Questions for Subaru owners

[intrepid27]

My wife and I are close to pulling trigger on 2020 Asent. I realize Asent model is just going in to its second year but was wondering about Subaru in general and their 4 cylinder turbos. Any horror stories in regards to maintenance and repairs?

Curious if anyone had problems getting them worked on outside a dealership?

 

[2forISU]

I have had two Subaru Legacy's and have treated me well. No complaints

 

[SolonCy]

I had a 2011 forester that my wife liked and trusted so much that we gave to our daughter and my wife bought a 2016. Easy to change oil and maintain in general. Not a problem with either of them, other than the 2011 uses about 1/2 qt of oil between oil changes (which Subaru says is normal).

 

[motorcy90]

The main issues with Subarus has always been head gaskets but are otherwise good cars. There are a lot of independent shops that will work on them or specialize on them.

I briefly looked at the Ascents, just dont feel that small turbo motor and a cvt will last or have decent real world fuel economy for a vehicle that large. Have you given the new Kia Telluride/Hyundai Palisade any thought? That's what we will probably end up with here soon.

 

[CyVoodoo]

Personally I think they are pushing the little 4-cylinders too hard. I find it fine for the smaller and lighter models but I just don't know on the large Ascents. They made a great 6 cylinder, why can't they use it anymore?

 

[intrepid27]

I briefly looked at the Ascents, just dont feel that small turbo motor and a cvt will last or have decent real world fuel economy for a vehicle that large. Have you given the new Kia Telluride/Hyundai Palisade any thought? That's what we will probably end up with here soon.

That was a concern of ours as well. It has plenty of get up and go but that is a big vehicle for a 4 cylinder. We looked at a Telluride and it was a very attractive price point given the features. The are selling so fast you have to order one and wait 3 months.

 

[usedcarguy]

Personally I think they are pushing the little 4-cylinders too hard. I find it fine for the smaller and lighter models but I just don't know on the large Ascents. They made a great 6 cylinder, why can't they use it anymore?

Blame the government. The CAFE standards are pushing automakers to smaller engines with turbos. Honda, Ford, GM, Kia/Hyundai, etc. have all added them to their lineup.

As someone who gets to deal with cars after they have some years and miles under their belts, I shudder at what the cost of repair on these things are going to be once they eclipse the 100k mile mark. Seeing a lot of problems today due to the variable cylinder management technologies of a decade ago.

 

[Dr.bannedman]

As someone who gets to deal with cars after they have some years and miles under their belts, I shudder at what the cost of repair on these things are going to be once they eclipse the 100k mile mark. Seeing a lot of problems today due to the variable cylinder management technologies of a decade ago.

what do u do?

 

[somecyguy]

Blame the government. The CAFE standards are pushing automakers to smaller engines with turbos. Honda, Ford, GM, Kia/Hyundai, etc. have all added them to their lineup.

My wife's Equinox with Ford's Ecoboost is like flogging a squirrel. I suppose if you drove it like grandma, it would show better mileage numbers, but in many cases, my Audi's V6 gets comparable mileage as the Equinox.

 

[motorcy90]

That was a concern of ours as well. It has plenty of get up and go but that is a big vehicle for a 4 cylinder. We looked at a Telluride and it was a very attractive price point given the features. The are selling so fast you have to order one and wait 3 months.

Yep it's going to hurt a bit as there won't be any discounts available for a while on them. Still have about 5 months till I have my motorcycle paid off completely to have a little more wiggle room for payments. Will have to sell/trade in my truck most likely for it though.

 

[motorcy90]

My wife's Equinox with Ford's Ecoboost is like flogging a squirrel. I suppose if you drove it like grandma, it would show better mileage numbers, but in many cases, my Audi's V6 gets comparable mileage as the Equinox.

Do you mean ecotech?? Which is a GM motor and name they have used for a decade+ now. But I know the same feeling as my parents own a 16' Equinox that I have driven a bit. No power whatsoever, and can barely get out of it's own way on the interstate.

 

[brianhos]

My wife and I are close to pulling trigger on 2020 Asent. I realize Asent model is just going in to its second year but was wondering about Subaru in general and their 4 cylinder turbos. Any horror stories in regards to maintenance and repairs?

Curious if anyone had problems getting them worked on outside a dealership?

I just got a 2020 ascent on Saturday... Compared it to a Pilot and Highlander, it is by far the best of the 3.

 

[somecyguy]

Do you mean ecotech?? Which is a GM motor and name they have used for a decade+ now. But I know the same feeling as my parents own a 16' Equinox that I have driven a bit. No power whatsoever, and can barely get out of it's own way on the interstate.

Oops, yeah, I got my manufacturers mixed up. Same squirrel, different name.

 

[Cybone]

I have had two Foresters, a Legacy and am currently driving a 2019 Outback.

I bought the Outback in April after my Forester was totaled in a car accident. Other driver turned left in front of me on a red light and I nailed the other car. All the air bags deployed. My girlfriend and I walked away with some scrapes and frayed nerves.

The commercials say anything to get you to buy, but I can tell you first hand that the safety features are legit. They don’t tell you how long the smell of the airbags lingers in your nose afterwards, but it is worth it to walk away from a collision like that with both of us safe and relatively unscathed....

 

[g4ce]

I have a 2014 non-turbo 4 cylinder legacy. It does well. Personally my issue is with the CVTs on higher horsepower motors like the turbo 4 in the ascent. I got the ascent once as a loaner while my Legacy was in for the airbag recall and both my wife and I loved it. I could not get over the fear of the CVT failing though and if you google Ascent CVT problems you will probably get lots of hits. Not saying that yours will have any problems, but I will definitely be waiting another 5+ years before I put my money down on one.

 

[usedcarguy]

what do u do?

I separate people from their hard earned money.

 

[ArgentCy]

What is everyone's problems with Subaru's CVT? The AWD seems to be picky really picky on tires but I haven't seen a bunch of transmission problems.

 

[usedcarguy]

What is everyone's problems with Subaru's CVT? The AWD seems to be picky really picky on tires but I haven't seen a bunch of transmission problems.

They had a rash of bad torque converters back around 2012 or so. An internal seal would fail and when you came up to a stop sign the transmission wouldn't disengage from drive. Left unresolved, eventually the car would die at a stop and transmission eventually fail.

 

[KennyPratt42]

Had a 1992 Legacy that I drove in high school with no problems, a 2002 WRX I took to 180,000 miles with no issues, and have a 2019 Outback now (had a couple cars in between). The are generally very reliable cars. They did have some issues with their early CVTs, but those seem to be mostly resolved in the newer models. In general they tend to lean more towards fuel economy than an abundance of power (speaking about my Outback). Their AWD system is the real selling point.

 

[CyCloned]

I have own a couple Subarus, but they were old enough that they would not be a factor in any decision you would be making. Seems like they have had the same 2.5 opposing 4 engine design for 40 years. I have always been a little wary of the turbo engines in general. As someone else alluded to, manufacturers are squeezing more and more power out of those little 4 cylinders, which is probably fine for the first 80-100K.