All-New 2010 Legacy/Outback

morin2 · November 2010

Thanks Jeff,
Yeah, I'm a big fan of subarus, and this was my fourth, but bought the 09 before the 10's came out because I was concerned about the roof racks on the new ones. I carried kayaks on my roof and the new '10 rack is a disappointment after using the better old standby. I also don't trust CVTs in general and really liked the sport mode of the old 4 speed AT for hills. The new Outback option packages don't make sense to me either - I was spoiled by my 09. The new 2011 Forester might be worth a look because of the new engine, but I guess at this point, I'm in mourning for the loss of my "perfect car" that I researched for years and bought when the outfitting and options made sense to me. The solution would seem to be to find a certified used 09 - but there are none that were maintained and treated so meticulously. I took a fair amount of abuse about the loving care I gave that Outback. Literally, it did not have a scratch or door ding on it (garaged at home and parked far away from others at work). When it was hit last night, it was cleaner than when I bought it new.

It says a lot about a car that can be hit at a standstill from behind by a heavier car at 60mph+ and I was able to open the driver's door and get out, just a little banged up and sore.

The route I drive is so dangerous that I'm leaning toward something safe that I won't care about when it gets clobbered. Maybe a POS Crown Vic. I see accidents every day and there are days it has taken me 4 hours to get home due to accident delays.

ateixeira · November 2010

Wow, that sucks. Glad you're OK, though.

Forester is an IIHS Top Safety Pick. Front, side, rear, and even roof impacts - good protection from any angle.

That's about half an hour from where I live, I think the thing is those look and feel like highways but they're not - lights creep out of nowhere. The driver probably was inattentive and them came up on your red light...bam!

saedave · November 2010

The driver probably was inattentive and them came up on your red light...bam!

Perhaps the replacement vehicle should be whichever one has the brightest taillights.

morin2 · November 2010

I knew you were close to that area so I mentioned the exact location. The worst spot there is actually once you merge onto route 4S from 2S (which is 1/4 mile from my wreck). First you have to cross the two route 4N lanes to get to the fast lane of 4S with little merge area. Its crazy to have drivers merging into that left lane. That is the only place where I have ever seen a severed head in the road, from a Prius that tried to merge and was torn apart by a truck, killing both driver and passenger (his son). That is literally a nightmare commute.

timadams · December 2010

morin2, sorry about your car, and it probably is worth a look for a lightly-used 2008 or 2009 replacement. I wouldn't limit the search to certified used cars. The "certification" process is largely smoke and mirrors, and is more of a marketing strategy than anything else. Just look for a car in good condition. I'm guessing you know about all of the normal internet sites: in addition to Edmunds, you can look on cars.com and autotrader.com.

traveler19 · December 2010

I would suggest you use a synthetic oil (Mobil 1, Ams-Oil, Penzoil) :shades: in your engine. I believe you'll find this will provide the added protection you are seeking.

pao · December 2010

I agree with the other posters here about the projector headlamps...they are different from HIDs which I have in my other car (CTS), but I certainly dont find them unacceptable, even on inclines...the beam is truely a focused beam..I find running with my fog lights on also fills in a lot of area...

Not sure an aux set of low beams will solve your issue/perspective...as you describe it..beleive you problem is when you reach the bottom of an incline and then begin to climb it...the abrupt cut off of lighting ahead is your issue..correct?

As was mentioned be prepared to drive a lot of new vehicles at night as most are coming with projector headlamps these days or be prepared for a higher end model with HID as an option....I do love the adaptive HIDs on my CTS!

nedlyj · December 2010

FYI,
The headlights in my 2010 Honda Odyssey (and my neighbor's 2007) are exactly the same as our new 2011 Outback. There may be a slight light-bleed on the Odyssey making it sometimes appear as if there's just a bit softer edge at the top, but the cutoff above that edge is the same. Side by side against a wall (which I've tested) the beam's top edge cut-off is just about identical on the two vehicles.

jstockman · December 2010

Legacy sales seemed to have softened slightly for 2010, but there are incentives now available ahead of the 2011 hitting showrooms.

Jamie
">link title

frenchguy007 · February 2011

Can anyone tell me what the difference is between "Full Auto" and "Auto" on the climate controls? When I am in full auto I can have the unit control temperature and fan speed, however I can only get heat to my feet. If I change the mode to anything but feet the unit goes into "Auto" mode and in that mode my fan speed never abates unless I lower it myself.

I am trying to understand what is "Auto" about that mode if I can ..."then manually control the system as desired"... Quote taken from the owner's manual

robr2 · February 2011

If it's anything light my Odyssey, full auto means the system regulates everything - ac use, temp and where the air is directed.

