23rd Dec 2010, 12:01

I bought my 1997 Outback new.

I had a generator problem that was fixed under warranty, and a seat belt that got stuck and fixed under warranty.

Other than that it has been an incredible car. Gets around anywhere (with the trucks when we go hunting) and it has been incredibly reliable. I did have to replace head gaskets at about 80k which is a known problem with them. Since then it is still great. If you have one at this age get some seafoam and run it through the engine and oil to clean things out.

I won't be getting rid of mine, but I know it has been well maintained since it was new. It does idle a little rough sometimes, but nothing noticeable to most people (I notice teeny little things).

5th Jan 2011, 20:07

I have a 1997 Subaru and the emergency flashers stay on running really slow. If you turn them on they flash fast but after you turn them off, they still flash, hesitate, flash and on and on.

Any ideas?

24th Mar 2011, 22:08

Assuming your battery voltage is up to par, I would suspect your flasher is pretty much done.

29th Mar 2011, 17:16

I just brought my 1997 Subaru Outback (I'm the original owner) into the shop because it was making a loud noise when I started it, sort of like the muffler had gone bad, and there was a bit of a bad smell. The noise tended to decrease substantially once I drove a few miles.

My shop, which is a Subaru dealer that does good work as far as I can tell (I don't do much work on cars), but tends to be expensive, tells me that I need a new catalytic converter, which will costs $2,500, plus another $200 labor. The cost of the parts is about $1,600 for the converter and another $900 for various hardware, including "heat shields" nuts bolts, etc.

Furthermore, they tell me that the car has a "knock" which portends another major, approximately $3000, repair job in the future. They stated that the knock (which I had not noticed) may mean that valve or shaft? (I might have this wrong) may be wearing out.

Does anyone know if I can get the converter work done properly for less? I know that my shop will use the factory authorized parts which come with some warranties, and do the job properly, but I really don't want to sink a lot more into the car at this time. I do love my Outback and it still has only 105,000 on it.

Thanks for any input.

7th Apr 2011, 18:59

I have a 1997 Subaru Outback Legacy Wagon. I replaced the engine last year. The engine itself runs fine. The issue I have had since getting it back is like a shaking feeling. Only way to give you an idea of this is it's like a hiccup. This occurs while sitting still. I was told water in the gas. Tried different gas; doesn't matter. Any ideas on this?

1st Sep 2014, 22:39

Hello everyone,

This is where things get weird. My 97 Subaru Legacy starts. After a random period of time it dies. When I try to restart, it won't. The fuel pump doesn't make a sound. The temp gauge goes past hot and stays there, even though the car only ran for a minute. The electric windows that should only work with the key on now work with the key off. If I unplug the coil pack and then plug it back in, the car will start, the temp gauge goes to normal and the windows only work with the key on for a random period of time, then it dies and we start all over again. Any help would be great.

Thanks for your time.

11th Apr 2015, 06:30

I know this is old, but if anyone else has problem, give the button a hit. Not too hard. This worked for me.