Subaru

At 30K miles on the Crosstrek, the blower motor started acting up, there was a hard start issue (probably crank sensor) and passenger rear wheel bearing was noisy. The dealer did not want to replace any of the parts under warranty. They did not even want to diagnose it. At that point I did not want this car anymore. Who knows what else might go wrong another 30k miles later. So I traded the Crosstrek in for a 2017 Forester Touring. Now the CVT on the Forester is acting up at highway speeds.

I am waiting to see what the dealer has to say about this issue. Whether they are going to dismiss it and say its normal, or actually look into the service bulletins issued to see if something is applicable. This is quality and service I did not expect from what-used-to-be my favorite car manufacturer. So in short, the three (3) stars is for my old 2005 STi and my 2010 Outback. Everything Subaru produced after that is and was Junk. I will never purchase another Subaru again. Back to Honda/Toyota.

I own a 2011 Subaru Outback, by the way. I also own a 1998 Sienna van from Toyota. And the transmission is still fine. Toyota has put money in Subaru, I think they should reconsider their take. And luckily that last summer I bought a second hand Toyota RAV4 for my daughter instead of Subaru. I was looking for a used Subaru, but thank God I changed my mind for a Toyota. NEVER BUY A SUBARU AGAIN!!!

After some research I came to the realization that this seems to be a problem with Subaru CVT's. So much so that Subaru extended the warranty on them, but did not do a recall. Great for buyers that fell within the time/mileage limit, not so much for everyone else that have these issues later on. The transmission shop is trying to find a solution that is (relatively) inexpensive. Because the price for a new, or rebuilt CVT is around $7,500, getting transmission issues on anything but a newer model (which would still be under warranty) would mean the car is basically a throwaway unless you want to buy a transmission that cost as much as the car is worth.

I took it to another dealer and the mechanic felt the trembling also. He then said he would look into it. He called me back and said he sat in a similar 2016 Legacy and with the approx. same mileage and said it did the same. So he even said it was normal. If it is normal why didn't it do the same thing last year. Subaru of America said that there was nothing they could do because the mechanics said it was normal. It feels like you are sitting in a vibrating chair. They say it is normal then Subaru needs to fix this problem. What you pay for the car it should run smooth. I am very dissatisfied with the car and the service. There is something wrong with the fans or engine or trans. Does anyone have this issue.

Subaru is NOT giving their cars away, you're paying FULL price so, you should be getting a FULLY painted car! Check out other car manufacture paint jobs before you enter a Subaru dealership. The affordable Kia has an excellent paint job as does my VW beetle and my VW Sportwagen, Chevy also does an amazing job. Look under the hoods of these other automakers' cars and you'll be rethinking about the so called "quality" that Subaru delivers.

You're paying a lot of money for top quality so, why settle for less than mediocre? You know it's a bad paint job when you bring your car to have it detailed and the detailer recommends that you get rid of the car before it rusts! And I thought I was buying quality, boy was I wrong! Don't make the same mistake that I did. I am currently working with Subaru and it does not look favorable. If they do decide to help me out I will update this post.

The next vehicle we buy brand new and spend $24,000 on will certainly have working airbags in any situation. It is federal law to have airbags in vehicles, to have a scenario in which the manufacturer can declare the airbag may legally fail is baloney to put it nicely. Before the accident we absolutely loved our Forester and I truly wanted to be able to say that the Subaru company was helpful to us during a rough time. I felt we were ignored and all of my husband's attempts to discuss our situation were handled without care. I would have liked for someone to have spoken to us on the phone directly instead of feeding us generic emails basically saying there was no answer and we had to wait. I would have liked to have known the $24,000 vehicle we invested money into might have bought us more care when being in an accident and being left without our car with a newborn.

The Subaru is past the powertrain warranty of 3 years or 50,000 miles and we didn't 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 didn't tow it to the dealer 45 minutes away when I didn't even know what was the issue. "We can't do ANYTHING to help you" is what I was told.

I am thoroughly disgusted that they know they have an issue they don't 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 don't need me. Your loss Subaru.

