What were the worst years for Subaru head gaskets?

I live in the land of plenty of snow but low humidity and rust really isn't a thing. I service an '02 Impreza and '02 Forester and there's no rust to speak of.

I think Subarus are junky but the pesky part about being on Team Reality is that I have to acknowledge, well, reality

I also personally believe a lot of Subaru HGs are leaking but not bad enough for people to recognize the signs. You'll read stories of the upper rad hose being pushed off which breaks the collar on the rad. People think they got lucky with just a failed radiator and replace it, but really the system is building dangerous pressure from combustion.

The other classic -- and even more common -- HG failure is bad oil leaks from the bottom of the head(s) at the oil return ports. People chock it up to "just an oil leak" but this is technically HG failure.

I can't recall ever seeing an EJ that isn't leaking here. On a car that's worth ~$2500 best case it's not worth doing HGs for just an oil leak, so people don't, and they don't consider it a HG failure
 
Every Subaru around here that’s older than maybe 8 years old has cancer of the rear wheelwells, even ones that have been garaged
Mine has definitely started in that area.
I can't recall ever seeing an EJ that isn't leaking here. On a car that's worth ~$2500 best case it's not worth doing HGs for just an oil leak, so people don't, and they don't consider it a HG failure
Mine is dry underneath. The used CVT had a slow drip coming from the input shaft seal (common failure point) when I first got it, after I corrected the fluid level, the leak stopped.
 
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Now that we are buried in snow my brother wants to buy a used AWD vehicle and is considering a Subaru, among others. What years are the most problematic?

I told him to just buy an older RAV4 but apparently the prices are insane.
If your brother is set on a Subie, on the Outbacks - consider a higher mileage 2010+. The 2010 OBWs had the MLS HGs from the factory and were much better. The gen 1 outbacks were horrendous - I got one cheap (1998MY) years ago. It was abysmal. But their AWD was impressive enough for me to get rid of that and get a ‘00 Gen 2 OBW. While a much better vehicle in comparison, that was hands down the worst vehicle I’ve owned with constant issues. Keep in mind, this was a single owner vehicle prior to me buying it and it was only maintained at the dealership where it was purchased new from. Yes it needed head gaskets, which imo is a 1 time thing and you move on. It’s the rest of the stuff that would fall apart that was irritating. You’ll have to check but I think the Foresters were typically changing +/-1 MY.

FWIW, I went from a 2000 OBW to a 2008 Rogue and it was a massive upgrade in reliability even with the POS CVT. I have a coworker with a 2012 purchased new that needed HGs at about 140k miles. He’s at about 160k miles and it’s been mostly reliable outside of that.

Another option for your brother would be a 2010+ R51 Pathfinder/Frontier/Xterra. Nissan fixed the SMOD by then and also the timing chain tensioner issue. You can get one with 150K+ miles for not too much money and as long as it’s not beat to snot, they’ll last him to 200-250k miles. They don’t have the Toyota tax and are plenty capable off road if that’s of any use to him.
 
this happened to our 2002 even after subaru replaced the heads and head gaskets. we blew 2 radiators out. i promply traded it in after no2
 
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My 2001 Forester is still on the road after head gaskets replaced in 2013 and always starts...but is starting to have some excessive fuel economy issues and oil consumption. A random cylinder 3 misfire keeps happening in winter months in my warmer climate for reasons completely unknown. I just keep resetting the light. I want to get rid of it now.
Check your injectors. If the pintle is worn & sloppy, that leaky injector will not only result in poor fuel mileage, but leaking fuel into a stopped cylinder will definitely cause misfires & consumption.
 
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Check your injectors. If the pintle is worn & sloppy, that leaky injector will not only result in poor fuel mileage, but leaking fuel into a stopped cylinder will definitely cause misfires & consumption.
I've already replaced the fuel injector with a reman one about 7 years ago, coil pack also, plugs and wires..you name it. The only thing I haven't done is adjust valve lash, but that's more work than it's worth now on this car. I'm just going to change the timing belt and get rid of it in a few years.
 
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