huffman142

I have the 2015 Legacy Premium, but I don't have the navigation system. It has the same Starlink system, though (http://www.subaru.com/engineering/starlink.html). The apps work in conjunction with your phone, so when I launch Pandora or Aha radio on my dash, it actually opens the app on my phone (and uses my data) through the smartphone. They aren't standalone apps because the car by itself has no way to connect to the network to stream content.

I bought a 2015 legacy with the newer 2.5 engine. Since the weather has gotten colder it really sounds like crap. I just did my first service and they said everything was fine. I came from the EJ engines, but this doesn't sound like a new car to me. Is this "normal" for these engines to be noisy when revving the engine?

I've decided against it. It comes with a 5 year/60,000 powertrain warranty. That will cover most major expenses. They quoted me over $1000 at the dealership today. It was a little more than I thought. I'll be lucky to put 7500 miles/year on this car, so I think I will be okay with proper maintenance.

I'm driving a 2006 Subaru Legacy with 184,000 miles right now. I ordered a new 2015 Legacy with the 2.5 engine/CVT. I had experience with the head gasket issue in the older Subarus (not the 2006). Are there any problem areas with the newer engines/CVT? I think a 6 year/60,000 warranty is a little more than $500 and can be financed with the car. I trust Subaru to go for a long time, but I'm not familiar with the newer models to know if there are any real risks beyond the 3 year/36,000 mile factory warranty. Can anyone give me any insight on this? I don't want to throw money away if it's not needed, but I don't want to be surprised by something that is a common issue with the newer models. Thanks.

So let's say hypothetically the chain did loosen up: would there be noise (like a chatter) to warn you before it became a major issue? Would it be something that would happen all at once with no warning and leave you stranded? I'm just going on the older engines that had belts that could snap all at once if not properly replaced. I do all preventative maintenance and try to avoid being stranded. It sounds like I'll be good to go for a long time with chain. Thanks for the info.

Can anyone tell me about these timing chains on the newer engines? What is their life expectancy? Any maintenance required (like tensioner)? At what interval? The 2015 is a new model, so I haven't found a maintenance schedule for it yet, but I think the engine stayed the same from the 2010-2014 model. I have a 2006 Legacy and every Subaru (and Toyota and Honda) that I've dealt with has had the timing belt. I guess the advantage of the chain is it won't fail with age (cracking/drying out) like a belt. Is this move to chain a good or bad thing in your opinion?

I've own the car a year. I didn't notice it last year, but I didn't drive it much last summer and it was kept in a garage then so it never got the extreme heat built up from sitting in the sun for hours. That's the only time it's not worked at all, but it did come back on within 10 minutes and worked fine after that. I was sitting in traffic for the first few miles when it wasn't working. After getting some higher rpms, it cooled down. Maybe just expect that at such extremes? It was really miserable that day. Not just normal summer heat. It's worked fine since then. Thanks for the input.

I have a 2006 Legacy 2.5i and the other day it was really hot and humid (90+ degrees). I got in my car in the middle of the day and turned on the AC and it never got cool. It had been not cooling so well at idle, but when I accelerate it would cool back down. This was the first time it just didn't work at all. I could hear the compressor trying to kick in and then kick back out. I just thought it was low on refrigerant, so I went to Walmart and bought the can with the gauge and was going to top it off myself. Well, when I put the gauge on with the compressor running with AC on high, it's showing between 40-45 on the gauge which is labeled "Alert." Is this thing overcharged and the high pressure switch is kicking it out? Remembering from my physics class gas expands when it's heated, so it makes sense the pressure would go higher on the hottest day so far this year. When I got off work the same day and drove home, it worked like normal. It was only when it was outrageously hot outside and inside the car at lunchtime. Is it as simple as being overcharged or is there something else that could be wrong? The outside temp when I checked the pressure was around 80 and the AC was cooling properly at that time.

I have a 2006 Subaru Legacy 2.5i (183,000 miles) that is leaking some oil around the spark plug wires. The mechanic said I should replace the gaskets and spark plug seals. He said something about one side being fairly easy to get to and the other side on certain Subarus requiring one side of the engine to be lifted to access the valve cover. Does anyone have experience with the 2.5 engine in a Legacy and know if it can be accessed for DIY without lifting the engine? I don't want to start it if I can't finish the entire job. My dad and I have done about everything else on a Subaru, but neither have done this before. Thanks. OR another question: I'm not losing any oil between changes. I didn't even know they were leaking until he told me. Should I even bother with them at this point or wait until it's a real problem? I keep a good eye on oil levels and I would see any changes.

I got the box set on Amazon that included the timing belt, all pulleys, tensioner, and water pump for around $150 for a 2006 Legacy. It saved me over $150 than if I would have bought them at an auto parts store separately.

Thanks for the info. On the Forester I drive on the mail route, we replace the front axles at a rate of about one per year. I'm too familiar with cheap axle problems. Of course they are the aftermarket ones and they are "lifetime warranty" so we just keep using them. The warranty backfires on them when people actually use their vehicle every day, 150 miles/day. How do the starters hold up on Subarus typically? I ran a Toyota Camry for over 200,000 miles and the starter failed, but not the alternator. We've had to replace the starter on one of the mail cars in a lifetime of 250-300k miles.

I'm not sure your mileage, but at 180k timing belt service on my 2006 Legacy, my mechanic definitely recommended tensioner/pulleys and front cam seals since they are already in there. I change all belts when I do it. Not very much more, but can save you a big headache if they break. With proper maintenance, you'll definitely get to 200,000 and way past it probably. We've run them close to 300,000 on the mail route, and the powertrain is still good when we stop, we've just beat the suspension to death at that point.

Hi everyone, Let me first say that I'm a mail carrier and drive a Subaru 50,000 miles/year. I wouldn't own any other vehicle for the job. My question is on my personal car, a 2006 Subaru Legacy 2.5i. It is right around 183,000 miles. Last summer I did: timing belt, water pump, timing pelt tensioner/idler pulleys, front cam seals, transmission service, new spark plugs/wires. Mechanic said it has absolutely no noise in the engine. Transmission shifts smooth. I know I need to get the valve cover gaskets replaced soon, but I was wondering if there are any other things that I should be replacing at that mileage. I'm getting ready to relocate to a new city and I'm going to lose my wonderful Subaru mechanic, so I'd like to get the car setup for a while before I go. The car handles great. Steering is tight. You could honestly cover up the 1 on the dash and convince me it had 83,000 miles instead of 183k if I didn't know any better. It has high mileage, but they were all interstate miles. I plan to drive this car for a few years, so I want to make sure it's ready for it. I'm moving to a larger city, so mechanic labor is probably going to double for me. Thanks, Scott