2012 Subaru Impreza CVT hatch 100k mile review

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We are original owners (in service Dec. 2011) and this was our first new Japanese car. Overall very satisfied with this purchase and intend and hope to run it at least another 100k. I think purchase price was around $23k with taxes. Mid/upper trim (I forget whether it is called Limited or Premium)-leather, 17" wheels, no sunroof. We were enticed with the redesign and improved economy compared to previous Subies.

Pros: Build quality/feel, reliable, nimble handling, decent mileage with AWD and reasonable utility for a small car.
Negatives: Somewhat under-powered, weak AC, CVT a bit noisy, factory battery undersized.

My wife, a gentle driver puts 90% of the miles on. I drive faster but conserve momentum so don't really lose economy..

We are happy with the economy, however, I believe the EPA mpg are overstating real world results (a common complaint.) But it is still decent and contributes to a great total cost to own, especially if we do achieve 200k or more miles. Suburban driving yields about 27mpg and typically highway at say 67mph is 34-ish. With the modest power, economy is more affected by hills and AC on than more 'sufficiently powered' vehicles.

Regular maintenance:

Oil and filter every 7.5k except for one early change. Car uses about a quart of oil every 3500 miles. I've measured it pretty closely and don't think it's really worsening. Sure it be nice if it used none but I'm not really bothered by it. I've used Mobil 1 0w20 most often and am trending toward the extended performance. I used mostly Mobil 1 oil filters which I understand have wrong anti-drain back valve but don't think there has been any consequence. I will go to Fram Ultras soon.

Tires - originals were lousy Yokohamas. Eked those out to 45k. Tried Continental (purecontact?) next and got 50k out of those. Put on Cooper CS5 Ultras for the second replacement set. Factory negative camber (not adjustable without new parts) is heavy-ish at around -1.5 degrees- you can see it clearly just looking from the back of the car. I started rotating more frequently at 5k, on the first replacement set of tires and it may have helped- the tires seemed to wear more evenly than the original set. No alignments done.

Did plugs at 60k with Denso Iridum Long Life that are supposed to be superior to the factory NGKs.

Brakes: Rear pads at 81k and Fronts at 99k. I really should change the brake fluid out but have deferred it...

I've topped up the battery acid with distilled water a few times but note the battery starting to fade a bit. I plan to change it before the heart of winter with an AGM with stronger specs.

I've put through about 4 fuel treatments through the fuel system.

I clay and wax the outside 1 or 2x a year.. a few chips on the hood. It stays inside at least overnight. The underside looks reasonably rust wise.

I replaced fluid in front and rears diffs at around 30k.

Changed CVT fluid (two pan drops) just recently with Valvoline.

Repairs:

One warranty trip - a variable valve solenoid was changed after the ABS/traction lights would light up on long trips. it would also only happen at least half way into the oil change interval.

One out of warranty repair- right front hub started making noise. Got a low mile complete steering knuckle off ebay for $50 and swapped it out myself.
 
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Nice review, thanks for the effort.

Yeah, Subies are definitely 200K+ cars. Unfortunately, next up are likely suspension and CV related items
 
Thanks for the review. I'm looking at a Crosstrek. I'm thinking about waiting for the new 2018 model which is a while new platform.
 
I should also say for a small car, they seem to make the most of the packaging- I don't feel like I"m in a small car, at least in the front seat. It's also nice having more room around the car in the garage and when parking, as compared to our more typical larger car choice..
 
My friend has a 2016 subaru outback she lets me drive all the time. has 16k miles. I love and hate the CVT transmission. while driving I feel like it is able to match the power and gears perfectly making it a pretty fast ride compared to my 230 HP sienna awd with a tradition 4(or 5) speed auto.

One thing I HATE about the CVT is that when I go from drive to reverse to drive, it takes probably a second or more to engage that gear, when doing a quick turnaround and someone is coming it feels downright dangerous.

As for the EPA numbers, I have noticed that too....I am a hypermiller and always beat EPA number by a lot. Just driving that outback normally I get 26-28 (I usually get +1 epa driving normally) and then when I hypermill I get 1-3 above....I just assumed it wasnt broke in or something yet. Was thinking about getting one of these 5-7 years from now, maybe not anymore.
 
