Thread: Subaru Outback - AWD Station Wagon

It's already been said by everyone above but I'm very happy with my 04 model. Nice and comfortable for doing the long k's to the fishing / hunting spots but not precious when the road gets a bit bumpy. A great in-betweener. No major issues with mine, just ponied up for the 200K service / cambelt etc but it's done now and hopefully happy motoring ahead.

Cheers for replies guys, I think I'll put a big tick in the reliability and customer satisfaction boxes.

Good to see equal praise for the Legacy (non outback) as if the Outbacks begin to look to costly for fuel i'll start leaning towards these.
Seen a few 05/06 Legacys and Outbacks and they look awesome, a nice looking car which despite the shape being 10 years old doesn't look dated.
Other Jap cars from the same years already look outdated and ugly as, gotta have the cool factor in there too ae.

I had a 07 legacy outback 2.5 XT sport, until the ex got drunk and wrote it off, grr, most fun car I have ever owned, had quick shifter and touch shift on the steering column or, economy or sport mode, nice roomy, sure footed on sand and gravel, never missed a beat or cost a dime,
Would love another.

Originally Posted by Beetroot

Cheers guys, appreciate the help. Good to get reviews from people I can trust (more so that American websites anyway).



Any idea of what L/100kms? I would be driving 200kms a day setting at 100km on SH1 so pretty good conditions to get good economy.

The computer says 10.8 Km/L so I guess thats something like 9.2L/Km? And that is all town driving. This one is the 6speed CVT Transmission.

We recently traded our 2003 GT for a 2012 model GT. Had no issues with the 2003 aside from replacing cambelt etc... the usual stuff. Zero problems with the new one so far, this is our 3rd Subaru and I've been sold on their reliability and dependability etc...and it doesn't hurt that they go like fuck too

We just bought one the other week.. 03 Outback.
Factory alarm and immobiliser, and you can also unlock the car using the drivers side door handle by setting up your own PIN code. Found that pretty cool, for when you go to the beach, and want to leave the keys in the car.
I'm in the process of finding out how to change the factory navigation screen from Japanese to English.... :/

2.5 litre engines blow head gaskets - early ones blow into cylinder (stuffs motor), later ones which had a "fix" blow outside cylinder (not as expensive to fix) There's a web site with hundreds of pages of guys who' sheaf gasket blew, seems like just a question of when, no if.

3 litre are more reliable but use a bit of gas.

I had an 96 1800 manual for 250,000k, no issues. Looked at 2.0 but auto was gutless and couldn't find a manual

Originally Posted by swellacott

I'm in the process of finding out how to change the factory navigation screen from Japanese to English.... :/

Good luck with that! From what I've researched, it's not possible.

I just replaced the entire double din unit with a new one. Including sat nav and reversing cam

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

Don't say that Ryan haha... I saw a video on YouTube, where a guy was on the shore (going by the location on his GPS, Birkenhead) had english maps, and also english display on all the menus..

Vapour, did you put in a english one, or a japense one again. Where abouts did you get it from?

Originally Posted by swellacott

Don't say that Ryan haha... I saw a video on YouTube, where a guy was on the shore (going by the location on his GPS, Birkenhead) had english maps, and also english display on all the menus..

Vapour, did you put in a english one, or a japense one again. Where abouts did you get it from?

I know of the video you're referring to and have spoken to the company in Christchurch that installs the system. Basically they retrofit a GPS system to the car and use the original screen. Whilst it gives you GPS, it does not translate the car's other functions such as range to empty, service intervals etc into English.

I've seen that video as well, but this one is a different one. The person that uploaded the video has since taken it down.
Here is a link to another forum where he has posted pictures. His username is vitecd.

Subaru Navigation System: Japanese to English - Subaru Legacy Forums

Originally Posted by swellacott

Don't say that Ryan haha... I saw a video on YouTube, where a guy was on the shore (going by the location on his GPS, Birkenhead) had english maps, and also english display on all the menus..

Vapour, did you put in a english one, or a japense one again. Where abouts did you get it from?

English - Mongoose one - and I had an installer do it professionally
Q260

Originally Posted by swellacott

I've seen that video as well, but this one is a different one. The person that uploaded the video has since taken it down.
Here is a link to another forum where he has posted pictures. His username is vitecd.

Subaru Navigation System: Japanese to English - Subaru Legacy Forums

Something about the tone of their posts suggests that they're not going to be forthcoming with the information - if their claims are to be believed.

I'm looking at an 06 Legacy for the missus. What are the Tiptronic trannys like?