2018 Subaru Outback Issues and Problems! An Owner's Story that MUST be Told
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 31 ก.ค. 2024
- Here's a brief video covering the issues and problems this 2018 Subaru Outback has had over the last 6 months and 6k miles of driving as a second owner of this vehicle. This vehicle was purchased certified preowned with 38,492 miles in October 2020. It was a one-owner CPO lease turn-in vehicle, 2.5i Touring trim, and built October 2017. The biggest issue this vehicle has experienced was a complete transmission assembly replacement at 38,700 miles, which was luckily covered under Subaru's powertrain warranty. In addition, the windshield had a chip that was fixed/filled with resin, and the infotainment system rebooted and froze one time each. But other than that, it has been a great car that's comfortable, fuel efficient, roomy, and elegant, and I hope it continues to be that way for several more years to come. Please place any questions or comments related to the video in the section below. I hope you enjoy the video!
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Blown transmission and infotainment freezing - that is a terrible report card. Im amazed/glad you got the dealer to foot the bill for $8,700 for the trans. Was thinking of getting one of these but not after this video. Thank you for posting!
My 2018 outback has been the most reliable, most fun and secure feeling vehicle that also has a high ground clearance…..i call it the Swiss Army knife of automobiles…..it does so many different things so well and it’s very unique and not many vehicles if any are like it….
Ever since overlanding back in 2017, I’ve haven’t seen or heard of a single automatic transmission failure. In 2019, the CVT failed in my 2017 Forester XT. In this span of 5 years, I have many friends and people that are part of the overlanding community that had the CVT fail in models as new as 2020. The conservative number is 30 failed CVTs from people I personally know, but if I count Instagram, it’s more like 200 failed CVTs.
In other words if someone ever have idea to go on test drive prior buying 1 they should evade all Subaru cars as they all have the same faulty cvt box minus brzmi which is toyota design in Subaru body panels..😕 So sorry to see that yet again another Japanese quality brand collapse on lack of reliability 😕
same thought here! they are awesome vehicles, look great, who doesnt love awd? but I am constantly hearing about these CVT failures and its really detouring me from buying a new subaru. not many manual options either..
Good to hear you got this relatively easily resolved. My parents own a 2017 Honda CR-V with a CVT and hope they don’t run into early transmission failure - they don’t have a factory warranty standing haha.
Subaru has extended the CVT transmission warranty on most of these cars now, they're a known issue. So are weak windshields.
I have a 2018 OB 3.6 Touring. I received a notice that Subaru extended the transmission warranty for 10 years. I live on the rural coast Northern California coast. I've consistently gotten 28 mpg (my husband gets about 23-24 mpg). Happy with the 3.6/6 cyl engine. Mine has 33K and I've had no issues. Love driving this car. One oddball thing is the funky oil dipstick. It's very hard to read and always shows 1 qt low. I do my own oil/filter changes so I know how much is going in and coming out. I make sure the car is warm so I get all the oil out before a change. I'd be interested to know if anyone else experiences this. Nice review-your fiance is driving a safe and reliable rig that is loads of fun to drive off-road ; )
Awesome review and info! What a nice looking, safe, and reliable vehicle!
In 8 moth whole cvt auto box need to be replaced its far from being reliable, 2.5 is "famous " from burning oil like there is no toomorow, oil leaks,coolant leaks all that between 50-80k miles so not a huge miles..whole 2.5 fb and cvt it's faulty design and no amount of warranty replacement will change that..😕
Just saw your video. I have a 2018 Outback 3.6 Limited in the same color and same interior. I absolutely love it!
Good info, thanks for the update.
Great video, I’ve been thinking about pulling the trigger on a 2018 legacy
The legacy is great and very unique for its class However if unless there’s a really good specific reason you need the legacy, I would say to just get the outback, for its way more practical then a sedan could be. Both are great choices either way.
"Other than the transmission shitting the bed, it's fine"
..oh good, I'm glad I just bought one.
