I'm on my second Subaru - a 2002 Outback with 145k on it. Bessie #2 does have a history of eating up the oxygen sensors. I think I'm going to need my 3rd one oxygen sensor in a few months. Aside from traditional/wears out stuff, I've had to replace the CV joints twice I think, but I drive a LOT on dirt roads and I just figure stuff gets up in there and sort of wears them down early. It's not a cheap repair (this last maintenance cycle cost me about $3k, but we replaced nearly everything that could be replaced, including brake rotors), but I figure spending that $3k now saves me from having to pay $500/month in car payments for years.
But despite that, what you've listed seems reasonable to me for a 10 year old car with 150k on it. Stuff wears out. Once you've done the replacement, you're probably good for nearly the same amount of mileage provided your mechanic used good parts.
We have replaced the CV joints also. I guess I'm used to reading about people with 100k+ miles and nary a single issue, and I'm scratching my head. I just don't know where to draw the line. I'll probably keep limping along for a while until we pay DH's car off, unless it needs a REALLY expensive repair.
We're at 205,000 miles on our Subaru Outback and I just had my first issue with it last month. The AT Temp Light came on while I was in rush hour traffic and it stalled about 20 seconds later. I got it restarted and off the highway. The dealership had it for 4 days and couldn't find anything wrong with it. It passed all the tests and the mechanic even drove it home. They chalked it up to being a fluke occurrence, and fingers crossed it won't happen again.
The cv joints had needed to be replaced for about the past 20k miles, so we finally had that done while the car was there too.
Everything else until now has just been routine maintenance like replacing the timing chain.
Our 2011 Outback has 64000 miles on it and it needs brakes, but otherwise no issues. We've had it for almost 2 years now. DH has an 09 Legacy, 40k miles on it (I think) and the dash is shot to hell (originally from FL, previous owner didn't use a sun shade), the e-brake light has a short and there's another light on that never seems to go off.
I'm of the opinion that no matter what car, when you reach 100-125k miles shit is going to happen. Some years are better than others-if you start reading forums, you can almost predict what problems you're going to have. We don't ever keep cars for too long though, so we haven't had to deal with much. I have told DH though that he can pry my Outback from my cold, dead hands. He's not allowed to sell it-he has 2 other vehicles he can do whatever he pleases with.
I just showed your post to my H. He's an avid car guy, does tons of work on ours, and dies lots of engine swaps and crap for fun. He said that if you want to keep the car, the timing belt needs to be replaced- you are on borrowed time (it's a 110k service item). Aside from that, the head gasket may also be needed soon (it will generally start leaking oil before that happens). The a/c compressor, the blower motor, and the steering are a bit odd that they needed replaced, but not super alarming. Do you live somewhere warm? That may have caused the first two items to go out
His take is that you have been pretty lucky so far, these are all normal service items with this old of car. It just depends on how long you want to keep it as to whether you should fix these things.
The rattling may very well be a loose heat shield which is annoying but causes no mechanical damage - it just needs affixed in place. (H just zip tied this in place on my 05 outback). Disclaimer though that we have one car from 1990, and two from 2005. We are old car, drive it until it dies kind of owners. My car has 135k miles and I'd like to take it to 300k. If you have any other questions, let me know and I'll ask my H :-)
Thanks! We did the timing belt replacement and a ton of other stuff at 110k miles, so we should be good there. These may be all minor issues, but they add up when you take it to a shop for every one. Not a single repair has been under $500 except the wheel bearing.
I did replace the HVAC blower myself because the shops wouldn't touch it without a new wiring harness, and I wasn't willing to pay 2k for one. So I cut out the burned wires, bought a new blower, and soldered wires to the blower since the connector on the harness was melted. I'm actually fairly handy with electrical stuff (I'm an electrical engineer), but not so with mechanical. I want to learn!
We actually live in a cold climate. My AC doesn't really work at all any more - the air it blows out is only slightly cool, and no one has been able to figure out why. Luckily it doesn't get above 90 here very often.
I guess it would be much easier to drive it till it dies if I didn't have to take it to a shop for every little thing.
I missed this yesterday but will show it to him tonight!
I had a 2012 Legacy; I bought it brand new in January 2012.
About 1.5 years in, I noticed the RPMs would tank if I was sitting at an idle. It idled around 1000 but would tank to 500 and feel like it was going to stall out. It was an automatic. It didn't do it every time I stopped, but at least once every day. The dealer couldn't find anything wrong.
Around the same time, I noticed that it would idle really high when I first started it up in the morning. Like, around 2500-3000. I'd sit in my driveway until it came down to 1000 where it belonged. Again, dealer said they couldn't find an issue. It never did go back to where it was when I bought it.
About 2 years in, it started using oil and I'd have to top it off between changes.
After that, I started noticing some unsavory noises in the engine compartment and it started making a clunking sound when I'd pull away from a stop.
I traded it in. I know Subies are typically reliable and last forever, but they do seem to have some QC issues. Especially on the newer ones. I'm avoiding them now. Their cars were awesome years ago but now they went and got popular. It just feels like their quality and workmanship is taking a hit so they can keep up with demand.
Post by LoveTrains on Jan 30, 2015 22:10:52 GMT -5
So yeah....H took our subie to the dealer today for a 120k mile service. $1300 later we now have new front brakes & rotors, plus they had to replace a cracked heat shield and fix the swaybar (whatever the hell that is).
I have a 2008 Outback, which needed only normal maintenance like tires and brakes until last year. I had an oil leak fixed and a wheel bearing replaced, and one other repair I can't remember, total about $3k last year (though that included the tires and brakes). It is running super smooth right now though, and I actually have to take it in for inspection today. Fingers crossed it doesn't need anything. I love the damn car, and it has pretty low mileage for a car that age, so I plan on keeping it around awhile.
If the transmission is gone Id throw in the towel for good.
Hyandai makes great cars now at decent prices. But if you want AWD the rav 4 is great. My mom just bought one and paid well under 20k used with low mileage. I vote keep the car payment as low as possible.
Yeah, cars are one area I just don't want to spend money on, but I DO want AWD. We get a lot of snow and I drive hilly back roads to work.
My first car was a Subaru outback purchased new. I could write a novel with all the problems it had. My favorite was when I backed out of my spot in the high school parking lot and there was my axel on the ground. I was never in an accident and did mostly highway driving. It made it to almost 100k before it had an overheating issue Subaru and no garage could solve. It broke down on the highway on the way back to the dealership.
We were a subaru family and now we are a honda family.