Used 2018 Subaru Outback SUV Consumer Reviews
Used Outback for sale
Beware the Squirrely Screen!!
GFE, 08/13/2018
2018 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
25 of 26 people found this review helpful
Very, very happy with this purchase. Handles like a dream, gets a dependable 33 MPG on the highway, fantastic visibility and road feel. The ONE thing that disappoints me is the "screen" in the dashboard -- the nerve center of the vehicle. We had it less than a month when, one day, the screen went blank. No back-up camera, no "home" screen, no radio...nothing. Just. Went. Blank. It came back later in the day, but that was not much consolation...know that the screen could crap out at any moment. It has worked fine ever since. BUT...the Android Auto app is also a bit janky -- and doesn't work reliably. Disconnects from the USB-connected phone, or sometimes doesn't want to connect at all. When it works, it's great. But when it's being difficult, it's infuriating.
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Great SUV w/ a sedan ride but Noisy. engine Noise
Thang Nguyen, 01/31/2018
updated 02/09/2021
2018 Subaru Outback 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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Steering Problems
steve simmons, 04/22/2018
updated 05/26/2021
2018 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
33 of 35 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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Extremely Disappointing
Diana Buckley, 11/09/2018
2018 Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited 4dr SUV AWD (3.6L 6cyl CVT)
33 of 35 people found this review helpful
The Head Unit which basically controls everything on the screen is completely broken which means there is no navigation system, no map, no radio, no cd player, and no Carplay. The screen is totally black. We understand that things like this can happen, but what is not okay is the response of the dealer - or Subaru itself. We were told that the new systems are on "back order" with absolutely no approximate time when it could be replaced. Literally, this could be months. The system is made by Harman Kardon and according to our dealer, there are no replacements available. We don't know what that really means but it seems ridiculous to have paid as much money as we did - we specifically waited for the 2018 model to get Carplay - and not have it functional or fixed. What is most frustrating is that we have been complaining to the dealer for months about problems with the system (shutting down without warning, but then coming back up, map cutting out suddenly, carplay not working, etc). Nothing was done to repair this - we even asked about getting a new system. It wasn't until the screen became completely black they are saying that it needs to be replaced. We will say that we like the car, the comfort, and how it drives. We did a lot of research before buying this (it is our first Subaru) but are incredibly disappointed at this point.
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This is my second Outback 3.6R
FRED, 11/18/2017
2018 Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited 4dr SUV AWD (3.6L 6cyl CVT)
106 of 117 people found this review helpful
this is my 2nd Outback. I had 2014 Outback 3.6R — bought it new and from day 1, I had this weird vibration problem with the car, attempt to fix the issue several times, no success. After 3 years, I sold the vehicle and I bought another Outback. Yes, I bought another one because I loved the car except for the vibration. Since I've suffered with the vibration issue, I test drove the vehicle very carefully on the surface street and I did not feel any vibration — I was wrong... After purchasing the vehicle, on the way home, I got on the freeway and... it shakes... it shakes above 75 mph and get worse as the speed increase. I took it to the one of the best local tire shop near my house to check the tires. I was hoping it was just a tire balance issue. This shop has road force balance machine — $25 per wheel — end up paying $100 for the rebalancing tires. During the process, the owner of the place pulled me next to the machine and told me that my front left wheel (rim) is bent. I was like, what do you mean... I just got the car yesterday... oh crap. I bought a brand new car with a bent wheel... Anyways, I made an appointment with the dealer and took it back next week, told them exactly what I was told. I dropped off the car and got the loaner, 2018 Outback 3.6 — so this became direct comparison for me because this one was smooth as butter. I noticed many other difference. I didn't get any road feedback vibration on the steering wheel — mine has this weird vibration through the steering. No weird body shake, no vibration on the seats, etc... 3 days later I went to pick up the car, and they told me that they DIDN'T feel the vibration but they found out the front left tire was out of round so they replaced it. What? it's not the tire, it is the rim itself. Oh crap. I need to come back again... Anyways on the way home, nothing changed. In fact, as soon as I drove off the lot from the dealer, I immediately noticed the vibration — it was not just high speed vibration, it vibrates ALL THE TIME!!! Since I've just got off the buttery driving Outback, I could feel the vibration even beyond I could have before. I'm taking it back next week again. No matter what you do, test drive it on the highway if you don't want to stress out like me overtime you step into the car.
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