I can't even get a "guesstimate." I've been offered $500 for a rental car, but that's only 10 days and that will not even begin to cover that it could take "weeks." So, it's worthless right now until I can even get an estimated arrival date. I'm 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 I'm not in the mood for all of that. I don't like driving around with a faulty major part of the car. I'm disgusted and angry. I'm going to write a letter to the Chief Operating Officer at their headquarters to see if I can get some action.

Then spring came and we started having issues with the rear lift gate. The not so friendly or helpful employees at a particular stealership on Arapahoe and Dry Creek were defensive and accusatory trying to say we had the memory set. Take it up there and get a recall on the ridiculous eyesight programming, just for them to tell us they can't duplicate the lift gate failure. Of course not! You just unhooked the battery which resets the system! We just put up with the occasional rear gate for a year, I keep the oil and filters fresh and we move to the heat of AZ. The rear gate has been getting worse to the point that it rarely ever works no matter what pattern or manual intervention you do. Now our rear gate is completely useless. The dealership in Chandler is great and has noticed the latching being brisk and misaligned. BUT of course, they can't do anything about it until their body shop opens. Enough.

First Bru purchase from us but many in the family over the years, this will be the final. All of the others have been traded or sold, we can't wait to get out of this car as well. We don't care about the electronics or the gimmicks, we wanted a reliable and functional vehicle like we had with our Camry. We will be driving back to CO to sell this car where we can get a better price for it and go shopping. Toyota quality has degraded over the years, it looks like the influence by Toyota Motor Corp is starting to show in Subaru's product lines. Too bad, we wanted to like this super ugly car, it is comfy, drives ok for a boring CVT and the mileage is amazing. Cheap parts, poor assembly and lack of customer service makes our Subaru feel like a Chevrolet. Love. Its what makes Subaru owners wish they had their old cars back.

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 - it's a revolution! It's 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.

Apparently I missed that by about a month. Okay cool. Now what? I am treated poorly by them and there is nothing they can do. I moved on to Gresham Subaru, and at this point I get Subaru of America involved. Gresham claims to fix the car... same light, same problem a week later. Now we are at 9 visits to the shop for the same problem. As if I'm not frustrated enough... I cannot get a hold of anyone at Subaru for probably two weeks. Their customer service reps would say "okay 24-48 hours and you will get a call from a supervisor." Never happens and I continue to call and wonder what is going on.

So it doesn't qualify for a lemon OR a buy back - no explanation, just "no it doesn't qualify" - I'm wanting a collateral exchange at this point... 7 months later, 10 visits for the same check engine light issue, the techs are literally scratching their head at my car. And everyone at Subaru of America is beating around the bush. Won't answer my calls, keeps saying that they won't know anything until their engineers take a look at my car, they keep ordering and replacing and testing parts and I feel like I am a victim of a scam. This is the most awful experience and Subaru is showing their true colors and do NOT stand behind their vehicles when there is a problem. Clearly the 1 and half stars by everyone else explains enough. I HAD to rate this as one star but it doesn't even deserve that.

This is not acceptable in a brand new vehicle. Subaru USA's answer shows that they are aware that there is a power liftgate switch problem and they don't have any corrective action, other than to fob off their problem on the unfortunate buyer. An inoperable rear liftgate is a massive inconvenience, since the rear storage/carrying area is rendered useless. Don't love a Subaru, will never purchase another or recommend to anyone.

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 can't 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. That's 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 don't. I would hate for someone to get seriously injured by this. It's 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.

The scariest was this past Saturday. Mapping, clock everything froze, literally had to pull over and stop the car and then restart it in order to make it sync and work again. If they can't fix this issue someone better be finding my 2013 Outback and getting it back for me since I never had any issues with that one. The 2017 since I have purchased has had one issue after another. It seems others are having these issues as well so why isn't this being recalled or fixed.

