Head gasket blew at roughly 55,000 km intervals (4 times so far). Most recently, rebuilt with the latest pattern head gaskets - no grief in 50,000 kn (touch wood).
Gearbox required rebuilding at 225,000 km (began jumping out of 2nd gear). Recently am finding 3rd gear synchronizers becoming weak. I understand from some of the rally types that this is a notoriously weak
box that Subaru corrected in 1999 or 2000 models.
Piston slap when cold cured by fitting
later RS Impreza 10:1 pistons with longer skirts.
Have replaced rear diff twice, after it blew its lubricant through the breather and overheated.
Probably the most versatile car I've ever owned, with outstanding handling on a snowy, icy or wet surface.
The Legacy GT wagon/estate is the only vehicle I've ever owned that is capable of hauling canoe/kayak/scull and camping gear one day, and capable of decent lap times (minus the above) the next. Surprises BMW 3 & 5 series in the dry, no contest in the wet.
Drivers taller than six feet may find the driver's seat uncomfortable after several hours. The short squab and relationship between the seat and throttle pedal caused pains in my right knee. Fitting an old Recaro seat I'd used in a 1980s DL (for the same reason) cured this.
Front side windows rattle badly when partially lowered.
Subaru should consider offering as an option a set of progressive spring/shock units along the lines of the Leda or DMS. These improve the handling substantially with little or no sacrifice of ride comfort.
Updated on 17 Mar 2007, at 470,000 km (291,000 miles) :
The latest pattern head gasket eventually also blew. After looking at the options, I decided to rebuild the engine. The existing DOHC heads, cams and valve gear were all within spec so I had a local automotive machine shop rebuild them. I acquired a good used Type II short block (with its more closed deck around the cylinder bores). As recommended by some local Subaru mechanics, I mounted the DOHC heads using STI gaskets (MY 04).
So far (100,000 km/62,000 miles) this hybrid has held up fine.
Would be even better if Subaru had designed it correctly in the first place.
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