Steering Problems of Subaru Outback - part 1

2025 Subaru Outback has been to the dealership three times for software issues. Cruise control, back-up camera, rear collision system, eyesight system all operate some of the time and other times they do not work at all. Software recall in March 2025 and fix was not successful. In may of 2025, dealership reinstalled entire software system. Same safety functions are again not working all the time. Vehicle returning to dealership on July 15, 2025 to try and rectify safety issues associated with the software. No accidents. Safety functions just turn on an off over the past three months.

The contact owns a 2025 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving on several occasions at various speeds, the vehicle oversteered, almost causing the contact to crash several times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the alignment was out of spec, and an alignment was needed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 44.

Car will lane correct when it's not needed. And all warning lights will come on in car when it's very hot. Cannot access touchscreen - because it constantly glitches as if it's being touched passenger side window continues to roll up and down when you click auto control on window and will not stop. I am afraid to drive because of these electrical issues.

See all problems of the 2019 Subaru Outback 🔎.

The steering warning light came on and my steering wheel stiffened. Luckily I was able to make it home, but when I went back to crank it. The light was still on and it would only move forward of backwards; because I wasn't able at all to turn the steering wheel.

See all problems of the 2016 Subaru Outback 🔎.

The contact owns a 2014 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 50 mph or above, the front end and the steering wheel were shaking abnormally. While driving at various speeds, there was a metallic grinding sound coming from the passenger side of the vehicle. The contact stated that while depressing the brake pedal, the brake pedal went to the floorboard and the braking distance became extended. The contact stated that the brakes were squeaking while the brake pedal was depressed. The contact stated that the brakes, check engine, power steering, and engine overheating warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer seven times; however, the dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failures. The contact stated that the dealer replaced the passenger’s side rear wheel bearing. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 201,206.

See all problems of the 2014 Subaru Outback 🔎.

The clock spring that controls the steering wheel, horn and other electrical accessories doesn’t work. This put my life and family’s lives at risk. This is a known issue for Subarus 2015-2019. There’s multiple videos online, I have spoken to multiple owners personally that have encountered the same issue. I spoke to the Subaru dealer and they said due to no recall has been issued for the VIN number of my vehicle they can’t replace it and it cost about $1,000 dls. We need the NHTSA to step in and ask Subaru to issue a recall to start replacing the defective units at no cost to the owner.

See all problems of the 2015 Subaru Outback 🔎.

To the CA automotive repair bureau, [xxx] complaint, in 2022, I bought a new Outback at albany Subaru. In October 2024, my car has 33,000 miles and I've had all of my 3,000-mile oil changes, inspections, and warranty repairs done by albany Subaru. I pay $100 for each repair that's covered under Subaru's extended warranty. In 2023, the car's dashboard computer/radio head unit was repaired, I drove the car for a few days, but the head unit was defective, so Subaru changed the head unit. This cost me (3) three trips to Subaru, which is 7. 8 miles from my home, uber costs, and three $100 warranty payments. I'm a small business owner and had to pay employees extra to remain at work so I could drop off and pick up my car. Most times Subaru didn't give me a loaner car. Weeks later, I was driving up a hill and could not correctly steer my car, I thought I might crash, so I stopped driving my new car. I only drive on paved roads and I bought my Subaru because of Subaru's quality and safety reputation. I returned my car to albany Subaru. My car's steering or front end seemed loose and not right. Subaru told me I needed an alignment. I paid for an alignment. I drove my car home, but again, the steering didn’t seem right, it was still loose and shaking. A day later, I returned my car to Subaru and they readjusted and tightened the steering box. Subaru called me at home and stated I needed an oil change, an alignment, and (4) four new tires, and brakes, which I agreed to the oil change. The next day, I picked the car up and spoke to the service managers about my concerns with the new car steering, and stated to them that Subaru bloggers are sharing that there should be a recall on Subaru steering columns and other repair issues that could result in lemon law lawsuits against Subaru. The service manager nikki ali and a mechanic stated that Subaru has steering column issues but that Subaru has not yet issued a national recall, but may replace steering columns. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (f.

