general problems of the 2019 Subaru Outback - part 2

145 problems related to equipment have been reported for the 2019 Subaru Outback. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2019 Subaru Outback based on all problems reported for the 2019 Outback.

36 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 02/01/2024

"parasitic" draw. Battery replaced, less than year old, almost daily need to "jump" vehicle to start. Always have to have booster pack. Multiple mechanics trips. Dash screen touch option does not work, have videos of the screen randomly "fluttering" through various screens and or radio stations. Leave the radio off, will randomly come on, on its own.

37 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 01/25/2024

My 2019 Subaru Outback has a defective screen. The screen has begun to delaminate from the inside and causes the screen to jump around and not be able to stay on one screen. The power button also seems to not be working and is cause the radio to turn on and off. Because of those two issues, the radio screen jumps around and turns off and on, posing a major safety risk. I tried taking the car to the place I bought it and a Subaru dealer, and they will not help financially or with the repair even though they have this issue with other year models of the same car. Picture is attached. Has sense gotten worse.

38 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 01/23/2024

Ignition and battery failure - unable to unlock certain parts of the car, all electrical is dead this is the second incidence in 6 months. Not weather dependent. One incidence in June and another in January. Entered car, pressed ignition button, no ignition, the icons all lit up in red on the indicator dash. Previously aaa indicated that the battery was totally dead, no amps, appeared to be an electrical problem and not strictly a battery problem according to aaa. At dealership they performed a "drain test. " they told me that is all they could do. Customer service gave me a battery for "free. " I don't know if it was a used battery or a new one. This time I will pay for the battery to make sure it is new. No words of why this occurred to my car were stated. They just pushed the repair invoice towards me with the keys and said I was ready to go. This time when I called they told me they could only do the "drain" test again. I knew I had to investigate since they were not helping me find the source of the problem. This could be a major problem if one was locked in the car and the electrical failed. Worse yet if a fire occurred and one could not get out, death could occur. When I left the car after the ignition did not work, the ignition light on the ignition button stayed on. (lit up in red) please help me out with this. The auto is a touring Outback - year 2019.

39 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 01/05/2024

The head unit (radio) on my 2019 Subaru Outback began developing "bubbles" behind the touch screen which is causing phantom touches. Without any human interference, the radio will suddenly start switching channels and functions on the radio in a very rapid sequence. When this occurs while driving, it is extremely distracting for the driver. The only solution is to turn the entire head unit off and go without radio, navigation, nor bluetooth capabilities. Subaru prides itself on safety, and yet Subaru of America seems to not take this issue seriously. I have filed a case with Subaru of America, but they seem satisfied to make customers foot the bills for diagnostic testing, meanwhile the head unit in question is on a backorder and simply not available. Harman kardon is the maker of the head unit and should be made to pay for the development of a new head unit without serious defects. But if Subaru is truly the company they say there are, then they need to take responsibility as well and provide the replacement of the defective units regardless of warranty status. At first this may appear as a "cosmetic issue," but I can honestly say that my initial experience was so distracting and confusing, and occurred in an area where I was not able to pull over. I consider myself very lucky that I was involved in any kind of accident.

40 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 01/05/2024

Broken axle, ecm or engine control module, replaced with third battery with only 77,000 miles. This car is a lemon and a total,piece of junk my wife’s 2020 Subaru forrester has a console which is a complete hazard on the road. If you put anything on the console it doesn’t stay and slides off talk about a complete distraction and safety danger just because of lazy manufacturing and stupid engineers who can’t think their way out of a wet paperbag.

41 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 12/28/2023

Windshield has been cracked and replaced 3 times and currently has another crack, all within 17 months. Also head unit has internal malfunction and must be replaced at cost of $1700 +/-.

42 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 12/22/2023

I purchased this vehicle brand new in 2020 and had never experienced any issues with the battery this year alone(2023) I have had to replace the battery 4 times. I would used the jump method leaving the to car running for at least 15 minutes before driving and then within the next month or two the battery is drained and dead again. When I took my vehicle to the dealership the mechanic already knew what the dcm would be the issue. I then called the manufacturer after doing more research and noticed that this is a very common issue and it has not been recalled yet. After performing the dcm test it was confirmed that was the issue and I am still being ask to pay the 1200. 00 bill.

