2000 Subaru Outback from North America - Comments

2000 Legacy Outback wagon with manual transmission - 128,000 miles.

So far, clutch shudder fixed at 100K with new clutch & plate, brake job done at the same time. Had a stuck thermostat at around 105K. Looks like the start of a head gasket coolant leak occurring now. Very minor, may live with it for a while trying some of the 'gum-it-up' additives. Overall, a great vehicle. Also tow it behind the motor home and it has approx another 30K on it in tow mode. On third set of tires.

Mike.

Subaru Forester 2001.

Same problem, antifreeze smell, both of the head gaskets (Subaru have two) had to be replaced at 63000. Subaru paid for it though. But that leak started to develop a while ago it seems. I remember the smell of antifreeze back in 2004 when that "famous" recall was issued. What they did was they just added a coolant conditioner and said that it should take care of the problem. It kind of did... for a while... but it's like treating the arthritis patient with pain killers, yes they will not have pain, but it doesn't do anything to address the root of the problem. And I presume that the root here is the faulty engine design... As the result of the leak the CV joint boot on the right hand side (the antifreeze was leaking right on it) was destroyed, and Subaru refused to pay for it ($332.50). And I can still smell antifreeze (it may be the old spill though)...

Wow, are we all driving the same vehicle? My mother drives a 2000 Subaru Outback Limited that has many of the exact same issues, especially the funny smell when warm and the check engine light coming on and off. They say it is the catalytic converter, but the light went off and it passed inspection just fine. Then it came on again so we ignored it. Just had a tune up and the car runs just great, so I think it is worth keeping for now.

If you have the money, $2000 in repairs is probably better than a bank loan, but many of these things could happen again. Just drive them until something big breaks and then donate it to charity.

I have a 2001 Outback wagon with 84,000 miles on it. I had to have the knock sensor replaced (which would cause my check engine light to stay on most of the time) and my clutch replaced. My car also makes the exhaust noise because of the heat shield design. My mechanic told me that my head gaskets are starting to leak. I did have the coolant additive put in by the dealer a while ago as part of their recall - I'm wondering how long my car will run before having to replace the head gaskets, which I was quoted $1100 to fix. Overall I'm very happy with the performance of the vehicle - especially in snow with studded tires on.

I wish that all of these comments had been available before I purchased my 4-cylinder Subaru Outback new in 2001. I experienced clutch shudder starting early-on, and like another writer, put it down to my clumsiness with the clutch in this particular car. My "check engine" light came on-and stayed on, at about 50,000 miles. It was determined to be the O2 sensor. I was told that performance might be impacted a little, but no lasting harm would be done, so I continued to drive it that way.

At about 65,000 miles I noticed that the car was becoming slow in accelerating after a gear change. At that time the problem was "bearable," and in my ignorance put it down to the faulty oxygen sensor. However, by this November, at 71,000 miles the problem had become much worse, so I took the car in to get the sensor replaced. When I went to pick up the car I was told that I needed a new clutch and flywheel, and also that a CV boot was torn. My Internet searches now revealed that these problems are commonplace with certain Subarus. I talked to the service manager at the dealership who suggested I contact Subaru. I did so by email. After about ten days I received neither an acknowledgement nor a response to my correspondence. I called, and was told that there had been a response, to the effect that the car was out of warranty, and there was nothing they could or would do to help me. The representative did not seem in the least concerned with my situation, or that fact that I would not be able to recommend this car to my friends. Basically I was just brushed off.

Having finished paying for the car in July, I had been looking forward to being able to start saving for another car-maybe ten years down the road. I now find that it is probably going to be more expensive keeping this car than it would be buying a new (non-Subaru) vehicle.

The seats in this car are not built for larger people. I have a somewhat overweight friend who has to sit in the back when I take her anywhere, as I am unable to maneuver the gear shift when she is in the front. Also, there is a significant amount of wind noise at speeds over 50 mph. Removing the cross-bar on the luggage rack did nothing to alleviate this.

I am presently driving my other car, a 1987 Toyota Camry 4 cylinder wagon with 303,000 original miles on it. My second clutch has over 200,000 miles on it without a problem. The car is comfortable, has roomy seats, rides smoothly and quietly, and gets great gas mileage. I am seriously considering replacing the Outback with a 2007 Toyota RAV-4. First, however, I need to come up with the money to repair the Subaru so I can sell it or trade it in.