The contact owns a 2024 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 mph, the abs, all-wheel drive, auto start/stop, auto vehicle hold, brake system, traction control, parking brake, and cta warning lights illuminated. Additionally, the steering wheel became firm, making it difficult to steer the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not yet diagnosed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 2,800.

See all problems of the 2024 Subaru Outback 🔎.

The car flashed “eye sight off” before flickering and shutting off while I was braking at a stop light. I tried putting my car into park and then turning it off and restarting it but it would not turn back on. I tried this a few more times but I was in the middle lane of a heavily trafficked street. The steering wheel was locked and I was not able to immediately remove it from the road and maybe an hour later it was able to be shifted into neutral and moved out of the street. However, it would still not turn on and when I did open my power gate, the gate would not secure closed. I took it to the dealership that I purchased it at and where it is also regularly serviced (with the last service date only over one week ago,) and they were not able to determine what happened but instead mentioned that my car had no internal data of any errors occurring and that the car was able to be started when they serviced it. I took a picture of the dash as it was flashing with all of the error codes and submitted that to the tech that was working on my car, but they asked me if I’d had someone “clear my codes” which is not something I’m familiar with or even capable of doing- I don’t even know anyone that would be capable of doing that for me. The whole ordeal cost me a day of work and now my peace of mind as I am unsure of if this may happen again and now I am worried it may happen while my kids are in the car. I’ve had similar issues with my center console messing up but nothing as urgent as my whole car shutting down and my steering wheel locking in the middle of traffic.

See all problems of the 2021 Subaru Outback 🔎.

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.

The car horn is unable to be used when driving straight. It only works when setting the alarm and only when you steer the wheel left or right. There are no warning lights on the instrument panel.

* I detected a noise in the front end and an instability in the handling. My independent service mechanic found the cradle on the right front severely rusted out at the point where the control arm attaches. He had to condemn the vehicle. * my mechanic says that it could have resulted in a total loss of ability to steer. He says that he is unable to order the part from the manufacturer because so many are on back order. He is also unable to find any used ones. Finally, he says that in the last 3 months he has had to condemn 3 other Outbacks due to the same problem. This sounds like a serious safety issue to me. *problem confirmed by my independent service center.

See all problems of the 2013 Subaru Outback 🔎.

Subframe is rusted out and causing control arm wobble which I cannot control the steering correctly.

See all problems of the 2012 Subaru Outback 🔎.

2019 Subaru Outback with 55,000 miles has a head gasket leaking 3 months over the warranty. But within the mileage. Also the steering column manual lever adjustment collapses intermittently causing severe safety issues and/or an accident.

2019 Subaru Outback many issues bought the car for safety for my newborn child in 2019. Has had multiple issues windshield keeps cracking. The steering column manual lever keeps collapsing causing unreliable steering and safety issues could possibly cause injury/death due to accident. The other major issue is there is now a head gasket leak in a car that only has 55,000 miles it's under on the miles for warranty but 3 months over for time. Try to work with the dealership and Subaru America to no resolve of the issue they offered a minor discount they should be covering the whole thing I have owned many cars brand new going over 100,000 miles plus with no such issue of a head gasket. I am a disabled marine corps military veteran and the cooperation from Subaru as supposedly number one safest vehicle was not what I expected. If Subaru doesn't fix this it will be my last Subaru ever and this was my first not a great impression by any means.

Both front headlights cast a tabbed rectangular shadow into driver's field-of-view creating two potentially dangerous disruptive shadows/dead spots at certain longer distances and in open flat terrain areas. These tabbed rectangular shadow/dead spots often tricks the driver into falsely responding/over-reacting unnecessarily. The dead spots in the driver's field-of-view can be potentially dangerous while driving at night and around turns/corners where the led headlights automatically track and follow based on the steering inputs by the driver. These projected tabbed rectangular tabs often startle my wife and or I often tricking our eyes into seeing what appears to be an object darting out in front of the vehicle.

