Two problems related to transmission gear slipping have been reported for the 2011 Subaru Outback. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2011 Subaru Outback based on all problems reported for the 2011 Outback.
November 2019, at 115,000 miles the transmission started slipping requiring a replacement. I was told by Subaru of America corporate that "Subaru doesn't have transmission problems. " there is a lot of evidence out there to the contrary. May of 2020 the vehicle started overheating. It was diagnosed by a mechanic that the head gasket was failing and needed to be replaced. This is another known issue with Subarus. A $28,000 2011 auto is only supposed to last 120,000 miles?.
While driving at 40 or 50 miles an hour, my husband tries to shift to 4th or 5th gear and the gear slips into reverse. Then the car can't go in reverse. We bought the car in June 2011. This first happened when the car was about 8 months old. The dealership replaced bushings. The same thing happened again a few months later, on the highway, with my two kids in the car, when my husband was shifting from 5th to 6th. The dealership replaced bushings. The same thing happened on may 11, 2013, while we were on the highway and my husband was shifting from 4th to 5th; the gear slipped into reverse. The car then can't go in reverse.