general problems of the 2010 Subaru Outback

This car is a very well-maintained, low-use vehicle with regular oil changes and routine maintenance performed on schedule. Early in this drive, I noticed an unusual hissing sound as I approached a stop. When I tried to brake, I realized my brakes didn't seem to be responding. I pressed the brake pedal harder and realized that with 50-100 pounds of pressure (guess), I could slow the car down. As I came to a stop, the engine died. I restarted the car, and it died again immediately. After the following restart, I realized I could manually keep the rpm up in neutral while at stops, and press with significant force to get the car to stop. Had I not been comfortable two foot driving or understood the issue, this surely would have resulted in a crash of some sort. The car indicated a check engine light, loss of traction control, a flashing brake light, and a flashing cruise control light. I took the car immediately to a local shop where they identified the problem as a vacuum leak at the brake booster. The plastic piece that the hose clamps onto had cracked off, leading to this problem. This make and model does not seem to have a check valve downstream of this component.

I see many many complaints about the head gasket material Subaru used was not compatible with the very fluid that is needed for the cars engine to not blow up. . . . . Coolant. Subaru knows the head gasket material is ruined by the coolant it needs but has left us consumers to deal with a very costly, devastating issue such as what I just want through and am still in the middle of a fight with dealer who sold me a car for 10995 and I had it 2 weeks. . . . Coolant blew everywhere had to fight with dealership to get them to tow it. I was yelled at, hung up on, calls not returned all while I have no car no way to work and as a [xxx] and a child to raise, I do not have options and live by a thread and paycheck to paycheck. . . . . It should not be allowed that Subaru doesn't fix that since it is a manufacturing defect that they made it incompatible with the coolant it needs. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Vehicle has an automatic transmission and it stalls when stopping. There is no warning light on the dash. This happens more frequently when the vehicle is warm, in early operation it may only hesitate or run rough while stopping. A warm a stop is more likely to stall the vehicle than a slow stop. Hard braking at operating temperature will stall the vehicle without fail. This has been happening since I bought it and it occurs with each drive every day.

All instrument and waning lights illuminated and the engine shut down while driving. Took to the Subaru dealer repair shop and the vehicle was diagnosed with a head gasket leak that caused oil to mix with the coolant. This is a low mileage vehicle, 67,597 miles, that has been maintained by Subaru certified mechanics.

Total engine failure at just 75k miles. Barely driven, maintenance schedule always kept up to date, out of nowhere engine stopped and I was told the oil was completely empty. They were unable to resolve by adding oil. Also, transmission light has been on for 3+ years. Have been told by every repair shop who has checked this that it’s just a glitch in the electrical system and the transmission is fine. A few weeks prior to engine failure, the car began to have trouble accelerating and made a sort of “race car” sound. Barely could go past 40 mph without slamming on gas. Finally, doors have randomly decided to stop locking and unlocking while using key fob. Batteries have been replaced. Some doors work, some do not (namely, the driver side door). Other misc electrical issues like usb failure.

The contact owns a 2010 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the passenger's side control arm and ecm had malfunctioned. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with needing a control arm and ecm to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired as of yet. The manufacturer had not been informed of failure. The failure mileage was approximately 268,000.

Car engine stops unexpectedly for no reason while operating the vehicle, causing the steering to lock up. This has happened three times in the last five days. One time nearly causing an accident.

Truck has shut off twice while driving once while slowing to make a turn and once while slowing to go over a speed bump I get a dash notice that the power steering is off put truck in neutral and restart . Also once while running in my driveway for about 3 minutes power steering shut off and stability system warning came on truck was still running had to shut truck off and restart. This loss of steering and vehicle shutting off while driving is dangerous.

Tl the contact owns a 2010 Subaru Outback. While driving 45 mph, the vehicle jerked back and forth. When the brake pedal was depressed, the engine revved, but the vehicle did not move. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 114,000. The VIN was not available.

Tl-the contact owns a 2010 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that every time the vehicle comes to a complete stop the ignition turns off and immediately turns back on. The vehicle was taken to a independent mechanic where they stated that the torque converter and transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not yet been repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 153,000. Am.

