| 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
2006 Subaru Outback repairs by problem area
Engine (35%)
Transmission and Drivetrain (19%)
Brakes and Traction Control (2%)
Suspension and Steering (25%)
Electrical and Air Conditioning (14%)
Paint, Rust, Leaks, Rattles, and Trim (2%)
Other (2%)
Chart based on 321 repairs.
2006 Subaru Outback engine repair cost distribution
$2500+ (9%)
$1000 - $2499 (14%)
$500 - $999 (12%)
$100 - $499 (32%)
< $100 (33%)
Chart based on 111 repair trips. The repair cost chart excludes repairs made under warranty, do-it-yourself repairs, and repair trips that include maintenance.
2006 Subaru Outback
Engine not specified
| 113100 mi US $3728 |
Typical head gasket issue. Subaru paid $750 toward repair. Again right around 90,000 |
| 80500 mi US $300 |
Poly rib belt failed. It should have been done at 75K, but I let it slip |
2006 Subaru Outback 4dr Wagon
turbocharged 250hp 2.5L H4 5-speed shiftable automatic AWD
| 59200 mi | Turbo replaced. Repair covered by the factory 6 mi./60k powertrain warranty. Turbo replaced. Repair covered by the factory 6 mi./60k powertrain warranty. |
| 71000 mi US $5285 |
Fuel injector failure caused a burned exhaust valve. Engine-out rebuild of valves and cylinder heads performed. |
| 62000 mi | Subaru replaced the computer as there was a known issue (TSB). The computer was replaced at no cost to me. |
| 90000 mi US $1500 |
Timing belt, front end alignment & maintenance |
| 120000 mi | Replaced ignition coil for one of the cylinders to fix an intermittent rough idle problem. |
| 129500 mi US $250 |
Replaced the turbo in order to fix an oil leak (warranty maneuver). |
| 132000 mi | Disassembly of radiator precipitated a break in a hose attachment piece. Could not re-attach, had to replace radiator. |
| 135000 mi | Replaced Oil Cooler seal to fix oil leak. |
| 61700 mi US $1591 |
oil cooler oring, timing belt, brake pads, labor. |
| 122000 mi US $3000 |
The engine removed from the car and was taken apart to replace all the seals as it was leaking oil horribly. The oil would fall on the exhaust pipe and burn. Smoke then entered driving compartment. Also they replaced the all the vacuum hoses since alot of them were worn, cracked and leaking. |
| 113000 mi US $550 |
repeatedly generated a code and went into limp mode |
2006 Subaru Outback 4dr Wagon
turbocharged 250hp 2.5L H4 5-speed manual AWD
| 83000 mi US $5800 |
Two cracked exhaust valves in #2 cylinder, most likely due to bad work done by dealership. |
| 98800 mi US $200 |
Front O2 sensor replaced to fix surging idle. MIL did not illuminate. Shop reported that sensor was unusually difficult to remove. |
2006 Subaru Outback 4dr Wagon
250-horsepower 3.0L H6 5-speed shiftable automatic AWD
| 179000 mi US $300 |
Check engine light came on. Bad O2 sensor |
| 42160 mi A $209 |
Engine had coolant smells and showed loss of coolant from bottle and low level in radiator. Problem was not solved with thorough coolant flush and new coolant. Radiator cap rubber showed wear marks. Replaced cap with new one. |
| 66340 mi A $85 |
Oil leaking from AVCS gasket for solenoid and pressure sensor. Cleaned area and ordered new gasket. |
| 68200 mi A $20 |
Oil leaking from rear of heads. Cleaned area and found AVCS control valves source of leaks. Removed valves and replaced the 19mm Orings. No more leaking. |
| 79360 mi A $4 |
Oil leaking from rear of heads again. Replaced 19mm O rings on AVCS valves. Using Neoprene O rings but these are unsuitable for the high temperature. No O rings available from dealer. Dealer practice is to replace the whole valve. His price for the valve is too high. |
| 114917 mi | For 7 days had Engine fault light. Checked fault code P0420. Catalyst system efficiency below threshold. Checked air leaks. Loose clamp on intake hose. Tightened clamp. Fault cleared and never came back. |
| 119660 mi A $300 |
Replaced cracked radiator and coolant. |
| 74000 mi US $65 |
Code P1844 - Lower Clutch Pressure Fault Cleaned electrical connections and cleared code. If problem returns they'll need to drop the pan and check electrical connections in transmission. If that fails, they will have to replace valve body. |
2006 Subaru Outback 4dr Wagon
175-horsepower 2.5L H4 5-speed manual AWD
| 5000 mi | New spark plugs/wires. Apparently they got wet and the car was misfiring. Covered under warranty. |
| 80000 mi US $325 |
Y pipe rusted through. Rust cut out and repaired/replaced with new pipe section. |
| 84000 mi US $20 |
Exhaust heat shield rattling. Welded and repaired. |
| 107 mi US $450 |
Check Engine Light. Stutter when accelerating. Replaced coil and spark plug wires. |
| 89000 mi US $400 |
Poss Moisture intrusion in plug wires causing misfires. Problem seems to have cleared up, but waiting to see... |
| 109000 mi US $100 |