Originally Posted By: tomcat27
very nice and comprehensive review. thank you!


Agreed, thanks for a very nice review. I was an original CVT hater but the one in my Corolla has swayed my vote. Except for the initial, looking at my watch, take off, you are always in the engines "sweet spot" once up and going.
 
Nice review; I came very close to nabbing a new STI a couple of years ago. Great cars.
 
Originally Posted By: deanm11
Negatives: weak AC


A lot of people on nasioc say this but I find the air works fine

20160731_174832.jpg



Originally Posted By: deanm11
Tires - originals were lousy Yokohamas. Eked those out to 45k. Tried Continental (purecontact?) next and got 50k out of those. Put on Cooper CS5 Ultras for the second replacement set. Factory negative camber (not adjustable without new parts) is heavy-ish at around -1.5 degrees- you can see it clearly just looking from the back of the car. I started rotating more frequently at 5k, on the first replacement set of tires and it may have helped- the tires seemed to wear more evenly than the original set. No alignments done.


One of my Yoko's were destroyed @ 19K miles by a razor blade going completely through the tire leaving a 2.5" slit. Ended up buying four new tires, plus they were worn more on the inside (4/32") than the outside (6/32"). I'm on my fourth set of tires with three wheel alignments done at the dealership. The last two I paid for but the first one was free. Subaru provides a free alignment within 3yrs/36K miles. Tell the service writers it's called Adjustment Service and bill it to Subaru. Even with these alignments, the non-adjustable rear negative camber just wears the tires out faster on the inside. I rotated my third set every 2,500 miles and they still wore uneven. The Kumho TA71 GT's I have on are now making noise. Had them installed almost 22K miles ago on 29 Aug 2016. My other tires never made noise so I won't be buying Kumho's again.

Originally Posted By: deanm11
Did plugs at 60k with Denso Iridum Long Life that are supposed to be superior to the factory NGKs

I don't know about this statement but I have these Denso FXE22HR11 plugs also. The factory NGK's cost most than Denso. Advance Auto Parts used to stock the NGK's but now you have to order them.

Originally Posted By: deanm11
Rear pads at 81k and Fronts at 99k. I really should change the brake fluid out but have deferred it

This car eats rear brake pads. I never owned a car where the rear pads wear out faster the front pads. I've changed the brake fluid about four times with the Motiv Power Bleeder.

Originally Posted By: deanm11
I've topped up the battery acid with distilled water a few times but note the battery starting to fade a bit. I plan to change it before the heart of winter with an AGM with stronger specs.

Subaru ought to be ashamed of themselves for putting that weakass 1970's battery in these cars. I replaced mine March 2016 with a Autocraft Gold from Advance Auto Parts. I buy a lot stuff online from them using the coupon codes and speedperks. Paid like $91 after tax. 640 CCA is a lot better than 390 but I didn't see the need to buy a AGM when the pitiful Subaru battery lasted 4 years.

Originally Posted By: deanm11
Repairs:
One warranty trip - a variable valve solenoid was changed after the ABS/traction lights would light up on long trips. it would also only happen at least half way into the oil change interval.

One out of warranty repair- right front hub started making noise. Got a low mile complete steering knuckle off ebay for $50 and swapped it out myself.


warranty repair - Timing chain cover resealed
No out of warranty repairs. You mentioned the hub. I wonder if that's the noise I'm hearing and it's not the tires. The thing is, I just rotated my tires and the noise got louder as I can clearly hear it coming from the front. I'll have to check it out more this weekend, if I have time.
 
Originally Posted By: TheKracken

One thing I HATE about the CVT is that when I go from drive to reverse to drive, it takes probably a second or more to engage that gear, when doing a quick turnaround and someone is coming it feels downright dangerous...


Yes, my 2012 Legacy CVT did this, as does my 2016 Forester CVT. It is super annoying.

In regards to the a/c complaints with late model Subarus, I've had 3 different model Subarus since 2011. All bought new. All have what I'd call very weak a/c and it doesn't get very hot at all where I live.
 
