2011 SUBARU LEGACY Complaints

BRAKE LIGHT FLASHES WHEN IT RAINS AND THE UNDERCARRIAGE GETS WET. LIGHT REMAINS ON AND CONTINUOUSLY FLASHES WHEN THE CAR IS WET. THE PARKING BRAKE IS OFF. THE PARKING BRAKE CANNOT BE TURNED ON WHEN IT IS RAINING EITHER.

MY 2011 SUBARU LEGACY IS EXPERIENCING SHUDDERING AND STALLS WHEN COMING TO A STOP RESULTING IN THE ENGINE SHUTTING OFF. I CAN DESCRIBE THIS CONDITION SIMILAR TO COMING TO A STOP IN A MANUAL TRANSMISSION EQUIPPED VEHICLE WITHOUT DEPRESSING THE CLUTCH. IT IS SEEM SIMILAR TO LIKE THE VEHICLE IS STALLING OR CAUSE IT TO STALL.

THE ENGINE TURNING OFF UNEXPECTEDLY WHEN I AM DRIVING. ESPECIALLY WHEN I GO TO SLOW DOWN. THIS HAS BEEN AN ISSUE SINCE I BOUGHT THE VEHICLE. FROM DAY ONE.

JUST HAD CAR 120,000 SERVICE DONE EARLY AT AROUND 119000 SO MY 2011 CAR HAD JUST BEEN GONE OVER THOROUGHLY. I AM VERY GOOD ABOUT HAVING MAJOR SERVICES DONE BY AUTHORIZED DEALERS TOO. THIS PARTICULAR CAR HAD PREVIOUSLY SHUDDERED WHEN BRAKING ON OFF RAMPS FOR WHICH I WOULD SHIFT CAR INTO NEUTRAL SINCE IT FELT AS IF CAR TRANSMISSION WAS BINDING SIMILAR TO HOW AN OLDER NON SLIP 4 WHEEL DRIVE SYSTEM WOULD "CRAB" AROUND TURNS. I HAD ASKED ABOUT THIS A NUMBER OF TIMES BETWEEN 60K-120K. HOWEVER, NOW MY CAR WAS STALLING WHENEVER I CAME TO A QUICK STOP. TOOK IT BACK TO DEALER WITHIN A WEEK. TORQUE CONVERTER. I LOOKED INTO THIS AND SEE NUMEROUS PEOPLE HAVE BEEN HAVING ISSUES WITH THIS TRANSMISSION AND THIS POWER TRAIN. IT APPEARS THE MANUFACTURER HAS ONLY EXTENDED THE WARRANTY. HAVE ANY DEATHS OCCURRED DUE TO THIS ISSUE? SHIFTING INTO NEUTRAL TO AVOID BUCKING OR ENGINE STOPS ON OFF RAMPS, OR GETTING HIT BECAUSE YOU ARE STATIONARY OR STALLED IN A ROADWAY AFTER BRAKING ARE ISSUES. I AM LUCKY I HAD ENOUGH MONEY TO FIX. THERE APPEAR TO BE MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT IT. I ACTUALLY, BECAUSE I AM AN OLDER (NOT ELDERLY) AND MORE EXPERIENCED DRIVER, DID NOT HAVE ANY ACCIDENT DUE TO THIS ISSUE. BUT, I COULD SEE THIS BEING A ISSUE FOR A YOUNGER DRIVER THAT COULD RESULT IN A REAL PROBLEM ACCIDENT OR DEATH IF THEY HAVE TO FUMBLE TO TAKE THE CAR OUT OF DRIVE TO PREVENT BUCKING OR STALLING. I HAD DECIDED TO INVEST AND MAINTAIN THIS CAR FOR MY 15 YEAR OLD, SOON TO DRIVE, DAUGHTER. HOWEVER AND BECAUSE OF THIS ONE ISSUE, I NOW KNOW IT IS A UNSAFE VEHICLE IF IT CAN THROW A CURVE-BALL AT A YOUNG DRIVER BY STALLING WHEN BRAKING QUICKLY OR IN A PANIC BRAKING SITUATION. HAVING TO SHIFT OUT OF GEAR WHILE STILL MOVING TO STOP OFF RAMP BUCKING OR STALLING IN BRAKING SITUTATION SEEM LIKE THEY COULD LEAD TO ACCIDENTS, DEATHS OR UNCONFIRMED DEATHS DUE TO THIS PROBLEMATIC TORQUE CONVERTER?

CAR SHUDDERS AND STALLS OUT WHEN BRAKING. CAR POSES A SERIOUS SAFETY RISK ON THE ROAD WHEN THIS HAPPENS.

