Seats Problems of Subaru Outback - part 1

I own a 2010 Subaru Outback. While parked at a college in medford, oregon, it suffered a spontaneous electrical fire that originated inside the driver's door. This is the exact failure described in Subaru safety recall campaign wqe-41. The NHTSA website states the recall was completed on this VIN, meaning the recall repair itself has failed and caused a total loss of the vehicle at this time as we are unsure if it’s fixable or even worth fixing. Fire dept did come out and confirm fire was out completely and instructed me not to drive car at all until it could get looked at.

See all problems of the 2010 Subaru Outback 🔎.

The driver’s power-seat lift motor failed intermittently, leaving the seat stuck in its lowest position. The component remains installed in the vehicle and is available for inspection. The seat could not be raised high enough for my wife to obtain adequate forward visibility, making the vehicle unsafe for her to drive. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? yes. Quantrell Subaru confirmed the lift motor failure. The technician tapped the motor, it worked briefly, and then failed again. It was inspected by an authorized Subaru dealer. It has not been inspected by Subaru of America, police, or insurance representatives. There were no warning lamps or messages. The first symptom was that the seat would no longer raise and became stuck at its lowest position. The issue was documented by the dealer on July 21, 2026.

See all problems of the 2020 Subaru Outback 🔎.

Driving on the highway was side swiped then rearended at high speed causing my driver seat to fly backwards. So the locking mechanism on the manual seat adjuster either failed or never locked.

See all problems of the 2012 Subaru Outback 🔎.

I am reporting a severe saftey and crash-compatibility defect on the front passenger side of the 2026 Subaru Outback premium trim. This vehicle is equipped with a fixed-height passenger seat that is positioned unsafely high relative to the headliner and sun visor assembly. Because the seat height cannot be lowered, an adult passenger of average height sits with their head in immediate proximity to the sun visor. Under standard deployment of the vehicle brakes, forward occupant kinematics cause the passenger’s forehead to travel collide into the rigid, unyielding lower edge of the sun visor, which act as a hard/sharp parts cut the forehead and twisting the neck seriously. During a recent braking event, this lack of structural clearance caused a direct head-strike incident. The occupant’s forehead collided with the sharp bottom edge of the visor, acting as a blunt knife edge that resulted in a laceration to the forehead and a hyper-extension strain injury to the neck. This is a critical design failure where occupant safety clearance envelope was poorly designed for this elevated fixed-seat configuration. In a high-speed collision, this layout poses an imminent risk of severe facial trauma, skull fractures, or catastrophic cervical spine injuries from the visor before the seatbelt pre-tensioner can fully lock. This requires immediate investigation and a mandatory safety recall to provide height-adjustable/lower seat frames to affected vehicles.

The passenger seat airbag light does not always come on when my wife, 93 lbs, sits in the passenger seat. It will come on with someone heavier. This also happened in the loaner car I was given, 2026 forester, by the dealer while they investigated my car. The airbag light did not come on when my wife was in the seat. Dealer says thereshold switch is operating according to factory specification. I say the specification needs adjustment. This was not a problem with my 2021 wrx.

See all problems of the 2025 Subaru Outback 🔎.

This is a base model automobile with manual seats. The right front passenger seat unlocked without warning during a quick deceleration. The seat slid forward on mounting rails and caused the front passenger to be squished between forward motion of seat and the seat belt. Lucky this was not a collision, but weight of seat moving forward & smashing passenger against seat belt was very uncormfortable. During a collision, this may have resulted in a serious injury. Seat bottom was replaced by dealer at my expense. I have kept defective seat bottom for further inspection. I have attached the repair invoice. Car has been used afterward without front passenger awaiting for part to be made available. Invoice incorrectly reports mileage. There is less that 15,000 miles on this car.

See all problems of the 2018 Subaru Outback 🔎.

I folded my rear seats down to gain more cargo area room, upon unloading my cargo, I proceeded to fold up my rear seats. Both rear seats folded up and locked, except the driver's side rear seat locked into position but would recline backwards and not stay locked. I have owned this vehicle for seven years and have only had passengers in the rear about a dozen times, and to my knowledge never used the recline feature. The rear seats have been folded down numerous times to gain cargo volume and folded back up. I looked at side drivers side latch and it moves freely back n forth and will not lock like the passenger's does. I pulled on the recline leaver and it has tension on it. I tried pulling on both releases together to no avail. I found this issue on the internet which shows the latch. I feel the is an unsafe condition for a rear driver's side passenger as the seat rocks back n forth. This is link: [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Lower oil pan leaks oil. Started leaking oil right after warranty expired. This is a known issue for Subaru cars with the 2. 4 turbo engine. Seats ripped right after warranty expired.

