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Perception of Subaru reliability compared to other Japanese manufacturers (Honda, Nissan, Toyota)


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Was talking to a Kiwi friend about cars and what typical NZ folk think about when it come to reliability. Long story short he thought that Subaru had a pretty bad reputation for reliability? 

I thought maybe this came from the scene where modified (and highly modified) Subarus are fairly common, and these are the ones that are more likely to fail randomly and require servicing more regularly along with the associated costs of this.

 

But there must be loads of people daily driving bone stock Subarus who as long as they maintain normally experience no problems? 

Maybe flat 4/6 engines come with higher servicing costs people aren't used to, or willing to accept? 

 

From the UK viewpoint, I think Subaru are seen pretty much the same as any other Japanese manufacturer. 

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Yea there is a bit of a stigma in this country about Boxer engines. But it's not limited to just them, also Rotary engines get bagged heavily as well. I think it's a combination of an ageing car fleet in this country, back yard mechanics and people believing everything they're told!

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Idk, Subis are pretty reliable unless your comparing it to a stock honda or most European cars. Im pretty sure modified Evos have their share of problems (Judging by watching Americans trying to modify them anyway :P). Any highly modified car will have its problems so you can really only judge reliability when its stock. There are many hondas out there that run big power but need to be rebuilt all the time and busts big ends and things, and lots of subis with decent power and their fine. In terms of Japanese, they are probably not the best but they are not 'unreliable' at all.

Subarus are  awd so more parts that could go wrong and yes the maintenance can be higher and the cost to keep them going it not the best and yes if you dont maintain it properly it wont last as long.

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I think this is based on a few factors. The first is the kind of Subarus we get in NZ. During the import boom of the 90s we mostly got Turbos like the BG5 GT and EJ25s like the 250t and Grand Wagon/Outback.

 

For the average joe these mostly ended up being unreliable, the turbo motors were pretty highly strung and in need of good fuel and proper servicing, however most people used them as daily drivers, with a majority not treating them as they needed to. I've seen many a GT-b ruined with 91 octane fuel and shitty oil because "its just a Legacy wagon" (not considering that its a Twin Turbo wagon with about 280bhp!!) On the flip side, a lot got modded poorly with not a lot of thought given to longevity causing faults that stouter engines could survive.

 

The ej2.5 motors again suffered with poor care, but also were very prone to Head Gasket issues. Unfortunately, that engine was very common in Japan, and so a lot ended up here after a few years, just in time for them to go pop.

 

Kiwis tend to be pretty rough on their cars. Given the ease of getting a fresh import cheap from Japan, once a car hits a certain age and mileage people stop mostly caring, but once a trend emerges people jump on it and come to the conclusion that "Subarus are unreliable" without thought as to why that might be.

 

 

 

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That's exactly what I thought before buying my Subaru. The mainstream opinion of "Boxers are unreliable" put me off for a year or two until I finally took a stab at finally owning one mainly because I know that the car has been maintained very well. All cars have downsides to them. Take care of your car and it will do the same to you. 

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Turbo import Subarus plus 91 Octane = "These cars are unreliable as"

 

Kiwis generally treat their cars like S***.

In the US, where people buy new and follow service schedules religiously, they have an excellent reputation.

 

2.5 DOHC had cheese headgaskets, though. 

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You ask the average car driver when was the last time they properly serviced their car.

I remember a meeting at one of my work places about the work car, and I found out no one ever thought to check the oil/water or even tyre pressure. I had to tell the Practice manager his nice expensive Lexus needed new tyres as they were nearly bald, he had no idea!

I've noticed on the American forums they tend to buy their cars a lot newer and stick to the factory servicing to make sure they get the warranty.

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If you track or modify a Subaru you're almost certainly going to want to change the oil every 3 months (with expensive oil that most young people just can't afford), properly warm and cool it down, run 98 fuel etc. They're not as foolproof or as low maintenance as other cars especially anything N/A.

 

I do find it weird though that RB's have a reputation as being bulletproof as they seem ridiculously unreliable to me, every time I go to a track there's 6 tow trucks loading various Nissan's to be carted away

Edited by YoungOne
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I've found most mechanics who say subarus are S*** or reliable are just S*** mechanics. It's either because they're scared of changing plugs which is an easy job or theyve seen loads of dead subarus but dont understand boost taps wound to 25psi kill engines. Either way theyre just basic part fitters much like panelbeaters are now panel fitters. You dont need to be shane t to know too much boost on a stock ecu is going to kill the engine.

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Oh boy this is me on a daily basis trying to defend Subarus....Most people think "Oh nah Subarus are S***. You tried changing the spark plugs? I ran 25 psi with my boost tap and it blew up, Thats crap! My skyline ran 30psi all day and it still goes!"

 

Working at Supercheap for 5 years really did bring out the idiots who should never touch a car let alone own a Subaru. I had people buy shitty 20w-50 oil to run in their post GC Subarus because it was cheap..Oh and did i mention they used the whole bottle when all the needed was 1L instead of 4L?

 

I think the main reason and biggest reason is they have a bad name. Just like Honda's do. Now i will admit i do give Honda's a bit of stick but end of the day they are still good cars and that is the same with Subarus. As many of you have mentioned here, Look after your car and it will look after you.
 

