Subaru Reliability

[Ronald Donahue]

Just had the 90,000 mile check on my 1999 SUS (now called Outback Sedan) and
no problems were found. I bought this car new in August 1998 I change the
oil every 15,000 miles at a jiffy lube or similar quick change. It has been
to the dealer at only 30,000, 60,000, and 90,000. It was back to the dealer
for 2 minor and 1 semi major warranty repairs .
So far I have paid for 1 set of brake disks, 2 sets of brake pads and a
heater panel bulb replacement. I don't do any maintenance myself just put
gas in it and drive. I must say I am very impressed this car appears to be
as reliable if not more reliable than my Hondas (Civic and Accord) and my
Toyota Camry.

Ron Donahue

 

[Diva]

Thanks for the information, Ron. This is good to know. I am driving an '02 OBW.

June

Just had the 90,000 mile check on my 1999 SUS (now called Outback Sedan) and
no problems were found. I bought this car new in August 1998 I change the
oil every 15,000 miles at a jiffy lube or similar quick change. It has been
to the dealer at only 30,000, 60,000, and 90,000. It was back to the dealer
for 2 minor and 1 semi major warranty repairs .
So far I have paid for 1 set of brake disks, 2 sets of brake pads and a
heater panel bulb replacement. I don't do any maintenance myself just put
gas in it and drive. I must say I am very impressed this car appears to be
as reliable if not more reliable than my Hondas (Civic and Accord) and my
Toyota Camry.

Ron Donahue

 

[ismlv]

I have to agree. I drive the same car with 77K miles on it now. I have
the oil changed every 3 - 4K miles though (I'm just a stickler about
that since I don't want to take the chance of something happening but
great if you can get away with more!). Nothing major done other than
the major checkup at 60K, 2 warranty repairs, a set of brakes and a
tire change. My first, factory, set of tires that came on it went 60K
miles so I was sure to put the same ones, XW4s I think, on it again.
Hope it keeps running and running since I want to be without payments
for a good long time.

Incidently Ron, what kind of gas do you run in it? Been thinking about
going to a higher octane (I run 87) because I'm back to doing a lot of
highway driving long distance but didn't know if the increase in gas
mileage would warrant the expense.

Happy holidays!

 

[clayton]

perhaps a older subaru is better i drive a 87 gl-10 turbo wagon
that so far as i can tell is still orginal motor with no rebuild
and 212k miles paid 600 for it and have maybe added another 300 in tune up
and minor repair stuff <in a year and a half mind you>
and best of all is it can still usually stomp 90 percent of these body
kitted farty piped rice cars runing around town
weee
it eventually will get rebuilt and intercooled but it still runs great for
now

 

[Ronald Donahue]

ismlv,

I run regular (87) I ran 89 for a while but actually felt the car had more
pep on 87. Probably just my imagination but it seemed to downshift less on
long hills with the 87.

Ron

 

[Guest]

Glad to see someone post positive feedback on their Subaru. Most people
only post problems.

 

[Pete D]

15k miles for oil changes is not often enough, you have just been lucky.

: Just had the 90,000 mile check on my 1999 SUS (now called Outback Sedan)
and
: no problems were found. I bought this car new in August 1998 I change the
: oil every 15,000 miles at a jiffy lube or similar quick change. It has
been
: to the dealer at only 30,000, 60,000, and 90,000. It was back to the
dealer
: for 2 minor and 1 semi major warranty repairs .
: So far I have paid for 1 set of brake disks, 2 sets of brake pads and a
: heater panel bulb replacement. I don't do any maintenance myself just put
: gas in it and drive. I must say I am very impressed this car appears to be
: as reliable if not more reliable than my Hondas (Civic and Accord) and my
: Toyota Camry.
:
: Ron Donahue
:
:

 

[H. Whelply]

15K oil changes seem a little strung out to me, too, UNLESS virtually all
the mileage is at highway speeds, w/ almost no stop/go city driving. Even
then, luck would seem to have played a part in the story.

HW

 

[Ronald Donahue]

I can only speak to experience. I'm 56 years old been driving since 16 I've
had fords, dodges, Chevy's, Datsuns, Toyotas, Hondas, Volvos, Subaru's and
jeeps I changed the oil in all of them at 15,000 miles and only my 1980 Jeep
Waggoner ever gave me engine problems and that was oil leaks from day one.
Oh yes and a blown head gasket on my Toyota pickup at about 75,000 miles. My
driving is about an average mix of city and highway and I drive about 5 mph
over the posted speed limit, just enough to keep me from being a hazard on
the road. I know to most drivers changing oil is practically a religion but
my experience says otherwise, so to each his own.

Ron Donahue

 

[H. Whelply]

Ron,

Interesting history! Perhaps the conventional-wisdom 3,000 mile oil change
is foisted upon us by an oil industry that benefits if we're all prematurely
throwing away perfectly serviceable oil?! That may be especially true in
light of oil improvements over the past 20 years or so.

HW

 

[Anthony]

I would not want to buy any of his trade ins. The 3k mile oil change isn't
bull. Have you ever seen the inside of an engine that was been given that
poor of service? I can tell you from personal experience it's not pretty.

