This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
This is not about my car, but instead many different cars. When a cars lights are set to it's parking lights or running lights position, often located on the turn signal stalk, at night it appears to the driver that their headlights are on, when in fact only the "parking lights are on in front. This is a problem, but not what I'm reporting. When in the parking light position (at night), it appears the headlights are on because there's some light out front AND the instrument cluster is lit up as well. Here's the defect in design, the brake lights are NOT on, completely dark at the rear of the vehicle, so drivers are driving on the highway thinking their headlights and brakes lights are on, when they're not. When the parking light position is active, it should include the brake lights. Can't imagine how many rear-enders are because of this design flaw. rotating light switch on turn signal stalks often get unknowingly rotated out of Auto or the headlight position when the turn signal is repeatedly used.
About three years ago; there was a recall for the headlights. Subaru did replace the headlights, but I have replaced the headlights two additional times since then. And I currently have a headlight out a marker light out. I also last year had all of my marker lights burn out.
I have owned this vehicle for about 4 years now and have had to replace my headlights every 2 to 3 months.. something is definitely wrong. My headlights always just go out especially when I'm driving home my headlights will just burn out and it leaves me trying to navigate home in the dark. When I go to my Subaru dealer they offer me no solution. I ask if there is something wrong with my car that makes this happen and they tell me nothing is wrong and then charge me $60+ to change these headlight bulbs. This is unsafe and it is extremely costly. Especially since this vehicle has to be put in the shop when the bulbs need to be changed due to the weird design they used. The date for the incident happened is only the most recent. This has happened every 2 to 3 months since the ownership of the vehicle.
I have had to change both passenger and driver side low beam headlights three times within the last three months. It's is not the lights themselves but the vehicle. This is costly as so much has to be removed in order to replace the lights. This is going to be my third time replacing my lights since January.
My vehicle head lights have burnt out at least once a year since I have owned this car. The engine has began stalling when I come to a full stop. It is equipped with a cvt and it feels like coming to a stop in a manual transmission without depressing the clutch. If I let off the brake quickly it will continue idling but coming to a complete stop kills the engine. I guess Subaru has issued an extended warranty but I never recieved the notification and my vehicle is past the mileage for the warranty anyway.
- Seattle, WA, USA
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The contact owns a 2010 Subaru Outback. On several occasions, while the vehicle was being driven, the low beam headlamps failed to illuminate. The vehicle was taken to schlossmann Subaru city of milwaukee (located at 4640 S 27th St, milwaukee, wi 53221, (414) 459-3677) to be diagnosed, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred several times. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 148,000.
My headlights both low beam and high go out on a monthly basis. I have a 2 year old daughter and live in the mountains of lake Tahoe. This is a nuisance as well as a considerable safety hazard and the dealership seems to think there is no issue other than continual bad bulbs. I am considering filing a law suit against suba [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).'
The contact owns a 2010 Subaru Outback. While operating the vehicle, the low beam headlights suddenly failed to illuminate. The low beam headlight bulbs had been replaced on six separate occasions. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer (ultimate automotive Subaru, 5150 jefferson davis hwy, fredericksburg, va) and was repaired per the manufacturer's customer satisfactory extended warranty program. The diagnosis information was not available. The contact also stated that when making an abrupt stop and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle would suddenly turn off. The failure occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken back to the same dealer on two separate occasions, but the cause of the failure could not be diagnosed. The failure mileage was 20,000.
In March 2013 an authorized Subaru service department noted there was a recall (49 cfr part 573.6) for puddle lights on my car and ordered the parts. This is noted in my file at the service department. They were going to call me when the parts came in. That did not happen. Now my puddle lights have failed and the short makes it so many more features in my car do not work (interior lights, gauges and key fob (currently use the same fuse). For some reason my VIN does not show on the recall look up, but it fits the VIN range as well as make, model and year. Is it possible that Subaru can skirt the recall, if the puddle lights were installed at the dealership at time of purchase and not at the factory (same part, authorized service department, new car)? this appears to be the case.to date, Subaru usa has offered to pay half the cost the repair ($881) in the interest of 'customer satisfaction' and not per the recall (SR1-30211430901). My local michael's Subaru in bellevue Washington (service advisor [xxx]) has not offered anything and had made few efforts, if any, to contact me with status. I feel the bellevue service department dropped the ball 5 years ago when it would gave been easier to address (new recall and newer car - 67,000 miles). The problem was first noted in December 2017 when the key fob stopped working. That was tracked to a short in one of the puddle lights. I am trying to understand if this part should be covered by a recall and if this might also be related to the magnuson-moss warranty act even though thus a a recall. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
I bought this vechicle new in 2010. Since that time I have had to change the low beam headlights 4 times on the passenger side of the vehicle and 5 times on the drivers side. I consider this a safety hazard as it takes almost 1 1/2 hours to change the bulb. You must remove the wheel, the wheel well, then the water proof cover, the small retaining bracket and then disconnect the bulb all through an opening only a child hand could fit through easily. I have never had both lights go out at the same time, however, on a dark mountain road this could be life threatening. The first time it happened was only 3 months after acquiring the vehicle and the last time was 2 weeks ago.
