Random Thought Thread

carnifex knifeworks said:
Wait until the head gasket on the subaru starts leaking.

I'll take toyota over subies any day of the week.
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I don't think they're doing that anymore. There's a time frame where one of the four cylinders was bad about that. This is the six cylinder I don't think they do that.

Any truly fully rational person would take a Toyota over a Subaru any day of the week. But I've never met one.

I vastly prefer Subaru, for many reasons, some of which make no sense. And some do. Its off-road capabilities and comfort are legit. I had one off-road yesterday, and it was superb. My neighbor was in the car with me, we were going over to look at an area where we share a property line. He actually said, nervously "be careful we don't roll this thing over". I laughed and said "wouldn't that be funny". He didn't think it was funny.
 
Winston_Smith said:
See, that right there is why Subarus are frequently referred to as ‘lesbian assault vehicles’.

And before I get called out for being a narrow minded, hateful ‘phobe, I didn’t coin the phrase but heard it from a lady friend of mine that has played for that team pretty much her whole life and also drives one.

Winston
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I used to jokingly call my wife's Subaru forester a lesbo limo. She was not amused.

DocJekl said:
My wife and I have owned 9 Subarus over the years, ranging from a 1991 Legacy thru a 2021 Ascent (with a couple of them hitting 140K miles and a couple hitting 100K miles). None have had that happen (that's the Legacy plus 2 Impreza, an STi, 2 Tribeca, the WRX, and currently an 80K mile 2015 Forester XT turbo and a 55K miles 2021 Ascent).

But that's also an easier fix vs getting new rings, or rod bearings, or crank bearings. Not sure about a rear main seal. Anyway, the most unreliable part of our Subarus have been the factory batteries, which seem programmed to die right after the 36 month bumper to bumper warranty expires.
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Our forester did it a couple years ago. Then I ditched it for a toyota. However, what my vehicle and yours have done is fairly anecdotal in the grand scheme of things.

I try to read 3rd party reliability reports online that factor in thousands of vehicles.

Nathan the Machinist said:
I don't think they're doing that anymore. There's a time frame where one of the four cylinders was bad about that. This is the six cylinder I don't think they do that.
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I'm not sure about the newest models, but it was still an issue with the 4 cylinders a few years back. Happened to our forester. However, I don't know about the 6 cylinders.

Regardless, I don't like dealing with subarus because I do most of the maintenance on our vehicles myself. They're a pain to work on.
 
I had a 2004 Forrester XT. It was a 2.5 turbo and that thing ran like a scolded dog. It was a sleeper for sure. I loved it until it started falling apart around 105k miles. It’s still the best driver I’ve ever owned. The AWD was perfect, it had enough ground clearance to do anything I ever needed it to do, and it drove like it was on rails. I would have driven it forever if it didn’t fall apart. The horizontally opposed engines are definitely a pain to work on, especially with a turbo, intercooler, and all the extra plumbing on top. I miss driving that car though…
 
I've had Fords (4), VWs (3), Nissan (2), Honda (1), and Subarus (2). Emotional favorites were the VWs, the logical favorites are the Subarus.

My wife's family has owned Subarus from before they were popular. One saved my FiL from serious injury when he was broadsided. My current is a Forester Sport. I do miss my WRX, but today's prices and premium fuel requirement ruled that out so Forester it is. 😑

I had two Fords that I thrashed like a rented mule and they kept coming back for more. Both had low powered 4 bangers. My last Ford truck was purchased used and it had over 200K on the clock. It basically disintegrated on me: trans went, rebuilt trans went, radio went, interior parts went, plastic gas tank cracked, keyless entry went. Almost died on the way to trade it in for the Subie. Tried to get a Maverick, but at the time were backlogged and Ford couldn't tell me when mine would be ready.

I wanted another truck and I shopped for those first. Outside of the Maverick, every truck was starting at around $50000 for one you'd actually want and going rapidly up from there. Insane! They truly have become Cowboy Cadillacs these days.
 