Engine is starting to use oil at a higher rate |
| 104000 mi | Replace accelerator pedal. |
| 118700 mi US $52 |
Check engine light intermittently comes on. Check codes. codes point to a problem with catalytic converter. Trying better gas. |
| 126000 mi US $498 |
Car loosing power, check engine and cruise light on. Cleaned catalytic converter. Lost power again soon after. |
| 1280000 mi US $800 |
Car Had no power. Replaced catalytic converter. |
| 124000 mi US $354 |
Misfire in a cylinder. Removed, cleaned, and replaced fuel injector. Update: Problem recurred less than a month later. |
| 124700 mi US $279 |
Replaced ignition coil. |
| 133000 mi US $737 |
Replaced dry/cracking drive belts (2). |
| 146244 mi US $279 |
Replaced ignition coil to address two cylinders misfiring. |
| 148695 mi US $2091 |
Replaced catalytic converter; also replaced a leaky Y-pipe in the exhaust system. |
| 66700 mi US $690 |
All drive belts (except timing belt) were cracking and needed to be replaced. Oil Oil pressure sensors on both cylinder banks leaking. Replaced sensors. |
| 75200 mi US $350 |
Intermittent engine misfire under load at low RPM. Sometimes would produce check engine light. Found two spark plug wires with above spec resistance. Replaced all plug wires and now works fine. |
| 117000 mi US $4800 |
Oil leak from drain pan. |
| 147000 mi | TSB said to come in and get ECM reflashed. |
| 116560 mi $200 |
cracked radiator replace |
| 65700 mi US $700 |
Car was misfiring. Replaced coil, wires, plugs and performed other routine maintenance. |
2006 Subaru Outback 4dr Wagon
175-horsepower 2.5L H4 4-speed shiftable automatic AWD
| 79000 mi US $200 |
Drive Belt was worn so it was replaced |
| 101700 mi US $2200 |
The head gasket was leaking and about to blow |
| 105500 mi US $2200 |
The catalytic converter was busted and the header had a 1/4" crack in it |
| 108500 mi US $1200 |
Engine was pinging, took it to my mechanic who advised the engine needed to be 'decked' |
| 118000 mi US $300 |
I had a weld break loose in the exhaust and the rattling noise kept getting worse so I took it to a local muffler shop and got a new exhaust |
| 165000 mi US $200 |
Top seal on radiator leaking. Replaced radiator with OEM part. |
| 107700 mi US $134 |
hestitaion stumbling under stop and go situations. replaced plugs and wires with NGK specified parts. Situation slightly resolved continuing issue suggested part to replace in addition to this coil pack. |
| 111000 mi US $150 |
cooling system, no heat, blocked heater core. Backflush new coolant added. |
| 123000 mi US $38 |
Hesitation and stumbling never fixed. |
| 58000 mi | Currently at 65K have small oil leak in back of engine and driver side CV booth have small leak. |
| 83000 mi | CHeck engine light comes on and cruise control is disabled. Per dealer, I tightened the gas cap and that seems to fix it for a while, but the problem repeats later. |
| 103000 mi US $1240 |
Holes in exhaust & bad catalatyc converter |
| 173000 mi US $10 |
Variable timing sensor needed replacement |
| 95000 mi US $67 |
replace oxygen sensor that was the cause for Check Engine Light illuminating. |
| 83000 mi US $650 |
Radiator cooling fans need to be replaced. |
| 88000 mi US $2200 |
Head gaskets burn out on each side. The car has all the maintenance done, dealer perform. |
| 110095 mi US $1690 |
Head gasket replacement, heads machined, thermostat replaced. |
| 117000 mi US $3000 |
Blown head gasket |
| 87000 mi US $1500 |
Diagnosed oil leak as a failed head gasket. Didn't actually do the repair. Chose to buy a new car instead. (another Outback). Estimated cost included in my amount paid. |
| 150300 mi US $3200 |
This is the second repair I have had on this car in 12 months with the engine. This time per the mechanic I burned a valve an, the piston hit the cylinder head and then the camshaft broke. |
| 14000 mi | Took car back in to look at the heatshields. There was no rust problem. The problem is the pads inside the heatshields which cannot be repaired without replacing the heatshields. Why can't they replace the pads only and save the enviroment |
| 19200 mi US $1000 |
Replaced brakes and rotors, alignment, something with the fuel injection. |
| 27000 mi US $750 |
O2 sensor failed. Replaced spark plugs, and while it was there had all systems flushed and fluids replaced. |
| 28000 mi US $500 |
2nd exhaust sensor was bad. |
| 21500 mi | Again, check engine light and cruise control light. Replaced battery after less than 2 years. Check engine light came back on a few days ago for a short time. I am always told that I don't drive enough. lol |
| 98500 mi US $80 |
head gasket leaking oil on both side on the exhaust pipe |
| 101000 mi US $1978 |
head gasket. afterwards started to leak again. preventive: water pump straps thermostat valves adjustment |
