ENGINE OVERHEATING STARTED 10 MONTHS AGO ON LONG TRIPS ONLY. OVERHEATING WAS COMMON WHEN ENGINE WAS UNDER HEAVIER THAN NORMAL LOADS FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME(CLIMBING HILSS, ETC.). FLUID IN RADIATOR WAS EVENTUALLY DEPLENTED LEADING TO SHARP RISE IN ENGINE TEMPERATURE. LATELY THIS HAS BEEN WORSE AS ONLY 30 MILES OF NORMAL DRIVING WILL CAUSE THE SAME SYMPTOMS. THE FAULT TURNED OUT TO BE A HEAD GASKET FAILURE ON SUBARU R2.5L TYPE 1 ENGINES. THE COOLANT WAS BEING FORCED OUT OF THE RADIATOR BY THE SLOW LEAK OF EXHAUST GASES IN THE COOLANT AROUND THE RADIATOR. THIS VECHICLE HAS BEEN SERVICED SINCE NEW BY ONLY THE LOCAL SUBARU DEALER. A SEARCH ON THE INTERNET FOR SUBARU 2.5L ENGINES 1996-1999 (LEGACY) TURNED UP MULTIPLE HITS FOR OWNERS WITH THIS SAME PROBLEM. FAILURE IS AS LOW AS 40K MILES TO OVER 100K FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. THIS MULTI-LAYER GASKET FOR THE TYPE 1 ENGINE HAS BE REDESIGNED 6 TIMES, LEADING ONE TO SURMISE THAT THE HEAD GASKETS ARE DEFECTIVE. THE TYPE2 ENGINE ALSO HAS THIS FAILURE BUT THIS HAS BEEN INTERCEPTED BY SUBARU OF AMERICA BY ADDING A "LUBRICANT" TO THE COOLANT, IE: BLOCK SEALER. THIS ENGINE SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED TO REPLACE THE MULTIPLE DEFECTS WHICH SUBARU WILL ONLY DO ON TYPE 2 ENGINES AND ONLY IF THE OWNER KNOWS TO ASK FOR THE "SECRET WARANTY". GIVEN THAT THERE IS NO OTHER CHOICE, I PLAN TO PULL THE ENGINE MYSELF AND FIX THE PROBLEM. THE DEALER WANTS OVER $2K TO DO THE SAME WORK. *AK
2014
STEERING
I RECEIVED MY OUTBACK ON NOV 1 2013 AND HAVE BEEN HAVING A STEERING LANE CENTERING ISSUE SINCE DAY ONE. THE CAR WILL NOT DRIVE IN A STRAIGHT LINE WITHOUT MAJOR INTERVENTION BY CONSTANT CORRECTION. THE CAR WILL GO LEFT OR RIGHT, BUT WILL NEVER GO STRAIGHT. IF I CHECK MY MIRRORS AND BLIND SPOT FOR A LANE CHANGE BY THE TIME I LOOK BACK MY CAR HAS DRIFTED OUT OF LANE OR NEARLY OUT OF LANE. I AM NOT SURE WHAT IS MORE DANGEROUS AT THIS POINT CHECKING MY BLIND SPOT OR NOT CHECKING MY BLIND SPOT, SINCE EITHER CAN LEAD TO AN ACCIDENT. I DRIVE BETWEEN 25K-50K MILES A YEAR, AND HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED A PROBLEM LIKE THIS. HOWEVER, THE DEALER TELLS ME THIS IS NORMAL AND WAS DESIGNED BY SUBARU TO DUE THIS. I CAN'T SEE HOW THIS IS POSSIBLE. I CHECKED WITH A FEW OTHER FLEET OUTBACK DRIVERS WITHIN THE COMPANY, AND ALL OF THEM HAVE THIS SAME ISSUE. (FOUR) HOWEVER, NOT ALL THEIR LOCAL DEALERS SAY IT WAS DESIGNED TO DO IT, BUT SAY THERE IS NO FIX TO THE PROBLEM. I AM NERVOUS THAT I AM GOING TO LOOK LIKE A DRUNK DRIVER TO SOMEONE BECAUSE I AM CONSISTENTLY SWERVING, OR THIS ISSUE CAUSES A ACCIDENT. I HAVE FOUR KIDS AND I CAN'T RISK HAVING AN ACCIDENT. I AM REALLY NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO WINTER THIS YEAR WITH THIS PROBLEM. I AM REPORTING THIS IN HOPES THAT THIS PROBLEM IS ADDRESSED BEFORE SOMEONE DIES, IF THEY HAVEN'T ALREADY. *TR