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Goodbye Subaru

34K views 231 replies 78 participants last post by  johnre 
#1 ·
2011 Outback 3.6R Limited 40,100 miles
Traded it in today for another manufacturers auto.
My first and last Subaru.

Goodbye road & wind noise.
Goodbye engine noise.
Goodbye piss poor sound system.
Goodbye horrible navigation.
Goodbye squeaky drivers seat.
Goodbye lane wandering & jittery ride.
Goodbye engine temp gauge.. er, wait. It doesn't have one!
Goodbye rattling lift gate.
Goodbye 1 quart of oil added every 4,000 miles.
Goodbye windows that don't seal closed during slight crosswinds.
Goodbye hood that buckles at highway speeds because of foil thin steel.
Goodbye crappy service departments that don't know their ass from a hole in the ground.

Subaru. It's the car company that's a generation or two behind the competition.
Good riddance!
 
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#3 ·
Hello to a new group of problems and irritations on your new car.

I have had many cars at many price points and found annoyances in them all. When you find one that's perfect, please let me know.
 
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#4 ·
Good bye troll.
 
#5 ·
Goodbye road & wind noise.
Goodbye engine noise.
Goodbye piss poor sound system.
Goodbye horrible navigation.
Goodbye squeaky drivers seat.
Goodbye lane wandering & jittery ride.
Goodbye engine temp gauge.. er, wait. It doesn't have one!
Goodbye rattling lift gate.
Goodbye 1 quart of oil added every 4,000 miles.
Goodbye windows that don't seal closed during slight crosswinds.
Goodbye hood that buckles at highway speeds because of foil thin steel.
Goodbye crappy service departments that don't know their ass from a hole in the ground.
!
And say hello to many of these issues all over again. Many vehicles use oil these days. Many are noisy. Good luck either way. Bye bye.
 
#10 ·
2011 Outback 3.6R Limited 40,100 miles
Traded it in today for another manufacturers auto.
My first and last Subaru.

Goodbye road & wind noise.
Goodbye engine noise.
Goodbye piss poor sound system.
Goodbye horrible navigation.
Goodbye squeaky drivers seat.
Goodbye lane wandering & jittery ride.
Goodbye engine temp gauge.. er, wait. It doesn't have one!
Goodbye rattling lift gate.
Goodbye 1 quart of oil added every 4,000 miles.
Goodbye windows that don't seal closed during slight crosswinds.
Goodbye hood that buckles at highway speeds because of foil thin steel.
Goodbye crappy service departments that don't know their ass from a hole in the ground.

Subaru. It's the car company that's a generation or two behind the competition.
Good riddance!
Reminds me of a politician spewing talking points of every problem he ever heard of----all in one OB. Nobody is that unlucky. Buy a lottery ticket, you're way over due.
 
#22 ·
That's funny, when I listed out the problems I've had with my '06, someone said that there is no way my car can have all these issues and that I must have a "rare" lemon.

Seems like I'm not the only one, even 5 years later. I like my Subaru. I like that is has a boxer engine to keep the CG low. I like that it performs well in crash tests. I like that I can get it in AWD and a manual transmission. I like that it has character.

Is it the best vehicle I've ever owned? **** no. Is it better than a lot of junk on the road? Sure.

Socal147 said:
" Lane wandering = add some toe in. Try modding and driving a Jeep. That will teach you a lot about aligning a vehicle.."
Here's the difference: One is stock, the other is not.



Here is what I don't like about this forum. Anybody that bashes Subaru is called a troll and the thread is locked, never to be seen again. When the next unsuspecting shmuck tries to do research on his next car, he never hears the negatives of Subaru because no one talks about it. They are bashed and told to "GTFO" to quote the ...guy... before me.

When I was shopping around, I considered a Land Rover Freelander. I went to the Freelander forum, and people said "Here's what sucks about these cars."

We don't have that here. We have the mind set that "Anyone who doesn't have the same experience as me with their Subaru is clearly an idiot."

And it's not just this web forum, it seems like all Subaru web forums.


Just my $.02
 
#13 ·
I have to laugh though about the hood.
I went through the car wash last weekend and when exiting the blower made a temporary dent in the hood as I was going through. It popped back but I still laughed. Unfortunately the golf ball dents my 4 year old put in the hood have not popped out.

Noisy? I don't know, drive a Honda and you will see the difference.
Either way good for you for finding another car you like better.

The oil usage thing would bother me. Had an Isuzu years ago that burned it and I didn't like that one bit.
 
#16 ·
why i purchased my second Outback

Hello safety ring
Hello Best Awd (for the dollars)
Hello best value for the $
Hello Snow
Hello rain
Hello legroom
Hello cargo space
Hello knowledge that my car will still be running in 10 years
Hello wife after a trip with the kids in the back seat... I feel I did the best I could to keep you safe.

I think that people forget that the base Outback is a $23,000 car. Sure you can option one out to $35k... but it doesn't compete as well in quality with cars that start at that price range.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Most of the grievances listed appear to be nit-picking or not legitimate, unless you got a lemon.

