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Subaru Legacy: Typical high-mileage repairs? - READ ONLY

280 messages,  Last post on Dec 20, 2001 at 7:21 AM

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Messages Page 2 of 29

#6 of 280 1991 legacy wagon by tailwind19

Nov 25, 1999 (2:50 am)

We have 124,000 miles on our subaru. Repairs so far include; starter, cv boots, axles; timing belt; wheel bearing. Other costs, the usual brakes, reg oil change.
Our check engine light is often on & I know our battery is old. I will change the battery to see if the light will stop coming on. We also have the same problem as JEI, the trouble with low speed turns. I have been contemplating taking it to the dealer. Any ideas of repair cost?
The legacy is a great car.

#7 of 280 Subaru unreliability by jvanne

Nov 29, 1999 (4:49 am)

Ours is a Subaru Legacy 1993, but with only 96K on
it. We had heard a lot of good about its
reliability, but after a lot of the normal repairs noted above, and major ones such as having to replace a wheel bearing at 40K, we are now told we have the crank pulley bolt backing out, which may have damaged the keyway and/or shaft, which will very likely necessitate a
new engine. (BTW, the mechanic we use is completely trustworthy, and in fact has had to refer this on to someone else, so there are no ulterior motives.)This vehicle was METICULOUSLY cared for, oil changes every 3K, etc., etc., is only driven by my wife who is a very conservative
driver, but has left my her stranded twice now,
while a little "junker" Hyundai Excel that I drive
the heck out of, with the same milage has only ever had the alternator replaced, and has been
competely reliable, with almost identical milage. We are very disappointed, to say the least, and as we need to buy two new vehicles in the near future, I guess this will end our experience with them. So, whether the repair costs themselves are high or not, the actual NUMBER of major repairs - even if they were of average cose - makes this a prohibitive proposition.


As it looks like I will have to replace the engine, anyone know where I can get a rebuilt one? (email me at jvannecleanweb.net if you want).

#8 of 280 So what's the bottom line? by welkowa

Dec 02, 1999 (4:18 pm)

Judging from your mileage, most of you are about ready to replace your Legacy - will it be another Subaru? If not, which car-manufacturer do you think will deliver better reliability?

#9 of 280 1991 Legacy with 200,000 mi by crb5

Dec 04, 1999 (2:26 am)

My Legacy crossed the 200,000 mile mark this month. I had to have the front axle assemble replaced today and the clutch at 85k. Other than that the main trouble I've had has been with the AC. Had most of it replaced about 2 years ago and it has recently stopped working again. I've tried to keep the oil changed but will confess that I've gotten slack in the last couple of years and have started letting it go 7k or more without changing it. Will be replacing it in the next month or two with something with a little more leg room and an automatic transmission. Sadly, it will probably not be a Subaru. Mine has been very reliable.

#10 of 280 1995 Legacy L Sedan with 124,000 by subarunut

Dec 06, 1999 (1:25 pm)

As my title says, My Legacy has 124,000 on it. But, as much as I love Subaru's, I have to say that it has not been without problems. The car has had four recalls, which include, camshaft sensor, crankshaft sensor, alternator, and the front tow hooks had to be cut off because if they hit a speed bump or any obstacle in the road, the air bags would deploy. Also, my manual transmission had to be replaced (not under warrenty) due to a bad input shaft and case. That major repair was done last month (November). I bought a used transmission for $600.00 and had a dealer install it. My regular mechanic didn't want to tackle the job. At the sametime, I had the timing belt replaced, and the water pump done also. The pump wasn't bad, I just figured while they are there replacing the timing belt, just replace that too. So, the grand total for this rapair, including transmission, cost, $2100.00. What really bothers me about the transmission is, I have always had five speeds, and have had three Subaru's prior to this one and they all had sticks. They all were high mileage cars when I sold them, and I never had a trnsmission problem with any of them. When mine failed in my Legacy, I called Subaru to ask if they had any service bulletins concerning manuals, and if not what could they due to help me. Now I wasn't expecting them to pay for the whole job, but anything would have been nice, even an apology would have been nice. After all, I have been a loyal customer since 1984, but nothing, all I got was a rude customer service person that said,"what do you expect us to do, do you expect your car to last for ever?" No I do not. But with 90 percent of my driveing being highway, I would expect it to last longer than that. I told the rude person on the phone that I would have to think long and hard about buying another Subaru, she said,"I'll note that in the computer". Well thank you Subaru for standing behind your products. So, to answer anyone's question out their about buying a Subaru, think long and hard before doing so, and if you do, purchase an extended warrenty for those BIG repairs as it ages. Also I would like to add that I took immaculate care of this vehicle.

#11 of 280 Subarunut... by welkowa

Dec 06, 1999 (5:47 pm)

... Unfortunately, I don't think one can rely on ANY car to go much beyond (or even reach)100K miles without requiring some major work (and that includes our '90 Honda Accord which also started "showing its age" after hitting the century mark). But certainly there is no excuse for the way your call was handled by SOA!

#12 of 280 93 Legacy with 105,000 miles by scoobyasr

Dec 19, 1999 (12:51 am)

My 93 Legacy sedan with 105K has never been trouble some. In fact it run perfect, the tranny is still smooth and the engine is strong. The only problem has been warping rotors and the paint wearing off the trim around the doors, (which every other Subaru Legacy I see is suffering from). This car has been so reliable when compared to the Audi 90 series (which I loved except it was always needing repairs. I've been thinking about selling my Subaru, anyone have an idea what a reasonable price to ask would be.

#13 of 280 93 Legacy by tailwind19

Dec 23, 1999 (4:32 am)

You can check kelly blue book on line. I live in the Northeast and recently saw a Legacy Wagon with 200k miles for an asking price of $1,999.


Four wheel drive universal on my Legacy went bad, now driving on fwd only! Not sure if I want to spend the $ to have it repaired. I am also getting a thumping noise in front left wheel area. I'm going to have that checked soon.
Engine and tranny seem to be fine. Original trans fluid still looks fine.

#14 of 280 '96 Legacy Outback by dhazel

Dec 28, 1999 (6:52 pm)

My wife's car is a '96 Legacy Outback which I bought with 40K on the clock. Within two weeks of purchase it started pouring oil out of the engine. Thankfully, the dealer I bought it from had a 90 day warranty and covered replacement of all seals and timing belt.


In the 2+ years and 35K miles since, we have had problems with the shifter not coming out of park which the local Subaru dealer fixed after four attempts and several hundred dollars. The alternator and battery went out, which wasn't that expensive but very annoying since we were on vacation and were stranded 500 miles from home on a Sunday. Once we did get it started with a new battery, every light on the car blinked all the way home.


Recently the engine started pouring oil out, again. This time the repairs (all engine seals, water pump, and cam gear which the dealer broke during repairs) cost me almost $1000 dollars.


I seriously doubt this car will see 100K miles and it will be a cold day in hell before I would consider buying another Subaru.

#15 of 280 706 by 1248

Dec 31, 1999 (5:52 pm)

I have a 1995 Legacy sedan. Replaced front engine seals along with timing belt change at 115000 miles. Just brought car in for check engine light on. I need new catalytic converters to the tune of $900. Up to now the car has been great. I hope this is not the beginning of increased maintanence and repair costs.

Messages Page 2 of 29

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