This vehicle has severe cvt problems. It shifts back and forth with a clunk on level roads at a steady speed. I have a 2015 murano with over 80,000 miles that does not display this type of behavior. I am driving a loaner which is a 2023 Subaru with the same engine and transmission as mine and it has none of my safety problems. The additional safety problems are: very poor resolution on backup camera and incorrect guidance lines; we are a hands free state and my voice command will not properly make calls; built in nav is horrible and android auto doesn't work; adaptive headlights don't work; lane centering hugs the left side of the lane to a degree that I have to pull to the right if a vehicle is passing me; auto rear braking does not work properly. The rest of the items are more of a nuisance than safety oriented. I have owned over a dozen Subarus without having any issues.

The camber on the right rear wheel is out of specification at -1. 8 degrees. This causes the vehicle to constantly dart and sway on the highway and worsens at higher speeds >40mph. This erratic motion makes driving unstable. It is worse on grooved pavement. The manufacturer has measured the camber and showed the result as being out of specification but no fix was provided. Further they are saying that this is "how the vehicle is suppose to operate" there are no warning lamps and the lane control software was disabled. The service department confirmed the erratic behavior when doing a test drive.

On my 2023 Outback my Subaru eyesight is intermittently inoperable, which causes my cruise control and automatic braking to not work.

See all problems of the 2023 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...

Accelerator dangerously increased and could not slow down. I pressed the ignition button(to kill the engine and was "jamming on the brakes to no avail. To my knowledge Subaru has not recalled vehicles for these reasons. No warning lamps or other symptoms. My car traveled approximately 1/4 before it stopped. I took out a tree or trees knocked down a light pole which slowed me down, hit a utility trailer. Owner of trailer estimated my speed at 40mph. I was driving approximately 20mph when it violently accelerated. She witnessed my ride.

See all problems of the 2017 Subaru Outback 🔎.

My car's battery died when I was on vacation. A friend of mine tried to jump start with his car and he couldn't. Then a roadside service jump started the car. After the jump start I was told to drive the car around so that it can charge the battery. The car did two unexpected things: 1- the steering was jittery and sometimes moving to the opposite direction that I was turning. This issue has been confirmed by the dealership. 2- when I was at a traffic light, my foot was on the brake, both traction control and brake warning lights came on and the car moved couple of inches forwards while my foot was firmly on the brake. This happened more than once to me but did not happen at the dealership. And the car didn't hold the charge at all after driving for more than 30 minutes. Meanwhile the car got towed to Subaru dealership (eastside Subaru in seattle) and they replaced the battery as a fix. But they did not provide any information about why all those issues happened and how to avoid them in the future. My concern is this, a brand-new car shouldn't have lost all its power in the first place. If it did, it should have charged itself with driving after jump-start and it should have been safe to drive even on low battery. Subaru advertises heavily to be the 'adventure' vehicle, image all what I explained happened to you on top of a mountain or remote places.

The front lower subframe cracked where the driver's side front wheel attaches to it in our 2011 Subaru Outback. This resulted in loss of steering control of vehicle. The issue has been confirmed by independent mechanic. Vehicle has not been inspected by manufacturer, police, or insurance agent. It is available for inspection at 201 w. Cloverland drive, ironwood, mi. 906-932-5720. There were no warning lights when this failure occurred.

See all problems of the 2011 Subaru Outback 🔎.

Had new tires installed and on the way home kept feeling wheel pulling to the right. Eyesight/lane assist feature was turned off. At one point the steering wheel dramatically jerked right and locked, completely immoveable. It jerked me into the other lane and almost into the median of the highway. I got to safety and had it towed to the dealership. I originally thought it was an issue with the tire alignment or the awd system. They took it on a test drive and confirmed lane assist was malfunctioning in a dangerous way. They confirmed that eyesight/lane assist was turned off when this issue happened. They reset the system and said they couldn't guarantee the vehicle was safe to drive and suggested bringing it in if it happened again. I asked them to document everything they said over phone calls and voicemail. They agreed, but it took them weeks to provide a repair order. When they wrote up the repair order it included none of the information that was previously given and they said the car was, and always had been in perfect working order. I opened a case with Subaru of America and they were unable to get the information they needed from the dealership to proceed with the investigation. Upon further research, I found many similar accounts of this happening with Subarus of the same and similar year(s) and model(s). There is a class action lawsuit open for this but currently there are so many plaintiffs they cannot accept more. I refuse to drive this car as I feel that this malfunction is of life and limb consequence. I do not feel it would be ethical to sell this car without full disclosure and then would be out 30k on the car I purchased just three years ago. Reliable Subaru and Subaru of America refuse to offer a solution or help me in any way.

