2013 Subaru Outback changing the timing chain

Asked by GuruW7TYT May 30, 2018 at 10:45 AM about the 2013 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have 157,000 miles on my Outback.  Everything is working real well.
The timing chain does not have an obvious way to determine wear and whether or not I should change it.  
When do the normally wear out or require changing?

2 Answers

86,775

Theoretically...it should last the life of the car...it's lubricated by the engine oil..so don't run low on oil and keep up with regular maintenance.... IF the chain gets noisy or starts rattling.. you might want to get it checked. Congratulations on 157,000 miles so far.... have you ever had any HEAD gaskets failure?

5 people found this helpful.
48,660

The modern DOHC's timing chain will momentarily rattle on cold starts. There's no evidence of wear on heavily-used first year (2013) specimens. Note the misleading info above: one cannot inspect the chain without VERY expensive removal of the bonded front engine cover; secondly, the 2013+ DOHC does NOT have frail head gaskets. (Stick to your Prius aid, Mark!) SOA specs 0w20 oil in North America to prevent customers from complaining about timing chain rattle on cold winter starts, whereas the better 5w30 is used elsewhere in the world (inc MY garage and my hundreds of clients).

19 people found this helpful.

Your Answer:

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    Mark Weiner
    Reputation
    33,490
  • #2
    TheSubaruGuruBoston
    Reputation
    28,650
  • #3
    Keith Cahalan
    Reputation
    3,380
View All

Find great deals from top-rated dealers

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Subaru Forester
26 Great Deals out of 1,027 listings starting at $2,000
Used Subaru Crosstrek
35 Great Deals out of 958 listings starting at $6,994
Used Toyota RAV4
91 Great Deals out of 2,055 listings starting at $3,499
Used Honda CR-V
90 Great Deals out of 3,817 listings starting at $1,995
Used Toyota 4Runner
13 Great Deals out of 337 listings starting at $9,900
Used Subaru Legacy
5 Great Deals out of 159 listings starting at $4,999
Used Subaru Impreza
19 Great Deals out of 458 listings starting at $3,999
Used Toyota Highlander
31 Great Deals out of 718 listings starting at $2,495
Used Toyota Camry
49 Great Deals out of 940 listings starting at $2,212
Used Honda Pilot
47 Great Deals out of 1,226 listings starting at $2,133
Used Toyota Tacoma
54 Great Deals out of 1,033 listings starting at $8,708
Used Mazda CX-5
61 Great Deals out of 2,754 listings starting at $4,999
Used Ford F-150
299 Great Deals out of 15,725 listings starting at $1,712

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.