See all problems of the 2022 Subaru Outback 🔎.

I have a occupancy sensor error which has turned off the airbags on the passenger seat. I looked up the issue and found an open recall with Subaru regarding this issue. I spoke with multiple case managers to resolve the issue. They said they have reported the issue to NHTSA but it is not an active recall because they have yet to find a solution. So they have no responsibility to fix the issue at this time. They are unwilling to provide me with an alternate option than driving my car with the exact issue they issued the recall for.

The driver’s side (front left) power seat adjust motor has lost the inside end cap of the worm drive control assembly. Only the outside left rail will move. Subaru will not sell the part to repair, they only will supply the entire lower seat assembly for $1000. .

The back of the passenger seat is shaking uncontrollably at higherspeeds. According to my local Subaru dealership all 2023 Outback they have with power seats are exhibiting the same issu, while the manual seats do not.

See all problems of the 2023 Subaru Outback 🔎.

This is 3 years old with 27000 miles. The driver's side seat has cracked and tear. This is what Subaru is putting out there for the public. Cheap material and poor workmanship.

See all problems of the 2021 Subaru Outback 🔎.

There is a problem with the passenger airbag sensor on this model. I weigh under 100 pounds, and the sensor light does not turn on when I am seated in the passenger seat. My husband weighs 160 lbs, and the light goes on when he sits in the passenger seat. Subaru maintains that the sensor is working as designed, but this is clearly a safety issue.

See all problems of the 2024 Subaru Outback 🔎.

The drivers seat is loose, rocking back and forth significantly to the point it very noticeable while driving. The dealer states that this is due to the bottom seat frame being worn out. There are only 41,000 miles on the car, about 37,000 when I first noticed the information. This should not fail so early the car’s life. The dealer is replacing the bottom seat frame at a cost of $1310.

Electronic seat recliner motor (outer bushing) noise when reclining, but kendall Subaru in eugene saying motor can not be fixed (defective design), only replaced with another (defective) motor @ cost near $1,000. Seat then stuck all the way back; even with seat headrest behind my back (w/sweaters on top of it even) driving comfort/visibility are not as good. [this entire electronic seat recliner motor system is inferior/defective to begin with vs. A typical manual seat reclining lever design, for at least the following reasons: 1) much slower/less easy to operate 2) plastic activation buttons easily break off 3) much less reliable, where manual lever system safety & other problems are almost unheard of 4) much more costly].

See all problems of the 2013 Subaru Outback 🔎.

Driver's seat started peeling off approximately a year after purchase. Notified dealer, they said to contact Subaru of America via social media. Now almost all peeled off, have to cover with towel possibly interfering with airbags. Steering column lock will not lock in top position. Dealer repaired once under warranty, now out of warranty. Unsafe when column moves when driving. Transmission started slipping or behaving strangely around 90,000 miles. . Read more...

See all problems of the 2015 Subaru Outback 🔎.

2019 Outback 2. 5 limited purchased new Feb 2019. Driving car with no passengers when airbag warning light and red exclamation light came on along with warning message to consult owners manual. Manual says the airbag system is turned off when these lights come on and take car to authorized repair center. Found pulling passenger seat belt out all the way would turn off the lights but then they would turn back on a short time later. Dealer found all harnesses where properly plugged in and no wiring damage. Dealer said vehicle needed a new front passenger occupant detection seat frame as a result of the malfunction. Service advisor stated they have seen several cars with the same fault and that our Outback was not under a manufactures recall for this problem. Dealer was well aware other Subaru models have recalls for this problem. Service advisor recommended contacting nhsta over this problem since when the airbag system shuts down occupant safety is severely compromised if an accident were to occur. Total cost of repair was $1,922. 07.

See all problems of the 2019 Subaru Outback 🔎.

Driver seat is loose. Noise when travelling or even stopped. Bolts to the floor are tight but the seat is loose above them. Excess movement. Brought it in after 2 weeks of new purchase and they repaired bushings according to service. Noise recurs 2022. Dealer refuses to repair under any warranty. Suggests bottom seat replacement at owners expense.

The drivers' seat mounting frame began to fail. This was noticeable because of a squeaking/creaking sound from the seat. The authorized dealer I went to confirmed this was the problem and there is a technical service bulletin from Subaru indicating this is a problem component. Because my car was only a few months out of warranty, I had to pay nearly $1,000 to have this part replaced. I believe driver's seat mounting components are an essential part of the safety of the vehicle but Subaru has not recalled this part which is known by them to fail prematurely.