My recommendation is to change the CVT fluid every 30k miles to be on the safe side. I think the previous owner of this car drove like crazy and neglected maintenance since it was a lease. Driving it normally, not beating on it, and doing the CVT fluid change every 30k miles will go a long way. I’ve heard of people easily getting 150k miles out of these cars with no problems. Worst case, you have to sell the car down the road and it’ll still have high resale value.
@@BornToDriveOfficial Transmission fluid on the CVT is not to be changed as per Subaru and it will void your warranty. Good luck.
I have a 2018 Outback Premium 2.5 that I bought brand new. Just rolled to 60k. I change the oil and OEM filter every 5000 miles , tire rotation every 5000 miles since I got a set Cooper Evolution tour,. Taking in to dealership for a CVT flush. It's not my daily driver, just road trips and weekends. I use a K&N air filter, drove great on a vacation through the Rockies
Never flush any tranny.Drain and fill only.
All mechanics that I know advise against a flush due to plenty of cases where a tranny was flushed and filled with new,proper fluid but the car refused to move afterwards.If you tranny has no leaks,drain it then put back however much came out.Note that only a fraction of the tranny fluid will be replaced but it keeps the total fluid fresh enough for it function flawlessly.
The CVT in that care is warrantied for ten years.
I own a 2018 3.6 Limited.
The 3.6 doesn’t have the cvt right? I’m looking into a 3.6.
@@PaintSandwhich it does have the CVT. It has a different one than the 2.5. It has the same high torque CVT as the WRX if I am not mistaken.
Pretty interesting, I myself also got a used 2018 Subaru outback last September of 2020, so I had it for about 7 or 8 months now and I absolutely love it! I love all the features especially all the eyesight features and I also love Xmode when offroading, the 8 inch starlink infotainment system looks great and I personally don't really feel like its underpowered with the 4 cylinder....I always drive my outback like I stole it with the full pedal to the metal and it moves quick especially when you manually downshift with the paddles....ive been able to get it up to 124mph no joke!! Best part of all when not driving it hard, it can get easily 32mpg all day long....put that in your pipe and smoke it!!
😂😂
32 mpg?????? Dang!
@@blessedohanaoverland driving at a steady 75mph on the freeway can easily get me 32mpg on my 2018 Outback…..but if I drive with the pedal to the metal then my mpg can drastically go down to like 18mpg…
I got a 2018 too and I was trying to test out the limiter at 139 but wasn’t able to get it past 136! Not sure how you feel that it’s quick definitely feels sluggy with the cvt and waiting for the power to kick in. Sadly no feeling of sheer torque
@@jconstantino517 for being a naturally aspirated 4 cylinder engine in a midsize lifted AWD wagon the 175hp it makes feel strong enough to get it moving in all situations. Sure it’s not fast but it’s also not terribly slow…..remember back in the 80s and 90s most cars with V8’s and 6 cylinders were only making like between 140-200hp and nobody was really complaining back then, not to mention that 4 cylinders were making way less then that in fact most 4 cylinders could hardly break 100hp yet those cars were able to do everything the owner required from it…..at the end of the day 175hp and 32mpg and a 0-60mph in 8 seconds in a midsize AWD lifted wagon don’t sound too bad……in fact they sound pretty freaking good!!
So if I buy a 2015 outback with 55k, it still has 5 years and 45k CVT warranty ?
2018 Outback. No issues with the screen going blank ?
How did you do the Starlink system update via your phone or Wi-Fi hotspot?
Have a 2021 Crosstrek and heading to my 3rd year. Use it as mainly commute, and still under waranty and under a couple of mileages per year. The only problems I have are related to the infotaintment. First issue is that sometimes the car do not connect to my Pixel 6 phone, which at worst have required restarting and repairing the device. The second is that Google Maps running on the infotainment screen doesn't change to night mode on night unless I force it, and that doesn't happen to Waze. Have made all the changes under milleage due to the time expiring on me before the mileage, and everytime I take the car to the dealer I request for the lastest infotainment revision.
