The 2022 Crosstrek is one of the friendlier first DIY vehicles you could pick — the FB20 boxer is chain-driven so there's no timing belt disaster waiting to happen, the 8.7" stock ride height gives you room to get a floor jack under it without gymnastics, and Subaru's layout is logical once you know the quirks. Two things matter above all else with this car: the oil filter housing is plastic and will crack if you touch it with anything but the dedicated 64mm cap wrench, and the boxer engine will foul spark plugs early if it's an oil consumer — so track your oil level. At $1,000 you're walking away with a complete safety kit, full metric capability, proper code scanning, and every Subaru-specific tool this car needs for the next 100K miles.
Chain-driven engine — no timing belt panic. The FB20 has documented oil consumption issues on a notable percentage of units; check oil every 1,000 miles until you know your car's baseline. Oil filter is a cartridge inside a plastic cap housing — the 64mm cap wrench listed in Tier 3 is non-negotiable. Spark plugs are horizontally accessed on the boxer layout, requiring a thin-wall socket, long extension, and a universal joint.
Brand: Arcan | Category: Lifting | Store: Amazon | Priority: CRITICAL
The gold standard for a home mechanic's first jack. Aluminum construction keeps it under 28 lbs so you can move it one-handed — you'll thank yourself the hundredth time you drag it out. The 3.5" minimum height clears the Crosstrek at stock height and grows with you if you ever buy a lower car. Rapid pump means two strokes to saddle height instead of fifteen. This is what holds your car up while you're underneath it — don't bargain shop here.
Alternative: Budget alt: Pittsburgh 3-Ton Heavy Duty Steel Floor Jack at Harbor Freight (~$90) with 20% coupon — functional but weighs 68 lbs and will rust if it ever sees moisture.
Brand: ICON | Category: Lifting | Store: Harbor Freight | Priority: CRITICAL
Never get under a car on a floor jack alone — hydraulics can bleed down and they do fail. The ICON stands are Harbor Freight's premium line and they earn that designation: wide base geometry, ratchet-and-pin locking mechanism, 6-ton rating per stand. Buy the 6-ton, not the 3-ton — the wider base is meaningfully more stable. These replaced the recalled Pittsburgh units; verify the ICON label when you grab them off the shelf.
Brand: Maxxhaul | Category: Safety | Store: Amazon | Priority: CRITICAL
Block the wheels that stay on the ground before you jack anything. This is the step beginners skip — it's also how cars roll off stands and kill people. Place one chock in front and one behind a rear tire before lifting the front. $12 to prevent a catastrophe. No exceptions.
Brand: DeWalt | Category: Safety | Store: Amazon | Priority: CRITICAL
Every single time you get under that Crosstrek, these go on. Brake dust, rust flakes, and fluid drips fall directly into your eyes when you're working overhead. At $8 for three pairs, keep one in the toolbox, one in the car, and one as a garage spare. Zero excuse to skip this.
Brand: Kidde | Category: Safety | Store: Amazon | Priority: CRITICAL
Fuel line work, brake fluid, a hot engine — you want this mounted on the wall near your garage door, not buried in a cabinet. ABC-rated handles flammable liquids, which is what you care about in a garage. Check the gauge pin every six months. Don't be the person who discovers their extinguisher is dead when the drip pan catches.
Brand: Tekton | Category: Sockets | Store: Amazon | Priority: CRITICAL
The Crosstrek is 100% metric and this set covers you from 5mm to 32mm across both 1/4" and 3/8" drives — shallow and deep included. Six-point sockets, not 12-point: six-point doubles the contact area on the fastener flats and will not round off the 10mm that already has rounded corners from the previous owner. Tekton's lifetime warranty and direct-to-consumer model means no retail markup padding the price. Best value-per-dollar socket set in the industry at this price point.
Alternative: Budget alt: Husky 90-piece socket set at Home Depot (~$55) — adequate, 12-point throughout.
Brand: Tekton | Category: Sockets | Store: Amazon | Priority: CRITICAL
The Crosstrek's lug nuts at 89 ft-lbs and any rusty suspension fastener will laugh at your 3/8" ratchet. This 18" bar gives you the mechanical advantage to break stuck fasteners without stripping them. The flex head lets you push straight down rather than awkwardly yanking sideways. Buy this before you need it — discovering you don't have a breaker bar when you're under the car with a stuck bolt is a miserable place to be.
