2008 SUBARU OUTBACK Complaints

AIRBAG LIGHT IS INTERMITTENTLY COMING ON WHILE DRIVING. CHECKED ONLINE AND FOUND OUT THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM. WHEN LIGHT IS ON VEHICLE AIR BAGS WILL NOT DEPLOY IN AN ACCIDENT. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THIS PROBLEM WAS NOT HANDLED BY SUBARU AS A VOLUNTARY RECALL. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. *TR

AIRBAG DASH LIGHT ON RENDERING AIRBAGS INOPERABLE. NO CRASH. FAULT IN PART. SIGNIFICANT SAFETY ISSUE. WHY NO RECALL. *TR

THE AIRBAG LIGHT ON THE DASHBOARD CAME ON. I ALSO NOTICED THE LIGHT THAT SHOULD HAVE INDICATED THAT THE PASSENGER AIRBAG WAS OFF WAS NOT LIT. THE AIRBAGS WILL NOT DEPLOY WHEN AIRBAG LIGHT IS ON. AFTER RESEARCHING, I FOUND SEVERAL PEOPLE WITH THE EXACT PROBLEM AND THAT IT IS RELATED TO FAULTY WIRING IN OVERHEAD MAP LIGHT CONSOLE THAT CONTAINS THE PASSENGER AIRBAG INDICATORS. I PURCHASE A NEW LIGHT CONSOLE AND THE PROBLEM WAS FIXED. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE THE AIRBAGS WON'T DEPLOY AND SHOULD BE FIXED BY THE MANUFACTURER. *TR

THREE FAILED WHEEL BEARING BY 100K. ONE AT 30K, THE SECOND AT 67K. THE THIRD AT 90K. THE DEALERSHIP COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING AT 90K. AT 103K, THERE IS A HALF INCH OF PLAY IN THE FRONT PASSENGERS SIDE WHEEL AND IT SOUNDS LIKE A JET AIRPLANE. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE THAT IS NOT BEING TAKEN SERIOUSLY BY SUBARU OF NORTH AMERICA. IF THIS BEARING FAILED AT HIGHWAY SPEED IT WOULD BE CATASTROPHIC. *TR

AIR BAG LIGHT IN DASHBOARD COMES ON AND AIRBAG LIGHT IN OVERHEAD CONSOLE DOES NOT DISPLAY PROPER INFO. 55000+ HITS IN INTERNET POINT TO BAD SOLDER JOINTS IN OVERHEAD CIRCUIT BOARD. ONCE LOOSE RESISTORS ARE RE-SOLDERED PROBLEM GOES AWAY. DEALERS ARE CHARGING UP TO $500 TO REPLACE OVERHEAD CONSOLE. THIS PROBLEM OF BAD SOLDER JOINTS GOES OVER SEVERAL MODEL YEARS. WHY HAS THERE NOT BEEN A SAFETY RELATED RECALL OVER AIRBAG ISSUES WHICH EXPIRE WHEN WARRANTY EXPIRES? THERE SHOULD BE NO EXPIRATION DATE ON SAFETY! *TR

THE PASSENGER AIRBAG LIGHT SHOWS TO BE "OFF." I RECENTLY PURCHASED THIS CAR AND HAVE AN ELDERLY FRIEND IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. IN MY CONCERN, I SEARCHED OTHER SITES AND FOUND THAT OTHERS ARE POSTING THIS ISSUE ON VARIOUS SITES. FROM WHAT I READ, IT'S NOT CLEAR IF THIS MEANS THE PASSENGER AIRBAG IS NOT WORKING. I CHECKED RECALLS AND SEE THAT JULY 4, 2014 A RECALL WAS PUT OUT FOR THIS PROBLEM ON CERTAIN SUBARU MODELS OF YEARS 2003 AND 2004. FROM THE COMMENTS I'VE READ, PARTICULARLY ABOUT THE 2008 OUTBACK, THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL FOR THIS ISSUE FOR 2008 OUTBACK. *TR

VEHICLE STARTED SHOWING SIGNS OF ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS 2 MONTHS AGO WHEN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR HOMELINK WOULD ONLY HAVE POWER INTERMITTENTLY. PROBLEM PROGRESSED TO THE REVERSE LIGHTS AND NOW AFFECTS THE HEADLIGHTS. THE HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT AT NIGHT AS I WAS LEAVING A PARKING LOT, A DEFINITE HAZARD. HAVE RESEARCHED THE PROBLEM ON SUBARU ONLINE FORUMS AND DISCOVERED THAT THE PROBLEM IS THAT INDIVIDUAL WIRES IN THE WIRING HARNESS HAVE A TENDENCY TO CRACK AND BREAK AT THE JOINT BETWEEN THE BODY AND THE LIFTGATE. THIS VEHICLE HAS 2 COMPLETELY BROKEN WIRES AND MOST OTHERS WITH BREAKS IN THE INSULATION. OTHER OWNERS DESCRIBE SIMILAR PROBLEMS. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT INTERMITTENTLY ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 84,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 89,400. UPDATED 08/25/14*LJ

