Table 1 shows one common power train related problems of the 2023 Subaru Outback.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Power Train problems |
Driving at speeds around 40 and when braking to turn, the brakes jerk and feel like they are not engaging properly. It has happened to a different driver, twice both times on a 90 degree day, a few minutes after the vehicle had been started and the air conditioner was running on high. After this happened we googled the issue to see what the problem could be. The google search shows a Subaru service bulletin #16-150-24r, 09/13/24, revised 12/03/24, showing our year and model of vehicle and a VIN # for all those models as tbd. The service bulletin list the exact problem that we had, and listed the ac running. The service bulletin list a fix of replacing the transmission control module. This would be covered under 5 year 60k miles warranty for the powertrain. Local Subaru dealer doesn't want to fix it because they can't replicate it by driving it. Subaru customer advocacy doesn't want to do anything because my VIN is not listed and they say the TSB are not for the customers to see. They refuse to let me talk with anyone further who would determine which vins are going to be covered in this TSB.
My car had an unintended acceleration that caused me to go in a ditch and hit a tree. I could not get car to stop when I realized it was increasing speed. It all happened very fast. My car was totaled. All airbags deployed. Front right side of car was completely destroyed. There were no warnings. My insurance company has the car on their tow lot. I have sprains and bruises on my right side and a slight concussion. So thankful that I was not in a parking lot or in heavy traffic or near any walkers.
When coming to a stop at a stop sign, the car jerks and the engine appears to stall. I have brought it to 2 dealerships and both have said that it is "normal". I have had dozens of cars and none have ever performed in this manner. The adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking frequently brakes for no reason or does not recognize cars in front of me. It regularly misses large objects directly in front of the car. The system also has a lot of failures and turns itself off randomly for unknown reasons. (again, "working as designed").
The car will begin to jolt/shake when coming to a stop. It has been found to be the torque converter. We are at a loss. 10,000 miles and the car has major issues. Just bought the car 28 days ago with just about 6700 miles. We’ve put about 3,400 miles on the car and experience the issue almost every time we drive the car. Due to the safety issues about the torque converter we no longer want this car in fear of what may happen.
Going down a steep incline shortly after staring car after it had been sitting about 3 hours after about 2500 feet the car had no power maximum speed was about 25mph and could not accelerate. There was a wide edge that I was able to pull off on with about a 300 drop off on right side of car. After pulling off on edge. Stopped turned engine off, sat about 20 seconds, restarted engine, checked to see that engine increased in rpm's when accelerator was engaged, rpm's increased drove next 4 days through appalachian mountains with no further problem. As engaged, then proceeded down incline about a mile and a half with no problem.