The Lemon Index$2,000 middle bill · most between $1,600 and $2,200
Lower than the $3,000 middle bill owners of all 62 models reported.
Owners who gave their mileage: a middle of 89,000 miles (10 reports).
Subaru Outback owners reported paying a median of $2,000 for a head gasket replacement, with the middle half of bills between $1,600 and $2,200. That's from 12 owner reports (12 complaints to NHTSA). Costs vary by shop and region.
What owners paid
- Under $5000%
- $500–$1,0008%
- $1,000–$2,50075%
- $2,500–$5,00017%
- $5,000 and up0%
Share of the 12 owner reports in each price band.
By model year
- 2001 Subaru Outback2too few for a middle
- 2002 Subaru Outback3$1,400 middle bill
- 2003 Subaru Outback1too few for a middle
- 2004 Subaru Outback1too few for a middle
- 2007 Subaru Outback1too few for a middle
- 2009 Subaru Outback1too few for a middle
- 2011 Subaru Outback1too few for a middle
- 2012 Subaru Outback2too few for a middle
Reports per model year, with the middle bill where there are 3 or more. YouTube amounts count for the generation the video covers.
How often owners report the failure
- 2000 Subaru Outback27 complaints name it13% of that year's complaints
- 2002 Subaru Outback14 complaints name it10% of that year's complaints
- 2003 Subaru Outback11 complaints name it12% of that year's complaints
- 2001 Subaru Outback10 complaints name it6% of that year's complaints
- 2006 Subaru Outback10 complaints name it4% of that year's complaints
- 2010 Subaru Outback9 complaints name it2% of that year's complaints
Owner complaints to NHTSA whose own words name a head gasket. Raw counts: popular years get more complaints. A complaint is a report, not proof of a defect.
Keep going
- Subaru Outback reliability by year
- Head gasket replacement cost on every car
- Car symptoms and what they can mean
Other repairs Subaru Outback owners reported
Torque converter replacement (25) · Transmission replacement (19) · Car battery replacement (18) · Radio and infotainment screen repair (7) · Brake repair (6) · Wiring harness repair (6) · Clutch replacement (5)
The details
How we count
Every number here is a repair bill an owner reported, never a shop's price list. Two sources: the bills owners wrote in their own complaints to the U.S. government (NHTSA), and the dollar amounts owners said out loud in YouTube repair and ownership videos. A figure counts for a repair when that repair is the part named nearest to it. Left out: purchase prices, payments, rentals, towing, warranties and deductibles, amounts under $50 or over $15,000, parts-only prices ("the part was $80 on Amazon"), bills for two different repairs named together, and money someone else paid. One number per complaint (or video) and repair: the biggest, so it's the bill, not the diagnosis fee.
The range is the middle half of the bills (the 25th to the 75th percentile), so one wild number can't swing it. Owners who complain to the government often had expensive repairs, so a typical bill can be lower. Costs vary by shop and region, by dealer vs independent shop, by parts and by miles. This is what owners reported, not a quote for your car.
Check the bills yourself
NHTSA complaint numbers (search them at nhtsa.gov): 11394507, 11324295, 11102597, 10981320, 10661292, 10556894, 10321730, 10217926, 10215508, 10170819, 10170783, 10148917.
Quick answers
How much does head gasket replacement cost on a Subaru Outback?
Subaru Outback owners reported a median of $2,000, and the middle half paid $1,600 to $2,200, from 12 owner reports. Costs vary by shop and region.
Is a Subaru Outback head gasket replacement more expensive than on other cars?
The Subaru Outback middle bill of $2,000 is lower than the $3,000 owners of all 62 models we have reports for paid.
Where do these Subaru Outback repair costs come from?
From 12 complaints to NHTSA: what owners themselves said they paid. They aren't verified bills or a shop's quote.
Which Subaru Outback years report this failure most?
In complaints to NHTSA, owners of the 2000 (27), 2002 (14), 2003 (11) Subaru Outback named it most. Raw counts, not a failure rate.
Sources: NHTSA owner complaints and YouTube videos (amounts said out loud), sorted by The Lemon Index. Owner reports, not a price quote. Costs vary by shop and region.