When coming to a stop, the car shudders and often stalls just like if you didn't press in the clutch on a manual transmission. No warning lights or messages. See details in TSB- 16-90-13R. Subaru knows about this issue and it has been reported in many vehicles. My car was at a Subaru dealership at least half a dozen times during 2017-2018 when this issue came to light and no one notified us to have it checked. Fast forward to now and for the last year my car has been shuddering when coming to a stop, and about 2-3 months ago, it started stalling. This is an absolute safety issue and should be a recall. I've been in many situations where it stalls and I am vulnerable to getting rear-ended because it takes time to restart the car and get moving again. This is particularly true in traffic or situations where you need to stop suddenly and others behind you are not anticipating you being stopped in the roadway.

- Roseville, CA, USA

Vehicle stalls when stopping. This is a huge safety issue because stalling at intersections can cause accidents. Dealership diagnosed a faulty torque converter. This torque converter (it should be part number 31100AB170) issue is widely known in this production series of the Subaru outback. After hundreds of complaints were filed with the NHTSA, Subaru extended the warranty on all their automatic transmissions to avoid a recall around 2017, but closed the extended warranty in 2022. Subaru now tries to convince their customers that these vehicles are too old for the issue to be attributable to them, despite knowing that they equipped these vehicles with defective parts. See the following: [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Brookville, OH, USA

While driving on the highway, we were forced to brake swiftly. As a result, the known issue of the torque converter in this model of car caused the engine to stall in the middle lane of the highway and almost causing our deaths as multiple tractor-trailers had to swerve to avoid our immobilized vehicle until it could be restarted. This could've led to to the deaths of me, my family and many other road-users. I can't believe this isn't a recall when it's such a wide-spread and known problem with this model.

- Mineola, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and decelerated, prompting the contact to quickly exit the roadway, where the failure persisted. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the continuously variable transmission (CVT). The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 125,000.

- Petersburg, VA, USA

The car stalls out at stops. It shutters and them stalls like a 5 speed car. I have almost been rear-ended on a couple occasions. It is now in the shop for a torque converter replacement

- Rio Rancho, NM, USA

Couple weeks back while driving on the highway my check engine light came on along with different lights and transmission oil warning and car immediately lost power. I was able to pull over without incident. Then I took it to my local mechanic, they changed the transmission fluid and changed some fuses. It seemed fine after the repair and I started to drive home, but again the same warning lights came on and the repair shop advised me to take it to the nearest Subaru dealer which is an hour away from my home. I paid for the diagnostics and the dealer concluded the problem as follows "Transmission Valve Body: faulty causing check engine light and at oil temp light, will need to sit overnight for sealant to dry before fluid can be added.". I did some research and found that this is a known problem for the 2012 Outback and Subaru had a 10 year/100k extended warranty for the exact problem and didn't do any recall even though so many vehicles were affected and are being affected every day. There are numerous complaints regarding this. Though as being 2nd owner and have driven just 9k miles in 2 years while performing regular maintenance this is very unfortunate and dangerous. I emailed the manufacturer to cover this since 100k was up and it should have been recalled. This was their response" Dear [XXX]: Thank you for contacting Subaru. Your vehicle did have a 10 year/100,000 mile warranty for extended transmission coverage. Regrettably, it is far outside of warranty and Subaru of America would not be in a position to consider financial assistance towards your repair. I will notate your feedback in the case for Product Development to consider when designing future models. Sincerely, David Subaru of America, Inc. Customer Advocacy Department 1-800-SUBARU3 (1-800-782-2783) Case Number: [XXX]" They should recall the vehicle for this problem or offer free repair. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Huntingtown, MD, USA

When coming to a quick or hard stop, car will rumble then stall out. To confirm that the issue is transmission based I shift the car into neutral then brake quickly and the issue does not arise.

- East Montpelier, VT, USA

The torque converter is failing at 113,00. It has happened at red lights, but more recently while on a Texas freeway that I had to come to a hard stop which cause the engine to stall out at 40 mph. My child was in the car and on a fast paced highway my safety was placed in jeopardy. It is going to the shop to be repaired because is this. I will have proof of repair service and faulty part..

- Baytown , TX, USA

Concerns of The torque converter - there is very low engine RPM when coming to a stop. Thrust washer wear inside the torque converter causing restriction of the oil passage used to bleed off lock-up clutch application pressure. This has resulted in low engine ROM and stalling of my vehicle on dangerous intersections. My car stalled in an intersection several times due to this issue almost causing sever injuries or death. The problem has been reproduced and confirmed by an independent service center. Yes, has been inspected by independent service center. No warning lamps or other symptoms prior to the failure. They first appeared at/around 125,000 miles.

- Woodbury, MN, USA

When braking hard, the engine shudders and quits. When car is put in park or neutral it can be started. At time the entire dash lights all go on before the engine shudders and quits when braking at stop lights. My mechanis said it is the torque converter. This is a know issue with Subaru 2012 models. This could cause my car to be rearended by another car with the sudden engine stop. Subaru will not recall these vehicles but does offer an extended warranty. The problem is that, in most cases, the issues happens with more than 100,00 miles on the dodmeter. This seems like it could be a safety issue.