I have a 2020 and love it. However at 50k miles it had a $1500 repair ( last week) thought everything was fine and went on an 8 hour drive. Made it there fine but soon. After bam. Check engine light back car stalled. Transmission temperature light was flashing and it never started again. So now am stuck a few days while the dealer looks at it and see what’s going on. SMH
Great service from Subaru
Weird, i bought a cpo buick regal and the torque converter failed at 40k. Skeptical on used cars now, you just don’t know
Thanks
3 years or 36k CVT transmission fluid changes to preserve the transmission.
Good video. Just a couple of comments. I have 17 Outback (150,000km);. Subaru Canada recommends changing the transmission and differential fluid every 100,000 ( 60,000 miles) and coolant every 10 years or 200,000km. I plan to get coolant changed this year, however. Noticed the roof rails. Mine has the built in crossbars. You must have to get crossbars separately?
I've had both kinds of roof rails on multiple Outbacks, and I absolutely hated the euro-style rails when they came out, even writing to Subaru about how upset I was that they ruined the chunky personality of the roofline and I was forced to get them on a Touring if I wanted the brown leather and a steering wheel heater.
But, after mounting separate components (a bike carrier and cargobox) on Crosstrek/Forester aero-crossbars, Outback built-in (swinging) crossbars, and the euro-style (like in this video) with separate 3rd party bolt-on crossbars (mine came in a package with the car), one thing I never considered before was just how nice it is to have 100% flat and solid crossbars. Aside from separate components sitting at a slight angle on aero and built-in crossbars (bikes load/sit at different angles), they are just a little flimsy. For example, a single large cargobox on the Outback built-in bars loaded down for camping moves around a fair bit at speed (not dangerous or anything, just an observation), but the same cargobox with the same load is rock-solid on the bolt-on crossbars (and bikes loaded adjacent to it sit straight upright without moving).
So now after 4 years, the euro-rails have grown on me and I actually like them.
I had 2017 forester. Engine transmission is amazing now is 95.000 mile. Is best. I love.
What is your opinion of the heating system? We basically get no floor heat on the drivers side of our loaded 2018 Outback.
Heater works really well in this 2018 Outback Touring. It even works better than the 2020 and newer outback models in my experience. The engine just needs to warm up for 5 minutes before it gets really hot.
I had a rattle noise in my 2011 impreza 2.5 since 6k miles. It ended up being ethanol gas. They advised me to switch to mid grade ethanol and it solved the issue
very interesting
@@al-du6lb Yeah they switched from 3% to 10% ethanol in 2011, I bought it in fall 2010. I ran premium in it for 300k miles, then handed it off. It's still running well today
Pretty disappointing if Subaru's CVT failed at such a low mileage. And this is a 2018. They have had enough time manufacturing CVTs and refining them for the past 10 yrs.
Did you feel the seats are not soft on 2018 2.5i Premier? Seats are hard and back is not comfortable, please let me know if you feel this an problem in day to day driving.
The seats on this car are not quite as soft as other SUVs I’ve driven, and not as soft as the 2020 and newer Outbacks. That said, seat comfort is very subjective and some people love these seats while others don’t like them. I would try the Touring Nappa leather seats, limited leather seats, and the base and premium cloth seats to see which Outback is most comfortable.
What do u think about the extended warranty $ 1200 when u buy a pre owned?
Don't buy extended warranties. They're 3rd party scams.
Do some online research on some of the different companies that offer them. Some of them are 3rd party scams and some can be very beneficial. There are so many different companies that offer them. Just know what you are getting yourself into. Not all of them are bad by any means. It's better then paying completely out of pocket for anything that needs to be done. Especially since almost everything is electronic related nowadays. Any and all of those computer related issues can be costly and add up
I’ve heard great things about the extended warranties offered through YAA.com (Your Advocate Alliance). They’re the same warranties offered by dealers but with only a small markup instead of the usual 50% profit a dealer makes on extended warranties. Extended warranties also usually have $100-$300 deductibles depending on what option you choose, so just keep that in mind.
