general problems of the 2016 Subaru Outback - part 2

A valve spring failed, causing the valve to break and become embedded in the piston. This caused the vehicle to be inoperable.

My Outback lost ac/heat and even after repair at an Outback dealership, it still goes out intermittently. My car battery seems to drain for no reason at all, without any consistency to the drainage of power either. I have it looked at, and the dealership said there isn’t a cause and there isn’t anything that can be done. Back rear door doesn’t lock and unlock with the key fob designation; sets off the alarm when we don’t pay attention to it. Hatch door only lifts about 14 inches upon designation. Has to be manually lifted the rest of the way. Has been fixed once at a dealership, but since returned to the aforementioned diagnosis.

In 6 months, I got more than 10 times of low level engine oil light on. First time, it was on Jan. 2020, it was 3,000 miles from the last oil change. So I changed the engine oil with new oil. After 2 months, I got light on again. I refilled some oil then got light on after one month. I refilled several times but the light is on later. There is dropped oil on the floor at all. I couldn't find where the oil is gone.

Twice since November,'19 and most recently on 3/14/2020, when stopped at an intersection, with foot on brake, the engine revved up wildly. Then, in both incidents I attempted to put car in neutral. Gearshift would not move. I had to turn engine off. After several attempt I was able to restart the car. I thought the first incident was a fluke. But after yesterday's (March 14 '20) incident, in which I narrowly avoided a crash, I believe Subaru and, if need be, the government, should address this safety issue. Please do not excuse these incidents with "your foot was on the accelerator and brake at the same time. This not what happened.

My wife was driving car on highway and was waiting in traffic to take a ramp exit. Our Subaru Outback's engine suddenly stopped. Car had to be put in park gear and then restarted before it was drive-able. This sudden stopping of car is highly worrisome.

I had a major issue with this vehicle on June 24. We were driving back from our family vacation when I was passing a semi truck on a two lane road the vehicle suddenly lost power to the wheels and would not accelerate. As I stepped on the gas the engine revved up but the vehicle was not accelerating. I thought it slipped out of gear. I put it in neutral then back into drive and still had the same problem. I put my flashers on to alert the truck that I was having issues. I pulled onto the shoulder and he passed me. I noticed the tachometer read between the 3 and 4 mark when I put my foot on the accelerator trying to speed up. However, the vehicle did not speed up at all. I was able to pull off the road onto a turnout area. The passenger in the front seat asked if any warning light came on. No lights of any sort came on. The temperature gauge was in the normal operating range. After the car stopped I turned off the ignition and opened my door and noticed flames coming from the bottom of the car. I immediately instructed the other three (3) passengers to immediately exit the car because of the flames. Luckily we were able to exit the vehicle and get a safe distance away to call 911 for assistance. Unfortunately the fire continued to burn and engulfed the car. Black smoke started to appear. The fire department showed up and extinguished the fire. We watched helplessly while our car and possessions went up in smoke. We contacted Subaru and filed a compliant. They took their time and eventually sent their qa team to inspect what was left of the vehicle. They finally sent us an email stating they could not find the root cause of the fire because the fire damage was too intense. We bought this vehicle new just two years prior and it only had about 30k miles and had all the factory recommended services at the dealership. The vehicle is under warranty.

My 2016 Subaru Outback has experienced 6 separate incidents where my vehicle battery was inexplicably drained, and hence the entire electrical system was shut down. I was unable to start it without an external boost in each occasion. Fortunately these incidents posed no safety threat to me or others as the car was parked at my home, or in a parking lot. Unfortunately, the problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by my Subaru dealer, gillman, in schertz, TX although extensive diagnostics were performed on 2 occasions by gillman. My Outback has not been inspected by manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives. There were no warning lamps illuminated because of a total electrical failure, and no other symptoms of the problem prior to the 6 failures. The dates for the 5 incidents of total electrical failure are the following: (1) 6/18/2018 at 1240 kahili street, kailua, hi. Aaa replaced my original Subaru battery (I do not have original aaa receipt, but other documentation) (2) 10/13/2018 at 1240 kahili street, kailua, hi. Aaa replaced my battery. (3) 9/16/2019 at 306 fm 621, san marcos, TX. Aaa replaced my battery. (4) 7/27/2020 at 648 sydney circle, new braunfels, TX. Aaa replaced my battery. (5) 9/5/2020 at 648 sydney circle, new braunfels, TX. Aaa replaced by battery. (6) 10/7/2020 at 648 sydney circle, new braunfels, TX. Gillman Subaru removed an aftermarket device for corrosion protection installed by servco Subaru, honolulu.

After stopping at a stop sign on a city street, I tried to accelerate but there was a long hesitation followed by a surge of power. This happened on 2 occasions. I had the sales man drive the vehicle and also the service manager drove it for 1 week - neither times did this issue repeat itself. The dealership did not have any knowledge of this type of problem. I refused to drive this vehicle and returned it to the Subaru dealer in berlin, CT.

I had difficulty several times removing the key from the ignition. The last time this happened, I was able to remove the key, but the car died. I called the dealer and they gave me the local towing company. Napleton Subaru kept the car for two days and could not find anything wrong with it. I have been afraid to drive the car on the highway, or go too far from home.

The 3. 6r engine immediately after cold start does about 5 cycling surges of about 300 rpm with transmission in forward or reverse with brakes applied. This event does not happen unless starting when engine is cold and transmission is put in gear with brakes applied. The surge does not happen after a short warm up. This could be a safety issue with a tight parking situation or when departing a garage.

The 3. 6r engine immediately after cold start does about 5 cycling surges of about 300 rpm with transmission in forward or reverse and brakes applied. This event does not happen unless transmission is put in gear with brakes applied. The surge does not happen after a short warm up. It does present a driving problem with a tight parking situation or to departing a garage.

I am concerned about the toxic chemicals that may have been used on the plastics inside the vehicle. The "new car smell" is especially fragrant, and after sitting in the car for less than five minutes, I develop a metallic taste in my mouth that lingers, even if I have left the car. It can linger for hours. I am taking measures to wipe off chemicals that may release during a hot day/open the windows, etc. This smell is so intense, however, that the taste in my mouth and the mouths of my family members, is almost unbearable at times. I am concerned for our health, for the toxic gases we may be breathing in and even coming in contact with. We have owned the car since April 2016 (about two months) and there is no sign of it getting better. I have read that it can take up to 6 months for the smell to diminish, but does that really reduce the amount of harmful chemicals we are being subjected to? thank you for your assistance.

While sitting still at a red light with my foot on the brake and the gear in drive, the car will suddenly lurch forward several feet. It happens with such force that it feels like I was rear-ended. This has happened occasionally since I purchased the car in January 2016. Always when at a full stop on flat and sloped surfaces. At first I thought it only happened when the ac was on, but it has happened with the ac off.