Real Issue or Dealer Scam?

[crapwagon]

Hi,

I brought my 19' Outback 2.5 for an unrelated service to the dealer and they ended up calling me to say they discovered coolant in the oil and ended up replacing the head gaskets under warranty. The car has 50k miles and has been meticulously maintained (at the dealership). From everything I have seen fifth gens rarely have this issue and the head gasket does are a thing of the past. Is it likely that this is a real issue or that the dealer is just making up unnecessary work to generate revenue for the service department?

 

[JSkier]

When I traded in my 2010 Forester to a Subaru dealership, it took a lot for me to go with another Subaru because of the head gasket issues (I've had it happen on 4 Subaru vehicles I've owned, early 2000s). Ended up with Crosstrek 2024. The sales person was a diamond in the rough, quite familiar with the cars. He showed me the oil filter had been moved up top, there is a timing belt with auto tension, and they have made some improvements on the seal. He did not, however, want to say the head gasket problem has been resolved (very unlike the sales person in 2010 for the Forester who said it was addressed). I believe it is because, those types of problems are not something that swing back to fully corrected on a dime.

I think it's very possible that your Outback had a head gasket leak, the mixing of fluids like that is textbook for this common Subaru problem over the years. A second opinion wouldn't hurt, or doing the oil yourself would be an easy way to tell if fluids are contaminating. Checking your garage or street for oil / coolant leaks has the potential to show this as well, unless it's mostly contained to a pan or other part of the vehicle (I had one do this with coolant, spewing out on the freeway, but no signs in the garage).

 

[Trailboss]

It sounds like a moot issue since they already did the job, but if you ever find yourself in that place, it is an easy procedure to detect any exhaust fumes in the cooling system that any garage could perform.

I am figuring that they did the right thing for a recent purchaser.

 

[keith3267]

Just because it has been redesigned and head gasket failures are very rare now, does not mean that it can't happen. You say it was done under warrantee tells me that it was a real problem. The factory does not pay for repairs under warrantee nearly as much as you would have paid out of warrantee. The mechanics also do not like doing warrantee work for the same reason.

 

[crapwagon]

It sounds like a moot issue since they already did the job, but if you ever find yourself in that place, it is an easy procedure to detect any exhaust fumes in the cooling system that any garage could perform.

I am figuring that they did the right thing for a recent purchaser.

Yes, I'm not going to turn down a free head gasket but I made this thread because head gasket issues at 5.5 years and 50k miles are pretty worrying. Perceived reliability was one of the big reasons I ended up buying this car. I even almost passed on the warranty because I thought i wouldn't see any issues in 6 years.

 

[Trailboss]

Certainly understandable!

 

[Raymond3006]

Yes, I'm not going to turn down a free head gasket but I made this thread because head gasket issues at 5.5 years and 50k miles are pretty worrying. Perceived reliability was one of the big reasons I ended up buying this car. I even almost passed on the warranty because I thought i wouldn't see any issues in 6 years.

H-G-Failures : Typically, head gaskets fail due to Poor-Quality OR High-Compression Pressures ; the Quality issues can be in any of the Components near the actual leak.
That means the Gasket itself ; the Head ; or The Engine Block ... or any combination of 2 or all three !

The Compression Pressure issue is directly related to How-Deep-Into-The-Intake-System you push your Foot .... !!!! Those who always end up at the Next-Stop-Light "first" seem to have the Majority of these failures !

BTW : What is a "crapwagon" ...? I have occasionally made posts like this, and have received the Wrath-Of-Hahn E-Mail from the Almighty Canadian Court of No-Return ... !!!! Seems that the farther North the Seat Of Judgement is Positioned, the Less Humor they appreciate !!!!

 

[crapwagon]

H-G-Failures : Typically, head gaskets fail due to Poor-Quality OR High-Compression Pressures ; the Quality issues can be in any of the Components near the actual leak.
That means the Gasket itself ; the Head ; or The Engine Block ... or any combination of 2 or all three !

The Compression Pressure issue is directly related to How-Deep-Into-The-Intake-System you push your Foot .... !!!! Those who always end up at the Next-Stop-Light "first" seem to have the Majority of these failures !

BTW : What is a "crapwagon" ...? I have occasionally made posts like this, and have received the Wrath-Of-Hahn E-Mail from the Almighty Canadian Court of No-Return ... !!!! Seems that the farther North the Seat Of Judgement is Positioned, the Less Humor they appreciate !!!!

A crapwagon is a 5th generation Outback that already shows it's age despite recommended maintenance and low mileage. Although it's really not much of a wagon, maybe I'll switch my name to "crapover" or "crap utility vehicle". As for driving too hard, I really only ask anything from its 170 horses when I am going up an on ramp in this heavy beast.

For now I've been able to fix all the issues under warranty and I'm relying on prayer and good fortune to keep my maintenance costs low now that I'm the one footing the bill.

All that said, I do like this car. I think I just had too high of expectations for reliability from a vehicle with so many bells and whistles.

 

[bmart]

The head gasket issues were due to the material used. Not oil filter location, timing belt, etc. If the owner knew better, they were replaced with the metal ones instead of fibre and the problem was gone forever.