Subaru Outback Change Vehicle

"Replaced axles (twice) due to cv joint wear/problems"

"premature wear"

"CV boots failed, requiring replacement of the front axles"

"Boots cracked, too expensive to replace so mechanic installed new axel assemblies"

"I included relevant data in first comments."

"Both front CV joint casing cracked and the joints need to be replaced."

"This is not repaired yet, just came up this week. I am guessing that the CV joint is the problem."

"it was much to expensive a failure to have occurred at such a low mileage."

"The rubber boot covering the CV joint on the front passenger side developed a hole. This allowed all the grease to leak out, damaging the CV joint. This was a $600 repair because of a $12 boot failure. This same problem has happened on several other Subarus that we've owned."

"rubber boots failed, lube leaked out, replaced both CV joint/axles with after-market parts, experiencing vibration not present before replacement"

"Center differential failed. After a few miles, the viscous coupling would start to heat up, then lock, causing binding and crunching of the drive train on moderate to tight turns. First noticed minor symptoms around 159000 miles, and problem got steadily worse as the part broke down. Replaced at 162000 miles."

"We were getting a metallic noise accelerating from about 1800 rpm to 2300 rpm. Service center at Subaru dealership identified it as failing differential and it was covered under an extended warranty. The repair was $1700"

"Serious vibration that the dealer simply cannot figure out. Happens at about 35 mph or at 2500 rpms"

"Front axle almost broke after seizing while I was driving at high speed on a highway"

"Oil leak in front wheel drive"

"Rubber boots around CV joints cracked and failed. Dealer recommended replacing axles rather than rebuilding. Probably typical failure but was expensive."

"The cv boot was torn . Service personnel said both cv and axel needed replaced. Car drove perfectly before replaced. Maybe only torn boot cover needed replacement."

"Had to replace both rear wheel bearings."

"U-joint to rear drive failed. Replacement needed @ $800.00+"

"Driveshaft needed to be replaced. I am not rough with my car! This car is not as tough as it is made out to be. It is a very high maintenance vehicle!"

"Air conditioning would not function reliably because of some sort of electrical problem. I have a very competent and reliable mechanic who was was able to fix it for less than $100 but it took them days to figure out exactly what and where the problem was."

"Front end suspension is shot. Will cause approximately 2K to fix. Still waiting for all details. Horrible Northern Virginia roads with more potholes per mile than smooth roads after a tough winter probably did it in"

"Rust had to be removed from the brake components. Probably caused by the saline brine solutions dispersed onto our roads"

"No complaints really. Needed new brake pads on rear after about 110,000 mi. To be expected"

"Normal brake pads needing to be replaced."

"I bought the car with 124000 miles. The brakes were ok but unimpressive.. Recent wheel noise was diagnosed as bad brakes.. I had all 4 replaced. Brakes are now better than ever."

"Normally, worn brakes would begin squeaking while applying pressure. No squeak occurred, so the wear on rotors and pads was much greater than I would've expected when other symptoms presented--pulsating sensation when braking at high speed. But, no complete failure."

"We live where there is a lot of snow. Several calipers rusted to the point that they did not fully release, resulting in rapid & abnormal wear on pads and rotors"

"With so little mileage, was surprised when brakes had to be replaced and so was garage where it was fixed"

"I noticed a squealing sound in one wheel and brought it to the attention of the dealers service dept twice. Both times they said no problem was found. The third time they reported that the brake pad was completely gone. I suspect that the first two t"

"Had the brake pads replaced and rotors turned 1 year before had to do again. Shouldn't have needed with as few miles between servicing"

"Pads and rotors seem like they need replacing nearly every year, due to things like corrosion (rust and pitting on rotors causing pulsing and uneven wear) and system failures (calipers sticking and wearing pads)"

"Brakes at 50000"

"Brakes wear way too soon! Rotors are not made like they used to be. They are thinner and so re-machining them does not prove to be cost effective. It's better to replace them each time. This car has been a HUGE disappointment! Subaru over promises and under delivers! Will not buy again!"

"Brake pads are in good shape but there is noticeable wobbling in the rotors. Had them checked and they are warped, but don't need to be replaced until pad wear is complete."

"The rotors had to be replaced and after that the car is fine"

"seems the rotors on the subaru wear more quickly than any of my other vehicles. in 64k mi i've just replaced my second set"

"Erratic behavior"

"A few years ago, check engine light went on and resulted in some systems (e.g., cruise control) stopped working. Could still drive car. Mechanic changed oil, changed some sensors, and did other work. These fixes only lasted a few months at most. The last time this happened, mechanic told me Subaru had changed the sensor to use and since then have had no problems (& mechanic didn't charge this time)"

"Hard to start. Needed to replace crank angle sensor."

"Oil leaking from the valve covers. Leaked into a spark plug well. Repaired without difficulty. Expected for a car with 118,000 miles"

"Head gasket leak, same as a 2006 outback I owned. Hopefully they got it right on the newer models"

"Leaking oil at the headers. Will need $3,000 worth of work to fix. Since it is leaking at a slow rate, the dealer says we can hold off for now on the engine job."

"Gasket on head motor leak"

"Related to the head gasket"

"Mystery oil leak that neither Subaru or an independent car shop can find"

"Seals need replacing"

"The plug does not seal the oil into the pan."

"There has been a slow oil leak for a couple of years. My mechanic says this is a common issue with Subarus. I did have the same issue with my prior, 2006 Subaru Outback. He told me, with both cars, to monitor and maintain the oil level and expensive engine repairs would not be necessary. It runs fine."

