r/subaru

In a tough spot and need some advice. My 2015 Subaru Crosstrek XV needs an engine replacement, $5k used or $9k new. I still owe $11k on it, and I don’t think it’s worth that much in its current state. 123k miles, used engine would be about that mileage so not really considering used. New engine puts the engine back at 0mi, but the rest of the car is still 11 years old. What should I do? My family has had bad experience with engine replacements, specifically subaru. What about y’all?

I’m looking at new Forester premium hybrids. Are any ad ons worth paying for? One dealership had theft protection in their quote for like $400.

Good afternoon everyone. Has anyone successfully fixed the issue where the Check Engine light, the ((P)) parking brake light, and the flashing Cruise Control light all come on at the same time? I’ve already tried tightening the gas cap and replacing the brake pedal switch... What else could it be?

I apologize if this question has been asked before but I really couldn’t find much info on it. A week ago, my friend was in the front passenger seat of my 2022 Legacy Premium and when he got in the car the seat belt warning went off for a couple minutes before stopping even though he had his seat belt on. But now it does the same thing every time I get in the car. The indicator also shows on the dash. It’s like the car thinks someone is in the seat and the seat belt isn’t fastened at all times. I have tried buckling and unbuckling the seat belt and moving stuff off the seat. I can’t figure out what’s wrong and it’s driving me crazy! Any idea what this could be or how to fix it? Is this something I will need to take to a dealership to fix?

We have a 2012 Subaru Outback and just had the head gasket replaced, which was not cheap. The car was running great for about a week and then suddenly this morning, we had a bunch of dashboard warning lights come on and the car feels like it might almost stall when you try to go from a standstill.

Upon starting the car, we see a variety of dashboard warning lights:

1. The coolant temp indicator continually flashes red and blue. This does not change if you let the car idle for a minute or two nor does it change if you drive the car.

2. The CHECK ENGINE light comes on in yellow and stays on.

3. The Vehicle Dynamics Control warning light comes on in yellow and stays on.

4. The word BRAKE in red flashes continually.

The car starts easily and sounds pretty smooth. The idle speed from a cold start this morning was considerably slower (about 800RPM) than it was yesterday (about 1100RPM) when the car was operating just fine.

If you put the car in gear, it still seems OK.

If you try to start going anywhere, it nearly stalls and sort of jerkily lurches forward but then seems to operate OK once it's in motion and the engine is at a slightly higher rev.

Can anyone help me diagnose this problem? The gasket replacement was expensive and the car was in the shop for weeks. If this is a simple problem we want to get it fixed correctly and promptly. If it's a serious or expensive problem, we will probably have to try and buy another car.

Hi everyone! Recently, I bought a new 2026 crosstrek wilderness - I drive my cars for 10+ years so I signed up for the additional gold plus 12 month/100,000 miles plan. Since it was a recent purchase and I can cancel, am hoping to get some advice now - the dealership added a 5580 charge for the gold plus plan and I am now seeing that folks typically pay 2k to 3k. Anyone go through a similar experience? Sounds like I should have shopped around on the gold plus plan prior to signing.

Update:

Thanks for the information! The key has been found. It looks like I would've had to have the car towed and the dealer would've had to send parts to Subaru (presumably taking at least a couple of days). Just the dealership part (including new keys) would've been over $1,000, plus towing (I'm guessing our insurance would help with towing).

Now, we're going to be more ready if it happens again:

• Get a Bluetooth tracker for his keychain (about $20)
• Get a second key programmed for his car. This has to be at the dealer because it's a push-button start. Key plus labor will be about $500.

--- original post

My son is away at college and lost his keys; we don't have a second car key. He's still trying to find them, but in the meantime I'm looking into how to replace the car key.

Note that the nearest Subaru dealership to him is over 60 miles away. There is a dealership near us, however.

I was under the impression that as long as we have the VIN and proof of ownership, we could get new keys and program them to the car (presumably after getting the car unlocked). But when I called my local service department, they said we'd need to have the car towed to a dealer who would then need to ship parts to Dubai, and have those parts shipped back with keys.

Can any of this be done by an independent (non-dealership) mechanic? Are we really going to have to have the car towed 60+ miles and pay out the nose?

I’ve been surrounded by Hondas, Nissan, Toyota cars my whole life. I’m 24 yrs old and I am looking into Subaru as my first owned/bought car.

I am currently driving a Nissan Altima 2017 and I am looking for something that will get me outdoors like Subaru outback or cross track have been on my mind for a while. I am young and I kinda wanna start exploring the outdoors and road tripping, but my good old Nissan Altima from by my parents won’t really get me to do those kinds of things..

So I’ve eyeing Subaru Outback or crosstrek as options to let me do stuff like that and maybe this car will last till I decide to start a family... But I wanted to hear your opinions on your Subaru in terms of longevity, reliability, and issues? And overall thoughts and opinions!!

Okay so earlier today, I was told I need to move my car (2020 subaru forester). No problem I'll do that. My key fob didn't work. That's odd but okay, use the mechanical key and open her up, easy peasy. Try to start the car.... nothing. So we try to jump the car. We let the battery charge for 5 minutes, nothing. Try it again for 20 minutes. Nothing. Try again for 30 minutes..... nothing. All of my dash lights go haywire, there's nothing I can do my boyfriend says his friend will come by and help him fix it later. Okay. So I get out of the car, it beeps three times as if I left it running. I find it odd, tell my boyfriend. He looks inside, nothing seems amiss, he locks up my car and we go back inside to wait (it's hot af)

About 2ish hours later his friend arrives. They go down with my keys then my boyfriend calls to ask if there's a trick to opening the car. I say no just put the key in. It's not working. I go down and try it and lo and behold... you betcha it's not working. It turns just fine, but it's just not unlocking. So we can't get back into the car to get the battery.... so any ideas on how I can get back into my car?