- Federal Way, WA, USA

I own a 2012 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium. The vehicle has approximately 161k miles. Recently, I have noticed the car beginning to stutter when approaching an abrupt stop. There have since been several instances where the car will stall when coming to a quick stop. This happened to me in the middle of traffic one day and I had my family in the car with me. In my opinion, this issue jeopardized the safety of my family. Stalling in the middle of the road and having to restart the car each time is a huge concern for me. My wife and I are now terrified to drive the car due to the looming safety concern. Upon further research, the problem stems from a faulty torque converter on the car, confirmed by TSB 16-90-13R. Subaru has not made this a recall unfortunately, but I don't feel I should be the one to pay the cost for a repair that is in my opinion very serious. Please take action to make this needed repair a more serious concern.

- Salem, OR, USA

Vehicle has always stuttered coming to stops but has began to start stalling. The problem was never diagnosed previously. Now that it is have found to be the torque converter I actually know what is happening. I don-??t think being unable to rely on you vehicle to continue running in an emergency stop or break pump is a safety issue Subaru should take lightly. I have been faced with two Subaru known problem repairs recently that I didn-??t know of at the time of purchase. The head gasket which left me stranded on a trip and a torque converter. The first was close to a 4k$ repair and the second is coming close to 2k$ repair. I am growing frustrated with Subaru ignoring how dangerous this and also how they are ignoring customer concerns. Both these issues are well documented by owners experiencing the same things I am. I would like to express this has happened since the vehicle was new but has gotten worse and is now stalling. Thank you, Joni

- Norton, OH, USA

I own a 2012 Outback 2.5 Limited, which I purchased new from a Subaru dealer in Evanston IL in June 2012. It currently has about 76000 miles on it. In the last 6 months my car started to shudder when coming to a stop at a traffic signal, or sometimes while being stopped at the signal. The shudder is significant but typically momentary and happens randomly. From the last 2-3 weeks, the car has started to stall and the engine shuts down abruptly when coming to a stop. This is very stressful, but fortunately, so far I have been able to put the car in P and start it again every time. However, this is very dangerous and puts me and my family at grave risk of a serious accident from cars coming from behind as my car stalls abruptly. Again, this happens randomly which makes it even more dangerous and impossible to mitigate as a driver. This has now happened multiple times and I called a local Subaru dealership. They gave an estimate of over $8000 to repair this issue. They also said they will repair the car only if they are able to recreate the problem. I am afraid that they will not be able to recreate the problem as it happens randomly as mentioned earlier. As far as I know no warning lights on my dash are on and the car otherwise runs normally.

- Geneva, IL, USA

I experienced issues with the engine of my 2012 Subaru Outback shutting down at times when coming to a stop, and also stalling/idling when accelerating (such as when entering freeway). My engine light and brake light also turned on at the same time. Very concerned, I took it in to the local Subaru service center at around 112,000 miles. They inspected the car and replaced 2 spark plugs, and must have restart the computer to turn the warning lights off. Recently at 117,000 after entering the freeway at night, my car roughly idled and the stalled and would not properly accelerate, almost causing me to crash as it happened suddenly while driving on freeway. The engine light was flashing and brake light came on as well. I immediately pulled over. After the Subaru inspection the next day, I was told that this was being caused by the torque converter and is a known issue on this model. This is a very dangerous issue, I believe that if this incident would have happened the next morning while on my commute instead of at the less busy hour at night, a crash would have occurred. I believe a recall is warranted on this dangerous issue as it is known by Subaru that this issue affects certain models and they will not provide much help to customers if they are past the extended warranty. The issue can occur past the 100,000 mile mark on an otherwise good condition and well cared for vehicle. This puts the customer and other drivers at great risk. I am very concerned and upset about the danger this put myself and others in. I was personally left on the side of the freeway at night at 7 months pregnant, but the situation could have been much worse. Since Subaru is not required to let customers know of this issue, customers may experience this issue without proper remediation until a serious issue happens.

