2000 Subaru Outback Legacy 2.5

Summary:

Tough to say much good

Faults:

Dashboard defective 5,000 miles- replaced under warranty.

Air conditioner failed 15,000 miles- replaced under warranty.

Head Gaskets failed- barely covered under warranty.

In dash CD changer failed while at dealer for head gasket problem. No warranty $700 replacement.

Airbag sensor failure- dealer unable to fix at current time.

Cruise Control and Horn currently not working.

Front and Rear brakes have been done twice.

Numerous other small dealer related service issues.

General Comments:

Bought the car based heavily on the reputation of Subaru. I can't help, but feel that I bought a bad copy. Dealer service has been very poor and the frequency of repair is amazing. Service is very expensive. Lots of potential, but unrealized from my point of view.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 28th July, 2004

30th Sep 2004, 17:33

The problem with your horn and cruise control not working might stem from the same issue. When the dealer replaced the dash they probably took the steering wheel off to ease the replacement of the dash. The tech might not have plugged the horn switch in where it goes into the cable reel, they might of also not plugged in the accesory switches including the cruise control. Hope this helps.

17th Jan 2005, 21:43

I have a 2000 Subaru Outback which I bought in 1999 because of the Subaru reputation. I knew I would be retiring soon and really wanted something dependable to last me a LONG time.

At just over 30,000 miles, my automatic transmission started running ragged. Jolting foward instead of easing forward.

Took it to a mechanic I trust (25 years of fixing my vehicles) and he replaced the transmission filter and fluid.

The car evened out and ran really well for another 4,000 miles. Then, it started again.

Now, at 34,000 miles, it won't move even budge forward at less than 3000 RPMs and, of course, this means it's lurching forward and actually becoming dangerous to drive.

Anyone have a similar problem/suggestion?

12th Mar 2005, 18:16

My 2000 Outback Legacy's transmission also lurched when shifted to drive. When I put the shifter in drive it would not engage for several seconds and eventually not at all. This happened at about 70,000 miles. I had to have the transmission rebuilt. Since then it has been very reliable. I have over 140,000 miles on it now.

19th Apr 2005, 23:50

My husband and I have a 2001 Outback with around 82,000 miles on it and just recently had to have the entire automatic transmission replaced. What a shock! The dealer said we must have gotten a bad transmission. It was kind of jerking in and out of gear, not shifting smoothly. My other car is a 1969 Volkswagen still running on the original automatic transmission.

We also had to replace the starter motor last year.

I am not sure whether we'll end up keeping the car or selling it to avoid future problems. We bought the Subaru on reputation, but maybe they don't make 'em like they used to?

2000 Subaru Outback

Summary:

It's get up and go has gotten up and left

Faults:

We had a hesitation problem. If you were stopped and had to pull out somewhat quickly (i.e. pulling out onto a busy road) while the wheel was turned, the car would hesitate, as if it wasn't receiving gas. Although we complained about this numerous times, nothing was ever fixed. We then moved, switched service/dealer and suddenly discover the O2 sensor was bad. We were told this should fix the hesitation problem. Unfortunately we had just come out of warranty and Subaru (main office - not either dealer) has refused to cover the cost of the part (~$300) saying we did not document the problem enough prior to going out of warranty.

We have also had break issues which surprises us because we have over 100,000 miles on our Toyota and have not had to put in the amount of money that we already have to on the Outback.

General Comments:

We will not purchase another vehicle from the original dealer or Subaru.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 19th February, 2004

14th Jun 2004, 08:55

I purchased a 2004 Outback Ltd in November 03. I have had this hesitation problem as well. It is an issue that some people may not notice, but to me is very noticeable, and annoying. It is the only problem I have found with this otherwise remarkable vehicle. The dealer, to date, has not recognized the problem during a test drive.

It appears that the vehicle computer retards the timing or otherwise deprives the engine of fuel when it is needed most. Typically this occurs when starting from a stop (but also is noticable when going through 2'nd and 3'rd gear). The accelerator is pressed, clutch is engaged, and as rpms begin to climb, around 2000-2400 rpms, there is a "glitch", or "hiccup", and power is briefly unavailable. This results in a mild to moderately-strong "lurch". Acceleration is otherwise acceptable if you are not performance-oriented, but only marginally. This is a relatively heavy vehicle and the 4 cylinder engine design has probably been pushed to great lengths to allow it to power the vehicle.

It is frustrating that Subaru continues to allow buyers to purchase the H-6 motor only as part of the LLBean "foofy" (and probably very profitable) trim package.