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.
I was driving on a highway when my car started to suddenly stutter, hesitate, and jerk after about an hour on the road. I pulled over on the shoulder immediately and tried to better position the car further off the highway with the same vehicle behavior. Initially I thought a tire had blown so sudden was the impact but after exterior inspection I realized the tires were fine and the problem was probably under the hood. The CVT transmission and TCM malfunctioned, and electric parking brake engaged creating a noise. My ability to steer the vehicle in a predictable direction was gone creating a safety hazard on the highway or any road. The car had to be long-distance towed back to where I live; it could not be safely driven. The problem has been reproduced and confirmed by two independent service centers, one a general service center and the other a foreign car expert service center. The vehicle has not been inspected by anyone else. There were dashboard warning lights that came on at the time the vehicle started to shake. The lights were the vehicle dynamics control warning light and the check engine warning light. A " boat load" of transmission codes that lead to the vehicle being assessed at the foreign car service center. I am asking for Subaru-??s assistance in resolving this matter. I purchased a Subaru based on recommendations from other family members and their experience of having multiple Subaru vehicles some of which lasted 300,00 miles. If this is a manufacturing problem I believe that Subaru has a responsibility to notify their owners of the potential problem (which didn-??t happen in my case) and a responsibility to resolve the problem when it occurs. I took my vehicle into my nearest Subaru dealership for a warranty repair that I was notified of approx. three years ago. No one notified me of the potential CVT transmission problem at that time. My vehicle cannot be driven in its current state and it is dangerous to drive because of this problem.
Over time, brake pedal travel has increased and brakes have a -??soft-?? or -??mushy-?? feel. Unable to -??lock up-?? the brakes, and can frequently hit the end of travel on the brakes. Cannot stop quickly. Rotors, pads and calipers have been replaced and passed state inspection, but still unable to stop quickly in an emergency situation.
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? ACTUATOR ASSY-EPB, part number 26002aj02c (from technical service bulletin), part is not available How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk" Brake light and iSight warning light comes on. Safety systems will not operate properly when these lights are on Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear" Brake light and iSight warning light comes on, this started several months ago After driving this car for about an hour, shutting it off then starting it back up after short amount of time, like 20 minutes, the brake warning light and iSight light (safety system/adaptive cruise control/automatic braking) will come on immediately, they will stay on until the car has been allowed to cool down for several hours. This happens more often in hot weather. This has happened about a couple dozen times already. Took the car to Eurasian Autoworks in Tilton NH, the mechanic, who i'm told is a former Subaru master tech says this is a common problem and is usually fixed by replacing the emergency brake actuator under Technical Service Bulletin 06-58-17R. I called the local dealership and they do not have any of these parts available. I called Subaru customer support, case number [XXX]. and was told the part is discontinued and essentially said I should get one from a junkyard. I do not believe a 10 year old car should have safety related parts unavailable, especially on a common issue with this year/model of car. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The electronic parking brake warning light keeps flashing indicating a failure in the off-on mechanism. The brake could go on while the car is in motion, causing loss of control. Or the brake could fail while in park, and the car could roll. Subaru mechanic has been telling me they are waiting for a part, which is on back order nationwide. This has been going on with my car for months, literally. I deal with Subaru of Rockville, MD, (240)903-9338.
When backing out of garage, car seemed to rev up and increase speed. I was unable to stop the car while applying the brakes. Car went down over an embankment and stopped only after I put transmission into Park and car was slowed down by running over a large shrub. Luckily, I was unhurt, but easily could have been. This is the second time a similar incident has happened. I have not reported the incident previously nor had the car inspected yet.
- Dillsburg, PA, USA
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Brake master cylinder is failing, according to Subaru service mechanic. Prior 4 years of same model were under recall for master cylinder defect, replacement. This is technically the same problem. Subaru has provided free replacements for some 2013 owners who had this problem with master cylinder. Seal in mc is broken.
The warning lights- brakes, tire pressure, cruise control, engine lights and traction control all come on and won't go off. Had them reset by the mechanics but a day later they came back on while I was driving down the highway for no reason. Cruise no longer works as the lights are on. A lot of people on line seem to have this problem and I think you should make Subaru issue some kind of recall to fix this problem. Thank you.
My 2013 Subaru Outback has three open recalls, numbered 19V009000 (airbag), 18V626000 (parking brake), and 16V694000 (windshield wiper motor). Subaru of America has told me, within the past week, that the car is unsafe to drive because of the airbag. I live 138 miles from the nearest Subaru dealer. I have given Subaru two quotes, requested by them, including contact information at two companies, for transporting the car to the nearest dealer, rimrock Subaru in billings, mt. Subaru of America refuses to contact or make arrangements with the two companies and refuses to schedule the repairs unless I pay in advance, approximately $1,700, for round trip transportation and car rental, to get the car to the dealer and back. Subaru told me, in an email today, February 12, 2020, from [xxx] of Subaru customer service, "my ability to assist is on a reimbursement basis. There is no workaround for this." His email is custdlrservices@Subaru.com this is an extreme hardship for me as I am retired with limited discretionary funds. I hope you can convince Subaru to fulfill its legal responsibility to complete these recalls without my financial involvement. Thank you. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Took it home from dealer and the electronic parking brake would not turn on. The brake light was also blinking. A couple days later, on the way to dealer, I stopped at a gas station and turned on the electric parking brake. It worked this time, but when I got in the car to drive, the electric parking brake wouldn't turn off. I was stuck. There was no way to move it. I was blocking the gas pump for about an hour waiting for a two truck. Tow truck driver had difficulty loading vehicle and taking off vehicle because the parking brake was on and it was an AWD meaning none of the wheels can move.
