My Mechanic, who only works on Subarus alerted me to the problem when I called him from the road because the car kept overheating. I'd had the thermostat replaced, and asked him to check that first for failure. He assured me I would need a new head gasket. I only had 87k miles on a car I believed to be a reliable, well made vehicle, and contacted Subaru to see how they would help me. They insisted I take it to the dealer, who determined that, in fact, the head gasket had failed, and they would replace it for 2K. Subaru said they couldn't cover the expense (car over 10yrs old), but if I had the dealer do the repair and submitted their invoice, then they just might cover some of the expense. The dealer repair was several hundred dollars more than my mechanic, with no assurance that Subaru would do the right thing and cover the flaw. I chose to have my mechanic do the repair, having to rent a vehicle for a week, and received no help from Subaru. I own a retail store and know a lot of people. I take every opportunity to explain how Subaru backs its vehicles and treats its customers. That's my Subaru Story!