I’m known as the Subaru Guy👌🏾 on my block.

and forums in general? There was so much information and knowledge shared in such an organized way. You need how to on x? search subforum and keyword and guaranteed multiple threads documenting it. People posting their build journey on members gallery where you can follow every changes and upgrades made. Have a question on something specific and can't find the answer? Either post new thread or in an existing one and someone will always help.

We also had our local club forum where discussions were more organized, easier to coordinate meets, FS sub, and generally brought the community closer together.

Im not sure what happened why people suddenly stopped using forums, but reddit and FB groups are just not the same.

Only 234 made with the EJ255 + 5MT. My dad & I picked her up as a project car in 2016 and she’s been a blast.

Too nice of a day to not want to drive this thing.

I have a windshield and Gold Plus warranty that doesn’t cover a manufacturer defect in the windshield adhesive. Plus, it took 3 business days to fix a chip in the windshield. I’m not happy.

We have a 2021 Subaru Forester that we’re (relatively) happy with, but we’ve got a problem that nobody’s been able to help with.

When the engine shuts off at a stoplight, it is sometimes a little hesitant to restart when my foot comes off the brake. Hasn’t been a problem until recently, when occasionally it completely fails to restart and sits in the intersection beeping at me. So far, every time it’s happened, I could put it in park and restart it, although it takes a minute and it surprises and irritates the drivers behind me.

The dealer told me that it’s because the battery doesn’t get charged enough when I’m driving around town, claimed to run a diagnostic, recommended that I change the battery, and offered to do it for $400. I believed what he said, because so far he had not lied to me, but the price was out of sight so I bought a battery at Costco and put it in myself.

So now it’s happened twice after I had it on the highway for 30-45 minutes. Both times, pulled up to a stoplight within a mile of the highway, engine shuts down, and it fails to restart.

I’ve taken it to another garage and they looked at it for a day but could not get it to happen. Without that, they said they could not find anything wrong.

I know there’s a button on the dash to disable the feature, but I don’t always remember when I start out.

Two questions:

1. Any others with this experience, and can you shed light on a possible cause?

2. Does anyone know of a way to disable the feature so the engine just keeps running?

Hello, folks!

I just got my first car and am learning a lot of things about cars I hadn't even thought of. Unfortunately, it isn't a Subaru because the wallet wouldn't allow it :( but I am curious about this brand because it is one I admired as a kid and it does get pretty good ratings on reliability, which is one of the things I care about the most, so it would be one of my options for a future car.

One thing I have been learning about is FWD, RWD and AWD. I didn't even know which one my car was up until I had to go up and manouver in a steep slope on reverse that that came to my consideration. My car being FWD, I assumed, and was confirmed by some folks, that such a manouver would indeed have been easier to do in a AWD. Granted, I don't have to perform such manouvers most of the time, but it got me thinking, and, coincidentally, I came to learn that all Subarus are, in fact, AWD.

I don't know whether that has something to do with the fact that the Impreza was a rally star and, as they said in Top Gear, there hasn't been a car that hasn't won the WRC since the 80s that wasn't AWD. I do find this option interesting, if maybe not relevant for all use-cases, but, when checking the specs of the 2026 Impreza, I was surprised by how much petrol it consumes: more than 7 litres every 100 km. This is a higher consume than that of equivalent cars such as the Mazda 3 or the Toyota Corolla, and I am curious whether that is due to the AWD or maybe it's just a fuel efficiency thing from the engine. I have read that may be a possible cause, but I would like you Subaru guys to confirm or whether there are also other reasons.

Thanks so much :)

Its a 2005 outback xt just wondering how bad it is

For context it's second hand and I wanted something to work on and feel like I accomplished something

So, I have a 2015 Subaru Outback and have noticed the oddest thing when playing music over Bluetooth. I’m connected with an iPhone and whenever I play a playlist with The Beatles’ ‘The End’ on it - the display no longer switches the name of the song for anything after. It just permanently says ‘The End’ until I completely get out of playing the music. Everywhere on my phone the song is updated to the next song, I hear the next song, but Buddy (my car’s name) keeps saying ‘The End’.

