2015 Subaru 2.0 Head Gasket Failure at 136K Miles

Perception is everything. If you said you’re gonna drop $10-15k into a Chevy or Chrysler 10 year old product after only 140k miles, people would call you crazy.

For other brands, that exact same scenario elicits totally different responses. What’s different? Perception of these brands.
Correct, because who would expect a Chevy or a Chrysler to get to 140k miles in the first place 😇
 
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I do think it's interesting some people find under 140K miles to be a reasonable lifespan for an engine on a modern vehicle, while others agree with me that it should have lasted a lot longer, especially as it was properly maintained since day one.
For me its the fact that we don't even know if the HG was bad that makes this whole thread worthless. Glad they got a new car they like.. -the end.
much more likely they were swindled or a different issue than HG.
 
For me its the fact that we don't even know if the HG was bad that makes this whole thread worthless. Glad they got a new car they like.. -the end.
much more likely they were swindled or a different issue than HG.
Not really - this was going to be an engine out repair regardless. The fact that the engine was making abnormal noises suggests that the coolant contamination had caused some amount of bottom-end damage, so the outcome would have been the same: a full overhaul or a new engine.
 
Perception is everything. If you said you’re gonna drop $10-15k into a Chevy or Chrysler 10 year old product after only 140k miles, people would call you crazy.

For other brands, that exact same scenario elicits totally different responses. What’s different? Perception of these brands.
Oh that is accurate. If I came here and said the Malibu has blown a head gasket at 140,000 miles and 10 years old I could bet money not one person would say it happens it is 10 years old.
 
Ah yes and there it is. I'll have to remind my whole fleet of GM cars and previous 240,000 miler GMs just how bad they are.
No need - just tell my friends' Traverse garage queen who dropped a transmission on them at 115k, 500 miles away from home, kids and all. Beautiful car. I still miss it.

We can have tongue in cheek fun both ways all we want, but bringing a GM to a Subaru reliability fight is not a bet I'd take. Not between their comparable models at least.
And Subarus are not even that reliable.
 
Not really - this was going to be an engine out repair regardless. The fact that the engine was making abnormal noises suggests that the coolant contamination had caused some amount of bottom-end damage, so the outcome would have been the same: a full overhaul or a new engine.
Sure, the "fact" that the engine was making abnormal noises.... because no one has ever completely misdiagnosed an abnormal sound, right? It takes all of about 3 seconds to convince normal people of coolant contamination when it may be completely fake. We'll never know.

Just like a recently misdiagnosed rear wheel bearing on my son's Impreza. Shop said he'd need a new wheel bearing and it was completely shot. When I got a chance, jacked it up... zero play whatsoever in the bearing/hub when jerking on the wheel. Pulled off the wheel, caliper, bracket & pads, and rotor. Rust on the backing plate had expanded enough it was chunking off inside the e-brake hat and wedging between the shoe and hat. Hit the entire backing plate with a wire wheel & lubed up the E-brake adjuster. Guess what? No more grinding sound at low speed.
 
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No need - just tell my friends' Traverse garage queen who dropped a transmission on them at 115k, 500 miles away from home, kids and all. Beautiful car. I still miss it.

We can have tongue in cheek fun both ways all we want, but bringing a GM to a Subaru reliability fight is not a bet I'd take. Not between their comparable models at least.
And Subarus are not even that reliable.
I'd do it everytime my LS cars and 3800s beg to differ. I've seen LS swapped Subarus. They do it for a reason.
 
I'd do it everytime my LS cars and 3800s beg to differ. I've seen LS swapped Subarus. They do it for a reason.
Good thing they managed to build two good engines in 100+ years 😇

Don't mind me, I'm in a teasing mood. Then again - you started it 😋
 
Sure, the "fact" that the engine was making abnormal noises.... because no one has ever completely misdiagnosed an abnormal sound, right? It takes all of about 3 seconds to convince normal people of coolant contamination when it may be completely fake. We'll never know.

Just like a recently misdiagnosed rear wheel bearing on my son's Impreza. Shop said he'd need a new wheel bearing and it was completely shot. When I got a chance, jacked it up... zero play whatsoever in the bearing/hub when jerking on the wheel. Pulled off the wheel, caliper, bracket & pads, and rotor. Rust on the backing plate had expanded enough it was chunking off inside the e-brake hat and wedging between the shoe and hat. Hit the entire backing plate with a wire wheel & lubed up the E-brake adjuster. Guess what? No more grinding sound at low speed.
I too would have been curious to hear the noise. But obviously not practical because IME noises have to be in-person. They rarely translate in video. So, the matter is closed and all we can do is speculate about woulda-coulda-shoulda.....
 
Isn't that all or most of the manufacturers who have been putting turbochargers on everything lately?

Yeah I don't know about others but it seems Ford had issues with this in the 1.5/1.6/2.0 right? They had little slits for additional cooling between cylinders and that would eventually cause enough movement to cause the head gasket to fail. Eventually they redesigned it to have cross drilled holes instead of slits and resolved it. But only after building like 5 years worth of engines with a problematic design. So Subaru isn't the only one in the world with problems lol.
 
Something is fishy with that story the dealer gave you. FB engines don't pass coolant through the head gasket; they are "externally" plumbed. .My guess is they wanted her to buy a new Subaru from them.
The HG is sealing a virtual moat of coolant around the open deck cylinder(s)
and a siamese steam channel.

FB engine production video frame snippet of block face
Screenshot 2025-04-10 102840.webp
 
I’d investigate to see if she got her coolant recently changed. Subaru dealers are known for “forgetting” to put in the “Subaru Coolant Conditioner” at the first interval which can cause issues. My local dealer put in the wrong coolant conditioner and my FB20 started drinking .5 quarts of coolant every 200-400 miles. Once I added the proper conditioner, all coolant consumption stopped.
 
I’d investigate to see if she got her coolant recently changed. Subaru dealers are known for “forgetting” to put in the “Subaru Coolant Conditioner” at the first interval which can cause issues. My local dealer put in the wrong coolant conditioner and my FB20 started drinking .5 quarts of coolant every 200-400 miles. Once I added the proper conditioner, all coolant consumption stopped.
Most dealers don't use this anymore. Yes, I'm aware that the owner's manual says otherwise....

 
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I’d investigate to see if she got her coolant recently changed. Subaru dealers are known for “forgetting” to put in the “Subaru Coolant Conditioner” at the first interval which can cause issues. My local dealer put in the wrong coolant conditioner and my FB20 started drinking .5 quarts of coolant every 200-400 miles. Once I added the proper conditioner, all coolant consumption stopped.

What!? If an engine needs STOP LEAK in there it's a BAD engine. That's absurd.
 
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