| 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
2005 Subaru Outback repairs by problem area
Engine (29%)
Transmission and Drivetrain (19%)
Brakes and Traction Control (2%)
Suspension and Steering (29%)
Electrical and Air Conditioning (16%)
Paint, Rust, Leaks, Rattles, and Trim (2%)
Other (2%)
Chart based on 484 repairs.
2005 Subaru Outback engine repair cost distribution
$2500+ (7%)
$1000 - $2499 (23%)
$500 - $999 (15%)
$100 - $499 (29%)
< $100 (27%)
Chart based on 131 repair trips. The repair cost chart excludes repairs made under warranty, do-it-yourself repairs, and repair trips that include maintenance.
2005 Subaru Outback
Engine not specified
| 139000 mi US $531 |
Tension bar and pulley system broke, breaking fan belt and killing battery |
| 113000 mi US $2000 |
Second turbocharger. First one rpelaced at 35000 under warranty. |
| 87000 mi US $1200 |
Head gasket |
| 93000 mi US $600 |
Oil starvation, catastrophic engine failure. |
2005 Subaru Outback 4dr Wagon
turbocharged 250hp 2.5L H4 5-speed shiftable automatic AWD
| 74800 mi US $2300 |
The turbo completely failed and had to be fully replaced. An oil filter became clogged and the turbo wasn't adequately lubricated. The mechanic who worked on it could not discern the exact cause of the problem. |
| 90700 mi US $1400 |
exhaust system rusted out and needed full replacement. had to wait extra days because the turbo exhaust is different than regular and it needed to be shipped from Japan. |
| 92700 mi US $1421 |
Head Gasket Leaking Oil; replaced Head Gasket. Replaced Water Pump. Replaced Timing Belt. |
| 57000 mi US $5500 |
Turbo failure which caused engine to fail. Towed to dealer. After battling with Subaru, they agreed to pay for half of the repair. |
| 120000 mi | Engine began idling very rough. Threw CEL for too lean mixture, mis-fires on all 4 cylinders. Determined that vacuum hose had come off T connector under intercooler. Re-attached, cleared CEL, everything fine so far. Previously threw CEL for too rich mixture, so cleaned MAF with MAF cleaner. |
| 122000 mi US $10 |
Had an oil leak, dripping on exhaust and smoking off, which dealer diagnosed as oil cooler gasket. Replaced it myself. Dealer was wrong, still have the leak. Suspect it is the valve cover gasket, so will do that in October some time. |
| 122000 mi US $225 |
Determined my oil leak was a leaky right-hand valve cover gasket. Replaced that, and all four spark plugs while I was at it. Total pain in the butt with the engine in the car, but still worth doing it myself. $70 Had CEL. Replaced both the front and the back O2 sensors, and that seemed to fix it. VERY important if you do this to get a sensor wrench that fits a big breaker bar, and to get a bung tap just in case your threads are messed up. $155 |
| 138200 mi US $140 |
Replaced the radiator due to the upper hose connection leaking. The plastic had a crack. Replaced all the hoses, clamps, and coolant. Al inlet and outlet on engine were very crusted, and took some time to scrape off. Took some time, not hard |
| 139000 mi US $539 |
Had a CEL showing a misfire in cyl 4, so replaced all the injectors, swapped the coil packs between 2 and 4, and replaced the #4 sparkplug. None of that worked; there is still a CEL with the #4 misfire. Had a CEL for #4 misfire, tried diagnosing myself, but no luck. Took to dealer for a leakdown test. They want to replace the long block for $7K; they think it is a broken ring land. I am looking at other options. |
| 95200 mi US $30 |
Loose head bolt caused oil seepage |
| 84000 mi US $9500 |
Rod knock and smudged up engine contaminated turbo. Required new engine and turbo. |
| 107000 mi US $2000 |
had to replace the turbo |
| 111800 mi US $525 |
head gasket replacement |
| 47000 mi US $285 |
Replaced tumble generator valve - FP#14120AA050 |
| 100000 mi | Radiator developed a leak. Dealerships repaired under warranty. |
| 81000 mi US $220 |
After about 10 minutes of driving the car would lose throttle response until turned off and restarted. Replaced Throttle position sensor. |
| 95000 mi US $900 |
Problem: leaking from underneath timing cover. Replaced gasket. Replaced timing belt early since labor overlapped with leak repair. |
| 99000 mi US $1700 |
Replaced timing cover gasket - turns out it was not replaced in 2017. |