Oil is cheap, change it often. I change the oil on my motorcycles ever 1500
miles and on my cars every 2 ~ 3k miles.

Tony

 

[Tha Ghee]

I would not want to buy any of his trade ins. The 3k mile oil change isn't
bull. Have you ever seen the inside of an engine that was been given that
poor of service? I can tell you from personal experience it's not pretty.

Oil is cheap, change it often. I change the oil on my motorcycles ever 1500
miles and on my cars every 2 ~ 3k miles.

Tony

Bikes are different then cars develop there power at different parts on the
band. I think it's funny that someone who makes $70k+ a year thinks that
it's ok to change the oil at 7500 or more miles but some that makes $8hr
thinks it should be changed at 3k and we take it like a eidetic

 

[Edward Hayes]

Subaru doesn't even have a 3000 mile recommendation. Most German cars have a
10,000 mile and are considering a 15,000 mile recommendation. I do a mix of
city and expressway 70/30 and change at 5000 miles or between Subaru's 3750
& 7500 recommendation. eddie

 

[pheasant]

Ron,

Interesting history! Perhaps the conventional-wisdom 3,000 mile oil change
is foisted upon us by an oil industry that benefits if we're all prematurely
throwing away perfectly serviceable oil?! That may be especially true in
light of oil improvements over the past 20 years or so.

Gotta think it's partly true.

My 86 GL gets it once a year (Mobil 1) mebbe twice if I'm abitious, the rest
get it in April and October no matter what the milage is. Never had an
engine problem in 35 years, except the Subie's valve covers like to leave
"presents" on nice clean dirveways.

Mark

 

[Anthony]

Bikes are different then cars develop there power at different parts on the
band. I think it's funny that someone who makes $70k+ a year thinks that
it's ok to change the oil at 7500 or more miles but some that makes $8hr
thinks it should be changed at 3k and we take it like a eidetic

I change bike oil more often because my bikes run at a higher RPM than most
cars and aircooled engines are harder on oil. I've been in both income
categories you mention and I still change the oil in my car at no more than
3500 miles but I try to get it done right at 3K.

One valid point about your observation is that those that can't afford to
replace their car, are more likely to take better care of it. When I owned
a bike shop, I used to tell people that the less they could afford to
replace the drive chain on their bike, the more they should lubricate it.

 

[Jim Stewart]

I change bike oil more often because my bikes run at a higher RPM than most
cars and aircooled engines are harder on oil. I've been in both income
categories you mention and I still change the oil in my car at no more than
3500 miles but I try to get it done right at 3K.

One valid point about your observation is that those that can't afford to
replace their car, are more likely to take better care of it. When I owned
a bike shop, I used to tell people that the less they could afford to
replace the drive chain on their bike, the more they should lubricate it.

Any way you look at it, bikes need frequent oil changes.
On most bikes, the oil is the transmission lubricant as
well. Keeping it clean and preserving it's shear
lubricating ability is important for long-term life and
short-term shifting performance.

What really surprised me about the cost of bike ownership
was the tire costs. Two new high-quality tires every
12k miles at about $300. But what a delight to ride on
those new tires for the first few thousand miles....

 

[Rick Courtright]

I would not want to buy any of his trade ins. The 3k mile oil change isn't
bull. Have you ever seen the inside of an engine that was been given that
poor of service? I can tell you from personal experience it's not pretty.

Hi,

I'm gonna step on someone's toes here, so might as well apologize out
front!

I agree with you, but that's not gonna change anybody's experiences or
biases concerning change intervals. Only thing I can say is (in my
experience only) two kinds of people argue for changing at 3k: those who
know absolutely nothing about what goes on inside an engine, and want to
"make sure" nothing goes wrong, and those who've cleaned a lot of crud
from under their fingernails playing inside engines that received all
different kinds of care. I'm of the latter school.

Again, in my experience only, those who argue for truly extended
intervals are more frequently those who "know more than the engineers"
and subscribe to the conspiracy theories the oil companies are surely
foisting on us trying to sell us more oil. There ARE guys who've gotten
excellent service out of their engines using extended intervals--some of
us have even known those who got 100k or better without EVER changing
their oil--but there's a real reason the term YMMV came about.

I won't argue that 3k changes might not be a bit excessive and perhaps
unnecessary for many of us. But they're the engine's equivalent of guys
who shower every day vs those who do so once a week. Neither routine's
gonna kill you. But I know which one I'd rather stand next to in a
crowd. Same with then engines I work on... opinions will vary. Those are
mine.

Rick

 

[Anthony]

Any way you look at it, bikes need frequent oil changes.
On most bikes, the oil is the transmission lubricant as
well. Keeping it clean and preserving it's shear
lubricating ability is important for long-term life and
short-term shifting performance.

You missed my first post on the subject. I already pointed out that I
recommend changing bike oil at 1500 miles.

What really surprised me about the cost of bike ownership
was the tire costs. Two new high-quality tires every
12k miles at about $300. But what a delight to ride on
those new tires for the first few thousand miles....