43 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 12/19/2023

I have submitted for extended warranty battery service in the Subaru battery settlement confirmation number is sb68712430. This battery settlement should include the dcm as replacing the battery does not fix the problem. I believe this is an electrical fault (parasitic current draw) is caused by the the faulty dcm. There are hundreds of people posted the same issue. This should be a recall.

44 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 12/16/2023

Windshield started to crack despite no incident and crack has rapidly expanded.

45 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 12/15/2023

My 2019 infotainment systems has begun delamination from the outer glass on the back side. It is causing ghost operations of the systems. Access to my safety features are through the system.

46 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 12/08/2023

Cracked windshield (2nd incident in less than 18 months). Windshield cracked without any impact with rocks or other objects. This is an oem windshield that was installed and calibrated at sheehy Subaru springfield, va. This windshield easily cracks or is damage (impacts blemishes) by minor/small objects, which is unreasonable. This latest incident that I am reporting is a hair line crack, about 14” in length that runs from the edge of the windshield to the middle; there was no impact; this appears to be a temperature change like crack. It adversely affects visibility. This is a very expensive repair $1,500 for oem and calibration.

47 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 11/08/2023

I put my 2019 Subaru Outback in park, stepped out of my car and the car proceeded to unexpeectedly roll forward with the door knocking me to the ground. The back wheels of the car then ran over both my legs. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance company or anyone else. I sent a letter January 1, 2024 to Subaru's customer advocacy department, but have not received a response. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the car unexpectedly going out of gear after being placed in park. Prior to this occuring.

48 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 11/01/2023

Starlink system is malfunctioning. The radio spontaneously begins scanning through stations and will not stop even when "scan" icon is pressed or preset station pressed. Also, the bluetooth connectivity to my phone is randomly lost. This has caused distractions while driving and loss of "hands free" features for my phone and is a safety hazard.

49 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 10/19/2023

Battery keeps draining. Was reading about a known issue with dcm.

50 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 10/13/2023

The 2019 Subaru Outbacks have a data communication module (dcm) which allows hands-free access to audio features of the car. The dcm (generation 1) was designed to work on 3g networks and also provides access to starlink which could be used in an emergency. With the deactivation of the 3g network, the dcm drains the car's main battery. Thus the car will not start if left unattended for any length of time. If the dcm is disabled by pulling the fuse, the hands-free features of the car are also disabled as well as starlink. There is a class action lawsuit regarding this problem, however, it only covers the batteries that are damaged due to being drained and does not address the root cause of the problem.

51 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 10/01/2023

The head unit developed what appear to be bubbles under the screen. Now, it's barely usable. It randomly responds to touch. It turns itself on and off randomly. None of this sounds like a safety issue until you're driving down the freeway at speed and the radio randomly comes on blaring loud music. It's incredibly jarring and could easily cause an accident. We reached out to the dealer who inspected it and was very aware of the problem as it seems to affect a very large number of people. Following that, they reached out to Subaru of America who admitted there was a problem and offered to pay for slightly more than half of the repair.

52 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 09/29/2023

While traveling early morning on September 29 heading for fall vacation, we heard a loud pop in the car. Unsure as to what happened, my daughter whom was in the back seat, noticed a crack in the windshield. The crack started in the lower corner on the passenger side. As we traveled the crack kept getting longer. This seemed strange because it was very early morning and no other cars were around us at the time we heard the loud pop. Where we vacation is actually with some friends at their place on beach. Our friend had seen my car right after I had purchased it and she purchased her a Subaru Outback as well. When we finally arrived, we mentioned about our windshield and the same thing had happened to her car in the very same spot. I had this replaced when we returned home in tennessee. Which cost me a $500. 00 deductible.