Good to read the positive review, we bought a 2015 base Impreza sedan for our daughter.
It came with some kind of Yoko tire that had abysmal reviews online and, given that I also had a miserable experience with the OEM tires on my Forester (some kind of Dueler), we put RT43s on her car in the first few days of owning it.
I have never noticed any oil consumption in her car, if anything the mark on the dipstick might rise a little bit from fuel dilution. I might finally be changing the oil on this car given that we gave up on free changes at the dealer after they damaged the car and then we weren't too happy with Midas recently...my wife took the car there without mentioning to me that it needed a change.

Hope the OPer's next 100kmiles go just as smoothly!
 
Originally Posted By: JTK
Originally Posted By: TheKracken

One thing I HATE about the CVT is that when I go from drive to reverse to drive, it takes probably a second or more to engage that gear, when doing a quick turnaround and someone is coming it feels downright dangerous...


Yes, my 2012 Legacy CVT did this, as does my 2016 Forester CVT. It is super annoying.

In regards to the a/c complaints with late model Subarus, I've had 3 different model Subarus since 2011. All bought new. All have what I'd call very weak a/c and it doesn't get very hot at all where I live.


Same for me. A 2013 Legacy and a 2015 Outback and both had pretty weak a/c.
 
I have read somewhere that shifting a cvt from forward to reverse requires a complete stop unlike a automatic that has a bit of a fudge factor. There might be a sensor or something that delays the actual shift until the stop is accomplished. Now for the transmission experts here, does the belt continue to move as the clutches disengage? Not sure if that's the right way to put it.
 
6starprez- thank you for the comparative notes and experience.

As to the hub/bearing - I think this is typical but what made it patently obvious on mine was the noise being there at quite low speeds. Most tire noise won't do that.
 
Originally Posted By: 6starprez

Originally Posted By: deanm11
Rear pads at 81k and Fronts at 99k. I really should change the brake fluid out but have deferred it

This car eats rear brake pads. I never owned a car where the rear pads wear out faster the front pads. I've changed the brake fluid about four times with the Motiv Power Bleeder.


Brake less or brake harder? Probably biased to the rear, to prevent nose dive. Braking harder should work the fronts more.
 
Originally Posted By: PimTac
I have read somewhere that shifting a cvt from forward to reverse requires a complete stop unlike a automatic that has a bit of a fudge factor. There might be a sensor or something that delays the actual shift until the stop is accomplished. Now for the transmission experts here, does the belt continue to move as the clutches disengage? Not sure if that's the right way to put it.


I'm no transmission expert, but I do know they're no different than any other transmission. If the drive shafts aren't turning, there's no drive gear movement in the transmission.
 
Originally Posted By: JTK
Originally Posted By: TheKracken

One thing I HATE about the CVT is that when I go from drive to reverse to drive, it takes probably a second or more to engage that gear, when doing a quick turnaround and someone is coming it feels downright dangerous...


Yes, my 2012 Legacy CVT did this, as does my 2016 Forester CVT. It is super annoying.

In regards to the a/c complaints with late model Subarus, I've had 3 different model Subarus since 2011. All bought new. All have what I'd call very weak a/c and it doesn't get very hot at all where I live.


Actually, if I was going to have an automatic, it would be the Subaru CVT. I love the Subaru CVT and prefer it compared to other transmissions save the row-your-own varient. The real perk its the "variable" ability in the mountain. Much easier than the old 4-EAT four-speeds in the old Subies. You just watch the transmission match the change in grade. I would almost prefer the CVT to the 5-speed but I am to much of a manual preservationist to make that claim.

The delay in the R to D or D to R is not all that major. Actually, a lot of newer DSG and transitional autos transmissions seem to be building in delays for this type of shift. Might be a safety or reliability thing, don't know. I definitely know there is a delay in some of my newer Chrysler 8-speeds. If you are doing a 3-pointer in heavy traffic, yeah, I can see how the old 3-speed slushes on a column would be faster but... ehh.

My '99 Legacy Outback had a weak AC (but it was 15 years old), my '14 is fairly strong. I think that the larger greenhouse of Subies affect the climate so if your drives align with sunlight. Worse, if you have a black interior. My factory-tint and beige interior is fine in the southern summers. I guess it can feel that the AC is weak (especially if you have had bigger displacement engines powering the AC) but I have never had any complaints.
 
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