---
title: 'The Easiest Car Brand To Own, Maintain, & Repair?! | Subaru, Of Course! Here''s Why!'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=tRYKu1EExpM'
video_id: 'tRYKu1EExpM'
date: 2026-07-01
duration_sec: 775
---

# The Easiest Car Brand To Own, Maintain, & Repair?! | Subaru, Of Course! Here's Why!

> Source: [The Easiest Car Brand To Own, Maintain, & Repair?! | Subaru, Of Course! Here's Why!](https://youtube.com/watch?v=tRYKu1EExpM)

## Summary

Subaru vehicles are among the easiest car brands to own, maintain, and repair yourself, saving money at the repair shop. The video explains why, focusing on the consistent architecture, simple layout, and accessible components across models.

### Key Points

- **Ease of Maintenance** [0:00] — Subaru vehicles are the easiest car brands to own, maintain, and repair yourself, saving lots of money at the repair shop.
- **Consistent Architecture** [0:43] — Subaru has maintained the same architecture, driveline, engine, and layout for the last 40-50 years for the US market.
- **Four-Cylinder Boxer Engines** [1:01] — The vast majority of Subarus are powered by four-cylinder boxer engines, with consistent placement of components.
- **Easy Maintenance for 30 Years** [3:57] — For at least the last 30 years, Subaru vehicles have been extremely easy to maintain and own, with accessible components under the hood.
- **Simple Electrical System** [7:05] — Subaru's electrical system is simple, not overly complex, making electrical issues easy to diagnose.
- **Head Gasket Issues** [8:11] — Head gasket issues are a known concern, but the engine is easy to remove for major repairs.
- **Cheap Parts** [10:11] — Subaru parts are fairly cheap due to shared components across models, making them easy to find and affordable.
- **Minimal Specialty Tools** [10:50] — Basic hand tools suffice for most maintenance and light repairs, with specialty tools only needed for internal engine work.

### Conclusion

Subaru vehicles are the ultimate DIY car due to their consistent design, easy access to components, simple electrical systems, and affordable parts, making them a joy to work on.