If I redirect the flow, hit the AC button or change the fan speed, the system is on auto mode which means it controls just the temp.

easypar · February 2011

I remember having to look this up when I bought my Legacy in late 2009. IIRC it's always in "Full" Auto UNLESS you adjust ANY of the buttons. Any of the buttons other than either of the DEFROST and one or two others.

I think it means that the TEMP setting stays the same but whatever you changed and (IIRC) the fan speed change. Hitting the AUTO again resets all.

I often change my heat distribution, particularly in the Colorado mountains as my feet sweat a lot (in any vehicle) so I like to move some hot air upward.

Hope this helps, not sure I explained it any better than the owner's manual.

easypar

timadams · February 2011

"If I change the mode to anything but feet the unit goes into "Auto" mode and in that mode my fan speed never abates unless I lower it myself."

I'm pretty sure that's not correct. If you take it off Full Auto by changing where the air goes, the fan is still on automatic to control the temp. I do the same thing, wanting air at my feet and on the windshield. The fan will eventually adjust slower when the cabin gets warm enough.

Having said that, I often manually lower the fan speed a notch or two until the cabin is warmed up. The little fellow in the HVAC system likes to kick the fan speed up to maximum, which is quite loud. I'd rather have it about 2/3 of the way up and not so loud. Eventually, when the cabin is plenty warm, I'll put it back on Full Auto or Auto with air going to the windshield and my feet and then the fan isn't so loud.

frenchguy007 · February 2011

Thanks for the helpful posts, is it just me or is weird to have a full auto that will only direct air down to your feet.

I do a lot of longer drives (2 hours minimum) and my toes feel like they are medium rare after a while. When I switch to get a more uniform air displacement (to the windshield to defrost an in the cabin) I always have to fidget with the controls.

Subaru needs a better operator's manual, between the Climate Control and the IPOD interface someone could spend hours trying to figure out what the heck they are trying to tell you.

Maybe I will write to Subaru and see if they can enlighten me on these.

gizzer777 · February 2011

I also am sorry about your car.

I just did an internet lookup at my dealer, at used Outbacks (far west, snow country)...Wow....a bunch of very low mileage 2010 Outbacks (under 10,000 miles) for sale, and no 2008's or 2009's at all.

I am definitely keeping my 2008 Premium (H4) that I bought last year in May, used and mileage about 20K...So far, I love it, although in the cold weather the mileage has dropped to about 17 mpg in the city....which I expected, due to fuel mixture, cold, etc....Maybe low 20's on the Freeway.

easypar · March 2011

Guess I'm driving more in my Legacy than I was my Maxima. It's made several trips up to Vail area for skiing, one trip to SF Bay Area for vacation, one trip to Austin for a work/vacation and two ski trips to Salt Lake.

The only time it's been to the dealer was for the "air bag connector" recall. Although a week ago I was heading down the interstate and heard/felt something come off the instrument panel. A screw popped out from underneath the cowling around the instruments. There are (supposed to be) two of them. The funny thing is that I felt it bounce off my trouser leg and I assumed it hit the floor. But yesterday when I rememered it happening I looked all around the floor on the driver's side and didn't see it (cue "Twilight Zone" theme music).

Either it landed under the seat or stuck on my shoe heel and got carried out. Either way I'm not going to make a special trip to the dealer for that. One day I'll go pick up some touch up paint and ask for an extra screw at that point.

Pretty happy with the car, exept I got run into by a bicycle within 20 hours of picking the car up, hit a tumbleweek driving between Amarillo and Lubbock and some J-hole slammed his pick up truck door into the right rear wheel well.

Mileage has been pretty good and I've carried several back seat passengers and no one complained.

easypar

ateixeira · March 2011

That's more miles than my wife has put on in nearly 3 years!

timadams · March 2011

>>"Mileage has been pretty good and I've carried several back seat passengers and no one complained. "

What has your fuel mileage been? MPG is the only real disappointment I'm having with my 2011 Legacy. I drive at least half of my miles on the highway, and I've been getting between 23 and 25 MPG. This is calculated the real way by dividing the miles driven by the number of gallons used to fill up. I should be getting at least 3-4 MPG more, I think.

easypar · March 2011

Tim, not sure how many miles you've got on yours, but I tend to be around 28-30 on freeway/in town split tanks. I've gotten well above 30 a few times but generally 30+/- on highway tanks. Jump down a few pages and read the thread I started titled "Real world mileage with 2.5 and CVT".