@@NoName-gv6nm Not all are bad. When my ex-wife and I bought her 2012 Touareg TDI, we spent the additional $5k for the extended warranty. Within 1.5yrs it paid for itself and saved us 2, $3k repair bills. Just need to do your research on them.
@@NoName-gv6nm actually your right and wrong at the same time, your right in that most them are 3rd parties and their goal is to ultimately find any excuse or reason to be able to reject your claim. Where your wrong is regarding Subaru’s optional extended warranties, Subaru’s optional extended warranty is actually first party, it’s directly from Subaru, they are the ones that back it up and will replace any part with only original Subaru parts and only Subaru dealers perform all the work, best of all it comes with free road side assistance with all the services AAA roadside membership offers, and really
Best of all any Subaru dealer in the nation will take your car for service or repairs and a loaner vehicle will always be provided, also free of course. The only thing you pay is a $100 deductible for any part that is covered and it’s over $100, and pretty much almost
everything is covered.
Anyone else notice if u park on any type of angle/ hill the car rolls forward when u put in park or rolls back depending on the incline decline. Then when u start and have to put it in Drive it’s hard to u have to force and it goes Clunk…
My honda does this. I religiously use the hand parking break. If you pull the emergency break before letting your foot off the brake, you should be good.
Put car in nuetral and engage handbrake, ease foot off footbreak and then place into park.
I had a 2004 Acura TSX with over 200K maintenance free. This vehicle doesn't even have 60K miles and it needed a new transmission already. 😆🤣
I wish they would let you know what actually happened to the transmission.
I wish they told me too! Would be really interesting to find out
I have a 2013 Outback that I bought in 2017 with 93,000. The car had one previous owner that kept the car immaculate, mostly highway miles and always serviced at Subaru.
2/3/23 it has 223,000 miles and having with the torque converter (shudders) and most likely transmission. Other issues is the back passenger floorboard gets flooded. We have cleaned the sunroof drains and rigged up a cover because there is a manufacturer design defect that allows water to enter the hvac air inlets. Oh and don’t let me forget the lights blinking on the dashboard and we hoped a new valve body would fix that but nope.
I have owned 4 subaru wagons 4x4 with low gear selectable and manual transmissions. I also have owned many other 4x4 light duty trucks. I would like a new outback for light duty trips as I no longer fly due to covid. CVT transmissions are not suitable. I have watched a new outback fail to climb a moderatly difficult hill that was sandy and washed out. The engine was reving high but not supplying torque to all the wheeles. The CVT transmission was slipping and totally failed. My current liberty 4x4 could have easily climbed the hill. I have contacted Subaru Australia about this. I will never buy a car with cvt.
define light duty trips
@@al-du6lb Light duty trips are on road with no off road but includes all dirt roads in any condition and in all conditions.
All subaru are with faulty cats unfortunately minus brzmi "sport" car which try to pretend to be better then toyota design so it have subaru cvt engine and all others subi faulty tech in toyota reliable chassis 😕
There is no reason a 38K new Subaru / Certified Pre-Owned should have required the transmission to be replaced at such low mileage!
The 4 cylinder engine doesn't make enough power to tear it up if driven aggressive daily, just an inferior design.
someone else commented that it was ethanol gas that was causing the rattling. I kinda doubt it was failing, but hey! it worked out for him.
Subaru replaced my transmission about a month or two ago at 90k miles, the new $8500 transmission was free of course, covered under Subarus new 10 year extended cvt warranty, but even then my Subaru gold extended warranty would have covered it anyways. What was really cool about Subaru is that they replaced the cvt even though there was really nothing wrong with it other then a slight transmission pan oil leak, they wanted to avoid any future potential problems that could be caused by the cvt being low on cvt fluid. That’s really cool in my book especially considering how much I abuse my outback with constantly driving it like I stole it and all the off-roading I do with it. But anyways over 92k miles now and it’s never failed me once or left me stranded.
