Used 2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited 4dr SUV AWD (3.6L 6cyl CVT) Consumer Reviews
Used Outback for sale
Good car but comes with problems
Naghma Husain, Santa Monica, CA, 03/26/2015
Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited 4dr SUV AWD (3.6L 6cyl CVT)
32 of 37 people found this review helpful
Chose this primarily for all the safety features. (We have teen drivers.) In general, great car. Problems: 1) Auto rear door gets stuck on occasion. Won't open with key or by pressing button in the back. Dealer won't do anything b/c they can't replicate since it only happens on occasion. I had several videos as evidence, but that didn't matter. 2) Useless voice recognition. 3) Navigation difficult to use. I gave up, just use my phone. 4) Screen system not intuitive, though my teens figured it out. 5) Heat controls confusing.
Love it! ...but just a couple of things
Robert, Trabuco Canyon, CA, 12/14/2015
updated 08/02/2016
Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited 4dr SUV AWD (3.6L 6cyl CVT)
12 of 13 people found this review helpful
I bought this mainly for my teen daughter to drive. As far as safety features I absolutely love this car! I love driving this car. Sitting height is good, handling is good, acceleration is good, seat comfort is good, stereo is good. There are a couple of minor things that wouldn't change my mind about buying this for myself and only one thing that might make me look elsewhere. First the two minor things: The turn signal is a little annoying. Not bad just a little to loud in my mind. The other minor thing is the button on the rearview mirror to open my garage door is impossible to see at night. A small thing but it would be great if Subaru illuminated the buttons in the future. The one thing that to me is major (even though I think this is still a great car!) is the wind noise. I was surprised after driving my old suv for over 14 years I expected the new outback to be much quieter than it is. This is the only thing that could make me look elsewhere for my next car. For the kind of money I paid I would have expected a much quieter car. There are many cars that are quieter for a lot less. It's not terrible and when the stereo sound is turned up it's not an issue but it's certainly enough to annoy me when I'm driving without the sound turned up. I hope they fix it before next years model otherwise I might have to look elsewhere. Otherwise great job Subaru!
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- Reliability
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Smooth operator after 7 years
Bob Cox, Hilton, NY, 12/22/2017
updated 07/14/2025
Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited 4dr SUV AWD (3.6L 6cyl CVT)
7 of 7 people found this review helpful
The 3.6R has the smoothest drive train I have ever experienced. This is the first CVT equipped car I have ever owned, but I test drove quite a few. I just drives effortlessly, relatively quietly, and smoothly. The 3.6 six cylinder engine has enough grunt to move the Outback around without any fuss. I can say it is just a joy to drive. (Our previous car was a Honda Accord V6 EXL) This now my wife's favorite car. The car only has a little over 10K on the odometer and the fuel milage is 24.1 MPG. My wife travels, a short, 5.2 miles one-way to work so a normal commute may realize better mileage. Update June; odometer reads over 17K and fuel milage range is from 22.9 (short 5.2 mile winter commute) to to a trip where it registered as high as 32 before averaging out at 27.2(non stop on NY rural roads and Canadian highways). My wife reports that the Eyesite feature has saved my wife from either having an accident or a near miss. Update June 2019; With 27K miles on the odometer, the Outback's reliability continues to be perfect. The drive train is as smooth as ever. Fuel economy is now registering 25.6 MPG. ( 65% local commutes) I have taken a number of long commutes, of eight hours or more, and the seat comfort has held up well. The Eyesite system and the Rear Automatic Braking continue to pay dividends by avoiding accidents or rear collisions with low profile objects. You may have to pay a premium for these systems , but one accident avoided pays it all back. There are a number of items I would like to see changed. One is that the owner needs to pay for the update to the navigation package. I believe that the update should be a no cost throughout the warranty period. The navigation is not a good as the others that I have used. I like the Garmin and Magellan nav packages much better that the Tom Tom used by Subaru. The cruise control uses radar to adjust your speed in traffic relative to the vehicle in front of you. It works very well but often times you will find yourself traveling much slower as has quietly slowed down without a visual warning that it s doing so. Even after owning the car for three years my wife will come home and say how much she loves the Outback. With 44K on the odometer and over two years since my last report only incident has been a dead battery. There was no prior indication of failure and it was checked by a Subaru dealer three weeks earlier. The battery failure was so completec that the tow truck operator could not jump start the car. After research it seems that the original equipment battery is not one of the best. Other than that, the car is wonderful continuing to run smoothly and reliably. Fuel economy is s registering 25.5MPG with 75% suburban and 25% highway making up the mix. Most trips are short and average about 7 miles round trip. We highly recommend this car. Sadly the 3.6 liter engine is no longer available as it is an extremely smooth engine/drivetrain. After six years fuel economy still is in the 24-26 mpg range with the majority trips being short suburban driving. Still no breakdowns other than a battery that unexpectedly failed. ( a week after the Subaru dealership gave it the thumbs up.) My wife and I still love the Outback and will keep it as long as it is practical .