Subaru Reviews

Then almost two weeks to a month after that I started getting noise from center console/front of vehicle area. So I took it to the dealership and they said it was bad tires. So I went and bought a new set, well that didn't fix the problem. Took it back in immediately and they continued to look over it and came back that they transmission, transaxle, and wheel bearings were all bad, so after almost two weeks in the shop I got it back and it worked fine for about a month. Then the infotainment system went bad, then blindspot again, then it started stalling out with AC on coming to a stop, which brings me to now. Now the noise at the beginning is coming back and the blind spot is acting up again and this time only near railroad equipment.

I forgot the windshield broke a month after having it, not due to any rocks or anything of that sort. Just randomly popped and cracked all the way across staring from the passenger side. I bought the car with 4 miles on it. Now it has 56k and is always highway driven and never driven hard at all. The fastest the has ever been pushed was 85 mph passing semi trucks. I have started to notice GPS seems to constantly lose connection, but that could be because of the area I live in. There seems to be a lot of GPS problems up here so not that big of a deal.

I have been in contact with Subaru of America throughout the whole ordeal and all they say is take it to the shop. Seriously no **. I thought I might try to fix it my self and void the freaking warranty. Subaru fan base seems to be loyal to the company no matter what even if they absolutely are freakin terrible. They have offered no solutions to the problems but besides take it to the dealership's shop and they will have to recreate the problem. Most times they fail to do so because it's either not driven far enough to recreate it or it's just not looked at that in-depth.

Now I am seeing if Subaru will either compensate for time out of my work and having the car constantly in the shop and them selling a lemon, or just filling for lemon law. I am currently looking for options. I will never buy another Subaru ever again. I am done with being treated like an idiot from S.O.A. and being told to just take it to the shop. It's already in the shop once a month for oil changes which are outrageously expensive and tire rotation.

When people tell you they are reliable don't believe them. Also when you drop almost $37k on vehicle you expect it to work, and on top of that I drive for my job and if I don't have a reliable and safe vehicle for work I won't have work for long. Anyway be very careful buying a Subaru and I advise if you do stay away from eyesight systems. Pretty much the only thing decent about the car is the looks somewhat. The only reason I bought the damn thing is because I trusted what people said about them being reliable and the amount of interior room and interior cargo space it had, but never again.

At 58000 miles both rear wheels had bearings go out, the alternator had to be replaced, the battery had to be replaced and I had just put new set of nice tires on it. Contacting dealer I purchased from I was told all under warranty except for battery. Upon taking to Subaru, told nothing under warranty. When purchased I was told this car would hold its value like a Jeep. I traded it yesterday and I owed 18577 on payoff and multiple dealers valued at 11,000. This was the most costly vehicle I ever owned and the most stressful. You do not want to drive near large pickup trucks or 18 wheelers. I was suckered in like a Hallmark card on a cold winter day.

To my amazement I realized that some of the directions, not all but maybe 20%, given by the nav system were–I cannot say this in a politically acceptable manner–not intuitive, stupid and dysfunctional. Two examples are 1) it tells me to exit a major highway, go through a toll booth, then get back on the same highway, and 2) to make a right hand turn it told me to go around the block in a counterclockwise direction when, in fact, there was nothing preventing me to simply turn right.

I first reported the erroneous navigation performance to the Service Manager at Bath Subaru in Bath, Maine in May 2017. They took a look and reported the Service Tech could not find anything wrong. The Service Manager asked that if happens again I should document exactly what happened. The issue continued so I documented almost each and every occurrence, some including pictures of the nav screen. In June the Service Manager sent an email asking that I bring the Outback in on June 22, 2017, so a Subaru Field Service Engineer could take a look and provide a remedy. Vehicle went in on June 22 and it was reported per Subaru’s Field Service Engineer, “I am ordering you a new radio head unit. There seems to be a hardware failure making your navigation fail intermittently." Great… or at least I thought so at the time.

At the end of July 2017 the new Head Unit was finally installed. The Service Manager said the new head unit will resolve the nav failure and asked that should any further incidents of erroneous performance occur I clearly document them and email them to her. The new head unit did not resolve the defective nav performance and a week later, on August 8, I sent 5 different examples to her. Thereafter, I continued to send her 3-5 different examples for several more weeks. Fact was, the new head unit made the problem worse.

Here are two examples: 1) I needed to travel south on Route 95. This is a major highway, not some obscure road in nowhere Maine. The nav unit directed me to enter into the Rt 95 northbound exit, against exiting traffic, drive over both the northbound and southbound lanes on an imaginary overpass that clearly didn't exist, then travel on an imaginary Rt 95 southbound entrance ramp that also did not exist, and get on Rt 95 south. Quite dangerous! 2) In order to get to my final destination the Subaru nav system instructed me to turn right into a field having no road, travel off-road for 2 miles across this roadless field, and meet up with another road on the other side of the field. The Subaru handles different terrains fairly well, but not that well.

On or about August 15, 2017 the Service Manager at Bath Subaru asked Subaru of America to step in. I received an email from Subaru of America in which a Subaru representative apologized for my navigation "concerns" and asked for some time to review the problem. On September 20 I received a follow-up email stating "At this time, our Quality Assurance team is still in the processing of reviewing the concerns you are experiencing with your navigation unit with the units vendor, Fijutsu-10. There is no updated feedback that has been provided."

It is now October 16th. I took the Outback in for routine service during which time I spoke to the Service Manager about the nav issues. I was told by the Svc Mgr that she has a number of other reports of the same problem, all waiting for Subaru of America and/or Subaru's Quality Assurance team and/or Fujitsu-10 to identify the cause of the dysfunctional navigation system and re-mediate the problem.

Six months in passing and Subaru cannot provide an answer to the AWFUL and sometimes dangerous performance of the Fujitsu-10 navigation system. Although the performance of the 2017 Subaru Outback is very good, I would never purchase another Subaru, not only because the navigation system is defective and/or dysfunctional and/or dangerous from time to time but because Subaru seems unable or unwilling to fix the problem with the navigation system which I paid upwards of $2,000 for. Buyer beware!

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!!!

Original Review: Sept. 28, 2017

9/28/2017 went to the dealership that I've been to since I bought the car Oct 2014. 0 mile STI. The trunk vents are rusting, and the paint on the roof is bubbling and rusting through. SUBARU ISN'T COVERING THE REPAIR COSTS. I have 40k on the car and it's only 3 years old. GREAT JOB SUBARU!!! YOU have now lost a multi Subaru owner. Will never buy another one...

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.

They apparently do not look at things like this. I hate it. Anytime I ask Subaru, they say that is just the way Subarus are. Now my radio screen has squiggly lines all over it. So bad I cannot see to back up or see the channel on the radio if the sun is shining on it. They said, "Well, the radio works, doesn't it." If we were talking about a 57 Chevy, yes, I can hear the radio. But this vehicle radio is supposed to do other things and it does not because you cannot see them. This item I believe cuts into resale value. Anyone thinking of buying a Subaru should check out these items. If they are ok with them, fine. But I was not told nor did I think to check them before I purchased and Subarus do not come cheap.

I asked a supervisor I spoke with in Consumer Affairs, "What would you do if this were your car?" She refused to respond. I asked why she would not answer and she became angry and told me to call the attorney general's office. (This was someone who trains others in how to interact with consumers). Another Subaru of America representative echoed her invitation and told me not to bother reaching out to anyone else -- that he, a middle manager, was the last word. Even if I was satisfied with the car, the experience with the company was enough to make this Subaru, my third and last.

I don't do ANY heavy driving whatsoever, do not beat the car, I drive locally on sideroads 35-40 mph or less and sometimes a small drive on the highway to visit a friend. 3 wheel bearings needing replaced on a 9 year old car in the last 5 yrs of owning it???! I presume the 4th is about to go too... Not get past the wheel bearings failing, the car eats gas like no tomorrow. I eat a half a tank of gas in 3 days. Yes 3 days. Ever since I owned the car, (it's an automatic) it constantly shifts rough and jerks hard sometimes shifting gears. Or is very sluggish (I have had the transmission checked and everything after I bought the car). It's like the car is choking on itself.