Did I mention the loaner vehicles that were provided free of charge obviously? So yea Subaru has been great to me….
I love my wifes 2018 outback. I drive a 2017 Altima and the cvt in the altima vs the outback is night and day. Nissan CVT’s are trash
Glad you got a good car. Me not so lucky. I have this car. Power windows don't work all the time. Radio/touch screen dead. Air Conditioner leaks water INSIDE the car even after they "fixed it", the center console doesn't close properly. Gas guage inaccurate, the alloy wheels have slow air leaks. I drove Hondas all my life until this car. Big mistake.
2022 pathfinder Sl 40 k ..awesome vechile and 3 row has alot of room.
Go with a Crosstrek over a 2.5 Outback. The treks built 8n Japan and the Outback’s in USA. The fit and finish is way higher standards on the trek. Plus new gen Treks? Just as gutless as a 2.5 Back but u get double wishbone suspension! Things handle like there on rails. Outback’s handle like a 70’s Car…
Disagree. Outback has a lot more room inside. I had 2 Foresters, an 11 and a 14 (Japan) . Now have a 17 Outback ( USA ). Can’t see any difference in fit and finish. Gutless? I learned to drive on a 62 Mini ( 30 some hp). 175 hp in my Subarus is just fine. Had a 75 Nova and the Outback is far superior. Other that that, I guess we agree!
hate the CVTs they exist in all honesty to fullfill government CAFE mandates they advertise a car that gets 1-4 mpg better but we as the consumer get stuck with a time bomb
Same exact issues 3:19..
But now I have a FKING crap transmission and I’m at 118k.
Losing my mind.
It’s a 2013
I’m just waiting for someone to tell you that you didn’t maintain the car and that if you had a decent credit score you could finance the parts needed to repair it.🤣😂
Glad that you do not have the coolant leaking into transmission problem. Subaru cars are expensive and problems coming with the cars are FREE.
Owning a Subaru CVT is a lottery. If it goes wrong outside of the warranty you may as well scrap the vehicle.
My 3.6R has a issue with the transmission when I park on any type of angle I e learned to put the brake on then put it in gear so it won’t roll forward or backwards. When u restart and before turning the brake off?put it in gear then put in gear u want. U won’t get that clunk click damage. Subaru says it normal! Ha yeah for this transmission but not normal in any other Car.A transmission isn’t supposed to clunk or grind. Other than that my 3.6 averages 27mog combined and we’re glad we got rid of both Gens of Crosstreks and now have something that’s not so gutless on the highway as a Crosstrek that first gen Trek was horrendous comfort and just flat out gutless on Hwy. Hey what’s with the melting transmission smell u get with Subarus all 3 of ours had that, u come off of a steep long climb or hilly mountain Hwy tyoe and park and turn car off and it smells like melting Transmission!
1 in 4 CVT that are factory replaced fail.
If you make a claim like that, please give some references or sources.
Go look at the comment above his clearly Subaru fan boys are just unsupervised children on the internet.
If the transmission was replaced this early, the transmission fluid was probably never changed. With the CVT it is imperative that the transmission fluid is replaced every 30,000 to 36,000 miles. Even if you do that, the transmission has weak solidnoids. Those start failing around 150,000 miles. When that happens the transmission control valve body has to be replaced for about $750. That is the only weakness of this car. But if you change the fluid you can make it to 200,000 miles without too many other problems (but if you live in a cold weather state, with bad roads, you will also replace suspension components around 120,000 miles like the front control arms, the front McPherson struts, and the rear wheel bearings). That is about it.
So you’re gonna swap out that throttle body on the transmission huh?🤔 🤣🤣🤣
@@deanmichael1279 Typo, I fixed it. I meant control valve body. As described in the following TSA.
