2000 Subaru Outback from North America - Comments

I agree.

I have a 2000 outback legacy. I am a Dodge person who thought I would try another vechicle. I am very unhappy with the my Subaru, and will not buy another one. The wind noise drives me up a tree. The engine light comes on, and there is a smell of gas.

Fix the wind noise.

The wind noise problem can be solved on Subarus by lowering the window, and pushing on the triangular plastic housing that the window slides down into as it is lowered. This plastic piece, with rubber seal, spreads as the door is opened and closed especially if you pull on the window. Lower window and slowly, carefully apply pressure on the plastic piece and you will see the two rubber seals come back close together. When the window is raised the window fits tightly between the two rubber seals, car will run silently without the horrible wind noise. Do this once a month or so to keep the wind noise away. Let all Subaru owners rejoice...

I have a 2000 Outback with about 78,000 miles on it. I have done all maintenance at the dealer. Car has been pretty good until this year, when I had to replace the knock sensor and the right CV boot.

Current issue is that it appears the door lock on the driver side door has fallen inside of the door. So yes, I have a hole in my door and a bothersome rattle. Has anybody else experienced this, and did they shame subaru into picking up the cost of the repair?

I have a 2001 Outback (Auto) and my wife has a 03 Outback (Stick). Mine was reliable till this year at 135,000. Having 3 previous subaru's I fully understand there problems. The ck engine light will always come on after the 80,000 point and changing the cats and sensors only turns off the light 50% of the time. I do all the maintenance on my vehicles and find Subaru's extremely easy to work on. My 01 has experienced all the problems listed by others except the tranny problems. (Same with the 03) Head leaks, oil leaks, passenger CV joint boot tears are a given with subarus. The good part is that if you add oil protectants such as prolong, they will run no matter what you do. I ran my 91 with no coolant for 150 miles and it still ran after that even with antifreeze coming out the tailpipe! (It was a beater).

For those of you that have brake problems. Especially for those of you that live in areas that use salt on the roads. Listen up! You have warped rotors right?! Your brake pads must be custom fitted!! This is a must. If you do the brakes yourself (which is easy) you have to grind down the ears on the pads to add extra clearance. As the pads rust the clearance decreases which causes the pads to bind in the calipers. Which in turn warps the rotors and shortens the life of the brakes. An added benefit is that your mileage will go up!! This technique is not known to the Subaru community (Works for other vehicles too). I figured this out after replacing the brakes on my wifes car after the dealer attempted the warranty fix twice.

As stated by others there is no other vehicle in this price range (21,000 to 28,000) that even compares to what you get. The closest vehicle in price is $35,000 and still doesn't get the same MPG. 25.5 mpg (mixed driving), towing, snow and mud. I've pulled 5600 lbs from ND to NY. I hunt and fish and have driven this places where a 4 WD gets stuck. Thru 2 ft of snow with no problems. I beat on my vehicles and expect to pay the consequences. The two trucks I had before this got half the mpg and broke twice as much. On top of that they got stuck in the mud and snow everywhere they went.

Pointers: Change thermostat every 60,000, radiator cap 60,000, belts 60,000. use synthetic motor oil, put black tape over the ck engine light, have your brake pads custom fitted and put on new rotors if they warp - don't bother turning rotors for a Subaru - the warp will come back.

Good luck to all - the Subaru is a great car if you can deal with it's issues.