Loss of steering wheel electronic functions including paddle shifters radio volume and airbag light illuminated. Looked up faults and found NHTSA campaign id 10v283000 which describes cable damage from Subaru manufacturing. According to Subaru and NHTSA, our vehicle was manufactured 2 months after "affected" vehicles. Subaru unwilling to work on problem as it is not listed in affect vehicles, yet clearly the problems found are exact match to campaign list. I will seek outside confirmation of failure and then request NHTSA to update the affect vehicles list so Subaru can fix a safety issue for all affected vehicles.

In the morning of Jan 28th, I drove this car off highway(north bound mopac) to the ramp to frontage road to 360 in austin TX. The vehicle lost control out of sudden and crashed to the left side of the road. The accident caused total loss of the vehicle but luckily a>the passages and the the driver on the car are ok. B>no other vehicle was involved . As the drive of this vehicle , I feel the crash was so strange so later on I requested both insurance company (aaa) and Subaru to investigate the possibility of malfunctions of the car. Aaa -- claim number 015641968 Subaru --case 230128-1800367 aaa claimed the total lost but refused to do further investigation. Subaru took my request in March. Early this month, Subaru said their finished the comprehensive inspection and simply claimed the car was running normal when the accident happened. They don't want to share any further information about what they've found and they also don't want the inspect technician to talk to me about the results. I would like ask NHTSA, as the regulatory authority, to look into the their inspection report to make sure this vehicle does not have any abnormalities as their claimed. Thanks!.

I went to reverse, then drive and left turn into a parking spot inside a small flattop parking lot. My car made a popping noise and grating sounds after the reverse and turning of the steering wheel. I turned off my car once in the spot and looked under the car is it sounded like something was grating against the ground. I didn’t see anything. Upon restarting the car, the sounds continued when I tried to accelerate or turn. I could not accelerate past 10 mph and all my warning lights lit in the dash. I turned the car off and put in park. The car would roll forward unless I had the emergency brake on.

The contact stated that while their daughter was driving approximately 35 mph when the dashboard displayed that an electronic power steering failure had occurred. The driver then loss control of the vehicle and ended up going over a curb hitting some rocks on the landscaping. The air bags did not deploy due to only the under carriage being the only parts that hit the curb and rocks on the landscaping. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. A police report was filed. This caused the transmission as well as other parts of the vehicle to be damaged. There were no injuries or medical attention needed. The dealer diagnoised that the steering gear box needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 37,000.

See all problems of the 2020 Subaru Outback 🔎.

Began hearing a clunking/rattling noise in the front end of the car. We took it to the dealer for routine maintenance and asked them to look into it. Front steering rack was found to have excessive play. Entire steering rack was replaced. No warning lamps or messages involved. Safety was put at risk by possible loss of control of vehicle if steering rack completely failed.

See all problems of the 2018 Subaru Outback 🔎.

Upon turning off my 2017 Subaru Outback touring, the engine turned off via the push start/stop button. However, when I went to use the vehicle later the same day, the car would not start (starter would not engage). I determined that the steering wheel was not locked. The transmission was in park, and I could not move the shift lever out of park. I attempted engage the steering wheel lock by moving the steering wheel back and forth, but without success. Vehicle now totally inoperative. Vehicle is available for inspection at my residence upon request. The safety of owner and others is compromised as follows: because of living in a semi-rural area, I rely on this vehicle to safely transport me and my family members everywhere (grocery store, doctor appointments, emergency room visits, etc. ); failure of the vehicle to operate property could expose operator and/or passengers to extremely cold weather, such as that recently experienced in December 2022. This is the second occurrence of the same malfunction. First was in July 2022. Vehicle was serviced by Subaru of georgetown who informed me that the problem (car would not start because steering wheel lock was not engaged) was "fixed", but that they could not duplicate. No other entity, other than the dealer, has examined the vehicle. No warning lights, messages or symptoms prior to either occurrence. Driving was normal, engine shutdown appeared normal, but subsequent restarts were not possible due to the steering wheel lock not engaging (which is what the dealer informed me was the problem at the first occurrence).

