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.
My Subaru Key is Stuck in Ignition. Two to three times a week the key can not be removed from the key switch. The vehicle will shut off, but the key remains.
Right rear door will not open from inside, child door lock will not shift although child lock not engaged. InCase of crash or fire cannot exit vehicle. confirmed by repair shop. No insurance inspection. No warning lights associated with this visible
I bought this vehicle used. I was the 2nd owner. I purchased it on the evening of August 18, 2023. On the morning of August 19, 2023, I drove the vehicle for about 45 miles. I reached my destination, got out of the car, and saw what looked like either smoke or dust from under my car. I worried it might be overheating. A bystander told me the car was on fire. I walked forward to see flames coming from the front passenger side below the grill, possibly in the axle. The fire grew aggressively despite attempts to extinguish it. When the fire department arrived within 5 minutes the car was fully engulfed. The damage is so severe that it may be impossible to determine the source and cause of the fire. The dealer and my mechanic performed inspections on the vehicle before I bought it and found everything to be in good working condition.
My key keeps getting stuck in the ignition, and forced me to have to leave the key in the car while I went in to a store, when i got back someone was in my car. I realize that this is a different type of safety issue, but it truly is a safety issue. I am having to leave my key in my car everywhere i do because it doesn't come out, , eventually it will come out randomly but not everytime I shut the car off. this should be a recall issue for Subaru's that have this problem. I have read many complaints about Subaru owners with this issue happpening to them. I am not the only one. Thank You!
Key intermittently stuck in ignition. Unable to lock car doors with key stuck in the ignition. Problem started early on occasionally and now happens nearly every other time and requires a few tries up to 10 minutes of trying to get it out. This is a known issue among my model - Service Bulletin 16-112-18R
- Grand Rapids, MI, USA
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While driving on the highway at about 60mph my 2016 Outback suddenly accelerated much faster. The only way to avoid collision with another car or cars or end up in a ditch was to drive around them. The brake did not work! After a minute or more(?) I eventually was able to stop using the brake.
Motorized power liftgate is failing (diagnosed by dealer on 7/7/23) apparently because motor is undersized or 2 motors should have instead been used/designed to deal with load. Safety issue if motor failure causes trunk not to open. Newer models have been redesigned.
I was in a parking lot at a near-complete stop. I needed to nose the car about 18 inches to move it all the way into the spot. I lightly touched the accelerator to inch the car forward, and it shot forward as if some outside force had stomped on the accelerator. The car jumped the sidewalk and slammed into the wall of the building. The car inner body bent and the car is totaled. The airbags did not inflate. The passenger in the passenger seat sustained a fractured sternum and two broken ribs from going into the seatbelt. The driver sustained a sore neck and dizziness.
THE BATTERY is completely unreliable - I have had 3 batteries since I purchased the car in 2015 - REPEATED RECURRENT DISCHARGE WITHOUT APPARENT CAUSE - SUCH AS LIGHTS LEFT ON - PARASITIC DRAIN IT SEEMS In recent research have discovered this is not a new issue and there is a class action lawsuit settlement - I did not exclude myself and somewhat now wish that I had, in order to attempt to get some buy back incentive from Subaru. Beginning in 2019 - and maybe prior though I had not recognized it as a chronic issue then - I have encountered recurrent issues of complete battery discharge after time periods ranging from 5 to 24 hours. Estimate at least 1 to 2 discharges per month requiring cable jump, and many more times when the car was very difficult to start (almost fully discharged) To minimize risk as consumer I have bought a HALO Bolt - but Subaru should be held accountable to fixing primary cause of this chronic issue for so many of us.
Summary of Electrical system issues: 1.pertaining to battery draining and 2. eyesight randomly goes out and other dash board lights flash and later goes away. As well as, 3. Windows that can not completely close at times. Details: I purchased 2016 Subaru outback - 4 cylinder in 2019 with 64,000 miles. By 2020, the car experienced random dashboard lights indicator flashing that would resolve itself ( flashing light) in a few days. One issue was the eye sight would randomly inactivate while driving and resolve after turning off car for a half day or a day. However it happens often. Dealer Car repair shop said it could not duplicate. Besides the dash board lights issues; the passenger front window and moonroof would not go up to completely close at random times. Rendering the windows useless to use. These issues continued on and off from purchase thru to-date. The biggest issue came in 2021 & 2022, when the battery would drain. A jump of the battery seem to resolve the problem. Auto store would jump battery and show CCA and CA and Alternator output proficient for the battery. On random times the battery would have the same draining issue. I am not convinced it is a battery issue for these incidents. I believe it is related to an electrical issue for all of these issues. Risk: The components installed and advertised by the Subaru brand influenced me to purchase the vehicle over other vehicles because of its safety records and longevity of the vehicle. This is clearly a false and fraudulent marketing. The Subaru has failed to provide my confidence as a consumer of its safety record. I am extremely uncomfortable driving the vehicle more than 30 miles locally because of fear it will breakdown or I will be stranded. Even locally, I have had to purchase a AAA membership at an extra expense to ensure some means of assistance. Recently, within 2 days I have had ti use my membership for a drained battery. I am now seeing many Subaru owners make similar complaints.
