Comments: 1-15, 16
Overheats randomly on the highway.
Replaced head gaskets at 105000
replaced radiator at 105500
replaced timing belts, water pump at 99000
replaced thermostat twice at 104000
replaced radiator cap at 99000
replaced clutch at 105000.
This car is great in the snow
the reliability is unacceptable
the overheating problem renders a good car undrivable.
My 1998 Subaru overheats at highway speeds after about one hour. I have replaced the head gaskets, radiator, timing belts, and radiator cap, not to mention the thermostat and water pump twice, and still am having this problem. I don’t trust it at all and have not been able to take it anywhere since March, partly because it has a new home at my mechanic’s, and partly because none of these repairs have fixed the problem. The only bright spot has been that the annoying gurgling sound in the heater core disappeared with the gasket repair. My friends tell me my car defines “lemon.” Like everyone else, I’m off to become a loyal Toyota fan. Goodbye Subaru, I was so hopeful you would be reliable.
I have owned 2 1995 Subaru Legacy wagons for a short period and both were annoyingly problematic cars around the same mileage as yours. Both cars burned through temperature sensors and oxygen sensors, which were surprisingly expensive parts considering what those parts cost for other vehicles. These cars are insanely uncomfortable and dangerously slow, especially the AWD, 2.2L, automatic equipped models.
I had a 2000 Legacy with the 2.5 with automatic from 68,000 kms til about 105,000kms and that's when things went wrong. I as well went through that "gurgling from the dash" phase. I also had to replace my rad cap. I started to smell coolant burning and eventually found that my head gasket didn't entirely fail as it was a pin hole exterior leak. I used a rad sealer and it took car of the leak, but I was always on edge of when it was going to actually fail and overheat. I love how the dealer's servic team act like its all new to them.
I really enjoyed the car, but ended up trading it in for something more reliable.
At 144,000+ miles my 1998 Suburu Legacy GT has never left me stranded, which is a good thing considering much "outback" and long distance driving. All major mechanical annoyances--main oil seal, two bad wheel bearings--were repaired early in its life, although not early enough to be covered by warranty.
For a wagon, the car has been extremely accommodating and comfortable, the 2.5 engine just peppy enough, and its looks still draw complements.
What brought me to this page though, was a search for comments and info re temperature issues. At 144k I'm not disappointed in this vehicle's performance, but I do want to get to the bottom of a sudden overheating issue, possibly facilitated by the 115 degree (F) temps over the last couple of weeks.
I have a 98 legacy gt sedan with 144000 miles and its never given me a problem. I bought it new and changed the oil myself every 2500 miles and nothing has ever gone wrong. I also have a 2002 outback limited that is having the same overheating problem on the highway after about an hour. still loyal for subaru though. my last 4 cars have been scoobies.
I use to have Jeep and a Ford Tarus that would randomly overheat and I tried everything under the sun as far as the cooling system. I finally replaced the fuel pump of all things and it worked. Even though every mechanic told me when an electric pump goes bad it just quits. Not true, the pump it self can overheat and slow down. This creates a very lean mixture of fuel and overheats the engine. This really made sense when it dawned on me that the problem got worse when I was low on fuel. I never had a problem since, ten years later.
I love my Subaru Impreza RS 2.5, but occasionally, when gas is at 1/4, the gas needle would drop rapidly. Usually on a hot day when driving it hard. The manual states keep gas above 1/4 full, but now that the car is 110,000+ miles, the frequency is increasing. The previous post taking about the gas pump might be the answer. Thanks for the tip. I can't complain about this as many parts are still original. Been a great car to drive for the last eight years. This is my third Subaru in 27 years!
I have been having this problem with my 98 Subaru Legacy Outback, and it seems as every one is having this problem. My question is how do you stop it? It's that annoying overheating problem. If I change my head gaskets, will it stop?
I have had 3 Subaru Legacy wagons, each from a different series - a 1990, a 2001, and, most recently, a 1997 GT. They all eventually had overheating problems which were immediately solved with a head gasket replacement at a local shop. I really love these cars in bad weather, and use the good towing capacity several times a year. This gasket problem is a real weakness, though. The local shop did have the heads machined at each replacement, which may be why they were successful when some here report they were not.