THE RADIO AND HEATER, A/C AND DEFROSTER CONTROLS ARE ALL ONE PIECE IN MY CAR. THE DISPLAY SCREENS ON BOTH GO BLANK WITHOUT WARNING. WHEN THIS HAPPENS NOTHING WORKS, MOST IMPORTANTLY THE DEFROSTER WHEN YOU BAD WEATHER WHILE DRIVING. THE OUTPUT TEMPERATURE AND FAN SPEED CANNOT BE CHANGED AND THE DEFROSTER CANNOT BE TURNED ON OR OFF. THE FACTORY RADIO-A/C CONTROL UNIT WENT BAD AND WAS USELESS. SUBARU WAS UNABLE TO PROVIDE SERVICE PARTS SINCE IT IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE NEW, ONLY AS A REBUILT UNIT, AND SUBARU HAS NO CORES TO REBUILD NOR DO THEY KNOW WHEN THEY WILL GET ONE. I BOUGHT A USED RADIO-A/C UNIT FROM A JUNKYARD AND INSTALLED IT ABOUT A YEAR AGO. NOW THIS UNIT IS STARTING TO GO BAD. I HAVE CONTACTED PANASONIC TO FIND AN AUTHORIZED REPAIR FACILITY AND THEY CANNOT IDENTIFY MY RADIO EVEN WITH THE NUMBERS ON THE TAG THAT SAYS MADE BY PANASONIC, SO THEY CANNOT TELL ME WHERE I CAN GET IT REPAIRED. SUBARU HAS BEEN JUST AS USELESS. I CAN LIVE WITHOUT A RADIO, BUT WHEN MY WINDSHIELD FOGS UP AT 60 MPH AND I CANNOT TURN THE DEFROSTER ON OR IT'S 20 DEGREES OUT AND I CANNOT TURN THE HEAT ON, THIS BECOMES A SAFETY ISSUE. I CHECKED A SUBARU OWNERS WEBSITE AND FOUND NUMEROUS PEOPLE WITH 2005-2008 MODELS SAYING THEY HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. I HAVE OWNED THE CAR SINCE NEW AND BESIDES CHANGING THE OIL MYSELF, ALL OTHER REPAIRS ON THE CAR HAVE BEEN DONE BY A SUBARU DEALER. THE DEALER EVEN INSTALLED THE JUNKYARD RADIO. THE LAST CONTACT I HAD WITH THE SUBARU FACTORY, THEY ARE BLAMING THE PROBLEM ON ME USING AN AFTERMARKET RADIO. MY LOCAL SUBARU DEALER CONFIRMED THRU SERIAL NUMBERS THAT THE RADIO FROM THE JUNKYARD IS THE EXACT SAME RADIO-A/C UNIT THAT CAME IN MY CAR WHEN NEW. SINCE SUBARU NO LONGER USES PANASONIC RADIOS, THEY ARE NO LONGER PROVIDING ANY PRODUCT SUPPORT ON PANASONIC PRODUCTS. SUBARU IS REQUIRED BY LAW TO PROVIDE SERVICE PARTS FOR AT LEAST 7 YEARS AND THEY ARE NOT DOING IT. *JS

CARPET HAD BAD SPOT UPON PURCHASE, TOLD BY DEALER DEFECT AND NOTHING COULD BE DONE. THAT SPOT IS NOW A HOLE IN THE CARPET. SEAT MATERIAL IS VERY CHEAP AND LOW QUALITY STARTED TO WEAR BEFORE 1K. THAT TOO HAS LEFT A HOLE IN THE SEAT. AT 37K PASSENGER CV BOOT WENT DUE TO THIN RUBBER BOOT FOLLOWED BY DRIVER BOOT AT 38K. BOOT RUBBER IS EXTREMELY THIN COMPARED TO OTHER MANUFACTURERS. WHEN THEY GO, THEY GO QUICKLY WITHOUT WARNING THE SMELL IS HORRIFIC AND THE STICKY RESIDUE LEFT BEHIND UNDER THE HOOD VISUALLY UNAPPEALING. AS TO THE BOOTS, OUR WEATHER RUBBER CAR MATS ARE THICKER AND CERTAINLY LESS EXPENSIVE! AT 68K CLUTCH WENT; POWER-STEERING PUMP WAS LEAKING AND A/C / ALTERNATOR BELTS WERE CRACKED. THIS CAR HAS NEVER MISSED A MAINTENANCE AND HAS BEEN IMMACULATELY CARED FOR SO IMAGINE OUR DISAPPOINTMENT. THE CLUTCH RESULTED IN THE CAR STALLING IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC. THIS CAR DID NOT LIVE UP TO THE SUBARU REPUTATION OF SAFETY AND QUALITY. I WOULD NOT ENTERTAIN THE THOUGHT OF EVERY PURCHASING ANOTHER SUBARU. *TR