2013 SUBARU OUTBACK Complaints

SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION WNED PULLING INTO PARKING SPACE. THE VEHICILE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED AND RAN INTO STORE FRONT.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE THE VEHICLE IN THE DRIVEWAY, IT ACCELERATED WITHOUT WARNING AND CRASHED INTO THE GARAGE DOOR. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED HEAD INJURIES, BUT DID NOT REQUIRE MEDICAL ATTENTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 8,000.

HAD AN OIL CHANGE DONE AT THE DEALERSHIP IN DANVERS MARCH 2015. IN SEPT. 2015, AFTER TRAVELLING 4,000 MILES, ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. HAD TO ADD 2 QUARTS OF OIL. THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THAT WE NEEDED TO ADD OIL BETWEEN SERVICES. ALL SERVICE RECORDS ARE UP TO DATE AND WERE DONE AT THE SAME DEALERSHIP WHERE CAR WAS PURCHASED. THE CAR WAS PURCHASED BRAND NEW. AT THIS PRESENT TIME THE CAR HAS ONLY 20,100 MILES. DEALERSHIP KEEPS SAYING THAT THIS IS NORMAL FOR A CAR TO GO THROUGH THIS MUCH OIL. I HAVE HAD FIVE SUBARUS AND NEVER HAVE HAD ONE THAT USED OIL LIKE THIS ONE. THE DAILY DRIVER IS 75 YEARS OLD AND DOES NOT RACE IT OR USE IT AS A TOW VEHICLE (THERE IS NO TOW HITCH). THE ENGINE IS INCREDIBLY ROUGH WHEN STARTING AND CAN HEAR IT IDLING ROUGH AS WELL AS FEELING THE VIBRATIONS IN THE CABIN.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 SUBARU OUTBACK. WHILE DRIVING AT A LOW SPEED, THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO DEPRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL BUT HIS FOOT BECAME WEDGED IN BETWEEN THE ACCELERATOR AND BRAKE PEDALS. AS A RESULT, THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO THE FRONT OF ANOTHER VEHICLE AND THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE CONTACT DID NOT SUSTAIN ANY INJURIES. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED, BUT WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTO BODY REPAIR CENTER FOR REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 30,000.

THE ENGINE OIL LIGHT TURNED ON. STOPPED TO CHECK OIL--WAS VERY LOW. BOUGHT A QUART TO ADD TO THE CAR. TOOK TO DEALERSHIP AND EXPLAINED WHAT HAD HAPPENED. IT HAS OCCURRED TWO TIMES ALREADY--SAME ORDEAL WHERE I HAVE TO ADD OIL TO THE ENGINE. WHEN WILL NHTSA START INVESTIGATING THIS? I HAVE READ AND TALKED TO OTHER OUTBACK OWNERS WITH THE SAME ISSUE. RIGHT NOW THE DEALERSHIP HAS PUT THE CAR ON A 1200 MILE INSPECTION TEST..... UPDATED 09/30/15*BF

THE PASSENGER OCCUPANT DETECTION SYSTEM (ODS) MALFUNCTIONED OR SHORTED OUT FOR NO APPARENT REASON. AS A RESULT, THE PASSENGER AIRBAG WILL NOT ENABLE EVEN WHEN OCCUPIED BY AN ADULT PASSENGER. THE PASSENGER AIRBAG IS CONSTANTLY IN OFF MODE. IN ADDITION THE ODS APPARENTLY CONTROLS THE SEATBELT WARNING FEATURE. REGARDLESS OF WHETHER OR NOT AN ADULT PASSENGER IS OCCUPYING THE SEAT THE ODS IS CONSTANTLY DETECTING A PASSENGER AND THE PASSENGER SEATBELT WARNING LIGHT AND CHIME CONTINUOUSLY ARE ON. WHEN THE PASSENGER SEATBELT IS BUCKLED THE WARNING LIGHT AND CHIME REMAIN CONTINUOUSLY ON. THE VEHICLE HAS 40,000 MILES AND THIS SYSTEM IS NOT COVERED UNDER THE MANUFACTURES EXTENDED WARRANTY OR THE EXTENDED SERVICE CONTRACT SOLD BY SUBARU THROUGH CNA. THE DEALERSHIP IS RECOMMENDING A NEW ODS BE INSTALLED AND CALIBRATED AT A COST OF $1,200 PLUS APPLICABLE TAX AND FEES.

