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What kind of major repairs can I expect after 120k miles?

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8K views 28 replies 19 participants last post by  ForesterTQ 
#1 ·
Hi all, I am wondering what kind of major repairs can I expect after 120k miles? So far, for the past 10 yrs, all maintenance was done by the local dealer and by the book. I am asking the group wisdom what can the future bring? Transmission? Catalytic converter? I mean the big stuff.

2010 Premium, stick shift.

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#5 ·
At 10-11 years on my 2007 XS 5-spd, about 150,000 km, I had the clutch, and (separately) the timing belt (plus all the bits that go with it like water pump) done. I've done that kind of stuff myself on simpler cars (older Civic) but had a shop do these on the Forester. Other than that, I changed the two belts on the front of the engine. One does the alternator, one does the hydraulic power steering and a/c compressor, I think. It was tight, and I had to use a 1/4" ratchet with long pipe on it, and shave down a 10 mm socket with a grinder so it would fit. If i didn't do that, I'd have had to take the radiator out I think. I was getting shuddering when demanding a lot from the power steering, and I suspected the belt, and I looked around and found that the belt was loose. When tightening the belt I noticed that it should be changed, so I changed both of those belts. For the clutch, it was fine and then stuff didn't work any more, like one day the pedal didn't come back up. I had to screw around with it, playing with the pedal, shifter, etc to limp the car home, and then next day I limped it to the shop, and the throwout bearing was toast. On all my cars, the throwout bearing usually fails before the friction material is worn out. Many years ago on the Civic I used to hold the clutch pedal down at red lights etc, but I didn't do that on the Forester. (It's not good to do.)

Other than that, the clutch on the a/c compressor was worn and so the compressor wasn't getting spun. I had planned on doing that job with the shims, but it was fall and I postponed it. The car was a little foggier that winter. I ended up trading the car in when I found that the 2018 was the last year Subaru was going to have the XT. I got my 2018 XT in ... April 2018 I think, and I never did the a/c job on that 2007.

The other stuff I did that was more involved was: I had to change the power lock actuator on the driver's door, and I changed the crappy stock stereo to an aftermarket one. The stereo was the old 1-DIN style, just a simple replacement. Everything else was just oil changes and "fix it if it's broke." Let me say that I love the oil filter on the top of the engine on the 2018. On the 2007 I had to stick my arm up a long tunnel to unscrew the filter, and when the filter came off, oil coated my arm and surrounding car bits. Not fun.
 
#6 ·
Timing belt / idlers, tension water pump if you haven't had the service done at 105K, if you are dealer maintaining , I'm guessing you may have had this done.

The front suspension may need attention at any time: sway bar bushing, sway bar end links, ball joints, wheel bearings, CV axles.

Clutch could go anytime, it depends on your driving habits, in my 08 the throw out bearing started making noise then started smelling, at the first hint of the smell I drove to local garage for a clutch service. If you have the clutch replaced, definitely as to have the clutch fork replaced, its a $30 part. I did the clutch at 150K and a month later the old fork failed, I'm guessing for the force of the new clutch springs, or could have been just coincidence.

My 09 Forester had a recall on the Catalytic converter, that was replaced at ~110K, check your VIN for applicability. If you are dealer servicing, they probably would have told you.

Exhaust may need to be replaced at some point.

Head gaskets could start to leak.

Any electrical part could randomly fail

Keep driving it if you like it. But after 10 years its going to need more maintenance and if you pay someone to do the work, it may make sense to trade in while its running and used car prices are up. If the wheel bearings and ball joints need replacing at a dealer it maybe over $1500 in parts and labor.
 
#7 ·
Hi all, I am wondering what kind of major repairs can I expect after 120k miles? ...I am asking the group wisdom what can the future bring? Transmission? Catalytic converter? I mean the big stuff.
Main question is why you ask. Are you mentally trading off keeping car vs getting a different car that you just saw?

In general, my Subie has been the most expensive car to maintain of any I've owned. But any car you currently own, and know the history of, is always cheaper near term than a 'normally priced' replacement.
 