## Transcript

Subaru vehicles are one of if not the
absolute easiest car brands on the road
today to own maintain and repair
yourself saving you lots of money at the
repair shop all my reasons why I think
so
ahead so right off the Hop we are
talking about nuts and bolts here we are
talking about the actual ease of doing
your own periodic maintenance and doing
your own repairs we're not talking about
common issues misconceptions things of
that nature we've covered in other
videos looking at Subaru vehicles
they've all pretty much carried the same
architecture the same Drive Line the
same engine the same layout for the last
40 50 years for the US market once you
know one Subaru you pretty much know
them all well one's powered by
four-cylinder boxer engines which is the
vast majority of them looking at other
auto manufacturers other brands they're
not as streamlined as Subaru is you can
look at two different models three
different models from the same
manufacturer for the same year model and
they have wildly different engines
drivetrains and configurations you know
one you have no idea about the other one
sometimes mid year they change things
one that's notorious for this is Ford
you might have three different parts for
one single model year of one single
model vehicle they're pretty good about
doing that once they run out of one part
they switch up or they change mid year
that's not really something you see with
Subaru they tend to stick with the same
thing for years at a time just because
of the size of the company and the money
that has to be spent in changing things
they just don't have the capital to keep
changing things and Reinventing things
pick almost any model any year model
over the last 30 years 40 years and
you're going to find basic Al the exact
same recipe over any of those models
you're going to find a four-cylinder
boxer engine naturally aspirated or
Turbo Charge you're going to find a
longitudinally mounted all drive
transmission automatic or manual you're
going to see a symmetrical all drive
drive line that's pretty much it they're
almost all the same layout once you get
under the hood it doesn't matter if it's
an empreza a WRX a WX STI a cross Trek a
Forester a legacy or an out back they
pretty much all followed this formula at
some base model looking back over the
decades it's pretty much been the same
formula as far as the power goes you
look back to the late 60s with the EA
series boxer engine up to the '90s with
the EJ series boxer engine to modern
times in the teens with the fa and FB
series engine or the newly released CB
engine they're all pretty much the same
four-cylinder boxer around 2 L of
displacement turbocharged or naturally
aspirated has a single overhead cam or
dual overhead cam configuration intake
manifold on the top exhaust manifold on
the bottom and your accessories pretty
easy to access on the top this pretty
much the exact same way it's been over
the last 50 years along with the
evolution of the actual engine itself
the underhood the engine bay has pretty
much stayed the same layout whether it's
1960s e e a 1970s EA 1980s EA 1990s EJ
2000s EJ 201's fa FB series or 2020s fa
FB or CB series engine it's all pretty
much the exact same layout you look
under the hood you know one from 20
years ago you're going to be able to
figure out where most things are in a
modern one and for at least the last 30
years they've been extremely easy to
make maintain and to own anything you
need to do to these vehicles it's pretty
easy to find under the hood your
radiator cap your coolant reservoir your
oil cap your oil dip stick your washer
Reservoir your brake fluid reservoir
your clutch master cylinder reservoir
your dip stick for your front
differential your manual transmission
gear oil your automatic transmission dip
stick and your power steering fluid all
marked with bright yellow caps and
handles on the dipsticks everything is
easy to find easy to access from the top
side in the engine bay now there's a
caveat to that when we talk about the
modern CVT transmission they don't have
a dipstick anymore so it is a little bit
more aggravating but as a whole the most
point they were very easy to check your
fluids change your fluids everything was
very easy to find and up here on the top
of the engine in the engine
bay looking at access Drive things of
that nature is pretty much been this
layout for years and years and years
power steering pump on the top left
alternator top Center and the AC
compressor top right very easy to access
very easy to place if you have an issue
and very easy to
service your belts are on the front very
easy to get to your upper radiator hose
from here to the radiator over to here
under the cover and one bottom radiator
hose very easy to access your hose hoses
your heater hoses two at the back from
the back side of the engine here back to
behind the airbox against the firewall
again very easy to access one big thing
that people like to complain about with
Subarus is the difficulty in replacing
spark plugs now on the dual overhead cam
engines it is a task to replace them if
it's your first time replacing them the
key to it is technique and the tools
once you've done it once it becomes way
easier it's usually that first time time
not knowing how to get in there and get
it out is the big hold up once you've
done it once you know what to get in
there with what tools to use it's fairly
easy to do the replacement on the Dual
herck head cam engines you can check out
my videos for tips on how to do this
easier now if this engine the older
single over head cam engine they're
fairly easy to get to as they go in at a
45° angle instead of straight through
the top of the cylinder head in line
with the frame rail so again with these
older single overhead C are pretty easy
to do general maintenance stuff on your
coils on the top your spark plug wires
to either side airbox at the top easy to
get to your air filter your battery over
here is easy to access they don't hide
it in the car they don't put it in the