Now my 02 WRX has done almost 300,000kms...on a stock block. Its lasted a trackday, drive to the bottom the south island and back, The odd paddock bash and daily driving for 3 years. If thats not reliability then i dont know what it is. Of course i have played with it a bit(Turbo back exhaust from a GC8 with no cats, adjustable suspension, thicker rear swaybar from an STI etc) but i service my car every 5,000km without fail using GOOD QUALITY products and meeting all the right specifications.

 

22 hours ago, boon said:

Turbo import Subarus plus 91 Octane = "These cars are unreliable as"

 

Kiwis generally treat their cars like S***.

 

The amount of truth in this statement is crazy. Most people buy a Subaru, Run it on 91 or 95(95 isnt too bad but i always run my subarus on 98), Do Launches which ofcourse a standard Trans, Transfer Case & Diff cant really handle, Clutch kick, Go to Trackdays without a baffled sump(if its a track like Hampton & Puke that have big right handed sweepers) and blow their motor due to Oil Starvation & then blame the car for obviously breaking when really it was their own stupidity and negligence that caused the problems in the first place. 

 

As the old saying goes, A good Tradesman never blames their tools.

 

And personally i think that 100% applies with cars too..

 

However each to their own, kind of good in a way cause it keeps the idiots away from Subarus and raising the parts prices because there is more demand.

Seen the price for a standard S14 vs a WRX? BIG difference but only because Silvia's, Skylines, 180's etc are popular and there is a high demand for them.

 

People can say whatever they like but i love my Subaru and i always will. Nothing and nobody will change that

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The kiwi attitude for anything to do with cars is S***. Not just servicing, but driving, wofs, fuel selection etc too. Older Subies tended to fail due to one of these, or a combination of. Like Pete says, 91 octane in a 280hp 4 banger is a recipe for disaster. I don't even use that crap in my lawnmower! The newer cars are definitely way more reliable than they were 10 years or so ago. Most of our tow-ins are another brand. Not gonna say which one, but it begins with H and ends with yundai. See if you can figure that out.

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I've owned more Subarus than any other brand and for the most part they've been the most reliable cars I've owned. I still have the first WRX I bought 8 years ago and it looks really rough now but its still the most dependable thing I've ever owned.

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My father bought a GF8 WRX NZ new in 2000, only thing that has gone wrong with it in 17 years is the plastic radiator header tank thing needed replacing. Its been up ski roads, driven hard, towed stuff, its still on the original clutch 250,000K's later! I've no doubt if you looked after a WRX correctly you could easily reach 1,000,000K's without replacing any major components, interior will fall apart before the engine. 

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I think I've had maybe five turbo Subies now, all bought at the bottom of their depreciation cycle due to various degrees of F***edness. Theyve taken twenty years of abuse and neglect better than any of the other shitboxes I've owned - Hondas, Volvos, Toyotas, Fords - all the interior switches still worked for example, no catastrophic body rust, still had all their vents, no failing VSS or blocked PCV system you have to retain which costs 300 for a kit from the States etc etc. They do have a bit of a rep but you take any other turbo car with twenty plus years and 250 k on the clock driven by a series of owners that thought they were Colin McRae whilst running on 91 octane and mineral 20/50 and see how they hold up..

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  • 2 years later...

My 95 Gf8 wrx only broke down once - a bad fuel pump but probably hadn't been changed in its 213000km life (when I got it) plus most likely ran dry from being run on e heaps.

 

Need to replace various bits, like intake hose/intercooler pipe, but like others have said not many people in NZ change/service parts and will sell a high km car saying good condition but really it's a time bomb with many parts soon to fail. 

 

Before I got my Subaru, I had crashed my MR2 in a ditch and the local panelbeater who I got it towed to (then drove home 250m haha) was like careful, theyre likely to be thrashed etc, mr2 lads were like save up for a Headgasket etc. 

 

I only did maybe 15,000km in the 91 MR2, faults were starting to show I.e random leaks from those long coolant pipes, I had to re torque my valve cover cos it started smoking lol, and plus I had done a 180 on a simple corner in the wet, had decent yokohama a-drive/a-drive tyres on the 14s, drove it gently and wham. I found when I was pulling it apart someone had put top hats the wrong way round iirc, and replaced one sides shocks but not the other. And tyres tyres tyres is the mantra for MR2s, I spent close to 1800 dollars on nice rays 17s and BS Potenza re003s/s001s and they drove really nice but destroyed one wheel and tyre 1000km later in said crash. 

 

But from a technical standpoint I'd say Subies are super reliable. I never have to worry about leaving the road, only done that once when I braked way too late, they grip and grip and grip, my mid range pirellis screech long before I lose any traction, I never have to worry about the weather if I want to go for a spirited drive (except for ice/snow) unlike an mr2 where any rain or gravel is a no no, the stock brakes are better than some? comparable cars, I know a31 cefiros aren't as good. 

 

Only had to deal with small amounts of parking outside rust, underbody and engine bay is really good as they've done a good job with rust prevention from factory. 

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