Hello scotty,
I have a suburu forester 2018 2.5 i premium, it got 86000 miles on it, it started spewing hot oild and smoking, the service guy at dealership said its broken valve covers and covered under warranty, and sends me list of things in need to replace like spark plugs, Front and rear control arm bushings , front and rear differential oils, alignment, etc. it is still under warranty till 100,000 miles my question is is it worth it to keep fixing it or trade it in for another?
Thankyou,
csunnyd
The valve cover doesn’t necessarily indicate anything bad with the engine, so yeah, have them fix it and keep driving it.
Plugs might be OK for a little while longer (maybe until 100k), but if they are doing the valve covers mozzel have them do the plugs at the same time. Speaking from personal experience, changing Subaru plugs is definitely doable at home but it’s a royal PITA; it’s worth having them do it as long as they’re in there.
If you have not changed the differential fluid, you are overdue (Should be about every 60,000 on a Forester). Doing the rear diff yourself is a piece of cake. The front is a little more work and you have to be careful to know which drain/fill plugs are for the diff and which are for the CVT. If you are up for it, do it yourself... if not, have them go ahead and do it.
The control arm bushings and alignment are not a scheduled service. Take a look through the archives (search bar above) on how to determine problems in those areas. If you aren’t having a problem, then tell them not to do it.
Cheers, and welcome to the forum!
Thank you for your valuable answers.
Except for the fluid change and maybe spark plugs they're most likely lying to you about the additional services. Dealers hate doing warranty work since they don't make any money on it and many will push unneeded services to extract as much money out of the situation as possible.
@dad2lm2 Good advice.
I would add in, if they haven't done the cvt fluid, go ahead now and get it changed.
Don't let them tell you any junk about lifetime fluid. If you don't get it done at the dealer, get it done at a good local shop that knows Subarus.
Agreed - but - changing the CVT fluid before 100k voids what’s left of the warranty.
@dad2lm2 Wow, I have never heard of that! That really stinks.
The idea is that if a transmission fails prematurely, Subaru wants to analyze it - including the fluid - to understand what went wrong. I’m ambivalent about it, but Subaru’s CVTs have gotten better as a result.
Well, I guess that is good anyway. At least they are working to get things better, unlike most other companies right now it seems.
The idea is that if a transmission fails prematurely, Subaru wants to analyze it - including the fluid - to understand what went wrong.
That’s almost a sell-fulfilling prophecy on Subaru’s part. Don’t change the CVT fluid for 100,000 miles and one is most likely going to hasten the death of their CVT.
CVT fluids should be changed every 30,000 miles. What makes Subaru think they can go 100,000 miles without a fluid change?
If it were my Subaru, I would change it every 30,000 miles, regardless of impact to the warranty. Subaru would love it if their owners bought another Subaru after 100,000 miles. I don’t feel they have our best interests in mind.
broken valve covers and covered under warranty:
spark plugs: maybe, but unlikely. You can to 100-120K miles usually. Check your owners manual for your maintenance interval.
Front and rear control arm bushings: probably not, UNLESS, you drive your car hard on trails. If you can take a look yourself. You can see it and shake it yourself.
front and rear differential oils: I don’t even know how he would know. You’d have to check the maintenance interval in the manual for those. My guess is it is not necessary at this time. UNLESS you drive the car super hard and on trail.
alignment: they will ALWAYS say you need an alignment. If you don’t. It’s an easy add on for most. If you haven’t changed any suspension components or tires, I doubt you need an alignment.
