1997 Subaru Outback from North America - Comments

Alternator failed, brakes were good until first service, now they suck. Dealer is incapable of performing a simple brake job and getting it right. Brakes shudder and pulse even after resurfacing rotors.

60,000 mile service resulted in hesitation, now feels like a car with a gunked-up carburetor.

Oil pump seals failed, very expensive repair.

Every time I drive on the highway the car smells like it's going to burn up. Dealer unable to find the problem, nor do they even acknowledge that it exists. My passengers notice it, I notice it, only the service crew does not. I believe it's the faulty packing grease problem I've read about.

All the bolts and hardware around the hatch handle have rusted. Wasn't it obvious to Subaru that these components would be exposed to rain? DUH.

After 5 years it feels like a 10-year-old car.

It's excellent for the first 2 years or so, but ages RAPIDLY.

The Subaru dealership I bought from is the most frustrating group of mechanics I've ever dealt with. With every repair comes a catch. For example, "We replaced your windshield, but we ran out of good molding so we used this defective molding... If you're not happy we can special order one that isn't damaged..." They had the car for 2 days, I was never called about this. DUH!

I hope that my newly purchased 1997 Outback does not follow suit with these experiences. I would have to say that this looks like a 50/50 problem... perhaps even 30/80. Where the #'s represent the purchase/servicing. What I am saying here is that ALL car companies seem to sometimes forget about how important their dealerships are for the "After-Purchase" experience. Future purchases are won and lost in this particular area and I have read quite a few times that Subie owners become quite frustrated with the dealer servicing and thus tend to slam the car... which I would most likely do, too...BUT, as a new and hopeful owner of my 97 Outback, I propose this question- What & Where is the ROOT problem stemming from? IF the knuckleheads at the dealers you had tried were indeed better at their trade, would you think differently about your car? I think this is a "Duh" towards me, yet I am trying to illustrate a point to ALL of us that may read this- We need to tell SUBARU when a dealer blows. It is a chain of command thing. If they get enough emails ranting about Byers Subaru in Columbus, Ohio (which is NOT fair, cuz I think these guys rock), then Subaru Corporate should send a rep to check it out... I can almost guarantee they would, too. Anyway, its OK to rant in this forum, but we have a LOT more power as consumers than we sometimes think in this day. Fill out the dealer survey like the one I got in the mail the other day, log on to the website and email the comments up the chain, you might be surprised. Take care and thanks. -apees, 1sep02 @ 0130e.

The bad experience is certainly atypical. These are wonderful cars and are known as such throughout the world.

Perhaps you have bad car karma. It happens. And every now and then lemons leave the factory, any factory.

But I think there has been a breakdown in communications between you and your mechanic/dealer, and it will only get worse the more your dissatisfaction grows. So get rid of your Subaru, buy something else, and be happy. Misery is no fun.

I own a 1997 Subaru Outback limited, it has 164,000 miles on it and still runs like its new. it doesn't smoke, burn oil or anything else. I'd say the only reason other people have had problems is because they beat on there cars and don't keep up on the maintenance. oh and I'm on my fourth set of brakes and third set of tires- booo who.

Well, I haven't had the best of luck with my '97 Outback. Had to have the alternator replaced at 34,000 miles- no big deal, because it was covered under the recall. I've been dealing with the Check engine light coming on intermittently, the mechanic can't find anything wrong and it's not coding anything; blown head gasket at 94,000 miles, interior lights shorted out at 96,000; radiator replaced at 104,000 (it's in the shop as we speak) as well as malfunctioning reverse lights... My car is 10 years old and only has 104,000 miles on it. I have had every scheduled maintenance performed, I change my oil every 3 months- I take care of this car, so I disagree with the poster saying we must be hard on our cars. From what I've researched 1996-2001 models of the Outback all have similar problems.

My first car was a '97 Subaru Outback, and it performs quite well to this day. There have been some maintenance costs since about mile 120,000 but overall the car has been very reliable in hot, cold, icy, or rainy weather. I agree with the idea to get a new car, though, if your car just doesn't feel right for you. I briefly had a '95 Outback (same color even) but got rid of it because it didn't feel as good as the '97. My car smells bad sometimes too, I wonder why that happens.