1998 SUBARU OUTBACK Complaints

ENGINE BEGAN TO OVERHEAT ONLY WHEN BEING DRIVEN, DOES NOT OVERHEAT WHEN IDLING. I HAVE REPLACED THE THERMOSTAT, WATER PUMP, AND TIMING BELT BUT IT STILL OVERHEATS. WHILE DOING RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET, I FOUND THE CARSURVEY.ORG SITE WITH MANY REFERENCES TO THIS BEING A KNOWN ISSUE, A HEAD GASKET PROBLEM. BASED ON THE NUMBER OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS, SUBARU HAS A DESIGN PROBLEM THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED OR AT LEAST A WARNING OF SOME TYPE SEND OUT. WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT THIS ISSUE? *TR

BLOWN HEAD GASKET ON 1998 SUBARU LEGACY OUTBACK AT ~70K, JUST OUT OF WARRANTY,. THIS PROBLEM OCCURRED IN 2003, BUT GIVEN THE CONTINUATION OF COMPLAINTS FROM CURRENT SUBARU OWNERS EXPERIENCING THIS PROBLEM, IT SEEMS HIGHLY NEGLIGENT OF SUBARU TO DENY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ADDRESSING THIS PROBLEM. THIS IS A MAJOR PROBLEM ON SUBARU'S DATING FROM 1997 FORWARD. REPAIR COST IN EXCESS OF $2,500. THIS PROBLEM CONTINUES TO ARISE ON SUBARU ENGINES, YET THE COMPANY HAS DONE NOTHING TO REIMBURSE OWNERS FOR COST. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 SUBARU OUTBACK. SINCE OCTOBER OF 2007, THE CONTACT SMELLED FUEL INSIDE THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. HE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSIS AND THEY STATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS DUE TO THE FUEL METAL NOSE. THE NOSE CORRODED AND CAUSED FUEL TO LEAK. THE DEALER WILL REPLACE THE NOSE METAL AT THE COST OF $278. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS OUT OF WARRANTY; THEREFORE, THEY WOULD NOT ASSIST WITH THE REPAIR. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 122,000 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 124,000.

MULTIPLE PROBLEMS WITH ENGINE 1. SEAL LEAK AT APPROXIMATELY 48,000 MILES, BURNING OIL SMELL, CORRECTED AT REPLACEMENT OF TIMING BELT AT SCHEDULED 105K--NOT DETECTED BY DEALER WHILE UNDER WARRANTY (60K WARRANTY). 2. FAILURE OF HEAD GASKET AT 110K 3. FAILURE OF 2 CAM SEALS AT 158K 4. FAILURE OF ADDITIONAL (REMAINING) 2 CAM SEALS AT 165K (MECHANIC INITIALLY INDICATED THIS WAS RARE AND UNFORTUNATELY, DURE TO COST, DID NOT RECOMMEND REPLACING ALL 4 CAM SEALS--BAD CHOICE--$600 PARTS AND LABOR EACH OCCURRENCE #3 AND #4. *TR

COMPLAINT IS FOR SUBARU OF AMERICA. I OWN A 98 SUBARU LEGACY OUTBACK AND THE COOLING SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONED AND THE HEAD GASKETS BLEW. I LOOKED ONLINE AND THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF OWNERS ON A MULTITUDE OF SITES WHO ARE EXPERIENCING OR HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS EXACT PROBLEM. CLEARLY THE PROBLEM IS WITH THE VEHICLE AND NOT ANY OWNER'S OPERATION OF THE VEHICLE, AND THEREFORE THE CORPORATION WHO HAS CAUSED ITS CUSTOMERS EXPENSE SHOULD BEAR THE BURDEN FINANCIALLY FOR FIXING THIS PROBLEM. *TR

WE BOUGHT A 1998 SUBARU OUTBACK IN 2004. AT APPROXIMATELY 110,000 MILES, WE EXPERIENCED A CATASTROPHIC OVERHEATING OF THE ENGINE DUE TO A FAULTY HEAD GASKET. THE OVERHEATING CAUSED APPROXIMATELY $3,000 WORTH OF DAMAGE TO THE CAR. THE HEAD GASKET, RADIATOR, THERMOSTAT, WATER PUMP, OXYGEN SENSORS AND (2) CATALYTIC CONVERTERS ALL HAD TO BE REPLACED. WE HAVE SINCE LEARNED THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM FOR SUBARUS OF THIS VINTAGE. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF ANECDOTAL REPORTS OF PEOPLE HAVING THIS EXACT PROBLEM ON THE INTERNET, AND OUR MECHANIC TELLS US HE FIXES AT LEAST ONE OF THESE PROBLEMS PER WEEK AT HIS SHOP. CLEARLY, THIS IS A DEFECTIVE PRODUCT. *JB

SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. SUBARU PLAZA P.O. BOX 6000 CHERRY HILL, NJ 08034-6000 ATTN: CUSTOMER/DEALER SERVICES RE: SUBARU LEGACY OUTBACK VIN [DELETED FOR PRIVACY] TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: I AM WRITING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT A SITUATION WITH OUR OIL AT TEMP WARNING LIGHT WHICH RESULTED IN OUR PAYING $130 FOR A FALSE POSITIVE WARNING ABOUT THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. AFTER THE WARNING LIGHT APPEARED, I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO CARLSEN SUBARU. THEY PERFORMED THE DIAGNOSIS AND FOUND NO PROBLEMS WITH THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. IN FACT, THEY SAID THAT THERE WAS A KNOWN PROBLEM WHERE A BATTERY CHANGE COULD CAUSE A ''FALSE POSITIVE'' WARNING ABOUT THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. CONSIDERING THAT THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM THAT SUBARU IS AWARE OF, AND HAS NOT NOTIFIED CUSTOMERS OF, I AM REQUESTING A REFUND BY SUBARU FOR THE FULL $130. I HAVE TWO CONCERNS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM: 1. THE OBVIOUS SAFETY CONCERN '' WONDERING IF THERE REALLY IS A PROBLEM THAT THE DIAGNOSIS COULD NOT PINPOINT 2. THE CONCERN THAT SUBARU HAS A KNOWN PROBLEM THAT COST ME $130 SINCERELY, [DELETED FOR PRIVACY] CC: NHTSA COMPLAINTS

THE GAS FILL PIPE LEAKS GASOLINE. THERE IS A PLASTIC SHIELD NEXT TO IT THAT CATCHES DIRT, SAND, ETC AND THEN KEEPS THE OUTSIDE OF THE PIPE WET FOR WEEKS AFTER ANY RAINY DRIVE. THIS LED TO THE PIPE RUSTING OUT AND LEAKING GASOLINE ON THE ROAD, DRIVEWAY AND GARAGE. *NM

DRIVING A 1998 SUBARU AWD LEGACY OUTBACK. ON JUNE 6, 2006 WHILE ON A SHORT TRIP IN VEHICLE, RETURNED HOME TO SEE SMOKE (NOT STEAM) COMING FROM ENGINE BLOCK. THE VEHICLE HAD OVERHEATED, AND HAD BEEN SUFFERING OCCASIONAL LOSS OF POWER WHILE DRIVING PRIOR TO THIS TIME (APPROX 1 WEEK). DROVE APPROX .5 MI TO DEALER NEXT DAY TO GET CHECKED OUT ALONG WITH 90,000 MILE SERVICE (MILEAGE ON VEHICLE WAS 91,058). DEALER CALLED TO INFORM THAT HE HAD FOUND LEAKING HEAD GASKETS WITH LEAKS AT THE VALVE COVERS AND HYDROCARBONS IN THE COOLING SYSTEM. INFORMED THAT HEAD GASKET WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED AND THE HEAD RESURFACED (POTENTIAL REPLACEMENT OF BLOCK BUT THIS WAS NOT NEEDED NOR WAS A VALVE JOB) AND THAT WE SHOULD ALSO REPLACE WATER PUMP, TIMING BELT, AND ENGINE SHIELD AS LONG AS THE ENGINE IS OUT. MY RESEARCH ON THE WEB INDICATES THAT THIS PROBLEM IS EPIDEMIC, LOCAL MECHANICS I'VE SPOKEN WITH SAY THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON ISSUE AND THAT SUBARU AMERICA WILL NOT STEP UP TO THE PLATE. I CALLED SUBARU, WITH MY COMPLAINT AND WHILE ADMITTING NO RESPONSIBILITY OFFERED $500 CREDIT TOWARD REPAIRS WHICH EVENTUALLY CAME TO MORE THAN $3000. REPLACED PARTS INCLUDE HEAD GASKET, HEAD RESURFACING, SEALS, WATER PUMP, HOSES, THERMOSTAT, TIMING BELT AND TENSIONER, SEPARATOR PLATE. WHEN I CALLED AGAIN TO ASK THEM TO STEP UP ON THIS ISSUE THEY FAILED TO OFFER ADDITIONAL HELP. AS I UNDERSTAND IT A BLOWN HEAD GASKET CAN LEAD TO A CRACKED ENGINE BLOCK WHICH COULD INDEED LEAD TO A VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM. A SIMPLE WEB SEARCH ON THIS ISSUE FOUND DOZENS OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS OF THIS VERY SERIOUS AND EXPENSIVE PROBLEM. *NM

MY CHILD CARE PROVIDER WAS INVOLVED IN A SINGLE CAR ACCIDENT. SHE WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH IN WET/RAINY CONDITIONS WHEN SHE LOST CONTROL OF THE CAR AND HIT A TREE. THIS IMPACT CAUSED THE CAR TO SPIN AND HIT A SECOND TREE. THE CAR WAS TOTALED AND SUSTAINED DAMAGE TO THE FRONT END, THE PASSENGER DOOR AND THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR. THE MOST DAMAGE WAS TO THE FRONT END AND THE DRIVER SIDE. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY AND SHE WAS KNOCKED UNCONSCIOUS SUSTAINING A SEVERE HEAD INJURY. *JB