trunk they don't put it under the back
seat all the batteries are pretty much
in this location same as your washer
fluid reservoir they're all pretty much
in this location on the older models
your fuel filter right here since they
put it in the tank but most vehicle
manufa have put a fuel filter in the
tank now where it's a not serviceable
item anymore so one great thing about
subar Vehicles is their electrical
system it's pretty simple it's not very
complex it's not overly complex if you
have electrical issues they're fairly
easy to diagnose another Plus for Subaru
vehicles looking at the front here you
need to replace a radiator 2 12 mm
headed bolts here and here you take the
clamps loose you take your radiator
hoses loose you disconnect the
electrical for your Cooling fans and
pull it out it's very easy to get to the
radiator common things that break common
things that need to be replaced over the
years of owning a vehicle especially
multiple years try that in some other
vehicles where you got to disassemble
the entire front of the vehicle to get
the radiator out or have to take out
components of the engine just to get the
radiator out of the engine bay Subarus
have always been very easy to do simple
normal everyday repairs on an alternator
takes about 10 minutes to pull off if
you know what you're doing power
steering pump very easy to change AC
compressor right here on top nothing is
hidden underneath nothing is crammed
underneath out of the way hard to access
so the big elephant in the corner is
head gasket issues I know we've talked
about them until I'm blue in the face
we've talked about these issues in the
past mechanical things are a little bit
difficult to repair on a boxer engine
especially with it in the vehicle now
you can replace head gaskets with the
engine in the vehicle but it's just
easier to pull the engine it takes me
about 35 to 45 minutes to get one of
these engines from running to on the
engine stand that's just it's not a hard
thing to do they're very easy to remove
if you need to do any like major repairs
timing belt replacement water pump
replacement all that stuff is easily
done inside the car you only really need
to pull the engine for heavy mechanical
issues head gaskets spun rod bearings
you know things of that nature
catastrophic engine damage kind of deals
other common repair issues say your
starter Gres out it's pretty easy to
access right here on top of the engine
two bolts hold it in and your electrical
wiring you don't have to crawl under the
car you don't have to dig around and
remove components to get to the starter
it's right here on top of the back side
of the engine looking at other normal
wear items your braking components
suspension components Drive Line
components even though this vehicle was
all drive it's a very rudimentary
all-wheel drive system it's very
uncomplex like some other manufacturers
all-wheel drive system there's not much
that really goes wrong in these
vehicles you have regular disc or drum
brakes very easy like any other vehicle
to place braking components on wheel
bearings were one of the uh general
service things that was kind of
aggravating if you didn't have access to
a press because it was a press and wheel
bearing but most Vehicles use press and
wheel bearings and until the last 20
years or so where they started doing
bolt in will bearing hub assemblies
which Subaru is now switched to so it's
easier to replace those as well so
another great thing about your Subaru is
the parts are fairly cheap because being
that they're so simple and they share so
many components most of the parts are
Universal to the brand rather than a
particular model so that brings the
prices down and it's more likely you'll
find that part in stock at your local
dealership or online because they don't
have five or six different models with
five six different ball joints or five
six different axles everything's pretty
much shared since Subarus are such
simple cars easy to work on there's not
a ton of specialty tools you need to do
your own maintenance and light repairs
only when you really get inside the
engine do you really need to worry about
specialty tools most other brands you
need specialty tools to do a lot of
common repairs where that's just not the
case with Subaru basic hand tools get
you by on a lot of things a lot of
people talk about a high cost of
ownership with Subaru vehicles but I see
that's mainly because they take them to
dealerships to get them worked on or
they take them to high-end specialized
repair shops that's because most
automotive repair shops at least in my
area and in my experience talking to
people won't touch these cars with a
10-ft pole because boxer engines are
scary and different when in actuality as
I've said they're easier to work on than
most things on the road today and are
far less complex and just a joy honestly
to work on so if more shops actually
tried to work on these things I think
more people would actually work on and
repair them it's just the difference
factor that scares so many technicians
so many shops away from working on
Subaru vehicles when again the reality
is they're just really really easy and
there you have it guys my thoughts and
feelings on Subaru and why I think
they're the ultimate DIY vehicle for
those that love doing their own
maintenance and repairs and saving money
what are your thoughts leave them in the
comments below what's your experience
been with your Subaru vehicle have you
figured basically the same thing out
that I have that they're pretty easy to
work on compared to other vehicles
you've owned in the past or other
vehicles you've worked on are you
looking at buying a Subaru and maybe
this video has made you sway back
towards considering Subaru when you
might have been scared off from things
You' read online or heard from other
people let me know your thoughts and
feel ings in the comments below thank
you guys so much for watching hope you
enjoyed the video and I will see you in
the next one