Subaru Outback Complaints (2019)

1,036 consumer complaints on file.

#11495393November 29, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Bought car end of August off lease with 40K on it from local Subaru dealer. Dealer made point of telling me car had new tires and battery which was appreciated. Have added 900 miles since then mostly local. After not driving for a week in September car would not start. Charged battery all seemed fine been driving frequently after that no issues. Now with colder weather car does not start if not driven for 2 days or more. Using multimeter was able to find circuit for DCM (what Subaru refers to as the Data Control Module) was drawing power when car should be in sleep mode. Brought to Subaru dealer today and was advised the DCM needs to be replaced. I am aware of many other people with this particular car having similar issues with no identified culprit, recommend this be looked at as possible issue specifically the StarLink system.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11494989November 26, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I would have experienced the same battery issues for the last 14 months. 12 months ago I purchased a back up charged starting battery that I use on a monthly basis. Subaru did advise of the battery warranty extension of which I took advantage of today I’ve seen the other complaints in the nature site and being from the automotive industry myself, I believe that when you look back to the DCM issues from 2016 to 2018 and the latest issues on the 2023 you’ll find a common thread it’s not just a button. One key thing is that units of measure for the tire pressure monitoring system Arbitrarily change while you were in operation from psi to kilopascals. It indicates to me that there is still some Telematic related event and the vehicle isn’t sure where it is at a given time so it sets the units and the time to what amount to mountain time Canada. Just thought I’d give you a hint. I do believe you’ll find that and that poses a big challenge for the SOS button. If you can’t locate the vehicle or it isn’t where they think it should be , may not be the button.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11494847November 25, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, BACK OVER PREVENTION: WARNINGS
I was in a parking lot pulling into a parking spot. My car sped with full power over a curb barrier and hit a parked car in front of me. The force was strong enough to push the car I hit back several inches. My airbag did not deploy. The forward obstacle collision detection did not work. My safety could have been at risk if this happened while on the road or freeway. There were no warnings that day, however a week or so earlier when I tried to drive the car it would not start (new battery installed approx 3 months ago) and all lights on the dash came on. I tried to start it a few times but after smelling gas I left it. Later that day it started with no problems. The car is up to date on services/recalls. It is scheduled for inspection with my insurance company on 11/30/22.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11493865November 16, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Problem started Aug 4, 2022. I went to start the car & the battery was dead. Jumped it, ran errands. Two days later dead battery again.Kept happening even though no lights left on when car turned off. Finally called dealership & they said battery was bad so it was replaced.3 weeks later battery went dead after car sat unused for 24 hrs. Was told car needed to be driven everyday to keep battery charged. I'm retired & don't drive everyday. Dealer then advised it was due to the control area network (CAN) system in the car & to contact Subaru of America. Apparently it doesn't go into sleep mode & drains the battery when the car isn't in use. Subaru is not being up front about this & it's dangerous.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11493284November 12, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
the horn randomly gives several short beeps during vehicle operation. It seems to happen when the vehicle is stopped at red lights. This began after the dealer installed the Subaru OEM remote car starter.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11493165November 11, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, SERVICE BRAKES, EXTERIOR LIGHTING
The car's battery is draining fast and the car's electric system stopped working after I replaced the battery three times. The car is currently inoperable.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11493195November 11, 2022
STEERING
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.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11493201November 11, 2022
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
The car started to accelerate or decelerate by itself while driving with constant pedal position. It didn't want to start some time. Eventually didn't start at all and had to have it towed to the dealer. The diagnostic was faulty fuel pump. Subaru has a recall for 2019 Outback fuel pump failure (NHTSA campaign number: 21V587000). I called Subaru customer service, and they did not honor the recall saying my vin number did not have any recall despite having the same problem.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11493202November 11, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES
Driving the car from the dealer where was repaired for faulty fuel pump, I noticed the brake pedal was going to the floor when pressing on it. I got scared driving it on highway as I would not be able to stop in time if I had to brake hard. I took the car to the dealer, and he confirmed the brake master cylinder has leaks. The car has been in service for 6 weeks as brake master cylinder is on backorder. The last update is to have the part available early December.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11493227November 11, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER
While driving slowly in traffic on the highway my windshield started to crack on the front passenger side. No rocks or debris were seen by myself. Even if a minuscule pebble were to have hit the windshield, the crack spread to over a foot in minutes and this seems like a fault on Subarus engineering. Wish I had known when I got this car two weeks ago.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11493073November 10, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The key fobs were inoperable. The battery warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that there was a low charge and the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was contacted but no additional assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 3,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11492518November 6, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Navigation screen is delaminating and bubbling under the touch screen. It would cause navigation touch screen to detect phantom inputs and cause radio/telephone to do random actions (ie. calling random people, cycle radio stations, map zoom in) that is very distracting to driver. Screen would be completely unresponsive to touch input or button input.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11492438November 5, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The audio unit is malfunctioning, it constantly makes distracting intermittent tone sounds, continuously flashes and changes between AM, FM, Sirius and Bluetooth modes, makes random autonomous phone calls, touchscreen doesn't respond to touch, sound will randomly spike at high volumes. All of this makes it extremely distracting to safely drive the car. This has been happening since last June 2022. We leased this vehicle new then purchased it when the lease was expired. Diablo Subaru in Walnut Creek, CA advises the part is on back order and none are in stock. They admitted that a different customer dropped off their 2019 Subaru Outback now over 45 days and they don't have the replacement audio unit for it and they know of several other customers with the same problem of year,make & model. Subaru of America offered to pay $1,700 towards the $2,700 repair. Our car has 34k miles on it.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11492168November 3, 2022
POWER TRAIN, STEERING
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.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11492178November 3, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER
One morning when I got my car from the garage, it had a cracked windshield near the driver size bottom glass. Happened overnight while in the garage. Took it to Subaru and they agreed to replace it under warranty. They put in a new one, and as I was driving on the freeway, I heard a huge boom sound from the windshield, which startled me! They another boom/cracking sound. The windshield didn't crack, but it was terrifying. I took it back to Subaru and they checked it and did something to help with the seal. A few months later, the windshield cracked from the passenger side edge. Within minutes of driving, it spread half way across the windshield. Nothing had hit my windshield. I am on my 3rd windshield, by the way. There is a problem.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11491684October 31, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER
The windshield cracked without any impact, vehicle was sitting in the garage and when I came back to it there was a large 8-10 in crack across the driver side. My visibility is impacted and potentially my safety should the strength of the windshield be compromised. Additionally, the safety systems built into the vehicle may be impacted by the crack. The dealership is refusing to complete service to replace the windshield. Vehicle has not been inspected by anyone else yet. No warning lamps, messages, or signs appeared before the windshield cracked.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11491486October 30, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
vehicle battery continues to fail due to unusual electrical activity, requires a jump to start.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11491319October 28, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Original battery failed 7/2022. As stranded AAA installed new battery. New battery gets drained while car is off within a few days. Subaru class action lawsuit states dealer to provide new battery replacement and provide diagnostic procedures. Dealer diagnosed the problem as excessive draw on battery when car off. However dealer refuses to provide supposed ecu flash to car unless a new subaru battery is purchased. Class action lawsuit does not contain any language stating customer must have a subaru provided battery in car to receive flash. Further class action language specifically provides relief and compensation when owners are “stranded” as a result of drained battery. This would supercede any implied requirement that owner would have had to locate and bring car to a authorized subaru dealer for repair. This subaru issue is in fact a safety issue as owners are caught in unsafe situations ie shopping malls, parking lots, gas stations with a dead battery. The car obviously has a defect in engineering and replacing batteries does not alleviate the underlying issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11490881October 25, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While sitting vehicle was sitting in my locked garage got into vehicle and noticed a large crack in center of windshield had appeared without incident called my Subaru dealership that I purchased vehicle from they made an appointment and I took vehicle to the service manager and he took a quick look and pointed to windshield and said it was a stone chip. I could not see the chip he was talking about and he stated he would have to call Subaru manufacturer himself to see what they thought. This is the 2nd time I have had to take brand new car in for repair for a situation not caused by I’ll care
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11490616October 24, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The touch screen has bubbles on it and a mind of its own. I can not use my phone, maps let alone the radio. The vehicle has only 11k miles on it. I am being told I am out of warranty and it will cost 2k to replace the head unit. Searching forums this is a common issue. The 2018 models ended with a class action. At this point they are not taking responsibility for the 2019.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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