2000 Subaru Outback from North America - Comments

I own a 2000 Outback Limited; I had always wanted one. Wish I had read these sooner. I bought it used in Oct 2006. 118,000 miles on it.$7000 First front rotors and pads.$100 Then the knock sensor.$350 Right front cv-axle.$105 Next needed alignment. Ended fixing wheel hub and bearing and left cv-axle.$500 New tires. $275 Have problem with sunroofs leak. Also 6-disc Cd changer repair $250. Needs turn signal assembly. $100 130,000 miles on it. Right now its in the shop for transmission and front differential. Can't be rebuilt cause main components snapped. Am looking for used replacements or cheap re-manufactured one. Potential costs. $2500-$4000 Bringing total to almost $13,000. Should have bought a nex Scion XB.

2000 Outback Wagon with the check engine light problem as well as all the rest - bad smells, wind noise - occasional hesitation when starting from a dead stop (auto trans.)

I also think the brakes on this car are two small for its weight.

It is a great car in the snow and it's my 4th Subaru, but I think it's my last. I'll stick with Honda from now on!

2000 Subaru Outback Wagon (automatic)

Reading through the posts I at least feel I'm not alone with the issues I've seen. The car has 152,156 miles on it, and I'm the original owner.

Car was great until January 2006 with 118762 miles on it. Before that it was new tires at 76000 miles, changed fuel filters, spark plugs, throttle bottle a few thousand miles later, brake service at 88,000 miles. Freak issue of a rock hitting the transmission filter at about 90,000 miles (of course, 200 miles from home and feeding it Dextron III to get back) The big bills started in Jan 2006- timing belt, accy belts, crank & cams seals, water pump, antifreeze- about $1200 US. Noticed smoke coming from left front area at a stop light soon after, had to get the CV axle assembly replaced. Check engine light came on intermittently at 137K miles. Finally bit the bullet at 145K miles (had to pass emissions) and had the catalytic converter and knock sensor replaced, along with sway bar end links because of a thumping sound around corners. Thought the car was rejuvenated! Soon after got that same burnt smell many folks have described, particularly under the hood. I think it was related to the converter replacement, but garage (which I trust) couldn't find any leaks and couldn't smell it either. Smell is more noticeable in warm weather.

Latest issue is car seems to have difficulty starting. Just had the starter assy replaced which didn't seem to fix the problem. Issue with parking brake sensor maybe?

It's been a pretty good car, but getting some serious mileage, and I'm losing faith in it's ability to get me back from where I go...

2001 Outback Ltd Wagon. 60K miles (yes, very low). The mystery smell/smoke people are getting with no sign of leakage is the CV boots leaking grease onto the exhaust. I had this happen at <30K miles under warranty. The dealer replaced CV boots and it has not happened again since.

Problems with the car have been very minimal. Front brakes have just gone for the second time (jiggly steering wheel). Had a slight coolant leak after a hard run home one night, my trusted shop tells me it is the head gasket. I never had the seal conditioner stuff put in, but it has not occurred since that one time.

Other than those items, the car has been rock solid.

My 2000 Subaru Outback Limited has 116K miles on it. Had the same thermostat/overheating issues and fuel smell coming through the vents. Just took it to my mechanic yesterday expecting the worst after reading all these posts. I was expecting thousands of $$$$$s out the window... and right at tax time. My mechanic calls me up... my thermostat was stuck... he replaced it for $120...the clamps on my fuel lines were old and he replaced them for $20. Total out the door...$140 for the day!!!

Now, that's not to say that I haven't had my problems with this baby. I bought it used in 2003. I think it had about 45K miles on it. The paint job had already started to wear and bubble on the passenger side door handle and drivers side side-view mirror. My passenger side CV boot cracked and blew crap all over my axle and engine. Had the whole axle and boot replaced. Brakes... oh my...been through two sets of brakes already in the 5 years I've owned it but all the reviews I read before buying this told me that was the case.

Other than those few things... I still love my Subaru and I love my mechanic even more!

Where were you people several thousand miles ago?! My fault for not looking, I guess.

I'm extremely cross right now. My 2000 Outback has suffered all the problems everyone else has had--smells, head gasket issues, etc. I thought I'd take this baby to 200,000. After a close encounter with a deer and a slight rear-ending accident, the front and back are looking brand new. Last week, however, it overheated and coolant is now getting into the oil (guess that's not a good thing). So my car has now lost about $5000 value in a week, and I'm going to pick up an '05 Honda CRV today.

