Premier Subaru Middlebury — Local services in Middlebury

PROS & CONS (BRUTAL REVIEW) I normally visit this facility when I am in need of parts to fix my own vehicle. The staff is friendly, professional, and helpful. The environment is typically clean and spotless. The vehicle service area has a window for customers to watch the auto technicians do work on their vehicles. The customer waiting area is far more spacious than other Subaru Dealerships with complimentary snacks and coffee ☕️.

CONS: First and last time. I brought my vehicle in for inspection for a "voltage" code (that alone cost $150+), and the auto technicians told me, "The repairs the vehicle requires will cost $2,200." I couldn't believe what I was hearing, so I took my vehicle over to a private mechanic in Waterbury, CT called, "Car Care LLC" on Hill Street and asked for a second opinion without telling him the vehicle had already been inspected. The mechanic plugged in his OBD 2 scanner, looked at me with a "are you serious face," and said... "Everything is pointing towards a faulty battery. Change your battery, and your code will go away." I was baffled, so I changed the battery, and the vehicle ran great. The code cleared. I then revealed to him what I was quoted, and he said, "$2,200 [jaw dropped] FOR WHAT!?!?" Angel from Car Care LLC didn't even attempt to charge me, I still chose to give him $20, and I was on my way. When I say, first and last time, I am referring to ever paying for a diagnosis or having any dealership mechanically work on my vehicle. Either the mechanics improperly diagnosed my vehicle, or they deceitfully knew exactly what was wrong with it and chose to quote me at a high price to repair. Regardless, what's the point of a diagnosis if the results are incorrect, and if the results are incorrect, why would I spend two grand to fix something that doesn't require fixing?

Overall, thanks to Subaru's high quote price, which turned me away from having it maintenanced, also my car eventually turned off in the backyard without turning back on, and almost every mechanic I contacted for a house call sending me to voicemail, I took the situation upon myself as an opportunity to get under the hood of my own vehicle and begin learning everything I could about Subaru mechanics. In the end, everything worked out, I learned to work on my own vehicle, remove and replace parts and in the end I fixed the problem, cleared out "permanent codes," did the drive cycles, and even passed emissions.

DIY TROUBLE SHOOTING SUBARU VEHICLES: The most common issues with Subaru vehicles are "voltage" codes and sensor codes. Voltage codes are eliminated by charging or replacing your battery. Sensor codes (02 Sensors, Camshaft Sensors, Crankshaft Sensors, etc..) can all be eliminated by cleaning or replacing your "Oil Control Valves." I personally replaced all 4 Oil Control Valves, which are super easy to access. You can't miss them. In most cases, you don't have to replace them. Just remove and clean them. Get a sensor cleaning spray, point into one of the tiny holes, and watch all the gunk and junk come out of the other hole, and your sensor will work like new. Method for eliminating sensor codes, (1) Do an oil change and oil filter change. (2) Clean or replace oil control valves. (3) If cleaning or replacing oil control valves doesn't fix the codes, then consider cleaning or replacing the sensors (the majority of the time, you'll hardly ever have to do step 3). This isn't professional advise, do it at your own risk. However, this method is what worked for me. Goodluck 👍

Subaru, if you're still reading this... there's no point in apologizing if the apology doesn't include a full refund for the improper or false diagnosis. Considering my experience and repair cost quote for unnecessary "guessed" repairs that turned out to be incorrect , I can't recommend vehicle repairs at this facility. I am always grateful for the parts department alongside a well picked friendly staff; after all, their the reason I still rated the facility 4 out of 5.

I do hope the DIY troubleshooting information helps someone save...

Premier Subaru Middlebury is a great dealership. I grew up being taught that Dealerships are some of the worst hives of scum and villainy you'll encounter in our capitalistic society.

But the people are Premier are great. The car buying experience is nebulous and riddled with dozens and dozens of details in general. I was totally overwhelmed at the entire idea of it. But I needed a vehicle that I could trust, that I liked, that I was proud to drive and I needed to trust the dealership I bought it from.

