Subaru Outback Complaints

1,029 consumer complaints on file.

#11507558February 16, 2023
ENGINE
This has happened many times since my vehicle ownership in May. Today for example I am on the highway cruising along (cruise control set) and alarms start going off, the vehicle lurches as it self-disables safety features one by one - Cruise control shuts off automatically - check engine light on, reverse auto breaking disabled, lane assist disabled, Collision avoidance disabled, entire eyesight system disabled. (and I'm sure more I am missing) I have contacted Subaru of America many times about this fault, they have yet to respond appropriately to my inquiries (usually they dont respond at all or simply tell me something about the factory stereo?). The only fix I've found is removing the gas cap tapping it a few times and resetting (to the "one-click") tightness. After multiple start/stops the codes will clear and life will resume with safety features. This incident today was 204.3 miles into my gas tank, not sure how the gas cap is related but something is definitely wrong. If it truly is the gas cap they could simply have a small icon on the 11" display vs disabling every safety feature- While I am DRIVING!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11507046February 13, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Traveling toll road /fwy at approx 70mph at rush hour and lost all power with Check engine light , emergency brake, lurching engine, all flashing at the same time!!! Coasted through 4 fwy lanes to offramp and service station- extreme danger!!! How was there no pile up with me going from 70-10 to coasting on a busy 15 Northbound fwy at 7:30 am?????? Was in toll lane and crossed toll 3 foot sticks to exit at first available exit. 2 cars followed me off as they were concerned for my safety Towed to shop where they put in new thermo valve, gasket intake manifold, Pipe ay- fuel and gasket egr pipe 56000miles, 2 year old car 3 replaced windshields in last 6 months They said they've done 10 cars with this problem in the last year???? Insurance covered windshields , service center at Subaru inspected car
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11506906February 13, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
The windshield cracked without any impact to it after five months of taking delivery on my 2022 Subaru Outback. The crack appears to have originated from the base of the windshield, under the plastic cover. The car was parked outside with the temperature close to 44 Fahrenheit, and was not moving. Based on the amount of the reports for a broken windshields for this model, this is not an anomaly. Subaru should address this issue before they have another lawsuit that covered previous generations. This is my first introduction to the car maker, and it is not going well as one would hope.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11506665February 10, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Went out our Outback this morning and noticed a crack in the windshield. The crack originates from the drivers side edge of the windshield, at approx. the midpoint of the vertical edge of the windshield. I drove the car yesterday without incident. There was no crack in the windshield when I parked in the driveway yesterday, late afternoon/early evening. There does not appear to be a rock chip or impact crater at any point of the crack. The crack appears to have formed spontaneously without an impact to the glass.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11506357February 9, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Windshield cracked while driving in low temperatures, forming a foot long crack from the passenger side edge inward. No impact was felt or heard, but the Subaru service department claims to see an 'impact event', so they're not covering it under warranty.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11505761February 6, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Went to work one morning and noticed a crack from black piece of windshield under wipers 12 inch up center of windshield with no impact noted temps in upper 30s
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11505358February 3, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving approximately 68 MPH with the cruise control activated, the vehicle suddenly lost motive power. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that it was difficult while attempting to shift the gear lever out of drive(D). The contact stated that once she was able to shift the gear shifter, she shifted into park(P) to turn off the vehicle. The vehicle was restarted after multiple attempts. The contact then noticed that the parking brake had engaged independently. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 14,000. The contact stated while driving on Mass Pike the Adaptive Cruise control was engaged, in the middle lane and no problems the vehicle lost power. After five minutes and traffic moving, the vehicle was trying to reboot but the emergency brake was on without anyone applying it. And the contact had a difficult time putting the vehicle into to park to restart the engine.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11505017February 1, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Minor pebble chip hit the lower area center of the windshield (with the sound effect of maybe small paper clip equivalent). Initial impact created a 3" crack, which spidered to about 36" in total within a few hours. Impact 12/7/2022. A minor impact should not compromise a windshield so significantly and so extensively and put passenger safety at risk with poor glass quality. Independent windshield replacement company has observed unusually high volumes of windshield replacements for late year Subaru Outback models. Windshield replaced asap 12/12/2022.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11504627January 31, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Vehicle windshield shattered without noticeable impact from object, producing a 12 inch crack on center of glass. Dealership refused to warranty the glass, claiming that they did not see the damage occur and cannot verify it was spontaneous. Repair costs were egregiously high given that a camera recalibration is mandatory to ensure safety, quoted at $675 - more than the price of the replacement glass itself.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11504551January 30, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Windshield spontaneously cracked on lower right side. Crack spread within minutes across entire windshield. This happened in May 2022 in fairly decent temperatures in the upper 60’s
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11504271January 29, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
