Honest mechanic here. This is about 10% separated as seen near the bushing sleeve a real tear developing. The surface cracks all over are not concerning. I tend to recommend control arms once they are 50%+ separated; at that point stability and tire wear are considerably compromised, and should be addressed before complete separation of the bushing. Once the bushing is completely separated, braking will cause severe wandering, and going over speed bumps will make a notice “banging” like clunking. With that said, these arms being only 10% separated, and Subaru bushings, they will easily last to 100k+ miles without serious consequence. Now, a BMW or German built car with bushings like that would be more urgent, as the rubber deteriorates more quickly on those & gets a lot weaker even without severe separation. But, this softer rubber is also how they have a much smoother ride when everything is in good shape. $1600 is slightly on the higher end of price though not excessive depending on part brand used. Shops will mark up parts around 2.5x wholesale pricing, and using book time for labor, including alignment, is around 4 hours. At an average $150/hr labor rate, that’s $600 in labor roughly $850 in parts, then tax and shop supply fees ends up at $1600. You can find someone to replace them much cheaper, but they will most likely use in-house parts store brands which are notoriously garbage and have the ball joints fail in under 3 years, which is an even greater safety concern. The absolute best quality part you can get is OEM but that would be even more expensive at the dealership. Delphi and Mevotech Supreme are quality aftermarket brands. Everything else is not worth the time and money.
Reviews of OEM Subaru parts For Business
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I got a similar quote with almost identical wear showing for my 2014 crosstrek ($1700), and everyone said that it was insane high. I searched facebook for a Subaru specific group in my local area, and searched it for recommended Subaru mechanics. Found a highly recommended mechanic who replaced both control arms plus the needed alignment for about $540.
I was lucky enough to get a 2023 6 speed manual transmission and I am love it...
For example, Subaru control arms tend to be a wear out part that doesn't last that long The dealer will charge you $1,500 to do both sides and sure that's using OEM parts which aren't even that green in this case I myself was able to do that exact repair for $250 and a few hours of my time
I just recently paid $227 for my CVT fluid drain/refill on my Impreza at the dealership.
The car stops just fine, it just doesn’t have a great feel.
I bought a brand new '24 Outback Wilderness in August of 2023 and had to replace the battery within 18 months.
I’m on my third battery in my 2018
My battery died on my ‘15 Outback within a year of my buying the car brand new off the lot. I noticed some issues with the lift gate and the car was having problems starting at times. It was a bad cell in the battery so it needed to be replaced.
I had this issue as well, one day the car wouldn’t turn over. Then it would. Then there was no power. Then it would start. Over several days and weeks this would happen. It was explained to me that the Subaru batteries that come from the factory are made to hold just barely enough power to start the car. If that power is diminished in even the slightest degree, like with normal usage in the first 50k miles, then the battery does not have enough charge to do its basic task anymore, rendering it useless. As I understood it, the batteries in the new cars are not up to snuff.
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