2008 SUBARU OUTBACK Complaints

INFORMED AT SHOP WHEN GETTING OIL CHANGE THAT LEFT FRONT WHEEL BEARING NEEDED REPLACEMENT. CONTACTED LOCAL DEALER AND THEY CONFIRMED AND REPLACED IT UNDER POWERTRAIN WARRANTY. HEARD NO NOISE AND FELT NO UNUSUAL PERFORMANCE TO ALERT ME OF THIS POWERTRAIN FAILURE. DEALER STATED ALL THE OTHER WHEEL BEARINGS ARE OK. 2 YEARS LATER AT 70,000 MILES RIGHT REAR WHEEL BEARING FAILED WITH NO NOTICE OR NOISE JUST SUDDEN GRINDING AND SWAYING AT ABOUT 50 MPH. HAD IT TOWED HOME AND TOOK IT TO DEALER WHO CONFIRMED THE OTHER TWO WHEEL BEARINGS ARE FAILING. DEALER COVERED COST OF NEW BEARINGS BUT WE TRADED IT IN. NO CONFIDENCE IN SUBARU. DEALER STATED THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED OR ALL REPLACED AT FIRST FAILURE. *TR

VEHICLE OVERHEATED, DROVE TO NEAREST SERVICE STATION. RADIATOR FLUSHED AND TESTED FOR LEAKS, NONE FOUND. NO OTHER DETERMINATION MADE. CAR OVERHEATING, SLOW COOLANT LOSS. SUBARU DIAGNOSED MAJOR HEAD GASKET FAILURE PROBABLY OCCURRED PRIOR TO 73000 MILES, BUT BEYOND POWER TRAIN WARRANTY. SUBARU HQ DECLINED TO HELP WITH COST CONSIDERING THE SERVICE TECH MGR STATED A 2008 MODEL CAR SHOULD NOT HAVE THIS FAILURE. PREVIOUSLY OWNED 1998 SUBARU OUTBACK WITH SIMILAR GASKET FAILURE SOME TIME AFTER POWER TRAIN WARRANTY EXPIRED. COSTLY REPAIR. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAG WARING LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND A PASSENGER AIR BAG WARNING MESSAGE APPEARED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 85,000.

SINCE THE CAR WAS NEARLY NEW THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT COMES ON INTERMITTENTLY AND NOW STAYS ON CONTINUOUSLY, RENDERING THE AIRBAG SYSTEM INOPERATIVE. THE VEHICLE WAS BROUGHT TO THE DEALER THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED BUT THE DEALER SAID NO FAULT CODE WAS FOUND. IN DECEMBER 2012 THE WARNING LIGHT CAME ON CONTINUOUSLY. I BROUGHT IT TO THE SUBARU DEALER TO DIAGNOSE AND SERVICE THE PROBLEM. THE SERVICE MANAGER STATED THAT THE PROBLEM IS WITH THE LIGHT IN THE MAPLIGHT MODULE, AND IF SOMETHING IN THE MODULE GOES BAD THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT WILL COME ON AND PREVENT THE AIRBAG FROM DEPLOYING. CONSEQUENTLY I HAVE TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE MAPLIGHT CONSOLE AT A COST OF $510 ($110 TO READ THE CODE PLUS $400 FOR THE LIGHT MODULE) TO FIX A DANGEROUS SAFETY DEFECT AND DESIGN FLAW THAT SHOULD BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SUBARU. *TR

I PURCHASED THE 2008 OUTBACK 2.5 LIMITED USED WITH 32K MILES. AT 41K MILES THE RIGHT FRONT WHEEL BEARING WENT OUT. WAS MAKING A VERY LOUD RUBBING NOISE WHEN TURNING AND ON THE HIGHWAY. THE BEARING WAS REPLACED UNDER POWERTRAIN WARRANTY. YESTERDAY I WAS INFORMED THAT MY LEFT FRONT BEARING HAS GONE OUT, NOW AT 80K MILES (ALL HIGHWAY MILEAGE). NOW IT IS OUT OF WARRANTY. THE 2 SHOPS I SPOKE TO REGARDING THE ISSUE STATED THIS IS ACTUALLY VERY COMMON ON THESE SUBARU MODELS AND THEY GENERATE QUITE A BIT OF BUSINESS. SUBARU NEEDS TO PROVIDE A TSB AND FIX THE ISSUE AS THEY HAVE SPEC'D FAULTY WHEEL BEARINGS. *TR

