Consumer Reports / Baja reliability

[Mr. Pockets]

I was flipping through the annual Consumer Reports 'new car' issue the other day. Some things weren't surprising (poor safety/reliability ratings on American cars, good ratings for Japanese cars), but a few things were.

First and foremost, to me: they gave the Baja a 'poor' reliability rating. WTF? I was pretty disappointed to see that. Later on, they break down the ratings into the car's major systems. Everything on the Baja was rated at least above average, except for 'body integrity,' which was 'average.' This wasn't the only example of such an apparent disparity. The Hummer H2 (puke) was also given a 'poor' reliability rating, but when the rating was broken down into major systems everything was 'good' except for 'hardware.'

So I have a hard time understanding these ratings - or what's proven to be problematic with the Baja. Anybody have some insight?

I never see any Baja's on the roads here... Not a very popular car I guess??

[Landshark]

i see quite a few of them here in Subaruburgh. i can't stomach the two-tone ones - yech! the all silver ones are kinda cool, though.

Those results/conclusions tell you more about the flaws in CU's methods than they do about the vehicles they "test".

The Baja was the best selling car that Kerven sold (excluding outback). When I worked there we couldnt keep them in stock. My neighbor across the street has a black one.

Mike

[lee]

Consumer Reports reliability rating is taken from voluntary surveys from subscribers purchasing a car new and is weighted concerning how often the problem was addressed, and how soon the problem started after buying the car.

So, if the Body Integrity issue started soon after delivery and enough people complained, that drives CR to give a bad rating.

[benebob]

I'd tend to agree with the Consumer Union. Only thing I'd add is the Legacy should no longer be a recommended vehicle and it should be knocked down a peg or 2 for its reliability. We are now on trip number 8 to the dealer on ours . Something is rotten in Indiana if you ask me!

[subymtnguy]

I see mabey 2 or 3 Baja's a week here in the mountains of Colorado. Subarus are very popular here; especially the Outbacks and Legacys.
I agree the 2 tones look kind of funny. I do like the solid colors, especially the silver.

As for the Legacy; it is the best Subaru I have ever had! What kind of problems are you having with yours, Benebob? Probs with the 2.5?

[benebob]

Originally posted by subymtnguy
As for the Legacy; it is the best Subaru I have ever had! What kind of problems are you having with yours, Benebob? Probs with the 2.5?

CD player jammed- 1st time it was used
Needed steering aligned as when the wheel was held straight it went very, very right.
Grinding going into 3rd at 500 miles (manual trans)- Replaced
Orange Peel as good as GM ever did.
Paint doesn't match between the plastic and metal parts.
Needs a new side mirror as the black plastic finish is peeling off (getting tomorrow).
Can I say clutch chatter!!!

Overall fit and finish is horrible for a $26k car. I'm just waiting for the 2.5l issues to pop up now.

[Mr. Pockets]

Yikes. I'm very surprised to hear all of that, Bob. My friend has a current-gen Outback and the car is fantastic, save for one complaint: the seals around the windows make some noise in high winds. He said they'll also drip a little in a car wash, but not in any weather.

Anyway, thanks for the replies. I am aware of how CR reaches the ratings they do, and that one recurring problem, no matter how litte, can ruin their opinion of a car.

[SHISVX]

i only like the silver ones as someone said before, the two tones are ugly....i think two tones on almost all cars are ugly
i see a few around here, but i don't really take in what magazines have to say about cars...for some, it is just an opinion...you can make statistics and numbers look anyway you want. even though some magazines are more realiable when it comes to stuff like that, i hate when they total trash something, even if it is a NEON....lol....all cars have their good points and bad points and some are better then others...but no car is just all bad...even if it is just good because it has really cool knobs on the dash

Kelli

From my experiance in driving new subarus (probably hundreds of 2003 and 2004 models during my period at kerven) I have to say that the US built Subarus (Legacy, Baja, Outback) have 'good' build quality at BEST. The Forester and Impreza have much better build quality.

Mike

[Mr. Pockets]

That's not really surprising, Mike. But at the same time, I'm very happy with the build quality of my wife's Legacy and my friend's Outback is very well-built, as well.

[benebob]

Originally posted by Mr. Pockets
the seals around the windows make some noise in high winds. He said they'll also drip a little in a car wash, but not in any weather.

Might as well throw wind noise in there as well for mine .

[Landshark]

Originally posted by Green1995SVX
From my experiance in driving new subarus (probably hundreds of 2003 and 2004 models during my period at kerven) I have to say that the US built Subarus (Legacy, Baja, Outback) have 'good' build quality at BEST. The Forester and Impreza have much better build quality.

Mike

i'll have to agree - our WRX is rock-solid.