STEERING ON THIS VEHICLE IS SO HEAVY THAT IT CAUSES ORTHOPEDIC PROBLEMS. THE STEERING DRAG TENSION IS SET SO HIGH THAT IT IS DIFFICULT TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, AND DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER THE VEHICLE INTO PARKING PLACES AT LOW SPEEDS. PARALLEL PARKING IS PAINFUL. I HAD OTHER PEOPLE DRIVE IT TO ELIMINATE MY SUBJECTIVE VIEW OF THIS, AND EVERY PERSON THOUGHT IT WAS HARD TO DRIVE. SUBARU THINKS THIS IS NORMAL, AND REFUSES TO ALLOW ITS SERVICE DEPARTMENTS TO ADJUST THE TENSION IF IT'S WITHIN IT'S "SPECS" EVEN WHEN THE DRIVER OF THIS EXPENSIVE VEHICLE DOES NOT FEEL SAFE DRIVING IT. SUBARU SERVICE DEPARTMENT'S REASONING WAS THAT "IT FELT LIKE EVERY OTHER SUBARU OUTBACK." THIS DOESN'T MAKE IT OK; IT JUST CONFIRMS THAT SUBARU IS SELLING MORE THAN ONE DANGEROUS CAR. THIS IS AN UNSAFE CONDITION THAT SUBARU IS ALLOWING TO PERSIST RATHER THAN ACTUALLY ADDRESSING THE OTHER ISSUE THE UNREASONABLY TIGHT TENSION IS MASKING - STEERING WHEEL SHAKES. THIS IS MY SECOND SUBARU AND IS THE LAST ONE I WILL EVER PURCHASE - NOT BECAUSE THE CAR COULDN'T OTHERWISE BE A GOOD VEHICLE, BUT BECAUSE THIS IS A LEGITIMATE SAFETY ISSUE THAT SUBARU IS IGNORING AND WILL CONTINUE TO IGNORE UNTIL FORCED TO CHANGE, PROBABLY AFTER A LARGE LAWSUIT BROUGHT BY THE ESTATE OF A SUBARU OWNER WHO WAS KILLED IN THEIR VEHICLE. AND, BECAUSE SUBARU HAS SUCH TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE THAT IT THINKS IT'S FINE TO TELL SOMEONE WHO JUST BOUGHT A $30K+ CAR THAT THEY JUST HAVE TO LIVE WITH AN UNSAFE CONDITION BECAUSE SUBARU DOESN'T SEE FIT TO FIX IT.

I HAVE 2013 SUBARU OUTBACK. COUPLE OF MONTH AFTER BUYING IT I DISCOVERED THE ISSUE WHERE MY FOOT WOULD BE STUCK ON THE BRAKE PEDAL. THERE IS SOME KIND OF A FLAP ABOVE THE PEDAL. THE FLAP NORMALLY JUST TOUCHES THE TOP OF A SHOE. BUT IN SOME SITUATIONS/POSITIONS OF THE PEDAL IT PRESSES ON THE FOOT. WHEN YOU TRY TO MOVE THE FOOT OUT OF THE PEDAL, IT BENDS AND BRACES IT, PRACTICALLY LOCKING THE FOOT. IT DOES NOT HAPPEN CONSISTENTLY, BUT RATHER INFREQUENTLY. WHAT MAKES IT WORSE IS WEARING BULKY SHOES LIKE SNEAKERS, SHOES WITH BUCKLES, OR WITH A MESH TOP. THE MESH ALSO GETS CAUGHT ON THE FLAP. A COUPLE OF TIMES I WAS IN SITUATIONS WHERE IT TOOK 10-15 SECONDS TO GET THE FOOT OUT OF THE BRAKE PEDAL. AT LEAST ONCE I HAVE BEEN NEARLY REAR-ENDED BECAUSE I COULDN?T ACCELERATE IMMEDIATELY AFTER BREAKING. I COMPLAINED ON THIS ISSUE 4 TIMES AT SUBARU SERVICE. THEY TWEAKED IT SOMEWHAT, BUT NEVER COMPLETELY FIXED, AND IT GOT WORSE AGAIN AFTER EVERY MAINTENANCE SERVICE. WHILE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW IT IS REMEDIED, I FOUND THAT THE DEALERSHIP DIDN?T RECORD THESE COMPLAINTS IN MY CAR HISTORY. SO I WROTE AN EMAIL TO SUBARU. SUBARU CUSTOMER SERVICE PERSON TOLD ME TO MAKE ANOTHER APPOINTMENT, AS HE?LL INSTRUCT THE DEALERSHIP HOW TO FIX THE ISSUE. I BROUGHT MY CAR IN, WAITED FOR AN HOUR, BUT THEN WAS TOLD NO INSTRUCTIONS WERE RECEIVED FROM SUBARU. ON THE NEXT CONTACT WITH THE SUBARU CUSTOMER SERVICE I RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING REPLY: ?THERE ARE NO REPAIRS REQUIRED AND NO REPAIRS WERE PERFORMED. WE HAVE NO RECOMMENDATIONS AS THERE WERE NO PROBLEMS FOUND.? HOWEVER, IT APPEARED THAT SUBARU HAS FIXED THE PROBLEM DURING THAT APPOINTMENT, WHILE TELLING ME NOTHING WAS DONE. THE FLAP WAS REPLACED WITH THE LONGER VERSION, SO THAT THE FOOT NEVER GETS UNDER IT, BUT RATHER PUSHES THE FLAP INSIDE. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. IT IS OBVIOUS SUBARU IS AWARE OF IT, BUT DOESN?T ADMIT IT EXISTS. ...UPDATED 07-16-15 *BF MA 07/30/15 UPDATED 10/26/2017*CN

STEERING WAS MAKING A NOISE (AS IF STEERING WHEEL WAS TURNED ALL OF THE WAY TO ONE SIDE) WITH ONLY SLIGHT MOVEMENT BUT IT WORKED. THIS NOISE OCCURRED WITH EVERY TURN. AFTER RUNNING AN ERRAND WITH APPROXIMATELY 5 MILES OF USE, I RETURNED TO THE PARKED CAR AND BACKED OUT OF PARKING TO FIND THAT THE STEERING WHEEL WAS TURNING BUT THE WHEELS WERE NOT! I HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO DEALERSHIP. NOTE: A RECALL OF THE STEERING WAS DONE BY THE DEALERSHIP IN OCT 2013 AND NO ISSUES HAD OCCURRED WITH THAT REPAIR UNTIL NOW.

USING EXCESSIVE OIL. THI SI STHE SECON TIME I HAD TO PUT OIL IN APPROXIMATELY 5700 MILEES AFTER AN OIL CHANGE. ITS NOT LEAKEING ANYWHERE.