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.
While driving under normal conditions, (no hazardous weather or speeding), the steering will suddenly pull to the right, for only a moment, feeling as though a strong gust of wind had blown it, but there is no wind, it just does it on its on. A warning light comes on, and makes a pinging sound, then it turns off; it does not stay on long enough to be able to see which symbol lights up. This happens approximately once every 10 miles or so, more often when driving above 45 mph; occurring most often on the highway. It happens on every type of rode and in every lane. We've bought the car to be examined buy a Subaru dealership twice and was told both times that the wheels were out of alignment and we paid to have the alignment corrected, but this does not actually solve the problem. There has not been any incidents yet, but we fear that if the car pulls on its own in slick or icy weather, it may cause an accident.
Began hearing a clunking/rattling noise in the front end of the car. We took it to the dealer for routine maintenance and asked them to look into it. Front Steering rack was found to have excessive play. Entire steering rack was replaced. No warning lamps or messages involved. Safety was put at risk by possible loss of control of vehicle if steering rack completely failed.
Sunday, August 1, 2021, at 9:05am, I backed out of my garage and when I attempted to turn my car, the steering locked, the car was drifting backwards and I had no brakes. As a result the car kept drifting backwards, off the driveway into the woods, hitting a tree. Once stopped, I was able to start the car and drive it out of the woods. The entire driver-??s side was sideswiped and mirror torn off. I was not injured, but could have been. I called insurance that day. On Monday, we contacted the Subaru dealership. The local police were notified and documented the report. The insurance adjuster determined the car unsafe to drive and it was towed to the dealership August 4, 2021. There was no warning or indicated problem prior to the incident.
Within the first year of owning the Outback I had to have the infotainment head unit replaced twice. I am still having issues where the radio will come on but there is no sound, the radio will turn on full blast after a hanging up from a call, back up camera will be black upon backing up, screen will freeze, steering will lock up when backing out of my driveway, and after my 36K mile maintenance now my car is making a strange humming noise. There are so many complaints about this car and nothing is being done about it. Subaru needs to provide more than a puny extended warrenty. This car is a lemon and they know it.
Purchased the automobile with about 7,200 miles on it with extended warranty. Battery failed at 8,000 miles. We replaced it with a new premium battery from aaa.. new battery worked for 8 months then drained overnight. Aaa recharged it and said alternator worked. When driven or backed up after recharging, automobile beeped constantly for approximately 1/2 mile and stopped while in motion. Beeping stopped when vehicle stopped, but started again when vehicle moved forward or backed up. Left with Subaru dealer overnight. Battery was completely drained this morning when service technician tried to start it. Service tech said they could not diagnose problem. Per my internet research, this seems to be a common problem. Subaru should fix it, but seems to be dragging their heels on this issue. Our Subaru is unsafe and not driveable in its current condition. Please investigate and provide assistance. The vehicle has been stationary when the battery drained. The beeping occurred when the vehicle was in motion on a highway and city street. It restarted when the vehicle resumed motion. The beeping continued while the vehicle was going straight or turning while in motion. It stopped when the vehicle stopped. Steering did not feel normal. It was a little sluggish and less precise than normal.
- San Rafael, CA, USA
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The steering sometimes locks when car is operating in reverse, turning out of a parked position. Exact cause is unknown. I brought the car to the dealership for this problem in mid-March and they were unable to detect the fault. Today I encountered the same steering lock when backing out of my driveway and turning right to get onto the street.
My 2018 Subaru Outback does not have steering assist and was purchased new. At all speeds, the steering feels very loose when traveling resulting in a disconnect between the road/wheels and the steering wheel. At highway speeds, the car often feels like it is hydroplaning or wind is forcing it to the left or right despite driving on dry roads in calm weather. The steering is erratic and is especially unpredictable when driving on uneven or snow covered roads. On snowy roads, the car drifts and feels like it is uncontrollably starting to slide resulting in an over correction of the steering wheel. This problem is terrifying and the exact opposite of how Subaru advertises the car performance. I took the car to my dealer as it is still under warranty and they only said it was the alignment which we just had done the previous week. Subaru has had steering problems before and I feel like they are just trying to ignore the problem. Im surprised they have not issued a recall since the problem is very dangerous and could result in driving accidents and deaths.
Bought vehicle used one owner no previous occurances, 8000 miles recorded. Gradually, a rumbling sound comes from front driver side when turning wheel on flat dirt driveway predominantely. Concurrent noise from dash. At 10,000 miles the car now makes rumbling noise at low speeds while traveling in straight line on good pavement (inaudible at high speeds) same front right location, dash was repaired replacing speaker grills and still makes rattling noise after fixing. Rumbling noise from drivers left front area checked by dealer and reported nothing looked wrong. Noise continues from dashboard. Rumbling noise from front driver side left wheel/dash area continues more often and seems to be inaudible at higher speeds - rumbling noise upon turning wheel and going straight on pavement as well as on flat graded dirt driveway. Subaru dealer service manager states that his field manager has concurred this has been reported elsewhere and cannot be fixed at this point in time. Taking back to dealership to have them check everything more thoroughally, if they cannot find problem, will take to dealership in another town to check, if they cannot find problem wiill either sue using the lemon law, or trade in for another make of vehicle.
Intermittently while driving, the steering wheel will jerk to the right or left. Has happened on straight roads and on curved exits. Speeds from 30-60mph. Dry pavement, no sand/mud/other hazards. Has happened approximately a dozen times total. Lane assist is turned off.
