Power Train Problems of Subaru Outback - part 1

The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while idling at a red traffic light, the vehicle lurched forward twice and struck the rear end of another vehicle twice. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated upon impact. The air bags did not deploy. There was no injury sustained. A police report was not filed. Both the contact and her husband were able to drive away from the scene. The contact's vehicle sustained damage. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that a field technician would be sent to retrieve information from the edr. The failure mileage was approximately 30,800.

See all problems of the 2021 Subaru Outback 🔎.

Wheel bearings failed at 55k miles , 5. 25 years.

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20-25 mph, the vehicle started reversing unintendedly while the gear shifter was in drive(d). The contact stated that the vehicle reversed on a steep road, drove onto a curb, and onto the poles that were lying down, and the vehicle stopped. The air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained pain on the right side of the lower back but had not yet received medical assistance. The vehicle sustained damage. The vehicle was towed to the executive auto body repair shop. A police report was filed. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.

See all problems of the 2019 Subaru Outback 🔎.

I was told by the dealer that my 2019 Outback had a cam carrier oil leak. At the time, my car had 50,700 miles on it. My drivetrain warrantee was for 5 years or 60,000 miles. I was over on the years but under on the miles. The repair was estimated to cost $4,500. 00. The dealer said that this oil leak is common and even when repaired it could leak again. This is a design flaw that Subaru has not addressed. There are many articles on it. This has been a problem because Subaru uses a boxter engine and this engine has historically always had problems with oil leaks that cannot be fixed. It was also disclosed that there was a chance that oil leaking onto the manifold or exhaust could cause a fire in the car which caused me alarm. My wife and I are seniors, and we cannot afford to get stuck in the car and perhaps with car on fire. The dealer could not do anything, so I called Subaru directly and spoke to their consumer advocate dept. (incidentally, I had two previous repairs to the electrical system and computer system fixed by Subaru at no cost even though we were past warrantee. Subaru decided to extend the warrantee on the two previous issues. ) after several calls Subaru told me that they would give me a $1,500 credit towards the $4,500. 00 for the repair, which I said was not nearly enough and did not solve the problems. I explained that we are apprehensive about the car because the leak could happen again and there is a chance of fire. Subaru told me that the chance of fire is low and at an acceptable level. Any chance of fire is not acceptable to us. I was going to sell the car outright, but the oil leak would cause a major devaluation of the car, so I had it fixed and repaired last week. My ongoing concern is that this oil leak is a recurring hazard that can cause a fire. I believe this problem should have been handled through a no cost recall. The dealer said this is a common problem, but I could not get any further info on the issue.

My cvt transmission started having problems with the valve body inside the transmission. On acceleration from a complete stop my vehicle would start "bucking" hard causing a violent back and forth rocking or "jerking" of the drive train and vehicle. I did not request a inspection of the failed valve body when I paid to have it replaced. The life and safety of myself and others are at severe risk of injury or death resulting from a complete failure of the valve body component when driving on highways or other roads because without any warning the vehicle will come to a complete stop which would cause a rear end collision possibly at highway speeds. Also I'm concerned about the torque converter having a failure because of the intense pressure from the failed valve body with the constant "bucking" on acceleration. I took my vehicle to both a independent transmission shop and a Subaru service center and the independent transmission shop told me I needed a new transmission and the Subaru service department kept telling me they didn't know what was causing my vehicle symptoms. Subaru of America extended the warranty on my vehicle to 100,000 miles because of the problems with their cvt transmissions but because I bought my vehicle used with over 100,000 miles on it they refused to either pay for 50% or 100% of the replacement cost. No warning lights came on but when the valve body completely fails then the warning lights will illuminate. My Subaru case number that was denied is (case# 250820-1801058) for Subaru extended warranty for cvt transmission.

See all problems of the 2011 Subaru Outback 🔎.

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while attempting to make a turn, the transmission was slipping while attempting to shift gears. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 56,700. The VIN was not available.

