2012 SUBARU OUTBACK Complaints

MY CAR SHUDDERS AND DIES WHEN BRAKING. IT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE TO BE A HARD BRAKE. IT'S VERY DANGEROUS. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN OCCURRING IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS. IT HAPPENS WHILE I AM SLOWING FOR A STOP. MY MECHANIC TELLS ME IT IS RELATED TO THE TORQUE CONVERTER, WHICH IS EXPENSIVE TO FIX. I AM AFRAID THAT I WILL BE REAR-ENDED. WITH HIGHWAY DRIVING THIS IS UNBELIEVABLY DANGEROUS. I KNOW THAT SUBARU EXTENDED THE WARRANTY ON THIS ISSUE--ALTHOUGH I ONLY KNEW OF THIS BECAUSE MY MECHANIC TOLD ME. UNFORTUNATELY MY CAR JUST WENT OVER THE 100,000 MILE MARK, SO I'M UNSURE IF SUBARU WILL COVER THE REPAIR NEEDED. I REALLY BELIEVE THIS ISSUE SHOULD PROMPT A RECALL. SOMEONE IS GOING TO GET SERIOUSLY INJURED OR DIE.

: THE TRANSMISSION STARED ACTING UP RANDOMLY IN EARLY FEBRUARY OF 2017. THE TRANSMISSION WOULD SLAM INTO GEAR WHILE SHIFTING FROM 2ND TO 3RD GEAR, ACCOMPANIED WITH A HUGE BANG WHILE THE WHOLE CAR WOULD RATTLE FOR A SECOND OR SO. A VERY SCARY AND UNSAFE SCENARIO BECAUSE IT FELT LIKE YOU WERE BEING HIT FROM BEHIND BY ANOTHER CAR. AFTERWARD, THE CAR WOULD RUN NORMALLY FOR FEW DAYS BEFORE IT REPEATS. SO I TOOK MY CAR TO RALLYSPORT ENGINEERING IN COSTA MESA, CA ON APRIL 10 WHO CONFIRMED MY COMPLAINT AND REPLACED THE VALVE COVER OF THE TRANSMISSION. THE PROBLEM APPEARS TO BE SOLVED UNTIL A MONTH LATER. AROUND JUNE, A NEW TRANSMISSION SHIFTING PROBLEM WAS APPEARING AND GRADUALLY GETTING WORSE. WHEN TRIED TO ACCELERATE SLOWLY WHILE COASTING BETWEEN 3RD TO 5TH GEAR, THE CAR WOULD SHUDDER NOTICEABLY AND HESITATE FOR A SECOND OR TWO BEFORE GOT GOING. THIS IS A VERY SCARY AND UNSAFE SITUATION IF YOU NEED TO ACCELERATE TO AVOID OBSTACLES ON HIGHWAY OR SURFACE STREET. IN JULY, I TOOK THE CAR BACK TO RALLYSPORT ENGINEERING FOR REPAIR. IT CONFIRMED THE SHUDDERING PROBLEM BUT IT COULD NOT IDENTIFY THE CAUSE SO IT REFERRED ME TO SUBARU ORANGE COAST (OC) BECAUSE IT HAS ACCESS TO TECHNICAL SUPPORT FROM A DEDICATED SUBARU FACTORY 'SUPER-TECH'. SUBARU OC KEPT MY CAR FOR FOUR DAYS BEFORE RETURNING TO ME. IT COULD NOT IDENTIFY MY CAR PROBLEM, AND INSTEAD, THE MECHANIC STAFF TOLD ME I HAVE DIFFERENTIAL AND WHEEL BEARING PROBLEMS. I NEED TO FIX THESE TWO PROBLEMS ($1012) BEFORE HE CAN ZERO IN ON THE TRANSMISSION SHUDDERING PROBLEM. I TOLD THE MECHANIC MY CAR SYMPTOM IS VERY REPEATABLE AND HE SHOULD BE ABLE TO DUPLICATE AND IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM WITHOUT REQUIRING ME SPENDING BIG MONEY UPFRONT. HE WAS UNABLE TO HELP BECAUSE THERE WAS NO STORED DIAGNOSTIC CODE TO GUIDE HIM! I COMPLAINED AND SHARED INFORMATION WITH SUBARU OF AMERICA BUT NO AVAIL.

