Headlights Problems of Subaru Outback - part 1

The headlights (hid with auto-leveling) are pointed dangerously low. They do not illuminate the road ahead far enough. A driver would have very little time to react, given this limited illumination distance. Subaru dealerships are adamant the headlights are adjusted to specifications. There are many complaints about this issue all over the internet from owners, and the dealerships I've mentioned this issue to have explained they are aware of the complaints, but there is nothing they can do. I am very worried for our safety and for the pedestrians/vehicles we would not see in time to stop. We purchased this vehicle new, and this is not a new issue. I have tried to address it for several years. When the vehicle is accelerating from a stoplight, for example, the headlights are basically fine (given the shift of weight to the rear which has the front of the vehicle aimed a bit higher), but as soon as the vehicle levels out, the issue is very evident. The automatic high beam feature simply does not compensate, as the automatic high beams are not intuitive enough to perfectly activate and stay activated every time (it misreads surrounding street lights, for example, as oncoming headlights very easily.

See all problems of the 2017 Subaru Outback 🔎.

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving 75 mph, the headlights failed to illuminate. The instrument panel also became inoperable. The contact pulled off the interstate and coasted to the side of the roadway to inspect the vehicle. The vehicle was restarted however, only running lights illuminated. The vehicle was turned off and restarted a second time. The contact stated that the high-beam and rear taillights illuminated however, the low-beams failed to operate as designed. The contact drove the vehicle to her residence with the high-beam headlight activated. The contact stated that after arriving to her residence, the vehicle was turned off and restarted and all the lights started working as designed. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 27,275.

See all problems of the 2019 Subaru Outback 🔎.

Headlights are aimed too high - they are similar to high beams on other cars. Whenever I am driving at night - especially when outside the city, almost every car passing me flashes bright light because they think I have my high beams on. They are pointed too high off the ground and cause glare for other drivers (which I also experienced when my wife was following me in the Subaru while I drove our other car. It is really obnoxious and does not seem safe to other vehicles on the road. Dealership said there was nothing wrong and there is no way to adjust lights to point down towards the road.

See all problems of the 2020 Subaru Outback 🔎.

I have owned this vehicle for about 4 years now and have had to replace my headlights every 2 to 3 months. . Something is definitely wrong. My headlights always just go out especially when I'm driving home my headlights will just burn out and it leaves me trying to navigate home in the dark. When I go to my Subaru dealer they offer me no solution. I ask if there is something wrong with my car that makes this happen and they tell me nothing is wrong and then charge me $60+ to change these headlight bulbs. This is unsafe and it is extremely costly. Especially since this vehicle has to be put in the shop when the bulbs need to be changed due to the weird design they used. The date for the incident happened is only the most recent. This has happened every 2 to 3 months since the ownership of the vehicle.

See all problems of the 2010 Subaru Outback 🔎.

Tl the contact owns a 2012 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the bulbs in the headlamps needed to be replaced quite frequently. The vehicle was taken to miller Subaru (1592 NJ-38, lumberton, NJ 08048) however, the contact was unsure if a diagnostic test was performed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 175,000.

See all problems of the 2012 Subaru Outback 🔎.

The low beam's angle on the self-leveling headlight units is too flat blinding oncoming traffic (every other car and third truck flashes their high beams at me). The implementation of the handsfree bluetooth protocol is inadequate as incoming call volume is too low (even after increasing speaker volume to maximum). It makes handsfree operation of your mobile phone all but worthless while handsfree operation is required by law in my state. Both issues are safety issues as far as I am concerned.

Headlights burn out repeatedly, without warning or incident, sometimes both within a week. Car is driven less than 10k miles per year, yet one or both headlights have had to be replaced annually on average. Bulbs are very difficult for consumer to replace and must be done by garage or dealership. On one occasion both headlights were out before vehicle could be taken to get bulbs replaced.

See all problems of the 2011 Subaru Outback 🔎.

The low beam headlights are too bright, or angled too high. I'm constantly having other vehicles "flash" me at night thinking I have high beams on. This has happened worth people I know telling me and strangers. Both on highway and city streets.

Have had the low beam headlights blown multiple times on my Subaru Outback, 2011, at least 3-4 times each ones, left and right. Don't remember if I received a notification from Subaru or saw it online about the same complaint from many owners and Subaru having a fix for it. Took it to the dealership in 2017 and they replaced the blown bulb and told me that it was a improper contact that caused the issue. Unfortunately, the problem continues. I have replaced the headlights at least 2 times since and have one blown again. Suspect that this is a design issue and needs a through fix. It can cause a dangerous situation if both headlights blow at the same time.

