THINK TWICE

The FB flat-four's defining defect is excessive oil consumption, and it runs across the line, not just the Forester: the Outback and Legacy carry the 2.5L FB25 and the Impreza and Crosstrek its 2.0L FB20 sibling, all with the same piston-ring flaw. Roughly 140 federal engine complaints across these four models name the engine burning or losing oil -- led by the Outback (66), then Impreza (39), Legacy (18), and Crosstrek (17) -- concentrated in the early years (2013-2014 for the FB25 cars, 2012-2013 for the FB20 cars). It drove the same class action and Subaru warranty extension for oil consumption that covered the 2014 Forester; that coverage is long expired. By high mileage a given car has already declared itself -- it either burns oil or it does not.

Check — Check the oil level and its condition on the dipstick; ask the seller how much oil the car adds between changes and look for a Subaru oil-consumption test in the service records. A quart low every 1,000-1,500 miles is a renegotiate-or-walk finding, because running low starves and can damage the engine.

The Lineartronic CVT is the recurring powertrain risk across the models that share it: POWER TRAIN is 11% of Outback (644/5,895), 12% of Legacy (182/1,457), 7% of Impreza (91/1,388) and 15% of 2019 Ascent (86/555) federal complaints, and the narratives repeatedly describe the CVT shuddering, hesitating, jerking or whining and then losing drive power. It is largely a warranty/class-action matter, not a recall (the exception is the Ascent drive-chain recall).

Check — Test-drive deliberately: from a stop and at light throttle, and holding a steady 20-45 mph, feel for shudder, hesitation, jerk or whine, and any hard or delayed engagement. Check the CVT fluid (clean, not burnt), and ask for CVT service, reprogram, or replacement history and any remaining extended CVT coverage.

On the 2010-2018 Outback and Legacy the Lineartronic CVT is known for a low-speed shudder and hesitation, often traced to the torque converter or valve body: 146 POWER TRAIN complaints across the two describe shudder or hesitation, and owners widely cite valve-body service, an extended CVT warranty (commonly described as 10 years/100,000 miles), and a class-action settlement. These complaints cluster mid-to-late life (POWER TRAIN median ~93k miles Outback, ~100k Legacy), so a high-mileage car may already be at or past that coverage, and a CVT replacement is a $4,000-8,000 event.

Check — On a test drive, accelerate gently and hold a light cruise and feel for a shudder or vibration through the driveline; a software reprogram can mask it. Check CVT fluid condition, ask whether the valve body or CVT was ever serviced or replaced, and confirm whether any extended CVT coverage still applies to the VIN.