Subaru Outback Complaints (1998)

127 consumer complaints on file.

#10038942September 15, 2003
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
THE CAR ACCELERATED WHEN BACKING FROM A PARKING SPACE, HIT A POLE, I THEN PUT IT ON DRIVE AND IT ACCELERATED AT A VERY HIGH SPEED, I WENT TO BRAKE, IT HAD ALREADY HIT A PARKED DODGE CARAVAN IN THE PARKING SPOT DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ME. I WAS ON BRAKE, CAR STILL CONTINUED TO MOVE. I MANAGED TO PUT IT ON NEUTRAL AND IT STOPPED. I TURNED OFF THE ENGINE. MY CAR HAD PUSHED THE PARKED DODGE 1.5 CAR LENGTHS. VAN TIRE SKID MARKS MEASURED BY HIGHWAY PATROL. NO INJURIES EXCEPT TO MYSELF, HIT MY KNEE AND MY HEAD. INDICENT REPORTED TO CA HWY PATROL, GEICO INSURANCE COMPANY, AND 49R SUBARU DEALERSHIP. CURRENTLY CAR IS AT THE DEARLERSHIP BEING EVALUATED FOR A MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION. I HAD TAKEN IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AT 60K MILES FOR POSSIBLE TRANSMISISION PROBLEM, IT SEEMED TO DOWNSHIFT AT LOWSPEEDS INAPPROPIATELY. NO PROBLEM FOUND. I TOOK IT IN 90K BECAUSE OF BURNING OIL SMELL AND ENGINE LIGHT WENT ON. OIL WAS LEAKING FROM SEVERAL SEALS, ALL HAD TO BE REPLACED, INCLUDING THE TIMING BELT. I DISCOVERED THE TIMING BELT AND OIL SEALS WERE REPLACED BY PREVIOUS OWNER PRIOR TO 50K MILES. I'VE HAD THE TIRES BALANCED AND ALIGNED TWICE BECAUSE OF SEVERE TIRE WEAR AND SHAKING AT SPEEDS ABOVE 50 MPH. CAR CURRENTLY HAS 101K MILES.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#10039680September 10, 2003
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
WHILE DRIVING AT 70 MPH, AND WITH NO WARNING VEHICLE STALLED, CAUSING THE DRIVER TO LOSE CONTROL. OWNER HAD CONTACTED DEALERSHIP ON FOUR SEPARATE OCCASIONS, BUT PROBLEM STILL OCCURRING. *AK
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10037240September 4, 2003
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
BLOWN HEAD GASKET AT 105,000 MILES. MY RESEARCH INDICATES THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON FAILURE FOR THIS ENGINE/MODEL YEAR. IT COST ME $3400 FOR A NEW SHORT BLOCK/LABOR TO EFFECT REPAIRS.*AK
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10037164September 3, 2003
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE:BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS
I OWN A 1998 SUBARU OUTBACK.: VIN #[XXX]. ON THE DATE BELOW, THE TIMING BELT ON MY CAR, WHICH HAD 53 THOUSAND MILES ON IT AT THE TIME, BROKE AND RESULTED IN A CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE. THIS FORCED ME TO BUY A USED ENGINE. FORTUNATELY, I WAS ONLY DRIVING AT 20 MPH AND WAS ABLE TO SAFELY PULL OVER. HAD THIS HAPPENED AT INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SPEED THE RESULT MIGHT HAVE BEEN VERY DIFFERENT. SUBARU'S OWN MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE SAYS THAT THE TIMING BELT SHOULD BE INSPECTED AT 60 THOUSAND MILES. I'VE BEEN IN TOUCH WITH THE COMPANY BUT THEY DON'T SEEM TO BE VERY RESPONSIVE OR FORTHCOMING. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.*AK INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10032823August 14, 2003
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:CATALYTIC CONVERTOR
MY SUBARU OUTBACK HAS DRIPPED A LITTLE OIL FROM THE FRONT EVER SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR NEW AND HAD A BURNING SMELL. I TOOK IT BACK 2 TIMES IN THE FIRST YEAR BUT THEY DIDN'T DO ANYTHING EXCEPT TELL ME IT WAS TRANSIT PAINT BURNING OFF. I TOOK IT BACK WHEN I WAS 1000 MILES OUT OF MY WARRANTY BECAUSE IT WAS WORSE AND SMELLED BURNING MORE. THEY TOLD ME IT WAS THE OIL PUMP SEAL BUT WOULDN'T COVER IT UNDER WARRANTY. THEY SAID IF I HAD BEEN HAVING REGULAR WORK DONE THROUGH THE DEALER THEY MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO WORK SOMETHING OUT. SINCE THEN IT IS WORSE AND THE BURNING SMELL IS VERY BAD. I KNOW OF 2 OTHER SUBARU LEGACY'S WITH THE SAME PROBLEM AND A $500 TO $700 FIX. I WAS ALSO TOLD BY A MECHANIC THAT THERE HAVE BEEN SOME FIRES IN SUBARUS DUE TO THIS PROBLEM AND DRIPPING ON THE CATALYTIC CONVERTOR.*AK
