6.7

fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
9,676 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2018 Subaru Outback suspension problems

suspension problem

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2018 Subaru Outback Owner Comments

problem #8

Apr 192021

Outback

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My wife and I, financed our brand new 2018 Subaru Outback Premium from World Subaru, 688 Shrewsbury Ave., Tinton Falls, New Jersey 07701, in June 2018. There are 3 main problems with the car, but I-??ll only be addressing the most recent one. The main people in this situation is myself-[XXX], my wife-[XXX], Subaru, Owner and General Manager-Joe Wajda, Service Advisor-Rudolph J DeGaetano, and Fixed Operation Director-Lou Zuluaga. The 2018 Subaru was brought in for an oil change filter, etc., on April 19, 2021 and I went right up to the service advisor Rudolph J DeGaetano to tell him besides the oil change and filter to please take a look at this back tire wear, on the edges to about an inch in, its bald, about 3 inches then full thread all the way around the tire, Rudolph said you need an alignment, so I told him to do it with the oil change and filter, so when they were done Rudolph came back to me and I paid $165.47, with this Rudolph showed me the alignment paper and said this can-??t be fixed, no mater what you do, the right front caster in red at 4.3 cannot be fixed. And as you see on the original paper, on the right front caster in red, it can-??t be fixed. But at the bottom in red it states, -?? OR MORE VALUES ARE NOT WITHIN SPECIFICATION. TIRE WEAR, HANDLING AND SAFETY PROBLEMS MAY RESULT-??. SO ITS TELLING ME THE CAR IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE AND WORLD SUBARU CANT FIX IT. I TOLD RUDOLPH THATS UNEXCEPTABLE. Texted owner and General manager Joe Wojda who turned it over to Fixed Operation Director Lou Zuluaga who in turn sent me a text, that it could be the body of the car. I explained to Rudolph that Subaru had a big problem with the new ascents, and it either would cost Subaru to much to fix or they couldn-??t fix it, and subaru gave them all brand new Ascents, but what about my car we bought brand new, they expect my wife to drive an unsafe vehicle"?"[XXX]-[XXX] [XXX] Owner Joe Wajda-732-741-6200 Lou and Rudolph-same number PARTS OF THIS DOCUMENT HAVE BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PURSUAN

- Metuchen , NJ, USA

problem #7

Jan 012020

Outback 4-cyl

  • 26,000 miles
The contact's wife owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact's wife had noticed an abnormal noise coming from the vehicle, while driving at various speeds. The contact took the vehicle to hughes Subaru (3010 atlanta hwy, athens, ga 30606) to have the brakes inspected and the dealer found no faults with the brakes. As the failure persisted, the vehicle was taken back to the same dealer where they discovered a failure with the two front tire wheel bearings and they replaced the two front bearings under warranty. The dealer also suggested that all four tires would need to be replaced due to the wheel bearings. The contact then took the vehicle to an independent mechanic where he inspected the vehicle and discovered that all four tires were chopped. He stated that the two front tires were worse then the rear tires. The independent mechanic also mentioned that the failure could lead to suspension issues. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 26,000. Consumer took vehicle back to hughes Subaru to address concerns about the chopped tires and potential suspension issues. The service manager said that the chopping on the tires were not a result of failure of the wheel bearing hubs. He also said that there would be no suspension issues because of the failure. He said that the tires did not need to be replaced because there was 6+ tread still remaining on the tires.

- Athens, GA, USA

problem #6

Feb 082020

Outback

  • 40,200 miles
Rear trailing arm snapped rendering vehicle unsafe to drive - the rear trailing arm snapped. It looks apparent it was slowly failing as some parts of the fracture are rusted out. The part number is 20250al02A. These parts were designed with very thin walls and may be the reason why it failed. I got lucky that the vehicle was just off the highway before I heard a clunking noise, braking at highway speeds would have caused the vehicle to flip over as the vehicle was not stable at all during the failure. Here are some photos of the failure. These photos were taken the day of the failure, February 8th, 2020.

- Warminster, PA, USA

problem #5

Dec 092019

Outback

  • 8,200 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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.

- Santa Fe, NM, USA

problem #4

Sep 282019

Outback

  • 7 miles
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.

- Ridgecrest, CA, USA

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problem #3

Mar 152019

Outback 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 2,500 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. While driving various speeds, the vehicle suddenly jerked from side to side and became very unstable. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 2,500.

- Ormond Beach, FL, USA

problem #2

Mar 122018

Outback

  • 200 miles
I have had steering issues with this car since day one, the dealer told me I had to get use to it. Car pulled to the right and at higher speeds you feel like you were hydroplaning-no control then steering would come back. Brought the car back to dealer and they made adjusts to the alignment and doesn't pull to right as bad. But the feeling of hydroplaning still exists and the dealer can not duplicate problem.they tell me its within Subaru's specifications there is a real problem with this car since date of service 3-12-18

- Torrington, CT, USA

problem #1

Jan 312018

Outback

  • 300 miles
Driver side front wheel/suspension is making rattling noise while driving at any speed. The noise is worse when hitting uneven surfaces on the road (like a repair spot or transition from concrete to asphalt). The front-end sounds loose, and there is a slight vibration when driving at higher speeds. We have taken our car into the dealer multiple times and they say all is ok and the noise is as intended by the manufacturer. We do not feel safe in the car.

- Centennial, CO, USA

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