WE TOOK OUR SUBARU INTO THE DEALER TO GET REGULAR SERVICES. WE WERE TOLD THAT OUR FRONT DRIVERS SIDE BRAKE WAS COMPLETELY GROUND DOWN WHILE THE OTHERS WERE FINE AND OR NORMAL FOR OUR MILEAGE. OUR CAR WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY AND ALTHOUGH THE DEALERS EXPLANATION WAS " A STUCK BRAKE CALIPER" THEY MADE US PAY FOR NEW BRAKES. AND, THEY FAILED TO GIVE US A NEW BRAKE CALIPER. WHEN WE ASKED FOR THE MANAGER, HE REFUSED TO HELP US AND BLAMED IT ON THE REGIONAL REPAIR MANAGER. WE COMPLAINED FOR NEARLY A YEAR AND WERE FINALLY GIVEN THE MONEY BACK JUST FOR THE BRAKE, BUT SINCE WE HAD BROUGHT THE CAR IN , THEY SHOULD HAVE FIXED THE BRAKE CALIPER AS WELL. THIS WAS A PROBLEM FROM THE BEGINNING AND WE HAD BOUGHT THE CAR "BRAND NEW" . WE THINK THIS IS A AN OVERALL MANUFACTURERS DEFECT BUT WHEN WE CALLED SUBARU CORPORATE OFFICES , THEY SLAMMED THE DOOR IN OUR FACES AND WE WERE NEVER ALLOWED TO TALK TO A PERSON OTHER THAN "CUSTOMER SERVICE" IN THE SUBARU CORPORATE OFFICES. WE HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO 3 SUBARU DEALERS AND ALL 3 REFUSED TO REPLACE THE PARTS AND SERVICES FOR FREE. WE HAVE EMAIL AND OTHER DOCUMENTATION OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS WITH THEM. PLEASE HELP US. *TR UPDATED 11/14/12 *CN UPDATED 11/14/2012*JS

AIRBAG LIGHT STAYS ON AND PASSENGER AIRBAG LIGHT( OFF) STAYS OFF. I HAD MY CAR SERVICED FOR COOLANT FLUSH. I ASKED SERVICE MANAGER ABOUT THE ISSUE HE STATED THAT IT IS IN THE MAPLIGHT AND IF THE LIGHT BURNS OUT THE AIRBAG ON THE DASH WILL LIGHT UP AND POSSIBLY CAUSE A MALFUNCTION IN AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT. SO MEANING AS CONSUMER I HAVE TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE MAPLIGHT CONSOLE AND PAY FOR SOMETHING THAT IS A KNOWN SUBARU ISSUE OR MORE FAULT IN DESIGN. *TR