Hello Subaru faithfull? We've owned a '84 GL wagon, I called it the "energizer" edition, as you could not kill this car! It was responsible for the purchases of the following vehicles based on the reliability and "go-anywhere" experienced with this little beater car. We live in the northeast and see all types of weather, the only place we get stuck is in our driveway!That said- our '93 25th ed. Legacy sedan was one of the best cars I, ve been around, at 135,000 it used no oil, coolant, easy on brakes and mpg was great, it selflessly gave itself to save my wife's life in an accident that bent the frame of a F250 FWD p'up.In the mean time I replaced the now rusted out '84 (it went on to serve as parts runner in the bone yard until the clutch gave up 9mth later!) w/a used'92 Legacy wagon, had 227,000 on it when we sold it to our neighbors kid, who 2 1/2yrs later is still driving it, (original owner wasn't real nice to this car, but it still was an exceptional value for the 5yrs. of use/cost index!) I replaced the '92 w/a 2005 Saab 92X, (a Subaru RS 2.5i in disguise),again, an excellent car to this point-56k on it and no problems worth mentioning. NOW ONTO MY WIFES REPLACEMENT CAR!!! A 2000 Legacy Outback wagon (brand new),it has not been what it's ancestors were!"Rear suspension recall for bad corrosion protection" was a joke between my Subaru saleman and me, we assumed that maybe the paintgun at the factory broke that day as nothing major had EVER been a problem with either of our cars. Alas, this was just a preview to the lackluster performance of the Outback!,the headgasket issue didn't show up on ours until APPROX. 125K, we had the coolant changed during our Nov. state insp. at our local garage (Sub. dealer is an hour away). No big deal, just standard maintenance right? Wrong-leak started one month later (it's now winter) and I pulled my hair out trying to find the source of the 'Maple syrup smell' my wife was experiencing, turns out it was leaking on the exhaust and evaporating, never left a spot/puddle in garage/driveway (low coolant level was the give-away, glad it wasn't summer as it might have overheated!).Subaru had put 'conditioner' in coolant at one of the dealership visits when the problem was known about, but not common knowledge to most folks. (as a side; I'm a gearhead and try to keep current on my new and classic vehicles, I had no clue there was a problem, or I would've fought for it to be REPAIRED PROPERLY under warranty! WE PAID FOR GOOD GASKETS WHEN WE BOUGHT THE CAR-NEW!) SUBARU NEVER PUT A NOTICE OR ANY TYPE OF WARNING UNDER THE HOOD, how was my mechanic to know?They did send a page to add to the owners manual at the time of the official notification, I guess Subaru expects my mechanic to read the owners manual for basic maintenance procedures!!Today I started shopping for a CATALYTIC CONVERTER, I live in Pa.,our car has Calif.emmissions, not an 'available item' at the parts stores I checked with locally, but the dealer will be happy to sell me one for $680+ (not including tax) or install one for $1044.+ (A standard emmissions conv. costs approx. $400 list-locally, some online places advertised $300 or less) These are not small problems, they greatly effect resale value at least, they are not representative of the reason we bought Subaru's in the past, but they will definitely represent the reason we don't in the future!! Sorry for the novel, folks, this is the edited version!!

I have a 2000 Outback that runs like a top at 120K miles. Great car. Have had some maintenance problems, but mechanical things do wear out and need to be fixed!

But I too have the check engine light and gas smell problems. My dealer pinpointed the check engine light to some performance monitoring sensor that would cost about $400 but doesn't really do anything of concern. So I live with the light on.

I hate the gas smell. It seems to be worst in cold weather. I read another post where someone said it was due to fuel injector rings/gaskets. Anyone else heard of that or verified?

My wife and I bought two 2000 Outbacks in 2006. Our burgundy car has been nothing but fantastic so far, in no small part due to the previous owner's upkeep of the car.

On the other hand, our blue Outback has been slowly killing me! I had to have the cat converter replaced at 82000k, two thousand miles beyond the warranty ($1063). Then we had trouble with the transmission hesitating as we went from park to drive. It hesitates intermittently. It may do it two days in a row, then not for months. I took it to the dealer and they replaced the transmission fluid ($90) and said if it continued to do it to bring it in again. The service manager said it may need more work to fix this problem. I just let it go, but just today my wife said that she was stopped at an intersection and the car wouldn't go forward! In fact it drifted backwards, causing my wife to slam on the brakes and wait until the transmission engaged again! I don't know what to do with this car! I head might explode if I have to put in a new or rebuilt transmission into this car! My Honda Civic had 169,000 miles without a problem. Any thoughts or ideas for the transmission problem?

I own a 2000 Outback limited with 135k miles. At 105k we had our little green puddles on the garage floor. I brought it over to my local mechanic and he informed be that head gasket was shot. He also looked on-line and found the recall so I went to our local dealer who gave me the "fix"...Now at 135k I had to spend 975$ just to pass/fail inspection. Since I live in Pennsylvania if you spend 150$ or more to fix emissions you can pass/fail, but I'm sunk next year because my catalytic converter is shot, there is another 1000$. My "knock sensor" is broke and that's another 350$ to fix. I have also read some other comments about brakes this is also an issue since I have warped 3 sets of rotars and here I thought it was they way my wife drives... And now the issue at hand, after spending 975$ 4 weeks ago at the shop now I'm leaking oil. The best I can tell is that it is coming from somewhere above the tran pan or behind the oil pan which I cannot see behind. It drops oil on the exhaust and it smokes. Smells real bad... Does anyone know, or has anyone had this problem. Is there a quick fix, or is this going to be another major repair.