Oh, I forget to mention that the WRX wagon we had was pretty good off road. I took on a Maine jeep/logging trail full of rocks and ruts. I would have kept going, but the wife was getting more and more nervous about the experience. The only other vehicles we saw were 4x4s. 😆
 
KnifeVice said:
I had a 2004 Forrester XT. It was a 2.5 turbo and that thing ran like a scolded dog. It was a sleeper for sure. I loved it until it started falling apart around 105k miles. It’s still the best driver I’ve ever owned. The AWD was perfect, it had enough ground clearance to do anything I ever needed it to do, and it drove like it was on rails. I would have driven it forever if it didn’t fall apart. The horizontally opposed engines are definitely a pain to work on, especially with a turbo, intercooler, and all the extra plumbing on top. I miss driving that car though…
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My mom had one too. It was a hoot to drive but she got rid of it around 70K because of a gas smell that couldn't be fixed or diagnosed.
 
I love our Subaru. It's easily one of the best cars I've ever owned. Zero shame here.

I do tend to draw interesting looks when I step out of it though. That's always fun.

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The Wilderness models are a real contender to the small offroad SUV market. Improved towing, one inch more ground clearance, upgraded seats. Nice package.

If they had had a Wilderness Forester on the lot I might have gone with that over the Sport. However, the Sport felt like home when I got behind the wheel. Very much like my long gone WRX, minus the Turbo.
 
DocJekl said:
My wife and I have owned 9 Subarus over the years, ranging from a 1991 Legacy thru a 2021 Ascent (with a couple of them hitting 140K miles and a couple hitting 100K miles). None have had that happen (that's the Legacy plus 2 Impreza, an STi, 2 Tribeca, the WRX, and currently an 80K mile 2015 Forester XT turbo and a 55K miles 2021 Ascent).

But that's also an easier fix vs getting new rings, or rod bearings, or crank bearings. Not sure about a rear main seal. Anyway, the most unreliable part of our Subarus have been the factory batteries, which seem programmed to die right after the 36 month bumper to bumper warranty expires.
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That's not including the 2015 Impreza Sport we bought our daughter a year after our 2005 Impreza with hit head on in 2014 and totaled - it runs perfectly with no issues.

Here is my 2015 Forester XT, bought 10 years ago this month, and just hit 80K miles last weekend. It gets up and scoots! I bought a 2017 WRX LTD 6-spd, and had my son drive the Forester while he was in college, before he bought the Forester from me when he graduated. We used the WRX as trade-in for his RAM 1500 and I got the Forester back - he traded me the Forester plus $3000 to me for the WRX, which was a good deal for him.

The Ascent does a good job towing campers as well.

Now (on 17" rims with off road tires)
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When I bought it - still have the 18" with Michelins
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This was my first car with a power rear hatch, which explains how I bent my iPhone the first week I had the XT by leaving it in the top of the hatch with the flashlight on at night
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My plan was to trade in this WRX for a 2024 WRX GT with Subaru Performance Transmission, since my bad knee make it hard to use a manual - I still plan that someday
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Ascent with camper being evacuated from Sylvan Lake CO
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DocJekl said:
Anyway, the most unreliable part of our Subarus have been the factory batteries, which seem programmed to die right after the 36 month bumper to bumper warranty expires.
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So damn true!
I’m on battery #4 in my 2015 Forester Premium with 115k, #3 in what was my Dad’s 2018 Outback Touring that only has 24k on it and #2 in my Mom’s 2020 Accent Touring with 70k.
I’ve done quite a bit of research and read that the alternators are programmed to only charge to 80%, which is quite odd, but I’m sure there’s a “good” reason.
I also found out that the Starlink system kills batteries on multiple models because they run on the 3g network which no longer exists, so it eventually kills the lithium ion battery behind the head unit that controls it, so it starts piggybacking off the car battery.
I just ordered a pigtail that bypasses Starlink for the Outback so hopefully I’ll be able to get that car back to being reliable.
That damn car left my Dad stranded near Holbrook once when he was headed to your neck of the woods back in 2020. Thank god he had a portable jumper.
 
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