Reason to stay away from Subaru

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Oct 15, 2013
Messages
132
Location
Maryland
I formerly owned a 2009 Impreza that started to leak oil at 42k miles. It was a piece of junk. I was very optimistic about the all new re designed Subaru engines but the complexity just makes me want to run FAR away for reliability reasons. It seems Subaru can't get it's engines to not leak oil. I was already weary about the BRZ that I saw at the NYC auto show. The engine looked crazy hard to work on and now the all new WRX will receive the same motor with turbo added. I'm sure Toyota isn't happy with the leakage issues.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26197
 
That's just ignorant, wrong and completely biased. All Subaru cars don't leak oil and they are quite reliable. As far as a thrust at DI, sure most makers are wrestling with that.

Mmmmm Mazda, give me some wankely reliability. Good lord those Mazda pickups are junky, tiny little crumbly parts........this is just stupid.

(and I really shouldn't have increased my post count by 1 to say this)
 
Can you give us more info on your oil leak? Where was it leaking from, the valve covers? What else was wrong with the vehicle? One vehicle having an oil leak at 42k miles isn't a reason to stay away from a manufacturer known for reliability.

My Subaru has almost 60k miles on it and doesn't leak oil (full disclosure, technically right now there is a very small drip from the oil filter but that will be resolved once I pick up a new filter to put on). My previous Subaru also never had an oil leak in the almost 100k miles I had it.
 
I like their cars, my parents own a 2013 Legacy. However my neighbor is cursing their CVT transmission in his 2013 Outback. He's been towed in twice because of transmission issues.
 
Originally Posted By: Pablo
That's just ignorant, wrong and completely biased. All Subaru cars don't leak oil and they are quite reliable. As far as a thrust at DI, sure most makers are wrestling with that.

Mmmmm Mazda, give me some wankely reliability. Good lord those Mazda pickups are junky, tiny little crumbly parts........this is just stupid.

(and I really shouldn't have increased my post count by 1 to say this)


The Mazda pickups were junk because they were Fords. Mazda has since severed it's ties with Ford. The oil leaks seem to stem from a faulty seal which Subaru/Toyota should have fixed long before releasing this motor into full production. The video shows how crazy hard it is to mess with the BRZ motor because of it's Toyota GDI system. The port injection is the problem... Honda's Earthdreams system doesn't use port injection and neither does the Mazda system. As for the Wankel Rotary... They are reliable, but they have certain requirements such as revving them out to the max to burn off carbon deposits in the rotor housing. The Wankel should always be warmed up, so no starting it just to move it a block away.
 
Originally Posted By: sicko
Can you give us more info on your oil leak? Where was it leaking from, the valve covers? What else was wrong with the vehicle? One vehicle having an oil leak at 42k miles isn't a reason to stay away from a manufacturer known for reliability.

My Subaru has almost 60k miles on it and doesn't leak oil (full disclosure, technically right now there is a very small drip from the oil filter but that will be resolved once I pick up a new filter to put on). My previous Subaru also never had an oil leak in the almost 100k miles I had it.


The motor in the Subaru that I had was the EJ253 an open deck naturally aspirated boxer engine. The valve gaskets were leaking oil on all 4 plug wires. The Boxer engine layout seems antiquated and is thus unable to be perfected to be reliable and efficient like the standard inline motor. No one uses this motor except Porsche. I will say that the Subaru 3.0 and 3.6 are what reliability should be for the 2.0/2.5 boxer engines. I have yet to find any issues with the EZ30 and EZ36, but then again Subaru didn't sell many H6 motors.
 
Best would be to subscribe to Consumer Reports and fill in their annual auto survey. If oil leaks are an issue it will be found out on their survey.

Around here (Albany NY) you can get a Subaru with a lifetime powertrain warranty (free) from the dealer.
 
I have had four Subaru's that did not leak nor consume a drop. My current one though(2005 Legacy turbo) has an expensive problem burning a valve which I hit at 9yrs/170k miles and choose to fix it.

I would not call our Subaru Legacy turbo unreliable but it has required more work than our other 4 Honda/Toyota cars 150k+.
 
I hope you're successful in convincing people they're junk. Maybe it'll be cheaper when I buy my next one.
 