"The oil leaks were caused by the deteriorated head gasket problem and by broken axle joint sleeves."

"When using unlock button on key fob, back wiper started moving. No problem using unlock button on car door. Doors still unlocked too. But then the back hatch stopped unlocking in addition. No way around so could no longer use back hatch"

"Remote decided to not work at a cost of $160 for a part, worked for one out of two keys but then at dealership after checking neither work, isn't that them breaking it?"

"2out of 4 tire sensors stopped working at a cost of $75 each part and can't get inspected till fixed, I am old school and actually hand check tire pressure, why should I be punished?"

"tire monitor does not turn off"

"Cannot get it to tutn off"

"I had the car washed and the warning light switch on the steering column was turned on accidentally. I did not realize it and left it on when I parked the car for the night. It had drained the battery. I also had to have the high tension cables rep"

"A number of the dashboard service lights would go on and off while driving(check engine/cruise/tire/oil)"

"Frequently a triad of warning lights comes on together (tire pressure, stability system, and cruise light flashes). Sometimes goes away on its own but then returns"

"Tire inflation light on when tires are properly filled. Shop said this is common Subaru problem."

"Rear wiper does not turn-on. Internet says failure of wiring harness is common due to flexing of wiring harness leading to rear hatch due to opening and closing of rear hatch. Repair by Subaru is over $1,000 to replace broken wires"

"rear window wipers and defroster does not work because wires to them rotted out"

"While wiper motor was involved, it is not the only equipment malfunction that resulted when wire harness broke at rear of car where wiring transitions from body to top of hatch door. 14 wires had to be lengthened and reattached to stop blowing fuses and return function to several rear lights, window defrost, wiper and squirter. I've happily had many Subarus, but that there was no service advisory on this irritated me. After being baffled for too long, I finally found a fix on YouTube. Harness re"

"I owned previous Outbacks and this one is more noisy with squeaks and rattles than the previous model"

"This car has a vibration/rattle that no mechanic seems to be able to pinpoint"

"constant, rattle of exhaust heat shields especially noticeable when starting. (Neighbor with a 2010 Outback has the same issue.)"

"Sounds were more worrisome than dangerous."

"I first purchased a Subaru because of the reputation - durability and reliability. Mine has been neither. The interior started having noises at about 30k miles. Around 40k, the undercarriage shield started rattling and was expensive to have re-welded. Around 90k, the under carriage shield started vibrating again."

"significant rattling. Am told it's the heat shields for the catalytic converters and there is no solution other than expensive replacement"

"1. Heat shield. 2. Constant rattle somewhere in the exhaust system or rear stbalizer bar. .3. Also very annoying- wheel bearing replacement 5 times"

"Heat shield rattles"

"There is an annoying rear-end vibration when the engine reaches a specific RPM range"

"biggest complaint is the exterior noise, especially on highway."

"Had to replace clutch and throw out bearing at about 130,000 miles. My 2001 Forrester went 240,000 miles before replacing the clutch"

"The car left me stranded and made loud clunking sounds. I had to replace the the entire clutch because the piece that needed to be replaced was more cost effective to replace the entire clutch"

"It's a manual transmission. Seems like a number of ancillary problems (transmission/clutch starved of fluid?) eventually caused the clutch to fail. The clutch had been making strange sounds, but the mechanics could never reproduce the problem when I took it in. Clutch plus slave cylinder replacement cost $2,300"

"My car was experiencing torque bind, so all-wheel drive wasn't turning properly together when making a slow, tight turn (like pulling into parking space). They had to replace a part in the transmission to put things back in sync, but not sure if it"

"Strange transmission issues, racing of engine. Initial attempt to repair by replacing speed sensor harnise. Finally required rebuilt transmission to resolve. Subaru and dealer provided excellent assistance and rebuilt with minimal cost."

"the control module kept sending error codes. Replacement of the just that would have cost around $1,000 at the dealer. Local shop got a used (48k miles) transmission and installed for around $1200."

"Transmission failed plain and simply."

"Transmission gears shattered . Replaced with Subaru reconditioned transmission"

"Had to pay 3500 to rebuild it at 61000 miles"

"needed a complete transmission rebuild at 100,000. Given my previous experience with Subaru's I thought this was a little premature"

"actually it was a warning light related catalytic converter"

"Failed, required replacement."

"Missfires, timing issues and clogged catalytic converter"

"replace sensors"

"Failed, required replacement."

"water driping on interior/passenger side footwell. drain in dashboard housing evaporater / condenser clogged & water wetting carpet on floor of passenger side foot well"

"wish dealer could determine cause of leak sooner because we needed to bring vehicle back to dealer several times before problem was corrected"

"Heater core needs to be replaced."

"Heater control cable became disconnected as result of radio replacement"

"System was low on refrigerant, was top off works well now"

"radio or cd will turn off while playing. It happens once every several months. To get the radio to work again I must shut off the ignition and turn it back on"

"Radio (and cd) just stop playing or when turned on, no sound comes out. Very random. Had original stereo replaced within months of car purchase (warranty), and the second one started doing the same thing in a couple years. Turn stereo off and back on"

"I discussed this with my climate control discussion"

"Excessive static on AM stations"

"Cable controlling the gas filler door rusted and failed, and had to be replaced"

"Whilst driving the driver side window completely shattered after going over a bump. I was completely covered with shards of glass"

"undiagnosed problem of engine starting rough with unburned fuel damaging catalytic converter."

"Starter replaced when I first purchased it used. It was making some strange noises. No issues with it since."