#10 ·
Hi all, I am wondering what kind of major repairs can I expect after 120k miles?
I own a 2005 Outback with a 2005 Forester engine but would expect the Subaru experience to be similar. At 260K miles I have replaced virtually every moving part except for the transmission and AC compressor. I have not had to replace the exhaust. My guess is that it would cost 1/3 the cost of a new car to continue to fix the things that will go wrong with yours, at a non-dealer but competent shop. I did all the work myself and probably have saved 3/4 of the cost, a relative bargain. However, your time and convenience may well be worth more to you than is the case for me. I do have a backup car when mine is out of commission for a few days due to my slowness.
 
#17 ·
Could it be people love their Subarus because the love working on them? I had a 93 4 cylinder 5 speed Nissan pickup...finally towed it off in late 2019 when it needed a brake master cylinder and all the vents crumbled to dust when they pulled the dash to replace the heater coil. Kids had been driving it by then. Only ever replaced an alternator, water pump, radiator. Original clutch. Maybe a tail pipe. Original A/C compressor and it worked great. Wife loves her '14 Forester, at least until she locked the keys in the car and we found the manual key locks don't work. Have never had a key lock mechanism fail in a car (Toyota, Nissan, Honda) in my 40 years of driving. Astounds me. A deer ran into her a couple years ago so maybe it knocked something loose and we/the dealership missed it. So I don't get the whole Subaru thing. Other cars are just as or more reliable.
 
#18 ·
@Knucklehead In my previous life I was a mechanic. Also a rally driver. (Race on Sat/Sun, fix car on Sun night, go to school on Monday)
So I have done my share of parking lot repairs. No more. So I started this thread to help make the keep vs buy new one decision. Off course my wife turned out to be sentimental towards the Forester. Frankly no one could have predicted that...

There is a certain group of people who for some reason consider it a challenge to keep a Subaru going for some crazy number of miles. I am afraid that I may be becoming one of them. (Regardless of what I wrote above) For now we decided to keep it and see what happens. At 121k it runs perfectly! My next stop is 150k, then 175k, then....
 
#21 ·
I can respect that. I tend to drive my vehicles until they fall apart, too. Just to clarify, the door key lock mechanism is not stuck, it just doesn't unlock the door. Posted something about it, was told that it's likely a rod or something came off. The deer crash is the only thing I can think of that might have caused some mechanism to just come apart within the door. We have about 110 k on it, and like I said, nothing to really complain about mechanically. They did a recall on the rear springs. Extended the warranty because of the oil use problem. I am all for making them run for as long as you can. I just haven't seen anything to justify all the giddiness about them. Maybe I've just been reading too many of the little Subaru flyers I get three times a week (I tried to get them to stop). And it's only natural that you're going to see stories of people working on their cars and keeping them running as long as they can on a site like this. I got a Honda Fit, and Fit fanatics are the same way. Good luck to you.
 
#19 ·
Considering the material and environmental costs of manufacturing a new car, I feel maximizing its useful life is a responsible thing to do even if it's not always cheap.
With regard to the door locks, thanks for the reminder Knucklehead. On my previous car, one morning I learned mine did not work either. However, after numerous sprays of lock lubricant, and manipulating the key, I was able to free the mechanism on both sides, and low and behold they worked fine once again. I still have some so I will go spray the locks on the Forester, and hopefully avoid the issue in the future.
 
#22 ·
I have a 2015 Forester - I am debating paying the loan off, or trading it in (I'm above water by a $1k to $2k) and getting a different car.

My biggest concern is not knowing what the expected repairs will need to be or should be to keep it in top shape. My 2002 Outback was pretty simple, water pump, belts, thermostat every 60k and gaskets every 100k (I had that. one until 210k miles - and probably still running).

What would be the core big ticket maintenance items I should plan for based on mileage? (I always do oil change every. 6k miles, no burning of oil in mine). I did. have to have the rear wheel bearings. and did the rear. differential fluid and tranny fluid.

Thanks for any advice!
 
