I Bought The Cheapest, Highest Mileage, Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid Online. How Bad Is It Really?!

[@gym_bob]

The best thing about life is in having a hobby you can make money on after all the work is done.

[@ItchyKneeSon]

I love fixing things and I'm a handyman!

[@Obsidian762]

and this is why i'm glad i am able to fix my car and not rely on mechanics. Especially dealerships.

[@OutsideTheTargetDemographic]

The more I learn about and tool around on my Subaru, the more I appreciate just how accessible and laid out everything is. I'll leave "inside the engine work" to someone else, but everything else is fairly easy to ID and get to. 🤓👍

[@donaldlee6760]

​@@OutsideTheTargetDemographic- I'm like you, but my "family fleet" consists of 2 Hondas and 1 Toyota. Last summer I did my very first DIY timing belt change on my wife's 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. It ended up not being the big deal I imagined it to be.

[@SuperPsychoterror]

@@Obsidian762 Hell, even reliable mechanics have become so expensive that many people are forced to do their own repairs now.

[@SuperPsychoterror]

@OutsideTheTargetDemographic I swapped out a EJ 2.5 for a EJ 2.2 in a 99' outback and a mechanic told me the wrong engine is in the car. My response was "are you aware yellow and red leggos still fit together?"

[@jp2246]

You did fine, I feel sorry for the previous owner who put a ton of money into the car and then lost confidence in it (for good reason) and dumped it...

[@jstephens2758]

A hybrid with that mileage would not be worth much, especially with the incomplete repair and other issues that you spotted. Obviously, you knew what you were buying and were comfortable with it, and having experience and a well equipped shop, it may be worth it for you to work on in your spare time (who really has spare time?). But considering that the hybrid does not save much fuel and the age and mileage, I would ask, why bother? Even when fully repaired, how much could you sell it for?

[@davidkraemer3901]

I wouldn't trust a dealer to do any work! My Ascent needed the hood skin re-glued to the hood frame as part of a TSB. A simple task... It looks like a 5 year old did it! Glue smeared all over the underside of the hood. Glue dripped all over the engine and into the intercooler! Scratches on the door where they hit the lift post! Schlossmann Subaru City in Milwaukee. Stay away from this dealer.

[@leocal74]

I trust mine but that is because I know the a lot of the staff and the mechanics

[@alanmartinez488]

Good Lord, I am sooo happy I bought a 2023 Crosstrek STICK last year... many less things to go wrong.

[@jacobd7134]

That oil in the coolant is horrible. Glad you called them out on that.

[@bigdaddymak1439]

I wonder if they even did the upper oil pan o rings. I'm seeing a lot of shops misdiagnose oil in coolant on FBs. They're so quick to say head gaskets

[@MrSubaru1387]

That’s what I’m wondering.

[@stonepa]

Great video. Love the comments about the rust because the car was originally in Virginia. In the northeast, a lot of people search for used cars in Virginia because they think the cars will not have rust.

[@jeffpless5036]

I think people forget. Both Virginia and North Carolina have beaches and lowlands, but we also have mountains that are heavily salted in the winter due to snowfall and ice. While temperatures aren't always as cold as they used to be, that salt can stay on the roads/cars for a long time. And not everyone there hits the carwash on the regular. But compared to up north, rust is much less overall.

[@bryede]

Dealer service shops can't retain talent anymore. The whole industry needs to change.

[@stevenebesni2432]

Typical dealership service….. remember, they are Subaru specialists and know your car best.

[@Ajicles]

Think it would be safer for Ford to service Subarus 😂

[@BWGPEI]

This old boy has been rebuilding engines and replacing synchro rings from 1970 onward. That dealer baloney holds no weight with me.

[@stim7578]

I got a 60k service on my outback xt tomorrow.... Making me kind of nervous

[@christeschke9844]

They know that a pack of chewing gum and and egg in the radiator will keep the subaru running for the warranty :)

[@cigarsgunsanddiesel8032]

stealership*

[@jaimieconroy36]

The Subaru Crosstrek hybrid seems like a rare find. I am hard-pressed to find any hybrid Subaru. A ten year old Subaru with nearly 200,000 miles, I would avoid especially with all of the leaks. That Subaru had a lousy mechanic and you need to repair all the damage. It is a good thing you are a mechanic and can recognize all of the problems, but you will need to put an extra grand or two to fix it. So you paid $2,900 for a project car with minimal rust: I guess that OK for a Mechanic, but for the regular consumer maybe not.