THE AIR BAG LIGHT ON OUR DASHBOARD RECENTLY LIT UP. WE HAD OUR MECHANIC LOOK AT THE CAR AND HE SAID THE CAR WAS NOT PRODUCING AN ERROR CODE. SOME BASIC RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET REVEALED THAT THIS PROBLEM IS BECOMING COMMON AND IS RELATED TO A FAULT IN THE PANEL CONTAINED IN THE MAP LIGHT CONSOLE, WHICH INCLUDES THE PASSENGER AIR BAG INDICATOR LIGHTS. HE REPLACED PANEL AND THAT SOLVED THE PROBLEM. I HAVE A COUPLE ISSUES THAT I HOPE YOU CAN ADDRESS. BECAUSE THE AIR BAG LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED ON THE DASH, THE OPERATION OF THE CAR'S AIR BAGS WERE IN DOUBT, IF NOT DISABLED ALL TOGETHER. SO, THIS APPEARS TO BE A SAFETY ISSUE. ADDITIONALLY, WHEN OUR MECHANIC CALLED THE LOCAL SUBARU DEALER (GO SUBARU IN DENVER, CO) FOR THE PART AND ASKED IF THEY HAD THE PART IN STOCK, THE PARTS DESK IMMEDIATELY SAID, "OH, IS THIS THAT AIR BAG THING?" SO, THIS IS A KNOWN FAULT. I TRIED CONTACTING SUBARU TO NOTIFY THEM, BUT THEY SIMPLY TOLD ME THAT ALL RECALLS ARE ISSUED BY THE GOVERNMENT AND THAT I SHOULD HAVE MY VEHICLE SERVICED BY AN AUTHORIZED DEALER. I HOPE THE NHTSA WILL TAKE TIME TO RESEARCH THIS SAFETY ISSUE AND MAKE THE APPROPRIATE RECALL. *TR

ONE WIRE LEADING TO THE REAR CARGO HATCH (RIGHT SIDE) BROKE AND 3 OTHERS HAD CRACKED INSULATION DUE TO A LACK OF RESILIENCE AFTER FLEXING. THESE WIRES ARE FLEXED EVERY TIME THE HATCH IS OPENED AND CLOSED. ALL ELECTRICAL PARTS ON THE HATCH TRAVEL THOUGH THIS WIRING HARNESS (WIPERS, LOCK, ETC.). HAD THE FAILURE OF THE LOCK NOT BEEN NOTICED, FURTHER WEAR COULD HAVE CAUSED A SHORT AND A FIRE. THE VEHICLE IS ONLY 4 AND A HALF YEARS OLD. MANY OTHER PEOPLE HAVE HAD SIMILAR PROBLEMS GOING BACK TO AT LEAST THE 2005 MODEL. *TR

ON MANY SEPARATE OCCASIONS (BUT REPORTED TO SUBARU AUTHORIZED SERVICE DEALER ON 03/28/12, 10/01/11, AND 09/21/11), OUR HOOD HAS PARTLY POPPED OPEN WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE AT A RANGE OF SPEEDS AND IN A RANGE OF TEMPERATURES. IT IS AS IF THE INITIAL HOOD RELEASE LATCH HAS BEEN PULLED FROM WITHIN THE CAR, BUT THE HOOD THEN CATCHES ON THE MANUAL RELEASE UNDER THE LID. ONCE LOOSE, THE HOOD WOBBLES (WITH INCREASED VIOLENCE AT HIGH SPEEDS) AND IS OBVIOUSLY NOT SECURE. THE SUBARU SHOP TECH INITIALLY ADJUSTED AND REALIGNED THE HOOD LATCH. ON A SUBSEQUENT VISIT, THE ENTIRE HOOD LATCH WAS REPLACED. THIS DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM, AND ON VISITING AFTER THE THIRD OCCURENCE, THE SAID THEY HAD NO RECOMMENDATIONS AS THEY COULD NOT REPLICATE THE PROBLEM EITHER ON THE ROAD OR IN THE SHOP, AND WERE SHOWING NO DIAGNOSTIC ISSUES WITH THEIR EQUIPMENT. SUBARU OF AMERICA WERE CONTACTED BY THE SHOP AND HAD NO AVAILABLE RECOMMENDATIONS. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN INSPECTED BUT THE SUBARU SHOP AND IS CLEAR OF PRIOR BODY DAMAGE. THE UNPREDICTABILITY OF THIS ISSUE IS MOST ALARMING -- WE CAN NEVER TELL WHEN OUR HOOD IS GOING TO COME LOOSE WHILE TRAVELLING, AND HAVE HAD TO PULL OVER SEVERAL TIMES ON THE FREEWAY WHEN TRAVELLING AT HIGH SPEED TO SECURE THE HOOD.