#27 ·
Cvtf drain and fill and 3k mile oil changes if you do short trips.
Coolant change
Brake fluid
Can’t say what will happen at 120k miles. YMMV.
Thanks Theseus, I suppose I can improve my oil change habits. It’s always a trade off with cars. New are not worth it to me. Leasing feels like never getting anywhere (except maybe for an electric - too risky to own outright imho). CPO are premium but can find deals and private used are a bit more risky. I had good luck getting two cars from repair shops before.
Anyway - seems paying off the car may require me to spend a few grand in the next couple of years - which isn’t so bad I suppose.
My 2002 outback was great on YOY maintenance costs - I paid $7k in 2010, then out in about $2 to maybe $3k and had it until 2017 and sold it for $2 or $2.5k.

The 2014 Forester has been expensive overall. Not sure what I’d replace it with - I am tired of making monthly payments.
 
#25 ·
Got 174,000 miles on mine, a 2014 "Premium".

Engine was opened up under warranty at 25,000 miles for the ring replacement.

At about 125,000 the throwout bearing started screaming when it was cold. Dealer charged a few grand for new clutch and throwout bearing.

Did two wheel bearings/hubs which were nightmares since they were frozen into the spider. Pressed one out which was a nightmare due to rust. When the second one went I threw away the entire bearing/hub, backing plate and spider and replaced bearing/backing plate and spider together. Last year the inspection showed a bad lower ball joint. That wasn't bad even though many folks have problems where the retaining bolt snaps off and they need lower a arms then.

Car will need front a arm bushings in the foreseeable future. That's probably a few hundred bucks as a DIY to a grand or more at a dealer. And the front wheel bearing is howling again.

Car has started having trouble shifting into 5th and 6th gear. Shifter problem since it doesn't grind as if it's got bad synchos/sliders/dog teeth, it has to be pushed like superman against the right hand stop and then it's so tight with sideways play it feels like a race shifter. Reverse works fine.

I suspect I'll have a nightmare finding someone with the expertise to debug the manual since they just aren't common. If I could get it pulled out I'd debug it myself, having done manual trans repair in my younger years.

So far I've spent a few grand on parts. The DIY work was not necessarily bad but lots and lots of rust problems doing the R&R work. Engineers need to know the US market can have problems with brine.

On the fence right now about what to do if the trans needs a deep dive fix. Sell the car as is and buy a lower mile manual trans car which will still have the same issues I fixed??? Not many choices for a gear jammer.
 
#26 ·
Got 174,000 miles on mine, a 2014 "Premium".

Engine was opened up under warranty at 25,000 miles for the ring replacement.

At about 125,000 the throwout bearing started screaming when it was cold. Dealer charged a few grand for new clutch and throwout bearing.

Did two wheel bearings/hubs which were nightmares since they were frozen into the spider. Pressed one out which was a nightmare due to rust. When the second one went I threw away the entire bearing/hub, backing plate and spider and replaced bearing/backing plate and spider together. Last year the inspection showed a bad lower ball joint. That wasn't bad even though many folks have problems where the retaining bolt snaps off and they need lower a arms then.

Car will need front a arm bushings in the foreseeable future. That's probably a few hundred bucks as a DIY to a grand or more at a dealer. And the front wheel bearing is howling again.

Car has started having trouble shifting into 5th and 6th gear. Shifter problem since it doesn't grind as if it's got bad synchos/sliders/dog teeth, it has to be pushed like superman against the right hand stop and then it's so tight with sideways play it feels like a race shifter. Reverse works fine.

I suspect I'll have a nightmare finding someone with the expertise to debug the manual since they just aren't common. If I could get it pulled out I'd debug it myself, having done manual trans repair in my younger years.

So far I've spent a few grand on parts. The DIY work was not necessarily bad but lots and lots of rust problems doing the R&R work. Engineers need to know the US market can have problems with brine.

On the fence right now about what to do if the trans needs a deep dive fix. Sell the car as is and buy a lower mile manual trans car which will still have the same issues I fixed??? Not many choices for a gear jammer.
rule292, this kind of story is a bit scary. How much of your time and resources are you willing to invest into keeping this car going?
 
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