Subaru Poor reliability in US, Aus trend?

FFF said:
Yes, the AT Outback had the 2.5l standard. Same engine in my GT, BTW.
Wasn't 2.5l of that year the beginning of all those head gasket problems?
I am keeping my fingers crossed...




Wednesday afternoon, if you're lucky.


florian
Yep, 2.5l DOHC. Engine is great, burns no oil, no piston slap, nut'n.
It did start flagging a CE light during warm up at around 150K, and
during those episodes run rough for about 30 seconds. Each time the
error code was "misfire on Cylinder #4". Problem went away at around
210K miles.... I think it might have been a sticking valve guide, which
makes me wonder how something could "tighten up" after 150K miles?!
 
Sparky said:
210K miles.... I think it might have been a sticking valve guide, which
makes me wonder how something could "tighten up" after 150K miles?!

Varnish or fuel deposits on a valve stem? A change in fuel could have
caused and/or cured such a problem (fuel may have changed even if you
stayed with one brand.) Just one of perhaps many possibilities.

Rick
 
I have a 96 OB and Funny that I also get "Misfire on cylinder #4" when the
engine has not warm up and I tried to push it. Or, sometimes the vibration
caused by going through little ripples on the road. Looks like you ignore it
and it was all okay again. I'll do the same and not worry about it.
 
My Legacy 95, FWD with a 2.2L engine, almost works as if it's new ,
with very few repairs so far after 100,000 miles.
That stimulated a friend to purchase a brand new Legacy wagon 2003.
Everything broke on it! Axles, differentials, transmission and now
the engine. He now has a Legacy 2003 for sale, for cheap. Subaru is
not what it used to be. To look good against the competition they are
pushing too far the performance envelope of otherwise good designs,
and the reliability suffers.
I would wait for the next generation model, where they have hopefully
learned from their mistakes.
Felix
 
I don't doubt Subarus as a quality auto manufacturer, but I think like all
car makers of today in an industry that is under pressure to cut costs and
add more value while increase efficiency, it really makes you wonder how is
it possible for high quality cars to exist?

I believe some people might be lucky in getting a reliable working machine
while others might just be unlucky in getting a lemon. Despite mass
production I still don't believe no two cars are made 'exactly' the same.
(not counting colours and specs :D) So unless there is a complete research
and independently compiled data, it is hard to judge a brand or the vehicle.
(probably easier to get the data in US than in Aus)

I understand your concern about the quality etc. I mean after all who would
want to buy a lemon and getting all the frustration after spending all that
money. I faced the same issues when I first looked at buying my '04 OB. But
in the end I took on the risk because I like the car more. People who like
or treasure their possessions are often less critical of it.

Just think of it this way.

1. Subaru didn't get where they are by making unreliable cars.
2. Do you like the car and the attributes it offers? If not and you just
want a reliable transport then please go to Toyota or Lexus
3. If cars are too reliable.... how in the world are the factories gonna
make money to develop better models for u? :)

If all else fails and you did get a lemon.. then just sell it and get
another car. Look on the bright side you get to try out all kinds of cars
within a short period.
 
I believe some people might be lucky in getting a reliable working
machine while others might just be unlucky in getting a lemon.
Despite mass production I still don't believe no two cars are made
'exactly' the same.

Part of an auto manufacturer's ability to make a reliable car is their
ability to design an auto that is easy to assemble. Asside from improper
engineering (e.g. the first year EJ25 engine) another type of design flaw is
something that it is hard to build (e.g. parts with poor yields or
assemblies that require unusual amounts of skill to assemble). If something
is "easy" to build, then you can get more consistent results.
 
Asside from improper
engineering (e.g. the first year EJ25 engine) another type of design flaw is
something that it is hard to build...
<snip>

What's so different in the 96 2.5l engine from later models that would warrant
this statement? The one concern about this type of engine were the head gaskets,
but that seems common to all generations of this engine unless rebuilt with
gaskets of the latest generation.

florian
 
What's so different in the 96 2.5l engine from later models that
would warrant this statement? The one concern about this type of
engine were the head gaskets, but that seems common to all
generations of this engine unless rebuilt with gaskets of the latest
generation.

It was recently covered in a thread about a 96 AT Outback Wagon

http://forums.nasioc.com/faqs.htm read the answer to "When did the 2.5L
engine switch over from DOHC to SOHC?"
 
Felix Crashalot said:
That stimulated a friend to purchase a brand new Legacy wagon 2003.
Everything broke on it! Axles, differentials, transmission and now
the engine. He now has a Legacy 2003 for sale, for cheap.
Cripes. What did he do to the poor thing? If all that stuff broke due to
defects, it should be under warranty. However, if something stimulated him
to buy one, he might have been even more "stimulated" once he started
driving it and tried living a WRC fantasy which would make a warranty claim
harder.
 
It was recently covered in a thread about a 96 AT Outback Wagon

http://forums.nasioc.com/faqs.htm read the answer to "When did the 2.5L
engine switch over from DOHC to SOHC?"

I checked that FAQ and of course it refers to the introduction of the SOHC
engine. The years 97 - 99 were still DOHC. The 96 DOHC differs from the 97 - 99
in that it uses pistons with longer skirts (less prone to piston slap) and
hydraulic lifters. I am unaware of problems with those.

AFAIK the head gasket issue is common to all EJ25 engines -SOHC or DOHC - with
the same basic cylinder block layout. So what's with the 96 in particular and
could you point me to the thread you were referring to?

thx,

florian
 
I checked that FAQ and of course it refers to the introduction of the
SOHC engine. The years 97 - 99 were still DOHC. The 96 DOHC differs
from the 97 - 99 in that it uses pistons with longer skirts (less
prone to piston slap) and hydraulic lifters. I am unaware of problems
with those.

AFAIK the head gasket issue is common to all EJ25 engines -SOHC or
DOHC - with the same basic cylinder block layout. So what's with the
96 in particular and could you point me to the thread you were
referring to?

Nothing, just that it started with the 96 engine. Look for the "Boring
Legacy Outback question........" thread.
 

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