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 2011 Subaru Outback sometimes shudders while slowing down and has started stalling out at stops. I feel this is quite unsafe. I took it to my local Subaru dealer and they told me it needs a torque converter. They quoted $1459.45 for the repair. The man at Subaru told me it is unsafe to drive, as it may fail while driving and cause an accident.
I purchased my 2011 Subaru Outback at 75,000 miles from hansel Subaru in santa rosa, ca in April of 2017 from a salesman named andre. A couple weeks after purchasing it I took it back to the dealership to get the transmission inspected because it was not driving properly (complaining of hard shifting). After they inspected it they asked me if this was my first cvt and I said yes, they told me that the car needed to learn my driving habits so they did a 're-learn' on the cvt which I had to pay for out of pocket. At this time I had no knowledge of the extended warranty or the cvt transmission the Subaru released in 2014. This should have been disclosed when I purchased the car. When I took it in for the inspection they should have replaced the cvt according to they service bulletin with the extended warranty. A couple weeks ago I'm driving home from ventura at night, traveling 70mph in heavy traffic and out of nowhere all the dashboard lights start flashing and the car suddenly looses power, almost causing the vehicle behind me to rear-end me. The vehicle is at 125,000 miles (just outside the 100,000 mile extended warranty) and Subaru is refusing to provide any assistance with a new transmission. Now I'm stuck with a repair bill of $8000 on a vehicle I still owe $10,000 on. This should be a recall, the passenger and I could have been injured or killed in a freeway pileup.
Car has been exhibiting intermittent low idling while parked or while stopped at red light and stop signs. About 3 days ago, on three separate trips my Outback shuddered and shaked quite violently when stopping for oncoming traffic as I was attempting to turn. When I depressed the gas pedal to make the turn, the car continued to shudder and stalled amidst the three lane oncoming traffic. I restarted the car and gently depressed the gas pedal to hobble my way into a parking lot. I made my way back home fully aware of how the car behaved to avoid incident, but also leaving me afraid for my family's safety. I immediately scheduled a service appt at the Subaru dealership. The car didn't exhibit any of the previous issues on my drive to the dealership. After agreeing to pay for the diagnosis fee, the service rep explained to me that I needed to replace the torque converter, which would cost me over $2000. I felt like I had no choice but to authorize the repair, so I did. After leaving my car at the shop to return home I had the opportunity to conduct some quick research about the torque converter as it pertains to my model year car. There have been numerous complaints filed to NHTSA and Subaru of America about this issue. I recently purchased my Outback used (second owner) at 145,000 miles in late May 2019. Extended warranty expired 8 months prior to my purchase. I took the car to the dealership to check for any outstanding recalls upon my purchase. But since the extended warranty (as a result of technical bulletin 16-90-13R) isn't an actual recall, nothing was flagged. There was absolutely no way for me to be aware of this until the problem revealed itself, now leaving me with a potentially hazardous (if not deadly) situation if not adequately remedied by the dealership. I'm currently working with Subaru of America to see if they'll cover the expense.
Around 12pm on 8/28/19, my 2011 Subaru Outback stalled in the middle of an intersection as I was coming to a fast stop to allow an approaching ambulance to turn. I could not restart my car before the light changed, leaving me stranded in the flow of the intersection, unsure whether to continue through against the red light or stay put as cars drove by from both sides, a frightening and dangerous experience that left me shaken. As my safety was threatened by this incident, I notified Subaru of America by phone on 9/6/19. I was contacted by antoine laval (customer/retailer services dept.) and will have an appointment with my Subaru dealership at 1pm on 9/13/19 to have the transmission evaluated. My car has been shuddering/stalling intermittently for months, and it is now clear that this is due to the faulty cvt issue referenced in the letter sent to me June 2017. Although the letter states that "for vehicles that are more than ten (10) years old or have more than one hundred thousand (100,000) miles, inspections or repairs under this one year coverage period must be completed on or before July 31, 2018, " I am petitioning Subaru of America to fully cover the cost of repair/replacement of the faulty transmission in my Subaru as compensation for being placed in the dangerous situation of being stranded in the middle of an intersection in cross traffic.
My car stalls when I brake suddenly. This happens randomly and has almost caused be to be involved in several accidents. Just this morning my car died after braking on the highway and I was nearly rear-ended.
- Berlin, CT, USA
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When braking the car starts to shake and then stalls. You then need to put the car in park and restart. If you apply the brakes and feel the car shaking, sometimes letting off of the brake it will keep it from stalling. It is still an unsafe situation.
This is a new complaint after Subaru agreed to replace the transmission at no cost to us, the original owners. The car was dropped for diagnosis on 7/29-told that it needed a new transmissions, parts ordered, and service scheduled. Subaru had the car for just over two weeks. Picked up on 8/13 and experienced the same issues that we had prior to dropping it off. Hesitation and stalling, etc. See previous complaint. Now they want us to drop it off for service again.
The car stalls when coming to a fast stop and sometimes shudders like it is going to stall when slowing down. This was horrible on the freeway during traffic as I had to restart my car numerous time. Got close to getting rear ended a few times. I took my car to Subaru and it is a common problem but instead of doing a recall they extended the warranty to 100,000 miles. My car now has 103425 and not covered. It started around 102250 miles while in California on my way back home. I had to pay $2490.59 to have a safe car to drive. This is a major safety issue when it comes to transmission stalling while driving. How is it even legal that this isn't a recall.
