Used 2018 Subaru Outback Consumer Reviews
What's with Subaru????
KR, 08/07/2018
3.6R Limited 4dr SUV AWD (3.6L 6cyl CVT)
53 of 56 people found this review helpful
This is my first Subaru, a 2018 3.6R Limited Outback. It's now about 7 months after driving the new vehicle from the dealer and it has about 6400 miles on it. About two weeks after I had the car, the radio and screen froze, but ultimately fixed itself after either continued driving or with the vehicle being parked and shut off for a while, and subsequently restarted. Apparently the same problem has been happening to other owners. After a few more times with the same thing, I had the dealer install the latest firmware, but that didn't fix anything, as I had a few more freezes, with either the radio blasting, the screen going dark, or both. Sometime later, the driver's front window would no longer always close. Brought that to the dealer and it was fixed. Apparently some computer sensing glitch. Who knows? Sometime after my 6 month service the radio and main screen console finally died and went blank. No radio, no NAV, no control over settings, no rear back-up screen, nothing. I subsequently left the car with the dealer overnight so they could start working on it first thing in the morning. They had it all of the following day and some of the next. Besides analyzing the problem, I was advised that the technician had to fill out a 23 page report. The next morning I learned that a new part would not be ordered until someone remote at Subaru got to reviewing everything and approves a replacement. I went back to the dealer and picked up the car, which is now and has been in my possession for a few days. I also called Subaru customer service and they started a complaint ticket. But I'm still waiting to get the car fixed. I don't get it-as I reported and as confirmed by the dealer technician, the screen and radio are dead!!!
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Driver seat comfort issues
JC, 09/17/2017
2.5i Premium 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
85 of 92 people found this review helpful
I have wanted to puchase a new Subaru for several months but the driver's seat comfort has always been an issue for me. I waited for the 2018 Outback to arrive but after a test drive there doesn't appear to be any improvement. The seat cushion is to still too short and firm without much memory foam. There are many other makes of cars with more comfortable seats. I like just about every thing else about the car. Subaru's have a great ride and handling. They are a great value that does about everything well but if the seats are not comfortable it will probably not work for me. I suppose if Subaru can still keep increasing sales volume they are not concerned about seat comfort. This would have been my 4th Subaru.
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Great SUV w/ a sedan ride but Noisy. engine Noise
Thang Nguyen, 01/31/2018
2.5i Touring 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
15 of 15 people found this review helpful
Updates after 3 years: Battery is junk, started to lose sufficient amperage within 2.5 years, and had to replace coming up 3 years. Without proper voltage, the back trunk kept locking up and had to do the whole battery disconnect and reprogramming- pain in the rear... My Toyota factory battery lasted 5 years. Engine was noisy. seems like it is more noisy now. The engine started to idle rough, vibrating after 3 years. Not sure why, I'll try higher octane gas to see if it'll help. I still like the vehicle overall less the road noise. Great SUV without having to climb up to the vehicle. Lot's of leg and headroom and plenty of cargo space in the back. Great hight clearance as compared to other compact and midsized SUV. The ride is smooth but loud engine noise compared to my 2004 Toyota 4Runner. The acceleration kind of hesitate a bit because of the continuous transmission engine but once it kicks in it fly. Combined gas mileage is average for the type of car that it is. The touring trim has all the active safety features that I wanted. Love the steering sensitive headlights. . The Starlink system is terrible if it is important to you; it comes with the car but doesn't really offer much, save your money if you have to pay for it. Traction is good on snow and ice. visibility around the car is great. The heated steering wheel is great as an extra. The seat lumbar support is comfortable, the 10-way seat control is good but I do wish that the seat can be raised about another inch or two. It doesn't have a full-sized spare tire but I had never had to drive on my spare tire for long in the past 30 years so no big deal. Coming from Toyota (Toyota didn't have a comparable vehicle with features I wanted) so this is my first Subaru so I can't say much about reliability but my brother and his wife have had Subaru in the past 30 years and have had no problem. It's a shame that it doesn't have a panorama moonroof like it's little brother (Forester). There's plenty of USB ports but does not provide 2 amp charging. It is lacking the AC plug like my 2004 4runner so a little inconvenient to have to buy an inverter. The built-in navigation is pretty basic but you have a choice of using casting the google map from your phone onto the car's screen so not a big deal. Love the feature of providing low fuel warning on the screen and asking you if you want to search for a gas station. It does a good job of finding a gas station. Getting in and out of the vehicle is good, lots of legroom in the back seat and everyone loves the standard rear heated seats.
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Great car and way above the rest that are more
Kevin, 11/26/2017
2.5i Premium 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
24 of 25 people found this review helpful
Well what can I say, we love this car. I bought this car for my wife because we live in the country and our driveway is 1\2 mile long and our house sits on top of the tallest hill for miles. I'm really surprised of all the features that this car has for the price point that it is. Great entertainment system, amazing saftey features, and it will climb hills that most mountain goats would turn around and head the other way. We test drove just about every other car that was in it's class, even the subaru Forester, but the outback was far and away the best. I can safely say that if you don't like this car, it's you and not the car turning you off. You would be hard-pressed to find a better car at it's price.
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Steering Problems
steve simmons, 04/22/2018
2.5i Limited 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
32 of 34 people found this review helpful
For the most part, this is a nice car. I like the value and the Eyesight. The longer I have the Eyesight, the more I like it. There is however a major flaw in this vehicle which prevents me from recommending this car and that is the steering. There are some major flaws here. At higher Interstate speeds, the steering control will temporarily leave, it feels like you are hydroplaning in water, when the tires lose contact with the roadway and then when the tires settle back down to the roadway, your control resumes. In addition, if you are in a strong cross-wind and you need to adjust the angle of your steering to crab into the wind, the steering will attempt to steer on its own temporarily and you have to physically over power the surge that your steering wheel generates. This happens when the Lane Change mechanism is turned off. But it feels like it is turned on. This is the safety feature Subaru has on its Limited trim Outback. It's a quick and temporary surge but both of these conditions are very scary. Every try to pass a semi at 80+ mph and your steering temporarily leaves? I've done some internet research and I've seen several other complaints with the very same problem, so I am not an isolated incident. I have not yet called my Subaru dealer as this is a weekend review, but I have notified the NHTSB of my problem. Caveat Emptor!
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