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 went to timmons Subaru in long beach ca.I told them about the tsb-16-90-13R and that my vehicle is doing exactly what that bulletin is showing. I was informed over and over my vehicle was out of warranty. I knew that a wanted them to do the tsb. They refused because their mechanic said it needed a new cvt transmission and they could not do that work. The Outback was shaking and vibrating and have low rpms like it was going to stall. I did not trust timmons mechanic so I took to mckenna Subaru in huntington beach. They did the tsb and now it works great. It did not need a new cvt transmission and timmons mechanic lied to me and wanted to upsell a new cvt transmission and wheel bearing in his report. They refused to listen to me regarding the tsb.
The contact owns a 2010 Subaru Outback. While driving 45 mph, the vehicle jerked back and forth. When the brake pedal was depressed, the engine revved, but the vehicle did not move. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 114,000. The VIN was not available.
Vehicle has begun to randomly stall when coming to a stop on city streets. Has resulted in one near miss of being rear ended. In addition, has begun to stall on the highway at speeds above 50 mph. Car will make wining sound and lose power for a few seconds, but has not complete stalled out.
Cvt transmission shudders & stalls after braking while in motion due to torque converter failure. Upon stopping at stop sign, slowing down to make turn, or starting from a stopped position the vehicle shudders then drifts into intersection and stalls while facing oncoming traffic. Failure of torque converter while at intersections is dangerous and frightening. Subaru refuses to assist in cost of significant repair as it was diagnosed 3 weeks out of warranty despite their pledge to customer satisfaction. This issue should be strongly considered for a recall as a known safety issue to Subaru.
When braking to a sudden stop, the car shudders and stalls similar to the feeling of stalling out in a car with a manual transmission. The local Subaru dealer/service diagnosed the problem as related to the cvt transmission and estimated $2000 to fix. After some research, there was an extended warranty issued for up to 100K or 10 years through July 30, 2018. However, the issue did not start until August of 2018 and my car was well over 100K at that time. There are serious safety concerns in having a car die repeatedly.
- Denton, TX, USA
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Electric parking brake closed during repair of vehicle and would not respond to reprogramming or any attempt to repair. Car was stationary, but unable to release brake resulted in necessary replacement of faulty component. Subaru unwilling to reimburse for part.
When braking to a sudden stop, the car shudders and stalls. It is similar to the feeling of braking without depressing the clutch in a manual car, however this vehicle has an automatic cvt transmission. This happened in an intersection, and there were cars behind me honking as I attempted to restart the vehicle. After some basic research, this seems to happen to many vehicles like this, that have the new cvt style transmission. Subaru did offer an extended warranty because of so many complaints, but this goes beyond that. A recall needs to be issued, it is a major safety issue.
Coming to a sudden stop the vehicle shutters and stalls. Similar to driving a manual transmission and not depressing the clutch, but mine is an automatic. The RPM drops lower than 500. It is always when the car is in motion and trying to come to a stop. The last time it happened I almost ran into a school bus. This made me realize that is a serious safety issue. It has happened at least ten times in the last six months.
The contact owns a 2010 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at 10-15 mph, there was an abnormal burning odor in the vehicle. Additionally, there was smoke emerging from the hood and into the vehicle. The gear shifter was stuck and failed to engage into first gear. The emergency brake warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer muller Subaru (1350 park ave w, highland park, il 60035 (888) 285-8152) where diagnosed that the clutch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact declined to pay for the $1800 fee. The manufacturer was contacted and provided case number: 1-373-484-69104 however no further assistance was provided. The contact stated that NHTSA campaign number: 18V626000 (parking brake) was not received. The failure mileage was 83,000.
Slowing down to under 10mph the car will drop to around 500rpm and will shudder as though it is going to stall. On a few occasions it has actually stalled. I am aware there was an extended warranty to fix the torque converter since Subaru has changed them, but I did not have a warranty on my vehicle and even if I did it is still over 100,000 miles.
While I was on my way home, the car started bucking and all of the warning lights started to flicker on & of on the dash. I was driving on a major highway and thank goodness I was close to my Subaru dealership where I immediately took the car. I was extremely scared! shaking! they took the car right away & told me that it was the transmission - my son researched this and found that there have been many others with the same issues. Apparently my dealer was aware also since they knew right away what was wrong. Cost of repair $1,70.86 + tax! we recently purchased a 2nd Outback B'cause we love the Subaru brand & our dealer. What happened to me is a shameful neglect on Subaru's part since there appears to have been several incidents the same as mine. I thank god that I didn't break down on a major highway or bridge that was on my way home. But mostly, I am grateful that my 19 year old daughter wasn't driving the car when this problem arose! shame on Subaru for not doing a recall on this! very disappointed in the brand. My dealer was exceptional and fixed the car in 1 day! replaced transmission valve body.
Car stopped dead on the freeway while attempting to exit, and again in a major intersection. Car was diagnosed as needing an entirely new transmission at a Subaru dealer and the quoted cost was more than the value of the car. There was an extended warranty attempting to cover up this situation but, as a new owner, I was never notified. The transmission failed within two weeks of the end date of the extended warranty. They should have been forced to issue a recall....none of my family will ever drive this vehicle again because there are no guarantees it will not happen again.
The contact owns a 2010 Subaru Outback. While driving approximately 60 mph, the vehicle failed to engage into sixth gear. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.
When driving and in motion and while applying the brakes, the car makes a shuddering noise and has stalled on numerous occasions at junctions, traffic lights etc., and have had to take diversion tactics to get out of the way of other cars. I have seen this is a common fault with Subaru and apparently has to do with the torque convertor.
After shifting from P to R or D or from D to R or R to D, the car hesitates 2-3 seconds when pulling away. The engine shudders and usually pulls away with no problem. Occasionally, the engine stalls. It will start up again immediately. The torque converter was replaced Dec. 2016, but this problem is actually worse since the repair.
Complaint: Subaru powertrain extended warranty is meaningless because my southern California dealer will not even look at my car to determine whether or not my frequent engine stall problem upon braking is due to a defective torque converter. Or some other cause. My 2010 Subaru Outback has had all recommended services and has only 53K miles. No check engine or other warning lights have turned on. Yesterday, the engine stalled at ten stops in a row and then every other stop til I got home. So far it has restarted but because the problem began only one week ago and is rapidly worsening, I am afraid the engine will soon fail to restart or will die while moving in traffic. My local mechanic will not look at the car because of the Subaru extended warranty since they cannot fix it if it is the powertrain. I don't want to be the first fatality that eventually leads to a recall. Is there any way to have Subaru recall for inspection cars experiencing frequent engine stall problems or other symptoms of bad torque converters to at least confirm or rule out a powertrain defect as the cause?
Car has stalled unexpectedly while driving straight at slow speeds, 4 times over the past year. It shudders, then stalls completely. Restarting immediately has caused another stall when shifting from park to drive. Waiting several minutes has allowed a normal start, although twice this has happened in dangerous, high-traffic spots without an easy shoulder to pull on to.
The contact owns a 2010 Subaru Outback. While driving 25 mph, the engine stalled while approaching a stop light. The contact applied the brakes and the vehicle stopped. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and reverse out of traffic. The contact drove the vehicle to the dealer (john howard Subaru, 1730 mileground rd, morgantown, wv 26505) where it was diagnosed that the transmission failed. The dealer stated that the vehicle could be repaired under the warranty extension. The next day, the dealer called and stated that since the vehicle had a new title, it no longer could be repaired under the warranty extension. The manufacturer was notified at 1-800-782-2783 and did not assist. The failure mileage was unknown. Updated 8/22/18
Occasionally the 2.5 L engine with cvt will appear to almost stall upon decelerating and coming to a stop (at a traffic light, stop sign, etc.). the engine will shudder, the rpms will drop below 700 and then quickly return to normal idle (about 800 or so). Have not yet experienced a stall but have come close. Our car has about 87000 miles and is otherwise in good condition. Our mechanic has been unable to diagnose the problem because this is an intermittent issue, it cannot be duplicated and there are no codes. Other similar posts have indicated that the torque convertor may be the culprit. Considering the quantity of posts, an investigation should be undertaken. Stalling can be a safety problem.
I currently own a 2010 Subaru Outback. I started experiencing the car stalling and shutting off whenever you come to a sudden stop. It happen with my daughter on the main road and she panic. As time when on the problem got worse. I brought it to my mechanic and the problem was diagnosed as a bad torque converter. He advised it will get worse as time go on. I went on a few Subaru threads online and saw that several people were experiencing the same thing. A new torque converter was order from Subaru which had a different part number from the original. Subaru advised that upgrades were made due to previous failure issues with torque converter. Total cost of parts and labor was $1238.78 and was done on 06/20/2017. Few weeks after work was done I received a notice from Subaru regarding extended warranty on transmission work and reimbursement if job already done. I submitted my claim and was denied because my car has a previous salvage history. I fully understand that a salvage history voids the warranty but I feel the torque converter problem should have been done through a safety recall. A failure of a part that can cause a car to stall should be considered a safety issue. New upgraded torque converter by the manufacturer proves their acknowledgment that the previous part has a fault. I am not disputing their warranty policy but disputing that torque converter failure poses a safety issue and I am requesting a reimbursement of money spent in which Subaru has denied. So many other owners salvage history or not have experienced the same issue.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lakewood, CA, USA