I have had two incidents where my battery has died. The first time it happened I had the keys in the ignition, the car was off, while I was talking on my phone. Weird, but I was told not to do that any more. Since than I have made sure the keys were out of the ignition when sitting in the car with the ignition off. We brought a new battery then. The second happened yesterday 10-14-22. I had gone to a business to pick up items. We loaded my car. No keys in the ignition, the car was off. The door and truck were opened for maybe 10 minutes. I get back in the car to start and it-€™s dead, does not even try to turn over.
I have owned this vehicle since July 2016 and in Sep/Oct 2018, Nov 2020, and Sep 2022 I have had to replace my battery. So I have owned my car for just over six years and have replaced my battery three times. My garage states it should last at least 3-5 years per battery.
The rear passenger side child lock will not disengage. The child lock is engaged when the dog is in the back seat and disengaged otherwise. The lock was engaged once and will not disengage. If adults are riding in the back seat and there is an emergency, they are limited to the driver's side to exit. If the driver's side child lock mechanism fails, they will be forced to rely on someone to open the door from the outside. I feel this is a massive safety concern and could be potentially dangerous.
Windshield is very susceptible to cracking. I had a small stone hit our windshield in spring 2020 that made a huge crack in the windshield and required replacement and re-calibration of eyesight which was quite an expense. Yesterday, I was driving and a very small stone hit the windshield and again the windshield is cracked and will need replacing. I was not behind a truck or any construction vehicle and the stone was very tiny. I have never had a replace a windshield before and now this is twice in less than two years.
Experienced intermittent starting problems, with other odd warning light behaviors, including unable to turn them off to try again. I know another 2016 Outback owner that was given a new battery at no charge. I paid $203.60 for new battery on 03/02/2022
I bought this used 2016 Subaru Outback about a year and a half ago from McCords Vancouver Dealership. I've had the battery dying problem ever since I got it. I have had to call AAA for jump starts. I took the car into my mechanic because the "change warning light" had been on when I turned off the ignition the night before, and it was still blinking the next morning when I came out to start the car. He suggested that I go to Costco to get the battery replaced because it was down to only 22% efficient. They declined for several reasons. It wasn't the battery fault, it was the car! I am 92 years old and disabled. I can't get stuck on a freeway with a dead battery. I am still looking for someone to fix it. I bought this car because I assumed that a newer car would be more dependable. Boy was I wrong! I have already spent a lot of money trying to fix it. [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
2016 Subaru Outback (purchased new) with severe electrical problems in the form of (frequent) battery discharge/non-start. This has been a reoccurring issue since early 2017 and is still a problem, even after replacement of the previous battery. I've had the replacement battery tested on several occasions after recharging and the result has always been that the battery is in good operating order. Subsequent alternator tests show the alternator is charging within manufacturer specifications. I've performed multiple tests after fully recharging the batter on several occasions, making sure all electrical accessories have remained (off) for extended periods of time, and the battery continues to discharge. The electrical system has been tested with a professional scan tool, on multiple occasions, and has yielded no adverse results. There has never been any vehicle warning indicators activate to indicate a problem. Today (2/25/2022) I had to have my Outback jump started 3 times in route to my home 65 miles away. The car died on the road shortly after the first jump, and again after turning the car off to refuel. I looked online to see if anyone else has had similar issues and found the battery discharge/non-start issue to be widespread....and Subaru seems to have been aware of the issue as early as 2017 according to a TSB Subaru sent to all dealers alerting of a potential electrical problem, but providing no solution. This is a SAFETY ISSUE. If access to an operable car were ever needed in an emergency situation (or) a vehicle lost power while in operation causing an accident resulting in injury or death due to a documented issue Subaru was aware of, but neglected to address, would be tragic. Not only for owners of the affected automobiles, but also any other parties involved. This issue should be immediately investigated & addressed by the NHTSA. thank you.
on 2/8/22 I brought my car in for service to an independent repair shop. The service was for the 120k standard service. I had been noticing exhaust smells. They checked the exhaust and found "exhaust leak from center exhaust flange, and exhaust leave from exhaust manifold". They recommended a complete replacement of the exhaust manifold "under Subaru recall". They printed the recall for me. It is WUJ-95. Which recalls 2015-2016 outbacks for this issue. When I contacted the dealer they indicated my vehicle was not under this recall. Subaru Customer care indicated the same as did your website. Subaru said that the recall was initiated by NHTSA and that until NHTSA indicated my vehicle was included in the recall they would not repair it. My vehicle has exactly the same issue as what was found for the recall. The only thing I can assume is that my actual 2016 Subaru outback was manufactured after 9/30/15. I cannot find the exact date of manufacture so cannot tell if that is the issue. However, that actual manufacture date should not be controlling as my 2016 outback has exactly the same issue as the recall. If 2016 outbacks manufactured after 9/30/15 have this same issue they should be included in this recall. I am asking you to review this issue and include my vehicle in the recall.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Idaho Falls , ID, USA