Things were bumpy at first, but this is mostly because I have Autism, ADHD and a few other health issues that make this entire thing very difficult.

Still, I don't regret my purchase one bit. And I've been totally thrilled with the service I've received so far, even if things were confusing at first.

Everybody is just so friendly, and there are a lot of people who recognize me every time I go in there. Big Shout out to Cassidy, Gretchen, Carlos and Kerri, for doing their absolute best to go above and beyond to help me through the process, even through some very bad miscommunications. Cassidy especially always makes me feel welcome when I go to the dealership for any reason and we happen to bump into each other.

Big shout out to Stephani Martinelli, the service manager and her whole team for making me feel welcome and appreciated when ever I come in.

There's definitely a few things that went on that sort of categorically make me nervous though.

The biggest is the entire Subaru Eyesight system and software environment. I can't apply my own updates to the computer built into the Base 2024 Subaru Imprezza, I have to take it to the dealership when ever a new update is available.

The Eyesight system sometimes stops working unexpectedly with zero feedback as to why, and usually comes back within a few moments, but in one instance, it was flat out unavailable from the moment I started the car and remained non functional for the next 30-40 miles of driving, before mysteriously just returning to functional status. (This was at around 5k miles, Brand New Car)

The technicians checked it out and said they didn't find any error codes or issues, but tried to vaguely blame the mount location of my dash cam, not willing to certifiably say that it was to blame, but that it might be. It is essentially mounted right on the edge of the area that Subaru's owner's manual claims is a no-zone.

The fact that this is even a problem reflects more poorly on Subaru than it does the dealership or the technicians, but the fact that they couldn't check and confirm if it was causing interference was troubling. I would be very very very shocked if the stereo wide angle view cameras could see any part of the Dash Cam where it's mounted. But apparently they can't even check. There's no way to access the video feed provided by the cameras.

Just disappointing.

But this is a relatively minor complaint in the grand scheme of things.

So far I have recommended 3 other people go to Subaru at Middlebury and at least one actually did and also had a good experience as far as I am aware. They love their new Crosstrek!

They're good people at Premier Subaru Middlebury, and I'm looking forward to having a long lasting relationship with them for this Subaru, and my next, and my next!

Give Subaru of Middlebury a look, they take good care of people there (Just be wary of the optional add ons and what ever you do, do not under any circumstances give in to the little voice in the back of your head that tells you you're taking too long or asking too many questions!!! lol)

P.S. Get the Sport, seriously. It's so much better than the Base. You'll thank...

Very unhappy. I brought my car in for servicing because there was a knocking in the wheel. This has happened before so I anticipated that it was the control arm. We were informed that there was a leak happening and which fluid was draining from our engine into the radiator and that they would need to take apart the engine to find the source of the leak. We agreed because we have a lifetime warranty on the car and they said that this could be covered if the source of the issue was not normal wear and tear. Subaru was unable to find the source of the leak so the warranty company (Zurich) would not cover the repair. Subaru said they could give me a refurbished engine for just around $7,000 or put our engine back together (NOT FIXED) for $3,000. This would mean that we brought the car in drivable. They took apart the engine would put it back together and not fix the issue for $4,200!!!!!!!!

We drove the car in there and we're unable to drive the car out. They packaged up our engine and put it in the backseat of the vehicle and made us tow it home because we refused to pay over $4,000 for them to have taken the engine apart and put it back together and not fix the issue!!!! We contacted Subaru of America to see if they would assist and they would not! Premier Subaru wanted to put us in a new vehicle when they took apart our vehicle and wouldn't put it back together. They offered to get us into a new vehicle but would only give us "$200" for a trade in because our car was "no longer drivable!!!"

I have loved my Subaru. I purchased it in 2015 and it has gone on many family trips and has been very good to us. But this is the second time that Premier has tried to do us dirty!!! We ended up having them put the engine pieces in the back of the car and having AAA tow it home. We decided to go with another vehicle from a different dealership as we just could not see giving them any money after what they did!

Be very careful when dealing with this...