- Thin sheet metal is a fact of life with almost every vehicle manufactured today.
- The Outback is very quiet. Try driving a Honda or many other vehicles if you think the Outback is noisy; my '07 Vette coupe was horribly noisy - road noise - but I knew it going into the purchase. My '13 is almost as quiet as our '08 Buick Enclave, which is one of the quietest vehicles on the road.
- The SAP package sound system and Navigation are much better than what was in my 07 Vette (Bose premium) or our 08 Enclave CXL (Infinity premium).
- Windows that don't seal - mine seal fine.
- Temp gauge - many vehicles only have idiot lights. Buy the upgrade package and you get one on the Outback.
- There are no rattles or wind noise in my car.
- Jittery ride - all of the writeups and owner experiences I've seen except yours indicate the '11 Outback has a very compliant ride. I personally like the ride/drive in my '13.
- Dealer service departments - can't comment on this one as I do my own maintenance and will only visit the dealerships for warranty service.
- Lane wandering appears to be a valid complaint that has been addressed by SOA.
- EDIT: I didn't originally see you had the H6 and not the CVT.
- 1 quart of oil added every 4k miles - I wouldn't like it either, but it's certainly not an excessive amount of oil being used. Our 08 Enclave 3.6L V6 uses about that much.

Did you not test drive the Outback before you decided to purchase? The outward appearance is that you have a bad case of sour grapes.
 
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#21 ·
There's a recall for the windows that works (had mine done), so cross that off the list.
 
#23 ·
I think that Tank is getting a Venza as he stated that he was looking at them. Here is his earlier impression of his Outback - go figure....

Yes.

I have a 2011 3.6 Premium with 12,000 miles on it. I have had no issues with fit and finish with the exception of the sunroof recall. My only complaint is the premium sound. For the top of the line outback the sound system is perhaps the worst I have heard in a vehicle for that price or even 15k cheaper.

Before this purchase I drove a 2006 Toyota Avalon. While a great road cruiser I was limited in being able to take the road not traveled to see out of the way sights. Even an easy fire road couldn't be done in that car. I then bought a 2010 FJ Cruiser for the off road capabilities but as a daily driver it was brutal. After just one year of the FJ I purchased the Outback.

The Outback solves the problems of not being able to take the alternative road. I can now hit the desert to see an out of the way ghost town without a worry. I drove through Titus Canyon in Death Valley with ease and had the pleasure of a drive home in a nice riding vehicle and not an off road bruiser.

Yes, the Avalon drove smoother and quieter ( with an exceptional sound system ) and the FJ could drive off a cliff unscathed. But the Outback allows me to enjoy a little of both worlds. It's a heck of a car.
 
#28 ·
With an online moniker of Tank, I think the F-J cruiser forum would be a great place to start a new online life.

Not sure the rattles/fit and finish will be any better over there and I know the handling will be scary on road, but he'll surely get off road capability in those thirsty 4.0L Tonka Trucks.

Perhaps he got into a Venza with the inferior real wheel assist AWD.

All speculation of course, and the 11 OB is far from perfect, but even a customer satisfaction #1 like a Prius is fraught with minor imperfections for each owner - more so when the glass is half full.

For the benefit of doubt, Tank's OB might have turned out to be a stinker as the miles accrued.
 
#25 ·
fixed my windows as well, Vegas winds suck lol


i cant complain, i beat the ever living **** out of this thing, gutted the inside, smashed the out side, painted, cut and glued, fixed stuff, broke stuff, for the the 3 years that this thing has been in my positions turned into a 15 year old the way i clearly don't care about value but its mine and i love this thing, and will never likely (if i even can) sell this thing, it will turn to dust it feels like befor i let it go lol

best car in my small auto owning experience

only problem with this car that i have is me lol :D
 
#26 ·
Most of his complaints would have shown up in the test drive. Not sure why he bought it if his impression of the car is so negative.

Also there seem to be significantly more threads around here about people complaining about their cars than people praising them...
 
#27 ·
Well, I will join the rank of the complainers. My air bag warning and the passenger seat belt sign came up a few weeks ago (and that without having a passenger on the seat), and the annoying gong sounded every minute or so. Driving around lieke that is no fum. I brought it into the dealer for service, they did some fault finding stuff and told me (and showed me) an info that low quality aftermarket phone chargers and voltage splitters will cause these symptoms. Home I went without anything plugged into any outlet, but the alarms came u after a short while. back to the shop, they did some fault finding again and send me back home. The same alarms came up the next day. Now the vehicle is in the shop since three days and I drive in a Nissan Rogue loaner.
The Nissan is not a bad vehicle, but I definitely prefer the Outback (if it functions the way it should)!
 