My 2001 out back is junk.

2001 Legacy Wagon currently with 139,500 miles. Original owner.

Love the AWD! Love how it handles on difficult driving conditions. What is not so good:

Under extended warranty (100,000) at 80,000 miles I had head gasket replaced, 70,000 miles -knock sensor. There were several less important things done under warranty as well.

This the second winter that we've noticed a strong gasey smell in the garage after driving the car during MN cold spells. Didn't think too, much about it because the car ran well and when we took it in for oil changes and other maintanence work, no problems were indicated.

However...

The check engine light began to come on and then off and then on and then off again last month. After the fourth time that the infamous shining light on the dash came on, we took it to a local mechanic. They diagnosed that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. We had it replaced less than two weeks ago. $795.

A major cold spell hit us last Friday... strong antifreeze smell. Back to mechanic. Head Gasket...$1300.00. What gives?

Once the gasket is replaced, time to replace the Subaru... with a different make-not Subaru. Bummer... Just can't keep putting so much$ into this car.

I bought my 2000 Subaru Outback wagon in 1999 and just hit 100K miles. I absolutely love my car, but have had a number of problems consistent with a number of other comments -- had to replace clutch at ~ 30K miles; replace clutch master and slave cylinders and head gasket at ~ 40K miles. On my second alternator replacement, and now have the fuel smell in the passenger compartment on cold days. I had a mechanic tighten the easily accessible fuel lines, but the problem persists -- I'm told it's a leak in the manifold.

Despite the problems, I refuse to sell it -- I'm hoping to get another 100K out of it.

I am the original owner of a 2000 Subaru Outback Limited Wagon, which currently has 104,000 miles. Although I like my car, I think that Subaru has reliability issues.

I have followed the maintenance guidelines, and taken the car in for the head gasket additive recall. The sunroof mechanism has partially stopped working (the front sunroof does not open, but the back one does). I have had issues with the cigarette lighter/power port - it does not work.

The dreaded check engine warning light has been coming on and off during the last couple of months. Dealer, and there is only one that is close, wants $1500 to replace the catalytic converter. I also have the smell that some other posters have referred to, which I think is related to the catalytic converter failing. The dealer wants another $1500 to replace the timing belt and the major 100K service (which I have not yet done).

I am now left with the choice of putting $3,000 into this vehicle or getting rid of it. Given all that I have read on this site, I think that I am going to get rid of it, as there are too many people who have had things go wrong. I will NOT replace it with another Subaru.

I have a 2001 Outback, had it since it was new. Do all required maintenance. At 60,000 miles I had the clutch replaced... and am now confronted with the shudder that so many have mentioned. Only when going from first to second gear.. and only about 1/3 of the time... had THAT clutch replaced (thanks to my mechanic, a freebie) as well as the fly wheel. Yep, still the shudder. And then I read all that has been posted here and realize it's not just me OR my car, but Subaru's in general. So why in the world isn't Subaru figuring out the fix, is what I want to know.

Have also dealt with the wind through the driver's window seal as long as I've had the car... and have dealt with the engine light coming on and told it was just the O2 sensor and not to worry.

No gas smell or head gasket woes yet... but after I have read these posts, I feel like I am waiting for another shoe to drop.

Fact is, I love my Outback ------ but sure do hate dealing with these issues. Seems like Subaru ought to be reading these posts and figuring out how to help!

I wrote back in May of 2007. 2000 Outback wagon I bought new December of 1999. The last 8 months have brought me...

1. My Car overheated on a hot and humid day, I pulled off the freeway into the shade, faced it into the wind, let it cool down and waited out the traffic. My radiator was plugged about 80% they said. Which makes me wonder about the head gasket 'conditioner' put in my car.

2. Oil pump leaking, got that replaced and and timing belt done. at 85,000 miles.

3. No more fuel injectors have died.

4. Twice this winter the car has started hard, stunk, and rattled when I started it and the check engine light comes on. It gets better if I let it warm up and then start it a second time. Then after more driving and a few starts the check engine light goes out.

5. I was told in December I still have 30% left on my second set of brakes.

6. The car squeaks all the time, it sounds like the right rear, I am having my car serviced this week.

It's not a limited. I think my only option was the cold weather package. I did add a hitch last summer. So I do not have sunroof issues. The only air noise I hear involves the front bar of the roof rack. But I do put armor-all on the window and door gaskets twice a year.