WHEN DRIVING ON FREEWAY, AT ABOUT 60MPH, THERE IS A NOISE IN THE ENGINE, THE SPEED SLIPS FOR A SECOND, THE RPM SCREEN BUMPS LITTLE BIT AND COMES BACK.ABOUT 3 YEARS AGO, THE VEHICLE STOPPED DEAD AT THE STOP SIGNAL. TOOK IT TO THE DEALER, THEY DID NOT FIND ANY CODE AND SAID, BRING IT BACK IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN. IT DID NOT HAPPEN AGAIN, BUT THIS SLIPPING HAPPENED END OF OCTOBER 2018, JUST 2-1/2 MONTHS AFTER THEIR EXTENDED WARRANTY ENDED ON JULY 31,2018 FOR SUBARU'S CVT ISSUE RECALL. SUBARU SAYS, THEY WILL REPLACE CVT, BUT I NEED TO PAY LARGE AMOUNT,THEY WILL WRITE OFF ONLY 2500$. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE IN SUBARU OUTBACK 2012 AND SUBARU IS NOT FIXING MY VEHICLE.

THE VEHICLE BEGAN STALLING FOLLOWING A HARD STOP AND NOW HAS ACCELERATED TO THE POINT OF STALLING OUT EVEN WITH A SOFT BRAKING. VERY DANGEROUS AS THE VEHICLE SHUTS OFF WHEN TRAVELING IN TRAFFIC. HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED BY MY REPAIR SHOP THAT THE TORQUE CONVERTER NEEDS REPLACED. THERE ARE 124K ON VEHICLE NOW. SUBARU APPARENTLY COVERED THIS REPAIR UP TO 100K MILES OR BY JUNE 2018 WITH UNLIMITED MILES. WHY WON'T SUBARU COVER THIS NOW? I AM RESPONSIBLE NOW FOR A LARGE REPAIR THAT IS A KNOWN SAFETY CONCERN BY SUBARU THAT THEY WILL NOT TAKE CARE OF AS THERE IS 24K OVER THEIR WARRANTY REPLACEMENT MILEAGE. I AM DISAPPOINTED.

VEHICLE STALLS UNEXPECTEDLY WHEN STOPPING. LOCAL MECHANIC STATES IT IS A TRANSMISSION ISSUE AND HAS BEEN REPORTED BY MANY OWNERS OF THIS MODEL. I AM JUST OUTSIDE THE EXTENDED WARRANTY AND OVER 110,000 MILES. IT STARTED EARLIER WHEN MY WARRANTY WOULD HAVE COVERED IT BUT SUBARU DID NOT MAKE US AWARE OF THE POTENTIAL PROBLEM AND WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS CAUSING THIS. IT HAS CAUSED SOME CLOSE CALLS WHEN WE SUDDENLY HAVE TO STOP IN TRAFFIC. HAVE ALMOST BEEN HIT FROM BEHIND SEVERAL TIMES. SHOULD BE A SAFETY RECALL ON THIS PROBLEM. HAS BEEN AN ONGOING ISSUE SINCE ABOUT THE MIDDLE OF JUNE AND HAS HAPPENED ALMOST EVERY TIME WE USE THE CAR LATELY. WE ARE ELDERLY AND CAN NOT AFFORD THE EXPENSIVE REPAIR JOB.

'WENT FOR A DRIVE TO RUN ERRANDS AND THEN THE TRANSMISSION STARTED SHIFTING VIOLENTLY IN THE LOWER GEARS. AFTER THE THIRD RED-LIGHT, THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTED SO HARD THAT THE CAR SHUT OFF ON ME. AFTER SITTING ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD FOR A WHILE, I STARTED THE CAR AGAIN AND DROVE IT STRAIGHT TO THE DEALERSHIP. THE DEALERSHIP INFORMED ME THAT IT WAS A CVT TRANSMISSION ISSUE, AND SUBARU WAS AWARE OF THE ISSUE. I WAS QUOTED TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION AT $8000. IN AN EFFORT TO AVOID A RECALL AT ALL COSTS, SUBARU ISSUED A WARRANTY INCREASE TO 100,000 MILES INSTEAD OF 60,000 IN DIRECT RESPONSE TO THE INCREASING COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE CVT TRANSMISSION. THE CAR HAS 103,000 MILES SO IT IS NOT COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY, I TRIED CONTACTING SUBARU AND THEY SAID 103,000 IS OVER 100,000 SORRY. WHAT IS INTERESTING IS THAT UNDER THE MAINTENANCE FOR TRANSMISSION, IT SAYS NO MAINTENANCE IS REQUIRED, TO NOT EVEN CHANGE THE TRANSMISSION FLUID. IF YOU TELL YOUR CONSUMERS THAT THE CVT TRANSMISSION DOES NOT REQUIRE MAINTENANCE, AND TELL THEM NOT TO CHANGE THEIR FLUID AREN'T YOU LIABLE IF THE TRANSMISSION FAILS?

