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.
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.
3 weeks ago the all of the warning lights came on. Had vehicle towed to dealership. Could not find out what was wrong. Saw there was a lot of carbon build up which was unusual since there is only 26,000 miles on vehicle. After a week a dealership a cleaning took it home. Went back the next day. They inspected and stated it was the spark plugs and needed new fuel injectors. Had replaced. Everything still covered. Picked vehicle up finally after 17 days of it being there. When picking it up the paper work stated the vehicle had cylinder 1 misfires 30-45 times in a 3 hour period. But was assured the vehicle was repaired and fully inspected and 100% safe. Within 24hrs of driving the vehicle. The next morning we drove to school and with after the second light we smelled smoothing rolled windows down and but was sure if it was us. Then had slowed down to turn at the next light to turn to pull over but didn-€™t get that opportunity before a boom and smoke and flame came and i rushed out of the car and took immediate action and got my 4 year old out of her car seat. Before the whole car was up in flames. I have heard that similar vehicles had similar issues but have had other repairs to deal with it.There was no lights that came on in the vehicle to warn us that something was wrong so thought the smell was from outside. Insurance and the auto maker are inspecting but i had to alert the automaker the dealership wasn-€™t going to. They stated that the insurance and automaker will just compare notes.
The EyeSight system will randomly not load at times and need to be reset for Rear Automatic Braking and other EyeSight safety features to become available. This usually only occurs within 30 seconds of engine startup but always occurs when plugging in a phone with Android Auto (a phone with Apple Car Play has never been used for verification). Warning message is displayed on driver's side message center stating EyeSight, RAB, and other safety features are not available. Reproduction of problem is difficult as it seems random.
My car stalled at a stop light when I attempted to go when the light turned green. The car was in auto shut off mode so the engine was not running at the time. When I took my foot off the brake to go, the car didn-€™t restart and started shaking and all the lights on the dash came on. There was also a piercing warning sound and the infotainment screen showed that the -€œeyesight -€œ and all other driver assistance program were off but my audiobook continued to play. I tried restarting the car but it would not restart. I put the car in park and tried to get it to turn off but it wouldn-€™t. Since I was at a light and cars were behind me, I put on my hazards and waited a few minutes and got the car to restart and to get that noise to stop, sounded like a siren. My fuel warning had just come on but it indicated that I had 50 miles so not sure if it has anything to do with it?
The sixth time the car has failed to start due to dead battery. 3 of the 6 were times when the car was driven less than 5 miles and only turned off for a short duration.
- Asheville, NC, USA
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11/10/21 first incident: vehicle stalled in middle of dangerous busy road intersection: would not start. After about 15-20 min, it restarted. Drove to Dealer who reported: "battery low, taking too many short trips running down the battery. Many codes found. all referring to low battery". 11/16/21 second incident in remote beach parking lot. After a 30-45 min walk, vehicle would not start. solenoids clicked, engine turned over a few times, but would not start. 15-20 min later, was able to start. Drove to dealer and left vehicle. Tech wondered if problem was maybe not the battery, possible loose wire, but none found immediately. Left car with them. 11/17/21: Dealer called: "bad fuel pump overheating and stopping. once cooled down would run again." Ordered a new part will be here in 2 days. I am not sure of their explanation since the car had a long time in the cold for fuel pump to cool down. If they are right, then the fuel pump must be defective from manufacturer.
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while enter a freeway the speed suddenly reduced to approximately 15 MPH. The vehicle failed to exceed 15 MPH. Additionally, the vehicle lurched forward and would not immediately stop while depressing the brake pedal. During the failure several warning lights had illuminated including the check engine, brakes, and stability control. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who reprogrammed the computer however, the failure continued. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 23,000.
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.