| 103000 mi | head gasket leaked oil pressure sensor leaked valve cover leaked |
| 106000 mi | pressure oil sensor leaking |
| 42000 mi | Engine shuddering, "Check Engine" and "Cruise" light began flashing, engine lost all power. Vehicle was purchased 2-3 weeks prior, still under a 60-day, 5K mile warranty. Dlr found 1 Defective spark plug, replaced all for free. |
| 53000 mi US $10 |
Exhaust shields. 1 fell off, another very loose. |
| 90000 mi US $3019 |
Blown head gasket. Also had new timing belt and tension adjuster done during the HG replacement. |
| 39260 mi C $900 |
car overheated in traffic - we brought it home and took it in after the long weekend; repair shop identified faulty relay motor and 2 faulty rad fans+motor assemblies; test/tune A/C also did oil chg at same time. $700 parts and $200 labor |
| 48240 mi C $645 |
oxygen sensor(threading stripped) was causing check engine light to be on and disabled cruise control;(400) also, battery needed replacement (200) and swapped snow tires on (45) chk eng lt had been on and off problem for months; now fixed |
| 63740 mi C $1100 |
exhaust sensors x 2 |
| 77500 mi C $200 |
replaced rad hoses that were soft |
| 97000 mi | Engine went into limp home/idle mode when started, check engine light with code 2138; cleaned electrical connector to throttle body, connector to gas pedal assembly. |
| 110300 mi | Code P2138 - accelerator pedal unresponsive, engine lost power. Removed accelerator pedal, disassembled, cleaned all contacts with electrical contact cleaner, reassembled and reinstalled pedal |
| 41000 mi US $10 |
Shudder when shifting and vibration at certain speeds. |
| 55000 mi | #4 cylinder head gasket leaking . Replaced under 60k 5 year powertrain warranty |
| 101000 mi US $250 |
Had pass side headgasket replaced. |
| 240300 mi US $100 |
Dead battery and PCV valve replaced. Used car so maintanence was unknown, but based on excessive oil consumption I figured it was plugged. After removal, diagnosis was confirmed and car is no longer using oil excessively. |
| 245000 mi US $130 |
Check engine light, dealer said was front O2 sensor, I replaced it myself for $96 since dealer wanted $350 for 15 minutes of work. But then code reads misfire cyl #2. Replaced spark plugs and wire set and so far so good. |
| 39260 mi C $300 |
Symptoms: Ran rough after/in heavy rain. Check engine light on. Scan: Misfire cylinder #3. Diagnosis: Cracked Coil. Repair: Replace Coil. So far, so good. |
| 111600 mi C $2300 |
head gasket leaking. smoking after hill climbs. Garage changed gaskets |
| 119660 mi C $150 |
Connector broke at front of muffler. Garage welded and installed new connector. |
| 125860 mi C $200 |
Noticed smell of burning oil. Checked level, very low. Went to garage and found leak from oil pressure sensor. Garage replace sensor. Engine running rough in wet weather. Replaced coil. |
| 8000 mi | Ignition key suddenly would not turn lock. Ignition replaced. |
| 72000 mi US $850 |
No cruise control, replaced o2 sensor to fix it. |
| 93200 mi US $2500 |
Head gasket. Planned timing belt. |
| 88000 mi | Reflash computer module |
| 96000 mi | newly replaced drive belt was causing sound when turning the wheels. Shop mentioned that they had a bad batch and replaced it with a heavy duty version at no cost. No problems so far. |
| 119000 mi US $1600 |
Replaced Head Gasket |
| 125000 mi | Replaced Oil sensing unit. Gasket within unit was bad. |
| 127700 mi US $60 |
Cleaned Throttle body Replaced spark plugs and ignition wires. Car had a CEL light in the dash. |
| 72200 mi | Noticed an oil leak prior to purchase. Dealer agreed to fix as part of the purchase. After purchase dealer diagnosed a leaking head gasket. Dealer made the repair. |
2006 Subaru Outback 4dr Sedan
250-horsepower 3.0L H6 5-speed shiftable automatic AWD
| 176000 mi US $73 |
idler bearing began making howling noise |
| 183000 mi US $315 |
Pressure fitting in radiator for transmission fluid cooling blew out, dumping all of the fluid. |
2006 Subaru Outback 4dr Sedan
175-horsepower 2.5L H4 4-speed shiftable automatic AWD
| 61000 mi US $3199 |
Oil Smell. Had dealer perform CPO inspection to see what the car needed. Had to replace both head gaskets and opted to also replace, Timing belt, Water pump, Thermostat and spark plugs. |
| 178000 mi US $995 |
replace catalytic converter |
| 190000 mi US $130 |
Power steering belt and one other belt |
| 195000 mi US $130 |
Fuel sensor was dirty |
| 197500 mi US $100 |
One of the belts needed to be replaced. |
2006 Subaru Outback 4-door
4-cylinder manual AWD
| 72000 mi US $600 |
water pump replaced |
2006 Subaru Outback 4-door
4-cylinder automatic AWD
| 285000 mi US $185 |
Engine bogs down on acceleration. Replaced both exhaust sensors, still not fixed. |
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