The headlights on this car are too bright or not adjusted correctly. I have been high beamed on many occasions. 9 times one evening, 13 times another evening, and 17 times on another evening. This is a safety concern not only for me but for the other divers as well. I have complained to Subaru every time this has happened to me. I have also had it in for service and was told "that's just the way they are" "just ignore the other drivers" well, I can't do that when I am constantly being high beamed from so many other vehicles. Not just cars. Cars, full size pickup trucks, semi's, SUV's etc. I have even been high beamed not only on our 2 lane highways but on a 4 lane highway with me in the far right lane and the other driver going the opposite direction in the far right lane. This is not acceptable. I talked with Subaru again today and was told "if you take it in for service, and the technician says that there is nothing wrong with the headlights then, there is nothing we can do. " again, this is not acceptable. I have never in all my years of driving been high beamed so many times.

Headlights burn out too quickly. I am replacing my headlights approximately every 12,000 miles.

Headlights are aimed too high. According to Subaru this can't be adjusted. This is their steering adaptive headlight. I get high-beam blinked but too many oncoming cars. On dark nights I can see their angle is up not down toward road. I see great but oncoming must be difficult. You must be able to have ability to adjust.

My 2020 Subaru Outback headlights are too bright and appear to be aimed too high. Driving at night is a very real problem due to the number of other drivers who keep putting on their high beam lights thinking mine are on when they are not. Also I can see my beams pointing higher down the road then for any other car I have owned. I contacted first the dealership and then Subaru of America, the dealer was apologetic and explained there are no adjustments to be made on the aim of lights because none were built into the car at the factory. Subaru of America confirmed this when I contacted them and said, without even seeing my particular car that my headlights are aligned properly and there is no way to make any adjustments to brightness or aim. This is a hazard due to blinding oncoming drivers and they in turn putting their high beam lights on blinding me. How can they make lights with no adjustment available?.

Main headlamps burn out every 9 to 10 months causing a dangerous driving situation. Replacement of these bulbs is unnecessarily cumbersome for the owner and Subaru dealers charge $150 to replace a $15 dollar bulb. If not installed correctly you risk a fire hazard. This seems to be outside of reason, and a poor design that risks lives. I have found myself away from home with no working headlights several times now.

Headlights go out with abnormal frequency. Driver's side bulb has needed changing on average every 3-4 months, even though the vehicle is rarely driven at night. Passenger side has been replaced twice in the last year alone.

Low beam headlights keep burning out every few months.

See all problems of the 2014 Subaru Outback 🔎.

I have had to change both passenger and driver side low beam headlights three times within the last three months. It's is not the lights themselves but the vehicle. This is costly as so much has to be removed in order to replace the lights. This is going to be my third time replacing my lights since January.

Headlight and other exterior light bulbs die prematurely. I received a letter from Subaru about a warranty extension and that they would cover the costs. So far I've had 3 headlights go out in the last two years (after 85k miles) and also was told by a Subaru dealer yesterday that 5 other exterior lights were out. The general consensus is that it's a power surge in the lighting/electrical system that Subaru isn't addressing. The replacement of headlight bulbs is extremely difficult and recommended that a shop or dealer do the work, making it very inconvenient to replace lights. It is dangerous to have the headlights go out so often when driving at night and visibility is reduced. There has been no recall or technical service bulletin issued by Subaru, that I know of, and a lawsuit pending. Https://legalnewsline. Com/stories/510725171-complaints-about-Subaru-outback-s-lights-preceded-class-action.

My complaint is my headlights� they're cloudy. On Nov. 29, 2018 the institute of highway safety released a report that said that �most base model cars have poor-quality headlights. My complaint is the car manufacturers created this problem when they decided decades ago that plastic was a better shield over the headlights than glass. My suggestion is to make the car manufacturers go back to installing glass over their headlights or u. S. Drivers are always going to have cloudy headlights. Even when we buff them out and make them shine again, it only last 6 or 7 years. This is ridiculous and the national highway traffic safety administration should change this flaw in auto manufacturing by making it a law to use glass when they build their headlights in the future.

See all problems of the 2003 Subaru Outback 🔎.