[@phil9410]

Mr. Subrau, This discussion brings up something I’ve been wanting to ask for a long time. Would you consider compiling and publishing a list of Subrau repair shops that you would label “trustworthy “. That’s the reason I don’t buy Subrau cars. Nobody around my area seems to be willing to work in them.

[@MarzNet256]

That's a great idea.

[@gerardpesce3664]

Good buy for you bad buy for people who can't fix it

[@asimple13]

I don't want to sound negative, but with that piss poor reseal from a dealership... I don't think it was just neglect on flushing the radiator... I see an engine out coming to properly reseal that thing.

[@larryuptain3404]

I would pull it and make it right. It's the only way to go..

[@idiotgo]

Yeah, I wouldn't be counting on that resealing be done properly.

[@scottbaker9066]

@@larryuptain3404 Why would you put that much work into this car?

[@Thisoldhiker]

@@scottbaker9066 It wasn't worth doing the original work, maybe not even for the $3500 or so a good independent shop would have charged.

[@deniselorish6903]

That rust on the passenger side frame rail might of been from a leaking original battery and that's why it was replaced recently with a subaru battery. Just a guess.

[@DrewM91105]

"Might HAVE been".

[@willvangelderen8516]

The biggest thing that bugs me about the hybrids is no spare tire, only a can of fix a flat. Thoughts on that ?

[@onesadtech]

Man, I'm interested to see where this goes, but I've never heard a good thing about these. 😂 The wheels are not technically a one-off for the hybrid models, because they also came on the Kazan edition in 2017. Kinda funny when the Kazan is supposed to have special wheels, but you realize they are the hybrid wheels re-used.

[@TheZimberto]

Mr. Subaru is my hero! Not a fan of Crosstrek's though.

[@garycortez]

Hey Mr Subaru! I have a 2014 Crosstrek Hybrid with 219,955 miles going strong but with bad A/C unit and a shaking when I accelerate before it settles down cruising. Hope that is just a mount but no mechanic wants to touch this thing. We still love it and want to keep it going if we can. Your vids are awesome! Thanks.

[@PaulJones4968]

My wife is looking at a 2015 Hybrid Crosstrek with about 215,000 miles. Our biggest concern is how well was it maintained. Besides the shaking and A/C have you had any real problems with it?

[@SuperPsychoterror]

They were lazy on the coolant flush, can only assume they did a 2nd rate job on the internal engine work.

[@peterlattimore6013]

Hybrid Technology is improving faster than Full EV Battery Tech. Apart from the cosmetic issues, Will be a great project experiment.

[@nilsjohansson9703]

I'd honestly like to see how to pull the engine and reseal it the right way.

[@82dupont]

Subarus are amazing to work on, because of Mr. Subaru I wrenched on all my Subarus when owned them. Looking to go back to another Subaru.

[@tpaktop2_1na]

I would like to see a video on Moonroof user maintenance on a Forester. Such as what needs cleaning and etc. I see the moonroof as a big care problem in the future.

[@rainbowsforlife7137]

Hi Mr Subaru, I have a 2014 Crosstrek 5 speed with 90,000 miles and it’s misfiring on startup for a couple seconds and rpm’s are dropping when it misfires but recovers after about 5 seconds. Only does it when cold started and doesn’t seem to do it as much when hotter (90+ degrees) outside. I have changed spark plugs, coils, cleaned throttle body, new air filters, new pcv valve but still isn’t fixed. No CEL, any ideas or advice would be appreciated. Thanks

[@wtaylorg]

Thank you for going over a hybrid for us. I’ve never really known the specific differences with these. Explaining what these differences are is really beneficial to us.

[@timbrown9731]

Mr. Subaru starting to sound like Tyler Hoovie… 😆

[@Marco-qe5zw]

lets hope not..

[@willszc6brz395]

things like this give dealers a really really really bad rep, i understand why people do not trust dealerships

[@kidwelldavid6136]

I have a feeling that your going to be putting another 5k+ into it before your done. PS, what’s the life expectancy of that hybrid battery.

[@DrewM91105]

"You're" going to be, not "your".

[@mariomarin6232]

Do the AWD Solenoid replacement only, no need to replace the whole valve body! It would be educational and helpful for many people, please😊 Big, fan of your work, you don’t know what a blessing you’ve been through your videos, thank you very much!!!

[@wwgbert]

I think you got a great price for what it is since you have the knowledge and tools to repair the current issues.

