jyoutz
Super Star Member
I haven’t heard of any engine issues with Subaru since the redesign in 2014. Our 2017 never used oil or had head gasket issues.
Subaru Automobiles
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MossRoad
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850 miles yesterday. 31.2mpg average. Smooth as silk. Nice riding car. One stop for gas about an hour west of St. Louis.
The lane departure warning kinda nudges you back into your lane if you get to the side lines. The lane keeping feature holds you in the center. I turn the lane keeper off in traffic. I like to use all of my lane when passing cars and trucks, and that feature doesn't like that. On the open road, it's pretty nice.
The lane departure warning kinda nudges you back into your lane if you get to the side lines. The lane keeping feature holds you in the center. I turn the lane keeper off in traffic. I like to use all of my lane when passing cars and trucks, and that feature doesn't like that. On the open road, it's pretty nice.
California
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re oil consumption, my '99 OB seems reasonable.
For many years now, after about 5k miles is where it finally needs a quart. After it was down a quart again - approaching 10k miles, it got an oil change instead. But now, with little driving the Subaru in recent years it can be at least a couple of years before it's down that first quart so that's where it gets the oil change. About 150k miles on it now.
The reason this Subaru is semi-retired and the '05 Focus Wagon, similar size, is our primary car is because the Subaru has gotten only 23.5 to 24.5 mpg since new, while the Ford is about 5 mpg better.
Added: The Focus Wagon never needs top-up oil. I think only 1 or 2 times in 17 years. I no longer keep a quart on hand. I follow the European spec for this engine (2L), 10k mile oil changes using Ford's semi-synthetic.
For many years now, after about 5k miles is where it finally needs a quart. After it was down a quart again - approaching 10k miles, it got an oil change instead. But now, with little driving the Subaru in recent years it can be at least a couple of years before it's down that first quart so that's where it gets the oil change. About 150k miles on it now.
The reason this Subaru is semi-retired and the '05 Focus Wagon, similar size, is our primary car is because the Subaru has gotten only 23.5 to 24.5 mpg since new, while the Ford is about 5 mpg better.
Added: The Focus Wagon never needs top-up oil. I think only 1 or 2 times in 17 years. I no longer keep a quart on hand. I follow the European spec for this engine (2L), 10k mile oil changes using Ford's semi-synthetic.
California
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I want one!
Oz_Kioti
Gold Member
2017 Outback - the slightly upmarket version with sunroof, leather seats and a few other goodies. Didn't want the sunroof (and have never used it, not here in Australia - we try to keep OUT of the sun!) but from memory it had RCTA (rear cross traffic alert), blind spot monitoring, and a couple other things we wanted.
We had an affinity with the brand from the excellent build quality, fit & finish, and performance of a new Legacy* company car I had for three years since 2007. Best vehicle I had ever driven. Loved it! (*It was called the Liberty here)
But back to the Outback. Ours has lane departure warning, but not lane-centering. The engine auto-stop at intersections I have got used to, and the re-start is quick, so I'm fairly neutral about that. And like most here, really like the adaptive cruise control, as well as general handling and comfort. We did opt to pay a little more on our annual insurance bill to remove any excess from a windscreen replacement, due to the extra complications/cost of having the "Eyesight" system recalibrated. So far we've had to have one replacement.
Now - Gripes:
Automatic emergency braking. A couple times it's slammed on full brakes - hard - when it "saw" a small bird on the road ahead. That got our attention!!!
The infotainment system crashed just recently. Just out of the five year warranty, however Subaru Australia replaced it, with dealership labour being our only out-of-pocket expenses, so no real complaint there.
And a weird one to finish with: On a 300km drive (bit under 200 miles) to the big smoke and back yesterday, every so often (about four times) there was a loud "trill" sound coming from somewhere - the speakers I think. I was bluetoothing music from my phone all the way, and out of the blue would come this very loud alarm-type noise/warning. But for what? I can't find any reference to it in the enormous owner's manual.
Has anyone here had that issue?
EDIT: I should point out that the phone I was bluetoothing music from, doesn't have a sim card. It's just an unused one with lots of memory for lots of music. So the alarm/alert trill was not something the phone was picking up.