My 1997 legacy ran good for a long time, until 183000 km, then that was it the clucth went, then the head gasket and a bearing. so I looked up other problems people have, and its all the same. so now I will enjoy bring it to the auto wreckers and watch it be crushed.
I have a 2001 lawn ornament... I mean Legacy GT LTD Sedan. At 70,000 miles, the head gasket was changed (under the service bulletin campaign). Now, at 76000 miles, I have a useless motor due to the NEW head gasket failing causing the engine to overheat immediately and without warning. Temp gauge went from middle to pegged at the top in the blink of an eye. Now, I have a completely blown engine and the local Subaru Dealership won't admit that they did something wrong. Car overheated, the overflow cap got so pressurized from the pressure in the cylinder that it blew off and almost every drop of coolant was either on the ground, or under the hood on the fire mat. Either way, wasn't helping my engine at all!!! So, now I am fighting with the dealership to get them to cover what THEY broke.
Come to find out from my local mechanic (not at the dealership), the heads and block are so sensitive that there is only TWO ways to clean it properly without causing damage to them and voiding the warranty.
Let's go Subaru, I want to play and you're going to pay for leaving my family and I stranded over 200 miles from home!
The head gasket issue with the 2.5 engines was a real issue, though plenty of owners report going many miles with no problems, it is not uncommon to hear complaints from 2.5 owners after hitting that 70 or 80k mark. The factory issued an additive "fix" that should be free at a dealership regardless of mileage on your engine. The issue has since been resolved with a redesign, though.
As far as the 2.2, those are amazing little engines. I have a 95 Legacy LSi wagon that just hit 230,000 on the original engine and still running strong. Never a mechanical issue at all with the engine or transmission. I also currently own a 99 Impreza with the 2.2 engine and it runs fantastic.
In addition to head gasket issues with the 2.5, you also need to make sure that there isn't air trapped in your coolant system of any Subaru. That will cause overheating and the radiator will still appear full. A simple "radiator burp" will resolve that.
The problem with buying a used car with aluminum block and/or aluminum heads is that if it has over overheated for any reason, there's a change some warpage occurred, and will cause issues down the road for future owners.
I bought 1 1997 Legacy 2.5 with 139 k, the ex owner replaced the head gasket @ 77 k, now as soon as I bought it, it overheats every 1 hour. Subaru must pay or replace those bad engines, yes 2.2 is amazing, 2.5 is JUNK, DON'T BUY SUBARU EVER, HONDA OR TOYOTA.
I have a 1997 Subaru Legacy GT 2.5 that has been overheating. It has been with a reliable mechanic for several weeks now. The heads have been machined and the following items have been replaced with Subaru parts:
Head gaskets
All associated gaskets
Thermostat
Radiator
Timing belt.
The car is still overheating. The mechanic is taking it a little personally. He is on a quest to find the cause. He has disassembled everything and inspected his repair work but so far all he can find is a suspect sensor that may or may not be causing the fans to blow inconsistently.
One clue is that the heater frequently will not blow hot air even when the car is over heating.
Hmm...sounds like we all have similar Subie hot tempers!
Our 98 2.5 GT spat up its coolant after a clutch change... now after several months of troubleshooting / thermostats / no thermostats and bottles of water etc I think I am decided that the engine is impossible to properly bleed free of air. I think trapper air allows hot spots to form in the block, which then meet coolant and boil it locally, over-pressurizing the system and purging it via the coolant reservoir.
Solution? I'm going to try drilling a very small bleed hole in the radiator cap (just to side of the lower cap that allows coolant into radiator under suction). Hopefully this will allow air out without boiling.
Wish me luck and maybe it'll work for you too...
I own a 97 Legacy GT with a 2.5 engine. The car has 320,000km on it. The thermostat has been replaced at least 3 times due to its failure and consequent overheating. On one replacement it was installed backwards and that caused more overheating. I have had one head gasket replaced. The temp gauge is rock solid at 1/3 unless and until the cooling system acts up. Then the temp. gauge will head up to 1/2 or higher and finally to 7/8 or 8/8. For a time I could bring the gauge back down by downshifting and raising revs. But only during the winter. When summer rolled around that year, the problem went away. The car has been solid, very good in snow, but the heating problem leaves me glancing at the gauge constantly whenever I drive the car which is a shame.