How much is a head gasket going to cost on a 2007 Subaru Impreza 2.5i with 94000 miles? Why has this happened?
It has happened because apparently Subaru has still not licked the head gasket problems that were fairly common on their 2.5 liter (non-turbo) engines from ~1996-2003.
I would strongly suggest that you contact Subaru of America via the toll-free phone number in the Owner’s Manual. If you request financial assistance for this problem, there is a decent chance that they will be forthcoming with a large discount on the repair work. Just be sure to keep the conversation adult and civil, and whatever you do, DO NOT tell them that you will never buy a Subaru again.
When the head gaskets (there are two, in case you were not aware of it) needed to be replaced on my '97 Outback, I believe that I paid a little less than $600 for the repairs, despite the fact that the car was then ~7 years old and had over 130k miles on the odometer. If I had not been given assistance with the repair costs, I probably would have had to pay somewhere over $1,000.
Good luck!
The price will vary a lot based on the shop and locale. As to why it happened, that also depends on whether you’re talking about a gasket seepage problem or it has failed due to overheating.
The former, at least in my opinion, is due to the head gaskets relaxing over time and the minute loosening of the head bolts to some degree. If this is the case it’s possible at least to stop this seepage by having the head bolts retorqued.
Regarding those deals in which they meet you halfway on the costs, what generally occurs is that this “half price good faith effort” means the customer is actually footing the entire bill due to the way warranty labor rates and warranty times are calculated, along with the “real cost” of the parts used.
Bad luck or someone overheated the car for an extended period.
Never overheated. Just started noticing a strong sweet smell after driving it.
Did the car actually get diagnosed with a blown head gasket? Be careful with mechanics as they assume with Subaru’s past history(96-2004 EJ25) of blown head gaskets it applies to their more current EJ25 non-turbo. It maybe they never resolved it.
It will be interesting if the new 2011 Forester engine which is the first full redesign in 20+yrs for Subaru will be fine in terms of head gaskets. At least Subaru put a timing chain in.