I will NEVER buy another Subaru again! It has been costing me so much money. I cannot afford it. And for a safe reliable 4 door vehicle the insurance on it is as much as a BMW or Audi. I should have bought one of those because the parts are just as expensive as a expensive luxury vehicle! That's another thing parts are EXPENSIVE! Now I took it to the shop and there is oil on the oil pan dripping out (I only have 88k miles mind you and get the oil services every 6 mos). And the entire dual mufflers and cat back is shot and rotting out and needs replacement (it costs over 600 bucks for that). I don't know at this point, but I feel like selling this money pit expensive mess of a junk by Subaru and finding a more quality vehicle that will not need CONSTANT repairs and attention.

Fast forward three months later, we never heard back from the dealer. So we called again, they said "can you bring it in a week time because they only receive 4 new airbags at a time." At that point, we weren't sure if they simply forgot to call customers back or they're overwhelmed with this whole recall thing. We probably would have never heard back had we not called (In the meantime, Subaru had sent another note urging us to get the airbag replaced.). And when you eventually get an appointment, they cannot tell you how long the work will take given that they have so many appointments. Overall, I find that Subaru has not been on top of this recall issue and is not acting swiftly. Given the safety risk associated with the faulty airbags, they need to act with a greater sense of urgency since people lives are at risk. And the customer service end has not been any better either.

In fact, I was right the whole time every time and in this last experience, dealer tested the issue using a tire pressure gauge, one who he admitted was faulty. A simple, cheap TPMS troubleshooting tool would have avoided everything listed below. Why? Because one of the sensor batteries was low, but they were incompetent in finding it. Perhaps this email sent to the dealer says it all:

Just as an FYI... I just responded to the Subaru of North America survey with the following statement: "Dot was the WORST representative you can hire to help your customers. She is adamant about protecting Subaru's resources than solving a customer's safety issue, regardless of "policy." If leaving your customers high and dry with a valid safety issue that causes frequent distractions to whether my wife is low on gas, TPMS, etc. is UNACCEPTABLE!! I had to sneak around DOT in order to get to a manager of the team who is now at least providing the resource of time towards my issue."

"I DEEPLY fear my issue will not be resolved, despite my photographic proof of the issue that is FALSELY causing safety alerts during my wife's driving of the vehicle. I explained this inexcusable behavior by Subaru has now put my future trust in Subaru in serious jeopardy. This is my second Subaru, my first being a Saab 9-2x, which makes this car my first with Subaru directly. With a car being allowed to travel on the roads with a serious safety issue is unquestionably irresponsible of your company. And Dot makes sure I do not get the help needed. She was yelling at me and a disgrace of your organization."

"REPLACE TPMS sensors immediately under warranty. I am at a loss at what else there is to do. This is the position I am now in. If there is any way we can escalate this within the Subaru executive organization, it would be greatly appreciated. I cannot fathom giving my wife her car back with this serious safety issue questioning her constantly whether or not her tires are safe based on the continued false TPMS sensors, only because you are unable to reproduce the issue, despite my three documented and photographed incidents SINCE leaving your service center on my last two visits. Despite the policy, I am seeking replacements of the TPMS sensors to give my wife the safety and security she needs as safety is our number one concern when purchasing a vehicle."

"Whatever we need to do, please let's continue to push for escalation wherever possible. Subaru has a responsibility to stand behind the safety of their vehicles under warranty. While my wife's car is in your dealership service center right now for the third time in three consecutive weeks, you have the opportunity to make this right. You have the proof it happened three times after leaving your dealership, that is all that should be required for replication of the issue."

A month ago, noticed that my acceleration was compromised so my mechanic changed the engine filter and then the battery, which improved the acceleration slightly, but thought it was in my head. The car started to make a "rattling sound" after trying to accelerate over 60-80MPH; it felt that the engine was choking. I would not even pass other cars for fear of the car stalling; no lights came on. Then the next day, the dashboard went haywire with the lights (cruise control, solid engine light, traction control, and another light that I can't remember right now). Took it to another Subaru dealership in North Attleboro, MA and they hooked it up to the "machine" and told me that I needed OSV Valves for both side, code P0028. The cost of the valves were 235.74 and labor was 600.00, totaling $835.74, which I paid since I thought it was going to resolve this issue once and for all.

I asked if the tech took the car for a test drive and they could not confirm this. I picked up the Subaru and drove off, the car had a slight improvement but not for the 835.75 repair. Called Subaru the next day, and drove the car back to the dealership. Had the general manager drive my car, and he felt that the car had no power to accelerate and that the transmission felt like it was slipping. This was Saturday morning. On Tuesday, the Subaru manager said that they were still working on it; they could not find the source of the problem and was on the phone with another Subaru department trying to figure this out. A day later, we got a text message stating it was my transmission leaking down internally. The cost to replace was $6040 and that did not include other parts and fluid. I wrote to Subaru since I feel that the Class Action Lawsuit of the excessive oil consumption may be related to the transmission.

In addition, Subaru had replaced OSV valves and did not test drive the car to see if they remedy the issue. Lastly, why did the diagnostic machine pick this up? I purposely asked the tech, if there was another nested issue underneath the OSV valves; she answered "no". The POO28 code was correct diagnosis. I will contest the charge for the valves on my Visa and have written to Subaru Corp about this issue. Between replacing timing belt, fuel pump, tires... this transmission would have set me back well over 10k. If I can't get Subaru to fix this for under 2k, I will trade it in. This car was great in the snow, but the seats were uncomfortable, poor visibility from the side of the car (blindspots were bad). Headlights are constantly burning out and Subaru response is to go to the dealership to get them replaced. Next car will be a Honda or Toyota.

Original Review: May 9, 2017

I purchased a new Subaru Forester 2017 manual. At approximately 2300 miles the oil light came on and I had to purchase 2 quarts of oil to get the light to turn off. I took the car into Dellenbach Subaru in Fort Collins, CO and was told that they would need to run an oil consumption test which requires me to drive the car for 1200 miles. I was not happy. The service manager, Jerry, agreed that they have had issues with the Forester and oil consumption. A salesman informed me that they had to "buy back" another 2017 Forester model because of the oil consumption. I told them that I did not think that it should be the customers responsibility to drive a car 1200 miles in order for Subaru to determine if there is an issue. I purchased a new car and should not have to put oil into it this early on. That's why I purchased a new car, in order that I wouldn't have to return to the dealership with any issue(s) or have any issues to deal with at all.

I told them that I was not happy. I would like to trade-in the car for another car that they have not had any problems/issues with previously. I was told that this is the only way for Subaru to determine if there is an issue. Obviously, there is an issue here. Subaru customer service needs to listen to the customer. One does not pay the money for a new car to have to return to the dealership 3 times to deal with Subaru's problem.

EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED, especially finding out that they have been having engine problems and brake issues with these vehicles. BOTH issues have been causing these 2007's, vehicles to catch on fire. SHAME on you SUBARU of AMERICA, consumers need to know these vehicles catch on fire because of engine and brake issues. WE were a SUBARU family, but this month I bought a TOYOTA and a CHEVY, it's the first time in 26 years that I DIDN'T BUY ANOTHER SUBARU. Clean up your ACT BEFORE SOMEONE GETS HURT or even KILLED!!!