Brand: Wera | Category: Hand Tools | Store: Amazon | Priority: CRITICAL
Wera's Kraftform handle geometry is ergonomically shaped to generate more torque than any round-handle driver — you feel the difference in 30 seconds. The laser-etched tip technology grips the fastener recess instead of camming out, which is critical on the Crosstrek's soft aluminum airbox bolts, battery tray fasteners, and interior panel screws. These are the last screwdrivers you'll ever buy.
Alternative: Budget alt: Klein 6-piece set (~$25) — American-made, solid, but lacks the tip-grip technology.
Brand: Knipex | Category: Hand Tools | Store: Amazon | Priority: CRITICAL
The greatest hand tool ever manufactured. Push-button adjustment, 15 grip positions, self-locking geometry that tightens under load — it will never slip on a hose clamp or a fitting. You will throw away every Channellock you own after the first time you use these. On the Crosstrek specifically: coolant hose clamps, battery terminals, and heater hose connections all become trivial. Buy the 7" and you will immediately want the 10" — that's in the future upgrades section.
Brand: Knipex | Category: Hand Tools | Store: Amazon | Priority: CRITICAL
For retrieving dropped fasteners from the engine bay, positioning wiring clips, and holding hoses steady when you're working solo. Knipex needle-nose has better grip serration geometry than anything American-made at this price. Buy these alongside the Cobra and you have a complete pliers setup that will outlast the car by 20 years.
Brand: Tekton | Category: Torque | Store: Amazon | Priority: CRITICAL
Wheel lugs at 89 ft-lbs, drain plug at 31 ft-lbs, spark plugs at 9–11 ft-lbs — none of these are guesswork. Under-torqued lugs loosen and wheels separate. Over-torqued drain plugs strip the aluminum oil pan threads and that repair costs $400+. Tekton's click-type is ±4% accurate and audibly clicks so you know exactly when to stop. Store it at the lowest setting after every use to preserve the spring calibration.
Alternative: Budget alt: Pittsburgh 1/2" click torque wrench at Harbor Freight with 20% coupon (~$20) — accurate fresh from the box but loses calibration faster.
Brand: Launch | Category: Diagnostic | Store: Amazon | Priority: CRITICAL
A $15 Amazon dongle reads engine codes only. The CRP123X reads engine, transmission, ABS, and SRS airbag codes — the four systems that will actually throw a warning light on your Crosstrek. It also streams live data: coolant temp, O2 sensors, fuel trims, MAF readings. Knowing what the car is actually telling you before you start pulling parts is the difference between a $30 fix and a $400 misdiagnosis. This scanner pays for itself the first time you use it.
Alternative: Budget alt: BlueDriver Bluetooth OBD2 scanner (~$100 via Amazon) — solid app interface but similar capability at slightly higher cost.
Brand: Hopkins FloTool | Category: Shop Supplies | Store: Amazon | Priority: CRITICAL
Low-profile design with an extended nose snout that reaches under the Crosstrek's belly easily. The fill spout makes transferring used oil into a jug clean instead of a mess. Take the used oil to any AutoZone or O'Reilly — they take it for free.
Brand: Aries | Category: Shop Supplies | Store: Amazon | Priority: CRITICAL
Bolts, clips, and small fasteners disappear the instant they leave your hand without a tray. Stick the tray on the fender, the hood, or any steel surface near where you're working — the magnet holds it in place. The three-size set means you always have the right tray for the job. $12 that saves you hours of searching for dropped hardware.
Brand: PB B'laster | Category: Shop Supplies | Store: Amazon | Priority: CRITICAL
The Crosstrek's exhaust heat shields, wheel well hardware, and suspension fasteners will be corroded if it ever lived in the Northeast, Pacific Northwest, or anywhere salted roads exist. PB Blaster is the penetrating oil that actually works — spray, wait 15 minutes, spray again, wait overnight if it's really stuck. Keep one can in the toolbox. WD-40 is a water displacer, not a penetrant — do not substitute.
Brand: Permatex | Category: Shop Supplies | Store: Amazon | Priority: CRITICAL
Apply a thin film to spark plug threads before reinstalling — the aluminum cylinder head will gall onto steel plug threads over 60,000 miles without it and you'll be drilling out a plug. Also useful on lug nut threads in rust-prone climates. Critical rule: a little goes a long way, and keep it off the plug's ground electrode and tip.