The contact owns a 2013 Subaru Outback. While driving 60 mph, the brakes seized without warning. Last week, the transmission seized while in traffic on the golden gate bridge. On both occasions, the contact had to pull the vehicle over to prevent a crash. The transmission warning indicator was illuminated. The vehicle was towed three times to marin Subaru (595 francisco blvd E, san rafael, ca 94901, (415) 454-9240) where it was diagnosed that a new transmission was needed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was repaired five additional times, but the failure continued. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures and did not assist. The failure mileage was 250,000.
Was driving South on I-5 near orland, ca on 12/26/18 when my Outback began shaking and attempting to "brake" (I was doing between 65 - 70 mph). I looked down and the parking brake signal was illuminated. (I had not engaged the brake.) I was able to pull to the side of the road. I disengaged the brake and resumed. It happened again. I pulled off the road and called my Subaru dealership, carlsen Subaru, redwood city, ca. I disengaged the brake -- but the brake kept trying to re-engage. I could drive but only have consistently and constantly making sure the brake was not engaged. The brake light would flash on and off periodically. I immediately took the car into the dealership on 12/27/18. As suspected, the dealership diagnosed the problem as the parking brake module. The charge was $185 for diagnosis and another estimated $1,250 for the repair. (see attached diagnostic/estimate) one of the service technicians gave me the national Subaru customer service number -- I called and alerted them. They are investigating. However, later that evening I discovered Subaru has recalled 27,000 2010-2014 Outbacks & legacys with failing parking brakes. The Subaru recall is offering replacement or extended warranty provisions depending on whether the car is manual or automatic transmission (with affected VIN numbers). (recall began in Oct 2018. I have received no notification.) the national Subaru representative made no mention of the current recall to me. I went to the dealership again this morning (12/28/18)--got a copy of the diagnosis/estimate. The service technicians do not see the recall in their system with my VIN number. This appears to be a similar issue to others reported in the recall -- Subaru should look carefully at other vehicles within those same year/model ranges. I feel the car may be dangerous to drive.
Subaru Outback self-accelerated (unintended acceleration) on March 22, 2018 as I was attempted to park the car in a parking lot. Due to the self-acceleration the car hopped over the curb in the parking lot and ran over a bush. My foot was no where near the accelerator and even when applying the brake, I had to press extremely hard on the brake to stop the vehicle. While it self-accelerated the engine made a loud revving sound. On March 23, 2018 the car self-accelerated again with my husband driving on the open road. After this incident we had the car towed to our car dealership. Subaru has had the car since March 23 and denies any problem with the accelerator or car.
I took my car in for airbag recall, the brake light indicator flashes on/off on dash, intermittent. Service dept could not replicate at first, discovered electronic parking brake component faulty. Parking brake could engage while car is in drive or fail on hill. Charging me 1100 for repair, says its not under warranty or recall. This is same defect/recall on 2015 model Outback. Dealer says no recall for 2013 model outbcak. I dispute this.
This vehicle has several issues. I had an oil change and within 1 week they had to add 1.3 quarts. Car had 23,767 miles. In just over a month I have had to add almost 4 quarts of synthetic oil and spent close to $100 for the oil. The car is an automatic with a manual option and I am also haveing problems where the gears won't change in auto nor manual operation. It revs the engine and I have to stop, turn it off then restart. It happens all the time but the dealer said there is nothing wrong with it..there is also an issue with vibration of the steering wheel all the time and the brakes don't want to catch all the time. Should not have to pump the brakes 2 or 3 times to get them to engage.
The contact owns a 2013 Subaru Outback. While driving approximately 30 mph in inclement weather, the vehicle began to slide while driving downhill. The contact attempted to control the steering, but it would not move. The vehicle did not respond and struck a delineator post, slid in the opposite direction towards a concrete wall, and suddenly stopped. A police report was filed. There were no injuries. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 37,000.
I have 2013 Subaru Outback. Couple of month after buying it I discovered the issue where my foot would be stuck on the brake pedal. There is some kind of a flap above the pedal. The flap normally just touches the top of a shoe. But in some situations/positions of the pedal it presses on the foot. When you try to move the foot out of the pedal, it bends and braces it, practically locking the foot. It does not happen consistently, but rather infrequently. What makes it worse is wearing bulky shoes like sneakers, shoes with buckles, or with a mesh top. The mesh also gets caught on the flap. A couple of times I was in situations where it took 10-15 seconds to get the foot out of the brake pedal. At least once I have been nearly rear-ended because I couldn"T accelerate immediately after breaking. I complained on this issue 4 times at Subaru service. They tweaked it somewhat, but never completely fixed, and it got worse again after every maintenance service. While trying to understand how it is remedied, I found that the dealership didn?T record these complaints in my car history. So I wrote an email to Subaru. Subaru customer service person told me to make another appointment, as he?ll instruct the dealership how to fix the issue. I brought my car in, waited for an hour, but then was told no instructions were received from Subaru. On the next contact with the Subaru customer service I received the following reply: ?there are no repairs required and no repairs were performed. We have no recommendations as there were no problems found.? however, it appeared that Subaru has fixed the problem during that appointment, while telling me nothing was done. The flap was replaced with the longer version, so that the foot never gets under it, but rather pushes the flap inside. This is a serious safety issue. It is obvious Subaru is aware of it, but doesn"T admit it exists....updated 07-16-15 MA 07/30/15 updated 10/26/2017
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lake Wales, FL, USA