1. In the picture on your website the car had a trailer hitch. I wanted that, but no hitch. Larry said they had to take it off because it wasn't a Subaru hitch. It was after market. So I have to buy a hitch. U-Haul is 300.00. 2. In the picture on your website it had a rear cargo mat. No mat. Larry said it was bad, so they threw it out. He finally gave me a used one from another car. 3. It took 45 minutes to find the second set of keys. OK, so I got the car, drove it home to my place in FL. Waxing it and notice a dent in the front fender passenger side. I had it removed by a dent removal service 195.00. I did ask for detailed pictures that I never received, and I also ask Larry if there were any paint deficits or dents. Of course he said no.

The final thing, drove it to work yesterday in the dark and notice a headlamp out. Now I know there is an extended warranty for bad headlamps on 2010, 2011. So I replaced the lamp myself and found that Larry and your dealership had left non Subaru HID headlamp conversion kit on the car, so now I don't know if Subaru will honor the warranty."

Cute commercials, supposedly a green forward thinking company, don't believe it. Subaru produced thousands of faulty pistons and kept using them until they were caught. Subaru of America's response was flat out denial. I will never buy another Subaru product and I encourage you to do the same. A company that doesn't stand behind their product and presents a fake posture of caring should not be dealt with.

In today's internet issue of Consumer Affairs I learned that the Impreza has been recalled for the same issue but there is not mention of the Outback. I am very disgruntled to say the least. I guess I will be forced to wait until all the Imprezas are fixed before a recall is issued on the Outback. I'll just continue to keep my fingers crossed because I have to have my car for transportation and can't just park it indefinitely. No more Subarus for me.

In 2013 leased another 2014 Forester because we love how it performs in the snow and ice. Well, this one is also giving us problems right after the 3-year warranty mark. This past winter it didn't start in about 7 or more different occasions (lost count) leaving me stranded in the cold, sometimes alone or with kids. We are never, ever getting another Subaru--I don't care how well it performs in the snow.

As it turns out, Subaru has three levels of databases in which these items are stored: national, regional, and local dealership. For each of the two items, I attempted on several occasions on national and local websites, via multiple national and local phone calls, multiple snail-mail requests, and multiple face-to-face visits to acquire the changes. In spite of my attempts, materials from Subaru continued to arrive at the *old* email and snail-mail addresses! All this took place over a period of 9 months. The issue has *still* not been fully resolved. For my own security, I feel I must make face-to-face appointments for maintenance. (The vehicle is still under warranty and a regimen of maintenance is required to maintain terms of the warranty.) I must describe Subaru's information processing as primitive at best.

However, when placing the motor back in the car a strange noise developed in the engine. They again pulled the motor adjusting the tensioning on the timing chain yet the noise was still present. They then contacted Subaru technical support asking for assistance. They are currently pulling the motor for the fourth time with the intention of replacing the cylinder heads and camshaft.

Up until now, I have been in contact with both dealerships expressing my concerns. I have also spoken with customer service, a supervisor, and a manager at Subaru of America. The manager at Subaru headquarters said they could only offer me 2500.00 towards the purchase of a new vehicle. The manager at Hatfield where I purchased my vehicle from passed me off to a sales associate who only wanted to sell me a new Subaru at full price to meet his end of the month February sales quota. The manager at Byers where my car is being serviced has been less than forthcoming as to the true status of my vehicle and I have not heard from him as to the status of my vehicle as promised in the last four business days.

What concerns me the most is my wife and I now own a Subaru with a long list of engine problems so early in its life and a transmission which has been exposed to wear by fluid loss and after June of 2017 we have no warranty. We worked very hard paying off this vehicle early with every intention of keeping it for at least the next ten years. This was our first new car purchase and we chose Subaru because its incredible record of reliability. The current trade in value for this vehicle is 14,500 and we cannot afford to take out another loan for 10-14 thousand dollars to get the same style of Subaru we just paid off.

We paid in full for a Subaru because of its name, we always had it serviced at your dealerships, and I feel we are being punished for a rare flaw which required them to pull the engine so early in its life and thus creating more problems with the engine and transmission by trying to put it back together. It is not a matter of if this vehicle will have more problems in the near future it is a matter of when and I refuse to put my wife and two children back in this Subaru wondering when the next big mechanical failure might occur, one which we cannot afford. I am reaching out to you with the hope of resolving this issue and I refuse to give up until a solution can be reached.

I finally gave up complaining and had to live with it until a couple of months ago with only 83k non-abused miles the transmission started whining. When I took it to the same dealer I was told that a rear bearing needed replaced and they couldn't even get that part. So I was told that I needed a reman transmission and it was going to cost over $5k. And I thought Subarus were well-built, long-lasting vehicles. Other than that the car has been pretty good, with the exception of 5 safety recalls and the firewall that the clutch is attached to has spot welds cracking. And this issue is a known issue and there was even a class-action lawsuit against Subaru. So if you're thinking of a Subaru please do some research before you get stuck with issues that could be very costly and time consuming to deal with. And you might want to do like I'm going to do in the near future, get a Honda.

I brought the car to the Subaru of Glendale, California on January 20, 2017 and the service advisor told me that it only works for the 2016 and not the 2017 model. When I told him that it did not make sense that a newer model would be less capable than an older one and that the feature is clearly stated in the 2017 manual, he promised to call me on Monday or Tuesday of the next week because that day was a Saturday and he can't get a response from Subaru of America.

So I waited and no call came. Today (Wednesday 1/25/17), I gave them a call and was told that the advisor was busy and that he will give me a call. After a while I called again and was told the advisor was off-duty! I called the service supervisor and she said she would connect me with another advisor to help me. I was put in hold and after a few minutes, the line was cut!!! I called again and again, I was promised that somebody would call me back and as I am writing this, no calls! They were so good when I was buying the car, and you think that I was planning to buy the Impreza for the wife next month! Hell no! This will be my first and last Subaru!!!

The Louisville, Kentucky dealership where we purchased the car finally examined it last week and reported they could find no identifiable problem with the engine. Therefore, the service department concluded there is absolutely no reason to expect this will ever happen again and suggested that we were overreacting because we fear this could occur again, without warning as before, and don't want to drive the vehicle any longer. Not surprisingly, when we asked to meet with the General Manager of the dealership to discuss our concerns, the response was that he was too busy to meet with us (but we could call him). And Subaru has the nerve to boast about its reputation for "customer service." You couldn't prove it by our experience. It would be difficult for us to say that Subaru stands behind its product.

At 110,000 miles I get a letter in the mail about a Class Action lawsuit regarding the oil consumption issue. I take it to the dealer as directed. They changed the oil and I bring it back after 1250 miles so they can verify oil consumption. What do you know, my car goes through too much oil! They replaced the small block for no charge. I had my car back in three days. My point is that I was less than happy about the issues my car had, but more than happy with Subaru's and my dealer's response to those issues.

Original Review: Dec. 21, 2016

Since day one I have been getting an electronic alert sound, like a "doink" sound. I think this happens when the vehicle loses communication with the satellite. It is very loud and can occur multiple times when traveling in an area where there is a weak signal. It overrides all audio sound systems. Why can’t this sound be silenced? My Subaru dealer says that nothing can be done to silence this most annoying and unnecessary noise. They said that I should not renew my StarLink or Sirius radio subscription and that should take care of the problem. What!!! I paid $35,000 and I can't use these features!! That is ridiculous. I hope someone might have a solution to this problem. Here's one. How about a line of software code that says "if communication with satellite is lost DON'T DOINK!” I would recommend any potential buyers not to purchase the navigation voice command or StarLink system. Not worth the money.

What's going on? You sell us this stuff and you cannot deliver. Oh I was also told I could take it to the next county which is 40 mins away. What kind of service is this, anyway. The solution. If your auto has problems and you don't have enough mechanics to deal with the volume of customers, then Subaru needs to pay the person I get to repair it. I think that is fair. Is there a recall on the turn signal light switch? My vehicle is a 2012. Never owned a car that had so many dangerous problems so quick. My car now has 50K miles. What am I to expect in the future?? I thought this was a well put together vehicle. I'm beginning to wonder. Not being able to have the vehicle serviced in a reasonable period of time is not acceptable to me, and I'm sure not to any owner. So, I await your reply for my solution since your service dept. cannot help me. I live in Asheville, NC.