(as the 3.6 liter six cylinder engine is no longer available.) With 48K miles on the odometer this Subaru continues it's nearly flawless performance. The only issue to date has been the failed battery that I reported earlier. There is currently a class action settlement that addresses this issue. Otherwise it just runs so smoothly and problem free that we may not replace the car until we have no other choice. No leaks, no unusual oil usage and still no irritating noises have marred this cars performance. With 49K on the odometer we encountered our first problem. On a rainy day a number of indicator icons for the safety features popped up on the instrument panel display. Within minutes they would disappear with no apparent change in the cars operation. This same condition repeated several more times. The technitian found a electrical connector to one of the wheel not seated properly. Another issue; the Subaru car battery failed under warranty. It was replaced at no charge due the battery failed at 29 months. Average short trip gas mileage is 25.7 and highway only mileage is 32.2. The reliability and durability continue to amaze us. I took it on a 8 hour trip to Dayton with three adults and acheived 29.9 MPG driving at an estimated 70 MPH. With 55K miles on the odometer that is pretty good milage. The Outback was comfortable for the entire trip. Other than replacing the tires and two batteries it has been carefree.(this does not include required service items like spark plugs, filters, and fluid changes) Since the 6 cylinder is no longer available and the new infotainment system is not to our liking, we keep this car as long as possible. It is really a great ride. The drive train is as smooth as it was new. We now have 8 years and 66K on the Subaru and it continues to be trouble free. Average fuel economy has risen to 29 mpg. It continues to be my wife's favorite car to drive. We have no body rust and it was never Ziebarted.
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Subaru finally has technology
mflook17, Saint George, UT, 07/26/2014
Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited 4dr SUV AWD (3.6L 6cyl CVT)
98 of 128 people found this review helpful
I live in Michigan and this is my third Outback. Last winter we got 190 inches of snow, we live in the middle of the forrest up a hill, on a dirt road, and we never ONCE got our driveway plowed and these Subarus are the only things that get up it. (No not even those over rated Jeep Grand Cherokees) This 2015 model is outstanding. I have the limited 6-cylinder model and it is very quick. It does 0-60 in just over 7 seconds and the engine noise has been COMPLETELY taken away (Once you get up around 70 mph the side-mirros create a little wind noise). The inside of the car has complete changed. The 7 inch touchscreen display is amazing and the voice control is even better. The whole car is 100%.
Solid Car with some quirks
Bob Smith, Denver, CO, 03/11/2016
updated 08/02/2016
Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited 4dr SUV AWD (3.6L 6cyl CVT)
10 of 12 people found this review helpful
We love driving this car. It is definitely one of the most solid buys out there - I can safely say as we painstakingly researched for months - for a reasonably priced and efficient SUV. The interior is nicely designed, and comfortable in the limited model. And the interior also seems to be durable - although we've only had it a few months. It has great pickup in the 3.6 engine - but the smaller 2.5 engine did not at all - so beware. That being said, the pickup is so great because it has dismal fuel economy - not close to the EPA rating you'll see on the window. We are getting about 20 mpg with all freeway driving - or so it says but even our quick trips are draining the tank faster than any car I've driven. That is one of the few quirks you might want to consider - but remember we found many more quirks in other options. Another oddity is the technology. It is not much of a concern for us but just like all the other car companies out there Subaru has put a ton of new features in the display, climate, and entertainment - and it is mostly worthless. In fact it is so hard to navigate, that I'd say it is unsafe to have in the car at all. Doing something simple like turning on the radio takes four or five clicks which is not something you should be doing while driving. And such a great percentage of the features in there are not valuable so they just make for a crowded screen that compounds the frustration and unsafe factors. Again, this is not different from any other car maker out there except maybe the Tesla or the newest Volvos. Somebody should tell them all to just have Apple design the stuff for them and have them work off our phones which are advancing way faster. Drive train - seems really great - excellent acceleration. The CVT does make for a lot of hesitating and then punching it though - not a smooth accelerating car. And the ride is overly bouncy. I like the higher clearance on this model - the 2015 3.6. It's a great balance between a compact SUV, wagon, and off roader.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value