We have owned three Outbacks; great cars! We want to buy out our lease on our current 2023 with 18K miles, great condition. However driving above 40MPH the road noise to so bad my wife and I can not easily talk. We wear hearing aids which is part of the proble. I see reports that Subaru’s do have issues in this area And they maybe addressing this issue. Is this better in the 2015 and 2026 models. Is there anything I can do to the 2023 I own?
David Bebout
Some road surfaces are noisier than others. Also your original tires are wearing down and OEM tires are not usually high quality.
When you buy new tires, first check the "noise" or "comfort" ratings on tires.com, tire rack, or consumer reports.
We have a 2021 and it has been IMO one of the quieter hiway cars we have owned.
When you buy new tires, first check the "noise" or "comfort" ratings on tires.com, tire rack, or consumer reports.
We have a 2021 and it has been IMO one of the quieter hiway cars we have owned.
The OEM Yokohama Avid GT tires are one of the worst for road noise. This has been reported many times on this forum. As the Avid GTs wear down, for some reason they transmit the road noise more than many other tires. The only way to really eliminate the propensity for this is to replace the tires with quieter ones, like the Michelin Defender 2. They are quiet and tend to remain so as they wear.
It definitely sounds like the tires. I'd upgrade the factory set and the noise should be gone for another 40k.
For my 2020 Outback, I switched to Goodyear Assurance ComfortTread (I believe it is now called Comfort Drive) and the noise level decreased at least 50 - 75%. (The ride was also more comfortable.).
According to Subaru, the 2026 model is about 10% quieter even with stock (OEM) tires because of additional sound insulation in the head liner. Switch from the OEM tires and I suspect that the 2026 will indeed be very quiet.
One other idea: check to see if the 2023 Touring model had acoustic glass in the driver/passenger windows. If so, and you do not have the Touring model, you can change the stock glass to the acoustic glass. This will also help.
According to Subaru, the 2026 model is about 10% quieter even with stock (OEM) tires because of additional sound insulation in the head liner. Switch from the OEM tires and I suspect that the 2026 will indeed be very quiet.
One other idea: check to see if the 2023 Touring model had acoustic glass in the driver/passenger windows. If so, and you do not have the Touring model, you can change the stock glass to the acoustic glass. This will also help.
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