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 isn't 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. It's disappointing because I really liked this car.

Here is the problem: First part - the crankcase was overfilled (I personally checked and oil level was over the full mark on the dipstick by well over 1/2"). Second part - the crankcase was filled to the full mark on the dipstick. (Again, I personally checked) Result - Very small amount of oil consumption. Engine deemed normal.

If you look at the first invoice findings (see attached) it says 1.2qts low, add the 1qt when oil light came on during trip and that equals 2.2qts consumption in approx 6500 miles. At that rate, the 1200 miles test should have been 0.406qts consumed. Well over the one-third quart criteria. How can anyone determine oil consumption in this manner? My common sense tells me to fill the crankcase with a pre-measured amount of oil in ounces, drive the prescribed 1200 miles, return for a measured oil drain in ounces, the difference is the amount of oil consumed.

Are dealers mandated by Subaru to test oil consumption in this manner in order to save money?Is the dealer too irresponsible to do things correctly? Either way, it is very disappointing and frustrating to say the least. My daughter owns a 2014 Forester and has been having oil system problems as well as numerous other issues. I for one, and probably my daughter as well, would not recommend Subaru vehicles to anyone and definitely not consider buying again. In my opinion, Subaru's perceived reputation is just that, perceived and not a reality.

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, I'm seeing a lot of the earlier models are having the exact same issue and it's the highest complaint on record for the 4th gen wrx in both the 2015/16 models - that can't be coincidence. Anyways, I'm having to fork 1000+ out of pocket for the expenses and more for the rental I'm using since the dealership didn't 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 I'm a spirited driver, at best. And there's 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.

My car was in shop for 7 days. The extended warranty that I PURCHASED covered the repair, outside of a deductible, towing, and car rental. Without the warranty, the cost is estimated at $1,556. Based on research, the system is anticipated to crash every 30-40k miles. Due to faulty manufacturing, the value and longevity of my vehicle has diminished. When I contacted the manufacturer, they asked me to deal directly with the dealership, so I did. I noticed the Certified Pre-Owned checklist has a "?" in the hybrid section. The dealer was not authorized to sell me a "Certified Pre-Owned" vehicle with items on the checklist not accounted for, especially the engine. Post-repair, I discovered the hybrid system was not functioning at the time of purchase.

Originally, the dealer told me they'd work out a satisfactory solution with me. However, I called today and was informed that they will not support an even trade. My option is to buy up to another vehicle, which I cannot afford, nor do I desire to lose $1823 in additional warranties that I purchased at the time of vehicle. This is not acceptable to me. The vehicle is not safe nor reliable, and the value is going to plummet as reliability becomes known and maintenance becomes extinct.

At times the seat belt alert chimes with everything off. Also the rear hatch will not open and when attempting to open either front door, placing hand inside handle, all doors lock, takes several attempts to open door, (all these problems only occur in the garage or driveway after the door clicker is pushed to open garage door). There has been no offer by Subaru to try to fix this. My Honda Ridgeline (2014) does not have this issue. This problem should not occur. The Key-fob system should not allow interference from any source. If anyone else has this problem, please write a review. My door opener is a Chamberlain belt drive with outside keypad.

Second was the issue with starting the car which started happening at about 5,000 miles. After googling my issue, I came to find out that this was a common issue that the owners were referring to as a "Hard Start" and that after denying it for a while, Subaru finally came up with a "fix" which is basically flashing the car's computer. Subaru sent out a service notification to their dealerships about this issue, but when I went in to 3 different dealerships they denied knowledge of the issue or the service notification until I gave them a copy that I found online (thank you **) and suddenly they remembered this common issue and the fix. I had the computer flashed and I would say the issue is improved, but not totally remedied.

At about 30,000 miles I noticed that the oil light would come on after only about 2,500 miles after an oil change. I'm concerned that this is going to get worse as the car ages. (I'm at just over 50,000 miles now.) One thing I noticed is that a couple days before the light will come on I will smell oil burning, so I'm not sure if that's damaging the engine. I've got into the habit of carrying a couple extra quarts of 0-20 in the spare tire compartment so I can pull over and add oil immediately if the light should come on. A friend of mine had a Subaru WRX that's engine seized because of low oil and his oil light never even came on beforehand. I've been so disappointed in the quality of this car. From people I know that are die-hard Subaru owners, it seems like they just can't maintain quality with the recent rise in popularity of their cars. I'm hoping that the oil issue does not result in a bigger issue before I pay off this loan!

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 driver's 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 can't 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 don't lock when in gear, they don't unlock when you turn off the motor, and they don't lock when you walk away. I am constantly leaving the car unlocked while driving and the places I drive that's 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 I'm 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.

The dealer tells me it is because otherwise the car would build too much boost - "Not True". Well my car is not getting the boost anyone else gets out of their WRX so obviously something is wrong. It seems to me that the car is running lean and running out of fuel in that power band and if that happens enough I believe the engine will explode like a hand grenade. My car is a 2017 WRX Limited 6 speed car and has not been right since I bought it. I would avoid buying this brand of car until they can work out the bugs.

They have told me that, they have received the file, and told me that they have decided to not provide with warranty work due to “lack of maintenance”. They have stated that, it is my fault for not regularly changing the engine oil, which it has been done every 6,000 miles or 6-month according to the owner's manual. In the manual, the Powertrain Limited warranty is 60,000 miles/5 years and I was dumbfounded to hear that they won’t do it since it is my fault for lack of maintenance. This is not only an engine problem, but also a safety hazardous concern. When my vehicle stopped in the middle of the highway in I-5 state highway intersection, I was scared to death as I was afraid someone might rear-end me real hard. I could have been seriously injured or even cause death on that day. When I called 911 for help, I waited in my car with the emergency signal on for 35-40 minute hoping nobody would hit me from the back.

I can’t understand how there wasn’t a single indication that indicated the driver how low the engine oil is there in the motor. Not a single gauge popped up alerting the driver that there is low or no engine oil. No check engine light, No low oil light, no Nothing. It just stopped in the middle of the highway endangering my lives and the other. I have 2015 WRX STI, and I had this vehicle for 4 months till this problem has occurred. I have bought this vehicle thinking that the Subaru is reliable, durable and worthy brand that customer can trust and drive without stresses. However, now I’m faced with need of new engine replacement to the vehicle which would cost more than $17,000.

I'm wanting to approach this problem thoughtfully as possible and legal way to receive fair service that is promised in the owner’s manual. I’m writing my story down here hoping to get a help, and to collect information on if anyone else is experiencing same problem as I’m. Feel free to send me a email on my case. Thank you for reading.

The worst highway mileage we experienced was out in Kansas on Interstate 70. While driving 80 MPH into a headwind, our actual fuel mileage was 18 MPG. The rolling hills of Kansas, combined with actual highway speed and headwind, will ruin any claim of good fuel mileage. There is no way that the Subaru Crosstrek will get the 'claimed' fuel mileage in actual real life driving conditions! Any type of sand or small rock will damage the vehicle's paint. When compared to our 2008 Honda Civic, the 2013 Subaru has a horrible paint job that will not last. The interior of the vehicle is cheap and won't last. The plastic is cheap and very light duty. The vehicle has a rattle that has never been found. The fabric on the seats frays easily and is also cheap. While vacuuming the carpet, I found a tear. Our Honda Civic has a higher quality interior - and that isn't saying much!

Our Crosstrek began using oil and the consumption was so high that Subaru did a "Short Block" replacement. In other words, we had to have a new engine put in before our vehicle had 35 thousand miles. The Boxer engine is very poorly designed and despite so-called improvements, will not give you good fuel mileage (see above). For example, before you purchase a Subaru, you better walk out to the service department and look at how much the dealership will charge you to replace four spark plugs that cost $25 at the most. In fact, you might want to look at how much they will charge for recommended maintenance schedules. You will discover that owning a Subaru is very expensive. You are paying a premium price for a mediocre vehicle that is below average in quality. If you want a quality vehicle, then don't buy a Subaru!

