2003 Legacy Head gasket..?

Hi everyone...new to the forum..lots of info here

 

Had the car in this past Friday for an oil change. It appeared all went well as I paid and was on my way. Today, I get a call from the Subaru Dealership , saying that my head gasket is leaking and it will be $1800.00 to fix!!!? I am in BC, Canada. The car only has 59000 kms and has been regularly maintained at Subaru. Is this a common problem for this year and model? Is there a TSB or recall ...Am I getting shafted by the dealership? Warranty is supposed to be 5 years or 60000kms??? *&@#%$!. Has anyone else experienced this issue?

 

Any input would be much appreciated.

Hi everyone...new to the forum..lots of info here

 

Had the car in this past Friday for an oil change. It appeared all went well as I paid and was on my way. Today, I get a call from the Subaru Dealership , saying that my head gasket is leaking and it will be $1800.00 to fix!!!? I am in BC, Canada. The car only has 59000 kms and has been regularly maintained at Subaru. Is this a common problem for this year and model? Is there a TSB or recall ...Am I getting shafted by the dealership? Warranty is supposed to be 5 years or 60000kms??? *&@#%$!. Has anyone else experienced this issue?

 

Any input would be much appreciated.

 

 

SOA recall info here: http://www.cars101.com/recalls.html

 

In the US it should only cost around $1200 to get the HG fixed.

This is a common problem, very common.

 

I think there was a bulletin, but it was only to add Subaru coolant conditioner not to repair anything.

 

$1,800 is pretty steep, I was quoted $1,500 by a dealer in Toronto, and $1,000 for an independant garage. Shop around, you should be able to get it done cheaper.

 

You could also try and appeal to the service manager's better nature, even though your warranty is expired, it's something that Subaru have known about for many years and really should have done more to avoid.

i work at a subaru dealership and probably do at least 2 maybe 3 sets of headgaskets a week. its a common problem for any 2.5 single or dual overhead motor non turbo anyway. i've seen them go in 20k and then again there most common from 80k on but 1800 is about right for most dealerships because its 14.5 hours labor depending on whether or not you add a water pump, oil pump reseal and timing belt which at 80k or above we reccomend changing since we have the engine on the bench anyway. but there are very specific torque sequences for the cylinder head bolts to properly secure the head to the block and make sure the gasket seals properly, that when people took it to the local garage to get them done they were right back to us with leaks again so be carefull when trusting someone to do your head gaskets i guess is what im saying..... oh and btw head gaskets are only covered under warrenty if they are leaking coolant not oil or internal leaks fyi

Maybe the stupid headgasket problems are why Subaru are on the bottom of certain reliability surveys.

UPDATE......Subaru called this morning and said the head gasket would be covered 100%...which is great!...I wonder if it will be covered if it happens again??

I wonder if it will be covered if it happens again??

 

 

Probably, not....

 

I had to fight tooth and nail to get my 2000 LGT HG gasket repair to get partially covered fby SCI. My car was at 156k km though. If we were in the US, they would have done the car without a fight. THe US warranty covers the HG for up to 100k miles.

My wife's '02 Legacy is developing a head gasket leak.

 

When I called the dealer he was aware that SoA covered the repairs upto 100,000 miles or 8 years, but said that was only in the US, no such coverage here in Canada

The HG issue is part of the reason why I have a spec. B. After fighting with SCI for a few months and getting my delaer involved. I was able to get cash back for my HG repair and sweet deal on a spec. B.

 

You just have to be very patient with SCI and harass them to no end.

 

If anyone needs help, I have the direct numbers for some of SCI staff:lol:

My wife's '02 Legacy is developing a head gasket leak.

 

When I called the dealer he was aware that SoA covered the repairs upto 100,000 miles or 8 years, but said that was only in the US, no such coverage here in Canada

Well if this is true, I think we will have an '02 Outback for sale within a few months...right now at 6 years and 85,000 miles.

I have a 2005 legacy and have the same problem... my HG are leaking oil and I have heard that it may be under warranty. My local garage told me to call Subaru headquarters but I do not have the number to do so. If anyone does it would be very helpful.

Now at 120,000 with no issues yet...knock on a woody.

Is this a problem that shows up all the time or is it pretty much it happens once with the original gasket and usually doesn't rear it's ugly head again? lookin at an 2000 outback I found going for $3200 but it has 190,000 miles on it. I see it's a common problem but wondering if once it's fixed it should be good

Normally once its fixed its good as the HG's that replace the originals are much better

cool thanks! That's good to know.