Should have dumped the thing after the head gasket repair. As much as I liked the feeling of control in the snow, I'm finished with Subarus.

UGH...Wish I would've found this site earlier. My 01 Outback is another check engine light/blown head gasket/fuel smell in cabin/warped rotors/wind noise etc. etc. nightmare. This car SUCKS. Not to mention I purchased the extended warranty to 80k when I bought it new and the whole car starts falling apart at 83k. I was expecting to get at least 125k out of this car and keep it for my daughter who will be driving in 3 years. From what I've seen in my car and read here I seriously doubt the impending repair costs will allow me to keep this car even for another year. This car has been a huge disappointment and expense. No more Subarus for me...I'm going CRV next time.

Thanks be to the gentleman who had nothing but praise for his old 80's Subarus, but didn't pull any punches on how disappointed he was with his 2000 Outback.

It gave me a sense of how buyers, including myself, have been caught unaware that something has gone terribly wrong with the years mentioned here from about 1998 to 2001. Take notice Subaru, as your reputation is on thin ice!

I too wish I'd seen this site before purchasing my 2000 Subaru Outback in 2005 for $17,000 Canadian dollars. Apparently the book value, KIA tells me, is now just $1,500, even though they'll give me a bit more. Oh, joy. I'm just about ready to take anything to move on to happier days.

I've had many of the same issues starting in 2006 with driver side window malfunction, then knock sensor replacement, severe steering wheel shaking remedied by wheel bearing replacement to passenger side front and rear, and numerous wheel alignments, and oil pressure switch leak fixed.

The biggies started with replacement of a leaky radiator and failing catalytic converter just in the last few months, in addition to a few hundred dollars just diagnosing the check engine light coming on and off.

And yes it too appears my transmission is leaking, and needs to be replaced, which is another $600 or so. Never had any brake problems, but an issue with overheating attributed to a minor problem with a dirty fuse failing to kick my fan on.

I did purchase it with a hefty 156,000 kilometers, and am at 190,000 now, but I certainly expected to use it for a few more years. I bought it for its reliability and safety, but I'm not so sure anymore.

Purchased 01 Forester new, received recall letter, took to dealer, dealer put additive in radiator, drove away.

At 98,000 miles, my mechanic commented on leaky head gasket. Called Subaru, they sent me to dealer who said head gasket did not leak, but that it was the water pump.

They replaced the water pump and timing belt.

My next service, the head gasket was still leaking and I'm out of warranty according to Subaru.

Subaru has had to replace the old design for newer models.

It seems to me that if they had to admit a design failure in some models, they need to recall the older ones and repair them.

We have just bought (June 2008) a December 98 Outback, and it seems to have several of the problems referred to in the 69 blogs on these pages.

The fuming from the engine compartment has been blamed on 1. injector O rings, 2. exhaust blow, 3. cooling fluid leak, 4. head gasket (s). 5. faulty cat. converter.

Does anyone out there know the most likely cause of this, please advise.

Note to Subaru design "engineers" My last car that "fumed" as badly, was a 1938 Ford Anglia. My last leaking head gasket was on a 1949 Morris Minor. SUCH PROGRESS.??

Interestingly I emailed Subaru about the problems with my car, and that many people have shared the same problems. I even added a link to this forum. They replied quickly telling me that sometimes cars just have problems, and that they can't keep track of the mechanics who work on the cars, so they can't be sure that the problems are legit unless it's taken to a dealer (AKA... they make $$$$).

And in reference to this forum, they said they don't use information on forums, only information from dealers. Do they think we're making all of this up? Hopefully the new Subarus have resolved all of these problems.

2000 Outback Wagon

Pulls to the right, no matter how often aligned

Smells of radiator fluid

Head Gasket replaced at 88K

Check Engine light on-again, off-again.

I own a 2000 Outback limited with about 110,000, which I LOVE!!! While I have experienced some of the issues listed here, I am still a Subaru believer. I’ve had the brake, rotor, CV-boot, cat converter, knock, and O2 sensor issues.

Additionally, I more recently experienced a problem with shifting from park to drive. I have had the tranny flushed, and although it’s slow to shift, it seems to be fine now.

I am the 3rd owner (bought in ’06) of this vehicle, and to the best of my knowledge there haven’t been any major repairs.

All in all I love this car for what it has to offer. This is my first Subaru and I plan to purchase another. It performs great in bad weather and generally gets 25 MPG.

If you’re considering a Subaru, don’t simply read through this blog and make your decision. Talk to someone about their likes and dislikes because although there have been problems, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this beauty!!