Originally Posted By: glock19
I hope you're successful in convincing people they're junk. Maybe it'll be cheaper when I buy my next one.
I'm not saying they're junk the FB20 has shown no faulty issues that the FA20 has shown. The first round of FB25 for the Forrester had cam issues, which Subaru swiftly addressed. I just think that the Toyota GDI system coupled with a Subaru Boxer= reliability issues in the long haul. The EJ255 and EJ257 were the previous turbo charged boxers motors that date back to the 80s before. These 2 particular motors were far more robust because the were closed deck motors. The mechanic in the video states that it'll cost you $900 and 18 hours to remove the BRZ's intake manifold and port injectors. That's crazy
 
Originally Posted By: SkyActivG
The mechanic in the video states that it'll cost you $900 and 18 hours to remove the BRZ's intake manifold and port injectors. That's crazy


It may take him 18hrs but have a hard time believing a decent tech except first time.

I had my EJ255 motor removed, heads removed work subcontracted, various parts replaced, pistons honed/rings replaced, motor reinstalled, and faulty oil cooler line for in 17 hrs of labor charged to me.
 
Originally Posted By: rjundi
Originally Posted By: SkyActivG
The mechanic in the video states that it'll cost you $900 and 18 hours to remove the BRZ's intake manifold and port injectors. That's crazy


It may take him 18hrs but have a hard time believing a decent tech except first time.

I had my EJ255 motor removed, heads removed work subcontracted, various parts replaced, pistons honed/rings replaced, motor reinstalled, and faulty oil cooler line for in 17 hrs of labor charged to me.


That's the EJ255 a motor that is a successor to the early EA series. The EJ and EA motors were extremely easy to work on. Not so with the FA20 in the BRZ and the soon to be in showroom WRX. It seems the root cause of the complexity is the Toyota GDI system because of it's port injection. A SkyActiv type of GDI would have been great for Subaru because SkyActiv heats the valves to 400+ degrees to burn off carbon deposits that GDI is famous for. I'm unsure if a Subaru motor can handle a 13 compression ratio that Mazda is using. Toyota has already been in talks with Mazda about its SkyActiv GDI technology because of it's cost to produce and simplicity.
 
That's why I buy American cars, if it's gonna be junk, then let it be American junk.....lol
 
Just to add to this thread, the FB20 and FB25 engines prior to May 2013 are known to have oil ring issues. There are multiple TSBs about it, and the chief complaint is that the dealers are overfilling the crankcase during the diagnostics phase.

The other complaints revolve around the FB25 in the Legacy and Outback havin the oil warning sensor / low oil light turn on before the Oil Change Interval, which is 7500 miles in a 2013 model and 6000 mile in subsequent years.

Subarus solution for the oil light turning on is to change the sensor and update the firmware, so that the low oil warning light turns on .5qts lower...

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/104-...t-properly.html

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/104-gen-4-2010-2014/97018-oil-consumption-2013-2-5-a.html
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: SkyActivG
I formerly owned a 2009 Impreza that started to leak oil at 42k miles. It was a piece of junk. I was very optimistic about the all new re designed Subaru engines but the complexity just makes me want to run FAR away for reliability reasons. It seems Subaru can't get it's engines to not leak oil. I was already weary about the BRZ that I saw at the NYC auto show. The engine looked crazy hard to work on and now the all new WRX will receive the same motor with turbo added. I'm sure Toyota isn't happy with the leakage issues.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26197


A true BITOG member prefers something that leaks oil. It fills that oil change urge they get a few weeks into the OCI.
 
I think Subaru's are pretty good cars, durable, not as reliable as a Toyota though. My thinking is that you'll spend about $3K more in repairs getting a Sub to 200,000 miles compared to a Toyota. But so what, if you need an all wheel drive the Sub is the best in my opinion. I just don't need it in my part of the country. My girlfriend has an Outback that is 15 years old, a daily driver and has 240,000 miles on it. She has paid for the typical repairs (head gaskets and wheel bearings) but she loves the car. Also, that Sub has the best seats this side of a Mercedes, they've really held up. Being involved with her Sub over the last 5 years has changed my thinking about them and I have respect for them now.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top