Reliable years of Subaru Outback?

[pacem]

My family always had Subarus and always had issues with them. Multiple head gaskets, transmission failures. Engine swapped.

Currently have a 1998 Legacy in which neither the engine nor transmission are original. And it's at just over 200K miles which is really not all that much.
When we got that car, the owner presented paperwork saying the head gasket had been done. I thought - what are the chances it will fail again, it won't.
Wrong. Fail it did. Same applies to the previous Outback and the one before that too.
Not even the 1992 Legacy Loyale with the 2.2L was reliable, had to swap the motor in that too 20 years ago.

Are there any reliable years at all in the Legacy lineage where you do not have to worry about head gaskets in the 2.5L?
I am specifically looking for a 5-speed to teach my posterity how to drive, he is about to begin driving soon.

Although I am also thinking about Impreza with 2.2/2.5 although they seem less practical.

Any other 5-speed choices? that are good on gas. I had a 5-speed Camry but did not like its fly-by-wire throttle nor its manual. BMW stick is very good but that's the only good thing about it. Maybe a Volvo wagon? Do they even have 5-speed option?

 

[Oro_O]

IMO, there aren’t years you can trust but there are repairs that you can.

Take a deep dive into the cause/effect/repair options on these great articles below. It’s a really well-put together overview of the issue. It’s in two parts. It’s from Justin Stobb, owner of All Wheel Drive Auto on the east side of Seattle, a nationally recognized Subaru expert; I’ve met and talked to him and hold him in high regard. I think of particular value is his insight into how defects in the coolant system are precursors of the issue. And I’ve seen those defects in cars as new as 2017.

Part I:
https://allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru-head-gasket-problems-explained/

Part II:
https://allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru-head-gaskets-problems-explained-part-ii/


As an aside about other AWD options, I know there are not widely available Volvo options with awd/stick (few R models but that’s about it). I used as a ski car a long time a ‘91 Audi V8 5spd, and then was out of skiing a while and got back hard into it a few years ago. I did a big look-around for the best cost/reliability/fun angle for a fun AWD ski car about 4/5 years ago. I looked hard at all AWD options from c.1998 to c.2010, all makes, and it came down to me only three things:

1) Restore my rare vintage Audi V8 5-speed, which I don’t have time or space to do quickly (but will next year)
2) Audi A6 4.2 wagon, 6 speed, but they have terminal cam chain issues and you can only trust one that has had the engine pulled (yes) and the issue repaired. Hard to find. I almost snagged one and just missed it.
3) Audi XC wagon, 98 to 07 with the inline-5 turbo and then live with the Aisin automatic transmission (which is a great transmission)

I went with 3) and do not regret it at all. I’ve bought three more since then for family or myself. The suspension can be tweaked cheaply, the turbos tweaked and tuned if desired. 2004+ make enough power as-is you don’t have to do that, really. And they are fun, comfortable, practical, and reliable. Astro14 vibes on them as do others on this forum.

Another aside about “legacy” - I got my step-son a 5-speed Civic to learn on and drive his first full year. When he proved competent and did well, then I moved him up to a Volvo S60 turbo AWD w/auto. So I fully understand your goal here.

Another option, that didn’t appeal to me a lot but might work - VW and Audi have some 5 spd cars with the Haldex AWD system which are decent enough (same as Volvo). You may find a Passat or A4 that works. I looked but never found a nice one.

 

[sloinker]

Hard to find manual tranny's in much of anything new anymore. Look toward an older VW with the 5 cylinder and manual tranny. Many of these go well over 200k miles without major engine woes. Subaru's with 4 cylinder engines seem hit and miss. many long lived and many not. Doesn't seem to matter which make or model or year. Hit and miss. Look for a Nissan pickup with a manual....

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Matrix/Vibe is the obvious choice, and the Scion XA, XB, and XD were available with the manual, too.

The Mazda6 is a good car and supposed to be fun, too. Honda also has a good reputation for their sticks.

Small cars like the Spark, Mirage, Mazda2, Fit, and Yaris might interest you.

If you want AWD with a manual, there's the Suzuki SX4.

 

[edyvw]

My family always had Subarus and always had issues with them. Multiple head gaskets, transmission failures. Engine swapped.

Currently have a 1998 Legacy in which neither the engine nor transmission are original. And it's at just over 200K miles which is really not all that much.
When we got that car, the owner presented paperwork saying the head gasket had been done. I thought - what are the chances it will fail again, it won't.
Wrong. Fail it did. Same applies to the previous Outback and the one before that too.
Not even the 1992 Legacy Loyale with the 2.2L was reliable, had to swap the motor in that too 20 years ago.

Are there any reliable years at all in the Legacy lineage where you do not have to worry about head gaskets in the 2.5L?
I am specifically looking for a 5-speed to teach my posterity how to drive, he is about to begin driving soon.

Although I am also thinking about Impreza with 2.2/2.5 although they seem less practical.

