09 Subaru Outback Dealership Problems

[K20SiGUY]

Hello,

I figured I would post this here instead of on a Subaru forum since I dont belong to any. My G/F purchased a used 09 outback base model back in Nov with a bit over 50,000 miles from a local Subaru dealership. Immediately after driving it, the cruise control started flashing and they replaced some sort of sensor on it.
The car itself was in excellent condition inside and out, it never appeared to be abused to anything.
Just the other day she complained that the check engine light was on and that it was idling a little rough. She just took it in to the dealership for them to figure out what was wrong and came back with, Misfires on cyl 3&4, bad coil pack and apparently theres a need for a gasket but im not sure where she said it was needed, either valve cover or headgasket. She was quoted a bit over 900 for it al. Her 3 month warranty ran out last month but something seems fishy to me.
To me, if they inspected it when they went to sell it, they would have caught some of these problems, she has only put about 5500 miles on it since purchase. Im thinking that we need to go to the dealership and demand some form of restitution since it has only been 4 months, what does anyone think?

 

[Volv04Life]

I love my Outback dearly even with super high mileage and a leaking head gasket. I refuse to get rid of it. I love subarus but hate dealing with the dealership and the claims department. Youre right though, they shouldve seen the leak if they inspected it properly. It didnt just pop up over night.

 

[Volv04Life]

Either they rushed the inspection because its low mileage or they shipped it out fudged up knowing youd have to deal with it. Not them. Either way its not good business practice and Id bring it up to them.

 

[rjundi]

Originally Posted By: K20SiGUY
Hello,

I figured I would post this here instead of on a Subaru forum since I dont belong to any. My G/F purchased a used 09 outback base model back in Nov with a bit over 50,000 miles from a local Subaru dealership. Immediately after driving it, the cruise control started flashing and they replaced some sort of sensor on it.
The car itself was in excellent condition inside and out, it never appeared to be abused to anything.
Just the other day she complained that the check engine light was on and that it was idling a little rough. She just took it in to the dealership for them to figure out what was wrong and came back with, Misfires on cyl 3&4, bad coil pack and apparently theres a need for a gasket but im not sure where she said it was needed, either valve cover or headgasket. She was quoted a bit over 900 for it al. Her 3 month warranty ran out last month but something seems fishy to me.
To me, if they inspected it when they went to sell it, they would have caught some of these problems, she has only put about 5500 miles on it since purchase. Im thinking that we need to go to the dealership and demand some form of restitution since it has only been 4 months, what does anyone think?


Few items.

Is this a Subaru dealer?

Valve cover gasket or head gasket are both covered by a 5year/60,000 mile powertrain warranty from Subaru new car warranty.

Hva you considered contacting Subaru or America. They may help, generally they are pretty good with owners.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

That car has a 5/60 warranty? !
You pay nothing unless you are over 60K;

even then with all the EJ blowing up from one thing or another they should comp you almost 70%

 

[K20SiGUY]

Sorry guys, bit of a clarification, car is an 08 so it is not under warranty, it is not the headgasket that is leaking, rather the valve cover gasket. Apparently this allowed some oil down in and swelled up some wires which need replacing, along with one coil pack. Still seems to me like a headgasket would not start leaking that bad in just 4 months-5500 miles

 

[ColdCanuk]

Sorry about your predicament..........Subaru, quirky and fun!

I have found that compared to Honda and Toyota, you'll find the customer service at Subaru hit and miss. Lots of bad stories, a few good ones. Think of it as dealing with a mom and pop grocery store instead of a big chain.

Be grateful you have a head gasket issue, compared to their new oil eating engine the FB25. I have one.... and regret not buying a Honda or Toyota. Of course Subaru fans will defend their beloved quirky oil eating, head gasket vehicles to the end. Their first response is always, 'all manufacturers now have oil consumption issues, not just Subaru'. I digress....

Hope Subaru steps up to the plate and it turns out to be a good customer service story for them.....

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Originally Posted By: K20SiGUY
Yes it is a Subaru Dealer, but given that the car is an 09, I dont believe that there is a warranty on it now since it is 2014.
Don't believe? Find out - the in-service date should be stamped on the OM u you can also look in carfox. You may have a major engine issue - you could have the bad cyl head/valve guide issue (see tech bulletin for improperly machined valve guide pilot). Look on the OM and see when the car was put in service - but if it was sold in '08 you may be past the 5 year window. These cars need major service at 60K, many get dumped just before the warranty is up. Our 09 forester was dumped due to the bad cyl head issue and excessive oil burning and smoking.