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 65 mph when multiple warning lights were illuminated and a "Stop Driving the Vehicle" message was displayed. The contact stated he was able to drive to a nearby gas station. The contact stated while inspecting under the hood, he noticed the drive belt was shredded. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the drive belt to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated in February of 2021, the tailgate failed to open with the key fob or manually. The contact stated after opening the tailgate, it failed to latch and close properly. The contact stated the tailgate ajar warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was called and made aware of the failure. The dealer informed the contact to disconnected the battery. The contact followed the instructions and stated the tailgate was functioning properly but in May of 2021, the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed to Royal Moore Subaru (1326 SE Enterprise Cir, Hillsboro, OR 97123: (503) 640-5660) where they were unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired but was pending repairs. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 7,500.
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.
In the first year of ownership of my 2020 Subaru Outback, I have experienced many glitches in the operation of the electronica safety devices. The latest has been returning to the car and finding the battery fully discharged despite nothing being left in the "on position". yesterday, after fully charging the battery, four hours later the battery was found to be fully drained. I boosted the car and began to drive it when at the first traffic light the auto-start-stop feature shut the car off and I could not re-start in the middle of an intersection.
Battery repeatedly dies after very short periods of time, no lights left on or doors left open. Vehicle battery has died a total of 4 times in 7 months when left overnight.
On 3 occasions the car would not start after being driven. The dashboard lit up, radio worked, but no starter or engine noise. Subaru says there is nothing wrong with the car or battery. This appears to be a common Subaru problem.
Auto on-off function shuts off engine when vehicle stops in traffic for any reason. The engine is to restart when driver steps on accelerator...however this is not always the case. Many times the engine fails to start which causes the driver to believe the accelerator needs more pressure. When the engine does finally start the car leaps forward since it is still in forward gear. This forward leap is very dangerous since ithe leap is totally unexpected. Most drivers turn off this function however the driver turn off selection is voided once the car is turned off. The driver must remember to cancel this auro-off function every time the car is started Subaru has received many complaints about this function and has decided to relocate the off-on icon to a front screen rather than the previous 3rd screen. The correct fix would seem to be once the driver selects to shut off this function it should not override the off selection unless initated by the driver. Once I shut off my radio it stays off until tirned on again. Subaru service program wri-20 janurary 2021
Wife reported car stalled when making a turn after stopping. While turning she said it felt like the car was not getting any gas and had no power. She let the vehicle roll to a stop on the side of the road. She said it took several attempts for the car to start back up. This happened 3 times today during a trip to the dentist in the city of lynchburg, Virginia. I called terry Subaru of lynchburg when she got home and reported the problem. They told me to bring it in tomorrow to have it checked out.
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving 45 mph exiting the highway, the vehicle started to shake then stalled. The check engine, oil and battery warning lights illuminated. The contact put the vehicle in park quickly. The contact was in the middle lane with no shoulder. The contact waited thirty seconds to restart the vehicle. The started to shake again. The vehicle was unable to restart. The tow truck operator attempted to restart the vehicle but was unable to. The vehicle was towed to reynolds' Subaru (268 hamburg rd, lyme, ct 06371) however, the mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle remained at the dealer. The contact mentioned that the dealer informed her that national Subaru informed them to return the vehicle because they were unable to duplicate the failure. The contact mentioned that she dis not want to drive the vehicle because she transported her grandchildren in the vehicle. The contact also mentioned that the vehicle remained at the dealer for two weeks and a day still unrepaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case number was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 10,950.
Was driving Subaru Outback, came to a red light and car stopped as it's designed to do. When light turned green, car stalled and never started again leaving me on a 3 lane highway called route 19 in hudson Florida.
There is no way to disable the auto start/stop system. In Florida the temp can get over 95 degrees. After 10-15 seconds of the car being off the car starts to heat up. My wife who has breathing problems starts having problems. I have ask the dealer to permanently disable this feature but they said no. You can do it each time you start the car but it is several screens deep on the information system. People who do not drive the car often (like my wife) would have trouble turning this feature off and could pass out sitting at a light. I recommend Subaru offer a way to disable this feature for people who have breathing issues. At a very minimum they need to move the disabling of this feature on every start to the main information screen where anyone can find it.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Northfield, OH, USA