Any other 5-speed choices? that are good on gas. I had a 5-speed Camry but did not like its fly-by-wire throttle nor its manual. BMW stick is very good but that's the only good thing about it. Maybe a Volvo wagon? Do they even have 5-speed option?

How many BMW’s with stick you have owned?

 

[Oro_O]

How many BMW’s with stick you have owned?

How many 330xi’s with manual did they make? Because he’s looking for AWD.

I’ve driven the 330xi auto and it’s a great machine. Came within a whisker of buying one. But is it reasonable to find manual ones? I thought they were pretty rare. I could never find any for sale in Seattle, for example, which is not a particularly small market.

 

[PF52]

Because he’s looking for AWD.

Who is, the OP? I missed where he says that.

 

[edyvw]

How many 330xi’s with manual did they make? Because he’s looking for AWD.

I’ve driven the 330xi auto and it’s a great machine. Came within a whisker of buying one. But is it reasonable to find manual ones? I thought they were pretty rare. I could never find any for sale in Seattle, for example, which is not a particularly small market.

This is different from what he implied. Manuals are rare in general.
BMW manuals are not rare, but they hold price and don’t typically spend too much time on the market.

 

[Oro_O]

Who is, the OP? I missed where he says that.

Reading with context is a vanishing skill.

 

[andrew_j]

Head gasket failure years for Subaru were 1999-2004. Outside this range not very common however their reputation for it seemed to linger despite low rate of failure.

Good luck. On BMW 3 series wagon with AWD they are more tedious to repair . I know a few folks who self wrench and they state this .

 

[edyvw]

Head gasket failure years for Subaru were 1999-2004. Outside this range not very common however their reputation for it seemed to linger despite low rate of failure.

Good luck. On BMW 3 series wagon with AWD they are more tedious to repair . I know a few folks who self wrench and they state this .

Jetta 1.8Tsi is better option than any Subaru.

 

[D60]

Head gasket failure years for Subaru were 1999-2004. Outside this range not very common however their reputation for it seemed to linger despite low rate of failure.

Good luck. On BMW 3 series wagon with AWD they are more tedious to repair . I know a few folks who self wrench and they state this .

I guess you mean catastrophic failure? They leak oil profusely from both heads way later than that. But I agree an oil leak is not necessarily "failure".

To the OP: drive a Matrix before you commit. I actually don't mind sitting in a Subaru, but Toyota ergonomics are like Chinese-- er I mean Japanese-- water torture, esp our old '06 Matrix. WHY is the door armrest shallow and sloped just enough that you think you can put your forearm there but you never really can? WHY? WHY??????

 

[IndyIan]

Do you need AWD and what's your budget? For me, I'm only interested in 2013+ subaru's as they seem to be at least average for reliability after that, but manual transmissions get pretty rare.
If you can/want to do simple work on cars, 2005+ Focus has a pretty solid engine and manual trans, the rest is ok to work on. 2000-07 has a throttle cable still too!

 

[TomYoung]

Honda will sell you a spanking new civic, with a conventional 2 liter engine, and a six-speed manual transmission. I guarantee that you will be money ahead when compared to a 200,000 mile, 30-year old Subaru of unknown pedigree that causes confusion when it breaks.

 

[PF52]

Honda will sell you a spanking new civic, with a conventional 2 liter engine, and a six-speed manual transmission. I guarantee that you will be money ahead when compared to a 200,000 mile, 30-year old Subaru of unknown pedigree that causes confusion when it breaks.

But is it AWD?

 

[TomYoung]

But is it AWD?

The OP did not specify that and threw out some non-AWD choices. But you can get a new stick Impreza for similar money, and not have to scratch your head on your old bomb.

 

[andrew_j]

Jetta 1.8Tsi is better option than any Subaru.

Definitely an alternative. The AWD is pretty good on Subaru no idea what VW installed. Our Tiguan haldex is decent however not the mechanical bliss AWD of our old 2005 Legacy GT wagon manual. The reliability is better on VW then our Subaru was.

 

[edyvw]

Definitely an alternative. The AWD is pretty good on Subaru no idea what VW installed. Our Tiguan haldex is decent however not the mechanical bliss AWD of our old 2005 Legacy GT wagon manual. The reliability is better on VW then our Subaru was.

AWD won’t be on par Subaru. Everything else is different world.

 

[IveBeenRued]

My sister’s 2015 Outback Premium 2.5i never gave her any major issues. Just one window regulator at about 120K miles and a weeping axle seal at about 160K miles. Other than those two things, it was just tires, oil, and filters. She ended up trading it in earlier this year at about 180K miles.

My father’s 2013 Outback only had 49K miles on it when he wrecked it but never saw a shop. His Outback took the hit of a 39,000 pound dump truck traveling at 35-40 MPH and he managed to walk away at 81 years old. He cries anytime someone mentions Subaru because his Subaru saved his life.

 

[sloinker]

When you go to the wrecking yard and ask where the blown engine Subaru's are at they always say,"Outback".