I got no sleep that night because I was so worried about my car and the fact that I had promised to drive my cousin's kid who has Hodgkin's 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, it's been nothing but Hondas and Toyotas.

I had an Oldsmobile Achieva once, and that was the biggest POS I've 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 don't 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 wasn't getting sketchy gas in some of the places I went in Alaska and in the boonies in Canada and my mileage didn't 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. It's 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 it's 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. I'm 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 don't 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 don't want!!!

I used the car a lot in the two years I've had it. I got 130k miles on it now. Going home one night the car started making noises and turned off suddenly. A mechanic told me it was the engine which Subaru later confirmed. I have maintained this car very well in the last two years, and it's been at the Subaru Service department too many times for no fault of mine. I recently discovered a class action lawsuit against Subaru for oil consumption that ultimately damages the engine like mine did on Google after searching.

It was apparently too late for my car to be serviced due to my mileage even though I never received any notice or was told by the service people about this problem (they knew about the lawsuit and the settlement the whole time I was having issues). This problem will cost me 10k to fix. I will never buy a Subaru ever again and I encourage people to think twice about the brand and to do more research on bad companies who refuse to take responsibility on THEIR mistakes. DO NOT BUY SUBARU!!!

I involved Subaru of America customer service early in the process, and have experienced what I can only describe as the worst customer service experience of my life. Not only are they unwilling to help me get into a new vehicle, they provide no information on what they're actually doing to fix the car. I can get better service from their call center's auto attendant. The truth is, they have no idea how to fix the car, but continue to drag this issue out. The Subaru dealer who has the car is at their wits end, and wants Subaru of America to do something to resolve this. They simply won't and I have absolutely no recourse other than to hire a lawyer and give him half of whatever he gets me. I guess this is what makes a Subaru, a Subaru.

We contacted SoA and they offered us a $500 rebate towards a new Subaru, which is a complete joke since what moron would buy another new Subaru after an experience like this? I feel like I can't trust my Subaru to get me safely anywhere and after the flash and reprogramming, our car has never felt like the car we wanted and paid for. It is not ethical to sell a car that runs a certain way and then dumb it down and make it unreliable a few months later. At this point, I would not recommend a Subaru to anyone.

Since we were staying at a hotel, I disconnected the battery so that the liftgate would not open overnight. Once I reconnected the battery, a whole host of other electronic issues started. Half of the readouts on the dash intermittently stopped working. They were the information display between the tachometer and speedometer, the readouts associated with the air conditioner and the map display and GPS. The clock, which worked when reconnecting the battery, then was stuck at 9:19 a.m. The right front remote window control only worked from the passenger side, not the driver's side.

So, we drove straight to our destination three states away, not stopping or turning off the car since it had taken three seconds to start after battery reconnection. I was unsure if the car would restart again. We drove to the Subaru dealer in Normal, Illinois. As expected, the problems cleared up as soon as we hit the dealership service bay. The dealer spent a hour wiggling wires under the dash and driving over bumps along with putting it on a code reader.

We got a PNF--Problem Not Found-- diagnosis and we left the dealership very disappointed. I parked the car two miles away, went into the house and returned five minutes later to find the liftgate again open wide. At that point, I abandoned the remote-entry key and used the key that did not have any remote features. Unfortunately, once I unlocked the door, the car alarm began honking and was only silenced after starting the car.

At this point I am considering selling our Subaru with only 3,000 miles on it. We have already endured a painful recall of its steering column and now this liftgate issue. I have zero confidence in Subaru and this vehicle keeping my family safe. I am writing this only to alert other Subaru owners who may experience similar problems in the future. Maybe I can trigger a similar national recall as the Subaru owner who had the steering defect.

In addition, when you press the accelerator on the 2014 Forester, a small delay and then it takes off. Very disconcerting. We have many family members who own Subaru and at our last family reunion everyone was grumbling about their Subaru and saying they will not buy another. It's a shame. This was our first Subaru purchase after many years with Honda. We were tempted to try a new car and had heard such great things about the Subaru. We will be going back to Honda.

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. Here's 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 it's 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 doesn't 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 it's 108 degrees, the last thing you want is a car that doesn't cool. The A/C on these cars STOPS COOLING when you step on the gas. Don't 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 don't know why they bothered with the backup camera to begin with. Don't expect to see much of anything from that camera if it's 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. That's 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 that's 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 doesn't require premium gas. And B, it has excellent resale value (because I guess there's a lot of people out there who don't 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.

The dealership I live in a lemon law state I'm thankful but something is not right and dealership says it's ok. All these complaints except for the seat issue has been numerous times addressed with Subaru Headquarters . My Starlink never said I needed a oil change. When I took the car in I waited. The car was checked in at 1230. I went out to talk on phone. My car was outside. It was 29 mins. When I asked did they rotate the tires and change the oil. They said yes even though on my ticket says they only checked air pressure. Then service manager Tom said Subaru only pays for 30 mins to rotate all tires and change oil. Please let me know if anyone has this issues.

Then found a CR report lambasting Subaru for their oil use. This was not leaking oil, but consuming it. A couple of autos, Audi and BMW - some models - were worse, but everyone that I talked to considered using a qt every 5K miles very excessive for a new car. Subaru would do nothing about it and the dealer - having been graded on the sales process already with the 10s they beg you to grade, was indifferent. Facing the possibility that the Subaru name would be associated with oil burner in the future and that the value of my vehicle for trade would be negatively impacted I chose to trade it in after only owning it 20 months and 27K miles. Traded for a Mazda CX-5 and went to the Subaru dealer immediately afterwards to tell them why I had traded away the Subaru Outback that I otherwise had loved for what I consider to be a lesser vehicle. That doesn't use oil.

Dealer made up some excuses and I walked out, a Subaru fan no more. Dealer never even offered to make me a good deal on a newer vehicle that supposedly didn't have the problem. This was in Columbia MO. Despite my having informed them that I had traded the vehicle, I still get service reminders and other propaganda from the dealer. They are that clueless and disconnected and this reflects upon Subaru as being pretty much the same.

The back gate on a person’s car can't just open every other day when you're not looking or thinking of your car! My cargo is always important and should never be a 50/50 worry that my hatch opened as I walk away. The car is great in every other way than this. But with that said I brought it to Subaru attention and they just told me that there is nothing they can do to deactivate that part of the car fob.

I kept brining it back. Subaru installed foam to help dampen the noise. The noise continued but every time I brought it to the dealer the service department manager would tell me they couldn't hear anything. In September of 2015 I go into my glovebox to get papers for my insurance and all my papers are soaked. My passenger floor is wet as well. I call Manchester Subaru and they are telling me they had Safelite do the work on my windshield so I have to call Safelite. I call Safelite and I am told this will have to go through my insurance. I call Manchester back and tell them there is no way this is going into my insurance. Subaru finally called Safelite and sent someone out to fix the windshield. Safelite took the windshield off and revealed it yet again. I go to test to see if the windshield is still loose by pushing up on the warmer or edges with my fingertips and the glass cracks. I called Safelite and they sent the technician back out to replace the windshield.

I have been in contact with Subaru of America since 2014 maybe even 2013. They don't return my emails or phone calls as a sorry for having to drive two hours to Manchester Subaru every or every other week to get this fixed. Here is a mug and water bottle you are just going to throw away because you don't have space for it anywhere. When our customer service department yells at you for calling we will attempt to make it better by paying three months of your car payments and give you an extended warranty. I bought this car brand new. My windshield seal was off again in June of 2016. I have had this call for just over three years and have had a problem with it since the first year and Subaru doesn't care. Subaru means love my left foot. Their customer service is lacking. Their managers don't get back to customers so why should the support.

