What do you think of the subaru crosstrek?

Shannonwilkerson

Shannonwilkerson

Joined
Mar 19, 2022
Messages
78
Location
Central Mississippi
Hey ladies and gents. Got a new crosstrek this past Friday.
It's a 2023 with the 2.0 boxer and the 6 speed stick shift.
So far I love it. But there are a few questions I have as far as maintenence and running goes.
What oil filter should I use? (the black subaru filters are nla) and I know about the high bypass pressures

Will mobil1 ep 0w20 be fine in this car?

And why is the engine shakey until it idles down on a cold start? Is this normal? Is it a "boxer" thing?

This is my first ever new vehicle and this is also the first vehicle I've ever owned with less than 140,000 miles on it. So maybe I worry too much.
 
I think you’ll love it. The Crosstrek is probably my favorite modern Subaru. I want one but I’m not in a place to buy a new car. I’m a Subaru/ Toyota tech. Personally I would use the Subaru filter the one you get will be blue. Use whatever your preferred 0W-20 oil is. Subaru says 6,000 for OCI. Personally I’d do 5,000 but I don’t think the extra thousand will hurt.

What do you mean by engine shaky? It’s probably just where it’s cold.

Let’s see some pictures of the car. And as a new Subaru owner initiation make sure you pour oil in and then start it with no filter so you can have an oil waterfall LOL. Kidding of course that’s what we joke around with the new techs about at work. Some have actually taken the advice 😂.
 
AutoMechanic said:
I think you’ll love it. The Crosstrek is probably my favorite modern Subaru. I want one but I’m not in a place to buy a new car. I’m a Subaru/ Toyota tech. Personally I would use the Subaru filter the one you get will be blue. Use whatever your preferred 0W-20 oil is. Subaru says 6,000 for OCI. Personally I’d do 5,000 but I don’t think the extra thousand will hurt.

What do you mean by engine shaky? It’s probably just where it’s cold.

Let’s see some pictures of the car. And as a new Subaru owner initiation make sure you pour oil in and then start it with no filter so you can have an oil waterfall LOL. Kidding of course that’s what we joke around with the new techs about at work. Some have actually taken the advice 😂.
Click to expand...
It feels like it has a slight miss while it's in high idle. But after it idles down its as smooth as butter. It only happens when it's idling high after startup.

I figured it was a subaru thing that I would have to get used to just like the cam phasers rattling on my wife's 2.5 camary or the cold lifter tick on my vortec silverado.

I would be glad to post pics as well. I'll grab some in a little while after work. I'm on my lunch break now
 
Shannonwilkerson said:
It feels like it has a slight miss while it's in high idle. But after it idles down its as smooth as butter. It only happens when it's idling high after startup.

I figured it was a subaru thing that I would have to get used to just like the cam phasers rattling on my wife's 2.5 camary or the cold lifter tick on my vortec silverado.

I would be glad to post pics as well. I'll grab some in a little while after work. I'm on my lunch break now
Click to expand...
Oh I think I know what you are talking about. Yes that’s normal for them. Just what they do.
 
That's called the Subaru wiggle. Never been in a Crosstrek but every other Subaru I have owned did it. Figured it was the UEL headers.
 
I had a Crosstrek as a rental in Washington state last year. Drove about 800 miles, all around Olympic National Park.

I ended up loving it. It had the 2.5 +CVT which was completely unobtrusive. Plenty of power and I never felt the CVT. Seating position and visibility were perfect and best of all- it just felt like I was driving a sedan. We threw two bikes in the back for a day trip and overall just never had to think about anything. It was comfortable for long driving days. It was so nice that my wife, who does not need or want a new car and has never wanted any kind of suv/crossover, said she could see herself buying one.

Great car. A family member recently bought a 2022 Mazda CX5 which is certainly "nicer"... but I much prefer driving the Crosstrek.

Did you get a cool color? Post pics!

(and yes, Subaru engines are pretty nasty at cold start. yours is running right. just consider it character.)
 
My wife had an Impreza previously and at that time I really was hoping she would have gone with the Crosstrek. If I were looking for a small hatchback that would probably be what I would buy.
 
DirtyGary said:
Great car. A family member recently bought a 2022 Mazda CX5 which is certainly "nicer"... but I much prefer driving the Crosstrek.
Click to expand...
Interesting you mentioned the CX-5. Price wise, Crosstrek Limited is about the same price as CX-5 S Preferred, but you get quite a bit more features standard in the CX-5: dual zone climate control, rear passenger vents, power driver and passenger seat with driver seat memory, power lift gate, more cargo space, homelink mirror, nicer infotainment screen, better IIHS safety rating, to name some. As you noted, the CX-5 has more premium-feeling interior, and it's also quieter, I think. If you want to accelerate fast in the Crosstrek, the CVT will send the RPMs flying and the engine is quite noisy then.

But then, as you mentioned, the two vehicles drive very differently. Crosstrek drives more like a car. CX-5 drives like an SUV. Also, I found the suspension in the CX-5 notably stiffer. Crosstrek's suspension is softer and more comfortable, which for a DD might be better. Also, Crosstrek has better visibility.

As far as the engine running rough when cold, I haven't really noticed that.
 
Also forgot to mention, CX-5 does not have auto stop-start. Crosstrek does, and it is really annoying. Thankfully, you can permanently disable it with a $30 aftermarket device.

Alas, since OP has a manual Crosstrek, then no A/S/S anyway. :)
 
I will get tarred and feather for this comment, but I think shifting a six speed with that engine will get old at some point. I tried using the paddle shifters for a while with my Suby CVT, it seemed to be way too many shifts for a slower engine. A pain even without the clutch.
 
SeaJay said:
I will get tarred and feather for this comment, but I think shifting a six speed with that engine will get old at some point. I tried using the paddle shifters for a while with my Suby CVT, it seemed to be way too many shifts for a slower engine. A pain even without the clutch.
Click to expand...
1-2-4-6 Now its a 4 speed... I do 1-2-3-5 all the time if I'm in hustle mode in the focus as 3rd goes to cruising speed.
I agree though with the paddles, the Outback simulates 7 speeds and actually driving in manual mode is a bit of a chore going through each gear and it doesn't sound great at mildly elevated rpms. Rev'd way up I kind of like how it sounds, but I don't do that often.
 
Get a fumoto valve and you can do a oil change in 10 minutes without lifting the car.

I put one on our forester and that combined with the top mounted filter is 👌.

I run 5w30 and a whatever $3-4 filter that has a brand name and the same shipping location as the rest of my rockauto order :)
 
Shannonwilkerson said:
Hey ladies and gents. Got a new crosstrek this past Friday.
It's a 2023 with the 2.0 boxer and the 6 speed stick shift.
So far I love it. But there are a few questions I have as far as maintenence and running goes.
What oil filter should I use? (the black subaru filters are nla) and I know about the high bypass pressures

Will mobil1 ep 0w20 be fine in this car?

And why is the engine shakey until it idles down on a cold start? Is this normal? Is it a "boxer" thing?

This is my first ever new vehicle and this is also the first vehicle I've ever owned with less than 140,000 miles on it. So maybe I worry too much.
Click to expand...
Nice they dropped the manual option from the 2023 crosstrek in the usa. Subaru said it was only seeing a 6% take rate.
 
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