10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
3,707 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2020 Subaru Outback drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2020 Subaru Outback Owner Comments (Page 2 of 2)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #11

Apr 072022

Outback

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

On 3 separate occasions, my transmission has switched from automatic mode to manual -€œAuto-stick-€ mode on its own with no input from me. There were no warning lamps or error messages, and the gearshift was still firmly in Drive. This has resulted in 3 near-miss accidents because the car landed in 1st gear even though I was going about 30 mph each time. From my experience driving manual transmission vehicles, I know what happens when a moving vehicle is suddenly jammed into 1st gear-€"it comes to an immediate, violent stop. On all 3 occasions, I was lucky not to have other cars behind me. But I know I won-€™t be so lucky forever. Sooner or later, I will be rear-ended when this happens. I have taken the car to the dealership twice for inspection. They told me that they had never heard of nor seen any vehicle doing what I described. Technicians drove it 7 miles and reported no incidents. I knew it was unlikely to happen on command since it has occurred 3 times in 32,000 miles. They told me that Subaru requires dealerships to reproduce issues before undertaking any repairs. Therefore, they returned the vehicle and told me that it absolutely could NOT change modes unless I had bumped or moved the gearshift. Less than 2 weeks later, the defect happened for the third time. I returned to the dealership and insisted they look further into the problem. I involved the Service Dept manager so that my complaint might be taken more seriously. There is an open recall on the transmission for slipping but they said the 2 issues were unrelated. This time they kept the car for a week and drove it 46 miles. They connected a diagnostic computer to the transmission while driving it. But again, I was told since they witnessed no problems, they could do nothing more. I showed them a blog on Edmunds.com from Subaru owners reporting this exact issue beginning in 2011. Owners have taken this to Subaru many times but new cars still do this. Please help. I-€™m at my wit-€™s end. Thank you.

- Northfield, OH, USA

problem #10

Apr 192022

Outback

  • miles
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V955000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and referred the contact to the NHTSA. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

- Reading, MA, USA

problem #9

Mar 252022

Outback

  • miles
Date: March 25, 2022 - While driving to work, the car shut off. The RAB and eye technology features were disabled. The car indicted the battery was drained. The same day I got the car towed to the dealer. I stayed with the vehicle to find out what was wrong. After a two hour inspection, the Bay Ridge Dealer/Mechanics in Brooklyn, New York indicated that I left something on that drained the battery. I said sir "I did not." He said well the battery is ok and there is no indication that anything is wrong. The next day (March 26,2022) when I was about to start the car - the car couldn't start. I had to get it towed to the dealer and am left without a car.

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

problem #8

Feb 122022

Outback

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

We received the recall notice and do not feel safe driving the vehicle. This problem has the potential to seriously injure or kill someone if the vehicle failed on the highways. They quote May as the earliest time frame that they will begin repairs. This is not an acceptable time frame. Assuming the dealers are prepared in May, there could still be an overwhelmingly long wait list for the needed repairs. This could possibly lead on well into summer before my vehicle is in the shop. What are we to do for transportation in the mean time" Are we to continue driving as usual and risk our lives or those of fellow motorists near us" I would like a mitigating solution as we do not have faith in our safety if we were to operate the vehicle any further.

- Pacific, MO, USA

problem #7

Apr 252020

Outback

  • miles
Since purchase, the transmission occasionally slipped and "clunked". Over the past few months, it has become worse, and now, with increasing frequency, grinds vibrates and shakes. It was taken into the dealership and nothing was done to fix the problem. We feel it represents a clear and present danger that could result in a severe accident.

- Pickerington, OH, USA

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problem #6

Nov 142021

Outback 4-cyl

  • 31,000 miles
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while the driver was driving at approximately 35 mph, the vehicle was maneuvering to the right lane however, the vehicle flipped over landing on the roof. The air bags did deploy. The contact mentioned that the wheel mechanism and driveshaft fell out onto the right side of the vehicle. A police report was not filed. The contact stated that the driver did not sustain any injuries that needed medical attention. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The vehicle was damaged. The dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 31,000.

- Glendale, CA, USA

problem #5

Oct 012021

Outback

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

3 months ago the 2020 Subaru outback required a rebuild of the transmission at about 50K miles. I was told it was due to uneven wear on the tires. They would not fix it until I replaced all 4 tires costing $600 which I did. They fixed the transmission and now it is not working again, the same problem slipping of the transmission.

- Edgewater, FL, USA

problem #4

Jul 202021

Outback

  • miles
I bought my Subaru Outback in July 2020, it-€™s barely one year but I already had two major problems happened to the vehicle. 1. The transmission was broken, it-€™s confirmed by the dealership and they were able to replace the whole transmission system for me. But this concerns me a lot, from safety perspective, if I wasn-€™t able to identify the issue in early stage it could cause malfunction while I-€™m driving and I always have my daughters in my car. 2. It-€™s a barely one year car but my battery drained twice. I have to call road side assistant to jump start. I always make sure to shut all my lights and I don-€™t understand why this keep happening. There was one night I have to drive to the grocery store and my battery died within that 20 minutes while I-€™m in the store. I was waiting for road side assistant for 45 minutes while it-€™s getting dark and my kids are home by themselves.

- Auburn, WA, USA

problem #3

May 232021

Outback

  • miles
Battery died at only 10months old. Left stranded for over 4 hours in remote area since we were camping when it happened. Nothing had been left on in the vehicle. Was able to eventually get a jump start and get vehicle to dealer for check. They found battery deeply discharged and recharged but battery died again 2 weeks later. Battery replaced that time. Fear this could happen while driving if i forget to turn off the auto stop/start system or even cause the car to stall while driving and result in loss of braking or control.

- Medford, NJ, USA

problem #2

Sep 102020

Outback

  • 7,000 miles
My 2020 Subaru Outback is equipped with the "auto-start-stop "feature. From the beginning this feature would routinely not function, displaying the icon indicating auto start stop was disengaged. When attempting to utilize this feature I learn two more deliberately hold down firmly on the brake pedal and I could engage this feature at times. Nine times out of 10 the auto start stop feature does not engage when I stop in drive with my foot on the break at a traffic light or at a stop sign. Very often, the feature turns off my engine and immediately restarts with a rumbling of the engine and an abrupt "kick" to the steering wheel. Even when the feature engages and shuts off the engine as expected, the duration of stop mode is a limited to no more than 20 seconds which defeats the original intended purpose of fuel consumption and emissions reduction. Occasionally at a traffic light, such as when waiting to make a left in front of oncoming traffic, the feature does not engage at first stop and after inching forward and ready to make the turn this feature well abruptly stall the engine and strand me momentarily in front of oncoming traffic.

- Newburgh, NY, USA

problem #1

Jan 022020

Outback

  • 1,322 miles
The car has a faulty electronic system that controls the stability and the adaptive cruise control. Transmission also needs replacement. Problems happen at high speed on freeways. Documented the problem with various youtube footage as follows: Https://www.youtube.com/watch"V=oxojdp_T9li https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=77wurjdtvzk https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=lgql63ldqvi&T=10S https://www.youtube.com/watch"V=0acrlyxyhqi&T=11S

- Chino Hills, CA, USA

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