See all problems of the 2020 Subaru Outback 🔎.

When I parked my vehicle in the garage, I smelled an odor coming from the engine compartment. I found that the front right inner axle boot had leaked grease. I then saw that the grease covered the catalytic converter. I am not sure when this started to be a problem, but my main concern was it could have started a fire.

See all problems of the 2009 Subaru Outback 🔎.

My name is [xxx] [xxx] phone number: [xxx] my complaint is with Subaru of America, 1 Subaru drive, camden, NJ 08103 phone number: 800-782-2783 I would like the pennsylvania state attorney general’s office to become involved with the two lemons/pieces of junk my wife and I have been sold. My Subaru is a 2019 Outback and my wife’s Subaru is a 2020 forester. My ongoing problems with my 2019 Subaru Outback are as follows and in my opinion, I am driving a very unsafe car putting our lives at risk: 3 batteries prior to 80,000 miles resulting from a class action lawsuit filed against Subaru. Replacement of the ecm or engine control module. Burns a quart of oil at the price of $11. 00 per quart every 3,000 miles, that’s an engine problem. Right front axle broke and had to be replaced. After replacement of the right front axle, the right front axle seal, which is the axle replaced started to leak and I was charged to replace the axle seal due to a mechanics incompetence. I received a card from Subaru stating a windshield issue. Received another card regarding a fuel pump issue. A letter received this past week from an apparent cvt or continuously variable transmission issue. Now my radio stations jump around arbitrarily changing stations, tracks on my cd, and my hatch doesn’t open, but gets stuck shortly upon opening. This car is a lemon, a piece of junk and very unsafe. How many more problems are unknown to us and when will any of them occur while we are driving putting our lives in danger. If Subaru had any ethics character integrity or business morality they would have replaced this piece of junk. They are a horrible company to work with information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

It is a known issue with Subarus of this year that the engine will stall at random intervals when stopping, weather at a stop sign or stop light, warm or cold, fast stops or regular stopping. There is no consistency to it, completely random. There are no warning lights that appear, I have not taken this car to the dealer because after purchasing it I cannot afford to take it to the dealer. I purchased this car used for my elderly parents and this is a disturbing problem that could get them hurt or killed. Why has this known issue not been recalled? there are multiple service bulletins reported to NHTSA addressing this issue but no recall?.

See all problems of the 2010 Subaru Outback 🔎.

We had had no issues at all with our 2022 Subaru Outback until June 2025. Mileage at the time of the incident was approximately 52,000. We were driving one evening in June and all of a sudden the engine stopped and we could not drive it. It only produced a knocking sound when we attempted to turn the engine on. We had the car towed to the dealership and after taking the engine apart, they reported that an intake valve broke, flew and split one of the pistons causing the motor to seize up. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms prior to the engine failure. Regular oil changes had been performed on the car. This issue came completely out of left field as we had previously had no engine issues.

See all problems of the 2022 Subaru Outback 🔎.

Purchased used with just over 60k miles & have had less than a year. Vehicle still under 80k miles. Told transmission needs replaced but found service records from previous owner which shows fuel pump replaced twice at about 20k mile intervals & I am just under 20k miles past previous pump replacement. Vehicle does not run at the moment & warranty company refusing to help.

The contact owns a 2011 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle failed to properly accelerate while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission output shift was bent and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000.

The car shifted (transmission) into neutral when cruising down the interstate at 62 mph and stayed in neutral until the ignition was turned off. With no brake light cars were not worn and was nearly hit from behind. 2 weeks earlier the same happened on a city street. There was a previous transmission recall wrk-21chain slippage recall on this vehicle that apparently didn't correct the problem.

Torque converter issue that causes stalling similar to a manual transmission vehicle. The issue should have been a full recall but instead was only a "bulletin. " for my own safety, I am stuck paying several thousand dollars for an issue the manufacturer is aware of but refused to cover by full recall. It is not just wear-and-tear, and is a danger to myself and other drivers on the road. And because the previous owner(s) were negligent in making sure the vehicle was repaired under warranty, I'm left paying a giant, unexpected bill. Does that seem like the right thing to you?.