Mine has definitely been off the last few in town tanks as we've been getting snow every week or two.

easypar

Kirstie_H · March 2011

If you live in a warm climate and recently bought a Subaru, a reporter wants to interview you. Please email pr@edmunds.com no later than Wednesday, March 9, 2011 and provide your daytime contact information and a few words about your decision.

Thanks,

Jeannine Fallon
Corporate Communications
Edmunds.com

ateixeira · March 2011

C'mon folks, we need *both* of the Subaru owners in Florida to respond ASAP.

almatti · April 2011

Does anyone know if the oil is a "blended" synthetic, pure synthetic or regular oil. according to the manual it's 5W-30? Thanks for the responses.

etan797733 · April 2011

It means just use the REGULAR 5W-30. If oil is changed regularly, don't bother wasting money on the Synthetics.

xwesx · April 2011

Yes, the standard oil for Legacy/Outback is non-synthetic. I imagine it will go to standard synthetic when the model adopts the new FB engine, as with the 2011 Forester requirements.

almatti · April 2011

Thanks for the quick responses. Theory has it: that the synthetics give better protection and can yield better MPGs? I really don't have any official evidence other than opinions on line. How much is the difference in $$$ between the Syn and reg oils?

xwesx · April 2011

In practice, you're not likely to see any noticeable mileage improvement, except during cold periods in the winter (due to better cold-flow properties of synthetic). Most of the cars I have now (and use daily) have not been driven with non-synthetic during my ownership, but, for the cars I had when I first transitioned, I found the winter improvement to be about one mile-per-gallon with synthetic. According to the numbers, summer differences were not significant.

In terms of protection, yes, synthetics are better. Will that translate to a difference for you, the owner of a given car for a given period of time? Not likely. If you tend to keep your cars a long time or run them hard, the internal health of the engine could be improved over that span by the oil. However, it is not likely something you will notice for a car that serves as basic, daily transportation.

The selling point for me is extended drain intervals. The quality of synthetic (a single oil change) over time is superior, safely allowing for extended drain intervals. I change my oil annually, with between 13,000 and 15,000 miles per vehicle during that time frame. So, not only does it save me significant amounts of time, I can also choose a time of year when I don't have to do it on ice in my driveway (July 4 weekend is my preferred time to do it). For that same distance traveled, depending on the car (newer cars have longer factory-recommended intervals), one might do three-to-five oil changes with conventional oil.

While the cost per oil change is higher for synthetic ($35-45 for the oil and a quality filter is a reasonable estimate versus $20 for conventional with same quality filter), the need to change the oil less frequently results in savings over time.

frenchguy007 · November 2011

My bluetooth is acting up, when I connect with my Blackberry the radio automatically registers "call" and cuts out the tunes. I can flip through with the mode button and get the radio back but I get a cackling sound in the background of the music. This is the second time this has happened, the first tim it happened for about a week and then suddenly went back to normal. It has now been over a week and still the same issue.

This is a Canadian 3.6R limited, the audio for the bluetooth does not go through the H-K radio, it goes through some low end speaker in the middle console (a pet peeve that of mine that only the Legacy and only the ones built in Canada seem to have this lousy set up). When I receive a call the H-K radio cuts out but does not take the audio.

Any help on this would be appreciated.

dgf4 · September 2012

I have 1 2010 Outback that I absolutely "Love" except for the On-Center Steering Control. There seems to be excessive 'Play' in the steering at highway speeds (55-75mph). It is not that noticeable running short trips but I drive 80 miles to work every day and this getting extremely irritating. For example when making a slight steering correction to the right you have to follow up with a left correction to keep the vehicle going straight down the road. In the winter time I find myself driving slower than 2-wheel drive compact cars because I can't tell if it is ice throwing the car around or if it is drifting all over the road on dry pavement. My dealer claims it is because of the high ground clearance. I have owned an Explorer, Expedition, Tahoe, Suburban, and a 1 Ton 3500 and have never had this issue. Yes some of them were effected by a strong side wind but this happens on the outback whether it is windy or dead calm. I have never loved and hated a car so much than I do this 2010 Outback.

Aside from this problem I love every other aspect of the car. (Ride, Mileage, etc)

There doesn't seem to be an overwhelming feedback of problems with the drifting as much as the Vibration. I have not experienced any significant vibration at all.

Does anyone else know if they have corrected this on the newer models?? I have played with tire rotation, dealer alignment etc with no real solution.

I don't know if this has someting to do with the electric assist steering??

All-New 2010 Legacy/Outback

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles