Parts Guide
SUBARU ALL PARTS GUIDES

Subaru Parts Guides

Part numbers, fitment and common faults for Subaru models — organised by model below.

The Head Gasket Saga: Genuinely Famous, But Resolved by 2011

Subaru's boxer engine has a well-earned, almost legendary reputation for head gasket failure — famous enough to have become a running joke among owners for years — and it's worth understanding the actual cause rather than assuming the boxer layout itself is inherently flawed. The problem traces to a specific material choice: from the late 1990s, Subaru switched to a single-layer head gasket with a graphite coating, and that coating reliably deteriorated and chipped away around the 100,000-150,000 mile mark, letting coolant and oil leak internally or externally. The boxer design compounds the repair cost, since it has two cylinder heads (one per bank) rather than the single head on a conventional inline engine — both are typically replaced together once one starts leaking, and reaching them usually means pulling the engine, which is a genuinely time-consuming job even for a specialist. Subaru resolved the issue with a material change in 2011, and head gasket failure on modern boxer engines is now considered a rare exception rather than a defining characteristic — this history is squarely a naturally-aspirated EJ25-era problem, broadly 1996-2011, not an ongoing concern on anything built since.

A Separate, Later Oil Consumption Problem Was Serious Enough for a Class-Action Settlement

A different issue affected the FB-series engines that succeeded the older EJ units, broadly 2011-2015: excessive oil consumption traced to piston ring design, serious enough that it became the subject of a 2016 class-action lawsuit covering hundreds of thousands of vehicles across the range. Subaru settled, extending warranty coverage (commonly to 8 years/100,000 miles for affected vehicles), reimbursing owners for repairs, and revising the piston ring design in subsequent production — this is not considered an ongoing issue on current-generation engines. If you're looking at a 2011-2015 Subaru specifically, it's worth checking oil level between changes more frequently than you might on another car, and asking whether any related warranty work has already been carried out.

Don't Trust "Lifetime Fluid" on the CVT Any More Than You Would on a Volvo

Subaru's CVT automatic transmission, introduced from around 2010, is broadly considered reliable in current form, but it shares a familiar pattern with several other manufacturers on this site: some marketing and service literature implies the transmission fluid is effectively maintenance-free, and experienced independent mechanics consistently push back on this, recommending a genuine fluid drain-and-fill around every 60,000 miles regardless of what "lifetime" language might suggest. Symptoms of a CVT that's been neglected include shuddering or hesitation under acceleration (often first noticeable as a subtle vibration during gentle motorway acceleration), a sensation of the transmission "hunting" for the right ratio, and in serious, prolonged neglect cases, complete failure requiring replacement in the £2,500-4,000 range. Owner experiences vary dramatically based on exactly this maintenance point — some report 200,000+ mile CVTs with no issues at all given consistent fluid changes, while others report expensive failures well under 150,000 miles without them.

What This Means Practically When Buying Used

Given how directly tied these three issues are to specific eras and specific maintenance habits, the practical takeaway is straightforward: for anything built from 2011 onward, ask specifically about CVT fluid service history rather than worrying about head gaskets or oil consumption, both of which are largely resolved, legacy concerns by that point. For anything older, checking the coolant reservoir for an oily film or cloudy appearance (a warning sign of head gasket leakage), and asking directly whether a head gasket replacement has already been carried out, is a sensible, specific pre-purchase check. Subaru's overall reputation remains genuinely strong once these specific, well-understood eras are accounted for — the brand has placed second in at least one major recent reliability study, behind only Toyota.

Find Your Part Fast

Each guide covers a specific part on a specific model, with fitment notes across generations, known failure symptoms, and honest advice on OEM versus aftermarket options.

Subaru Crosstrek (XV)

Subaru Forester

Subaru Outback

Subaru Impreza

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