Three problems related to coolant leaking have been reported for the 2002 Subaru Outback. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Head gasket failure causing coolant leak from engine, potential overheating and engine failure.
At 69,013 miles, the driver side head gasket is leaking coolant. We first noticed the problem due to the odor.
Drivers side head gasket leaked. Only that side was replaced. On 1/14 both head gaskets started leaking at 59000 miles. With Subarus help the dealer charged $ 855. 00. The problem is Subaru has a design defect in this engine so those of us who own these cars are going to have to pay for gasket replacements for as long as we own them. By the way the coolant system conditioner is holts radweld stopleak something Subaru will not tell you.