The contact owns a 2013 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that after driving for about two hours, she switched seats with her boyfriend. While her boyfriend was driving, there was an abnormal odor present. The contact noticed smoke under the front passenger seat. The driver was able to pull over to the side of the road. There were no warning indicator lights illuminated. The driver attempted to put out the fire. The fire department was able to extinguish the fire and disconnect the battery. The contact removed the passenger seat fuse. The passenger seat was jammed. A police report was filed. There were no reported injuries. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 173,400.

The battery keeps failing. It's my 4th battery change and I can feel that I will need to change the 4th one soon.

See all problems of the 2017 Subaru Outback 🔎.

The ods in our 2014 Subaru Outback has failed, and there is a constant beeping indicating that the air bag system is not functioning properly. This was definitely an issue the last two winters, too, but with covid quarantine and illness, we were not able to address it then. The airbag warning lights and sounds persist whether the seat is unoccupied or occupied by a child (14 or 16) or adult. The dealer has diagnosed that the passenger seatbelt switch is also not working properly. Their recommended remedy is replacing the entire seat base (~$1,300). This vehicle also had a recall of the passenger side airbag inflator, which was replaced in may 2019 when our mileage was 88,000. The issue started when weather turned cold in the winter of 2019. When it is below about 45 degrees, the beeping starts, and it only ceases when the vehicle is warmed up and the engine is turned off then on again. Our temperatures here in eastern washington get up to 115 in summer and down to 10 in winter. We are thinking that this ods defect may be due to a loosening of the components during the airbag service or the exact same faulty ods component that was recalled in the Subaru forrester recall (NHTSA campaign number 19v701). It is important to us to have a functional airbag in case of a crash.

See all problems of the 2014 Subaru Outback 🔎.

Air bag light is on (a02) faulty occupancy detection sensors in right front seat. Bottom seat frame would have to be replaced to resolve issues.

Driver side seat is sounding like a weak and used bed. I have read on multiple Subaru sites that this has been happening since 2018 on various Subaru vehicles. It's apparently a weld that is weak. This makes it a safety hazard. Due to the fact that Subaru has known about this issue for a year and stilled installed these seats on a 2019 vehicle demonstrates that Subaru has poor quality checks. I asked for a replacement but was quoted over 2k for the replacement. This is just wrong and Subaru needs to replace these seats. If a weld is weak, think what will happen during an accident with that seat.

Windshield developed a crack on the top passenger side, I do not recall any rocks or debris hitting the windshield. Next morning the crack grew to over half the windshield. Over the next few days the crack has grown to cover 85% of the windshield horizontally, almost in a complete "u" shape. I now have to decide to spend the ~$1,000 to replace the windshield or drive with the crack. After reading all the complaints on 2nd cracks, I'm hesitant. The driver seat has a very annoying squeak when getting in/out and while driving the vehicle. Some days it's worse than others, and it doesn't seem to matter what the current weather conditions are.

Two issues: - windshield - I came out of the gym to see a huge crack in my windshield. On the very next day as I was driving on the interstate a what I assume a small rock hit my windshield and another crack spread across the windshield. -leather driver car seat - within only two years of use, the car seat is ripped in several places. Nothing has ever happened to warrant such rips.

Subaru dealership refused to discuss safety issue recalls selling vehicle with open safety recalls and other safety issues that could have been easily remedied. The vehicle had been in for service and problems were not addressed. Dealership claims "sold as is" and buyer beware, after we had leased a new 2019 vehicle and purchased a like new used vehicle that had gone through their extensive multipoint inspections. Issues for air bags, fuel system leaking, potential fire and explosion, faulty seat latches as safety recall. Dealership has violated trust and exhibited no concern for anyone's safety. We can not trust this dealership for repair or service of our vehicles.

See all problems of the 2006 Subaru Outback 🔎.

1-windshield very large crack and it kept getting bigger 2-driver seat is squeaking even after the repair. Afraid the seat frame might come a part during accident.