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10029690July 21, 2003
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
CONSUMER STATES THAT WHILE DRIVING AND WITH NO WARNING VEHICLE WILL STALL ,AND IT WILL BE HARD FOR THE CONSUMER TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE. DEALER NOTIFIED.*AK
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10025543July 7, 2003
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM
ENGINE OVERHEATS. TWO SUBARU DEALER SERVICE CENTERS SAID THEY COULD NOT FIND THE PROBLEM, AND STARTED AN SEEMINGLY ENDLESS REPLACEMENT OF THERMOSTATS, AND EVEN THE RADIATOR. THE PROBLEM CONTINUES, AND NOW THAT I AM OVER 60K MILES, WITH MY WARRANTY EXPIRED, THEY SUDDENLY SAY IT IS A PROBLEM WITH THE HEAD GASKET, WHICH WILL PROBABLY COST OVER $2,000 TO REPLACE. I NOW FIND OUT THAT THERE ARE NUMEROUS PROBLEMS WITH THE HEAD GASKETS OF 1994-1998 SUBARUS, BUT THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A RECALL. WHY?*AK
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10017789June 9, 2003
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT RETRACTOR JAMS MAKING THE BELT INOPERATIVE. THIS IS CAUSED BY THE SEAT BELT FRAYING. *TT
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10016256April 21, 2003
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
1998 SUBARU OUTBACK - BLOWN HEAD GASKET, RESULTED IN OVER HEATING. MY MECHANIC ESTIMATES $2500 (ASSUMING THERE IS NO OTHER DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE). WE ARE ALSO CHECKING PRICES FOR USED ENGINES TO POSSIBLY REPLACE THE EXISTING ENGINE. MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 129000 MILES. *JB
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10010006March 18, 2003
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE, EXTERIOR LIGHTING
THE ENGINE OVER HEATED, AND THE DEALER REPLACED THE THERMOSTAT AND WATER PUMP, HOWEVER THE PROBLEM CONTINUED, AND THE ENTIRE ENGINE HAD TO BE REPLACED.*AK ALSO THE BRAKE LIGHT AND MARKER LIGHTS WERE REPLACED. *JB
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10005232February 3, 2003
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
HEAD GASKET ON MY '98 OUTBACK FAILED. DEALER SAID NOT UNCOMMON. HE HAS 3 MORE WAITING FOR HEAD GASKETS. SEEMS A NUMBER OF HEAD GASKET FAILURES ON THE SUBARU DISCUSSION GROUP ON EDMUNDS.COM TOWNHALL. FORTUNATELY, MINE WAS DISCOVERED WITH NO ENGINE DAMAGE. THE COST OF REPAIR WAS $2500.00. QUITE A FINANCIAL DRAIN FOR ME. SOME TALK ON DISCUSSION GROUP WONDERING IF A DESIGN PROBLEM WITH THE 2.5 LITER ENGINE. SUBARU EMAILED ME THAT THERE IS NO PROBLEM WITH HEAD GASKETS AND THAT ALL MECHANICAL THINGS FAIL WITH TIME, SOME SOONER AND SOME LATER. ON THE SUBARU DISCUSSION GROUP, A NUMBER OF THE HEAD GASKETS WERE AT LOW MILEAGE. MINE WAS AT 94,000 MILES
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10001073December 17, 2002
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE AT ANY SPEED AND APPLIED THE BRAKES, THE VEHICLE CAN EXPERIENCE EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE, VEHICLE SUFFERED SUDDEN ACCELERATION. DEALER HAS INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND COULD NOT DUPLICATE OR CORRECT THE PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#770419December 4, 2002
WHEELS
TIRE RIMS CORRODING, CAUSING PITS WHICH GENERATE TIRE LEAKS AT THE RIM. INITIALLY ASSUMED POOR TIRE SEAL JOB, BUT PROBLEM RECURRED REPEATEDLY FOR ALL TIRE RIMS, SOMETIMES CAUSING TIRE DEFLATION AT EVERY TRIP. IF NOT NOTICED, SUCH DEFLATION COULD LEAD TO. DT
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#769790November 16, 2002
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