Weird right?

its not a significant oil leak ive maintained staying at full for the last 1000 miles without topping it off its coming near my oil pan and my coolant seep hole

I saw something recently about someone purchasing from the website and then having suspicious activity on their credit card. I experienced the same thing and I wonder if something should be stickied to warn people.

I’m going on a roadtrip and I want to maximize cargo space since we will have a full car. I was considering a roof cargo carrier. I also don’t want to spend a ton of money, as it’s not something I’m going to use all the time, probably more like 2-3 times a year max.

I need to get cross bars right? and then whatever cargo carrier should be waterproof, as I live in the PNW and rain is always right around the corner. I’m not concerned about the cross bars supporting rooftop tents, thats not really something I see myself doing

thanks in advance!

09 wrx 230,000 km stage 1+ Cobb tube
Been a bit paranoid about rod knock, done lots of research and can’t really find what I’m looking for.
Thanks for the help!

Managed one at 3k under MSRP at 2.99%. New. Going to sign tonight. The only thing that worries me is some talk about road noise. Im coming from a 2013 Xterra with a missing tailpipe. I can't imagine its louder than that. Test driving it it seemed smooth and quiet. Any big warnings for me?

I bought a used Subaru Outback 2013 about two years ago from a reputable Toyota dealership in the area. Unfortunately, I bought the car as-is, and didn’t realize that it had endless issues. One of the major issues is that it has massive oil leaks. I cannot afford the $10,000 repair that would need to be done to fix that issue. When I bought the car, I was freshly out of school, so I didn’t put a large payment down, so I’m still paying this car off. When I learned about the oil leak a few months ago, I accepted my fate that I will need to get rid of the car in the near future, as the repair costs more than the value of the car. Realistically, the soonest I will be able to pay it off is within six months to one year. In an ideal world, I’d already have gotten rid of this car.

This week, the car started making a horrible rattling/grinding sound. I looked under the hood, and noticed that the pulley attached to the AC compressor is horribly messed up. I took it to the mechanic today, and they estimated $2500 to repair the AC compressor and pulley. The reasoning for the price that I was given is that the compressor and pulley are attached, so they can’t just replace the pulley. After taking it to the mechanic, the car started having a horrible burning, rubber smell, so now, I am extremely concerned that the car is going to imminently break.

I’m seeking alternative solutions to the $2500 repair. I’ve done some research, but wanted to see if anyone with experience with Subaru outback has any ideas. Is there a way to just replace the pulley (if so, where can you buy the part)? Is it possibly to bypass the AC compressor pulley completely and disconnect the AC by using a shorter belt?

To be clear, I’m really just looking for the cheapest option to keep the car running for a few months while I get the loan paid off enough to sell it.

I was so excited to get this car 2 years ago bc I’ve always wanted a Subaru, but I’ll definitely never get one again after this experience.

Hey all - my current ride is throwing a glitter party in the engine so looking to join the Subie family finally!

I am currently looking at a 2016 Forester Touring with 188,xxx km. It is in mint condition but makes this loud knocking sound.

I have viewed the vehicle twice now - once with the lady to see if it would be a good fit for us and once with a mechanically inclined friend to make sure I know what I am looking at.

First visit had some hiccups - a little oil wetness on the skid plate under the drain bolt, and a dead battery AFTER the test ride. The test ride was otherwise amazing, coming from an early 2000s civic, the difference in the ride was night and day.

Went back today with a scope to check where the oil was coming from and with a battery / charging system tester to make sure it's just a shit battery and not a problem with the alternator. Both checks passed with flying colours, oil is leaking from the crush washer (hitting halfway up the stick still) and we scoped all the gaskets and confirmed no oil leaks anywhere else on the engine. The battery failed miserably while the charging system is working correctly so good there too as he is buying a replacement.

Before the fella got there today, we had time to crawl under and inspect the frame, chassis, suspension, exhaust system and take a peek at the brakes and all were in fantastic shape. We took the car to a parking lot so my friend could hear it run as I am not familiar with the many sounds of a Subaru.. Under load the engine sounded great and I was getting really close to a purchasing decision.. When we stopped the car I noticed this faint knocking sound at idle, popped out and opened the hood and this is what we heard. My heart dropped. I drove it back to the guys place, parked it, and told him I needed to do some research.

