2025 Subaru Outback Consumer Reviews
Pricing
Oil leak
Less than 4500 miles and an engine oil leak. 2 weeks before dealer can look at. I have to say quality isn’t an issue. They have had this issue for a while. Must be a design flaw. Engineering problem. After its fixed how long before it happens again.
Subarus Eyesight system needs glasses
First off, thank you to Edmunds for having a place to leave reviews as its hard otherwise to get people aware of issues since you cannot rate cars on the manufacturers websites. That said, while there are a lot of minor issues and complaints I have with this car (Abhorrent Infotainment and controls, I am looking at you), for purposes of this review I will only mention the serious ones. To summarize, Subaru's Eyesight system is flat out dangerous. Automatic braking can and WILL engage randomly at slow speeds, parking lots, and (worst of all) highway speeds. Even if you are already trying to control your braking yourself due to traffic or poor weather, it will still engage (IE override you). Highway speed false activation's are particularly dangerous, nearly getting us into wrecks at freeway speeds since you basically brake-check someone in traffic. Further, the lane assist has no idea what it’s doing and is also a liability. Things like driving around a passenger, construction zones, or even heavy semi-truck loads are not handled properly; it will nudge you to run over that little old lady’s dog rather than cross the lane lines. Or choose the wrong ones to steer into when there is construction. I’ve exhausted my venue with the dealers and Subaru of America – They are absolutely unwilling to tackle the issue, instead accepting there is more risk for the driver at times simply to meet marketing and NHTSA regulations. I will say they are clearly aware based on my calls and unwilling to even engage the discussion (Due to the NHTSA regulation surrounding this thing). It is always addressed as “Working as intended” and they will absolutely avoid the topic of your safety and the ghost braking. In fact, twice at the dealer and Subaru of America case (Terrible support, by the way) if you corner them on the question "Please clarify - Subaru is stating that the car ghost braking at 65mph is considered safe and normal behavior" got me hung up on. Twice! I am sure due to pending class action suits they have been told not to even acknowledge or discuss the issues. That’s how much they are avoiding this issue. The class action suits pending for these state the older years because of when they were filed, but I can tell you this also affects the brand new 2025 ones word for word, because that's what I have. Stay far, far away from these things. Further, if you go for any other modern car please read up on forums on the behavior and risks associated with the newly regulated systems. The dealer sure won’t inform you before you buy and won’t do anything afterwards. People are currently very split on these systems and I think it really boils down to two groups: It’s either never engaged on you before and they like the “concept” of a safety system, and the other group are owners who have had it actually engage on them. Trust me, it changes your opinion very, very quickly.
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- Technology
- Performance
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- Comfort
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- Value
- Onyx Edition 4dr SUVMSRP: $35,99968 mi away
- Base 4dr SUVMSRP: $30,96368 mi away
- Wilderness 4dr SUVMSRP: $44,33668 mi away
Hardware yes, software NO!
I have had my 2025 Outback for a month now. In terms of handling, ride, acceleration (XT edition) it exceeds expectations. But be warned, you are also buying a mother-in-law. “Keep your eyes on the road!”, “stay in your lane”, “check the back seat before you get out”, etc., etc., etc., As a retired systems/software engineer, I deduce they have pushed out immature software that is officious and persistently annoying. You can turn off many of the half-baked features, but the scanner for your eyes is unstoppable. It flashes warnings and beeps to distract me and tell me to keep my eyes on the road, though I’ve been watching the whole time. Scratching my ear confuses the software and it blasts a distracting alarm. This feature is not mature enough for release, but here it is and there is no shutting it off. One fella keeps a hat on his dash to block the sensor. As much as I love the ride and performance of this car, if I had known how pesky this inept software would be, I would have kept shopping. It’s that bad.
