Subaru's flat-4 boxer engines and standard AWD have a passionate following, especially in snow states. The brand's big problem has been head gasket failures on the EJ25 engine (1999-2011 Forester/Outback/Legacy) and more recently CVT failures on 2013-2018 Forester/Outback - settled in a $1.2 billion class action extending warranty to 100K miles. New FA/FB direct-injection engines have largely fixed the head gasket issue but introduce carbon buildup. Starlink infotainment is a constant drag on ratings.
Consumer Reports places Subaru in the top half of brands for predicted reliability. J.D. Power has been less generous, citing infotainment complaints.
No turbo, mature CVT, head gasket issue resolved.
Naturally aspirated, no turbo, excellent reliability post-CVT-fix.
Shares Forester engine; very low complaint rate.
FA20DIT - reliable when not modified.
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EJ25 head gasket. Plan on $1,500-2,500 repair around 100-120K.
Class-action extended warranty to 100K. Failures still common past that.
PCV valve failure causing internal engine damage; recall and TSB.
EJ25 head gasket failure (older engines), TR580 CVT failure (2013-2018), Starlink infotainment bugs and reboots, FB25 oil consumption on early units (2011-2014), and rear differential noise on older Outbacks.
Average $617/year per RepairPal. Above average for a mainstream brand mostly because of head gasket history. New models are tracking closer to Toyota cost-wise.
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Newer ones (2019+) are above-average reliable. Older boxer engines (pre-2012) had widespread head gasket failure.
The TR580 CVT in 2013-2018 Outback/Forester had a class-action settlement extending warranty to 100K. Failures occur from 80-130K.
The older EJ25 (1999-2011) absolutely does. Modern FA/FB engines do not.
A well-maintained FB25 Outback or Forester will go 200-250K. Older EJ engines often die around 150K from head gaskets.
No, but the gap has closed dramatically. Toyota is still ahead, especially on infotainment.
The newer FA20DIT (WRX, Ascent, 2019+ Outback XT) is reasonably reliable if oil changes are kept to 5K with synthetic.