2015 Subaru Legacy: Reliability?

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Originally Posted By: gathermewool
every manual I’ve driven in the past 20 years (small cars and trucks) has been over 3k RPM at over ~65 MPH. 3200 RPM @ 65 MPH rings a bell for both of my previous MT Subies.

My forester cvt runs under 2000rpm at 65 its hard for me to believe that
 
She likes the Subie and wants the Subie?
Then why not?
I don't know what you see for winter in your part of Virginia, but if you see much in the way of frozen delight, your wife will love the Legacy.
Ignore those who make absurd claims about Subaru durability never having owned one.
We've bought four over the years and they've been solid cars.
You'll also never see problems with the AWD. In both performance and durability, Subaru's AWD system is as good as it gets.
 
Originally Posted By: klt1986
My wife is looking at a 2015 Subaru Legacy 2.5i Premium. Car has just under 36k miles and has spent its 3 years in Tennessee and Virginia, so rust/corrosion should not be an issue. Any issues with that year model Legacy, engine, or drivetrain I should be aware of?

My daughter has a 2015 Legacy 2.5 and it has never been to the dealer for anything other than maintenance. It burns about 1/2 quart of oil in 6k intervals and was broken in very briskly by my son in law.

I would be more concerned about getting a 2018 which has been having major infotainment bugs. Most of the drops in recent “reliability” scores for Subaru are based on wonky infotainment systems.
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
She likes the Subie and wants the Subie?
Then why not?
I don't know what you see for winter in your part of Virginia, but if you see much in the way of frozen delight, your wife will love the Legacy.
Ignore those who make absurd claims about Subaru durability never having owned one.
We've bought four over the years and they've been solid cars.
You'll also never see problems with the AWD. In both performance and durability, Subaru's AWD system is as good as it gets.


We don't see a lot of snow or ice where we live but we travel into the far western part of VA and into the western NC mountains. In addition, my wife has a job where she must be at work at 5AM. When it does snow, many times road crews have not done anything to secondary roads or much to the main roads for that matter. She feels more confident with an AWD or 4wd vehicle. She does not like the part time 4wd that requires her to select 4wd. Our Honda CR-V has performed perfectly for the last 10 years but it is starting to get a little long in the tooth. I think the Subaru AWD system would be even more capable. We will probably buy new in 12-18 months.
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Manual transmission subarus are extremely low geared. My 2018 Forester has 4.44 gears. On the highway it just screams.


Originally Posted By: gathermewool
Now that I think about it, every manual I’ve driven in the past 20 years (small cars and trucks) has been over 3k RPM at over ~65 MPH. 3200 RPM @ 65 MPH rings a bell for both of my previous MT Subies.


That is insane. Those type of unnecessarily high highway RPM's do nothing but consume fuel, increase emissions, and wear out engines. 5 decades ago when cars only had 2 and 3 speed automatic transmissions, along with 3 and 4 speed manuals, higher revving engines were somewhat unavoidable if you wanted any type of performance.

Today it's ridiculous. Both my 2015 Jeep and 2018 Toyota have 8-Speed automatic transmissions. The Jeep turns 2,000 RPM @ 80 MPH in 8th gear. And the Toyota turns the same at 75 MPH with it's non turbo 2.5L, 4-Cylinder. And both are 2 of the fastest accelerating vehicles I've ever owned. The performance and fuel mileage they both deliver is outstanding. If all these new Subaru's are revving that high, it's no wonder they're all burning oil in no time.
 
Originally Posted By: double vanos
It’s beyond me to understand how Subaru keeps getting top pick recommendations with all the problems they have engine / transmission wise.


Because they don't. Consumer Reports survey showed only a tiny fraction of owners saw these problems. But those who did made a lot of noise (and, to be fair, I would too if mine was burning three litres between oil changes).

Our Civic and Forester have almost the same mileage now, and the Forester burns no oil while the Civic gets through about half a litre between oil changes. Doesn't mean I think Honda have a big problem with oil burning.
 
Originally Posted By: billt460
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Manual transmission subarus are extremely low geared. My 2018 Forester has 4.44 gears. On the highway it just screams.


Originally Posted By: gathermewool
Now that I think about it, every manual I’ve driven in the past 20 years (small cars and trucks) has been over 3k RPM at over ~65 MPH. 3200 RPM @ 65 MPH rings a bell for both of my previous MT Subies.


That is insane. Those type of unnecessarily high highway RPM's do nothing but consume fuel, increase emissions, and wear out engines. 5 decades ago when cars only had 2 and 3 speed automatic transmissions, along with 3 and 4 speed manuals, higher revving engines were somewhat unavoidable if you wanted any type of performance.

Today it's ridiculous. Both my 2015 Jeep and 2018 Toyota have 8-Speed automatic transmissions. The Jeep turns 2,000 RPM @ 80 MPH in 8th gear. And the Toyota turns the same at 75 MPH with it's non turbo 2.5L, 4-Cylinder. And both are 2 of the fastest accelerating vehicles I've ever owned. The performance and fuel mileage they both deliver is outstanding. If all these new Subaru's are revving that high, it's no wonder they're all burning oil in no time.


But the low geared, close range manual transmission is what sold me on the Subaru. It does great towing (a lot better than my poorly geared 5 speed focus) and is quite fun to drive. 3000 on the highway is a bit excessive, but I can still get 30-32 mpg out of it going 65 to 70. I still have to drop a gear or two to pass on the highway. But it's a Japanese 4 cylinder, it can run at 3000 all day and be happy.

My Focus wouldn't hit 3000 until a hair over 80.
 
Coming from a subaru "family," dad has a couple outbacks, 2003 and 2015. I've got a 2016 and 2nd manual car was a 1999 outback. Prior to my 2016 was a 2011 forester. All these were N/A, no turbos. Not a single major issue on any of them (the 99 just needed tires/breaks/suspension before it was totaled around 180,000 and the '03 is pushing 200,000 having only the same routine things, also a transaxle or two). To be expected, SIA of Indiana is the plant outbacks roll off from, and foresters all come from Japan.

Folks with head gasket failures, were they using full synthetic at 16 and imho it was needed all along. The h4 engines run HOT and are "known" to consume. Well try a better oil!

My 2011 forester and 2016 have used zero oil, never a drop. I checked the dipstick faithfully expecting to see it low at some point given the reputation of these 2.5L h4s. Granted, I use full synthetic like any owner should, perhaps that's why.

When it comes to their CVTs, as others have pointed out they are solid. BUT, big but here, they didn't get the CVT power delivery right until the 2015 in the outbacks. It was introduced in the Outback in 2011 and was dog slow, 2013 saw a big improvement. It wasn't until 2015 outbacks that they got power delivery right off a stop. Take that for what it's worth. The 2011 had the old 4 speed auto that felt more like a 2 speed... my 1992 honda civic 5peed was quicker @102 horses.

To anyone buying a subaru here's what I suggest: get the H6. They are more rare, but you'll find them and they're smoother and bullet proof. They didn't use CVTs until later with the H6 (due to power being higher) as well so you'll find lots of 3.6L H6s w/ a 5 spd auto until around 2014-ish. The older 3.0 H6 was also solid. And no matter what subaru you buy or have, run full synthetic 0w30 (or even 0w40 esp. with the turbos).
 
Olinskis:
I have two subarus. My 08 needed HG's at 120K miles. I belong to the subaru forester board. I would say that 50% of EJ emgines needed HG's from 1998 on. That is very very conservative. The few subarus you have that did not have HG issues is not statistically relevant. Has nothing to do with the oil.

If you are a subie fanboy you can stick your head in the sand and say its not a problem. It was a problem and its ridiculous that subaru did not redesign the EJ engine to address the problem.

The newer FB engine was a disaster. Many of the early FB's needed the ring fix caused by bad engine design....Period.
 
Al,

Ya it's too bad about all the failures. '96-'99 were the worst of it. Still, you own two of them so I think you get it. In spite of so many HG repairs at such low mileage, they're still relatively easy to keep on the road 200k+ miles. And sorry to say the oil did matter. As did the coolant after they modified the formula. They also made changes over the years trying to eliminate the issue. The best change though was the recent requirement for full synthetic. But you know these things, being on "the board" and all.

Design flaws, sure. But still good engines. For some bad ones check out https://drivemag.com/news/seven-engines-to-avoid-when-buying-second-hand-cars Though even with those, the 1.8 Audi/VW issues are virtually eliminated with full synthetic but early owners weren't informed. Tragic really, but oh how common are these situations with inferior lubricants. And that's what this board is all about right? Understanding lubrication? Avoid issues more, use full synthetic, esp. in your subarus!
 
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Originally Posted By: bluesubie
Originally Posted By: klt1986
My wife is looking at a 2015 Subaru Legacy 2.5i Premium. Car has just under 36k miles and has spent its 3 years in Tennessee and Virginia, so rust/corrosion should not be an issue. Any issues with that year model Legacy, engine, or drivetrain I should be aware of?

My daughter has a 2015 Legacy 2.5 and it has never been to the dealer for anything other than maintenance. It burns about 1/2 quart of oil in 6k intervals and was broken in very briskly by my son in law.

I would be more concerned about getting a 2018 which has been having major infotainment bugs. Most of the drops in recent “reliability” scores for Subaru are based on wonky infotainment systems.


+1

Subaru seems to lag others in their tech/infotainment implementation, choosing instead to play it safe with older tech. They were somewhat late to the game in offering the latest features (e.g., Android Auto and Apple CarPlay) and it seems that they’re experiencing teething issues. I remember Ford having similar issues a while back, along with many other manufacturers who try to implement as much tech as cheaply as possible.
 
Originally Posted By: Olinskis
And sorry to say the oil did matter. As did the coolant after they modified the formula. They also made changes over the years trying to eliminate the issue. The best change though was the recent requirement for full synthetic. But you know these things, being on "the board" and all.

I Always used synthetic
 
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
Subaru seems to lag others in their tech/infotainment implementation, choosing instead to play it safe with older tech.


I think they spend all the money on the mechanical parts and throw in the cheapest sound system they can get. Ours works fine, except that I can never remember which of the two different mechanisms to pair a phone with the car actually works (since I only do it every couple of years).

If someone wants fancy electronics and doesn't care that much about AWD, they should probably get a Honda instead.
 
Originally Posted By: billt460
Originally Posted By: nthach
Originally Posted By: billt460
Why does Subaru have so many piston ring / oil burning related problems?

Low-tension rings and CAFE-mandated 0W-20 oil.


My new 2018 Toyota runs 0W-16 and it doesn't burn a drop.


CAFE is a performance standard across a mfg line, just like the title implies; it doesn't tell mfg what to do; they decide.

2018 Yaris specs 5w-30; so much for a mandate.
 
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I can't speak for the newer models, but I do hear a lot about oil consumption being an issue and it makes sense, Subarus always got horrible fuel mileage so low tension rings were a last ditch effort to get MPG's up... Glad my '08 with the EJ255T engine is old school and rock solid reliable. 155k miles and doesn't burn a drop of oil. I did put a turbo on it at 130k but thats fairly normal for these.

My issue was with the dealers and recalls! They had my car a month to perform a few recalls on the airbags, brake lines and blower motor. I did have a loaner car free of charge but still!
 
We have a 2016 Subaru Legacy Limited 2.5.
Since new now has 30k.No issues so far.
I like the way it drives.
The only thing I do not like is there is no
automatic locking of the doors.
 
Originally Posted By: RichR

The only thing I do not like is there is no
automatic locking of the doors.

Auto Locking doors are stupid. Who is going to let someone into your car going 10 miles per hour? Lock them yourself as soon as you are in the vehicle when you are most vulnerable.
 
Originally Posted by gathermewool
Originally Posted by bluesubie
Originally Posted by klt1986
My wife is looking at a 2015 Subaru Legacy 2.5i Premium. Car has just under 36k miles and has spent its 3 years in Tennessee and Virginia, so rust/corrosion should not be an issue. Any issues with that year model Legacy, engine, or drivetrain I should be aware of?

My daughter has a 2015 Legacy 2.5 and it has never been to the dealer for anything other than maintenance. It burns about 1/2 quart of oil in 6k intervals and was broken in very briskly by my son in law.

I would be more concerned about getting a 2018 which has been having major infotainment bugs. Most of the drops in recent �reliability� scores for Subaru are based on wonky infotainment systems.


+1

Subaru seems to lag others in their tech/infotainment implementation, choosing instead to play it safe with older tech. They were somewhat late to the game in offering the latest features (e.g., Android Auto and Apple CarPlay) and it seems that they�re experiencing teething issues. I remember Ford having similar issues a while back, along with many other manufacturers who try to implement as much tech as cheaply as possible.



Infiniti only just introduced Android Auto last year. Still wonky design with two screens.
 
Originally Posted by Al
Originally Posted by RichR

The only thing I do not like is there is no
automatic locking of the doors.

Auto Locking doors are stupid. Who is going to let someone into your car going 10 miles per hour? Lock them yourself as soon as you are in the vehicle when you are most vulnerable.


Why is it stupid? It's fairly standard these days.
 
Originally Posted by billt460


Today it's ridiculous. Both my 2015 Jeep and 2018 Toyota have 8-Speed automatic transmissions. The Jeep turns 2,000 RPM @ 80 MPH in 8th gear. And the Toyota turns the same at 75 MPH with it's non turbo 2.5L, 4-Cylinder. And both are 2 of the fastest accelerating vehicles I've ever owned. The performance and fuel mileage they both deliver is outstanding. If all these new Subaru's are revving that high, it's no wonder they're all burning oil in no time.


One of the reasons my Corvette gets such good gas mileage with such a large engine is that at 80mph in 8th gear it's only turning 1500rpm! Combine that with the fact that it'll run on just 4 cylinders at part throttle and it's no wonder how it can get well over 35 MPG on a highway trip.
 
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