2018 Outback - front axle - alignment ?

[craigmcd]

I recently had a whole super negative experience when DIY replacing the REAR hubs and CV axles on this 2018 Outback. The electronic parking break needed to be reset by the dealer and other issues. It was costly. As a result, I am a little gun shy to replace the front axles on this Outback.

Q1 - is it advisable to get an alignment after an axle replacement? 

Q2 - is there anything which needs to be turned on, shut off, reset or otherwise completed with an OBD2 scanner when replacing the front axles? I have a decent scanner.

Q3 - I have done front axles before on Subarus, but is there anything I should be preparing for or anticipating before I start with the nuts and bolts ? (insert your sage advice here)

Thanks,

Craig

[88SubGL]

I replaced the front axle on my son’s 2017 Legacy and it’s super easy. No alignment necessary if you undo the lower ball joint from the control arm and then just pop it out. Probably the most difficult thing is separating the ball joint from the control arm. YouTube removing lower ball joint and you’ll see what I mean. It’s more difficult for me to describe it than for me to do it.

On 11/19/2025 at 1:52 PM, craigmcd said:

electronic parking break needed to be reset by the dealer

That’s weird. I’ve replaced rear brakes and a rear hub on two 2017 Legacy’s and never had a problem. I wonder if the 2018’s are different?

[craigmcd]

Thanks for the tip with the ball joint. I think they are different in 2018. The first step (which I missed) is to use the OBD scanner, and in the menus, select to release all the pressure. What happens is that the parking brake electronically unscrews itself to release all pressure off the rotor. Then you do the brake job. At the end, you use the scanner to reset the electronic parking break to normal position.

The guy I was working with showed in a good trick to mechanically release the EPB with a socket or allen head. Good hack for sure, I used it several times. I ended up at the dealer trying to get all the dashboard lights off. That is why with the newer cars I just want to make sure I am not stepping into the abyss.