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Consumer Reports drops Subaru 6 spots to #11 in reliability

14K views 38 replies 24 participants last post by  MAINIAC OB 
#1 ·
Consumer Reports Car Reliability Survey 2016

"Subaru dropped out of the top 10 reliable brands because of multiple problems in the Legacy sedan and Outback wagon, which now have average reliability. The drop was compounded by the WRX/STi falling to below average reliability."

Bummer. I just picked up a 2017 a few months ago. I wonder what issues were the most common. There must have been a lot to cause the change to average reliability.

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The Honda Civic lost its Recommended rating due to its much-worse-than-average reliability. And the Honda brand also dropped to number 10 in reliability. Consumer Reports pegged the rating to problems with its power equipment and infotainment systems. I regularly scan the Fit and Civic forums and there are a lot of problems; yet Honda's reputation for quality still seems unaffected when reading reviews and user comments.

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(note: This was posted earlier with an error, so I reposted with an updated title.)
 
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#2 ·
@Brucey as a owner of Gen5

and a moderator,


I think you should fact check all these threads, clicking on all the links, like this one, (questionable ones too).

and keep doing it for the next month.

collate them into one big 3000 post 100,000 click thread,

...and then ask @administrator for some money for all your hours of work on their behalf.
 
#5 ·
I'm not sure what problems CR has in mind. I have a 2016 3.6 that wasn't part of any recall and has been problem free since the born-on date.

The steering wheel issue affected some cars but was a supplier originated manufacturing defect. It wasn't a design defect or a product that failed prematurely but one that the supplier messed up on. Subie jumped hard into fixing that and did with as little inconvenience to the owners as possible. What other problems didn't I have that other might?
 
#8 ·
My 2015 3.6R has been great. No reliability issues thus far but I have had to bring it in for 3 recalls already. Ignition switch, code update for the electric brake, and code update for the Eye Sight and automatic braking. Maybe the recalls of the 2015's have impacted the ratings?
 
#9 ·
There should be a recent recall on the relay. Those polar bears who drives in extreme cold condition where ice crystal will form causing the relay to not operate normally needs to get the relay switch out. Have not yet send my cars to get that recall fixed. my next service cycle is coming up anyway.

Overall, I love my Outback. A part from crack windshield and alot of dings on the door panels, its tough going.
 
#10 ·
If anyone has a Consumer Reports account, it would be nice to know what areas people are having problems with (especially for the 2015 and up model years) so that I can be more vigilant with maintenance.

(Regarding bias: Consumer Reports has car reviews which are their opinions; but they also have owner reliability surveys which is used for reporting.)
 
#16 ·
I find CR's opinions quite fickle and I also take their reviews and rankings with a grain of salt. Just look at their inintial Tesla Model S review that showed them smugly saying that this is the best car they'd ever tested It all fell apart when they had to walk back their enthusiasm when the car started having problems.

BTW, based on the chart that Skinny Dennis posted above, I don't see anything that justify a 6-place drop in reliability.
 
#18 ·
I agree! But I think in general you can get a good picture of how a manufacturer is doing. Then go to an owner forum and see what kind of problems show up in the real world with a specific model.

I recall we bought a washer based on a CR 'Recommended' rating and within 3 years it was junk. That one had replaced a washer that lasted 17 years thru 3 kids and 2 adults. Kids grow up, move out, new washer lasts 3 years. What a joke. Anyway I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the OB, it's a great car.
 
#19 ·
Infotainment (aka 'audio' back in the day) systems have been driving a lot of the reliability rankings at CR, JD Power, etc. Apparently, Honda's audio systems have played a huge factor in tanking their rankings. It's laughable how bad most of these car audio systems are across the board. Made even worse by the difficulty replacing them. But the Outback's audio has generally garnered positive reviews ever since 2015.

I'm specifically interested in the reliability table. Are there any other problems areas other than audio showing up?
 
#25 ·
German lux cars are great when new but definitely seem to have more built in planned obsolescence.

Subaru's problem is that you can't work around the clock to keep up with demand and not have some quality control issues. The last couple years they have been in sales territory they have never visited.
 
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#26 ·
What I find strange is that according to this chart, the Outback reliability went up quite a bit over the years up to 2015, yet despite that it stumbled down the rankings. I doubt the 2016 and 2017 are any worse, given they've been ironing the kinks of the 5th gen.

One possibility is that the competition just got better (particularly US manufacturers).

Another is that the recent recalls is really what's behind the drop.
 
#31 ·
I too tend to take CR with a grain of salt. My 3500 is ranked as the single worst vehicle in terms of reliability and I've had zero issues out of it.. and I abuse the **** out of it. 30,000lbs combined 90% of the time, at 35,000 miles in a year.

Remember the internet is where people go to complain, happy people tend to not go online and tell you how much they love the decision they made lol.
 
#36 ·
Another thing to note is that there aren't really any changes between the head unit from '15 to '16. CR complained about the small clock in '15 and Subaru made it a bit bigger for '16. Could this explain the change of rating from "Fair" to "Good"?

Overall I like CR for some of their ratings but their smug attitudes on their "Talking Cars" podcast are wearing a bit thin. IMHO they put way too much emphasis on the functions of the head unit.
 
#37 ·
Whatever........

Bottom line for me is that CR (like this forum :)) makes me mindful of what to look for when deciding on a car. IMO the text portion of their roadtests has become very informative.

BTW I will also recommend the YouTube channel of Alex on Autos; I think he is scheduled to review a '17 Outback. Very useful resource to evaluate features and the peer group competition. Also child seat reviews.
Alex On Autos ? Your place for in-depth car reviews.
 
#38 ·
I recommend the YouTube channel of Alex on Autos
Alex on Autos is the most thorough channel for car reviews no doubt. His articles on The Truth About Cars were also solid. Alex, like most of the automotive press, almost universally recommends Mazdas in his videos (if there's a Mazda in the segment). Commenters to his videos have been asking for an Outback review for a long time, so it's cool that he might finally do one; and there's no Mazda to compare it to.

I also like the Winding Road Magazine channel. It features high quality videos with great audio of a guy driving various cars. You get to see the dash and hear the engine, etc. It's essentially a virtual test drive. He pushes the cars hard too so you can get an idea of how loud and fast the cars are. And he occasionally drives a Sube.
 
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