@@Buc_Stops_Here That’s a $1100 repair there chief. 200k is a pipe dream for models with years 2010+ models especially if it’s an automatic continuously variable transmission. It’s even more so true if the model is model is a 1st gen Crosstrek. You could do all the preventative maintenance to the trans and the design defect from that generation would cause it to fail early. One could talk about Subaru OEM parts costs or the update of components and need to completely rebuild the housing to properly service and maintain the vehicle. There are a lot of legitimate reasons why people dislike the first Gen. Try and be more mindful that there are going to be people out there with different experience regardless of much they baby their vehicle. After all the NHSTA doesn’t order a car manufacturer to issue a recall or increase the warranty until it receives several hundred complaints. Increasing the warranty from 60k to 100k is a very profound statement.
@@deanmichael1279 I don't disagree. The newer CVTs are better but still have problems. I personally don't own that car. I own a 2013 3.6L Legacy with the 5AET. That is a far better bet than any CVT Subaru makes. The number I give is from a solenoid repair only. Most let it slip and then the whole transmission needs to be replaced and that is more like $8K or $9K depending on where you live.
Yea they never sent the whole trans to Japan 😂
this is why Toyota is #1. They use the best parts... other companies always have at least one crackerjack box part in their vehicles such as this disposable CVT nonsense
Toyota uses CVT since 2014 in the corolla, and other models, and they fail too... honda does as well unless you get a certain engine oh and cross subawhoo off that list
The Toyota Corolla uses 2 different CVT transmissions and both have been recalled for problems.
Toyota CVT are the best. Prius with over 300,000 miles with no problems
Im not even a subaru fanboy and I like toyota but they definitely have their problems too. Its just new vehicles. They’re so full of electronics and require more babying than older vehicles
A Jatco CVT breaking, how shocking...not!
It was my understanding this was only a big issue for Nissans and not Subarus. “Lineartronic” = JATCO? I thought he said in the video that the transmission in his Outback was internally-designed by Subaru / Fuji.
@@bvedant There's nothing wrong with Jatco CVTs, Mitsubishi has used them since 2007 and has never had any issues. No lawsuits or recalls either.
Lmfao a jatco transmission has chains, not belts, and has problems
Sounds like a terrible vehicle
i know right ! in 2013 i bought a wrecked 2008 impreza for 1/3 the price of what this guy paid and outside the subaru headgasket i've put no money into my car- every year or two a piece of my exhaust rusts off.
Yes trans under 45 thousand miles , pos !!
Subaru CVT transmissions are garbage nothing but problems I’ve put two in my outback and I would highly recommend not buying a Subaru you will have nothing but problems and you will regret it take my advice!!!!
Thank you so much for your advice. I was going to purchase one. But after you sharing your experience I wouldn't buy one.
You’re completely wrong! My 2017 Outback just passed 300k miles same engine and have been on top of chasing basic oil and fluids! It sounds like you don’t know how to take care of your cars!
Hey just put another training in the car guess what it went bad!! Subaru has nothing but a piece of junk and yes I took care of my car ! I took it to the dealer every single time !! I grew up in an auto parts store so don’t tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about !! Change the transmission fluid twice! Hundred 180,000 boom transmission went dead exiting interstate ! The components in the car or cheaply made!! The rear third brake light leaks water into the vehicle which causes mold!! Ended up putting another transmission in the vehicle just so you know ! It turns out the computer was going bad and throwing it into a different shift!! So the second transmission was ruined! The control torque pressure shift sensor was bad and was causing the problem!! These transmissions have a lot of problems!! Specially if you go off road!! Apparently you don’t know what you’re talking about!! I’ll never own another!!! I’ve had three in my life!!! The second Subaru I owned gave me nothing but trouble ended up having to put water pumps on it before it was due! Car was trashed at 130000 miles And your talking to someone that changes his oil on a regular basis!! Yes I can change an engine in a car!! Everybody has their own opinion I’m glad you made it 300,000 miles I have 400,000 on my Toyota forerunner!!!
Yes,they should offer with manual transmission