Paddle shift levers--which are positioned on the steering wheel as opposed to the steering column--are too square-edged (shape), which is a design defect that can cause loss of steering control. Specifically, the sharp corner can catch on coat zippers. I was driving east, took a right turn, and intended to procced with driving south. When I attempted to straighten out the wheel, however, I was unable to do so. The paddle shifter corner "hooked" my coat zipper, along the track. This caused me to lose control of my vehicle steering, which resulted in collision with a bus stop/stand and a citation for failure to stay within my driving lane. The coat was a bit longer since it was fairly cold that morning. The zipper mechanism was made of a plastic material. The zipper was fully zipped, not half zipped and half unzipped. If the paddle shift levers were more round in shape/design, then the risk of the lever "hooking" onto clothing decreases significantly. I found examples of where other Subaru Outback drivers expressed concerns about the positioning and shape of the levers posing as a safety hazard, too.

There is a problem with my 2019 steering since I bought it in 2020. When driving with highway speeds, over 45 mph I am struggling to keep the car straight on the road and have to compensate steering all the time. The car feels unattached to the road like driving on icy road or having strong side wind gusts. I always make sure the lane assist is turned off as it is dangerous. I took the car to the dealer two times and the message was that it drives like a Subaru Outback and there is no problem with the steering.

Rccd email. Nhsta david chin on 04 envoy VIN and smog cali fraud. . Ended case sold vehicle to pick a part. Did not sur dealer. Purchased 1 month later carmax ontario California 2019 Subaru Outback. Nhsta states moonroof and pedestrian braking for ev and hybrid u5 engine. This Outback has no moonroof nor is it an ev or hybrid. Owned by enterprise rent a car and Subaru santa monica prior as grey in 2019 then tungsten metallic 2019-2020. Unsure of vehicle history accident reported 2022. Subaru of America and san bernardino states aftermarket bolt installed carmax has the vehicle for $1400-1750 in repairs they did not notice @ sale [xxx]. To me [xxx] [xxx]. They are currently repairing radiator cooling system suspension. And I believe the vehicle has never gone a 125point inspection and may have other issues elsewhere. The battery is caved in indented bulging out on plastic and Subaru and carmax both say it meits their specifications as it holds a charge. And will not replace it. The electrical system flickers lights. And carmax allowed me to drive the vehicle for 3 weeks 2000 miles. Ynknowing the suspension and right tire wobble before and after carmax alignment. Stating the vehicle was safe and operable as Subaru of san bernardino stated it may be dangerous and american tire depot san bernardino showed and said the same as Subaru of san bernardino suspension defects that carmax never noticed before or after sale and said the vehicle was fine. Been to carmax 10 times over 3 weeks 300 miles in the car. Gas time etc. Michael service manager carmax ontario and pedro of Subaru of san bernardino preston of Subaru ontario both service techs know me well as of now the vehicle is at carmax ontario. And I believe the VIN may have been reprogrammed swapped and mileage incorrect on the vehicle. As loose and missing nuts under glove box gad pedal. And plastic housing under steering wheel dash is missing clips like some precious got into elec system?? information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.

Feel very uncomfortable during driving, steering wheel moving left or right.

Took in 2 yr old car relating to vehicle veering to the right, ticking helicopter noise on driver side. Took to continental Subaru anchorage alaska on 11/2/22. For tire change over, alignment, oil change and for diagnostics on noise. I was told that my vehicle needed a complete driver side cx axle replacement. After axle was installed, they said they heard another noise and that it was my transmission, and now it needs replaced. I didn't get alignment according to papers. This car is 2 yrs old. 2019 bought in 2019 at christmas or 2020. Why is transmission out? low miles and drivers are very safe! I was given a rental till transmission could be ordered and replaced.