- Santa Cruz, CA, USA

Torque Converter issue consistent with Subaru Service Bulletin 16-90-13. Although Subaru issued a service bulletin with extended warranty rather than a recall, I want to document this as an ongoing problem with the model year and still a dangerous one. 08/09/2021 the vehicle shuddered while coming to a stop at a light, like the RPMs were dropping too low. At the next light, the vehicle shuddered and stalled while coming to a stop at the light. I was able to restart the vehicle after I realized the engine was dead and I needed to put the vehicle back into park before it would turnover. I couldn't immediately identify what I needed to do to restart, since the car won't turnover in drive, so I was stalled for a cycle of the stoplight. A few days later, the vehicle again shuddered and stalled while coming to a stop at a light. I had been driving for maybe 3 minutes from a cold start. I was again able to restart the vehicle. The second stall definitely felt like a transmission issue, and matched the description of a bad torque converter (technical service bulletin 16-90-13) for this model year. I had the issue diagnosed at my local Subaru dealership, and they identified it as being consistent with a bad torque converter, possibly requiring replacement of the valve body assembly if torque converter replacement was ineffective. I had the torque converter replaced by a Subaru dealership on 09/15/2021. My vehicle is outside the extended warranty period. I've made several stops without issue since the repair. With this issue, I was concerned what would happen if I was on the freeway and needed to suddenly decelerate, or what would have happened if my first time experiencing the issue, where I was stalled for almost a minute and was unable to restart the vehicle immediately, would have occurred during a freeway slowdown. I would have been a sitting duck. Even being stalled at a busy light could have been dangerous for me.

- American Fork, UT, USA

The vehicle stalled a few times in 2017 and 2018 while shifting from reverse to drive; and while coming from a stop, on steep hill, and releasing brake to get moving in traffic. It also shuddered randomly while transitioning gears from park to reverse/drive or reverse to dive and vice versa. I took it to the dealer who we purchased it from and they identified it as a transmission issue that can be resolved via an extended warranty. At the time the vehicle had about 70K miles. They replaced the torque converter, valve body and strainer in 2018. The car randomly shudders slightly between shifts from reverse to drive and vice versa, but the dealer who replaced the parts could not identify it. I took vehicle to another dealer who could also not replicate the issue. There was one time where it shook noticeable after exiting the freeway and coming to a stop but the car did not stall. In 2021, with the car approaching 97.5K in miles, stalled when I shifted from reverse to drive getting out of a parking spot on a busy street. It restarted after I put into park and was able to change gears and get out safely. I noticed it shudders when the engine is warm. Sometimes it feels unsafe when I am trying to get out of a parking spot on a busy street or on a hill. I took it back to dealer who made the warranty repair. They could not replicate the issue. They cleaned the throttle body and found no codes on the ECU. They said they felt a slight shudder but that this is normal. They said I could take it for a second opinion but I did that already at another dealer previously. I spent hundreds of dollar to try to get a diagnosis but to no avail. I have properly maintained the car as recommended. It feels very strange that this continues to happen but the dealer cannot replicate and identify. Sometimes we feel unsafe or worried that it will stall at the wrong time.

- San Bruno, CA, USA

Subaru Outback (2012), when stopped for 1-2 minutes, with the engine and ignition off, and the gear shift in park, on a slight incline (to check a potential safety hazard) suddenly rolled backwards as I was leaning in to retrieve my bag. I was dragged across the normally busy road, barely able to hang on (by both hands grabbing anything I could inside the car). My legs scraped on the ground violently burning though my sneaker then ankle flesh and grazed the bone badly. My legs on the road turned the 1.5 ton vehicle a few degrees as it careened under rapid acceleration reaching an estimated 8-10 mph bumping over 2 kerbs pulled me even further out of the car, but still hanging on. Luckily the open driver's door engaged with a hedge which ripped the door almost off the car and turned the car another 35 degrees or so, avoiding a violent crash into the neighbor's house. Instead the car grazed a wooden post (further slowing it) then hit a second post which brought the car to a hard stop. This pushed me out of the car onto a patch of grass, back to the car. An engineering assessment later revealed the shift-interlock had failed (involving a couple of parts) so that the gear may be shifted (or shift itself) when the engine and ignition are off with the keys still in. My injuries include ankle (on a leg with a hip replacement), ptsd (diagnosed as caused 100% by the crash) and exacerbation of multiple-sclerosis causing debilitating bouts of trigeminal neuralgia and with additional brain damage (proven by increased lesion load on mri scan). Therefore the vehicle failure on this model is also potentially dangerous to other owners of the same model car. We also researched and found one almost identical case with the same model, the same roll-in-park but far more serious injury as the driver was knocked down by the door, apparently as the car rolled over.

- Oak Ridge, TN, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse out of a parking space, the vehicle made a grinding sound but failed to engage in reverse. The contact shifted the gear shifter to neutral and had assistance from a bystander to push the vehicle out of the parking space. The vehicle was shifted into drive and operated as designed. The contact notified burlington Subaru (351 shelburne rd, burlington, vt 05401) of the failure, and was informed that there was no recall related to the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact's husband diagnosed the failure as a fractured reverse fork shift in the reverse cord and that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The failure mileage was 117,450.

- Morrisville, VT, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal, without warning. The contact initially took the vehicle to two separate independent mechanics who informed him that the transmission was defective and needed to be replaced. The contact then called Subaru of spokane (423 w 3rd ave, spokane, wa 99201) and rairdon's Subaru of auburn (3025 auburn way N, auburn, wa 98002) and was provided estimates for a new transmission. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

- Addy, WA, USA

Vehicle shakes and shutters when braking at higher speeds before coming to a stop. Stalls out often when approaching stop signs and red lights.

- Falmouth, MA, USA