Subaru Automobiles

[deserteagle71]

I am always wondering: how does the lane assist work? Does it 'see' the lines when I can't? Dark / rain / snow / fog?

I'd like to know also!

A few years ago I was in a rental Toyota Corolla I got at the airport in Syracuse, New York. As luck would have it, they'd just had a major winter storm so the interstate (I-81) was completely snowcovered except for where traffic was driving. So two dark bands on the highway surface where the tires were traveling that were nearly free of snow, the rest was under a few inches of snow. Apparently those dark bands were actually straddling the center line on the freeway because the Corolla's lane assist kept steering the car over to the right to put it in the center of the right lane. I fought that for over 100 miles...had no idea how to turn off the feature because there was no owner's manual in the car.

 

[DK35vince]

How much did the timing belt / water pump project cost?

I've put off doing that on my '99 Outback for over a decade beyond the recommended maintenance interval, thinking that due to the cost I'll just run this till it dies. I've gotten estimates near $2k while the OB is hardly worth that. It's our second car used only a couple thousand miles per year now.

I had the water pump, timing belt, belt tensioner and idler pulleys replaced on our 2005 Subaru Forester in 2018 at a local shop.
Cost was $650

 

[stuckmotor]

Got into discussions in the EV thread about Subarus as some EVs and some Subarus (and I'm sure other cars as well) have similar yet different features like lane assist, adaptive cruise control, different methods for controlling traction on and off road, etc.

Didn't want to side track the EV thread any longer, so thought it appropriate to start a new thread.

The first Subaru I ever saw was in '75 or '76. The owner cranked it up and I thought it had a two cylinder engine. They're still in business so they must have turned out OK.

 

[California]

I had the water pump, timing belt, belt tensioner and idler pulleys replaced on our 2005 Subaru Forester in 2018 at a local shop.
Cost was $650

Wow! If I can find a price like that, I'll do it.

I want to buy a Tesla Y for our next primary car but I still need the Subaru or its equivalent replacement, for offroad camping adventures. As this one gets into its third decade it still looks near new and has no rust at all. Because it's been in California's dry climate all its life.

 

[westcliffe01]

How much did the timing belt / water pump project cost?

I've put off doing that on my '99 Outback for over a decade beyond the recommended maintenance interval, thinking that due to the cost I'll just run this till it dies. I've gotten estimates near $2k while the OB is hardly worth that. It's our second car used only a couple thousand miles per year now.

Its my labor of course and I pulled the engine to do the clutch job, so no better time to do the timing belt, water pump and idlers.

O

 

[Yander]

Some of the pre-2013 Subarus had problems with the head gaskets and warped heads. They addressed that with re-design in 2014.

My wife had a 2011 Subaru legacy she loved it it was great on gas. She totaled that car and bought the exact same car in a 2013 even the same color.
That car used oil from day one and continued to get worse to the point we traded it. I had a 2012 Forester and I loved it and I also started to notice it using oil more and more each time I change the oil.

I got rid of it and we haven't even considered Subaru since.they've probably fixed that issue, there was a class action lawsuit.

Subaru in my opinion has hands down the best all-wheel drive system for snow and ice.

now I have a Mitsubishi outlander GT with the SAWC (super all wheel control) all wheel drive system that is supposed to be really good. It's not as good as the Subaru was on snow and ice though.

 

[jyoutz]

My wife had a 2011 Subaru legacy she loved it it was great on gas. She totaled that car and bought the exact same car in a 2013 even the same color.
That car used oil from day one and continued to get worse to the point we traded it. I had a 2012 Forester and I loved it and I also started to notice it using oil more and more each time I change the oil.

I got rid of it and we haven't even considered Subaru since.they've probably fixed that issue, there was a class action lawsuit.

Subaru in my opinion has hands down the best all-wheel drive system for snow and ice.

now I have a Mitsubishi outlander GT with the SAWC (super all wheel control) all wheel drive system that is supposed to be really good. It's not as good as the Subaru was on snow and ice though.

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.

 

[MossRoad]

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.

 

[California]

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.

 

[California]

850 miles yesterday. 31.2mpg average. Smooth as silk. Nice riding car. One stop for gas about an hour west of St. Louis.

I want one!