general problems of the 2012 Subaru Outback

The brake pedal suddenly went almost to the floor while attempting to stop. Researching I found there was a recall. Nhtsa recall no. 11v-562. My car was not apparently among the ones being recalled, yet this problem is exactly as described in the bulletin. The component in question is the master brake cylinder. It is available for inspection. It happened on sat sept 20 2025 returning from a trip approximately. 300 miles away. The symptom persists. There were no warning indicators.

I took my Outback to my local highly respectable mechanic on August 20, 2025 as I needed the oil changed and the concern I had about having to add brake fluid twice in the past 4 months. He inspected my car immediately and he refused to let me drive it out of his shop as there is a dangerous brake line leaking issue that could result in brake failure. He told me that my Outback is not the first that he had to repair this “Subaru manufacturing defect”. I had to get it repaired. I checked to see if there was a NHTSA recall on my Outback year and there was none, only prior years. Yet when I went online searching more, I found an article that stated that Subaru was going to recall the 2012 Subaru as well? the repair shop owner said to us that my wife is a "gentle driver" and that was good, because, if she had to apply the brakes very hard to avoid a collision, they probably would have failed. Please understand that I read the recall for previous years of Outbacks and other Subaru models, and my Subaru Outback had the exact same defect. I did contact Subaru of America and they responded that my Outback does not have a recall, only prior years. Unbelievable!!! the exact same make and model with the exact same defect and they just blow me off! I was lucky that we did not reach the point of a serious accident. I hope that NHTSA will evaluate my, and I am sure other safety issues with Subaru brakes, and take some action to give other owners the opportunity to make this very serious safety matter right, and avoid an accident. In a related question, can NHTSA somehow require auto manufacturers to inspect their vehicles that are still on the road after say 12 years to helpfully provide some safety assurance to the drivers of their vehicles?.

Rear four way brake junction is completely corroded and leaking fluid causing a complete loss of braking. This appears to be the exact same issue as referenced in this recall(https://static. Nhtsa. Gov/odi/rcl/2014/rcrit-14v311-5454p. Pdf) that affects previous model years.

The rear brake lines sprung a leak in a well-known trouble spot with Subarus. The junction area underneath the passengers rear seat is where brake fluid is leaking from. I was driving under normal conditions, went and depressed the break and the pedal went to the floor. The cars brakes were not performing and upon inspection I found the leak. I researched this issue and found that Subaru did acknowledge this issue and other Outback model years through recall and technical service bulletins. This is a significant safety issue and should be upgraded to a recall.

The contact owns a 2012 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at 20 mph, the brake pedal was depressed and went down to the floorboard, increasing the stopping distance. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to his residence despite the failure. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the four way brake connector was corroded and had begun to leak brake fluid. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

My Subaru Outback, at roughly 110,000 miles, displayed a dash indicator suggesting low brake fluid. After investigating, I found a brake line junction under the car, below the rear passenger seat. This 4-line junction is hidden behind a plastic cover that does have a removable inspection window. The junction's 4-lines are all corroded and at least one is leaking. After finding the issue and researching fixes online, I have discovered that this is a previously-reported problem although Subaru has not taken action to address it. I have not taken action to fix the issue as I am working out the best fix, but will not be driving the car until the leaking corroded junction is repaired.

The contact owns a 2012 Subaru Outback. The contact stated she starting the vehicle, she heard the engine more noisy/loud. The contact stated while reserving, she was depressing on the brake pedal but failed to stop the vehicle, causing her to back up into 2 vehicles. The contact was not aware if there were any warning lights illuminated. The contact stated she continued to depress on the brake pedal for almost 10 feet from where she started, until it stop the vehicle completely. The air bags did not deploy. The contact did not sustain any injuries or seek medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a towing lot. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Our low mileage car which we bought new and is under 10 years old experienced a complete brake failure in our driveway. The brake warning light did then come on. The brake pedal went to the floor when pressed. This event immediately followed a trip with a considerable passenger and luggage load on steep hills where complete brake loss would have been catastrophic and endangered us and the public. The dealer is familiar with the problem (rust-through of brake lines in a specific, well-known location). I am astonished to now learn that earlier years of Outback and other models are the subject of nhsta 14v-311 and a Subaru product safety campaign wqk-47r to inspect and replace or protect the brake lines that just failed in our car, specifically in the vicinity of the 2-2way connector, however our car is not covered by this campaign. I've attached a picture of the corroded lines on our car which is essentially identical to the picture of the 2-2way connector on https://static. Nhtsa. Gov/odi/rcl/2014/rcmn-14v311-4153. Pdf . This failure is compounded by the lack of a conventional emergency/parking brake, as the steps to engage the vehicle's electronic parking brake while the vehicle is in motion and picking up speed are not obvious.