Due to a known manufacturing defect in the automatic transmission acknowledged in TSB 16-74-09 the driveability of my vehicle has been severely hampered and the shuddering/vibration is steadily worsening. I wasn't aware of this torque converter defect or an available remedy until well after the warranty expired as I didn't have access to the TSB. This is apparently a widespread problem affecting many vehicles of the era based on online forums and other complaints to NHTSA. I took the vehicle to dealerships over the years for related transmission issues but they "couldn't replicate" my concern. Recently, a local dealership has confirmed our transmission is affected but it does not throw any trouble codes or illuminate warning lamp as these underlying mechanical defects are not monitored by the obd system. Having a gradually failing, defective transmission is a safety issue as we can grow complacent and it could give out any time without warning while driving. The vehicle is certainly available for inspection. It has been impeccably maintained, and none of these issues are due to mechanical wear and tear or neglect. It's unbelievable that a known manufacturing defect in the transmission would not affect every vehicle with that unit and be subject of a broad recall.

See all problems of the 2008 Subaru Outback 🔎.

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.

See all problems of the 2023 Subaru Outback 🔎.

Vehicle had 45,000 miles on it when right rear wheel bearing failed. It was covered under 5 year/60,000 mile warranty and was repaired today by a certified Subaru dealer and I no longer have the bad part for inspection. Safety risks would be anything that occurs from a bad wheel bearing like wobble, seizing, overheating, and more damage to other drivetrain components. You could hear the wheel bearing noise at 20 mph constant while driving, only getting louder with increased speed. No warning lights were present on the dash. I feel like at 45,000 miles, a wheel bearing should not be failing.

I noticed a metal sound when I accelerated then the car jerked forward a few times. Shortly afterwards, ~5 min, the dashboard lights came on:automatic transmission oil temperature, blind-spot detection, check engine, eyesight system, reverse auto braking and vehicle dynamic control. I was able to drive slowly back home but not sure what is going on with this 3 year old car with 47,000 miles on it.

Had my recalls completed and started having jerking on my way home from the dealership. Didn’t have any issues prior and I drove 2 hours to the closest Subaru dealership. Had transmission serviced and still doing it. Read the fuel update and head unit updated could take a bit longer to learn and could cause jerking but still happening 3 weeks later. Transmission was serviced last week. The shop to do it stated didn’t notice metal shavings nor sounds in the transmission or the oil and suggested it be the computer problem with the recall fixes.

See all problems of the 2018 Subaru Outback 🔎.

A transmission that was replaced in July of 2023 went bad un December of 2024 and dealership won't give reasons why transmission went bad or what caused a almost brand new transmission with less than 50,000 miles on it went bad. They are demanding we pay $5000. 00 dollars on a transmission that was replaced under the extended warranty on cvt transmission from Subaru. Which also extends to the brand new transmission. They are demanding their loaner car back and refusing to honor extended warranty on new transmission which the gave us which is bad. They will not give us anything other than it is bad. No information what so ever is being given to my husband or I as to why, how or what happened. My car will not move unless it is pushed by someone. They are refusing to honor their recall warranty or provide a loaner while dealing with their corporate offices on this issue. This is after in the past 1 and a half years my car has been in their shop for well over 8 months and I am still making payments on this vehicle. They will not even provide paperwork on the issues with my vehicle.

See all problems of the 2015 Subaru Outback 🔎.

When coming to a stop the rpm's drop and the engine will stall, similar to not engaging the clutch on a manual transmission. Luckily there has not been a crash to date but the condition has worsened to the point it is no longer safe to drive and must be repaired. This is a known safety flaw with the torque converter and Subaru denied any responsibility or assistance in the quoted $2,400 repair.

