We had a 2011 Outback 2.5 that was a great vehicle for 90K miles. After 90 it needed 2 rear wheel bearings, then at 99K (long story short) appeared to have a head gasket that was about to go. I understand that head gaskets have been been a problem for the 2.5 engines, also that the CVTs are prone to fail after 100K, so we sold it.

Two Questions:

1. Is there still a problem with head gaskets with the 2.5 4 cylinder, and are the 6 cylinder any better in this regard?

2. Is the CVT transmission as much of an issue as it seems, or has it just been blown out of proportion on the internet? They can't be repaired, and are about $6,000 to replace.

I will probably buy another SUV/Crossover in the next few years and am trying to decide between Subaru and Toyota.

I have a 6 year old Crosstrek. Only 50k miles, but I drive it all city and pretty hard. No head gasket issues yet. I do think I'm going to need to do a CV joint someday sooner than later. Which seems a little early, but my daily parking involves a heavy right turn into a 180 degree steep climb.

I'd definitely buy another if I don't choose something much more powerful like an X3 M240.

I had a '15 Legacy with the 3.6R engine. the CVT and headgaskets never gave me an issue in 77k miles and I drove it hard.

I'm looking at an Outback or an Ascent next for a dedicated dog car.

The head gasket issues should have been resolved after 2012.

I haven't heard about any issues regarding the CVT.

Two WRX (2009 and 2012), and two Foresters (2017 and 2018).

Never had an issue with head gaskets. Both the WRX and the WRX Sti were boosted to over 20 psi and well north of 400 whp (legit on a mustang dyno). Never had a head gasket issue.

The valve cover gaskets will fail, without a doubt, by 60k ish miles. I don’t know anyone with a Subaru who has made it to 60k without oil on the garage floor.

The CVT transmission is absolute rubbish. It’s why we were happy to offload the second Forester. First one had it replaced in less that 7k miles. Wife’s car, wasn’t hot rodded at all. She’s a docile driver. Covered under warranty and when it was all done we were able to upgrade to an even nicer Forester for the same payment.
Second Forester had 11k on the clock and was exactly a year old. Showing the same signs of failure. Traded it in (yes, I disclosed that it is in the infancy of failing) on a Toyota Tacoma that is always hunting for sixth gear.

So my take on Subaru is this, buy a MT and you will be money. Bulletproof cars. The CVT is worse than what they were putting in the Nissan Altima in 2009 or 2010. That says a lot.

32k on 2015 Legacy 2.5; wife's DD. Our CVT is a wonderous beastie that has given no problems. No head gasket problems yet either. The small 4 cylinder engine has ample power for our driving style.

Only issues have been 2 recalls: one for gas door latch & one for passenger air bag.

We discuss buying a new one, yet there are no reasons to abandon this one. And we will absolutely never have 'oil on the garage floor' as we park outside......we have no garage.

***ETA: I forgot to mention the paddles; I've grown quite fond of them. They work perfectly when the operator decides to use them. And somehow they do impose some degree of engine braking sensation.

Wife never uses them; I rarely drive the car; still, it adds an interesting feedback.

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

My non-CVT 2008 Legacy 2.5 went 175,000 miles with just regular maintenance plus 2 rear wheel bearings (120,000 and 150,000) CV boots, and a bad gas tank level sensor that wouldn't read "Full" for the last year I had it. It still got 33 MPG on the highway, when I traded it in on the BRZ.

Bruce

Tiny sample, but I was really impressed with the CVT in the Impreza we had for a rental in CA. It had something like 30k on it, and ran great.

The Subaru CVT is miles better than the few Nissan CVTs I've driven.

38k on our '17 FXT, absolutely hate the cvt.....on the highway it's tolerable but in the city it's total crap. That being said we have had no issues.

I have a 2012 Outback with 140k on the CVT. No head gasket issue either. My indy mechanic has nothing bad to say about the Subaru CVT, but he's big on slushing the fluid every 50k miles. I let mine go to 90k before flushing, but no problems. My wife's 2014 Forrester has 60k on the CVT, and we flushed it at 50k. Subaru recommends a fluid change at 90k, but the warranty runs out at 100k so they're really not risking much.

quote:

1. Is there still a problem with head gaskets with the 2.5 4 cylinder, and are the 6 cylinder any better in this regard?

They are just now claiming to have fixed the problem. The 3 liter engines never had headgasket issues. Ask them to warranty the headgaskets, see what they say.

My 1999 Outback turned into a leaking turd, I stupidly thought it was just that car. My 2003 is on my side slab next to my drive way with it's headgaskets blow, again. I like the rest of the car, but goddamn what a piece of shit of an engine.
I have a 2003 BMW that has twice as many miles, and has cost me half as much.


I'd take a good look at Mazda.

The 2.5 liter head gaskets were resolved in the mid 2000's as I recall. I had a 2001 Forester that unfortunately suffered from the head gasket issue and was rebuilt twice at 200,000 and 220,000 by its new owner, who bought it at 175,000.

My 2014 Impreza had the CVT crap out at 107,000, and was replaced with a rebuild by an independent for $2,200. I later found out that Subaru extended its drivetrain warranty beyond 60K and reimbursed me for the rebuild.

My current 2018 Forester XT turbo has the CVT behind it and I have no worries or complaints about it.

This is just my personal opinion and I do not mean to offend anyone who commented above but CVT transmissions are garbage. I wouldn't even consider one. Do a little research, you'll see.

Link to original video: https://youtu.be/oVjQQj8Rx98




Link to original video: https://youtu.be/qKPnpWd2P-I

0 problems with my CVT. 50k miles, 6 years old. Don't write off my opinion or experience for low miles. 50k miles with a 6 mile commute. My CVT earns its living.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Tiny sample, but I was really impressed with the CVT in the Impreza we had for a rental in CA. It had something like 30k on it, and ran great.

The Subaru CVT is miles better than the few Nissan CVTs I've driven.

I believe both companies use CVTs made by JATCO, FWIW.

I have a 2013 Outback with standard everything (boxter engine). No issues with the CVT at 84K miles. No issues at all really. All dealership maintenance.

What am I about to run into?

I haven't seen a Subaru need a head gasket since about the 2010 year. Circa 2011 or 2012 they also went to chain-driven cams instead of belt.

quote:

Originally posted by SevenPlusOne:

[picture of Subaru temperature gauge]

And many models don't have a temperature gauge. Just blue (cold) and red (hot) lights. By the time you see the hot light on, the cooling system is already boiling over. Worse, an overheating (but not enough to trigger the light) condition could be going on for weeks or months without the driver knowing it.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Tiny sample, but I was really impressed with the CVT in the Impreza we had for a rental in CA. It had something like 30k on it, and ran great.

The Subaru CVT is miles better than the few Nissan CVTs I've driven.

I believe both companies use CVTs made by JATCO, FWIW.

Interesting. The Nissan had much more of the rubber band feeling than the Subaru.