Brakes failed on the highway and it appears to be the brake lines as outlined in a Subaru brake line recall. Of course I own a 2012 Outback which was not covered and now have a very expensive repair bill. Subaru and the NHTSA annouced that the recalled models include the model year 2008 to 2011 impreza, 2008 to 2014 wrx and sti and 2009 to 2013 forester crossover SUV. All affected cars are currently or were formerly registered in the snowy states, where salt is applied to the roads. It was duly noted that these vehicles were previously subjected to another safety campaign, which was given the 14v-311 recall number.

I was driving to work and applied the brakes to slow the vehicle while descending a hill and the pedal went almost down to the floor before the brakes took hold. I got the vehicle under control and proceeded toward the stop sign. I attempted to applied the brakes again and the vehicle went nearly through the intersection before I could get the car stopped. This happened at two more stop signs before I was able to pull into a parking spot at work. After the first stop sign incident, I drove very slowly to work, so as to not use the brakes but for stopping. A mechanic has looked at the car and determined the master cylinder is bad. The part number has been recalled for some vehicles, but not for my car, as determined by the VIN. No warning lights are on. I had two other incidences, on different days, and weeks apart, where I was applying the brakes and went over bumps or holes in the road and brakes momentarily gave out, but after letting off the brake and reapplying pressure the brakes were normal again, and remained so for weeks until this latest episode. I had notified the mechanic at the earlier instances and they noted it might be a problem with my car-make.

Brake line failure. Burst under plastic gas tank cover.

The contact owns a 2012 Subaru Outback. The contact state that while driving at various speeds, the brake pedal was depressed and the traveled to the floor. The contact stated that the brake pedal was spongy while being depressed. The contact stated that the braking system was flushed however, the failure recurred. Ganley westside Subaru (25730 lorain rd, north olmsted, OH 44070) (888) 798-5035) was contacted and informed of the failure. The contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact mentioned NHTSA campaign number: 11v562000 (service brakes, hydraulic) as a possible solution to the failure however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.

Lights on the dashboard are on all the time brakes traction abs (anti brake system)about the same time my cruise control stopped working.

My car often gets stuck with the parking brake on and I cannot move the car forward or backward. Most times I have a carload of groceries and need to get them to the freezer or refrigerator. Computer engine analysis. . . . . . Abs c0054 brake switch on malfunction c0057 ecm control. . . . . . Epb c0252 motor malfunction detail code 50a0 . . . . . C0234 vdc failure detail code c111. . . . . C0242 power supply voltage failure detail code. I have replaced brakes, replaced tires, checked fluid, checked fuses, etc.

I purchased vehicle brand new, over the course of 4 years have had no problems until brake master went bad after 2 and a half years, oil not lasting until the next oil change and finally the head gasket. The vehicle's a/c died and was taken to the mechanic, he found the compressor had gone. We ordered a new one. Took the vehicle out the next day to return it to mechanic and in route, the vehicle began smoking profusely and died on the road 2 minutes after it began smoking. The vehicle is then towed to mechanic to find that the oil and coolant were mixing, the vehicle overheated and damaged head gasket. This make & model has also been found to have issues with "faulty brake masters & leaking oil leading to coolant and head gasket" issues. No recall, safety or advisement information has ever been sent or corresponded to us regarding this matter. There is however an open class action suit in new jersey for the issue of leaking oil and cooling issues.

On may 15th, while driving on a city street, dashboard warning lights came on indicating "brake" and "check engine". Took it to a Subaru dealer in berlin CT who found the following: "trouble code p0171/system to lean bank 1, fault traced and found vacuum leak around brake booster check valve. Vacuum valve cracked. Recommend replacing brake booster assembly". This vehicle has only 39,120 miles. This part is well protected within the engine area. Service repair described the part as a small plastic piece and stated he's never seen this happen before. To my way of thinking, the part had to be defective when the engine was built. Car was never in an accident and has always been maintained by Subaru dealers. Cost is a little over $700. 00. I have the work order if you need it; but the wording above is directly from the order. Is there a way to start an investigation showing this is a manufacturers fault? is there any way I can force Subaru to pay for this?.