Vehicle stalls when stopping. This is a huge safety issue because stalling at intersections can cause accidents. Dealership diagnosed a faulty torque converter. This torque converter (it should be part number 31100ab170) issue is widely known in this production series of the Subaru Outback. After hundreds of complaints were filed with the NHTSA, Subaru extended the warranty on all their automatic transmissions to avoid a recall around 2017, but closed the extended warranty in 2022. Subaru now tries to convince their customers that these vehicles are too old for the issue to be attributable to them, despite knowing that they equipped these vehicles with defective parts. See the following: [xxx] [xxx] [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2012 Subaru Outback 🔎.

When coming to a stop, the car shudders and often stalls just like if you didn't press in the clutch on a manual transmission. No warning lights or messages. See details in TSB- 16-90-13r. Subaru knows about this issue and it has been reported in many vehicles. My car was at a Subaru dealership at least half a dozen times during 2017-2018 when this issue came to light and no one notified us to have it checked. Fast forward to now and for the last year my car has been shuddering when coming to a stop, and about 2-3 months ago, it started stalling. This is an absolute safety issue and should be a recall. I've been in many situations where it stalls and I am vulnerable to getting rear-ended because it takes time to restart the car and get moving again. This is particularly true in traffic or situations where you need to stop suddenly and others behind you are not anticipating you being stopped in the roadway.

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").

While driving on the highway, we were forced to brake swiftly. As a result, the known issue of the torque converter in this model of car caused the engine to stall in the middle lane of the highway and almost causing our deaths as multiple tractor-trailers had to swerve to avoid our immobilized vehicle until it could be restarted. This could've led to to the deaths of me, my family and many other road-users. I can't believe this isn't a recall when it's such a wide-spread and known problem with this model.

I’m unable to remove the car key from the ignition when the vehicle shifter is in park.

See all problems of the 2016 Subaru Outback 🔎.

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while his wife was accelerating from a stop into traffic at approximately 10 mph, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle failed to move. There were unknown warning lights illuminated after the failure.  the vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The dealer informed him there was no warranty coverage. The dealer confirmed the vehicle was not covered under NHTSA campaign number: 21v955000 (power train). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, who opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 70,158.

Was just driving when I noticed my car was sounding louder than usual. Then when I stared it after running some errands it sounds like a bad engine nock. So I took it in for an oil change and they told me it was a cracked exhaust manifold. Also told me it fine to drive and shouldn’t cause further problems. Then I started to smell heavy exhaust smells inside the cab of the car. Now I have to drive it with windows down or risk passing out or dying.

Coolant leak, steering power fluid leak, break pad leak, gasoline line leak, seat heater, clicking noise after turning off car, leaking seats and rear view mirror also leaking, steering wheel expanding due to possible air bag, heater and ac vents lose and also chemical smell/gas/coolant coming from front and back of car, sunroof not secured. Every wiring wet, charger port in middle compartment wet when plugging something in. Everything auto does not work. Car sounds like something is constantly leaking air or gas somewhere, even when off. My safety was at risk by having severe chemical burns on my skin everywhere, hair falling out due to exposure, almost passing out while driving due to inhaling components, low visibility due to auto dimming in rear view and side mirrors. The problem has not been confirmed due to me being in a financial bind at the moment. The car has not been inspected. Due to financial problems I am not able to get the vehicle looked at. There were no warnings except for the blue temp light came on but immediately will shut back off. Car also severely vibrates when turning on. They started appearing around against of 2024.

Bought vehicle from carvana, immediately noticed transmission shudder issues when driving near 50 mph. Brought vehicle in to multiple repair facilities. It had warped brakes, bad calipers, needed a new torque converter at least and the repair shop recommended a total transmission replacement. The whole vehicle shakes when driving near that speed or braking.