We had an affinity with the brand from the excellent build quality, fit & finish, and performance of a new Legacy* company car I had for three years since 2007. Best vehicle I had ever driven. Loved it! (*It was called the Liberty here)
But back to the Outback. Ours has lane departure warning, but not lane-centering. The engine auto-stop at intersections I have got used to, and the re-start is quick, so I'm fairly neutral about that. And like most here, really like the adaptive cruise control, as well as general handling and comfort. We did opt to pay a little more on our annual insurance bill to remove any excess from a windscreen replacement, due to the extra complications/cost of having the "Eyesight" system recalibrated. So far we've had to have one replacement.
Now - Gripes:
Automatic emergency braking. A couple times it's slammed on full brakes - hard - when it "saw" a small bird on the road ahead. That got our attention!!!
The infotainment system crashed just recently. Just out of the five year warranty, however Subaru Australia replaced it, with dealership labour being our only out-of-pocket expenses, so no real complaint there.
And a weird one to finish with: On a 300km drive (bit under 200 miles) to the big smoke and back yesterday, every so often (about four times) there was a loud "trill" sound coming from somewhere - the speakers I think. I was bluetoothing music from my phone all the way, and out of the blue would come this very loud alarm-type noise/warning. But for what? I can't find any reference to it in the enormous owner's manual.
Has anyone here had that issue?
EDIT: I should point out that the phone I was bluetoothing music from, doesn't have a sim card. It's just an unused one with lots of memory for lots of music. So the alarm/alert trill was not something the phone was picking up.
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OP
MossRoad
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850 miles back on Sunday. Total mileage went to 29.1. There were terrible winds almost all the way, so I'm sure that had something to do with the dropped mileage on the way home.
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MossRoad
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Lane centering is sketchy on high crosswinds. Felt like a boat. Wind pushes you away from center of lane, and lane centering brings you back, over and over again. I did better on my own.
As mentioned before, it's called lane centering for a reason... it keeps you in the center of your lane. And as I've mentioned before, I like to be able to use all of my lane when passing or being passed. Something from my motorcycle riding days. So this feature pushes you back towards the vehicle you are passing, or the vehicle that is passing you. You can fight it, of course, but that's annoying, and, if you let up the fight, it goes right back to center.
Therefore, I'll only be using it on the open road with no traffic. In that situation, it's pretty nice to give your muscles a rest on a long drive. Follows the curves nicely, too. Just have to give gently input to keep it in line.
As mentioned before, it's called lane centering for a reason... it keeps you in the center of your lane. And as I've mentioned before, I like to be able to use all of my lane when passing or being passed. Something from my motorcycle riding days. So this feature pushes you back towards the vehicle you are passing, or the vehicle that is passing you. You can fight it, of course, but that's annoying, and, if you let up the fight, it goes right back to center.
Therefore, I'll only be using it on the open road with no traffic. In that situation, it's pretty nice to give your muscles a rest on a long drive. Follows the curves nicely, too. Just have to give gently input to keep it in line.
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MossRoad
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Adaptive cruise control works great! It detects things in your lane about 200 yards out, but doesn't react until that thing gets to the distance you have set. 1-5 bars. 2 bars seems about right for me in light traffic. That keeps things about 2 seconds in front of me at highway speeds. 1 bar in heavier traffic. Otherwise, it leaves such a space that other traffic hops in between you and the vehicle in front of you, and you get slowed down until they get the set distance in front of you. It applies gas or brakes, depending on needs. As long as you don't hit the brake pedal, it stays engaged. If you have to hit the brake pedal, cruise comes off, just like any other car. Simple to reset it with your right thumb.
I got a bit tired and my wife drove about 3 hours. She gives it a passing grade as well. She said it takes a bit to get used to it, but once she did, she liked it.
I got a bit tired and my wife drove about 3 hours. She gives it a passing grade as well. She said it takes a bit to get used to it, but once she did, she liked it.
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MossRoad
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Passenger comfort. Had 5 in the car a few times. 3 back seat people had no issues. Plenty of leg room, too. Wouldn't want to go the 12 hours with 3 in the back, but for around town/short trips it's acceptable.
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MossRoad
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Auto headlights. I like them. They turn around corners as you turn, and recenter as you come back. The brights will dim automatically to oncoming traffic at about the exact same time I would do it manually. So that's OK with me.
We drove home in moderate rain the last 3 hours, in the dark. The fog lights did just the trick for lighting up the lane lines for me on some dark roads.
We drove home in moderate rain the last 3 hours, in the dark. The fog lights did just the trick for lighting up the lane lines for me on some dark roads.