 

[K20SiGUY]

Sorry guys, I amended my last post after an update from my g/f, still seems to me like a valve cover gasket doesnt start leaking that bad in 4 months-5500 miles

 

[LoneRanger]

The ignition coil failure is a known issue on the EJ25 engine for model yrs 2009 and 2010, yours was probably a late production unit. The coil failed on my Forester (same engine) this past summer @ 37,000 miles. They had another '09 in the service dept w/ same failure when I brought mine in. The coil changeout itself is about a $300 job if the dealer does it, but the failing coil often takes out the front catalytic converter due to dumping raw fuel into it when only running on two cylinders when the coil is glitching out. They don't go pop and gone they tend to cause episodes of random chuggle then random hard misses when driving, then the misses go to a full on cut out to two cylinders only firing and this is when it will light the CEL and flash the cruise ctrl light on and off, and the VDC light will also flash. The flashing indicates that cruise and VDC have been taken offline. If the catalyst is damaged and it may be, then they should be able to get that paid for under the federal emissions warranty. Can't comment on the valve cover gasket. The coil itself runs around $180 and it appears to be a job that one could DIY without too much drama. I would have DIY'd it myself but my dealer got SOA to cover both (coil and cat) under goodwill at no charge. I have a good rapport with my dealer from having paid for several scheduled maintenance procedures there such as coolant and brake flush, alignment job, etc. (but I do my own oil changes!), so they went to bat for me with the regional Subaru rep.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

i'm still trying to figure out how a leaking valve cover gasket could cause that type of failure on a part designed to deal with that environment.

The coils are directly mounted to (and pass through) the valve cover. So some stray oil from a supposedly recent leak has completely taken out the ignition system on half the engine? I have a feeling you're getting screwed, dude. The coil packs are in full view with the hood open. Any garage monkey with a flashlight should have been able to see if there was a leak bad enough to cause this type of problem months ago. And there's no way in [censored] that oil has damaged some of the under-hood wiring, especially in that short amount of time. Maybe gunked up a connector or something, but actually damaged it requiring it to be replaced? No way.

Leaking valve cover gaskets is part of the Subaru way of life (trust me, I know), but this is highly suspicious.

 

[LoneRanger]

You should tell the dealer that the coil failure is a known issue (there may be a TSB out by now...) and you'd like Subaru to cover it under goodwill. Can't hurt to try. The replacement coil they put in is slightly different looking so clearly they are getting them from a different source or the design has been updated by the original source. I just re-read your post and this sounds like a good case for the Subaru dealer to see if SOA will do at least the coil job under goodwill. If there were no hard cut outs while under throttle (driving) and only some misses while idling then the cat is probably okay.

 

[Eddie]

I wonder if it is the spark plugs tube shield that is leaking oil. That would explane how the coil got any oil onit. Ed

 

[LoneRanger]

Where you guys are saying the coil is, is not where it is on my EJ25 equipped Forester, so maybe the Outback in this situation has the six cylinder engine in which case most of my advice is moot. Different animal.

 

[krismoriah72]

valve cover gasket takes me about 25 minutes on my forester. Yes it can start leaking after you left the dealership. It can happen at 1000 miles or 100000 miles.

misfires- can be spark plug, coil pack, injector, loss of compression, bad head, bad valves..bad gas.. that is a tough one to narrow down.


From reading your post, at this point you are on your own as far as fixing it. The problems wrong are not dealer specific and if you cannot do the work yourself, you should find a reputable and fair place to start doing your work for you.

Subarus are excellent vehicles but you will be dealing with wheel bearings and oxygen sensors and the quirky things about subarus before too long.

Best of luck with the dealer.. they have already made their money off the sale and hope you stay loyal on all future repairs. If you would have bought an extended warranty the burden would be on them.. but without warranty the burden is on you.

350000 miles on my 2001 forester and loving every day of it.

 

[eljefino]

How did that dealer come into that car? If it's from auction someone upstream (like the trade-in dealer) 99% likely steam cleaned the engine and made it look like no oil leaks anywhere. So when they did their inspection they found nothing wrong.

And look at it from their POV: If they fixed it then, they had to fix it. If they put it off until now, they might have to fix it.

Don't go in there half cocked, be polite, and maybe you can get it fixed at some wholesale rate-- parts at cost and 50% of labor or something.

 

[SatinSilver]

Originally Posted By: krismoriah72
350000 miles on my 2001 forester and loving every day of it.


Report back tomorrow.

I'd go straight to corporate on this for coverage. They should open a case file and get back to you with an offer. Line up some arguments, you thought Subarus are reliable, this maybe my last Subaru purchase, my boyfriend is on a car forum posting about this etc...

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Isnt the coil on the top center of the engine near the center of the I.M.? No oil there only idiot " used car steam cleaned engine" ignition component failure. This should not be a DOHC motor in normal dress. Its a VTEC SOHC with class 1 lever finger follower and no tappets.

 

[Chris142]

Ill guarantee you that they spent more time cleaning the carpets than they spent under the hood

 

[K20SiGUY]

Thanks for all the info guys,

To answer a few questions, I believe the car was traded in for another Subaru at this dealership. I am not sure about the maintenance record of it prior to it being bought, but I believe it was a one owner car. With the information I have at hand we are going to see what we can get done for free. My assumption was correct from the beginning that this sounded like a problem that was there at the time of purchase.

At the very least we will try and see what the dealership and/or SOA will do about the bad coil, knowing now that they know they are defective.

I plan on accompanying my g/f to the dealership tonight to see what is up.