Q: Timing belt failed, how do I keep it from happening twice?

Hello! Thank you for writing in with this question. Timing belt replacement is generally recommended by Subaru at 105,000 miles, or 105 months. Other manufacturers recommend replacing them between 60,000-90,000 miles. It is very possible that there were contributing factors that caused the failure (oil leak, mis-aligned pulleys, etc.). However, that would be difficult to diagnose without performing a tear-down of the timing belt running gear. A ticking or whining sound that is RPM dependent coming from the engine would be an early indication of timing belt and/or pulley issues. Aggressive preventative maintenance is the recommended way to stay in front of problems like this. A professional mechanic at YourMechanic can listen to and visually inspect the timing belt running gear at regular intervals.