| 94500 mi US $600 |
Code P0011 AVCS error. Determined to be oil clogging the AVCS valves, performed oil flush procedure (Subaru TSB) |
| 97500 mi US $400 |
Turbocharger replaced with good used unit |
| 103000 mi US $250 |
Replace leaking valve cover gasket |
| 124500 mi US $2050 |
radiator end tank blown, replaced. |
| 120500 mi US $1800 |
Burned valve cylinder 3 replace and repair |
| 93000 mi US $5134 |
Heads warped and turbo destroyed, possibly because repair shop installed the wrong thermostat two months earlier. Engine started running hot, which daughter ignored for two months. |
| 153760 mi C $133 |
Spring loaded muffler clamp/coupling had a weak spring with heating / cooling and the gasket blew out. |
2005 Subaru Outback 4dr Wagon
turbocharged 250hp 2.5L H4 5-speed manual AWD
| 132000 mi US $400 |
Alternator belt broke. |
| 58700 mi US $1450 |
Belt for the power steering pump replaced. |
| 60000 mi US $1400 |
Turbo started making a lot of noise and had to be replaced. |
| 90500 mi US $425 |
Replaced Timing Belt-----what a rip off--never had to replace a timing belt in my GM vehicle |
| 64000 mi US $830 |
Radiator quickly developed significant leak. Radiator, coolant and nearby accessory belts replaced. |
| 145000 mi US $1000 |
Replaced all four coil packs due to engine misfires. |
| 76000 mi US $100 |
Check Engine Light indicated Evap Emissions Leak (loose gas cap). CEL would not go off without diagnostic and reset. CEL also disables cruise control when lit which is inconvenient. |
| 95000 mi US $100 |
Sticky oil control [servo] valve for variable valve timing system (AVCS) on Bank 2 (drivers side). Part replaced. DIY labor = 10 minutes, difficulty = easy. Part cost = $100. Symptoms: CEL, rough idle, and hesitation. Diagnosed via legacygt.com. |
| 58000 mi | Replaced ECU again, cooling fan staying on |
| 105000 mi US $150 |
Threw accessory belt, harmonic balancer separating. Replaced harmonic balancer. |
| 106000 mi US $140 |
Throwing CEL P0139, O2 sensor replaced. |
| 113000 mi US $500 |
Tensioner seized causing power steering/alternator belt to slip |
| 95000 mi US $120 |
replace serpentine belt |
| 82700 mi US $150 |
Noisy pulley bearing was replaced |
| 88000 mi US $2000 |
Noisy idler pulley under timing belt cover, so ended up having timing belt done at same time (as well as 90K services) |
| 19840 mi | Fan relay would send voltage back to computer and damage it. Recall was not done soon enough, and computer was damaged. Waited two weeks for new computer. |
| 19840 mi | new computer finally arrived |
| 32240 mi | left and right generator valve motors |
| 32240 mi | New generator valve motors installed. |
| 151000 mi US $2500 |
New clutch installed. Aftermarket clutch lining wore out after approximately 60,000 miles |
| 176000 mi US $2400 |
Replaced cracked up-pipe to turbo. Aftermarket flexible up-pipe cracked at the flex-joint. |
2005 Subaru Outback 4dr Wagon
250-horsepower 3.0L H6 5-speed shiftable automatic AWD
| 69300 mi US $216 |
Replace broken drive belt tensioner New drive belt |
| 187240 mi | Catalytic converter error displayed in the form of an engine light. Light turned off after a few weeks. |
| 116000 mi US $6 |
Repaired loose exhaust shield that was rattling |
| 138000 mi US $2 |
Repaired loose exhaust shield using hose clamp |
| 139000 mi US $40 |
Repaired leaking passenger valve cover using thin precision washers under bolt heads to compress original valve cover gasket further. The repair was very successful. |
| 160000 mi US $1600 |
Ground straps for engine were worn/frayed |
| 46500 mi US $437 |
Idler Pulley |
| 47675 mi US $581 |
Car had rough idle. Serviced fuel injector system. Replaced spark plugs (very expensive!!). Problem remained. Went back to premium gas at mechanic's suggestion (had been using mid-level). Took awhile, but problem gradually disappeared. |
| 69440 mi | O2 sensor malfunction sending error code to ECM. "Check Engine" on. Car still drives normally, but VDC and Cruise Control are off and their indicator lamps on/flashing. Erasing the code fixed the problem. |
| 76800 mi US $560 |
Engine was leaking oil, replaced valve cover gaskets, serpentine belt, oil cooler seals |
| 86000 mi US $450 |
pulley tensioner for serpentine belt failed. replaced pulley and serpentine belt |