I went to another dealer and this time I made them show me the oil level before I left, however, they also filled the engine back up, and told me there was no problem and they would never lie because they have newborns and they are honest. Right. Because I'm a girl who has 42 years of experience working on cars, and I couldn't possibly know how to pull out an oil stick and check the level. So... the moral of this story is that unless you can get the dealer to admit you have low oil, you won't get the new engine. Which means you have to make them check it in front of you. Preferably with your camera rolling. Take pictures, get witnesses, and don't let your car out of your sight until they have the dipstick in their hands. Sound crazy? Try talking with the Subaru of America customer service reps. You'll be hanging up on them, guaranteed. You'll be so pissed off, you will wonder what the hell is wrong with this company. And it never ends.

It's like a nightmare merry-go-round where your car is the POS. Plan on losing thousands along with these nasty ass people. I have now started documenting every time I check my oil and have to add it. I plan on posting on Youtube. It's very inconvenient. I carry two quarts in my back door. The 1st time was in Canyonlands, the second in my parking lot, which the 2nd dealer said laughingly, OMG a parking lot... Everyone knows a parking lot isn't level. So my next documentation oil check will have levels. I still love my Subarus, but it's absolutely DISGUSTING that this corporation does not stand behind their vehicles. They knew about the problem and are letting their customers eat the costs. Problems that are documented by unhappy customers all over the web from 2011 to at least 2015. I'm sure the 2016 and 2017s will have the same problem based on my dealings with this company.

Can we say stick your head in the sand and pretend there isn't a problem? I've NEVER had a car that burned oil at 45K!!! And from that point on, your peace of mind is OVER. Everywhere you go, you better remember to check the oil and put some oil in. Two quarts fits perfectly in the rear door... Just an FYI. That'll get you down the road 2400 miles. Then you need some more oil. I'm burning a quart every 600 miles, but Subaru tells me I'm a dumb bunny... How would I know where the level is on an oil stick??? Dumb Bunny. Oh yeah, but the camera can see it... Really, the camera can see it, but the dealers can't? Now isn't that odd. Subaru consistently says there isn't a problem, but I have to keep adding oil because if I don't, I'll ruin my engine. And Subaru hopes that will happen.

Subaru, you need to do right by your customers. You might be going strong now with sales of cars... but if everyone of those customers have the same problems with shady lying people that work in your dealerships, you'll be lucky if anyone ever buys another car from you. Subaru is losing their loyal fan base. I have two Subarus right now. Will I buy another one? Not on your life. Because I don't buy new cars to open bug covered hoods, check burning oil sticks in 100 degree weather, crank open the hot oil cap and then add a half quart to go 400-600 miles. And then do it all over again and again and again. And then deal with a bunch of crappy liars. Camping?? Taking your relative to the Mayo Clinic 2000 miles away? Don't forget your quarts of oil, a funnel, plastic bags to put the oil in, something to wash your hands with because of the dirt and oil, some paper towels, and a hot pad. And a lot of patience.

Don't waste your time with dealers or Customer Service. You will be much happier. At some point you will have to unload the oil burner. Who do you choose? A dealer or an unsuspecting person. I have the paperwork from Subaru to back up that my car isn't burning oil. How disgusting is that??? But you've got a Subaru's dealers word for it. Does that tell you something? If it doesn't, it should. Buy a different brand. Because this is part of the Subaru culture when you buy one of those cool Subaru cars. Not to mention how unbelievable it is dealing with all the BS with the Customer Service people and Dealers. Mind boggling to say the least. And how many people have they screwed over??? I'm one of them.

I have a 2003 Honda Accord with 103,300 miles on it. No problems, and it doesn't consume oil. I've had Toyotas who have rusted out, but the engine still wasn't burning oil and a Toyota RV that I drove all over the place with humongous loads on it, it never used oil. My POS 2013 Subaru burns oil like a sieve. It's a PZEV, which means it's zero landfill. What about all that oil burning into the atmosphere and the extra oil every 600 miles? So for a 5000 mile oil change, it's 5.5 quarts of synthetic 0W20, new oil filter and gasket for $39.99 and a quart of oil for every 600 miles at approximately 6.95/quart, which is 8.33 quarts of oil, at an additional cost of $57.92. Don't forget the aggravation of making sure you know when your oil is going to be low... like around 600 miles. Now this is me changing my oil using Mobil 1 synthetic.