#30 ·
Well, I will join the rank of the complainers. My air bag warning and the passenger seat belt sign came up a few weeks ago (and that without having a passenger on the seat), and the annoying gong sounded every minute or so. Driving around lieke that is no fum. I brought it into the dealer for service, they did some fault finding stuff and told me (and showed me) an info that low quality aftermarket phone chargers and voltage splitters will cause these symptoms. Home I went without anything plugged into any outlet, but the alarms came u after a short while. back to the shop, they did some fault finding again and send me back home. The same alarms came up the next day. Now the vehicle is in the shop since three days and I drive in a Nissan Rogue loaner.
The Nissan is not a bad vehicle, but I definitely prefer the Outback (if it functions the way it should)!
I suggest you make an appintment with OEM Subaru Factory Tech Rep and meet him at this dealership that you have your car at. It's quite common that some dealers have limited (if any) experience with these new models (and technology) and you are the guinea pig for them...I had a smiliar experience with my local dealer but with my engineering background (and friendly approach with service manager) I manage to "look over technicians shoulders" whenever they do anything on my car...LOL
 
#29 ·
Even with the documented issues I had with the CVT on my 2012, I am beyond satisfied with my scooby. To Subaru's credit, they went out of their way to satisfy my initial concerns and I'm confident in saying they won me over as a customer for a long, long time. I have found the build quality and handling characteristics far superior to other vehicles I've owned. The interior seems plenty quiet to me (maybe not Lexus quiet, but I didn't pay $60k + for my car). I don't understand the hood thing...I mean, every car I've ever owned other than the '69 Ford I had way back in high school has had a hood that would dent with the slightest of pressure. I haven't seen any of the lane wandering or window sealing issues. For me, other than the initial hiccups with the CVT, my Outback has been the finest vehicle I've owned.
 
#34 ·
Hmm, funny... I just got rid of my 2012 Acura RDX SH-AWD w/tech package and will be buying a 2013 OB premium 6-speed next month.

Here was my experience with the Acura:

Horrible dealer experience with 2 Acura dealers in my area.
Poor body panel gap tolerances.
Stiff / bouncy suspension.
17MPG.
Wind noise.
Windows rattle when partway down.
Non-intuitive and ancient Nav.
Poor amount of seat wear for 7900 miles.
Fussy iPhone/iPod integration.
Thin paint that chips easily.
"Power plenum" grille that you can never keep clean.
Short seat cushion that cut into my thighs.
Info display that nags you constantly about changing your oil after 2700 miles.

That is off the top of my head, and yes I rushed into the purchase and overlooked a few of these issues because I just wanted the car. The worst part? It was **** near 40K out the door.

You know what I call the RDX? The "Lesson". My wife and I wanted a luxury type vehicle, and we drove several:

Infiniti EX35
Infiniti G37x
Acura TL SH-AWD
Acura RDX SH-AWD
Volvo S60

They all had some sort of issue. We chose the RDX because the test drive was fun, and it was on the lower end of the price scale. After living with the RDX, I realized that the higher in price you go, you get more bells and whistles... but it is still just transportation. We drove a 2013 Outback base 6-speed, and loved it. Why? Well, for what you get... it is a fantastic car. It handles well, the AWD system is the best in the business (I owned a 2009 WRX, should have kept it)

I can get into a 6-speed premium for around $24,500. It will do everything the RDX did, (besides winning a race) and do it more comfortably, less expensively and in many ways more fun with the manual.

I plan on keeping the Outback we buy for 10 years, longer than any other car I have owned, because I learned my lesson. Get a nice car for not a ton of money, and run the wheels off it. Will there be snags along the way? Sure... as with every car. The Outback will be my 18th car in my lifetime. Way too many. Best of luck to you.
 
#35 ·
Thread Locker is Not Just Goop in A Bottle

I've always had the sense that threads don't get locked until people get into the silly name-calling stuff.

If we keep the discussion civil, the thread can continue and serve current and future users alike.

I give our moderators credit for using that button judiciously, a lot better than I've seen on some other forums.

Having previously lived in LA, I noticed that car ownership has a strong social edge to it, and it is very polar. To your friends and associates, your outgoing car is always the most ridiculous deathtrap lemon clanker, and your new car is a modern magical heaven on four wheels. Doesn't matter what brand or model either of them were, it's just how people tend to feel & talk about them for the month or two around a car purchase.

That attitude is present in a lot of other places I've been, but it seemed amplified to the extreme in Southern California.

LA was also the only place I've been where I saw people looking forward to weekend dealer appointments, car washes & other car services as a singles pick-up scene. Not trying to infer anything specific on the OP here, just looking to make the point that in LA, cars aren't just cars.
 
#36 ·
^Good Luck JCL with your new sled. Looks like you know your stuff about what can be expected with any newer car with complex systems in modern car and under supported dealer tech training.

And you nailed it Rasta, SoCal is the epicenter of car culture. The $, commute lengths, the freeway infrastructure, pop density, and wealth levels from destitute to top .01%, make this place a car zoo.

We have a Lamborghini dealer a block from the barrio in Costa Mesa. And guys who can't drive are rolling off lots in new Ferraris and Bentleys right into the rear ends of Corollas in dead stop rush hour traffic.

I had a road-raging crew of wife-beater gangster types throw a full PBR through my 89' Ford Ranger's driver window in 96'. The can blew up in my face and all over the cabin while I was going 65. I guess they didn't like me freeway speed.

Where nature split you indeed.

Its animal. We are livin' in a human zoo.
 
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