AT Oil Temp and Check Engine Light came on the dashboard on 6/28/21. I took the vehicle to a mechanic to run a diagnostic on it, and it came out that the vehicle needs to have a new transmission put in it. So I took the vehicle to AAMCO for a second opinion, and sure enough, it needed a new transmission.

At the time when the light came on, the vehicle had 94,205 miles on it. The mechanic at AAMCO told me that Subaru's CVT Transmission is notorious for going bad. Which was strange to me at this mileage the CVT Transmission for the vehicle would go bad! There were no sign of slippage of the gears or any jerking motions while I was driving before or after the message came on.

Needless to say, after a month of waiting I had to have a new (used w/43k miles) transmission put in it. The final costs (out-of-pocket) for the whole ordeal was $6,370.00 ouch! I did not purchased an extended warranty when I purchased the vehicle used in early 2020. Never again will I buy a Subaru! I have learned my lesson the hard way.

I will never buy Subaru again. They replaced the engine at 92k due to excessive oil consumption under class action lawsuit. Now at 126k the transmission has died, and dealership stated a refurbed transmission would cost $8000. Subaru corporate offered $1000 for repair. The car is worthless at this point, and a lousy time to be looking for a replacement car due to covid microchip shortage. I'm moving on to more reliable Toyota or Honda. Unfortunately new cars take 2 months to get on lots. Thanks Subaru for the love.

Subaru does NOT stand behind their product!

I’ve owned my 2013 Subaru Outback (2.5i Premium) for six years. I’ve vigilantly maintained the vehicle since purchasing it from Nate Wade Subaru in SLC, Utah. I’ve changed the oil (synthetic only) and filter faithfully every 5k miles, and rotated and balanced the tires at the same intervals. The transmission fluid (synthetic only) has been changed exactly as required for warranty service. I’ve maintained the vehicle impeccably in every conceivable way, and immediately make any and all repairs or maintenance items. In sum, the car has been babied, and has run very well... until last week.

I began to hear a faint growling noise which sounded like the beginnings of a failing wheel bearing, and immediately scheduled an appointment at the same Subaru dealer. I informed the dealer that the sound could be a wheel bearing, CV joint, or possibly the CVT transmission. After inspection, the dealer stated the CVT needed to be replaced - not repaired, REPLACED... for a mere $7,100 plus tax!

In inquired what the cost would be to simply repair the CVT. The dealer emphatically stated that they are not allowed by Subaru of American to repair the CVT; they may only replace it with a new unit. At the quoted price, the cost to replace the CVT exceeds the total value of the vehicle!

I told the dealer that I’ve never had a complete transmission failure on any vehicle with so few miles, and have never heard of a manufacturer who will not even repair their very own product. He suggested I contact Subaru of America, stating that Subaru “...is a very generous company, and MAY be willing to help you out even though the vehicle is now out of warranty.” NOT!

In calling Subaru, the Customer Service reps are cordial, though emphatically state that Subaru will do NOTHING to help you out. For clarity, I’m happy to split the cost (or even pay the significant majority) to replace the CVT, as the CVT is sure to have some normal wear-and-tear. Again, the Subaru CSR dismisses the gesture immediately, and reiterates that Subaru will do NOTHING.

So much for the dealer’s promise of Subaru being a generous company.

Lesson learned: Do NOT buy a Subaru.

While returning from Halifax, NS the transmission got extremely noisy, locked up and stalled the engine.

Fortunately we were slowing down for the toll, at 30MPH and it locked up then. Just before slowing down, we were at Highway speed of 110Kmh. Situation could have been a lot worse for sure!!!

Getting a run around, it is an American Vehicle and it seems that no one wants to pick up the "ball". Subaru Canada say contact Subaru America and vise versa. Nearest dealer is more than willing to sell me a new one and give me scrap rate. Transmission is over $10K new. Nobody has one because it has been a problem and from what I read is still a problem.

Thanks.

First off, this is 2nd Subaru purchased - have a 2007 Subaru Forester, which I had to have the engine replaced at about 125K miles for crank bearing failure. Another complaint for another time { however I have to admit the Forester currently runs good, and works really well in snow and mud as it should, and has had no other issues/problems other than routine maintenance since}. The 2013 Outback, on the other hand, has the "Oil Consumption issue" since new - with no acknowledgement from Subaru and/or dealers/mechanics -- "its just normal oil use". Sure it is... at about a quart every 1000 - 1500 miles. I had to replace the exhaust system because it (burning oil) ruins the O2 Sensors and catalytic converts, which are a part of the Exhaust Manifold as a unit. Very pricey! and I'm sure it will have to be replaced again. I had to have all of the Suspension Bushings on the front end replaced and the lower Control arms replaced at about 100K miles, sure rear is about due -- I've got and had cars and trucks with more miles and a lot older that have never had to replace suspension bushings or control arms. Before the current Transmission failure, the car has had issues (since new) with the transmission not being able to speed up when pulling into traffic or from a red light, it hesitates when trying to go --- course it might be the 'traction control' programing causing the issue versus trans, never been able to get it worked out. The 2013 Outback's transmission failure @ 162K is supposedly caused by a faulty Torque converter lockup solenoid, which is attached to the 'valve body' located inside the transmission on top -- which in itself the solenoid is about $150, however, that one part actually costs about $900-1000 because Subaru only will sell the 'valve body' as a whole (no aftermarket parts): so $1000 for part, plus labor costs to remove engine components out of way, to simply get to top of transmission and then take apart to get to 'Valve body' itself. HOWEVER, for anyone who has ever worked on cars/trucks probably knows, the transmission is generally one part of the vehicle that more than likely replacing 1 simple part will only result in having to spend more money - meaning something caused it to fail which would more than likely cause it to fail again and/or damage some other parts in the transmission, if it has not done so already. It is rarely ever just a simple fix. So to replace the transmission with a rebuilt trans will cost about $7800 + tax, since Subaru does not 'offer' rebuild kits/parts to transmission shops (cannot get the parts} - or pay dealer price ($$$$) to make repairs and/or replace transmission -- other option is a cheap used Transmission out a wrecked car, but you take your chances on being good/bad and probably would have same issue around given mileage give/take few thousand miles..... At roughly $8000 to fix, a 2013 Subaru Outback (with 'oil consumption' issues) is pretty much not worth it to fix.... course the issue has now rendered the 2013 Outback pretty much WORTHLESS to either sale or trade.