[@kevinblock2307]

I think you did good since you know how to do proper repairs.. feel bad for previous owner who put that type of $$ just to lose faith in it with poor quality service

[@lawrencefeldman462]

Sorry to hear that the folks who owned this Subie had such high maintenance bills. When you bought this Subie , did the former owner buy another Subaru...? After the $$$ put into the former ride I wonder if they stayed loyal to Subaru. Plus some Dealerships have earned the name Stealer Ships. Sad statement for piss poor work .

[@dondenis1500]

You should buy one that you really like with lower miles and keep it for a few years.

[@Starch1b2c3d4a]

The dealership should cover a new fix if its been only 10k miles and a new oil leak... We need more info on what happened regarding this dealership. I don't think we are getting the full story here.

[@pauladams127]

I’d love to see what you do with the steering wheel and buffing out those paint scratches. Mine suffers from that same flaky steering wheel (I too put on a wheel cover and hate it) and thin paint job.

[@jeffduckworth9092]

Could be wrong but I think a lot of the steering wheel peeling happens from alcohol from your hands. Don’t wipe your hands in the wheel after using hand sanitizer or if hand creme has alcohol in it. I do wonder if that is true?

[@ecopennylife]

If it can be fixed with no surprises it's a good deal - what about the hybrid battery condition??? Those are MEGA expensive to replace.

[@MrSubaru1387]

About $4300

[@larryuptain3404]

​@@MrSubaru1387 If nothing else you could pull(?) that battery and sell it for $2900.

[@aaclar]

Im missing the cover emblem too I bought it about a month ago I can’t find it anywhere to order I know I don’t need it but still it could be prettier lol love your work thanks for this

[@inerlogic]

Emblem probably flew off in the front end collision.... *makes a note to bring his Massachusetts 2016 OB to Mr. Subaru for an engine reseal when needed, muahahahhaaha

[@stevenoe6395]

Probably did get a good deal since you no how to fix everything wrong with it. The half assed dealer work is why i cant stand dealers charge enormous amounts of money to half ass everything. Not all of them but most i have seen sane with the chain stores. Tire discounters riped my gf off several years ago with tirods say brand new ones were bad and the tires that were good were bad its hard to find a honest shop. Luckly i do my own repairs well when i was able too kinda still am lol love your videos thank you!!!!!!!

[@kimmerwskrinak2305]

Is the hybrid battery in decent shape or does it need replacing?

[@juliosdiy3206]

Nice Id like to know more about the hybryds. Does the mpg even worth it?

[@mattnordsell9760]

I have a 2016 Subaru legacy and I'm coming up on 199k miles on it. I will tend to hear some sound that sounds like something is loose when there's wind, but I'm not able to see what it could possibly be. I live in Minnesota and the car is from here/North Dakota for it's entire life

[@jmounce50]

Mr Subaru, I have a kind of off topic question/video idea. Subaru advertises their Battery Charger and Maintainer. I would love to see a video explaining what they do, when you would use one, how to install one and how to use it.

[@knightryder3757]

Good god almighty! I just bought my first ever Subaru, a 24 crosstrek and am now wondering if I did the right thing after seeing this video. That car was only 10 years old and already had all those issues??

[@jeffdiggs6318]

Great deal, IMO....outside of the crappy dealership rebuild.

[@N7-alpha]

What is rhe battery pack condition that realy drives resale price on hybrid's

[@DistributistHound]

Damn when you said oil in the cooling system my mind went ok Game over without a specialist

[@warnerr5061]

Love the addition to the channel. I have a similar oil leak in the same area of my 15 crosstrek. Glad to see you’re not too worried about it.

[@americanpancakelive]

At first I was going to say great deal, then doubt punched me in the gut and I am feeling that it might be a lemon. hope I am incorrect.

[@richardepstein3494]

Are you going to complain to the Subie service manager regarding the sloppy and shit job that their tech did for that kind of money?

[@CJM11830]

are many Subaru dealers as bad as this? I have a 2023 limited Crosstrek and I love the car but worried dealers suck at repairs. And yes I've had a life working on cars myself - just not much XP with Subarus other than a CV joint or 2.

[@imreza96]

TSB SB24-039 shows the new partsnumber for valve bodys. And some other news. 😀

[@carl2591]

Who was this dealer that didi the work again? Subaru dealer in Ashboro nc. ? Good to know

[@kennethstevens1107]

Looking forward to the repairs. Looks like a great deal to me given the appearance and your ability to service the car yourself.