If you have them change it, it's $58 to $116, and then add the $57.92, plus the aggravation, the BS and the absolute nothing that Subaru will admit to. Then you get to repeat, and repeat, and repeat. My advice, buy a Honda or Toyota or some other reputable brand. I've had Hondas my whole life and Toyotas for over 20 years. No problems. My 2013 Subaru? The car itself is nice, but well, the engine is messed up. The main part of the car, and Subaru sells it to you that way. Some people pay $37K and get a bad engine. What? Huh? Read all the reviews you can. Because they aren't liars. I love my car... I hate the engine, the dealers, and the car maker. Unless you want to pull the engine and put some decent oil control rings on the pistons, but Subaru didn't even care enough to do that and people are getting screwed. It's a really bad thing. The government should get involved. Maybe if there are enough complaints to congress.

After following this suggestion, I went online to see if there were any other complaints about these Subaru engines and discovered a class action suit had recently been settled with Subaru about excessive oil consumption causing the engines to fail, resulting in replacement of the short block. Hey, sounds like my problem! Today Subaru of America's customer service rep called me back to say that they would pay $3500 toward my expected $4800 cost to replace the engine block. I told them I wanted them to pay for the entire cost since it appeared my problem was caused by the excessive oil usage. They asked if I had the oil consumption test done. No, I had not - I did not know I needed to have one done because I didn't know I had an oil consumption problem. There is no indicator light in my vehicle that tells me the oil is low and we always took the car in to the dealer's repair shop for scheduled maintenance and oil changes.

So I asked if I could have one done now. Nope, can't do it - car is not safe to drive the 1200 miles needed to do the test because the engine is that bad already. So, catch 22 - can't do the test because the car is not safe to drive, and they won't approve full cost of repair unless an oil test is done! But, by the way, the repair shop at the dealer did pass my state inspection. So is it safe to drive or not? All I want is for Subaru to cover the full cost, not just partial. It's pretty obvious the early engine failure is a result of a problem with their engine since I the scheduled maintenance on the vehicle done. They're already willing to pay $3500 - what's another $1300 to make a customer happy? I will never buy another Subaru and recommend no one else do either if this is how they treat their customers.

The morning I was supposed to bring in my car for service I was going to clean it, then bring it in. Aside from writing, I walk dogs (much like in the numerous Subaru commercial, implying that the cars are for active lifestyles and dog lovers and the car gets pretty dirty sometimes. Unfortunately, that morning I discovered that my battery was dead and had to call roadside assistance (ironically) on the day of my service appointment. I spent a lot of time on the phone with these people, and when the guy boosted my battery, I drove it up to the dealership without having the time to clean the car. The service attendant was disappointed, as this would probably show that my battery was fine, rather than being able to test if it was faulty. Luckily, it still failed, so they replaced it. I showed the attendant where rust spots had started to form on the inside of the hatch. She took pictures and sent them off to Subaru Canada.

No one contacted me. I called and got no answers, but plenty of people saying they would get back to me. It took 8 phone calls before the service manager at Barrie Subaru told me that the company felt it was not a manufacturer's defect, but rather dirt that caused the rust, and that they were "happy" to pay for half of the repair. Reminder, this is 18 months after the purchase of the vehicle. There was also no way to talk to the person who had made this decision but I did call customer care and gave the lady there an earful, without purpose, really, as I asked if the call was recorded or if she wrote anything down. The answer to both was "no." So here are a few things I want to point out:

1- Of course, they are "happy" to pay for half. They should be paying for the whole thing. A friend of mine had the same problem with her Toyota truck. They said the rust was caused by sand. However, the clear coat was intact. 2- What would they have blamed the rust on if I had had the chance to clean my car that morning? 3- I didn't have the chance to clean my car because of Subaru's faulty battery. 4- The car still surges forward when I'm stopping. 5- This is a crooked company that does not care about their customers. If you disagree, try reaching a human being who has any authority to make a decision. 6- What kind of sport utility vehicle can't handle getting dirty without immediately getting rusty? Again, see their commercial. They should definitely NOT be marketing to dog owners. Please, don't trust the car awards. This is not a reliable car or a consumer-friendly company. They want you to buy, then wash their hands of you.