Fortunately bike front tires last 2~3x as long as rear tires. By shopping
around you can save some. What really sucks is that it cost about $50 to
have a bike shop change that tire. I do my own but it still cost me 10
bucks to have one balanced when I take the wheel in.

 

[Anthony]

I'm gonna step on someone's toes here, so might as well apologize out
front!

I agree with you, but that's not gonna change anybody's experiences or
biases concerning change intervals. Only thing I can say is (in my
experience only) two kinds of people argue for changing at 3k: those who
know absolutely nothing about what goes on inside an engine, and want to
"make sure" nothing goes wrong, and those who've cleaned a lot of crud
from under their fingernails playing inside engines that received all
different kinds of care. I'm of the latter school.

Again, in my experience only, those who argue for truly extended
intervals are more frequently those who "know more than the engineers"
and subscribe to the conspiracy theories the oil companies are surely
foisting on us trying to sell us more oil. There ARE guys who've gotten
excellent service out of their engines using extended intervals--some of
us have even known those who got 100k or better without EVER changing
their oil--but there's a real reason the term YMMV came about.

I won't argue that 3k changes might not be a bit excessive and perhaps
unnecessary for many of us. But they're the engine's equivalent of guys
who shower every day vs those who do so once a week. Neither routine's
gonna kill you. But I know which one I'd rather stand next to in a
crowd. Same with then engines I work on... opinions will vary. Those are
mine.

Rick

I had about 15 1/2 to 16 years as a bike mechanic until a bad back and knee
problems from a bike crash many years ago forced me to make a career change.
I'm also very opinionated about oils but I'm not going to start that flame
war here. I don't use synthetics, for the same money I can use mineral oil
and change it more often. Motor oil collects a lot of crap and frankly I
want that out of my engine ASAP. I knew another bike mechanic that changed
the oil on his bike every 600~1000 miles. It may have been excessive but
his 1977 Suzuki 750 went over 100k miles and that a lot for a bike. As I
recall it was still running good when he sold it.

 

[Chris Williams]

Well group, I came to be a Subaru owner after starting out with a '65 Chevy
Impalla as a late teen and then buying a '80 Mustang and drove it for 18
years! I traded that old Mustang for about $850 in 1997 for a 1993 Subaru
Legacy with the 2.0 Liter and Automatic AWD. The dealer tried real hard to
sell me on a Lease. Crazy guy was not listening nor seeing what history I
came from, but I enjoyed playing with him and he finally steered me to this
impeccibly maintained Subaru on the used side of the lot.

Well, this Subaru has had regular factory interval services performed on it
all it's life. I do streatch my oil changes to around 5K rather than the 3K
intervals. I do this partly due to driving style and habbits. The car,
engine and drive train have been constant performers and despite the added
size and weight of the Subie, it ran circles around the performance I was
used to from the '80 Mustang (even when that old Ford was new).

Maintenance on the Subaru? Well, I have had my share, but with the car
running at over 172K miles, the service I have performed is, in my opinon
appropriate for a car this old and with that many miles. I have been in for
wheel bearings, water pump, crank pully, alternator, timing belt, front
suspension bushings & break pads. Frankly most of these well after the car
was past 125K and all either serviced at recommended times or when their
service life was spent and failure was either immanent or had occured.

To this day, the car never fails to get me where I need and in comfort. It
runs almost as quitely as the day I drove it off the dealer's lot. The
milage is between 26 and 30 mpg. It did give me a scare this summer when I
started to hear near constant engine "ping" and the car would start (more as
we approached fall) with a nice distinct valve "tapping" sound that would
clear up after a few moments of driving. It would be silent (well as silent
as a boxer's valve train can get) before I got 5 blocks from my front door.

I am sure many of you can guess and are jumping up and down at your
keyboards to tell me what it was. Yep! I let the oil level drop by more than
1 1/2 quarts low! I was so pre-conditioned to not see any oil loss, by
either burning or leaks, that I forgot one of the basics of auto ownership!
I never thought to check the oil until one morning it hit me like a ton of
Valvoline! It was nearly non present on the dip stick. Opps! I put in 2
quarts and started the engine than morning and it "tapped" for about 5
seconds and was silent. I have never heard the "tapping" nor the constant
"Ping" since.

Of course, during this episode and before I discovered the oil being low, I
was trying fuel system cleaners in the gas tank from Chevron and buying the
92 octane gas - Ouch on the prices! Now I run with the Plus grade or Super
(from Costco's new gas station near me. I pay less for the 92 Super at
Costco than I would pay for the Plus anywhere else in the Portland, OR metro
area!).

Well, my only query from the group would be an opinion on the damage I may
have subjected my poor boxer engine to with the low oil situation. The
engine has not shown signs of oil loss since this one episode. BUT, I check
it more often now. Did I save myself from harm by having this happen on a
well driven and well worn in boxer as apposed to a newer and possibly tigher
toleranced engine on a newer Subie?

Be kind in your responses. My wife and I just became parents for the first
time in my 42 years. I may have been a bit distracted to pay that much
attention to the oil in my Subie. Just a plea in my defense.

Thanks for any useful replies.

Chris