4th Mar 2020, 16:23
Subaru (and a lot of other manufacturers to be fair) are living off past fame for reliability. Modern cars (post year 2000) are not as reliable as their 80s and 90s counterparts that built their reputation.
You could blame tightening regulations on environment controls or the fact cars are getting too complex in general; either way the fact you get major issues on modern cars at less than a decade old and under 100,000 miles says it all, as many will attest to having older cars that lasted much longer before major issues.
5th Mar 2020, 19:15
Not sure I totally agree. My family has owned plenty of (mainly Toyota) products and ONE GM product that are all made well past 2000, and a few made it well past 300,000 miles without an issue. The real issue here is that some brands are less reliable than others. The two worst Japanese brands are Mitsubishi and Subaru. I have known so many people who owned Mitsubishi cars and SUVs that wound up grenading their engines, and usually prematurely too. A former housemate of mine had a Mitsubishi Montereo. It had under 150,000 miles on it, yet it seemed like it was about to fall apart. Tons of electrical issues, and at 90k the engine threw a rod, which luckily was replaced free of charge.
Subaru has had a long history of issues, and for whatever reason it seems to be with their engines and drivetrains. A different housemate from years before inherited his Mom's late 90s era Subaru Outback, and the thing decided one day to lock up the transmission. And as mentioned, my brother's Outback, which is 20 years newer, has also had some of the most ridiculous issues. The interior is falling apart. And the engine had to be rebuilt. And now there's a recall on the Crosstrek.
The reason they get a free pass is because they enjoy an almost cult-like status. Go to Portland, San Francisco, most of New England and they are EVERYWHERE. They make a sort of :"earthy" product that attracts a certain demographic. In reality these cars are about just as reliable as the stuff VW makes, which isn't a good thing.
6th Mar 2020, 23:45
I hear what you are saying, but it's the time periods I find more interesting is what I was getting at. Manufacturers would have you believe cars have got better over time - this is of course true, but only in regards to safety and performance.
Reliability and longevity are a different ball game. Myself I had many great 1980s and 1990s cars, so when I pay thousands for a new or nearly new car today, it is disappointing to have so many expensive issues early on in the car's life, especially when cars I had decades ago performed just fine (wear and tear aside) beyond the 10 year / 150,000 mile mark.
3rd Mar 2020, 16:08
My Brother has a 2014 Forester. It seems that this brand has a lot of major issues that you wouldn't expect for newer cars. It too was burning a lot of oil despite having less than 100k on it. Maybe these have the same engines as yours. It too was recalled because there was some issue with the piston rings or something. The entire engine had to be stripped down and given a new short block.
I find it amazing that these are so incredibly popular. Out here in California they might as well be the "state car". My wife and I were considering getting a Crosstrek, but apparently it too had some sort of engine issue and recall. Amazing.