SUBARU Service Manuals and SUBARU Repair and Maintenance Information Reviews

What are the best, lowest cost, most reliable sources of repair and maintenance information and service manuals for SUBARU vehicles? Find out here!

As a long time owner of several SUBARU makes and models, I've had the opportunity to review and use many sources of SUBARU service information. Here are my top picks for SUBARU Legacy, Impreza, Outback, Tribeca, Loyale, and other SUBARU repair manuals and information:

1. SUBARU Repair Information from ALLDATAdiy.com

ALLDATAdiy.com has the genuine SUBARU service manual information available on a subscription basis. The subscription rates are very reasonable, especially considering the alternatives. Benefits of the ALLDATAdiy.com SUBARU service manuals:

• Is the genuine SUBARU service information (same as what is in the factory service manuals)
• + Searchable - one of my favorite features. You can just type in 'front brakes' or 'MAF' and it will show you all the SUBARU service information related to the keywords entered.
• + SUBARU service information can be printed out as many times as needed; no ruining expensive printed manuals with oil and grease stains
• + Reasonable subscription rate

2. SUBARU Printed Factory Service Manuals

The printed genuine SUBARU shop manuals are also an excellent source of SUBARU repair information. They are very thorough and have many illustrations and diagrams. The Alldatadiy service information has the same text and scans of these manuals. The genuine SUBARU printed service manuals are kind of pricey to buy new; dealers pay $500 or more for a set of these manuals specific to one make and model year SUBARU. However, these manuals are often sold at a reasonable price used on sites such as eBay.

• + Good quality SUBARU service information with diagrams and illustrations (same as on ALLDATAdiy.com)
• - Price for new manuals is high; for older models the manuals can usually be purchased used at a reasonable price.

3. Third Party Repair Manuals such as Haynes and Chilton

I find these third party manuals good for reference. One of the main benefits of having a couple of these SUBARU manuals at hand is they often show an alternative way to do a job that is different than the factory SUBARU service manual. Sometimes the method is easier and saves time. It is especially helpful when the SUBARU service manual says 'using special tool xyz, remove part abc'. Well if you don't have SUBARU special tool xyz (these are usually too expensive to buy just to use once or twice), then the Haynes or Chilton SUBARU manuals usually will show an alternate procedure using common shop tools such as a prybar and a hammer.

However, the Haynes and Chiltons manuals tend to be more generically worded and span a wider range of models and years than the genuine SUBARU service information such as is available through ALLDATAdiy.com.

• + Reasonably priced good quality service information; good for reference and alternate ways of doing a job
• - Not always as specific about a particular make and model SUBARU as the genuine SUBARU service information

4. SUBARU TechInfo

SUBARU's professional service information Website, techinfo.subaru.com, has the SUBARU service information available for download as PDF's. However, the price is a bit higher than other subscription services. For example a 72 hour subscription was around $35 last time I checked. The system does limit how many files you can download per hour, but if you are willing to pull an all nighter or two over a weekend you can download and save the relevant parts you are seeking for your model and year SUBARU. Techinfo.subaru.com is targeted more towards dealers and professional repair facilities. It does offer a yearly subscription but it is something like $2500 last time I looked.

• + Excellent quality service information
• - Price is relatively high

5. EndWrench.com

EndWrench.com was a site targeted at third party (non-SUBARU dealer) repair shops. There were a number of useful articles and other SUBARU service information on the site. It doesn't specifically have repair information, but it can be helpful in finding out about the most common repair issues with a given SUBARU make and model.Unfortunately the site went defunct around 2010, but many of the articles are preserved here EndWrench.com articles.

6. CD's

On auction sites, automotive repair CD's are common. What information these have varies from CD to CD. Some are simply illegal copies of the genuine service information. Others are third party repair information or simply parts diagrams. Your mileage may vary depending on what you happen to end up getting.

• - Quality and accuracy is unknown; a bit of a shot in the dark as to what SUBARU service information you will get.

Conclusion

So as we can see there a number of options available for SUBARU service information. When I'm tackling a SUBARU repair job, usually I first print out the relevant information from ALLDATAdiy.com, then if I still have questions or am looking for alternate ways to do the job, I look at the Haynes and Chiltons manuals. Often I also end up searching EndWrench.com as well.

If you have any questions, please post a comment below or visit the forum.