Seven problems related to radiator have been reported for the 2000 Subaru Outback. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
2000 Subaru Outback 1) car overheated and had to be towed 2) took it to the dealership - hole in radiator, blown head gasket (both replaced) 3) drove less than 20 miles and coolant started leaking from radiator hose 4) took it back to the dealer, radiator hose fixed and replaced other head gasket 5) drove another 10 miles - check engine light is on. Apparently the oxygen sensor is now bad. There are tremendous problems with the 2000 Subarus - read the following blog to see the 100+ other people with similar problems. Subaru should fix the coolant systems before an accident happens. . Read more...
Purchased car with 78k on it. Prior it driving from colorado to wisconsin, had it looked over. Replaced leaking water pump, timing belt, and leaking fwd drive shaft seal. Within a week of getting to wisconsin, radiator and driver side head gasket found to be leaking. Head gaskets are big on Subaru web sights. Soa recommends a "conditioner" to put in the radiator, but it was not available yet. Parts guy said problem was that owners are not allowing car to warm up in cold environments.
Failure of radiator at 48000 miles. The plastic body separated from the metal portion, causing an occasional leak of coolant.
Car was overheating. Took to dealer to change the timing belt and to investigate the overheating. Changed timing belt and blew sand out of radiator fins. Investigated on the web and found that the symptoms were very similar to a head gasket being blown out in very many cases. The next week the radiator fluid was being pushed out of the overflow reservoir as described in problems found on the web. Took the car back to the dealer who said that the head gasket was bad.
4th time for this radiator overheating; Subaru is replacing engine.
Problem started when driving to minnesota from California. Lower thermostat went out and car over heated, replaced. Lower thermostat went out again. Car still heating up funny, dealer says nothing wrong. Turns out head gasket gone. Next the engine was found to have a crack, they put in new block and gave us an extended warranty. Now less then a year later car overheats again. Subaru seems to be doing nothing to help.
First radiator failed at approx. 21,000 miles and oem replacement radiator failed at approx. 44,000 miles. Both radiators 10 mos. Old.