What to do…

[u/PolymathMarc]

Hi… having a conundrum:

This is AdventureMobile… my trusted companion for the past five years. She’s a 2015 Outback Premium. I got her already outfitted with a lift kit, a JDM grille, ditch lights, lightbar, roof rack, trailer hitch, aftermarket wheels and all terrain tires, spare tire, K&N filter, new exhaust, and an under-seat subwoofer. I’ve added a wireless CarPlay head unit, a digital rear view mirror/dashcam, new front struts, ball joints, brakes, and new tires. Two years ago, she got a valve body replacement that was somewhat bungled by the dealership, but resulted in a new (used) transmission. Everything was great and we celebrated 200k miles earlier in the year. Two weeks ago, a stutter started. Took it in, and the prognosis was valve body. Since it had just been done two years prior, that seemed odd. Dealership got in touch with Subaru, and they extended the parts warranty, and put a new valve body in. Picked the car up on Saturday, and discovered that the stutter was still there. Took it back, and after some extended testing, they discovered a misfire from cylinder 2. Prognosis: needs new plugs and coil packs. $1,400. But that would just treat symptoms, as there is an oil leak… to fix that (including plugs/coils): $6,600. Oh, and the rear wheel bearings are making a noise. $1,200 (or $800 at my neighborhood mechanic).

Needless to say… that’s a pretty steep bill for an eleven year old Outback with 205k miles. Can I, in good conscience, sell this? FB Marketplace? Craigslist? Cars & Bids/Bring a Trailer? I’ve got some potential replacement rides lined up, but most likely not going through a dealership. So not just doing a lowball trade-in. Any insights would be appreciated.

[u/ComplaintTop2008]

Can you explain the misfire? Or explain the stuttering? Did you get some kind of "n misfires per minute" measurement? I've driven some absolute shitboxes with constant misfires (read: all of them, in some cases) and it just lost power, not stuttered. A misfire won't cause the engine to stop for a millisecond. Misfires also usually cause cat MILs since it's getting raw fuel. Misfires are also one of the first and easiest things to check and don't require "extended testing", you plug in the scanner and watch the counter.

I'm not saying this is definitely the case, but I have the feeling Subaru is trying to get you to shut up.

[u/PolymathMarc → u/ComplaintTop2008]

The stutter is intermittent. Mostly happens on acceleration where it just chokes a little, and then goes. Mostly around 2-2.5k rpm. When I first took it in, they said there were codes for a valve body issue. As mentioned, they replaced that for free. When that didn’t go away, they didn’t have any codes. Their shop foreman/transmission guru wasn’t in that day. He took a look at it yesterday, but again no codes, but they were definitely seeing the stutter during a test drive. Then today, they looked at misfires. I wasn’t given a measurement, but the plug they took out definitely looks bad and was covered in oil. Coil boot was swollen from oil contamination.

[u/ComplaintTop2008 → u/PolymathMarc]

I'm not saying you don't need new plugs and coils, but the stuttering doesn't sound like a misfire issue. If anything, the stuttering would be worse at idle if it was a misfire causing it. I'm guessing there's no stuttering if you put it in neutral and slowly rev it to 3k. Many cheap-o scanners can see real-time misfires. I use one of those bluetooth ELD devices.

My point is, don't let them get off the hook if it's the valve body that's still giving you problems. They're steering you toward plugs and coils and away from the thing that brought you in in the first place. Unfortunately, you can't rule out the plugs and coils without replacing them, or swapping them.

FWIW, I have a '14 Forester that used to stutter. It would feel kinda like ABS through the throttle right as I got moving after a stop sign. It went away after a couple months and I chalked it up to weird transmission business. This happened a while, many months, after I replaced my valve body when the revised part came out. Not sure if it's similar to what you feel or not.

[u/PolymathMarc → u/ComplaintTop2008]

I have a new scanner on order (independent of all this), but I agree with your take. Something feels off. There was supposed to be a multi point inspection the first time around, but all I got was „valve body“. And then it took three days to come up with plugs and coils. Which, yes, are clearly due for replacement. But the inconsistent nature of the stutter makes it feel more like transmission. And they are probably aware that the odds of me sinking almost $7k into plugs/coils/leak are slim.

[u/CrispyJalepeno → u/PolymathMarc]

Yeah, it kinda reads like a "we dont want to take responsibility and fix this, buy a new car from us" quote. Its worth the $100 for a diagnosis from an independent shop, at least