The "select lever complete" or fear shift neutral park sensor switch stops working. Subaru has acknowledged the issue and issued a TSB (number: 16-112-18r). The issue is that the car does not sense it is in park or neutral, even though the shifter is in that position. For keyed cars, the key cannot be removed and for push to start the car rear gate does not open and an alarm sounds when doors are open when the ignition is on. The car warns to move shifter to park, even though the car is shifted to park. Car has been serviced several times with complaints indicating symptoms of issue, but was never informed of cause and lever select was never replaced.

String wheel locked and couldn't start engine. Called dealer, who said to jiggle the transmission while attempting to turn the steering wheel. After three or four tries, everything freed up and everything ran normally. The dealer rep in the service dept said that that had happened to her "a few times"and there wasn't any way to fix it. Dealer doesn't want to see or inspect, no warning lights or anything else associated with this failure. First happened on Friday 13 July 2024. Hasn't happened since. What would prevent the steering wheel from locking up while driving? the dealer service rep said if we couldn't fix it by jiggling things, we would have to have it towed in. This doesn't seem to agree with the prior statement that there wasn't any way to fix the problem.

See all problems of the 2024 Subaru Outback 🔎.

The engine, running at idle in and out of gear, did not respond to input from the gas pedal. Pushing the gas pedal did not have any effect on the engine revs. This was dangerous because I was attempting to enter a busy roadway and suddenly was faced with zero throttle response although the engine was still running and was in gear. The car has 5,300 miles. The transmission failed at 1,300 miles and was replaced by the dealer. The present incident began when, for unknown reasons, the car battery did not have enough power to start the car after being parked for 30 minutes. I got a jump start, and after letting car run for several minutes, attempted to leave the parking lot as described above. The car would move in forward and reverse at idle speed, but there was absolutely no response to gas pedal input. The car was towed to the dealer who will look into this.

On [xxx], I was driving east on [xxx] on the north side of toledo ohio close to the intersection with [xxx] . The "check engine" warning came on, all the vehicle "eyesight" functions were automatically turned off, and pre collision braking and pre collision throttle control features were activated. There was no danger of a collision at this time, but all of this left me stranded in the middle of this busy four lane highway. I was able to literally crawl to the shoulder of the road. I was not hit, but it was just good fortune that prevented that. This is where my safety was at greatest risk. After about 10 minutes during which I started and stopped the car numerous times, the pre collision braking and throttle were deactivated and I was able to drive the car. I located the nearest Subaru dealer (yark Subaru toledo, ohio) and drove there. The cause of the check engine light was diagnosed as a failure of the thermal control valve. I had received a letter from Subaru dated may 1, 2024 stating that this part might fail and extending the warranty for this part. That letter specifically stated that nothing needed to be done until the part failed. There was no mention of the fact that the car would be disabled when it happened. Part was eventually replace on July 1, 2024 two days later. Since then I have spoken to 3 people at Subaru of America seeking to understand why a check engine situation caused the vehicle to be disabled. I also asked the service advisor at yark Subaru to explain. They have all been friendly and attentive, but they cannot or will not give an explanation. My main concern is that a check engine situation may cause this pre collision shut down to happen again. Based on the danger I was in when this happed, I think that there should have been a recall and the thermal control valve replaced before failure. To be clear, the repairs were completed under warranty and Subaru has sent me a $350. 00 coupon for future service. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (f.

Cvt transmission failed and shut off engine. 2018 Subaru Outback limited with only 56,500 miles. On 5/19/24 at approximately 11:30pm, my family and I (5 members) were driving northbound on an interstate highway, when all of a sudden, the engine and transmission completely shut off with all warning lights flashing on the dashboard, while travelling at speeds of 65 miles per hour. When pressing on the accelerator, vehicle would not accelerate, rather the vehicle was decelerating. Fortunately, not many vehicles were on the highway at that time and our vehicle had enough momentum to move right towards the shoulder of the highway and came to a complete stop. When engine turned on and shift to d or r, vehicle does not move. Vehicle is at Subaru dealership being inspected and hopefully being repaired under warranty, which was extended by Subaru of America. Subaru need to fix this, it is a dangerous defect.