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Fri 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Subaru Service
Subarus do well in Michigan winters, which is why there are so many of them here. They also have a specific set of known issues, and symmetrical all wheel drive has one rule that catches owners out expensively.
Known Patterns
The boxer layout gives Subarus their handling and also their particular failure list. None of this is a surprise to anyone who works on them regularly.
Head gaskets on the older EJ25 are the best known Subaru issue there is. The horizontally opposed layout means the gaskets sit at an angle that does them no favors. It is a real job, and it is worth diagnosing precisely before committing.
Certain FB engines consume oil, and it is worth establishing the rate properly rather than arguing about whether it is normal. We measure it over an interval so the conversation is about a number.
Split CV boots. Cheap to replace when the boot goes, expensive once grit has been working inside the joint for a few months. This is the classic case for catching it on an inspection.
Wheel bearings, which Subarus go through more than most. Caught early it is a bearing. Left long enough it takes the hub with it.
Often mismatched tires. Symmetrical AWD wants all four tires at a similar diameter, and a single new tire on a worn set puts the center differential under constant strain.
Clutches and flywheels are wear items, and enthusiastic driving plus AWD grip is hard on them. Worth doing the whole assembly once you are in there.
Worth knowing
Subaru's symmetrical all-wheel drive assumes all four tires are turning at the same rate, and it has no tolerance for one new tire against three worn ones. The difference in rolling circumference makes the center differential or the transfer clutch work continuously, and that is a genuine failure rather than a theoretical one. Replace in fours, or at the very least in matched pairs on the same axle, and keep the tread depths close.
Doing It Properly
Symmetrical all wheel drive wants all four tires within a small tolerance of the same rolling diameter. Put one new tire on a car with three half worn ones and the center differential is being asked to absorb that difference on every single rotation, permanently. The failure that follows costs far more than the tire did.
This is the single most useful thing we can tell a Subaru owner, and it is why we would rather talk to you before you buy tires than afterwards. Sometimes the answer is four tires. Sometimes shaving a new tire to match is viable. Occasionally the existing set is close enough.
Beyond that, Subaru ownership is mostly about catching the cheap things early. CV boots and wheel bearings are minor jobs found on inspection and significant ones found by noise, which is why the free inspection with every visit earns its keep on this make in particular.
Models
The whole range, and plenty of older ones still going strong.
Questions
What We Do
Also Asian
Or see every make we service, grouped by where it was built.
Book It
29444 Woodward Ave, Royal Oak. Free inspection with every visit, which on a Subaru is where the CV boots and bearings get caught while they are still cheap.
