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.
Between 2011 and 2019 we have had to replace the rear brakes and rotors for a second time. The original set of brakes and rotors lasted about 31K miles and were replaced in 2015. Now in 2019 the brakes and rotors have failed again and need to be replaced. The mileage driven from 2015 to 2019 is 19K miles. The vehicle is driven 5 days a week and since may of 2019, six days a week. This is beyond ridiculous. Brake pedal when trying to stop, went to the floor faster than they normally would have. That was when I set the appointment to find out why.
Noticed that dome/map lights not working and front time clock out. Then when going to put it in park the engine revved and the brakes would not engage and ran into a fence causing damage to front end of vehicle. Parking break has not worked for some time either.
Driver was attempting to make a turn around in a driveway and needed to stop and switch reverse. The car would not stop and driver was not able to switch gears and hit garage wall.
My 2011 Subaru Outback was brought in for a tire change and upon return, it was found that the brake lines were completely corroded and leaking fluid. Unfortunately, this was found out after I drove it out of the shop and I had no ability to stop whatsoever. Luckily the traffic in the area was light and I was able to pull to the side of the road after putting the car into neutral. The brake lines were corroded beyond belief in the center of the car. Coincidently this issue is known and recalls already occurred in 2014 with 660,000 Subaru. However, my specific year was not a part of this recall. The rest of the undercarriage had minimal corrosions or at least the expected level after 8 years of service. The brake lines themselves had significantly more corrosion and this could have easily lead to an awful accident. This is poor engineering and I believe that Subaru is to blame. I could have been killed because of this issue and Subaru seems unsympathetic. There is no way a brake line in the center of the car should become corroded so quickly. It's reasonable to say that the front left and right or back left and right lines could have been pinched when the car turns, creating a leak of some kind. However, the center of the car and the fitments that piece the brake line together were beyond shot. I find it strange that 2005-2009 Outbacks were covered under the recall but what changed with 2010 and beyond? my guess is that I'm not the only one whos ran into the same issue. The poor engineering with this model is most certainly a safety concern.
Electric parking brake defective. Nothing happens when pushing in the button or pulling. The brake light continues to flash. This feature no longer works, and appears to also effect the hill holder as this no longer works either. Isn't safe to put onto a jack while changing a tire with this function not working as it will roll off the jack.
- Centerville, UT, USA
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I was driving home tonight and the car stalled everything quit working, the car jumped a few times and turned back on. I lost brakes and no steering coming down a 8 % grade. I turned the car back on and it kept doing it. I was out of cell service range so I could not call for help. It was scary. I got home and I see there was a recall but my car is out of that recall range at 100000 miles. I just paid 11,000 for this car. I believe I should not have to pay for this known issue.
In Oct. 2018 Subaru sent me a letter regarding the safety recall wtv-81 (NHTSA id 18V-626). This recall states that the my vehicle's electronic parking brake (epb) may crack over time and that remedy parts are not yet available. It is now March, 2019 and a remedy still has not been found. I have a manual transmission and if my epb fails, this will cause my call to roll away and crash. This is not acceptable. I have repeatedly contacted the dealer and they have no answers for me. I am filing this complaint in hopes that it will push Subaru to actively find a remedy for this recall.
The contact owns a 2011 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving and coming to a stop, excessive force had to be applied to the brake pedal, in order to bring the vehicle to a complete stop. The contact stated that the failure intermittently occurred. The cruise control, overheat, brake and check engine warning lights illuminated. In addition, the contact stated that when at a stop sign if the brake pedal was not steadily being depressed the brake would disengage and the vehicle would accelerate independently. The contact also stated that the electronic emergency brake failed to operate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the torque converter and valve body needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact called Continental Subaru dealer (907) 562-2722, 4900 old seward hwy, anchorage, ak 99503) where it was recommended to replace the transmission and to schedule an appointment. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.
The green light illuminated and would not unlock. I was driving on a city street and the red brake light came on. After an attempt to release the green light it came off on its ow. The same thing has occurred, both the red and green light are on and not going off.
Takata recall" I was driving on the interstate hwy. The car in front of me slammed on brakes, so I stepped on my brakes, car turked to a stop while engine stalled. Dead stop on interstate. Not a good thing. I started it back up, kept driving, when, I came to a safer stop sign. I tried to step on brakes like I had done on interstate and it turked to a stop again stalling. It doesn't seem safe to me. I am glad no one was behind me on interstate or I am afraid it would not have ended well.
The contact owns a 2011 Subaru Outback. While reversing the vehicle, the brakes failed. The contact attempted to shift and turn off the vehicle; however, it would not power down. The failure occurred without warning. As a result of the brake failure, the rear of the vehicle struck a tree. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. After restarting the vehicle, it was fully functional. The contact stated that the failure occurred once previously. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,000. The VIN was not provided.
The contact owns a 2011 Subaru Outback. While driving approximately 35 mph, the ABS, brakes, traction control, check engine, and cruise control indicators remained illuminated. The contact drove home and contacted an independent mechanic who performed a function test of the ABS pump/module and was able to clear all the codes. The failure recurred after one year. The contact called the independent mechanic and was advised to bring the vehicle back. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failures. The failure mileage was 61,986.
I have 103.5K miles and my master cylinder is going out. I was told the 2012 Outback had issues also. While driving the brake pedal went almost to the floor.
While driving, if you have to stop quickly and step on the brakes hard the car engine stalls. This puts the car in jeopardy of being hit from behind and injury to the passengers. This has happened multiple times over the past couple of months at various speeds - both low speed and highway speed.
Twice in July the electronic parking brake would not release. The car was stopped at the time. After about 15 minutes the parking brake would release. After the second occurrence the dash warning light for brakes flashed for about 50 miles. My local dealer diagnosed it as a failed electronic parking control module. This seems to be a problematic design if this were to engage while the car was in motion.
On 06/12/2016, I attempted to actuate the electronic brake, to no avail once again. Parking on a hill is rather risky with this vehicle as the parking brake does not function most of the time, something I have never experienced in 50 yrs of driving using a manual parking brake. So I have made my own parking brake (see attached).
Once again the electronic parking brake is non-functional. The 'brake' light is flashing on the instrument panel and the [xxx] parking brake does not function. My wife says "I need a dependable vehicle". obviously this vehicle does not qualify. The australians and recalled this brake for year 2015 and will probably do same for other years. Attached you will see a list of the diagnostic trouble codes (dtcs) for this problem. It is a long list. This is faulty design, pure and simple. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Canton, NY, USA