Brand: Kimberly-Clark | Category: Shop Supplies | Store: Amazon | Priority: CRITICAL
Motor oil, brake fluid, and coolant all have dermal absorption concerns with chronic exposure. Nitrile — not latex — is the right material because it doesn't degrade with petroleum contact. These are thin enough to feel fasteners through your fingertips, which matters when threading bolts into aluminum by hand. Keep the box next to the drain pan and use them every time.
Brand: GearWrench | Category: Wrenches | Store: Amazon | Priority: HIGH
The single biggest speed upgrade to your wrenching after sockets. The 120XP ratcheting box end operates on a 3-degree swing arc — you can turn a bolt with barely any clearance around it. The Crosstrek's engine bay is tight in spots where a standard combination wrench can't complete a full swing. The flex head adds another dimension of access. Once you use ratcheting wrenches you will never pick up a standard combination wrench again.
Alternative: Budget alt: Tekton 15-piece metric ratcheting wrench set (~$45) — fewer sizes but covers the critical 8mm–19mm range.
Brand: Ryobi | Category: Power Tools | Store: Home Depot | Priority: HIGH
For a beginner starting fresh with no platform investment, Ryobi ONE+ is the smart move — not because it's the best impact wrench, but because it's the best ecosystem value when you're building a garage from zero. The ONE+ platform runs 175+ tools on the same batteries: tire inflator, work light, drill, circular saw. The HP Brushless impact delivers 320 ft-lbs of forward torque, which handles all four lug nuts and most suspension fasteners. What it won't break loose: axle shaft nuts and crank bolts need 450+ ft-lbs — use the breaker bar for those. Note: buying this commits you to the Ryobi platform. That's the informed trade-off for the price.
Alternative: Step-up: Milwaukee M18 FUEL 2962-20 Mid-Torque 1/2" Impact (tool only, ~$180) — 350 ft-lbs, significantly more compact, and the M18 ecosystem is vastly more capable long-term.
Brand: Energizer | Category: Lighting | Store: Amazon | Priority: HIGH
Working under the Crosstrek without dedicated lighting is how you miss a half-seated O-ring or a clip that didn't click. This Energizer recharges via USB-C and is platform-independent — it goes with you regardless of which battery ecosystem you grow into. Folds out flat for broad area lighting, or stands upright, or sticks magnetically to the underbody. Not the flashiest light, but bright, reliable, and practical for the money.
Brand: AstroAI | Category: Diagnostic | Store: Amazon | Priority: HIGH
The Crosstrek's electrical systems are straightforward, but checking battery health (12.6V = full, under 12.2V = needs charge), verifying alternator output (13.8–14.4V running), and testing fuse continuity all require a multimeter. At $22 this covers everything a beginner needs. A dead battery and an $800 shop diagnosis bill is what you're preventing here.
Brand: Lisle | Category: Subaru Specialty | Store: Amazon | Priority: MEDIUM
This is the most important Subaru-specific tool on this list. Full stop. The FB20 cartridge oil filter lives inside a black plastic 14-flute cap. Without this wrench you either crack the housing trying to remove it with pliers (a $60–100 part replacement), or you defer oil changes because you can't get it off. Reinstall torque is only 25 ft-lbs — don't reef on it. $12 with no alternative.
Brand: GearWrench | Category: Engine | Store: Amazon | Priority: MEDIUM
The FB20's horizontally-positioned spark plugs require a long, thin-wall socket — a standard deep socket is too thick to clear the plug well opening. The rubber insert is critical: it holds the plug so it doesn't fall into the engine bay as you extract it, and seats the new plug for threading in by hand before torquing. OEM NGK iridium plugs in this engine are good for 60,000 miles — when you get there, you want this in hand.
Brand: EWK | Category: Brakes | Store: Amazon | Priority: MEDIUM
Brake fluid is hygroscopic — it absorbs moisture and the boiling point drops over time. When you do your first brake pad swap on the Crosstrek, bleed the calipers at minimum to push fresh fluid through. This hand pump lets you do a single-person bleed without a helper pumping the pedal. Not as thorough as a pressure bleeder for a full system flush, but exactly right for pad swaps.
Brand: Hopkins FloTool | Category: Shop Supplies | Store: Amazon | Priority: MEDIUM
The boxer engine's oil fill opening is tight and slightly recessed — free-pouring 0W-20 from a 5-quart jug produces a guaranteed mess down the engine block. An extended-neck funnel keeps oil where it belongs. Dedicate separate funnels for oil, coolant, and brake fluid — cross-contamination is a bad day.