2000 Outback Limited, automatic, bought used in 2003. Currently have 150,000 miles (mostly highway). Same issues as other folks. In 2005 transmission would not engage occasionally... lived with it until I sat one day for 30 minutes and nothing happened.. transmission rebuilt for a pretty penny. Currently need new catalytic converters, but ignoring for now (1-1/2 years so far). Slight oil leak at oil pump... ignored this too, as I only go thru about 1 quart every 2-3 months. Antifreeze smell and overheating going uphill started in August this year. Called my mechanic and without hesitation he said blown head gasket. Had it checked out today... confirmed leak, but not major at this time. Worst-case scenario $3200. This includes head gasket, oil pump replacement if needed, timing belt (I missed 105K change) ; water pump replacement, & major service. I really don't think the oil pump would need to be replace other than the o-ring or seals. Reading the other comments is the first time I've heard of the coolant additive. Seems to work OK for a while... any comments?

Santa Rosa CA.

Subaru Legacy sedan.

At74000K miles engine light goes on. Take to mechanic. Head gasket leaking. What is my next step, here? Do I now add the coolent "protector" stuff and hope for the best? Is there any warranty provided to me?

Thanks.

Overall my 2000 Subaru Outback has suited our needs quite well with minimal maintenance. Although I would echo a lot of what is said about regarding head gasket, shuddering, and road noise.

My car is currently at the dealer having the head gasket replacement (covered by Subaru/Dealer). I had the coolant additive from the recall back a few years ago. I had been smelling coolant (sweet syrupy smell) for a few months. The dealership called this morning to indicate the clutch really needed replacement, possibly the flywheel. He said if we didn't do the flywheel there would likely be shuddering between gears. It already does this (mainly out of first). As a previous writer indicated, I assumed it was me doing a bad job shifting although I learned on manual and had never had such a problem before. There seems to be a lot of road noise at highway speeds to me as well.

2001 4 Cyl outback with 117,000 miles. I love the car, hate the dealer since I am convinced that I paid for the new show room they opened this fall...

NOTE: Subaru extended the warranty for the leaking head gasket to 100,000 miles or 8 years (might be 10 years). Mine started leaking at about 90,000 and dealer did not tell me about the warranty. At 101,000 miles I read a forum about the extended warranty, called Subaru, and after pestering them for two weeks they agreed to pay for the repairs (note that I had the "additive" added when told by Subaru).

If you smell a sweet, yet awful smell, when engine is hot and idling, it most likely is a leaking head gasket. If under warranty, dealer will only replace the gasket that is broken (Subaru has two gaskets due to 'boxer" engine). Ask them to replace both, or offer to pay for the replacement of the second one while they have the engine off the mounts. This will be a difference of less than $100 vs. $2000 when the second one fails and the car is out of warranty.

Note 2: catalytic converter warranty was extended to 80,000 miles. The dealer will not admit this (I believe because they can double bill: first you and then Subaru), same as they didn't admit the leaking head gasket at 91,000. Now car is in the shop getting a new catalytic converter, third one so far. Another $1,100 for the show room.

Other issues:

1. road noise comes from the seal between the window and the rear view mirror, nothing to do with roof rack cross bars. Had the seals change four times under warranty, the change was only good for about 10,000 miles. Now I just crank the radio up.

2. brakes seem to constantly vibrate due to warped rotors

3. chattering of clutch when car is cold. I've been driving sticks since I was 14, so I know it wasn't my clumsiness. So far still with original clutch.

4. O2 sensors - give me a break! No pun intended...

I love the car. This is my third Subaru, eighth in my family. They are comfortable, great in wet, muddy, dirt, ice and snow covered roads. Great safety rating (co-worker had a head on collision with an 18-wheeler, car was destroyed, but he walked away). But now I have to admit that they don't build them like they used to (current was assembled in Indiana, all others in Japan). The price is right since it is hard to find a comfortable car at $25K. And it is impossible to find a four wheel drive with manual transmission!!!

But, am I willing to drop $1,500 every two years so that the car passes emissions? Still cheaper than payments on a new car. I need to really discuss this situation with my pillow.

Any questions, feel free to contact me at aldg@comcast.net.

I have had similar issues with my 2000 outback. My check engine light came on 1 year ago regarding the Catalytic converter and the knock sensor. I am now looking to sell (130K) and am appalled by the costs of repairs just to shut off the check engine light.

Has anyone out there continued to drive their car beyond this mileage without issue? If it just keeps going I might try to sell as is.

Please contact (jwalker1723@yahoo.com) or post comment.

Thanks.