Dealership says loud grinding noise from the transmission (CVT) is bearing problem. This noise started around 60K miles and has been slowly (on a geometrically escalating curve) been getting louder. At first, dealership said sound was normal. NOW they tell me the noise is a bearing going bad (just now the car is out of the extended warranty of course). Seems like a scam to me - they knew there were issues years ago and did not fess up when pressed about the noise. Granted I haven't had the stalling, bucking, or sudden lock-ups as most have had with this defective unit. This should have been addressed with a recall and replaced with a re-engineered unit. Unless Subaru steps up and does something significant - I will not buy another car from them.

This car is my second and last Subaru. I had no idea that the CVC transmission was a problem and not only that is super expensive to replace. The cost quoted to me and verified by Subaru: $9000! The problem with the transmission has been documented numerous times with so many complaints that Subaru extended the warranty to 100,000 miles from 60,000.

When I contacted Subaru they gave me two reasons why they would do absolutely NOTHING to help. One, the car had over 100,000 miles (so we acknowledge there is a problem, but if it shows up past 100,000 miles and way before the car should have a problem, it's all on you!). Two, they told me that they had sent me notices about an extended warranty that I could have purchased. My mistake, I thought that those notices were a scam. But, in offering an extended warranty, they're again acknowledging there's a problem! Except they're putting it on the customer. I smell lawyers....

I've been driving for nearly 40 years and have never had a transmission go so quickly on a car. Most of my miles on this car have been highway.

So, my advice: NEVER buy a Subaru. They are NOT reliable and the company, like so many other's, is only interested in covering their a**. If you want reliability, Subaru cannot be counted on. The cvc transmission not only is bad, but when it goes, it's too expensive to pay for.

I started hearing a strange whining noise coming from the engine every time I took my foot off the gas, no matter what speed I had been going. I took it to my regular Subaru service and they said the noise was coming from the power steering pump and would cost about $750 to repair. I declined the repair as in my gut I knew there was nothing wrong with the steering as I knew where the noise was coming from.

I then took the car to my personal mechanic who said it was the transmission and he recommended I bring it to the dealer as there may be a warranty issue. At this point I did some on line investigating and found that Subaru extended the transmission warranty due to known problems. I called the corporate office told them the whole story and they said they could not abide by any random mechanic, they needed a diagnosis from a dealer.

At this point, it was determined that even the extended warranty would not cover me because I had 117K miles and the extension was 100K miles but the woman on the phone said that once I have a diagnosis from a dealer she would work with me. Well, I got the transmission failure diagnosis from a competent Subaru dealer who quoted a repair of $7130.

I called the corporate office right away to hear some representative say the extended warranty is as is and they can't do anything for me. The attitude from this kid is truly pathetic considering he is in customer service. He acted like it was coming out of his pocket. No sense of giving a little to make a loyal customer.

This is my first Subaru after driving Toyota for 15 years and prior to this incident I would swear I would only buy from Subaru. Also, offering an extended warranty instead of a recall does not give me great confidence in this company.

Update from Nov 5, 2018: After making a big stink with the corporate office, they took two weeks to review my case and offered to cover half the cost of the repair. I had the repair done and ended up paying just over $4K since I had to pay all the taxes. Hoping this car makes it to 200K miles which will hold me over for a few years. Next car is a Toyota.

Car had trans overheat light from new- only would come on during longer trips (over 125 miles) taken to dealer many times light would go out over time or when stopping - would come on intermittently - dealer could find no codes- many checks were done- looking for kinked lines etc etc. resetting computer no help- checking fluid level -they did change radiator- no help- finally trans started to make small whine when coming to a stop or start below 10 mph. Still no codes- now they have to change trans- none available- 3 weeks till they can get one- I feel I'm not getting a good deal on this one.

Update from Oct 6, 2018: update on this- second trans has failed- 12-2017 just before extended warr. expires I guess 3rd time is a charm- have 9000 miles on it -ok so far- Dealer was very helpful

Update from Nov 17, 2021: my outback was on the 3rd transmission- almost 60k on it-total mileage around 162'000- no more warranty- with the r/r value around $9000 and some low noise issues coming from trans- decided to trade it in on a new-TOYOTA- tacoma-knowing the trans will zero the car what it's worth- for what it's worth subrau outback was good when everything was right- it's like shooting craps at the table- love my 2021 tacoma 4x4 pro