| 96000 mi US $100 |
Fuel pump case cracked causing fuel to leak when tank was full |
| 113200 mi US $204 |
Busted hose to the radiator. Replaced busted hose and two other same age but still working hoses. |
| 125000 mi US $400 |
Power steering went out and both BATTERY and BRAKE light warnings on console lit up. Dealer advised immediate delivery to shop. Idler pulley and tensioner pulley and associated belts were broken. Was told that the pulleys seized up and immediately snapped the belts. |
| 105400 mi C $1400 |
|
| 113460 mi C $1300 |
1 of 2 catalytic converters had to be replaced. After market product not available |
| 94240 mi C $200 |
intermittent malfunction in TPS resulting in "limp" mode. CEL. OBD2 code P2135. Problem very hard to duplicate and to repair. |
| 100420 mi C $150 |
CEL came on, after pulling the code, it was the front O2 sensor, passenger side that was the trouble. It was still the original part, thé driver side had been changed about 18 months ago. Problem solved with new sensor installed. |
| 159200 mi US $160 |
Accessory drive pulley seized and resulted in failed FEAD (front end accessory drive) belt |
| 151500 mi US $450 |
the computer was out of sync, thus forcing the car to shut down to "safe mode" and eventually die on the road. |
2005 Subaru Outback 4dr Wagon
168-horsepower 2.5L H4 5-speed manual AWD
| 184000 mi US $500 |
O2 sensor replaced |
| 66440 mi C $720 |
Leaking oil pan gasket; estimated repair cost: 230$ Cracked alternator and AC compressor belts; estimated repair cost: $125 Changed the alternator and AC compressor belts |
| 69540 mi C $280 |
The front oxygen sensor triggered an Engine Check light; the sensor has been replaced. |
| 71400 mi C $950 |
Rough and low idle; injectors were cleaned. |
| 94000 mi US $2400 |
replace clutch |
| 110000 mi US $2500 |
replace leaking rear main seals |
| 101000 mi US $260 |
Oil seal missing from dealer service @ 90,000 miles. Spark plug insulation ceramic broken, engine misfiring. All denied by Subaru dealer. |
| 129000 mi US $1500 |
Water pump leaking, replaced. Thermostat replaced. Several leaking bits on the engine repaired: Cam seals leaked, were replaced. Oil on serpentine and timing belts, which necessitated replacement, too. Original belt tensioner replaced. Hydrolic line to clutch seeping, replaced. |
| 152000 mi US $350 |
Bad coil cased misfire on #1 cylinder. Replaced coil, plugs, plug wires. |
| 82800 mi US $130 |
The upstream O2 sensor needed replaced. The passenger side head gasket was leaking oil on to the exhaust. I replaced both gaskets. |
| 133920 mi C $375 |
Oxygen sensor failed -- replaced with new part and computer reset |
| 140080 mi C $600 |
Radiator fan motors stopped working -- replaced both. |
| 143220 mi C $1200 |
Valve cover gaskets leaking |
| 74000 mi | Check engine light alerted issue. Dealer said it was covered under extended warranty. Replaced at no cost. |
| 118000 mi | CEL has been on for 3 weeks. Finally took to dealer. Informed catalytic converter was not running efficiently. Est $2800. Had replaced during recall 2yrs/42k ago. Exploring options. |
| 8000 mi | Cruise control would shut off after about 30 seconds of use. Dealer fixed it at no charge by applying an ECU update (ECM CID E2ZJ113A), which not only fixed the problem, but made the cruise control work smoother than before. |
| 71700 mi | Check engine light came on, was "catalytic efficiency low"... light reset, no repair, hasn't come on since -- may be related to recent recall that sometimes required replacement of the catalytic converters, which Subaru didn't do on mine. |
| 83300 mi | Replaced cats under pzev warranty |
| 107000 mi US $50 |
Started car to loud sound of stuck valve, immediately shut off and checked oil level (was fine). On restart, noise went away. Did an engine oil flush as precaution, no problem since. Worried about recurrence, but seems OK for now. |
| 111100 mi | Cannot fill with fuel, problem with evaporative system. Mechanic unable to diagnose without special tools, told me to take it to the dealer. Haven't done so yet |
| 114000 mi US $150 |
Could not add fuel more than about 1 gallon at a time before pump would shut off. Evap valve defective. Covered by PZEV warranty. |
| 58000 mi US $82 |
replaced an A/C pulley |
| 76000 mi US $85 |
