light. Over head light does not work"

"Engine knocks any time it is above idle. A bit disconcerting but it doesn't seem to cause any practical problems. Replaced the knock sensor and tried premium fuel, to no avail"

"Cylinder misfire started early in the year. Suburb dealers insisted problem was incurable but were willing to sell a new vehicle!"

"Leaking head gasket. Head gasket replaced and problem solved"

"Spent over $1200 to have oil leaks fixed. Still leaks. Third Subaru I've had with this engine (different years) and both US made Outbacks leaked like crazy. Not so with the Japanese Forester. Could be coincidence."

"head gasket leak"

"Both engine head gasket are leaking."

"Some gaskets seemed to leak oil to the spark plugs."

"Check engine light came on, home was 1 mile away, so went back and checked oil - none on dipstick. Noticed drops of oil under car. Added oil, took to dealer. Found gaskets leaking on oil pan and had those replaced, along w/other related items. If I had driven with leak, I could've seized the engine. Full disclosure, roads are FULL of potholes, and may have damaged the pan."

"Engine leaks oil about 2.5 quarts between oil changes."

"The engine head gasket is starting to leak, dripping onto the exhaust manifold, creating smoke."

"leak around oil pressure sender"

"oil leak was resolved when the head gasket was replaced."

"Head gasket leak"

"Subaru's Boxer engines are known for oil leakage. Make sure you keep an eye on your engine temps, and check your oil regularly, as it might just be gone one day."

"I lose about a 1/2qt of oil between changes. There is a slow drip onto my exhaust manifold, which causes the oil to smoke a little bit."

"There was an inherent flaw in the head gasket. We started requesting repair at 5,000 miles. Subaru denied a leak or flaw and we drive the car to this day with the constant smell of burning oil. Yes, we've had it "repaired" it still smells. We call it "the Subaru smell" and we can tell when there is a similar Subaru near us by that smell. Shame on Subaru"

"pressure valve sensor leak"

"I have a very small oil leak. It cannot be fixed without a major engine overhaul. I choose to let it leak and check the oil often. It is only a few drops a day"

"The oil pressure sensor failed, causing a major oil leak"

"Head gasket leak required engine to be pulled to replace"

"too soon for an oil leak"

"The oil leak was because of the head gasket being "bad". I think 90,000 miles is not good considering the overall quality of the Subaru"

"Head gaskets leaked onto exhaust manifold causing very bad smell in car"

"Needs a new head gasket"

"Starting to notice several drip spots on garage floor"

"un-fixable oil leaks that resulted in motor having to be pulled out to re-seal the leaks. Car was undrivable due to smoke from oil burning"

"Oil drops on garage floor. Minor leakage"

"leak was minor. fixed in one morning"

"oil dripping on motor causing smell"