Gas pedal goes limp and/or works inconsistently/erratically; this causes the car to become unresponsive, creating potential safety issue at stoplights/intersections, on highway, issue manifests as accelerating irregularly and lurching forward unpredictably; has happened several times at speed on a highway, while stationary at stoplight, in motion on city streets, etc.

Over heating maybe head gasket problem.

When driving and approaching a traffic light the car will begin to stutter as if there is a clog in the system. Then it will shut off. I contacted Subaru regarding the issue when we first had the car because there was always a loss of power. Our model is the Outback 2010. They inspected and said it was a carbon build up in the pistons that would cause this issue. There hasn't been any recalls or Subaru notices about this. Now while driving and coming to a stop the car just turns off. On your site nhsta some other customers have been saying that it could also be a bad torque converter. Either way this issue could cause serious accident if not dealt with. The stutter and shutting off happens any time of the day and cold or hot weather it doesn't matter. Some days it happens more often the others and usually after a few times of shutting off the problem does stop for remainder of the day.

The head gaskets need to be replaced at 85,000. The car was being driven and the overheat light went on. I pulled over and turned off the engine. Took the car into service and was told that the head gaskets need to be replaced, short block replaced and other related engine parts. A head gasket issue should not be happening at 85k miles on any car, but especially a Subaru whose representation is about dependability and ruggedness.

As I was pulling into a parking space with a foot to go, going less than 5 mph, the engine surged and the car suddenly lunged forward, climbed a 6 inch curb and traveled about 4 feet and hit a wooden staircase of a building. The entire time my foot was on the brake. This entire event took less than a second.

Car shudders and sounds like engine will die when coming to complete stop. If this were a manual transmission, feels as if clutch should be pushed in. Problem occurs intermittently. Cold or hot engine. Problem became noticeable around 58,000-60,000 mile.

The contact owns a 2010 Subaru Outback. While operating the vehicle, the low beam headlights suddenly failed to illuminate. The low beam headlight bulbs had been replaced on six separate occasions. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer (ultimate automotive Subaru, 5150 jefferson davis hwy, fredericksburg, va) and was repaired per the manufacturer's customer satisfactory extended warranty program. The diagnosis information was not available. The contact also stated that when making an abrupt stop and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle would suddenly turn off. The failure occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken back to the same dealer on two separate occasions, but the cause of the failure could not be diagnosed. The failure mileage was 20,000.

Car dies while driving at a steady pace, then slowing down, engaging the clutch and letting the car idle at a light. Has happened 4 times in 2 weeks. Once was while downshifting to 2nd gear to complete a left turn. Had enough speed to complete the turn, but did not have steering or braking assist.

5 months after the car was purchased new I started using the air conditioner. Within the first week as I was slowing make a right turn into a parking lot from the street I engaged the clutch to shift from 3rd gear to second and the car died and I had no power steering or power brakes. I didn't use the air conditioner all the time. Two times the following week the same thing occurred again, both times slowing down and engaging the clutch and down shifting. I took the vehicle in to have it looked at on 6/2/10 and they tested all the sensors and checked it on their computer and they found no problems and asked that I keep a log of each time it happens and if I notice any patterns. I noticed that the majority of times as I would engage the clutch to down shift the tack would drop and the car would shutter and the tack came back up. The times when the tack dropped and then died it did not shutter. The problem only happens when the air conditioner is on. I then had a near collision shifting from 4th to 3rd in a busy t-intersection and called service the next morning, 6/10/10 and scheduled to take the car in on 6/14/10 and did not use the air conditioner at all. The service department duplicated the problem and had a Subaru engineer look at it. They erased the car's memory and will have a program written to hopefully fix the problem. Since the program will not be available for a long time they are giving me the car back to drive and believe that since they erased the car's memory that may fix the problem. They believe it may be an electrical or computer problem.

After decelerating to approximated 5-15 mph and then applying the accelerator there is a 1-2 second delay before the vehicle begins to accelerate. When it does it tends to buck or accelerate faster than intended as the accelerator was depressed further as there was no acceleration. Driving in city traffic that has almost resulted in a accident dozens of times. There have been two TSB's issued for this known problem one for the engine and one for the transmission, neither one of which has addressed the issue. I have taken the vehicle to two different dealers who state that this is a known issue and that there is no known fix. This issue occurs every time the vehicle is driven at the above stated speeds.