53 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 09/06/2023

Defective infotainment system. There is a known issue with the touchscreen starlink system that can experience the dynamic or phantom input, I. E. A “ghost touch” that causes the system to change sources, shut off, reboot, or work intermittently or not at all. Even when the input does not change, the system emits the audible beep sound as if changes are being selecting via the touch screen. The distraction resulted in me taking my eyes off the road. The touch screen has ghost blobs or prints on the underside of the touch screen. Reported the issue to Subaru of America, who was already aware of the issue; they have received complaints for 2019-2023 models. The same issue was resolved via a class action suit for previous models.

54 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 09/01/2023

I have replaced my windshield three times now and am just now reading about lawsuits against Subaru for faulty windshields on certain lines (2019 being one of them). My windshield still makes sounds as if it will crack and I think there’s something majorly defective with the vehicle. How was this never a recall? what can I do to inquire about this safety issue? it sounds like a common occurrence. Thank you.

55 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 08/30/2023

My Subaru 2019 Outback has had 5 replacement windshields in 10 months. The windshield seems to crack for no reason and the cracks spread quickly impairing vision and causing worry that any impact of an object would come straight through the windshield and cause harm to driver, passengers and potentially other vehicles. I have talked with Subaru of America, just this last time on the 5th replacement and they had an engineer look at the windshield to determine cause. The report states: “Subaru field engineer determined caused by chip. ” as the driver of the vehicle, nothing has hit the windshield while driving, nothing of note that is, normal things like rain, sunshine, and wind, which is what a windshield is meant to protect against. The other techs at the dealer could not make out a point of impact. I picked up my vehicle from the dealer at 6pm, drove it a few miles on the freeway, maintaining safe follow distances with my new windshield, and when I got back in the car 2 hours later there were 4 cracks stemmed from the bottom of the windshield that stretched up more than 6 inches. The windshield is currently cracked and I’m waiting for Subaru of America to get back to me on this issue. There is a problem with the windshields and someone needs to take responsibility for it. One or two cracked windshields can be explained, but now with the most recent one, that’s 6 cracks in 10 months. It seems there is a defect.

56 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 08/15/2023

Driving normally with no other vehicles nearby, crack developed in windshield almost half way up, from the left side, and within seconds crossed most of drivers side in a near direct line. This is the third windshield to crack in a 12 month period. Both times replaced at my local Subaru dealership where the vehicle was originally purchased. I have received a warning ticket from police for the prior crack, just before replacement due to safety issue. This newest crack is in drivers field of vision.

57 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 08/11/2023

I am the owner of the 2019 Subaru Outback. Since I purchased the car back in 2019, I replaced the windshield 3 times already in 4 years of car ownership (10/2019, 11/2021, 8/2022) and only ~30k miles driven. Every time even a minor struck into the windshield caused a major crack (over 1 foot length) within minutes of continued driving. This significantly impairs the clear vision through the windshield. Additionally, rapid advancement in the size of the crack means that it has to be fully replaced every time with the cost of additional calibration of safety systems which makes the cost of the replacement extremely high. Every windshield has been replaced in the Subaru dealership with Subaru-made components. This rate of replacement is highly unusual and I never experienced before such frequent windshield failure.

58 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 08/04/2023

My battery died and I replaced it. Suddenly my radio/screen system started to malfunction. It no longer works at all other than interrupting phone calls by switching from car to phone speaker. I have no access to any safety features. Now my brand new battery of one month isn’t working. When I had an oil change at the dealership last month, they were familiar with the issue but stated there was a recall on the exact issue for a different year. They said I’d have to pay $1000 for a new radio interface. My question is why is the radio/screen and the battery failing at the same time? why is there a recall one year off and my car is costing me a fortune and so much time.

59 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 07/15/2023

2019 Subaru Outback, 3. 6r limited, approx. 3. 5 years old with around 36000 miles, when I noticed small bubbles forming near the upper right hand corner of the infotainment touch screen. Shortly thereafter, the number of bubbles increased, the radio would change stations on its own, sometimes turn on by itself, and the navigation would not work. Took it to the dealer and was told I would need a new info system at my expense and they were on back order.

