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.
Unintended acceleration. When driving at low speeds--what would traditionally be 1st and 2nd gear (the car has a continually variable transmission)--and while keeping constant pressure on the gas pedal, the transmission changes the acceleration of the vehicle on its own in a process that feels like it can't find the right "gear", and it provides a "jerking" feeling (usually only a couple of "jerks"). yet the transmission is not just finding the right gear for a specific constant speed; as it shifts around, the acceleration changes and has, with constant pressure on the pedal, accelerated faster on its own. I have never felt less control of a vehicle as I have with this one.
Engine idle is erratic when cold. Backing out of the garage in the morning the engine surges 3-400 RPM making the car jerk faster and slower. This is with only the brake pedal pressed. I have a second identical car that does not have the problem. Temperature is in the 40's. when the engine slows, you have to ease off the brake, them it suddenly speeds up 50% and the car takes off. The cycle repeats for a few minutes in the mornings. The problem is very repeatable -the same thing every morning.
Dear sir, on February 11,2015 we purchased a new 2015 Outback 2.5 premium at seller dealer 400106 VIN [xxx] and the odometer reading was 10 miles. This was our dream car that we saved for a few years to finally purchase. It developed an engine knocking noise at only 1000 miles on the odometer. So I took it to the Subaru dealer for evaluation on 3/18/15 and after 2 days there they determined that the engine had a problem and would have to be replaced according to Subaru experts. I really respect Subaru??S and their history, but we no longer consider this one our dream car. If the power plant is faulty we wonder what else is going to go wrong with it. My family will no longer feel safe. Though the car may or may not fall under the song-beverly consumer warranty act we want a replacement for the same type vehicle, nothing more and nothing less. I feel the engine should not of failed at only 1,000 miles on it and I'm sure [xxx] would strongly agree. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Two issues; the similarly reported electrical stop. Started car on cold morning, drove short distance, dropped kids off at school. Went to restart, and car was completely dead. Had to jump it. Second issue; burning oil smell in cabin. Oil level was fine, and smell not coming from tail pipe. Took car to shop today for the oil smell, and I told them about the electrical stop. They said the electrical issue is related to needing to replace 4 relays. The oil smell, however, is due to a bad crankcase seal that they said failed most likely due to the cold. I found similar reports on subaruoutback.org/forums/
Red engine light came on and car died. Lost all power/ drive. Needed to coast to berm. Would restart, but die immediately. Everything was immobilized. This could have happened at 70 mph on an interstate! our was very close to being rear- ended.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Phoenixville, PA, USA