[@Super_Charged4life]

cant wait for another 8 years to see you end up with a plug in hybrid for 2500

[@MrSubaru1387]

🤣😅😂🤣

[@kerrylewis2581]

Nice buy but I'm sickened by the lack of skilled work at the dealership.

[@danielgallagher8009]

Hopefully you do not end up with the P0B0B issue a lot of these TH58A transmissions have had. Would make a good video though.

[@benbrown9991]

I have a 2015 Subaru Crosstrek. Its Orange has trailer hitch and Yakima rack on top. The transmission pump went out. 230,000. No outside damage. Need to sell ASAP. BRISTOL Va for sale as is title in hand make me an offer

[@bmwrules28]

Oh man don’t forget the bug spray!! Awful seeing that oil leak and the pathetic job done by mechanics at dealership. They ripped off previous owner. Hahaha Green horn haha. Can’t wait to see the good old Subie back to normal after your repairs.

[@jeromebecigneul2911]

For the average person it would probably be a bad deal. You mention what it would cost you to fix but for the average person add 1 or 2 thouand dollars to what you can fix it for. So on that note, Bad Deal.

[@waltahlgrim5508]

Sound like a great deal if the transmission only needs the valve body and a very bad deal if the transmission fluid is original and the trans belt is done. Just how many miles do we think a trans belt can go with factory lifetime fluid? How many miles if the fluid gets changed every 50k?

[@singebkdrft]

Good deal to me. Especially if you're stuck in stop and go traffic where hybrids really shine.

[@newjersey502]

Wow Mr Subaru!!!! I cannot believe they left the Oil in the cooling System and a crappy reseal job . Now u have to get a Radiator Cap and a complete clean and a reseal . The AC had a TSB because of the pulley . TSB was to replace the compressor . Subaru for me coughed up a few bucks even out of Warranty. I evacuated and put in a new compressor and all new O rings and been running ok . I love Crosstreks !!! You have fun with this one !!!

[@richroj]

that was wonderful Mr. Subaru, I can't wait to see you start working on it 👍👍

[@Th3Think3r]

Is it just me or is the panel gap on the driver's side front end out of whack? Combined with the grill and dents it seems like there was some sort of front end collision. Excited to see some hybrid videos!

[@Doncan0823]

Remember; dealer supposedly did all that job…

[@KeithShort-c4o]

bet a hundred all the lights are on because of the hyrid battery is bad like mine i need help on mine

[@FreeToLove999]

Given that you are a mechanic, I think you got an excellent deal. Outside of the mechanical issues, car looks great! 👍🏾😊

[@arthurfernandes2402]

Sloppy work from the dealership… makes you wonder where else they cut corners on the reseal job 😅

[@GoDodgerBlueScarletBuckeye]

That has me worried speaking as a non mechanic. Ugh hard enough to trust what you are told by car repair place, but who knows.

[@PurpleFavorite1]

I dont know anything that has to do woth cars and i subscribed. You just bought a car to work on and i will be seeing the kind of work that goes into cars. Pretty good deal on my end.

[@judih.8754]

I'm glad you called the previous work was it was, piss poor! Thats a shame. Its a nice looking car and the mileage isnt that bad. I think at that price you did alright. You'll make it right and can clear a little profit.

[@crimildoernestongove9020]

Mr subaru, why the fourth generation impreza 2.0i is more fuel efficient than 1.6i (based in informarion provided by internet reviews)

[@KeithShort-c4o]

i have one of these with only 87k the hybrid battery run down after one day i am surprised they did engine rebuild these do not fall apart do they have cells that are repairable

[@wim0104]

good intro to the subaru hybrid system

[@Darthvolvo]

Sounds like you got a decent deal on the hybrid Crosstrek. Just hope the dealership "reseal" doesn't turn into a hornet's nest of issues. Look forward to seeing some new content on the hybrid system!

[@susanjones5715]

It’s not surprising that the dealership didn’t take any effort to do the job properly. It’s hard to trust any shop these days, which sucks because the cost is so high nowadays

[@oldtimer6528]

Congratulations! You just bought yourself a boatload of work, and you don't even know it yet.

[@Christosan88]

YES! and its not an sti. Ive come to realize that the labor is not worth it unless its a turboed

[@wim0104]

he's the perfect mech to sort thus; no hurry, and all the right tools.

[@danmauney8394]

Is a 2015 crosstrek hybrid be worth $6000 131k. Needs ac work and rear wheel bearing. Texas car no leaks I could confirm . What do I need to look at?