He had no right to attack a customer, very simply, he could have just refuse the deal. He bullied me on how much money I have in my bank account and insisting if I can put $7200 down then I can put $8000 down. I was shocked, paralyzed, and was so embarrassed to move from my chair. When he left, Brenda apologized for his unprofessional bully behavior. So sad that I had to switch from a Honda to Subaru and had the worst experience in my life buying a car. I know what I did was the wrong decision to buy a car from them, but I literally felt so bullied that I was very embarrassed to even walk around and walk away.

I believe in making mistake and correct them as soon as possible, but after being there 5 hours because my partner bought the same car I did, he never came and apologize. Not that I care about an apology but maybe could have ended the negative experience in slightly better closure. Now I have a car that I don't want because of the bully of Subaru Manager. Not sure if anyone can advise me if I can do anything at this point. This is my experience with my Subaru. I thought it was going to be a lovely and beautiful experience, turned out to be an absolute nightmare!

I told Billy we have always bought our cars through Toyota and we have never been treated with such unprofessionalism. He told me to go back to Toyota! I assure you we will do as he said and stay with Toyota from now on. Other Subaru dealerships may be different than this one and I sure hope so because this was the worse buying experience and it shouldn't have been a simple cash purchase. I believe someone from the corporate office needs to check on this dealership. SHADY people there.

In August of 2015, my engine light came on - I pulled over and called the dealer and was told if it was the flashing one to not drive it and have someone tow it. It wasn't the flashing one and wasn't told I could continue to drive it. I drove the car to the dealer and told them I wanted it fixed. It was under warranty. They replaced a sensor. They had my car for 5 days. I picked the vehicle up and drove it for about 3 days and the light came on again. I took it back to the dealer, they gave me a loaner vehicle, couldn't find the problem (after having it in the shop for 2 weeks), turned the engine light off and called me to come get it. I picked it up and drove it for about 3 days and the same thing happened.

I took it back - they gave me a loaner vehicle. When the service manager called they said it was a vacuum problem - and it was how I was braking. I said that was not possible. I got another call, the service manager told me that it was dirty and the catalytic converter was dirty too. He asked where I was buying gas and told me that I should only be using gas from Costco, Shell or Chevron 92 octane (even though the manual says otherwise). They said they would get a data recorder from Subaru and it would take them about 3 days to get it - I was told I could keep driving the loaner or pick up my own car and drive it and bring it back in when they got the recorder. I chose for them to keep it until they got the recorder. I didn't hear anything for 2 weeks.

On a Saturday the service manager called and yelled at me that I hadn't picked up my car. I asked if they had the data recorder yet and he said no. They wanted me to be driving my car so the warranty would run out. On November 6th they called and said they had gotten the data recorder. I was already home from work when they called. I picked my car up on the 9th. Three days later the light came on again. I took it back to the dealer. They called and said they think they corrected the problem. The rear sensor was replaced.

I don't believe they would have done any of it if I hadn't contacted their headquarters. It took over 3 months to get the "problem" corrected. Because of how I was treated by the dealership and the reliability of the cars, I will never buy another Subaru. Subaru does have a class action lawsuit against them now for the excessive oil burning issue. Their remedy is to give an extended warranty! It's not worth it!

So I gave Jay and Moe a week to come up with solution... Long story short they didn't. So contacted GM, Jobe **. He said he would find out info and get back to me... He didn't. 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 didn't return my call. I asked Moe, by email twice to relay the owners and GM's 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. It's 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 people's 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 owner's 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. I've consulted other car dealers, GM's and previous Subaru Dealership owners. They know exactly what happened. They told me it's obvious the GM, Jobe, knows too. He doesn't 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.

Subaru is the kind of car that is supposed to drive in rural areas, farms, forests. If there is a difference in tire diameter in such a small amount – it should not damage the car to a point of a price that is a third out of the cost of the car. If there is that possibility, a warning should be posted on the dashboard, because it is major a damage to car. In this field – Subaru failed completely.

We filed a complaint with Subaru of America but we're 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 don't have the money to fix it. Subaru vehicles don't 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.

Interior noise is moderate, so I installed 500 WRMS of tunes. Fortunately, a deer hit 2 years ago didn't affect the ride. Kudos to Salmon, Idaho body shop. Not a penny spent at dealership for parts or repairs but I am meticulous with maintenance due to dust, silt, vibration, heat, cold, survival, and off-road abuse. I have a couple add-ons: K&N filters, a chip, several deep cycle batteries.

Impreza has the 2.5 liter engine, very strong in all respects. MPG is mid-upper 20's, depending. Auto transmission responds well to normal conditions, may hesitate during a downshift if you're not familiar with gear ranges. Another complaint: There is no interior light in the hatch area. Groceries, well, you load in the dark. A last, big positive: Snow handling. AWD mean just that. With good tires, typical snowfall is managed very well. I've never been stuck with M & S tires, in depths up to 2 feet of dry snow. I've tried to characterize vehicle reliability, performance, and responsiveness in typical conditions. So wow, what a car, just had to share a good, accurate experience with you, with a mid-aged Subaru Impreza!

I went through my service receipts, found the one from 57,000 miles that the "seepage" note and returned to the dealer to discuss the cost and attempt to make a deal, being as the seepage was recorded prior to the warranty expiring. Long story short: dealer said to call Subaru, Subaru offered $1000 dollars towards service, I told them while that would bring the price down to what a reputable private garage would charge, what I wanted feel more in line with total cost as the problem was first noted under warranty. Subaru said "No", $1000 was all they would do. I told them that their help was as useless as the gaskets they put on their cars. I am now in touch w/ my State Attorney General and have filed a complaint with them. I am not looking for any monetary compensation, just satisfaction that a wrong will be set right.

Also, it almost dies (like a slow idle?) when I stop for a stop light or even a stop sign. It has done this since 39K and they can never diagnose it. It is getting pretty persistent. Does anyone know what this could be? They say it doesn't happen when they test drive it and the computer does not show anything. My guess is, now the warranty is over, they can diagnose it right away! Never another Subaru!!

We went back to the same dealer in Asheville NC and bought a new 2014 Forrester. From the beginning it had a lag when accelerating, as when one is passing another vehicle or when a potential problem has arisen and one needs to move fast to avoid a wreck. It was a consistent 6 second lag; after 6 seconds, the RPM would soar almost to the red line. I could literally count "one thousand one, one thousand two" etc. My husband took it back to the dealership and asked about it. "Oh, everyone is complaining about that with this car, there's nothing to worry about." Umm, I do worry when my car won't move when I want it to! I'll also add at this point that my husband and I are both in our late 50s, and we are the only people who have ever driven this car, so we know how well it has been treated.

In Februrary 2016 I left home, drove into town (10 miles), made two stops, the car was running smooth as butter. My third stop was at the car wash. I pulled up, told them what kind of wash I wanted, and I went into the lounge to wait. A few minutes later the guy came in and said, "Your Subaru won't move." What?! I went out, cranked it, could put it in gear, but it was like it was in neutral. Could hear the motor revving, but nothing happened. There was no noise when it happened. There was no smell of anything burning, nothing. The emissions warning light was on.

I had the car towed to our house (I needed to get back and get my other vehicle for an appointment), then later had it towed to a local garage, because the car was out from under warranty. He kept it a week, then called and said he couldn't figure out what it was, so he called the dealer we bought it from, and they said they thought it was the transmission. Paid to have it towed 70 miles to the dealer. After about a week, they called and said they couldn't figure it out, so they ran all the computer stuff and sent it to Subaru to find the problem. They determined it needed a new transmission.