Automatic front seats. When wife opens the passenger door first (before the driver) the driver seat adjusts to her set position. An d if I don't pay attention the driver seat will push/crush me into the steering wheel. I have a bad back and drop foot, so I don't have the strength of a younger person. My only salvation is to squeeze out or hit the position button on the door panel. Also, the presets go out all the time. I have asked if they could disable the passenger side door sensor. Nothing. Rear gate opening: it has happened so many times. I have complained directly to Subaru about the seat and gate problem. No results. The rear gate has opened while raining outside during the night. It has opened while in the garage jamming the overhead garage door. I am afraid on trips to have stuff stolen out of my car is such an incident. Happened once. Also. . . They have a cute preset so you can set the max height of the gate opening. Twice my wife has walked into the rear gate and literally flipped backwards to the pavement! Subaru denies any problems about the gate. Funny, one day I was helping a friend and her mom was there. As they helped me unload my Subaru we discovered that mom had also a similar model. The first question she asked me "have you any problem with your rear gate"!!! it's not just me. Subaru needs to step up and fix these problems before someone really gets hurt or have loss of items from the car.

The driver's seat continuously squeaks while driving. Subaru dealer says I need a new seat bottom. Apparently, there are other vehicles and years with this same issue.

Red airbag light . Dealer diagnosis code b1650. Response is to replace the bottom part of passenger seat. 1840. 00 repair. This happened about a year after they replaced the airbag related to takata recall. Soa has offered 1000. 00 �in good will gesture � . Saw a recall in 2015 for impreza wagons throwing off b1650 code. Was told by soa not to drive my Outback as this is a safety issue. I totally agree, but also think that a 6 year old Outback should not be having this kind of safety issue . I am unable to repair due to the costly repair and in my opinion this is Subaru's responsibility to fix! there is no possible way I could have caused this malfunction.

Substantial rust has developed at the attach point of the driver's seat-belt to the driver's seat and of the attach-point of the driver's seat to the car. We're the original owner and the car was never flooded or exposed to water in any other way. I took it to the dealer two weeks ago and they didn't know what to make of it or do about it. They reached out to Subaru and (as of 4/24) the dealer hasn't received a response. The passenger side doesn't have this problem, but the design is entirely different -- no exposed metal. Interestingly, when the service advisor checked other later-year gen 5 Outbacks the design had changed: there was no longer any exposed metal in the equivalent location. The newer design for the driver-side attach-point mimics the passenger side - no exposed metal. A 2016 Outback in for service had the same exposed metal design on the driver-side seat. It also had rusting at the same location (although not nearly as severe as on mine). It does not seem safe to have this kind of rust at such a key attach-point for the seat and a critical safety device like a seatbelt. We live in a warm/temperate part of California and the car has always been "homed" in part of California, so it has not been exposed to harsh weather.

I have always wanted a 3. 6l and this is my first 3. 6l 6 cylinder 2018 Subaru Outback! am disappointed with few problems: the front seating is not comfortable and not supportive at all, especial in hard turns the seats will not hold you in place, the seat bed is to short and does not support long legs if you are over 5 feet tall. For some reason this is my 3rd Subaru 2nd Outback that has wheel alignment problem right out of the box!!! I always seem to be pulling the steering-wheel/vehicle to the right and my steering is always on a 15-20 degree off and if I don't steer and pull to the right the vehicle drifts way to the left lane and this dangers and a major problem. Also while driving on highways with speed over 60 the vehicle vibrates I took it in for 4 tire wheel balancing and I hope this will fix the problem, mind you this is a new car. 2018 Outback has a problem while driving on highways and speeds over 60 the vehicle drifts or sways dangerously left and right out of control as if something is pushing or pushing the vehicle left and right, I don't know if the highway vibration with speeds exceeding 60 is associated with the sway or its a wheel balancing problem. Previously owned Subaru's 2011 Outback, 2011 legacy, 2014 Outback, 2018 Outback with only 290 miles on the vehicle with a full gas tank I drove it till it displayed and the gas light is on that I only have 40 miles to go before running out of gas so I drove it to be precise another 12 miles then stated that I only have 30 miles to empty and parked it while I went to work , 6 hours later to go home and the vehicle will not start, unfortunately I ran out of gas! I don't know if this was a glitch or its going to be a problem but I will keep my eyes on it.

While driving the car with a passenger in the right front seat the air bag warning light came on. The srs occupancy display indicated that the passenger seat air bag was now off even though my wife was still in that seat. This has happened on every drive we take in the car that lasts more then 25 minutes.

Cold rainy morning, I started the car for the first time with no one in the passenger seat. The airbag light came on and stayed on, the passenger seatbelt light is on and car is dinging like someone in the passenger seat is not wearing a seat belt. Does not turn off when seat belt is clipped. I take it to the dealership and they say it's a bad electrostatic capacitance sensor ods. The 'part' aka replacing the whole seat is $900. Same year of Subaru that they recalled this part in the impreza. Nhtsa recall no. : 15v-419.