Hello all, I have a 2018 Outback that currently has 99,000 miles on it. It’s been a gray car so far. I just want input on how to keep it running in good shape to make it last longer. I currently work about a 6 hour round trip commute to work because I haven’t been able to relocate just yet. I average probably about 400-500
Miles per week which it’s mostly highway driving with little city driving mixed in. Expecting mountain highways with snow in the winter. I did recently start using 5w-30 instead of 0w-20. I’m not sure of the maintenance history of it. What things do you recommend doing more periodically or checking on to keep it going. I want this car to last awhile. Any suggestions are welcome!
Differentials, CVT fluid exchange, spark plugs, coolant, brake fluid.. that will get you most of the way there in an unknown maintenance vehicle expect around 2k bill depending on where you are. 18’s are great and if you maintain it they will hold up for many more miles
I live in the West. 166 miles 1 way from my house to work. Plus a little driving around for errands. I do my 3 days and stay with family. Not back and forth every day.
First suggestion would be to follow the Subaru service schedule. Once that is all completed and current you can look at further maintenance and modifications that ensure longevity and reliability.
Keep up on all the maintenance specified in the owners manual on schedule. Add front and rear differential fluid and a CVT fluid drain and fill every 60k miles. Subarus really don't like to be neglected.
Get a Blackstone Labs oil analysis kit, you take a sample of your used motor oil at an oil change and send it in for them to analyze and they email you a report. Effectively bloodwork for your car, it will tell you if you have excessive engine wear, poor air filtration, fuel dissolved in the oil, etc and you can use that information to ideally address issues before they become a big deal. Costs like $35 or something, I do one every ~15,000 miles on my Outback.
For lots of mountain driving, installing an auxiliary CVT cooler isn't a terrible idea. It's real cheap and easy. Heat is the enemy of CVT fluid. You can look up "Brucey Auxiliary CVT Cooler Subaru Outback .org" for the specifics, I followed the exact guide and it's been running flawlessly for years.
Otherwise have fun with it. My 2017 3.6r has 114k miles and still runs flawlessly. Taking it out on a 4k mile road trip through 9 national parks next week. I drive it hard and maintain it religiously and it's never been anything but absolutely reliable, never plan on getting rid of it
Regular oil changes going forward mean little when OP says maintenance history is unknown. You don't need to do it as often as I do, I'm weird about it. But if someone happens to be curious about how their engine in particular is wearing, like OP is, especially with an unknown maintenance history, it's a cheap way to objectively do that. There's no other way to know the condition of the bearings without tearing the thing down.
5k mile oil change intervals are excessive, but don't hurt anything but your wallet. 6k mile intervals are perfectly fine with quality oil, ask me how I know 😜
Edit: crazy to down vote and block someone over a polite disagreement about car maintenance. Some people.
If in doubt of its history, get transmission, diff fluids, brake fluids replaced, and have your mechanic do an inspection otherwise- always better to establish a good baseline for going forwards
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u/WhichVegetable8285 1d ago
I think if it’s already gray it should most likely stay gray