60 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 07/07/2023

Head unit delaminating after data control module repair in 2023. Head unit is entirely inoperable and poses a safety risk to driver by turning radio on and off, switching stations, raising and lowering volume level, and affecting the eyesight periodically. Head unit can be turned off after multiple attempts, however powers back up on its own continuing the previously mentioned issues.

61 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 07/02/2023

Windshield just cracked from mirror straight down middle to hood. No accident… happened while parked in personal garage. Looks like a history of faulty windshields. Is Subaru paying yet?.

62 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 07/01/2023

"infotainment" touch screen in front dashboard delaminating. What can be described as bubbles or splotches, sponaneously appear, and cause system to constantly register touches. Depending on location of "bubble(s)" highly dangerous and scary as system can randomly navigate, call, play music, etc. As if possessed by a ghost. Back up camera affected too. Anything which is attached to display can seemingly randomly switch, turn off, turn on, etc. Seems to be worse in hot weather. Can not turn off 'infotainment" panel/screen because system turns itself back on (as if registering the touch by a user).

63 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 06/02/2023

Was parked outside and came home and put car in garage and found a huge crack in windshield, I did not have an accident or was windshield hit with anything this happened spontaneously!.

64 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 04/21/2023

In the last 8 months, I have replaced the windshield twice. I assumed it was due to rock strikes but neither time was a strike mark present. The second time I heard a loud pop and an approximately 8-inch crack appeared. I believe the material is either defective or too thin, especially after reading about numerous similar incidents. Subaru's response is to try to sell a windshield warranty. What will happen if someone's windshield shatters completely while driving? the date below is the latest, but this also occurred last year around July/August.

65 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 04/05/2023

The battery is depleted with no known reason. Even after a new battery is installed it stalls. And an internet search shows that Subaru knows this is their issue. When I contact Subaru they told me that I should drive it every day. That is a ridiculous statement. This battery issue creates a potential for a bad incident.

66 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 03/20/2023

Trunk popped open and will not close. Power rear gate latch control needed to be replaced. Couldn’t fully open or close trunk while driving or even after stopped.

67 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 03/02/2023

In November 2022, I reported my radio unit was faulty due to a peeling covering for the radio. The resulting problems includes: flashing screen, continual beeping, self-navigating menu changes, making phone calls, sending messages, etc. I was told in early Nov it would 10 days before a radio would be available. In early December I called the dealership to inquire of the progress, now overdue. I was told it would be 10 days again and the representative told me he was going to re-roder it. In early January 2023 the radio began to flash, beep, and self-navigate menus including factory resetting itself while in operation. The covering at this point was peeling more. Explaining that it was no inoperable and was being covered with paper to avoid distraction while driving though the beeping was still happening. I called the dealership to inquire and was told no radio replacement was available and to call Subaru direct with my issues. I called Subaru directly and was told a radio replacement would be available in 10 days and to call back if I didn't hear from them. I called back with no response. I called several more times with no response. In early February 2023, I called an opened another case but was re-routed to the original case and was told radios were being replaced for orders in late October/early November and mine would likely be available soon and to call back in a few days if I did not hear back. I called several times without a response. The radio is flashing, beeping, self-navigating menus, turning on, turning off, turning on the radio, changing stations and volume while in motion making driving unsafe.

68 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 03/02/2023

The windshield cracks and chips excessively easy. I'm 47 years old and have never needed to replace a windshield til this vehicle and I've now had 4 cracks in the 2 years I've owned it as well as numerous chips. I know road hazard happens - but this has been excessive!.

69 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 02/06/2023

Vehicle would not start after turning off the motor! this has happened 3 times until it would not start at all, which left myself and young girls stranded for 2 hrs until aaa arrived! the battery is good but something is draining the battery!!! will take to Subaru dealership to diagnose the problem!.

70 Equipment problem

Failure Date: 02/01/2023

The infotainment center is consistently cycling through radio stations and apps. Driving down the road you see this consistent blinking as it cycles through. Cannot not turn the unit off. Tentative date is November 2023 for the unit to be replaced. 10 months from start of problem that has gotten progressively worse.



Outback Service Bulletins
Outback Safety Recalls
Outback Defect Investigations