THE TRANSMISSION (CVT) IS BAD (PER 2 MECHANICS WHO HAVE REVIEWED) MAKES WHINING NOISES AND CAN CAUSE CAR TO STALL. THERE ARE MANY REPORTS OF THIS ALREADY ONLINE. SUBARU EXTENDED THEIR WARRANTY BECAUSE THEY KNOW THIS IS A PROBLEM, BUT INDICATED THAT THEY WILL NOT COVER MY CAR (2.5 MONTHS AFTER THE EXTENDED WARRANTY.) THIS WILL COST ABOUT $5,000 TO FIX. THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM BY SUBARU AND SO THE 2012 SUBARU OUTBACK NEEDS TO BE RECALLED BEFORE SOMEONE GET HURT, PLEASE.

DRIVER STARTED CAR TO COOL IT OFF BEFORE RUNNING ERRANDS. IT WAS PARKED ON THE FLAT PORTION OF THE DRIVEWAY. IT WAS IN PARK & I DID NOT TOUCH THE GEAR SHIFTER. I LEFT THE DOOR OPEN TO ASSIST IN COOLING THE INTERIOR OFF MORE QUICKLY AND WENT TO RETRIEVE AN ITEM NEEDED FOR THE ERRANDS. WHEN I HEARD A STRANG NOICE I TURNED AROUND TO FIND MY CAR MISSING. IT HAD REVERSED ITSELF 180+ DOWN THE DRIVEWAY, ACROSS OUR LAWN & ONLY STOPPED WHEN IT HIT A 24'+ TREE. WHEN I REACHED THE VEHICLE THE GEAR SHIFTER WAS STILL IN PARK. INLINE TOWING HAD TO WINCH IT OUT, AND NOTED THAT EVEN THOUGH THE HAD SHIFTED IT TO NEUTRAL THE BACK UP LIGHTS WERE ENGAGED. IT HAS BEEN TOWED TO THE AUTO BODY SHOP FOR REPAIRS. INSURANCE HAS BEEN NOTIFIED.

2012 SUBARU OUTBACK CVT ISSUE CAR WILL SHUDDER WHILE BRAKING FROM HIGHWAY SPEEDS (40 MPH+) DOWN TO 10-20 MPH. CAR LURCHES, SIMILAR TO A MANUAL CAR DUMPING THE CLUTCH. IN THE CASE OF A HARD STOP THIS HAS CAUSED THE ENGINE TO STALL TWICE, AND COME CLOSE TO STALLING MANY MORE TIMES. CAR STARTS UP AND RUNS FINE ONCE PLACED IN NEUTRAL OR PARK. I HAVE TO BE EXTREMELY CONSCIOUS OF HOW QUICKLY I BRAKE, AS YOU CAN FEEL WHEN THE TCC DISENGAGES. IF IT DOES NOT DISENGAGE BEFORE YOU STOP, THE CAR STALLS. THIS LEADS TO POSSIBLE UNSAFE CONDITIONS, NOT KNOWING IF YOUR CAR IS GOING TO STALL OR NOT AT A CRITICAL MOMENT (TURNING LEFT IN A BUSY INTERSECTION). THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN COVERED BY SUBARU'S EXTENDED WARRANTY THAT THEY OFFERED TO COVER THIS KNOWN PROBLEM (SEEMINGLY INSTEAD OF A FULL RECALL), BUT BY THE TIME MY CAR EXHIBITED THESE SYMPTOMS IT WAS WELL PAST THE ARBITRARY 100K MILE MARK AND PAST THE JULY 31ST DEADLINE (MY CAR IS AT 116K MILES, AND THIS STARTED OCCURING IN THE PAST TWO MONTHS). I DRIVE A LARGE AMOUNT OF HIGHWAY MILES, AND RECENTLY I DO NOT FEEL SAFE COMING TO A HARD STOP IF NECESSARY. I DO NOT SEE HOW A KNOWN ISSUE THAT CAN CAUSE THE CAR TO STALL IN TRAFFIC IS NOT CONSIDERED A SAFETY ISSUE THAT NECESSITATES A RECALL.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 SUBARU OUTBACK. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE CRUISE CONTROL, BRAKE SYSTEM, CHECK ENGINE, AND OIL TEMPERATURE WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE ONLY OCCURRED WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING OR REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 136,000.