On January 28, 2023 at approximately 1930 hours, vehicle battery was dead after being in a parking garage for a week. Vehicle was jump started and being driven on a highway for about 10 miles at highway speeds. At a location on the NYC Harlem River Drive, traffic came to a stop for a minute or so. The 'Auto Start Stop System' stopped the motor as designed. When traffic started to move again, the motor would not restart and the battery was dead. We were disabled in the left lane of an unlit high speed, high volume highway in the dark with our emergency flashers rapidly going dim. After about 45 minutes and numerous near serious collision misses, a tow truck arrived to tow us off of the highway. The system that failed was the 'Auto Start Stop System' and the vehicle is available for inspection. I have 40 years of investigating and reconstructing fatal and serious motor vehicle collisions and this defect put the safety of the motoring public at a serious risk. It is unknown if the problem has been reproduced and the component has not been inspected by the manufacturer. There was not any warning indicators or other symptoms of the problem. To the contrary, the vehicle operator had the false assumption that all systems were operating properly. This defect presents a high risk of serious injury to highway users.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11503756January 26, 2023
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD
The windshield cracked during a severe weather incident where outside temperature was -24 degrees. There were no stone chips or any other issues with the windshield. I drove the car for approximately 20 minutes with the defroster on, when I got home I pulled the car into the garage, when I got back into the vehicle the windshield was cracked from the bottom left of the driver’s side across the windshield toward the middle. I took the vehicle to safelite first, they said the sandwich piece of glass between the exterior section and interior section of the windshield had suffered a failure to to extreme temperature differential. They had seen a number of similar failures since from the prior weekend. They said it is a manufacture issue and said to take it to the dealer for a warranty issue. I took it the the Subaru dealer where I purchased the vehicle, they inspected the windshield and took a number of photographs to submit to Subaru. I was told their windshield experts would examine the photos and get back to them with an answer, that will be four weeks ago tomorrow, Friday the 27th. Meanwhile I’m driving a vehicle with a broken windshield which is not safe. I called Subaru customer care and they are trying to contact the dealership about the claim submission but haven’t been successful. I can certainly pay to replace the windshield, however, if it is a manufactured error I believe Subaru should honor the claim and replace it. I searched the Subaru Outback owners portal and found numerous similar incidents where owners claimed the windshield failed under similar circumstances. According to safelite, Subaru windshields are softer than most manufacturers in an effort to save weight and expense.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11503748January 26, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
I was driving to work, temps in the mid-thirties, and I heard a crack. It was confusing because there was nobody else on the roadway with me. That's when I looked and saw a 12" crack, beginning at the bottom-middle of the windshield and extending upward.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11503197January 23, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
I woke up in the morning and my windshield crack with no apparent damage by an outside object. It started on the left side where the black meets the clear glass. Please look into this.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11503170January 23, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
The windshield cracked on its own overnight (temperatures in the low 30s). The crack starts at the bottom of the window at the center and goes upward and towards the passenger side. The crack is roughly 14" long, but has extended another 2" since the initial crack started. It impairs the view for most drivers. The dealer confirmed that there was no impact mark and have submitted photos to Subaru of America. Subaru has come back with stating it was caused by 'external influence' even though there is no evidence of that. The dealer is doing their best to appeal this with Subaru.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11502856January 20, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Starlink not working and requires DCM. This controls tracking and safety features of this car. This is the 2nd failure.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11502806January 20, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Wireless charger overheats phone. Checking online this issue goes back several years with no fix. I am worried about a fire with the lithium batteries and stopped using the charger. Waiting for a reply from Subaru to replace or remove the charger.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11502222January 17, 2023
EXTERIOR LIGHTING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Vehicle was on highway in stop and go traffic when brake was applied. Auto stop-start feature engaged which turned engine off. On release of brake the auto stop-start feature failed to restart vehicle. Engine tried and failed to turn over and all console lights flashed on and off continuously. Ignition was turned off and attempted to restart car unsuccessfully. Four way hazard light button was activated and showed on dashboard as on. However, hazard lights on outside of vehicle were not on causing cars behind to not realize car was immobilized. Hazard lights malfunctioning on an immobilized vehicle on the highway is extremely unsafe.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11502101January 17, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Car's battery was 100% dead and had to be towed to dealership. We were told that the nradio was drawing electric and has to be replaced. They also said the battery has to replaced. We have been waiting for parts for 3 weeks and counting.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11502014January 16, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Battery had been drained multiple times that required a jump start over the past four months. Also a new battery was purchased. No warnings we're presented before the issue occurred. The latest incident was today.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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