AS OTHER DRIVER COMPLAINS, MY LOW BEAM HEAD LIGHT BULBS (BOTH SIDES) HAVE BEEN BURNED OUT EVERY 6 TO 10 MONTHS. SOMETIMES I NEEDED TO REPLACE THEM IN ICE COLD WINTER OUTSIDE IN THE SNOW. BECAUSE MUD GUARDS NEED TO BE MOVED TO REPLACE BULBS, PLASTIC FASTENERS ALSO NEEDED TO BE REPLACED EVERY SO OFTEN. THIS IS QUITE RIDICULOUS.

THE CAR IS JUST SHY OF 8 YEARS OLD. THE TRANSMISSION FAILED CAUSING THE CAR TO SUDDENLY STOP, SHUT OFF AND LOSE POWER STEERING WHILE TRAVELING DOWN THE ROAD. CURRENTLY THE ENGINE IS LEAKING EXHAUST FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT THAT CAN BE SMELLED IN THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. IT IS ALSO LEAKING HOT OIL FROM THE CYLINDER HEAD ONTO THE LOWER EXHAUST AND LEAKING HOT COOLANT FROM THE RADIATOR. THE EXHAUST AND FLUID LEAKS OCCUR WHEN STATIONARY OR IN MOTION.

I PURCHASED THIS CAR ONE WEEK AGO FROM THE ORIGINAL OWNER, AND WHILE IT TESTED FINE THE DAY I PURCHASED IT, DEPENDING ON HOW I COME TO A STOP AND HOW HARD THE BRAKE IS PRESSED, THE CAR STALLS. THIS PROBLEM WAS EVIDENT ON THE SECOND DAY I OWNED THE CAR, COMING TO A STOP AT A STOP SIGN WHERE I HAD TO BREAK HARDER THAN I WOULD HAVE LIKED. THE ORIGINAL OWNER STATES NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROBLEM. A HAZARDOUS SITUATION SINCE THIS TORQUE CONVERTER MANUFACTURER DEFECT CAUSES THE VEHICLE TO SUDDENLY AND UNEXPECTEDLY STALL WHEN COMING TO A RAPID STOP. ONE WEEK POST PURCHASE, NOW THIS VEHICLE SUDDENLY STALLS AT A STOP SIGN OR STOP LIGHT. IT CAN EASILY RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT. IN 2014 SUBARU PUT OUT A SERVICE BULLETIN RECOGNIZING A DESIGN FLAW IN THE TORQUE CONVERTER AND EXTENDING THE WARRANTY ON THESE VEHICLES TO 100,000 MILES. THE CAR I PURCHASED HAS 157,000. THIS IS NOT A WEAR AND TEAR ISSUE. IT IS A VERY SERIOUS, POTENTIALLY LIFE-THREATENING DESIGN FLAW AND SUBARU NEEDS TO MAKE THIS AN OFFICIAL RECALL, REMEDYING THIS HAZARD. I SPOKE WITH CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS, AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THE EXPENSE WILL HAVE TO COME FROM MY POCKET. I AM IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH MY LOCAL SUBARU DEALER/SERVICE CENTER AND HOPE THEY OFFER TO REMEDY THE SITUATION. SUBARU ABSOLUTELY NEEDS TO MAKE THIS A RECALL ON 2011 VEHICLES. THEY THEMSELVES ACKNOWLEDGED THE DEFECT AND CORRECTED IT ON FUTURE MODELS. IT SEEMS UNREASONABLE THAT THEY ARE HOLDING OWNERS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REPAIR SINCE IT IS NOT DEPENDENT ON WEAR AND TEAR. IT IS A DESIGN FLAW.

WHEN DRIVING AT A HIGH SPEED ON THE HIGHWAY AND THEN COMING TO AN ABRUPT STOP THE CAR STALLED. THE CAR IS AN AUTOMATIC. APPARENTLY SUBARU DISTRIBUTED A BULLETIN NOTING THAT THIS WAS COMMON IN LEGACY AND OUTBACK MODELS MADE BEFORE 2013 (SEE ATTACHED) AND IS DUE TO A TORQUE CONVERTER PROBLEM. THIS SEEMS DANGEROUS AS IT CAN HAPPEN WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY WITH OTHER CARS MOVING AT HIGH SPEEDS. APPARENTLY THIS IS OVER $1500 TO FIX, BUT I BELIEVE SUBARU SHOULD COVER SOME IF NOT ALL OF THE COST. THE CAR IS NOT UNDER WARRANTY AND HAS 147K MILES.

MY CAR HAS BEEN STALLING OUT WHILE IN REVERSE AND WHEN COMING TO A STOP IT WILL SHUDDER AND ACT LIKE IT'S ABOUT TO TURN OFF. MY DEALERSHIP IS TELLING ME THAT IT IS THE TORQUE CONVERTER AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED.