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 turning around a bend, going approximately 35mpg, when the wheels no longer were turning as if not responding to the direction of the wheel, almost like it was operating independently of the steering column. The automobile slammed into the curb on the left of the road, damaging the alignment.
When trying to put the vehicle in park, the key will not release from the engine. After 10-15 minutes of trying, finally it will release, but in reading forums, thousands of customers have had similar issues. It seems to be a very known problem.
Key gets stuck on ignition switch when I turn car off and put it in park. Key will not release from the steering column. It takes several minutes, some times up to 20 minutes for the key to release from the column. Vehicle needs to be started and turned off several times before key releases. This has been happening for a few weeks now, very frustrating and dangerous as having to start and stop the vehicle has drained the battery twice now and I have had to get the vehicle jump started. Hopefully this does not happen in the middle of no where.....
Currently at least a couple times a week, my key gets stuck in the ignition while shutting off vehicle to park. You can turn the vehicle off, but you can't remove the key. If I fiddle with the shifter and rotate the steering wheel, restart the vehicle, and shift it into drive, and then slam it back into park, then I can turn the vehicle off and the key will come out.. but sometimes I have to repeat the procedure a few times. This started when vehicle was approx a year old and I thought that maybe I had the steering wheel not in the correct location for the key to be removed as time passed the problem gradually got worse. I then did some research and found that a lot of others have experienced this same issue.
- Clinton Twp, MI, USA
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Difficulty turning the cars ignition into the off position to remove key. Key stocks in ignition and car stays turned on in accessory mode. Often takes up to 6 times restarting and stopping to get key to release. Dealer claims it is the computer relay that isn't recognizing that the car has been put into park. This is when the car is stopped.... this has been going on since approximately may of 2019 to current. At first it was only occasionally but reached the point where it happened 9 times out of 10.
Driving at around 40 miles per hour and suddenly lost control of the steering wheel. The steering wheel became very loose and unresponsive. It was very dangerous. Took to dealership right away and they couldn't figure out anything.
Key gets stuck in the ignition. Can't remove the key regardless of pushing, turning, putting parking break on, parking break off. Have been stuck with road side assistance four times this black Friday weekend. So wrong. Read several other complaints concerning this issue and steering wheel issues. Subaru should recall the 2016 Outback prez 2.5I and premium 2.5I. Duds for ignitions. Safety issue while traveling and safety issue if car can't be left unattended. Have to wait until Monday morning to see if I can get an appointment to get it fixed so I can make it home safely and get the key out of the ignition when I get there. Love scooby but this seriously stinks.
I was traveling on I49 at ~60 mph, in light rain, and non freezing temperature. I was on a straight stretch of road with cruise control off. The tires were in good condition. I was approaching brush creek bridge and holding the steering wheel steady and straight. The car started to drift left and steering was not responding. The rear of the car started to get ahead of the front and the car was going sideways. As soon as the car stared to drift, I took my foot off the gas and tried to regain steering. When sliding sideways on the bridge, I cut the steering wheel in the direction the car was sliding. At that time, the car regained some steering capability and oversteered to the right side of the bridge, traveling sideways against a cement barrier until stopped. The air bags never deployed. There was extensive front end damage amounting in ~$10000 in repairs. The car started and was driven home after the incident. Although it was raining, there was no indication that the accident was related to any traction loss and the traction light was not activated. I think the existing steering recall may have impacted more vechicles than previously thought. I suspect that the steering is defective and the existing sterling recall did not catch all of the affected vehicles. I also found it surprising that no air bags deploys, even though this was a high impact crash. I had bruising in my sternum, knees, elbows and along the seat belt path.
I was unable to remove the key from the ignition switch with the car stopped and the car was in "park" position. The car remained in the "accessory" ignition position (electrical accessories remained on) because the key would not go to the ignition lock position. I was therefore unable to lock the car steering or leave the vehicle unattended unless I had a separate set of keys with me. Even with another set of keys, the car's electrical system remained on and the car would easily be stolen or driven by an unauthorized user. I took the car to a Subaru dealer and they repaired the car under warranty after a few days waiting for replacement parts. The dealer told me this is a known defect with Subaru of America.
When making steering corrections as you drive, the steering makes the car very to the left or right as you make slight steering corrections. The problem is very noticeable at high speeds. The vehicle sways allot to the left or right as you make steering corrections. The problem happens consistently under slight acceleration or deceleration. I would describe as a dead zone when steering. At speeds between 55 and 75 the vehicle came very close to side sideswiping another vehicle.
Interstate driving. 65 mph. Nighttime driving. Cruise control off. Subaru eyesight steering correction off. Three adult passengers. No luggage. No extra weight. Thule roof cargo container secured to the roof racks. Sudden encounter of ice on road. Significantly degraded steering capability. We were driving on interstate 1-90 and encountered an unexpected long patch of ice on a straight section of road. It was very smooth ice without snow cover. The car felt like the rear end wanted to come around and I had to counter steer to keep the car straight. I immediately let off the accelerator and did not touch the break. The car then became extremely difficult to steer. It felt like the car was caught in deep ice ruts, bouncing back and forth from left to right. There were no ice ruts; the ice was smooth. The motion of the car was severe enough that the motion woke passengers. I lost all confidence that I could steer the car. I did not touch either the accelerator nor the gas. I was only trying to regain steering. I eventually coasted to 40 mph before I could regain control. I have driven on ice for 25+ years and have never encountered a car like this. It felt like the car was trying to steer itself and then trying to correct itself for an over steer. This led to another correction by the vehicle. This back and forth "micro" auto correction made steering extremely difficult. This is a very dangerous car. Car has < 10,000 miles. No wrecks. Good condition. Tires in excellent condition. All tires at recommended tire pressure (40 psi) the morning before in incident. There is something fundamentally wrong with this car. It is a serious and dangerous problem.
The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Outback. While driving 60 mph with the cruise control activated, the vehicle veered to the left without warning. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 1,400.
The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Outback. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 16V292000 (steering). The contact left three messages with the dealer concerning part availability, but did not receive a response. The contact's vehicle remained parked for weeks. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
I was trying to leave a parking space in a wet Saturday night at a neighborhood shopping mall. After I backed up the car, I switched the gear to D trying to leave the space. However, the car simply doesn't move. To regain control, I turned off the engine and restarted the car.
I tried to make a left turn at a traffic night leaving a school parking lot on a Saturday morning. The car was at a full stop before making a left turn. The speed was about 10-15 miles/hr, just very slow. My Subaru didn't response to my steering. Instead of making a 90 degree turn, I was stuck at 30, 45 degrees angle. To avoid hitting something, I turned off the engine. After I restarted the engine, I then can regain my control.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Portland, OR, USA