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Touring -great vehicle; too many profiles
I am now driving my third Outback - a 2025 Touring 2.5 4cyl. I've had the vehicle five weeks and have less than 700 miles on it. However, I am anticipating several long road trips in the future. I am very pleased with the vehicle as a whole. * The car rides very nicely - maybe a bit firmer ride than the 2018 Outback I previously owned, and it seems I am a bit higher off the road in the seating position. * The Nappa Leather trim is very comfortable. * The sound system is excellent. * The technology is good but requires a learning curve (more on that below). I like the large center infotainment screen, although occasionally I am frustrated by the number of layers I have to go through to get to what I want - for the most part, I am satisfied. * Wireless Apple Car Play is great! * The layout of the center cluster on the dash (and how to access the information) is VASTLY improved over my 2018. * On my 2018, the radio would turn on whenever I started the car. That no longer happens. * The cargo capacity is as you expect on an Outback. * Outback fuel economy doesn't peak until about 10,000+ miles, but I am not dissatisfied with the mileage I am getting in mostly city driving. All three Outbacks that I have owned have been 2.5 4-cylinder engines, which frequently get criticized for lack of power. I find the power adequate (and acceleration). * I love the digital (smart) rearview mirror - it gives you a much wider field of vision than a standard rear-view mirror. It's a bit disconcerting at first, but it's become my default setting. That said, it's not helpful on unlit roads at night. * The 2025 Outback has the Sirius SM 360L technology, which allows you to store favorites for both "radio" and "streaming only" channels. I like that. The radio interface also has its own voice search function, but one must press an on-screen button to use it. * I am finally becoming comfortable using voice commands - the only complaint that I have is that the responsiveness to the commands is slow. The scope of actions covered by voice commands is great. Here's what I don't like about the car. * The manuals are good, but there are too many - a quick start guide, a Starlink guide, an Eyesight guide, and the typical owner's manual. All are logically laid out, but I have to stop and think which manual I will find instructions for which feature. Tip: You can download all manuals in PDF format without owning a vehicle. * There is a user register feature on the driver monitoring system that will adjust the mirrors, seat position and perhaps a few other things to the driver's saved settings, The scanning of your face is finicky and is required if you update your settings. * There is a second profile system which pairs a person to a phone to settings (radio, car play, etc.) in the vehicle. I found out by accident at the dealership when I picked up my tags that each driver profile can have their own radio presets. That's very nice. What would be super nice is if these two user profile systems were integrated. * One can do voice commands to access SiriusXM channels, but you need to know the channel number (which there is none for streaming only channels) or channel name (works well if you only listen to a few channels). One can store favorites within the radio interface, but I am not sure of the voice command, if any, to access them.
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We simply luv our brand new '25 Subaru Touring XT
The Title above says it all; but achieving the Sales Deal itself was a difficult, very disheartening chore, taking up almost 6 weeks of time. Let me explain. We new what brand and model of car we wanted; an old fashioned type of 'station wagon' from many years ago. The only manufactures of this type vehicle appeared to be Volvo, [too expensive], and Subaru with the Outback; and we decided that we wanted the Touring XT model, with the brown Napa leather interior, and the Turbo motor, no real preference on color. Also, on reading the Edmunds online newsletter on 'how to purchase a new vehicle from a dealership, etc.,' a real gem of needed information. Well, these gems of 'info', led to much frustration, namely, Edmunds forewarned us that most Dealerships include very expensive, over-priced Dealer Add-On Options and Accessories, to boost their profits, and suggested purchasing a vehicle without the add-ons. This, in the Phoenix Area, with virtually All Subaru Dealerships proved to be impossible; we simply could not find a vehicle without the Add-ons, even after request for same, the Sales Folks and their Managers looked blankly back at us, as though we were from another planet. Well, finally, at about 3:30 AM, 2 weeks ago, I opened the Edmunds website, requesting new '25 Subaru Touring XT models, and found a number of them, especially a blue one with the Napa Brown Interior, winking at me, telling me how it wanted to be our Subaru. Wow! Later that morning we contacted the Dealership concerned, and found that it had just been unloaded from the truck carrier, and had ABSOLUTELY NO EXPENSIVE DEALER ADD-ON OPTIONS OR ACCESSORIES, and that they were prepared to sell it to us that way; and after a few negotiations the Blue Touring XT was ours. [Note: It did have one ADD-ON, the LOCKING WHEEL NUTS, and the Dealership supplied them to us for FREE. We were and are HAPPY CAMPERS, We had all, but given up any hopes of purchasing a new vehicle, the Subaru, but give thanks, [Big Thanks], to Edmunds, for their very informative and helpful Website, otherwise, this transaction possibly would not have taken place. Will close for now, and advise anyone thinking about purchasing a used or new vehicle, study carefully the Edmunds Website, you will be glad you did; best regards to All, and Happy Holidays from Wickenburg, Arizona, Joe and Shirley Nagy. [Real Happy Subaru Owners]
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