Subaru Engine Issues.

Hey guys,

I've always wanted a Subaru Forester or Outback. The 2009 or newer Foresters are roomy and you can't beat that symmetrical all wheel drive system. I started researching them recently but friends have told me horror stories about excessive oil consumption or head gasket issues. Subaru doesn't appear to have fixed either issue conclusively.

In my opinion, I have a 50/50 chance of buying a defective Subaru. Either the car will burn a quart of oil every 1000 miles or need head gasket replacement every few years. Does anyone have experience with these problems?

Four wheel drive, or not, they can't go through snow deeper than the underside of the car. My ex-wife's 01 outback (bought new) had less ground clearance than my 98 Ford Minivan with the drop-down I-beam rear axle.

Plus she had a lot of trouble in the first few years with belly pans cracking. Not sure if it was vibration fatigue, or running over stuff with such low ground clearance, but it had to go back to the dealer for repairs several times. Don't know if she had to have engine work done, too.

My four daughters complained about the lack of space on trips with the five of them sandwiched into it. And none of them are larges gals. At least the Forester has much better head height and not so closed in feeling.

After a few of our winters, the ex traded in the outback and got a Ford Escape with much better ground clearance.

Paul

Someone mentioned the engine problems a while back, I can't find it right now. A search of the word 'subaru' brings up a lot of threads, including the AWD. Be sure to read about that.

We had a 2014 Outback purchased new. Wife & I feel they are overpriced & underpowered. Also had to add a quart of oil every 3K miles. Did some research & discovered that there is a major lawsuit against Subaru for this reason. We would never own another one.
Jim

Steer clear of the '99-'04, 2.5 liter engines - those are guaranteed head gasket issues.

My brother just traded his '15 Outback for a '16 Ram. After a recent trip in it with his new bride out to western PA, the decision was made for him. The thing was a gutless slug (4-cylinder) - could feel the lack of HP on every hill. Only put about 6k miles on it. Also hated the CV transmission. Was a strange, quirky thing. Mileage wasn't all that great for a 4-banger either.

Definitely overpriced! Everything is today. Trucks are selling for $65k and up! Ridiculous.

We had a 2009 Forester that we purchased new. Head gasket started leaking, so we replaced it before it got worse.. a few days later the motor seized. sold the POS and won't own another

I had a 2-dr Subaru convertable back in the 80's .. nice car.

Too bad they make vehicles with such most basic issues.

Lots of vehicles have issues, but keep in mind that most people only post about their cars on the 'net if they have problems. The people driving to work and hauling the kids usually don't say much.

Subarus are very popular in my area, and most people are repeat owners. We have a 2014 Outback 2.5 and a 2015 Legacy 3.6 that we bought new. 60,000 miles on the Outback, 38,000 on the Legacy, nothing but oil changes and tires. No oil consumption, and no complaints other than the low hp of the 2.5 engine.

The 2.5 is not a power house by any stretch. It gets the job done, but that is about it. The 3.6 is a much different experience. Very quiet, and a lot more torque.

Our Outback is more enjoyable in the snow that our Tahoe or my Ford truck. My vote is to test drive a few and make up your own mind.

I didn't research lately; however ifn ya google "Subaru class action lawsuit" ya should find something.
Jim

More Subarus than cats in Maine, people love them in the winter. Consumer Reports reliability charts show the Outback engines 2010 and newer are much better; Forester is still spotty, though I thought they used the same engine so I don't know why the difference. My favorite mechanics still say I should plan on head gasket troubles (big $$$) every 80,000 miles if I buy one.

Your mechanics advice is accurate for the older "EJ" engines. They made some improvements to the EJ the last few years it was in production, and it seemed to greatly reduced the number of head gasket issues. Then they came out with the "FB" engine, which does not have coolant passages from the block to the head that pass through the head gasket. Somehow the coolant is routed through the head externally. Not sure if it is piped, through the timing cover, etc. In any case, I am not aware of any head gasket problems with the FB. The downside of the FB engine is the oil consumption issues they had the first couple years of production. New engine design, low tension oil rings, new engine plant...hence the class action lawsuit.

Thanks for that information. Like the OP I have wanted a Subaru, but held off due to lousy gas mileage and bad reputation of the engines, both of which have improved now. I did have a 1991 Legacy 2-wheel drive wagon that was nice, but it only lasted 190K before the transmission died and it was generally getting tired. It had the 2.2 engine which was solid. Early Subarus, say 1970s, were horrible rust buckets here in the salt zone. I thought that problem was overcome, but I have seen a surprising number of 2000 and later Outbacks with significant rust.

I average about 28 mpg in my 6-cyl Legacy.

Holy crrapper -- I can't even get that out of a 4-cylinder! It must be very flat, and tail-windy where you live.

Rob R. wrote:I average about 28 mpg in my 6-cyl Legacy.

Some of the 4-cyl Subarus with CVT get 30 mpg. But I've been told the 6-cyl doesn't have the engine problems of the 4, and it's not under-powered.
My driving is about 90 percent at 35 to 55 MPH, and my 2015 Accord averages 42 mpg summer, 36 winter. I have seen it do 51 mpg on a 25 mile stretch where traffic conditions restricted me to a steady 40 MPH. Who needs a Prius?