1998 Subaru Outback

CYLINDER #4 EXHAUST VALE FAILURE IN JULY OF 2004. SUBARU DEALER PRESTIGE IMPORTS PULLED HEAD AND REPLACED VALVE. THEY INSISTED THE CAUSE WAS "BAD GASOLINE." APRIL 2005 CAR IS FOUND TO HAVE HIGH LEVEL OF CO2 IN COOLING SYSTEM. SUBARU DEALER PRESTIGE IMPORTS REFUSES TO DO A LEAK DOWN TEST TO DETERMINE WHICH HEAD GASKET HAS FAILED. PULLS BOTH HEADS AT A COST OF CLOSE TO $3,000. REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THEY REMOVED THE HEAD IN JULY 2004 TO REPLACE THE VALVE AND REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS MAY HAVE BEEN THE CAUSE OF THE JULY 2005 FAILURE. TOLD ME "WE'VE SEEN THIS BEFORE." REFUSED TO CALL SUBARU USA BECAUSE "THEY WOULD JUST LAUGH AT US." IN A MEETING WITH PRESTIGE IMPORTS GM JIM BORRELI HE INDICATED THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM AND PROMISED TO CONTACT SUBARU USA HE NEVER DID AND WOULD NOT RETURN MY PHONE CALLS. SUBARU USA HAS BEEN EXTREMELY UNHELPFUL AND CLAIMS THAT THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH AUTHORIZED DEALER REPAIRS OR ISSUES WITH HEAD GASKETS ON 2.5 L TYPE 1 ENGINES. THIS IS AN VERY COMMON PROBLEM APPARENTLY. ALMOST EVERY AUTO MECHANIC IN AMERICA IS FAMILIAR WITH IT. ON THE NHTSA COMPLAIN SITE I COUNTED AT LEAST 18 HEAD GASKET RELATED COMPLAINTS. A SEARCH OF THE WEB BRINGS UP HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS MORE., WHY HAS THE NHTSA IGNORED THESE PROBLEMS AND NOT ACTED IN THE BEST INTEREST OF COSTUMERS? *NM

LEGACY OUTBACK WITH 2.5 L ENGINE BEGAN TO OVERHEAT WITH COOLANT BOILING OVER INTO RESEVOIR. THE CAR WAS TAKEN TO REPAIR SHOP. THEY REPLACED THERMOSTAT, TESTED FOR HYDROCARBONS IN SYSTEM, PRESSURED TESTED CAP AND SYSTEM AND FLUSHED RADIATOR. CAR STILL OVERHEATED AND WAS RETURNED TO REPAIR SHOP AND TESTED FOR HYDROCARBONS IN THE ANTIFREEZE WITH NEGATIVE RESULTS. NO PROBLEM WAS IDENTIFIED. ENGINE CONTINUED TO OVERHEAT AND WAS TAKEN INTO REPAIR SHOP WHILE THE POINTER WAS OFF THE TOP OF THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE. THIS TIME HYDROCARBONS WERE IDENTIFIED IN THE COOLANT AND PROBLEM WAS IDENTIFIED AS A BLOWN GASKET. MANAGER REPORTED THAT THE WEEK BEFORE ANOTHER SUBARU OWNER HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WITH SAME DIFFICULTY IN IDENTIFYING THE CAUSE. REPAIRS COST $1,400. HAD A SIMILIAR REPORT FOR ANOTHER SUBARU OWNER BUT WORK WAS DONE WITH PRESSURE ON DEALER AFTER INITIAL REFUSAL.*AK

ENGINE OVERHEATING STARTED 10 MONTHS AGO ON LONG TRIPS ONLY. OVERHEATING WAS COMMON WHEN ENGINE WAS UNDER HEAVIER THAN NORMAL LOADS FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME(CLIMBING HILSS, ETC.). FLUID IN RADIATOR WAS EVENTUALLY DEPLENTED LEADING TO SHARP RISE IN ENGINE TEMPERATURE. LATELY THIS HAS BEEN WORSE AS ONLY 30 MILES OF NORMAL DRIVING WILL CAUSE THE SAME SYMPTOMS. THE FAULT TURNED OUT TO BE A HEAD GASKET FAILURE ON SUBARU R2.5L TYPE 1 ENGINES. THE COOLANT WAS BEING FORCED OUT OF THE RADIATOR BY THE SLOW LEAK OF EXHAUST GASES IN THE COOLANT AROUND THE RADIATOR. THIS VECHICLE HAS BEEN SERVICED SINCE NEW BY ONLY THE LOCAL SUBARU DEALER. A SEARCH ON THE INTERNET FOR SUBARU 2.5L ENGINES 1996-1999 (LEGACY) TURNED UP MULTIPLE HITS FOR OWNERS WITH THIS SAME PROBLEM. FAILURE IS AS LOW AS 40K MILES TO OVER 100K FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. THIS MULTI-LAYER GASKET FOR THE TYPE 1 ENGINE HAS BE REDESIGNED 6 TIMES, LEADING ONE TO SURMISE THAT THE HEAD GASKETS ARE DEFECTIVE. THE TYPE2 ENGINE ALSO HAS THIS FAILURE BUT THIS HAS BEEN INTERCEPTED BY SUBARU OF AMERICA BY ADDING A "LUBRICANT" TO THE COOLANT, IE: BLOCK SEALER. THIS ENGINE SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED TO REPLACE THE MULTIPLE DEFECTS WHICH SUBARU WILL ONLY DO ON TYPE 2 ENGINES AND ONLY IF THE OWNER KNOWS TO ASK FOR THE "SECRET WARANTY". GIVEN THAT THERE IS NO OTHER CHOICE, I PLAN TO PULL THE ENGINE MYSELF AND FIX THE PROBLEM. THE DEALER WANTS OVER $2K TO DO THE SAME WORK. *AK