[@garymeredith2441]

That is a nice car especially for what you paid for but the thing I like about best at this car is this a hybrid with a tachometer , That is something you just don't get to see my Toyota Rav 4 Hybrid doesn't have A tachometer .

[@scottbaker9066]

It looks ok, What will this 2014 Hybrid be worth once you fix the problems? 3900 ? This owner takes the car to the dealer (and gets fleeced) so they should have cut losses before the reseal and gotten a Kia What will KZbin pay? I'll bet it turns out that YOU got you a deal ... but the car wasn't worth fixing before the 5k reseal and isn't actually worth fixing for 2900 at 200k miles.

[@aspecreviews]

4:26 it doesn't use the HUGE 500-volt electric motor for idle stop?!

[@MarzNet256]

If you fix it yourself, it's totally worth it. You can easily get at least another 100k out of it.

[@marklytle7829]

Know as my mechs like you out in LA? Subaru specialists?

[@someguy53299]

Wish you offered apprenticeships. Id love to learn all this stuff.

[@z1az285]

i was inquiring about a Crosstrek hybrid and one thing that turned me off completely was that even though the transmission was based on the prius (motors and gears) , the transmission still needed to be flushed/ drain and fill every 30000 miles instead of 60000 like most other Toyota E-CVT trans for their hybrids. No thanks.

[@timin770]

Yeah that's brutal. OMG

[@z1az285]

@@timin770 Yeah, you can say that again 😂. apparently the upcoming forester hybrid (and later the Crosstrek ) is fully based on a Toyota E-CVT but the devil is in the details. fingers crossed 🤞

[@timin770]

@@z1az285 how often do expect to reach 30K?

[@z1az285]

@@timin770 Every 30k miles. sorry, i didn't follow

[@timin770]

@@z1az285 39k miles is distance, not time. How many months does it take for you to reach 30k miles in your automobile?

[@mccrosti]

Wondering if you have a shop somewhere that I can bring my Subaru too. We're in Charlotte NC.

[@ItchyKneeSon]

Hey, Mr. Subaru. If I swap a 60k-mi. 2015-2017 FB20 into a 150k-mi. 2011 Forester, what do you recommend I replace/refresh in the process? Do you already have a video on this? I appreciate all your content, sir! Thanks!

[@jaxmendoza8335]

What is the price tag of the battery for this hybrid model

[@khakiswag]

I know this is a Subaru fan site and I don't mean any disrespect BUT why is this hybrid system so primitive? Toyota's 1st Gen hybrid synergy is far more advanced than this. Since Toyota owns a small share of Subaru why doesn't Subaru just use Toyota's system? Is it because they didn't want to lose Subaru's AWD capability? That would kind of make sense but it defeats the fuel efficiency benefits of a hybrid.

[@mytige20V]

This one was probably made before Toyota bought 20% of Subaru.

[@jtwu8931]

That’s why the hybrid was never popular

[@937wigger]

That’s a steal

[@barryexplorer3552]

You left out the cost to flush the coolant to rid the system of oil. also as a side note there is no longer a bell. All i see on my laptop is a subscribe link.

[@The_Fantasy_Arter]

Nice to know suburu don't last morenthan 10 years. Pure trash. Glad I saw the video. Keep posting g about hiw crappy suburus are

[@NickNickNameName]

The worst issue with this car is that it is a hybrid. You will never recover the additional cost through fuel "savings."

[@ShOookYx]

I don't know if you will reply me or not but here in our country in Egypt we only have this cross track with 1.6 liter engine with non turbo do you think you still worth it to buy it used or like new Or it will be very weak car

[@bankrep2746]

Looking at 180k 17 forester. What should I check on test drive? Thanks Don

[@markkaplan1949]

Add a new steering wheel on to the $ total. No way you'll let that wheel stay on there!

[@MrSubaru1387]

Getting a used one. 👍🏻 1/3 price of new

[@stefe3880]

Hello, am new here and looking to buy a used subaru. Its an Impreza with a EL15 1.5 107 hp engine. Wanted to ask if youve had any experiance with it? I do like Subarus a lot but am kinda scared itll bite me on the ass XD.

[@TheCumminsturbo2]

Toatly off topic but I have a 2020 legacy and want to just put a slight lift on it because it drags everywhere if I put a out back struts on it will that get me wat I want

[@michaelhodge9902]

The electric motor is a three phase induction motor generator which act as motor to start the engine and drive the car down the road and a generator to recharge the battery in generator mode you have make sure the R.M.F speed is always less than rotor speed.