10/2018 to present: Infotainment sys: While driving gps screen goes white entirely & sound stops. While driving gps sound is lost or partial loss. While driving gps will reroute to different location. The above causes mental confusion/distraction to driver w dangerous situations. Before driving/when driving re/programming map when directions stop or screen white or gps vol drops or varies the unit will go fm map to phone fav reliably causing distraction to driver, mental confusion on local roads & on the interstate during rush hour in bumper to bumper traffic. While driving radio: Sound volume goes high & low or drops sound or when choosing a station from programmed radio buttons channels begin to cycle rapidly through each programmed channel and repeats cycle until I can manage to power off the radio & takes up to 5 times to press radio power button to power off causing distraction to driver & mental confusion trying to power off the radio in traffic on local roads & on the interstate during rush hour in bumper to bumper traffic. Steering: While driving feels like high winds/hydroplaning as car sways in lane & out of lane with no rain & no high wind conditions causing distraction to driver & mental confusion trying to control steering to stay in lane in traffic on local roads & on the interstate during rush hour in bumper to bumper traffic. Engine: While driving in emergency maneuvers severe delay in acceleration when pedal is to the floor causing near collision situations, distraction to driver & mental confusion trying to avoid a collision in traffic on local roads & on the interstate during rush hour in bumper to bumper traffic. Engine: RPM extremely high on acceleration as if I am in low gear & manual paddle never was touched causing distraction, confusion, and inability to control intended speed of vehicle causing dangerous driving conditions.
Subaru Outback 2008 pulls to the left or right by itself intermittently. When it happens, car speed is always > 45 mph and the issue is the most obvious on highways with a speed > 60 mph. It feels like the steering has its own idea. Sometimes when I want to curve to the right, the steering turns by itself to the right and sometimes even stays there. Sometimes when I don't want to turn, it turns. This is not related to lane assistance. The feature is turned off and the issue happens when I drive in the lane. I strongly feel unsafe and a bit nervous driving on the highway recently. At the high speed, a slight turn may lead to serious consequences. Hope Subaru could solve the issue. A google search today showed that many other owners of the same model are experiencing the same, potentially damaging issue.
Bought car new, 7 miles on odometer. Took car into autonation Subaru - centennial Colorado for noise complaint in driver-side front when going over a bump. Missing parts were noticed by shop. Shop said it was completely fixed, but we still had this noise, it was just quieter. Vehicle felt like alignment was off, as it shakes at highway speeds. Car makes tire squealing noise when turning in and out of parking spots at low speeds. Took car back to dealer shop many times for over 1 year. Shop always insisted no alignment was needed, front-end was in good report, tires were in good balance, and rotation was not needed. Shaking persists, 20K miles later driver side front tire is worn down to almost steel only on in-side of tire; all other tires have at least 6/32nds on tread (see attached photo: Out-side of tire is thick treat like all other tires, in-side treat is gone). Original tires. No modifications to car. Serviced only at Subaru dealership. Vehicle shakes so bad now it feels like the car might fall apart. I do not feel comfortable having my pregnant wife drive our only vehicle. Help! not fair to buy a new car with missing parts and safety issues.
At 13,000 miles car steering pulled to the right and left without driver performing this act. Feels like car is hydroplaning or affected by high winds when neither condition is present. Presents danger as driver has no control as to when this happens or what direction it will go. Occurs at all speeds but worsens after 50mph. Research shows there are other complaints of this same situation with other Subaru cars. My dealership claimed they had not heard of the problem but suggested to manual turn off lane assist. I performed this action to no avail - the problem continues. Happens on city streets at 25 mph as well as on highways. While first incident was August 5, 2019 it never stopped.
the contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that when making a sharp turn the steering wheel locks into that position until manuallymoved out of that position and then it returns to normal center position. This is a safety issue. It could run into other cars or objects. The vehicle was driven to sangera Subaru (5500 gasoline alley dr. Bakersfield, ca 93313 phone #661-438-5588) to be corrected. The failure was duplicated. The dealer stated that is the normal operation of the power steering milage at that time was 7,000 miles.
When driving at 43 miles or above the steering has a feel of that you hit a gust of wind or you hit a patch of ice on highway the car does not feel stable
The steering wheel of this car randomly takes over, for no obvious reason, at high speeds (over 45 mph). I have no control over the steering wheel when this happens. Driving this car has been terrifying! while passing a tractor trailer, the steering wheel pulled me towards the truck 3 times!!! I thought I would be killed! this is a loaner car from the dealership. I called the dealership, colonial Subaru, in colonial heights, va, to tell them there is something wrong with this car. I was instructed to take it out of lane assist mode. This, however, did not solve the issue. The car randomly pulls to the right or to the left, when lane drifting isn't an issue. Why isn't something being done about this? I see there are already documented cases of this with the 2019 vehicle model.
Vehicle loses control at 50 mph and higher speeds. Steering feels very loose and like vehicle is hydroplaning on dry surfaces. On occasion it feels like the vehicle was hit by a gust of wind and floats. Vehicle feels very insecure on highway driving conditions. It's scary!
Subaru lane assist steering issue. When you have lane assist on the car will try and steer from one lane to another on its own. This happens when you are on the freeway and started after 10,000 miles was on the car.
Tension and control disappears in the steering, so loose it feels like you could spin the wheel like a top. Lasts a second or so then control returns. Happens in multiple driving conditions. Noticed it first day we had the car, dealer said he noticed it too, and we just needed to break the car in. When driving on the highway in high winds, car feels out of control, like driving on slick ice. Never had to get off a highway before out of fear and I've been driving 40 years. Dealer could not replicate, told me to call Subaru corporate, who sent me back to dealer. Car is back in the shop. I am so afraid to drive this car it only has 2700 miles on it after 18 months.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lisle, IL, USA