The Service guy told me when I picked it up that when they went to look in the transmission, all kinds of parts fell out, that the transmission had literally exploded. That was the word he used. Fortunately that was still covered under warranty, so it covered the $7K to repair it. When we finally got the car back we noticed the lag was gone! Now when I accelerate, the car actually does what it's supposed to do! If you have that lag, insist that they check your transmission!

This winter has been mild so far and although I tried to use it I gave up until the really cold weather kicked in. I again took it to the installer of the remote and after replacing the starter parts it was still not starting but did start on their battery. They recommended I take it again to the dealer but I know that would be a waste of time and told them to get me the proper battery and give me the old one to take to Subaru with a copy of the receipt. I hate to drive that far (at age 72, 20+ miles is a long way) but I am so angry that with the 1st break in the weather I will. I will demand to be reimbursed, and also an apology for putting me through this.

They restarted the test to confirm the excessive burn. Dealer then re-did some piston rings and said "good to go". 300 mile road trip to find, after 100 miles the oil light came on again... Calling the dealer again, numerous times to get a call back, they said it is normal. Again... My wife took over the communications with them. After only a year and a half I sold the POS... Do not let Subaru BS you. A brand new car should NOT burn that much, let alone need to car "Extra oil" with you!! I could write a book on this one... but won't waste your time.

When I was told it was ready (a week later) I was shocked to find the noise remains. Subaru of Plano NOW claims they can't hear anything, they will not be repairing it. I've learned from 2 other mechanics that the Differential was damaged due to the low oil level they caused. I will never buy another one. Trying to find some recourse for what has shortened the life of my car and altered any resale value.

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 don't 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 waited three months with no response. It wasn't until I contacted the corporate headquarters that they said they would bring someone in to look at it. They kept my car for four days, made paint repairs and a rear door adjustment I didn't ask for, but refused to address the blistered paint. They said something must have slipped in through the door hinge and caused three linear dents from the inside. They said they could not explain how that was possible or how they came to that conclusion, but refused to address the issue or entertain the possibility that it could be a paint issue. In fact the service manager, Tyson, said he is no longer certain there was ever a paint defect and he can't remember why they repainted my front number for free one month after I bought it.

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 I'm sure the opinion of many that this car is designed to fail so the dealer can make money and the fact I've 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 I'm 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. You're making cars that stop themselves and tell when you're drifting in your lane but can't use better grade metal for the engine or relocate a battery.

At 33,000 miles my car was once again “like new”! However, only 26,000 miles after a new engine, a “defective camshaft pulley” broke causing damage on my camshaft, valves and overall one of the heads. I was simply driving down the road and it felt like the car ran out of gas and it would not turn on again. Subaru did not cover the tow. Once again they repaired my car which took another month. I would like to mention that they did in fact cover the repair once again because my car is under warranty. The 2nd major repair was also a few thousand dollars. One mile down the road from Subaru (Bob **, Subaru, West Lafayette, IN) a carelessly installed fuel-like sprayed gas all over my hot engine! This has honestly put my life in danger. The car could have caught on fire or blown up!!!

These bad repairs and “defective” parts from Subaru make me feel like my sporty car is made out of glass. I drive my “sports car” like if it was an old car that could break at any time. OF COURSE I NEED EXTENDED WARRANTY. My car is a little over 1,000 miles away running out of powertrain warranty. Keep in mind these repairs happened 1 month ago. Later I got into contact with Linda **, the Subaru of America Customer Service Supervisor, and she said there was nothing she could do to help me. Such a massive company like Subaru could not offer help for a defective car they sold me. They could not offer me extended warranty, they could not give me extended warranty at a discount, NOR COULD THEY EVEN SELL ME EXTENDED WARRANTY. I'm not asking for anything more than extended warranty from whoever you would like, or the $2,000 it costs so I can buy one.

How can Subaru not do such a simple thing? They sold me a defective piece of junk and I have to deal with it. They do not back up their own cars. I would not recommend that anyone buy a Subaru in the United States. It will break. It will be expensive. And it will certainly not last 300,000 miles. If you have warranty, at the very least it WILL be an inconvenience not having a car for a few weeks while it is being fixed. Please tell me if you think my car will make it 200,000 miles at least.

I am very unhappy with the customer service Linda ** provided me with. She did not do anything towards helping me. She did not meet me halfway nor tell me who I could speak to that would solve my problem. She also talked to me in a disrespectful tone which honestly could just have been her “customer service” voice. I need 100,000 or 4-year extended powertrain warranty. Is really impossible from Subaru? Please know I am awaiting for this issue to be resolved.

The worst problem is that when the air is dry, as it usually is in eastern Oregon, I can't get out of the car without getting a static electric shock, just strong enough to be mildly painful. Every single time. I try to slap the door as I get out to prevent it from hurting, but I sometimes forget. This happens occasionally in other vehicles, but rarely. As minor as this seems, it's annoying enough that it may prevent me from owning another Subaru.

Another thing that probably shouldn't matter is the mileage indicator. I really like this except for the fact that it always shows me getting 1.5 to 2.5 miles more per gallon than I really am. I find this extremely irritating. I also hate the fuel gauge, which is a line of small gray squares which are difficult for me to see. Also the speedometer is smaller than I like, with markings close together and the 5's not indicated. Also, the windshield has cracked all the way across even though I never noticed it being hit by anything, and there is no rock ding.

I resent that Subaru did not give me the option of deciding if I wanted a fancy anti-theft system that requires a very expensive key and, if you try to use a duplicate, will cause the computer to crash and cost several hundred dollars to repair. I am cynical enough to think that this was not done for my benefit. I would be perfectly happy with an old unchipped key that costs $2 to duplicate. I also don't like that only one door on the car can be opened with the key and that if I use the spare key to unlock the door the alarm goes off. Every single time. There is supposed to be a way to prevent that but it doesn't work.

I also have issues with the mileage. If I drive on the level at about 45 mph, I can get as high as 30 miles to the gallon. But if I get on the freeway and drive 65 mph to Portland and back I won"t get over 25 and have gotten as low as 19. The sticker claimed 29 highway. Also, though I live in a town with no more than 10 stoplights, if I do any driving around town my mileage drops like a rock. Also if I go up even a moderate hill. Finally, the clock and temperature gauge are not consistently accurate, the speakers vibrate unpleasantly if you turn the bass up, and the cup holder has broken for no apparent reason.

Within the last 2 months this issue has worsened to the point where the engine will suddenly surge forward and then suddenly decelerate, at one point almost causing a collision with another vehicle. I complained of this problem again while on a service appointment for another problem concerning the sudden and intermittent loss of power steering while the vehicle was operational. Again I was told that the vehicle was "fine" and that mechanics could find no problems. Recently (within the last 2 weeks and less than 1,300 miles into a new oil change and service) the "check oil" warning light has again started to come off and on. On checking the oil level this morning we found that the oil level was at the bare minimum and down over 1 qt. of oil.

On doing some research we have come to find that all of these problems have been ongoing and legitimate complaints for this year and model of Subaru. There is in fact a current lawsuit in progress against Subaru of America for the oil consumption issues in the 2.5i L engine in the 2013 Subaru Outback. I am VERY disappointed in both the product and service offered by Subaru of America and I will never purchase another vehicle from this company. I also urge others to steer clear of the PR hype. In this instance it is definitely a case of "buyer beware"!

It happens again within a few weeks after we return home with yet another thermostat. $6,000 later we get resurfaced heads and a valve job, complete with all the marked-up engine components, supplies, disposal fees, and so on. Did we get a refund or credit on the supposed "faulty" thermostats? No. The servicing dealer proclaims there was an internal engine leak due to bad head gaskets. I asked to see them, but they were never given to me. I've never heard of an engine failure of that gravity in a Subaru (unless of course the vehicle was abused). My wife babies this car and uses it for errands. I have a 1994 SVX with 140,000 miles, and had a 2002 Outback and neither had engine issues, ever. My confidence in the Subaru product is gradually waning.