When the brakes are applied and the car comes to a stop light or stop sign, the engine shuts off ('stalls when idling or slowing down'). The vehicle then must be put into 'park' mode in order to re-start. This occurs nearly everyday of the week, and has created many, many dangerous situations for us and the drivers around us. We took the vehicle to the dealership in may concerning this issue, and they stated that they had not heard of this problem, and that nothing was wrong with the vehicle. We took the vehicle in for service again this week, and the dealership mentioned that a technical service bulletin had been issued for this problem. The TSB was apparently issued in Jan 2014, but customers were not notified in spite of the fact that the defect poses dire saftey risks. We are bewildered given that this item is clearly a recall-worthy defect that places the vehicle owner, and the cars around them, in foreseeable and considerable danger. We are very concerned that other customers are also being told by the dealership and manufacturer that there is 'nothing wrong with their vehicle' in spite of the TSB issued in Jan '14. A cynical person might conclude that an effort is being made to obfuscate this safety defect until customer's warranties run out. Similarly, the manufacturers TSB language appears to obfuscate the defect with euphemistic language. To be clear --- the vehicle shuts off in the middle of the road when slowing down for a stop light or stop sign. It would appear that an effort is being made to avoid a recall. According to the TSB, Subaru modified production in October 2013 to account for and cure this safety issue. Again, customers ho were sold vehicles with the safety defect hav not been notified.

The contact owns a 2012 Subaru Outback. When the vehicle was taken to the dealer for a routine inspection, the mechanic discovered that all four brakes were rusted and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to three other mechanics who did not indicate that the brakes needed replacing. While driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle stalled and was towed to a mechanic. The mechanic stated that someone unplugged and misplaced the wiring under the hood and the clip was fractured. The contact was informed that the clip needed to be replaced and the wires re-adjusted. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 44,000.

On may 2, 2014, attempted to move the subject vehicle from the garage and the car would not move forward or reverse, as the brakes where totally locked. The car was moved to lee Subaru, fort walton beach, FL by car transport, where I was told the parking brake module was defective due to damage and was not covered by warranty. In may 2012, I was forced to drive over a tire tread in order to avoid an accident at 70 mph. The tread bounced off the under carriage of the car. The brakes worked for 24 months after this incident without problem until may 2, 2014. There had been heavy rain in the area at this time (April 29-30, 2014) and possibly water had entered the module causing the problem. I consider this a problem due to Subaru locating a delicate electronic component controlling brake function in a location subject to all normal road hazards, rocks, ice, snow, rain, debris, etc. , especially so despite marketing images of a "rugged outdoors off road auto" cross country in australia, driving over riverbed rocks and gravel, snow, ice, etc. This component should be located within the auto envelope, under the seat not exposed under the auto, protected by a piece of "dollar store" plastic. I have been informed by the lee Subaru service manager that this module affects only the parking/emergency brake. I cannot verify this claim without a detailed schematic. Never the less, I have reservations concerning the brakes being applied with no driver input with a potentially disastrous effect.

I have had the car a little over a year and have had trouble with the brakes since the beginning. Several times upon cold startup the brakes barely work. Not always but frequently. I have to use both feet to push the pedal down to the floor and it travels several feet before stopping. I have brought it to the dealers attention several times, this last time, pushing them to keep the car to duplicate the results. They told me they could not find any problems with it and suggest that I warm the car up before moving it. I was not satisfied with that answer, t it is a safety issue, and suggest they take it higher up the chain. They kept it for a few more days and was able to duplicate the problem with my car and several on their lot. They tell me it is not a safety issue and it is just the way the car handles. The Subaru national tech was out of the state and they told me they could not keep my car any longer to wait on the tech. They are closing the order and told me to come pick up my car at my convenience. I told them I was not satisfied and that I considered it a safety concern. They said I could pay extra and have some other brake options but on, but that the way it performs now is the way it is designed. Just in my driveway I could easily go over the hillside or hurt someone if the car would behave that way at an inopportune moment.

Drove down a short hill under icy road conditions. Vehicle accelerated toward the bottom of the hill. Applied brakes but the anti-lock system did not work to stop the car. Luckily, did not crash into the approaching barrier. Had two (2) children with me. No one was injured. Told dealer about this and that there was a service bulletin. Was told that they did not receive one from NHTSA.

The contact owns a 2012 Subaru Outback. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign id number: 11v562000 (service brakes, hydraulic:pedals and linkages) and had the vehicle repaired by an authorized dealer. After the repairs, the vehicle would exhibit an abnormal clicking noise when applying the brakes. The dealer was notified of the failure, but denied any assistance with repair to the vehicle. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 1,464 and the current mileage was 1,500.