2005 Subaru Outback 2.5i Lemon

dizzle2

List of problems I've been having....so far. Any thoughts/direction:

- 17k & 24k - Headlights replaced by me.

- 30k - rubber moulding along rear windows cracked replaced by dealer. Told common problem.

- 35k - Starting issues for which dealer had vehicle for over a week, even took issue to conferenece. Replaced fuel pump that they hoped corrected the issue.

- 45k - Engine overhaul as a result of burning oil. Ended up replacing valve stem seals to correct problem.

- 80k - Check engine light came on. Exhaust guide #3 had dropped resulting in replacement of head/guide. Waiting month for parts. Covered under powertrain.

- 80k - Check engine light came on return trip from dealer. This time both O2 sensors replaced but failed to clear error "too rich". Dealer to bring issue back to Japan which is common manufacturers defect. Engine light still on....

Besides all this...idle has never been consistant being mostly at 500rpm before jumping to 800rpm before dropping back again. It's a manual transmission.

We trust the safety factor with the car...but really frustrated with expensive vehicle that has lead to many issues and potentially expensive issues down the road. Unable to sell with this track record! Anyone else dealing with this.

Cheers,

Aaron.

ateixeira

It won't qualify as a lemon because that only applies to the first year or 10-12k miles, depending on the state you're in.

Sorry to hear it, you definitely had more than your share of problems. I can say it's not common, so maybe you just got a Friday 5pm build (i.e. everyone in a hurry to get to happy hour!).

My family has about 5 Subaru in all and I don't think that all of us combined have had that many problems.

Best of luck with the next car, I'd just trade it in and cut my losses.

casals78

I just had a dropped valve guide on my '05 Outback 2.5i and am in need of a head/guide replacement too. You mentioned yours was covered under the drive train warranty but I thought that cut out at 60K? Mine is past the 60K mark like yours was. I'm looking into getting Subaru to cover at least a portion of the repair (many mechanics have told me that this is a very rare engine failure and shouldn't have happened on this new of a car) and am interested who you went through to get your costs covered.

Thanks,
Travis

p.s. I had those same headlight issues early on. Each bulb would last about 6-8 months (about 10K miles) but at least covered under warranty.

dizzle2

Valve dropping was discovered at same time the valve stem seals wore out at around 45k so it didn't become a warranty issue. I would think it would be covered by the powertrain 5 year/100,000km warranty however?

Just to update, I recently had both O2 sensors replaced due to check engine light which still didn't clear engine light. Issue was sent back to Japan for resolution while dealership said it was OK to continue driving the car with "fuel too rich" warning. This too was found to be common. Repairs were performed...under warranty..a month later.

Finally, reason for RPM dropping out on the car while in idle was attributed to the fact that too many electronics are present and computer can't handle it correctly....laments terms from mechanic. It normally idles at 800 RPM before dropping back to 500...sputtering for a few seconds...then jump back to 800??

I've looked into trade-in option...turns out car has lost 3/4 of it's value in 3 1/2 years or 75,000 km of driving. Could have sold private...price not much better. Option now is to drive it to the ground....or at least until something else goes wrong!!!

First....and last....

marcirehouses

The headlight issue is not a problem, there is an oil that needs to be put on the stem of the headlight before installing and it stops that problem. It must be a bad connection issue and the oil helps the connection.

tahoedriver

I would like some opinions of what I should try to sell this vehicle for. The back doors were destroyed by a bear and the body repair estimate is close to 5K. I've decided to take the $ instead of repairing the damage. The car is also lacking working locks, needs tires and has bumpers needing repair. Engine good, brakes new, still road worthy.
The body shop owner wants to buy the car and I need to come up with a px. Please help! Kelley BB does not cover a vehicle with this kind of damage.

qbrozen

need more info. Is this just a base model? How many miles?

Mr_Shiftright

We'd need to know the exact model and trim level, the exact mileage, condition of interior, condition of body panels not affected by bears (they are strong, aren't they?). if it's just a Legacy sedan that's going to be worth a lot less than an Outback Limited wagon loaded with options.