I have owned Subaru's since 1988 and most have been good cars. I had problems with an Outback, Legacy and now my 2018 Forester XT. I think I have had 4 recalls on it so far, the last being replacement of the condenser. That is not bad since they recharge the A/C system but it is the most recalls on any car I have owned. Which, again, is not a bad thing since it fixes problem areas but it also gives me a glimpse into long term ownership. I wanted to keep this until the wheels fell off. The last time I changed my oil I noticed the transmission pan leaking (at only 36K miles). So Subaru dropped the pan and replaced the gasket but the CVT shifts different now. Even though Subaru extended the warranty to 75k I know it will go out. I just do not see long term reliability with this and am done with Subaru.

I have always wanted a Tacoma but never got one for some reason or another. Fortunately due to high used car prices I got 6k less than I paid for the Forester new over 3 years ago so I picked up a 4 door, 2021 Tacoma TRD Offroad 4x4 today. It has the blackout package and the exterior is black, that is a bad combo in the south during summer but it sure looks good. Paid close to MSRP but I did the same 3 years ago with my 4 Runner. Now with two Toyotas I can see having these long term and if I do decide to sell them I will get good money for either. Sorry, no pics but trust me, it looks good.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mrvmax,

Congrats on your new ride!

quote:

Originally posted by mrvmax:
It has the blackout package and the exterior is black, that is a bad combo in the south during summer but it sure looks good...

Yup, Same here. Picked up an old Dodge that was black. Didn't take long for me to want to take off every piece of chrome I could find.
The grille inserts are chrome, but everything else was black or replaced with something that was.
More torque than I know what to do with, but I'm at the gas pump a lot. I haven't gotten a speeding ticket yet, so I'm doing just fine.

Congratulations, sounds lie you got a good deal.

Scotty Kilmer is a big Toyota fan so there you go!

Where is the picture?

I own 4 cars. 2 Subarus, 1 Toyota (used to be 2), and a VW. 2014, 2017, 2017, 2021. Every one except the new one has had at least 1 recall. Usually for something I didn’t even bother rushing to get fixed. It’s more a product of the reporting system than poor quality. Things get recalled now that 10 years ago would never have gotten fixed. You oil leak would bug me too, recalls not so much.

I got rid of my 2013 outback with the oil consumption issue. They said it didn’t burn enough to be recalled, but I have never had a car built after 1980 that would go through over 1 quart of oil per 3000 miles.

I traded in for a 2015 Tacoma Limited four-wheel-drive with all the options including the off-road package. The truck now has 115,000 miles on it, and not a single issue. One of the only vehicles I have ever owned until paid off, without trading it in.

Ceramic tint on all windows, sunroof (if equipped), and windshield makes a drastic difference.

Congrats on the Taco. I bought my Tundra 1 year ago today.

Congratulations. They’re great trucks. I had one and it was pretty awesome.

I agree with Black. Ceramic window tint (Huper Optik) is worth every penny.

i have no
issue with the idea that the cvt is not a long lived component in any brand. but the tacoma certainly has its strong points there are plenty of recalls.
recalls per se don’t bother me too
much as they fix issues and normally my dealer works around my issues for free like needing a rental, but the idea that somehow toyota doesn’t have them
is demonstrably false.

Why ceramic tint over regular tint?

Congrats on your new Tacoma!

I just bought a 2021 Tacoma TRD Sport 4x4 in Magnetic Gray Metallic. Love this truck! I traded in my 2018 Tacoma SR-5 (red) and the Toyota dealership gave me $8,000 above what I owed on it because of huge market demand for used Tacomas.

I'm friends with the sales manager at our local Toyota dealership. After being snowed in for a week and unable to leave my home last winter, I decided to get a new Tacoma 4X4. I told him that I wanted it in Cement color. He said, "No dice." Apparently, due to the silicone chip shortage, production is way down and certain colors are impossible to find. I was not disappointed after he called and I laid eyes on the Magnetic Gray Metallic. I'm so blessed to own it. I'm getting 22 miles to the gallon, too, which ain't too shabby. Congrats on your new truck!

Since it’s black….. get a good ceramic coating put on it. Life will be much easier. Lol

Congrats on the Tacoma. I really enjoyed my 17 Pro ( traded in on a 20 T4R Pro)

quote:

Originally posted by Edmond:
Why ceramic tint over regular tint?

Ceramic tint blocks way more heat from entering the cab compared to carbon or metallic (very few metallic tints anymore compared to the days of old).
But for the full effect all glass needs the film on it.
I had 20% put on my front windows closest match to the factory rear tinted glass.
I had 70% put on the front and rear windshield, rear windows, and sunroof. The 70% is nearly clear and one can’t tell it is on there really just by looking at it. It’s important to do all the glass or the heat will just go through whatever glass does not have film on it and defeats the purpose a bit.
Most factory windshields these days have some sort of solar glaze or coating but still good to get it done.