COMPLAINT RECEIVED VIA E-MAIL. THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE WAS IN THE HOT RANGE WHILE DRIVING. THE COOLING SYSTEM CHECKED OUT OKAY, BUT WAS TOLD THAT THE CAR WAS LOW ON COOLANT. THE CONSUMER REFILLED COOLANT, WENT OUT OF COUNTRY, AND 2 WEEKS LATER ENCOUNTERED THE SAME PROBLEM. A MONTH LATER, WHILE DRIVING, COOLANT LEAKED OUT AGAIN, AND THE HEAD GASKET WAS BAD. THIS WAS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THESE VEHICLES. *AK *SC *JB

1998 SUBARU OUTBACK SHOWED SIGNS OF OVERHEATING AS TEMPERATURE GAUGE ROSE UP PAST THE USUAL MIDLINE AND COLD AIR INSIDE CAR FROM AIR CONDITIONER SUDDENLY GOT WARMER. I PULLED OVER AND COOLANT WAS OVER FLOWING FROM OVERFLOW RESERVOIR THROUGH THE CAP. I DROVE WITH THE HEATER ON FULL POWER AND MADE IT TO A REPAIR FACILITY AND REMOVE THE THERMOSTAT WHICH HAD SEIZED. REPLACED THE THERMOSTAT AND RADIATOR CAP ($30) AND EVERYTHING WAS FINE UNTIL FOUR MONTHS LATER (MARCH 2004) WHEN CAR SHOWED SIGNS OF OVER HEATING AGAIN (RISE IN INSIDE AIR CONDITIONED AIR TEMPERATURE FROM COLD TO WARM). TOOK CAR TO RALLYSPORT ENGINEERING IN COSTA MESA, CA AND MECHANIC COULD NOT FIND SYMPTOMS OF HEAD GASKET FAILURE ALTHOUGH THIS IS WHAT HE THOUGHT IT WAS. HE ADDED STOP LEAK, NEW THERMOSTAT, AND NEW COOLANT ($150 PARTS/LABOR) AND THE PROBLEM WAS RESOLVED ALTHOUGH THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE READING WAS A LITTLE HIGHER THAN IT WAS WHEN USING ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT (PRIOR TO NOVEMBER). NOW, JULY 2004, CAR HAS ALMOST OVERHEATED AGAIN. I TOOK THE CAR TO SOUTH COAST SUBARU IN COSTA MESA, CA AND THEY STATED THAT IT WAS A HEAD GASKET FAILURE AND THAT THEY COULD SMELL THE EXHAUST FUMES THROUGH THE OVERFLOW RESERVOIR. THE ESTIMATE TO FIX THE REPAIR WILL BE $1500 PARTS AND LABOR. *LA

MY CAR OVERHEATED AND DIED ON THE HIGHWAY. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE HEAD GASKET HAD FAILED -- IT WAS REPLACED, AND THE ENGINE WAS TUNED IN ASSOCIATED WAYS. ONE MONTH LATER, THE CAR OVERHEATED AGAIN, WITH COOLANT LEAKING OUT OF THE ENGINE. ONCE AGAIN THE HEAD GASKET WAS REPLACED, AS WELL AS THE WATER PUMP, WHICH THE DEALER SAID MAY HAVE BEEN THE ORIGINAL PROBLEM. I HAVE HAD THE CAR BACK FOR ONE WEEK NOW, AND IT'S WORKING FINE. EACH TIME THE CAR OVERHEATED, IT WAS SOON AFTER I TURNED ON THE A/C (AND THE A/C DIDN'T WORK WELL EITHER TIME -- I.E., WARM AIR CAME OUT OF THE VENTS). MY A/C IS WORKING OKAY, NOW.*AK

CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF A MAJOR ENGINE COMPONENT WHICH IS CONSIDERABLY OUTSIDE THE EXPECTED STATISTICAL FAILURE RATE(BASED ON MY RESEARCH OF COMPLAINTS BY OTHER PURCHASERS OF THIS MODEL SUBARU AUTOMOBILE), RESULTING IN SIGNIFICANT COSTS TO REPAIR. AT APPROXIMATELY 56000 MILES THE HEAD GASKETS ON MY 1998 SUBARU OUTBACK WITH THE 2.5L ENGINE FAILED.THE COST TO REPAIR WAS $ 1880.00. I CONTACTED SUBARU IN AN EFFORT TO GET THEM TO ABSORB AT LEAST PART OF THE COST SINCE THE CAR WAS WELL WITHIN THE MILEAGE WARRANTY PERIOD, BUT WAS SLIGHTLY OUTSIDE THE TIME WARRANTY.THEIR RESPONSE WAS SORRY TOUGH LUCK. I INDICATED TO SUBARU THAT A COMPONENT OF THIS NATURE WITH SUCH A HIGH FAILURE RATE, WAS OBVIOUSLY DUE TO A SIGNIFICANT DESIGN OR MANUFACTURING DEFECT.THEIR RESPONSE WAS, AGAIN, THEY WERE NOT GOINT TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. SOMEONE NEEDS TO PUT PRESSURE ON SUBARU TO MAKE THIS A RECALL ITEM.*AK