The MPG on the sticker is a BIG LIE; I have never gotten anything over 24 miles per gallon with this car. I won't even keep typing, as Subaru doesn't 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. That's about it.

Now, it shakes when engine is cold, when engine is warm, when I stop to a light, just when I stop somewhere with engine on! Problem, it is more and more shaking! It's been crazy now!

When I ask a maintenance guy at a Subaru dealer, they said they know the problem, it's something normal and they can't do anything! For a car which cost 40000$, NO it's not normal, sorry! And telling me that they have no solution, Unacceptable! I also have a problem with the air conditioning belt which make big noise sometimes, and for Subaru, they also know the problem and can't do anything as well! And I don't speak of inside quality, very bad, leather seats, very bad leather quality compared to my Legacy 2009 Limited!! Very tiring seats as well... Incredible how Subaru is now!! They don't know how to make cars anymore, so disappointed!

We also have a 2009 Legacy 3.0R that we bought. That car is so awesome, we love it. 2009 was probably the last year of good Subaru, as we also rented during 4 years a 2008 Legacy Wagon with almost no problem compared to what I read now! For just a positive thing, we also rented a BRZ since two years, and, well, no problem at all with that car, maybe because it is part Toyota? Anyway, my boyfriend decided to take no more Subaru after the BRZ in two years at the end of the rental because now they are not enough reliable.

For me and my Forester, I don't trust anymore that car with the engine problems, and despite the fact the car is still under warranty, not want to have a big engine problem and have to pay anything because Subaru will find a way not to take it under warranty. I have just exchanged my car to a Volvo dealer to take a V60. I'm French and we love wagons. :-) Sad end for my Subaru, sad for the brand which will know very bad press soon with all the reliable problem that brand have now. New customers coming, but half more leaving the brand, and more and more bad reviews! Goodbye Subaru, good luck!

Many of my friends that talked me into buying a Subaru have also abounded the brand for having similar problems. We have discovered that Subaru oil problems are difficult to fix whether you bring the car to the dealer or an independent mechanic. One other quirky item I learned when being a Subaru owner - tires must be replaced in sets of 4. I had good tires with 20,000 miles on them. One got ruined by a nail. I ended up having to buy 4 new tires otherwise I would have run the risk of damaging the car.

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.

A week goes by and I don't hear anything other than I will call you on a certain date, which they did not. I called them and was told that they will not do anything until it burns 1/3rd of a quart of oil every 1200 miles. And even then, I would have to pay for an engine tear down to diagnose the problem regardless if it is still under warranty or not. I realize that the "fix" is expensive, but they built a faulty product and need to stand behind it and I shouldn't have to pay anything out of pocket when they know very well what the issue is. Never again will I buy a Subaru.

Would never purchase a Subaru again. What a hassle. The independent shop did more than Subaru ever did and recommend that I dump it and pick up something else. Owned it for two years, and nothing was ever taken care of. It was an absolute turd, ruined the entire experience for me. Traded it in with a swapped O2 and topped it off. Good riddance.

Original Review: July 14, 2015

7-14-15: I called the SOA number to request a copy of the "Added Care" warranty for my vehicle (VIN and mileage supplied). I want a copy (email or snail mail) of the actual language to see exactly what my $1000+ might buy. As an aside, I was quoted a price from a NY dealership for A7/100000 ($100 deductible) at $1065. The local dealership in Indiana, where I actually purchased the vehicle, quoted $1935 for the exact same plan!

On to the SOA phone call... the call-taker said she could answer my questions about the contract and what it covered. I responded I want a copy of what I am considering BEFORE I spend over $1000 of MY money. The call-taker said she would contact me within a couple days. I will update this when I get that call. My take-away from this experience is that SOA is not so much into the "Love" or "Subaru", but this is simply the typical business model we all deal with with car sellers. Disappointed.

Called Subaru of America, they said to do oil consumption test. Test was done at 1200 miles of consumption test that said it was fine at the usually 3500 miles light came on. Did another consumption test said after 1200 miles on test it didn't not use any oil. I tried to tell them it seems to use the oil at or about 3000-4000 miles, they just didn't seem to get it. Called Subaru of America, tried to explain to them, they didn't seem to get it either. So now between every oil change I have to add 1 quart of oil, use only Subaru oil. Not happy with my Subaru. Will not buy another Subaru again and tell everyone I know about my experience. Very disappointed with Subaru.

The 1st time the low oil lights came on was on 12/6/14, I was on the highway, and I stopped at a nearby auto repair shop to have them check the oil. They did the check, they told me that the dipstick was dry... I requested they put oil in the car. I then drove to dealership Service Dept. that same day, 12/6/14 (Invoice # **), with miles at 18,554 (difference of 4,605 from last oil change). Note: The date of the previous oil change was on 8/16/14 (Invoice # **) with mileage at 13,949. The Subaru owners manual indicates that the car should go 7,500 miles between oil changes.

12/6/14 - start of 1st oil consumption test. The subsequent dates of these services for this same issue were: 1/3/15 (Invoice # **) mileage 19,906 in for results of 1st consumption test, they also started a second oil consumption test on 1/3/15 - same date as the 1st results, they topped off the oil. On 1/31/15 (invoice **) mileage 21,380 returned for the results of the 2nd Oil Consumption test, they also charged me for an oil change. On 3/24/15 - Oil Level Low message displayed, mile at 23,755, Invoice ** - Service covered the start of a 3rd oil consumption test, and topped off the oil. Miles since last oil change were 2,375.

4/18/15 - the car displayed the oil can light and displayed the system detects low oil level message. I was told by the service advisor that they were going to replace the sensor and upgrade the software, and top off the oil. The invoice # for 4/18/15 is **, mile at 25,020 - 33,640 since the last oil change, 1,265 miles since the dealer service dept. topped off the oil.

7/6/15 the car displayed the oil can light and displayed the system detects low oil level message. Invoice # **. Upon arrival, I showed the message displayed in my running car to the Service Advisor, he repeated the issue back to me and then the Service Manager took over. The service manager asked what service was performed last time. I told him that the service advisor indicated that they replaced sensor and they updated the software. After being at the dealership service department for over 1 hours the Service Manager informed me that they did NOT replace the sensor or upgrade the software on 4/18/15. They were going to do that today (7/6/15). Mile at on 7/6/15 27,470 - 2,450 since previous oil top off by dealership and 6,090 miles since last oil change including two oil top offs by the dealership.

I will be requesting Subaru open a claim for this issue with 2014 Subaru Forester (as soon as the website will accept my vin #) as the dealership service department has failed to request Subaru, even though I have requested them to do so 3 times. Note: On July 6th, 2015 I heard a service advisor talking with another customer about his older Subaru that was in for an oil change. The customer asked the service advisor if the oil in his car would take a 3,000 mile trip, the answer was yes. I turned to the Subaru Service Manager and asked if my 2014 Subaru Forester would be good for a 3,000 mile trip without the Low Oil Level lights coming on, he said "I don't think so".

After replacement, I initially could not hear any noise, but on the drive home it manifested during slow right turns. Took the car in again and another test drive confirmed my assessment. A Subaru factory field agent determined that it was the left caliper bracket that was the likely. They found that the current bracket had rust and dust and could repeat the sound by banging on it with a rubber hammer. So, they ordered the bracket and a couple weeks later, I took the car in for repair. Turns out they had the right bracket in a left bracket box and had to re-order.

Few more days went by and I returned the car for repair today. Subaru installed the left caliper bracket and test drove the car and the noise/vibration is still there. Field agent still investigating. BTW, I told the Subaru courtesy driver that the 2013 Outback that he has been driving ALSO has this noise/vibration. I note that Subaru has replaced that car with a 2015 Outback to courtesy drive folks to work! More to come later today. Worst case is I invoke NM Lemon Law and trade it for a new 2015/16 Outback (minus the 35,000 miles use before my initial report).