Beancooker is correct Huper Opkit is king in this game and you will absolutely pain top dollar for it. Also based upon where you live it can be hard to find if at all.

Formula One’s Pinnacle Series is really good and have had 6 cars done in that film. My first being and Audi wagon so 9 pieces of glass to tint and 15 years ago when ceramic was still pretty new in cars. It was close to $1k then.

Though that installer has since decided to piss me off so I quit using them.

My new guy uses Scorpion Film and used the Shield Series Nano Ceramic film. So far very happy with it over the last year and has a lifetime warranty (as all should).

I owned one Subaru and it was the worst piece of crap I've owned out of 38 cars/trucks/SUVs. Never again.

We had an Outback and a Legacy. We loved the Outback especially, until the head gaskets started to go at 100K mi. It was frustrating in that all the maintenance was done on schedule at the dealership, the last service a few thousand miles before the head gasket issue, and there was never any mention of a potential problem. We sold it, not wanting to replace the head gaskets and then have to worry about the CVT going out.

The Legacy started to struggle starting. To abbreviate a long story, after $200 and three trips to the dealership there was no improvement nor real explanation.

To be fair some of these issues may have been due to the dealership rather than Subaru.

We now have a Camry (with a fuel pump recall) and a 4Runner. I may be overly optimistic but anticipate greater reliability with Toyota.

I have friends that were super loyal Subaru owners for years, the last two outbacks have been bad enough to make them say never again.

Congrats on the new truck.

I have a new Subaru and a 2006 Tacoma. The taco has had 4 recalls in its lifetime. No other issues though and its been a champ. That is saying something about the taco considering how I treat it. I beat the hell out of it and it is still going strong.

And no pic.... Come on man.

MY 2002 WRX was pretty good. Got a free new clutch at 30K miles due to a judder issue, and the recall for the fuel line connector weepage and gasoline smell during cold weather. Repairs were a bad A/C hose, Condenser damaged by rock impact (fog lights each broke once too I think), a corroded top water reservoir, and cracked radiator side tank. Still running strong at 203K miles when I traded it.

Ex's 2004 Forrester XT and a bad radiator, bad A/C compressor, and the engine lost compression on two cylinders at 160K.

Ex's 2013 Forester X had the oil consumption issue before the recall and blew at 70K miles. They replaced the engine for free under discretionary policy repair.

My 2013 WRX had random misfires all cylinders around 70K miles. They replaced the intake manifold gaskets first, then found around 100K that the exhaust valves were all under spec on valve lash. That required an engine-out top end rebuild of both heads (no adjustment, solid bucket lifters) that also involved a new timing belt, plugs, and a new clutch. Subaru paid 1/2 the necessary repairs at warranty rates. I dumped the car after the repair as a speed shop advised that without a short block rebuild I could very well get a spun bearing and trash the rebuilt heads, and I wasn't really confident that a dealer could be trusted to do all the head work correctly. Little while later I got the class action settlement notice for the spun bearing issue.

Since the 2002 was a first year US spec WRX I'll make an exception because the 2.0L Turbo was bullet proof otherwise.

The 2.5L in general is more or less a pile of junk and has had tons of problems. I had some hope for the new 2.0L DI engine developed with Toyota, but I'll have to look into actual reliability now that they have been on the road in WRX's for 5 years.

I switched to a Honda Civic Si with the 1.5L DI Turbo. It's not quite as fast and I miss the AWD, but fuel economy is 50% better and it's light with outstanding handling for a FWD.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Lefty Sig,

One of my friends was in the same boat. We went in a road trip and their basically brand new Subaru Outback’s oil light came on. Long story short it had a pretty serious engine issue and oil consumption which Subaru fixed. They looked online and saw lots of other people having issues so they decided to trade it in for a Toyota Sienna and loved that so much they eventually upgraded to Lexus. They own two of those now and love them.

Maybe Subaru should focus less on activism and political shit and focus a hell of a lot more on quality control. They used to make a product that was damn reliable but I would never buy a new Subaru or one made in the last few years.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
One of my friends was in the same boat. We went in a road trip and their basically brand new Subaru Outback’s oil light came on. Long story short it had a pretty serious engine issue and oil consumption which Subaru fixed. They looked online and saw lots of other people having issues so they decided to trade it in for a Toyota Sienna and loved that so much they eventually upgraded to Lexus. They own two of those now and love them.

Maybe Subaru should focus less on activism and political shit and focus a hell of a lot more on quality control. They used to make a product that was damn reliable but I would never buy a new Subaru or one made in the last few years.

The Subaru's I had in the 80's were bullet proof but over the years I have had more and more issues. I think you new correct that their focus is wrong. The good thing is that now people will not assume I am a homosexual woman when they first see my vehicle.