catalytic converter was replaced |
| 30380 mi | The car has had an exhaust rattle since I've owned it and when I took it to the shop for a service, they removed a broken heat shield from RH front exhaust. |
| 111000 mi US $900 |
Catalytic converters (2 apparently) replaced under recall/warranty Head gasket replaced under after-market warranty, I paid $400 |
| 124000 mi US $170 |
Replaced the A/C pulley because its bearings were bad, causing funny noises. |
2005 Subaru Outback 4dr Wagon
168-horsepower 2.5L H4 4-speed shiftable automatic AWD
| 58280 mi R 25 |
exhaust pipe broken in middle - had been damaged and repaired by previous owner |
| 70000 mi | Catalytic Converter Replaced |
| 88660 mi C $12 |
Thermostat replaced as engine was running cold. |
| 89360 mi C $750 |
Left and right head gasket replacement. |
| 71000 mi US $1100 |
Needed new catalytic converter and oxygen sensor. |
| 193000 mi | Took the car into the shop just to have an inspection done and see what kind of work needed to be performed in the future. The mechanic found that my cars oil leak was comin from the head gasket. No work performed. |
| 193000 mi US $100 |
Exhaust had a hole in the pipe after the resonator. Bought a used oem cat back and replaced the old one with it. |
| 65000 mi US $1100 |
full tune up, plus transmission service plus timing belt |
| 130000 mi US $450 |
Heat shield was making noise. |
| 124000 mi $1400 |
Cambelt replacement |
| 94000 mi | Check engine light. Took to dealer they did not want to replace cat converted but charged me $100 to put on computer. has been a problem with this car for many many months. I would never get another subaru...pain in the a-- |
| 123000 mi US $1700 |
Bad oxygen sensors, cat converter...subaru warrant to 152,000 as have cal. emissions model..also had timing belt, serpentine belts and front left wheel work done on car...so far so good... |
| 35000 mi | check engine light due to air brush problem. Dealer fixed it, covered by warrantee. |
| 54000 mi US $700 |
Malfunctioning mass air flow sensor. Warranty doesn't cover it after 3 years. This seems to be known problem for most subaru models. |
| 79300 mi | loose muffler realigned. |
| 137000 mi US $1150 |
Head gaskets |
| 181000 mi | Occasional clunk in passenger's side axle. |
| 153760 mi | Head gasket failure |
| 105000 mi | Head gasket leaking. |
| 180100 mi US $2300 |
Replace leaking head-gaskets, water-pump. |
| 79460 mi C $600 |
Replaced worn alternator belt |
| 55000 mi US $2600 |
Despite constant regular maintenance since day one my turbo blew at 37k miles. Subaru left me with the bill. I've found out that almost every other turbo is is blowing too. Don't buy this engine combo. |
| 127000 mi US $5700 |
Thrown rod due to head gasket failure. New short block installed. |
| 60000 mi US $1256 |
Trouble code was found to be related to carbon deposits in the throttle body. Throttle body was cleaned and inspected. |
| 195000 mi US $1400 |
Head gasket was leaking oil and needed to be replaced. |
| 90000 mi US $1200 |
Performed 90,000 mile service, found oil in spark plugs. Replaced valve cover gaskets. |
| 98000 mi US $2000 |
Head Gasket, Water Pump, 105,000 mile service (early) |
| 169800 mi US $3000 |
Head Gasket replacement |
| 90000 mi | Check Engine Light - Needs new Catalytic converter. Will schedule Check Engine Light - Needs new Catalytic converter. Will schedule |
| 91000 mi US $650 |
catalytic converter replacement. Dealer paid half of the cost. Subbed out to local exhaust shot, but is warrantying the repair themselves |
2005 Subaru Outback 4dr Sedan
250-horsepower 3.0L H6 5-speed shiftable automatic AWD
| 110000 mi US $2600 |
Head gasket |
| 34500 mi | Rattle coming from under car at highway speeds (above 45 MPH). Heat shield under middle of car on side ripped off. Correct by installing large washer and rebolting. Will have the dealer look at it at next visit. |
| 36000 mi | Replace heat shield that was ordered earlier. Took longer then expected to get the part (or it never was ordered the first time)? |
| 40000 mi | Heat Shield on the exhaust(different area) needed to be tightend. |
2005 Subaru Outback 4-door
turbocharged 4-cylinder manual AWD
| 50000 mi US $107 |
cruise control not working |
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