My mother just informed me she went out and bought a new crosstrek. 2.5l, CVT transmission. I’ve looked around online at predicted reliability and all that. I am wondering what y’all’s thoughts or experiences are with these Crosstreks. Are the CVTs at least decent? How’s the 2.5l for longevity? Build quality ok, bad, good? As always appreciate you all.
It will most likely be OK for around 10 years, 100K-150K miles. They're solidly built, maybe not as good as Toyota but much better than something like Hyundai, Fiat-Chrysler, etc. Friends of mine who own late-model Subarus have not had any problems.
The CVT is the weakest part of the car. Its life can likely be extended by regular fluid changes but Subaru claims its a "sealed unit". Most dealers apparently won't touch a fluid change before about 100K miles. (It's a bit involved to do it right on those. There are some youtube videos showing the procedure.)
Subaru calls their CVT the Lineartronic® CVT Transmission. They had a few problems when they first came out, where they extended the warranty fir the transmission.
Knowing Subaru, they probably figured it out by now.
We (my daughter) have a 2018 crosstrek that has over 60,000 miles without a hiccup. It has been 100% reliable. Plus, it is cheap and easy to service it yourself (she does the oil changes and I do everything else) except the spark plugs (which were a real chore).
She turns the key, it starts. It’s safe. It’s easy to drive. My mother drives an old forester, but I would recommend a crosstrek for her, too, in a heartbeat. Life is all about tradeoffs: with the crosstrek, it is slow, loud, and unsophisticated, but that simplicity means more reliability and lower ownership costs. I agree with the concerns about the CVT, but I would hope they have improved them over the past few years. And other than that, your mother made an excellent choice.
