TerriCanary

It all started when her timing belt snapped and took a decent chunk of the engine with it. She spent a month at the shop with a man whom I thought knew Outbacks well. Her head gaskets were replaced, all hoses and clamps were replaced, as well as many other parts. She carted me around for a while longer after that, but then she started to overheat on the highway. My dad (who has been employed for 30+ years as a mechanic) took her off my hands for the last two months and replaced everything again, as the first guy apparently did a bad job at some stuff. I got her back and she was fine for a while and then the issue began again. I love my car and quite frankly can't afford to replace it. My dad is at his wit's end with this issue. When it overheats it's after about 10-20 minutes on the highway. City driving does not seem to be an issue (though it may be that I don't drive for very long periods of time in the city). The coolant reservoir appears to be very full when it's overheating like that and there's smoke and/or steam (I never had to learn about cars since my dad and brother and boyfriends always took care of this stuff so I'm not as knowledgeable as I should be. Forgive me if I type something that sounds ridiculous). When I blast the heat it helps. When it's overheating on the highway and I get back into the city (at slower speeds) it cools down a bit (though still runs high) with the heat blasting. So much has been replaced in the engine in the last couple years including and most recently, the thermostat, head gaskets, water pump and hoses. Help! Before this car tears our family apart.