Tamara recall I have had my 2011 Outback for 4 months now and have gone through 3 sets of low beam headlights. Not sure why they keep dying prematurely. I have gotten more expensive bulbs every time and now the $60 bulbs are doing the same thing. I feel there is an electrical issue and I have seen multiple forums describing the same issue from other people with the same year, make, and model.

Frequent headlight burnout (have had to replace headlight bulbs 4 times in the last year) review of data online indicates that Subaru recognized this as a problem and was offering reimbursement for these costs to consumers. Deadline was 2016. Class action suits have also been filed. Please help! this is ridiculous to continually need to replace bulbs so frequently and expensive since they are not easy to do on my own.

My headlights both low beam and high go out on a monthly basis. I have a 2 year old daughter and live in the mountains of lake tahoe. This is a nuisance as well as a considerable safety hazard and the dealership seems to think there is no issue other than continual bad bulbs. I am considering filing a law suit against Subaru if this problem cannot be rectified. (916) 666-8484 aundria williams.

The Subaru Outback 2011 has a known issue with headlights burning out frequently. I replace 7 headlights on my vehicle since I purchased the vehicle used in September 2017 costing me $200. The Outback has an extended warranty for lightbulb replacement, but that ends in 2021, and causes the driver the inconvenience of frequently taking the vehicle in to have headlights replaced. A recall needs to be created to fix this issue.

2011 Outback and have replaced the drivers side low beam headlight 4 times as of today. Seems to be failing way too often. Vehicle has 41,000 miles and always garage kept, original owner.

While driving home from work 11-09-2017 at around 6:30 pm both my headlights went out. I could not see the road and I drove off the side of the road and slammed my brakes on. I put the car in park and got out and looked at my headlights. They were both out. The high beams did work. I had to keep high beams on so I could make it home.

The headlights are dim and do not project a safe beam of light. This only affects the normal beam. The high beams work well.

Both low beam headlights went out simultaneously while driving on a dark rural road. We were told the recall did not include our auto which was made the same year as other recalled automobiles of the same make and model. However it appears the problem was not corrected properly.

I bought this vechicle new in 2010. Since that time I have had to change the low beam headlights 4 times on the passenger side of the vehicle and 5 times on the drivers side. I consider this a safety hazard as it takes almost 1 1/2 hours to change the bulb. You must remove the wheel, the wheel well, then the water proof cover, the small retaining bracket and then disconnect the bulb all through an opening only a child hand could fit through easily. I have never had both lights go out at the same time, however, on a dark mountain road this could be life threatening. The first time it happened was only 3 months after acquiring the vehicle and the last time was 2 weeks ago.

I have replaced headlights in this vehicle five times and they keep burning out. The drivers side headligh is out again and needs to be replaced.

Low beam headlamps burn out very quickly - within 3-6 months, repeatedly. Also, the low beam headlights only come on after dark. As day-time running lights they fail to come on. This occurs at all times regardless of speed, temp, or driving conditions.

The low beam headlights both burned out. Subaru said the issue only affected some of the Outbacks but obviously it affects mine and was not covered.

In less than a year of ownership, we've had to replace four different directional/running/head lights. This is excessive, expensive, and awkward to do. (the front headlights require removal of the front tires to reach the access panel!) I know there is a class action lawsuit for this exact issue with earlier year's of Outbacks.

High and low beam bulbs constantly burning out. I have had this car for 4 years and I replace a light build in the headlamps every 4-6 months. Usually when one goes out another will follow. Example I replaced high beam then 4 days later the low beam. Great vehicle but I have replaced more bulbs for the headlights of this car than the last 4 past owned vehicles combined. Bulbs usually burn out when going from low to high or vice versus. Dealer claims everyone with same model spanning different years have the same problem. They claim it does not matter brand of bulb. I purchased expensive bulbs with a 1 yr warranty free replacement if they burn out knowing I will only get a few months out of them. I will still have the hassle of replacing them but atleast I'm done buying them. Subaru should recall these vehicles and fix this problem. With all the airbag recalls I doubt they really care about headlights. Nhtsa please help us dealers should fix these vehicles before reselling these faulty vehicles!'.

The passenger headlight has went out again. This seems to happen every three to six months that either the drivers side or passenger side headlight blows out.

My headlights on my Outback are constantly going out. I purchased this vehicle in October of 2015 and I have replaced my headlights 9 times. I live in alaska with very little day light and it is important to always have my headlights on, regardless of where I live. I have been fortunate enough to not have been pulled over for this yet but I can see it happening in the near future. Please help.