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MossRoad
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The video display is HUGE! I particularly liked Apple Car Play. I could access Google maps for the directions and follow the route and I could also keep Apple Maps open in a wider format in the background. Very easy to flip between the two apps to get either picture. Pretty handy, as if I'm using google maps, I have to exit a screen to get a wider view, etc...
I used all 18 radio presets on the way out, and backtracked on the way back. That was handy, except on the way there, it was rock stations. On the way home, the same stations were religious church programming on Sunday morning, and professional sports programming on Sunday afternoon, which is another form of religion out there.
I used all 18 radio presets on the way out, and backtracked on the way back. That was handy, except on the way there, it was rock stations. On the way home, the same stations were religious church programming on Sunday morning, and professional sports programming on Sunday afternoon, which is another form of religion out there.
ericm979
Super Member
My car has that. We live on a dark and very twisty mountain road. Its super useful there.
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MossRoad
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Update on the wife's 2020 Subaru Outback....
I like it!
Took it on another trip to OK and back last week. Car is solid as a rock.
Even without the lane keeping assist on, it drives so straight that sometimes it tells me to keep my hands on the wheel when they've never left the wheel. Just doesn't need correction that much. If it doesn't feel you making steering corrections for X amount of time, it thinks you aren't keeping your hands on the wheel.
I think that is probably more of a testament to the condition of other states' roads VS Indiana's!
Very comfortable car with plenty of room for 4 people and gear. Or 3 people and a bunch of hauls from antique shopping.
Nothing to complain about yet.
I like it!
Took it on another trip to OK and back last week. Car is solid as a rock.
Even without the lane keeping assist on, it drives so straight that sometimes it tells me to keep my hands on the wheel when they've never left the wheel. Just doesn't need correction that much. If it doesn't feel you making steering corrections for X amount of time, it thinks you aren't keeping your hands on the wheel.
I think that is probably more of a testament to the condition of other states' roads VS Indiana's!
Very comfortable car with plenty of room for 4 people and gear. Or 3 people and a bunch of hauls from antique shopping.
Nothing to complain about yet.
jyoutz
Super Star Member
We have a Subaru Forester and really like it also. Had it since 2017 and still have nothing to complain about.
Torvy
Super Member
How about that the '17 Forrester doesn't offer power seats? See, something to complain about.
kozal01
Platinum Member
I drive fleet cars for work and I have a 2020 Forester now, had a 2023 Outback before it. I cant stand them, I wonder every time I get in this thing why people like them at all. For comparison sake I had a 2020 Ford Escape (totalled), 2021 Ford Bronco Sport (rental) and a 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee (rental) before these two Subarus and I would take any one of those three vehicles over the Subaru's all day long. The adaptive cruise control and lane centering assist on all the other vehicles I listed work so much better than the Suburu eyesight. With the Suburu good luck using cruise control if its raining, snowing, too sunny or too foggy, and unlike the other brands that default to normal cruise control if their censors are blocked the Suburu just shuts everything off. Not only that but the speed modulation of the Suburu's cruise control is just awful, slows down below the set speed going downhills then revs to beat hell going up hills then slams on the brakes at the apex of the hill to slow the car back down. Its just terrible. Besides the awful cruise control the outback was as slow as molasses, got pretty bad MPG's and both cars have terrible bluetooth and apple car play connectivity, was constantly dropping off with both cars. I cannot wait to trade in this Forester when my new Escape is delivered.
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MossRoad
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I've experienced none of that with our 2020 Outback.
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Torvy
Super Member
You should never use cruise control on any vehicle in bad weather or heavy traffic.
Glad they don't make us all drive the same vehicles (yet). I wouldn't pay money for any of those you mentioned.
The '18 Outback has been good. I still prefer Toyota overall.
Glad they don't make us all drive the same vehicles (yet). I wouldn't pay money for any of those you mentioned.
The '18 Outback has been good. I still prefer Toyota overall.
kozal01
Platinum Member
How many of the ones I mentioned have you owned? I put 50K on the Escape, 6k on the Bronco Sport and almost 10K on the Jeep. So far I have 5K on this Forester and I had almost 8K on the Outback so I have some miles in each for comparison. Also, you know the only one that has needed to visit the dealership is the 2020 Forester. With only 80k on the Odometer the AC Stopped working, had a terrible missfire and now it needs to go back in again because the auto headlights sometimes like to turn on while the car is not being used and drains the battery.
jyoutz
Super Star Member
Ours has a power seat on the driver’s side, none elsewhere.How about that the '17 Forrester doesn't offer power seats? See, something to complain about.