The contact owns a 2011 Subaru Outback. While driving various speeds, the vehicle started to vibrate abnormally without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the continuously variable transmission failed and the vehicle should be taken to an authorized Subaru dealer for repair. The vehicle was previously diagnosed at heritage Subaru owings mills (located at 9808 reisterstown rd, owings mills, md 21117, (866) 738-1475); however, the mechanic was unable to retrieve a fault code or duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
Within owning the vehicle for approximately 6 months, the vehicle began shuddering when coming to abrupt stops. This continued and by approximately 11 months, the shuddering had become more common in less abrupt stops and in some cases would stall the car. The issue remains persistent, however intermittent. The most recent time of it stalling was two days ago, approximately 18 months into owning the car. I've held up traffic numerous times due to this issue while having to restart the car, however this most recent time, it occurred on a steeper hill and, had I not reacted quickly with the brakes, I could have rolled back into a car and potentially injured the occupants and myself.
Car would shudder when coming to a stop occasionally and feel like it was going to stall. I brought it to a mechanic who couldn't replicate the problem. After months of this happening randomly, the car suddenly lit up with all these dash warning lights, I tried turning the car off and back on but the lights remained on, afterwards the car would suddenly lose power. As it was late in the evening, I drove home, with the car alternating between lurching forward and losing power. The next morning the problems continued. I took my car to my mechanic who said it was a transmission issue and I needed a transmission shop. My car has been there for over 2 weeks. They said that there was damage to the transmission and that this is a common problem with these cars, I have yet to receive an estimate for repairs. The day before the issues started I had to drive an hour and a half away, should these issues had happened on the highway, the car could have stalled out doing highway speeds and caused a major accident. Furthermore, I was never notified of the warranty extension. I purchased the car in December 2017, the shuddering occured at random since I purchased it, I known the shuddering was a symptom of a impending large, catastrophic issue, I would have been able to bring it to a dealer to have it repaired as the warranty extension expired July 2018.
Car hesitated while driving, rpms soared. Lights came on dashboard-check engine light, brake lights, traction control system lights as well as other lights. Took to local mechanic who advised the code related to transmission issues, he reset code and asked us to drive for a few days to see if it would come on again. It did. Same code. Contacted Subaru of America who advised it would need to go to a "authorized Subaru dealer" for diagnosis before they could help us. Research indicates that Subaru extended the warranty on these vehicles for this exact problem to 10 years, 100,000 miles. The person I spoke to at Subaru, martina brown indicated that once it was diagnosed that they would be able to review the claim and help us out, so we drove the car to our local Subaru dealer. Car was driving fine when it was dropped there. After diagnosis, it was confirmed that the transmission needed to be replaced, but they refused to do it at no cost. In fact, they offered us 1K toward the purchase of a new Subaru. What a joke, I can't even believe they would have the audacity to make an offer like that. We'd already been offered way more than that as a trade for a new vehicle elsewhere, but didn't take the offer because we were under the impression that Subaru would do the right thing and fix it. The car is under the 10 years, but over the 100,000 miles. I feel that Subaru should fix it at no cost since they knew this was an issue. There should have been a recall on this issue as it is a safety issue. They should be made to pay for these repairs. Please advise what options I can pursue to get this fixed at no cost to me, the original owner of the vehicle.
When driving the check engine light/traction control light came on and stayed on while the cruise control and the parking break light began flashing. Lately I've noted the vehicle shuttering when slowing and almost stalling out. This is at stop lights/stop signs or driving out of the driveway. After taking it to the dealer they confirmed the valve body needed replacement...and that this is a known issue with over 1.5 million Subaru affected. Could also be a torque converted issues, however, my dealer didn't mention this. I've contacted Subaru as there was an extended warranty to 100K miles however, my car has just slightly more than that. It sounds like this is a known issue and creates anxiety to drive in traffic not knowing if your car will simply stall out and have someone hit you. This issue has been happening for a little bit of time (maybe 6 months?) with no lights showing issues. The car has been maintained consistently and on time since I bought it new.
Engine will abruptly stall due to low idle when coming to a stop or starting from a stop. Additionally, when starting from a stop, vehicle will shudder and lose power as if the transmission is not shifting. Dtc codes 2762, 2764, and 0700 are present indicating a problem with the unlocking of the torque converter. Vehicle has 152,000 miles. This is a serious safety issue when the car stalls unexpectedly in traffic. It is a known issue to Subaru, and it is only a matter of time before someone is injured or killed because of this manufacturing defect. A recall needs to be issued!
When traveling with cruise set car has stalled/stuttered. It also has an extreme stall/stutter when coming up to a stop or taking off from a stop. This has been a safety concern due to drivers around me needing to react to the sudden change of speed.
While slowing down the car starts to shutter then stalls out when my speed is under 15 mph. I believe it's the torque clutch converter. I have to restart car in traffic. This happens every time I slow down weather its at a stop light or just turning.
Stalled at highway speed causing very dangerous situation. Check engine light and brake light, stability control light and at temperature lights flashing. Read so many known issues of this happening to others. We are under the 10 years but slightly over the 100,000 miles. I would think they would be willing to fix the issue at no charge. I am the original owner of vehicle. Engine had to be replaced 4years ago. That was covered under the extended warranty that we had purchased. I would like to say good things about Subaru, but will be unable to do so if they don't fix this issue at N/C. transmission problem probably
Was driving my Outback in interstate traffic going the speed limit. Accelerated slightly to go up a hill and the car "lost power". wouldn't accelerate. Speed dropped fast and I had to quickly pull over to keep from being "run over" by vehicles behind
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Joplin, MO, USA