The passenger headlight has went out again. This seems to happen every three to six months that either the drivers side or passenger side headlight blows out.
Low beam headlights have needed to be replaced 4 times now (8 bulbs total). First time, it blew out about a year after purchase. Then the second 6 months after that. Third time about a year ago and the fourth time the headlight failed was today (November, 2016). Also my rear night time light also blew out this past August, 2016. Worst part is the difficulty of replacing the headlights. You have to remove the front bumper to get to the headlight compartment which just adds to the aggravation. Something like headlights should be considered a safety feature that needs to be easily replaceable by the car owner. Regardless of the difficulty in replacing the headlights, these lights should not need to be replaced as frequently as what I'm experiencing.
Replacement of headlight bulb requires removal of wheel and partial removal of wheel well. This is a major safety design flaw. Headlights are obviously a key safety feature and replacement of the bulbs should not require service at an auto repair facility. One burned out bulb renders the car unusable for night and foul weather driving. This design flaw needs to be corrected and owners should be reimbursed for labor charges incurred for replacement of bulbs.
Replacement of headlight bulbs requires removal of front wheels, wheel wells, and bumpers. Headlights are a key safety feature on a vehicle. They should be easily accessible for maintenance and replacement at any time. As designed, if headlights fail while traveling at night it is essentially impossible for the driver to replace them to safely continue the voyage. This should be a safety recall and dealers should replace bulbs at no cost for service (parts only).
Replacing low beam headlamp bulbs every 15K miles or less on this vehicle. 4th bulb in 3 yrs just burned out on 10/28/15. Occurs at random times - no pattern. Discontinued using the headlamp auto on/off feature and still no improvement in situation. Becoming a safety issue due to periods of having to drive with one headlight. Impossible for typical owner to replace low beam bulbs on their own due to difficulty of accessing headlight assembly.
The headlights, parking lights and tail lights are constantly going out on this vehicle. This began shortly after I purchased it in April 2011 as a brand new vehicle. Some lights have been replaced four or more times. Some have gone out again a week after they are replaced.
I have 2 cars, a 2002 chev. Impala and a 2010 Subaru Outback. Both cars have an automatic on headlight feature. The headlight switch on the Impala is on the dashboard and I have never touched it in the 13 years I have the car. It works perfectly, when the light level is low the headlights come on. The Outback has the headlight switch on the end of the turn indicator stalk. The switch has a number of positions, the first 3 being headlight automatic on, headlight manual on and parking lights on. When the headlights are on, either on the automatic on or headlights manual on positions as well as the parking lights on position there is an indicator light on the dashboard as well as the dashboard lights are on. With the indicator light on the dashboard and the dashboard lights on you cannot tell which of the 3 positions the switch is at, all indicators are the same. Many times, inadvertently because of using the turn signal stalk, the headlight switch turns to the parking light position and I find myself driving with the parking lights on rather than the headlights, a dangerous situation. There is no indication on the dashboard of this dangerous condition. The light indicator bulb is on and the dashboard lights are on but the headlights are off. Again a dangerous condition. The light switch should be relocated from the turn signal stalk to the dashboard or the light indicator on the dashboard should be off when in the parking light position.
Problem started in about July, 2014 when my front drivers side low beam headlight went out. I purchased two new bulbs and changed them (and this is no easy process with this vehicle). I wore latex gloves so as not to damage the new bulbs. Approximately a week after installing the new bulbs, my drivers side headlight went out again, but would come on and go out sporadically. It seemed to come and go with damp weather or when I hit bumps while driving, so I questioned the seal of the fixture cover and/or the wiring connection, so I went through the process again and checked the seating of the bulb, wiring connection, and seal of the housing, and all were fine. The problem was solved for a short time, but then started happening again. After a couple of weeks of on/off operation, it went out for good. I pulled the bulb and checked the filament, and it was fine, but I put the old passenger bulb (original to the vehicle) in. It worked and did not flicker for several months, but eventually started to show the same signs as the newer bulbs I put in. Then it stopped working altogether. The bulbs have been replaced two more times between then and now, but I am having the same trouble again, still with the drivers side. This many times is not a coincidence. I feel this is a defect with the wiring or with the actual headlight unit itself. Of course, the vehicle is out of warranty, and I dread taking it to the dealer to hear it will be an expensive fix. With so many documented occurrences, I feel this is a safety issue that needs to be addressed by Subaru.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Santa Rosa, CA, USA