I recently bought a 1996 Legacy Outback that began leaking antifreeze, the temp. gauge was pegged at H, and there was no hot air coming from the vents when the heater was on. When I took it into the dealer, they told me that they believed I had a cracked head gasket, and that the $900 extended warranty I purchased would not cover it. The cost estimate was nearly $2,000 to fix it. So we took it to someone who fixes cars on the side and when he removed both gaskets, he told me they both looked fine! If it's not the head gaskets, does anyone have an idea as to what else could be wrong? ttclem@juno.com

My Subaru Legacy 2000 was in today for an oil change and I was told by my mechanic that it was "leaking antifreeze at a pretty good clip".

It only has about 75000 miles on it, but they are saying to remove engine and replace both gaskets (they suggested doing both since if one is gone, can the other be far behind?)

Estimate at $1200-1600 if nothing else is wrong or eaten away by the coolant Mechanic who is knowledgeable and good says this is a weak point of these particular cars and not unusual-just that my mileage is a bit low for this.

(Had coolant system recall work completed in March of 2004) Mechanic suggests being sure to do coolant flushes in a timely manner to help counteract effects of antifreeze.

What is this about an extended warranty-was this something that came with the car or had to be purchased separately? (I bought mine privately used about 4.5 years ago).

Thanks.

2000 Legacy short block engine warped.

Had my 2000 Legacy for 18 months and 22K miles. It is at 114K miles right now.

Never overheated, never had any problems with it, no rough driving, the car checked out fine in October at the dealership. The coolant additive was added during the flush last February and as a part of the recall before 100K miles.

Last week, during the regular oil change at the dealer, the mechanic noticed oil and antifreeze leaks, which were dignosed as head gasket problems.

The dealer started working on the head gaskets. Replaced one of the head gaskets, replaced the other and this one kept leaking oil. The dealership mechanic took out the engine again, replaced the head gasket again, started the engine, the car lost a quart of oil in 30 seconds. Mechanic inspected it again and concluded that "short engine block is warped at oil galley and the headgasket goes inside the block". The mechanic swears it's not his fault. The solution - replacing the short block engine at my expense (very pricey - half of what the car would sell for in good condition).

Do I have any recourse? on another forum somebody mentioned Consumer Protection Act, but I don't know how it would apply to me.

The replacement engine block will be new. Can I assume it will be the "new and improved" one without the headgasket problems? I called the dealer more than a dozen times by now, don't know if I can trust him anymore.

The other dealer who usually takes care of my car suggested that it might be the other dealer's fault. But how could he warp the engine in such a short time? If it was the previous owner that overheated the car, wouldn't have the problem surfaced a lot sooner?

P.S. to the previous poster - no, the warranty on head gaskets does not need to be purchased. As long as you did the recall work on in, the warranty is extended to 100,000 miles. You still have time. I don't.

Just bought a 2000 legacy outback limited. Sharp car, lots of problems. Bought it on ebay, second subaru, second mistake. Car has 120k on it, every option. I read the other comments above, I thought it was my imagination the trans would go into drive "slowly" sometimes, but this sounds like it might be a problem. Dealer claimed it had no engine lights on, but when I picked up the car it was running and check engine light was on, I should have ran. Had it scanned, fuel temp sensor was 1 problem. After many threats to dealer, they bought me the pump. I broke the flange putting it in so now I have to buy my own. Dealer quoted $340 plus $130 to install. Ouch!!! Drivers door leaks more air with window up than down. Heat sheilds rattle. Back brakes pulse. My main concern is the car has the check engine light on. When it had the bad fuel temp sensor, it was backfiring and sputtering at times. I put a good fuel temp sensor (spliced into current wires) now the car runs good then bad and check engine light is flashing. Do anyone have advice. Should I just buy a whole new fuel assembly (pump, sensor, float, screen, etc) Any help is appreciated. Kayzack314@peoplepc.com.

About 2 years ago my 1997 Legacy Outback started overheating.

Noticed that I was loosing coolant, but no puddles on the

ground. Turned out that I had a blown head gasket. After

may $$$ later things seem to be fine now. The only other

problem I've had with the car was the voltage regulator

went out early on, but this turned out to be part of a recall

which Subaru paid me back for. What steams me is that there

are several hundred cases I've seen on the web of head gasket

problems that sound just like mine on the same model engine

plus or minus a year or two, most around the same mileage and

yet Subaru seemingly refuses to admit to any problem on these

older models of engine - only 2000 and newer I believe.

This being the case I can pretty safely say that this is

going to be my last Subaru. Pity, as the car has been very

good otherwise. Aside from some clutch chatter it has had

none of the other myriad of problems reported by other

folks in this forum.