DRIVING ALONG BETWEEN 40 AND 50 MPH THE CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED. I APPLIED THE BRAKES WHICH SLOWED THE CAR DOWN BUT THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO RACE MILD PANIC SET IN. I ATTEMPTED TO PUT THE CAR INTO NEUTRAL AND INSTEAD ACCIDENTLY PUT THE CAR INTO REVERSE. THIS DID STOP THE CAR, BUT AS YOU WOULD EXPECT. I HAVE INCURRED AN UNKNOWN AMOUNT OF DAMAGE TO THE TRANSMISSION. ALTHOUGH I DON'T EXPECT ANY SYMPATHY BECAUSE OF MY AWKWARD HANDELING OF THE SHIFTER. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT IF ANYTHING SUBARU INTENDS TO ABOUT THIS VERY DANGEROUS UNEXPECTED ACCELERATION PROBLEM. YOUR COMPLAINT SITE HAS SIMILAR SUCH COMPLAINTS ON RECORD. MINE WILL BE THE NINTH. WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT MANY PEOPLE HAVE PROBABLY EXPERIENCED. THE SAME PROBLEM BUT HAVE NOT BOTHERED TO FORMALLY COMPLAIN, IT WOULD SEEM THAT A REAL PROBLEM DOES EXIST. THANK YOU. DT
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#8021291October 21, 2002
AIR BAGS
CONSUMER STATES THAT WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED AND NO WARNING THE AIR BAG LIGHT COMES ON AND THE AIR BAG COULD BE INOPERATIVE IN THE EVENT OF A VEHICLE ACCIDENT. DEALER NOTIFIED. TS
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#768510October 16, 2002
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM
SAFETY ISSUE: SEAL FAILURE CAUSES OIL TO LEAK ONTO HOT EXHAUST (FIRE HAZARD). MR
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#10007058October 7, 2002
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS
BOTH FUSES ON THE COOLING SYSTEM FANS FAILED WITHIN THE SAME DRIVE. I CHECKED THE ONE MARKED IN THE 1998 LEGACY OWNERS MANUAL FOR THE COOLING FAN AND IT WAS NUMBER 13 IN PAGE 11-7. I CHECKED FOR THE OTHER ONE AND IT WAS UNDER THE HOOD AND IT WAS NIGHT TIME AND I DIDN'T HAVE A FLASHLIGHT OR LIGHT. I COULD COUNT WHERE THE FUSE WAS AND IN THE BOOK IT STATED IT WAS # 25. I PULLED THE FUSE 25 AND IT CHECKED OUT GOOD AND I PUT IT BACK IN THE SLOT. HOWEVER, I CHECKED IN THE DAY TIME UNDER THE FUSE COVER UNDER THE HOOD AND IT INDICATES THAT FUSE #22 IS THE CORRECT ONE. I CHECKED THAT AND IT WAS BLOWN. I NOTIFIED SUBARU A MONTH AGO AND HAVE NOT HEARD BACK FROM THEM ABOUT THIS ISSUE. IT SEEMS THOUGH THAT THERE SHOULD BE A CHANGE IN THE MANUAL AS IT WOULD HAVE PROBABLY MADE A DIFFERENCE IN THIS SITUATION. THE SAFETY ISSUE IS THAT WITH BOTH FAN FUSES BLOWN THE VEHICLE CAN STOP DUE TO AN OVERHEAT AT AN UNEXPECTED TIME AND CAUSE AND ENGINE FAILURE THAT CAN LEAD TO AN ACCIDENT. THE NUMBER 25 IS ACTUALLY A SPARE FUSE AREA AND DOES NOT HAVE AN ELECTRICAL CONNECTION BUT THE NUMBER 22 IS A DIFFERENT CONFIGURATION WITH A VEHICLE THAT HAS AN ACCESSORY POWER SOCKET IN SOME VEHICLE. I AM NOT SURE YOU WOULD CLASSIFY THIS AS A SAFETY PROBLEM BUT I AM INFORMING YOU IF YOU DO. *NLM **DIMSII IVOQ ENTRY POSTED AFTER 12/12/02 CUT-OVER TO ARTEMIS*768183
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#766815September 6, 2002
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
THE HEAD GASKET BLEW, WHICH RESULTED IN COOLANT LEAKING INTO THE CYLINDER WALLS. WHILE PARKED AND TURNED OFF. THE ENGINE, WHICH IS A 2.5 LITER, MUST BE REPLACED. THE 2.5 LITER ENGINE HAS A HISTORY OF ENIGINE FAILURE. HAS ANYONE MADE A CLAIM? HAS THERE BEEN RESEARCH OR A RECALL OF ANY KIND?*AK
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#8014335July 19, 2002
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL
WHILE DRIVING AT 20MPH TOOK FEET OFF GAS PEDAL AND VEHICLE ACCLERATED TO 40MPH WITHOUT GAS BEING APPLIED. DEALER CONTACTED.*AK
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#764457July 19, 2002
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
CAR ATTEMPTS TO ACCELERATE WHEN APPLYING BRAKES TO COME TO A STOP. ENGINE ROARS AND IT IS DIFFICULT TO STOP CAR. PROBLEM HAPPENS INTERMITTENTLY AND USUALLY WHEN THE CAR IS GOING 5 MILES PER HOUR OR LESS. BRAKE PEDAL GOES ALL THE WAY DOWN WHEN ATTEMPTING TO STOP CAR. THE SAME PROBLEM IS HAPPENING WITH OUR 2001 SUBURU OUTBACK (SEE ODI#764455).*AK
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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