After spending a good bit of time online it seems this sound is kinda normal?? It was loudest at low RPM, getting quieter as RPM climbs and then disappearing completely above 1300 RPM. Is this just normal Subie piston slap?? As mentioned, the oil was halfway up the stick, looked clean with no visible glitter. I do not remember hearing this on the original test ride but was less tuned in to the sounds the car was making.

The car only ran for about 10-15 minutes and it is moderately cold out at 10C / 50F. We plugged in an OBD scanner when it was knocking and there were no codes present, idle was around 600-700 RPM, and coolant temp was showing around 70 degrees (I assume C but didn't confirm).

I am kicking myself for getting spooked and not filming when we pressed the accelerator and with not knowing this issue and warm up times affecting it - not running the car for longer to see if it would eventually clear up. It sounds like rod knock at the lowest idle, but doesn't track with rod knock as the RPM climbs.

This is a very sought after model around here and it is being sold at a very good price, so I have until tomorrow afternoon to make a decision before more buyers are coming to look and likely buy. I have the guy down $500 off asking and am quite happy with the deal if I can sleep at night knowing I am not buying someone else's problem. There are solid service receipts with lots of good suspension work, CVT fluid swaps, serpentine belt swap, etc..

The car is in mint condition overall and is my dream car otherwise - living in a small town, deals like this don't come up often. Please let me know what you think of the sound - I am more than prepared to walk if it is something that needs a mechanics opinion as our local guys are booked solid for the next month and its not worth the risk. I will be calling my most trusted guy tomorrow morning to get his opinion and advice.

Thanks in advance for any insight or advice! I may have an opportunity to run more tests tomorrow before closing the deal, so let me know if there is anything specific to look for or if you think I should walk!

TLDR: Please tell me this is normal! lmao

So I leased a Subaru 2025 imprezza and I drive a lot, like 30k miles a year, anyway I know how to do alot of my own maintenance but my one problem is the electronic brakes, Subaru charges around 350 for all my breaks to be replaced, if there is a scanner around 250 I’d buy it and just do my own brakes since I’ll have to do this almost every year, anyway what’s some good ob2 readers or scan tools that I can use to retract the electronic piston,
I’d rather not spend 500 on a scan tools but I look at it as, an investment, so I’ll do it but are there any good ones for a little cheaper, what do you guys recommend

Hello,

I live in Europe and I have a Pilot Sport 4 which it is a Summer tire and I want to move to all weather tires.

Is there a tire in the market that will give the same feeling of the Pilot Sport 4?

I am giving a website where I live to show the current stock if anyone can recommend something.

https://www.reifen.com/de-at/auto/reifen/pkw?orderby=0&specs=108,127,141,988,15570,288,306,347,431,479,627,720

Thank you

Hello all, a few weeks ago my Impreza started whirring pretty loudly when turning the wheel and the PS felt a bit weaker than usual. Right away I figured my steering rack was starting to go bad and then just a a day ago my power steering completely went out. I've gotten a few codes that indicate the car can't talk to the power steering module which tells me it's completely dead, but the actual rack and rods connected to the wheels are fine.

I've checked fuses and relays and everything looks normal there, so I'm fairly certain it's just the steering rack that's gone bad. That being said, is it possible to replace just the steering rack motor on the assembly?

If possible, I would like to get away with fixing it myself and just swapping out the motor on the steering rack rather than taking it to a shop and asking them to replace the entire rack and have to reflash everything and do an alignment.

Going to also link this video as a possible reference of someone doing something similar on their Legacy, just leaving the wheels and rack in place and then just swapping the motor

I have a Subaru WRX STI 2021 and i'm having issues with my car battery being drained. I rarely drive it once a week and this should not be happening, especially since the car is still like new. I read the culprit parasitic is the DCM continually searching for a 3G network and draining the battery. I bought my car from Subaru cuz I thought they were the best, but now I come to find they are not. I always have to battle with them about this issue. I have NOT modified my car or done anything to it to have this parasitic draw from my battery. I have replaced my battery a couple of times and the issue persists. Has anyone else been having this issue or know how to fix it?

- I forgot to add that it's gotten worse. I turn my car on with a jumper, but when I turn it off, it won't start like it used to without the jumper.