2013 SUBARU OUTBACK Complaints

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH SHE HEARD A LOUD NOISE AND THE GLASS SHATTERED ALL OVER THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THE TECHNICIAN REPLACED THE SUNROOF BUT WAS UNABLE TO DETERMINE WHAT CAUSED THE FAILURE TO OCCUR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 24,000.

WHILE TOWING A CAMPER WELL WITHIN THE TOWING CAPACITY OF THE VEHICLE, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE BEYOND 60 MILES AN HOUR. WE (MYSELF, MY WIFE, AND 6 DOGS) WERE SOUTH OF PUEBLO, COLORADO GOING UP THAT VERY LONG INCLUDE TOWARDS TRINIDAD. THE VEHICLE'S ENGINE WOULD NOT REV AS IF IT'S TRANSMISSION WAS FAILING, BUT IT WOULD ABSOLUTELY NOT ACCELERATE BEYOND 60. WE PULLED OVER AND CONTACTED THE NEAREST SUBARU DEALERSHIP (BACK IN PUEBLO) AND WENT BACK TO PUEBLO AND HAD THEM LOOK IT OVER. THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG AND THEIR TEST DID NOT SHOW ANY PROBLEMS. THEY WERE ONLY ABLE TO SPECULATE THAT IT MAY BE A FAILSAFE FEATURE THAT PREVENTS THE ENGINE FROM BECOMING DAMAGED WHEN IT BEGINS TO OVERHEAT. WE HAD DRIVEN FROM NORTH OF DALLAS TO WEST OF FORT COLLINS, WITH STOPS, WITHOUT PROBLEMS, BUT THIS DAY THE TEMPERATURE WAS 50 DEGREES AND PROBABLY THE WARMEST IT HAD BEEN OUR ENTIRE TRIP. WE HAD PREVIOUSLY STOPPED FOR A FEW HOURS IN GARDEN OF THE GODS, SO IT HAD ONLY BEEN BACK ON THE ROAD FOR AN HOUR WHEN THIS OCCURRED. AFTER THE DEALERSHIP LOOKED AT IT, WE HITCHED IT BACK UP AND CONTINUED ON OUR TRIP. THEY INSTRUCTED US TO JUST DRIVE SLOWER WHEN GOING UP HILLS AND MOUNTAINS. WE EXPERIENCED PROBLEMS AGAIN WHEN WE GOT TO TRINIDAD, BUT DROVE THROUGH IT SINCE THE EXITS ARE RATHER SHARP AND BLACK ICE WAS A CONCERN. ONCE WE STOPPED DRIVING UP INCLINES THE VEHICLE DROVE LIKE NORMAL. AFTER WE STOPPED TOWING THE CAMPER THE VEHICLE STOPPED HAVING ISSUES. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED THE HE PURCHASED THE VEHICLE 2012. HE NOTICED HIS STEERING WHEEL WOULD DRIFT WHILE DRIVING. THE CONTACT TOOK HIS VEHICLE TO A SUBARU DEALERSHIP FOR A DIAGNOSIS AND THE DEALER STATED THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. THE PROBLEM PERSISTED AFTER THE DIAGNOSTIC TEST WAS PERFORMED. THE CONTACT LOCATED RECALL NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 13V194000 (STEERING); HOWEVER, HIS VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THIS RECALL ALTHOUGH IS EXPERIENCING THE SAME DEFECT LISTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1000 MILES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. ..UPDATED 04-23-14 *BF THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE WAS TO BE REPAIRED UNDER WARANTY. UPDATED 04/25/2014 *JS.. UPDATED01/20/15 *BF *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED THE AIR BAG LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT WAS CONCERNED THAT THE AIR BAG WAS DEFECTIVE AND MAY NOT DEPLOY DURING A CRASH. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSTIC TEST AND THEY STATED THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER STATED IN ORDER TO REPLACE THE PASSENGER SEAT THE CONTACT HAD TO REMOVE THE AFTERMARKET AUTO STARTER; HOWEVER, THE CONTACT REFUSED TO REMOVE IT. THE AUTO STARTER MANUFACTURER STATED THE AUTO STARTER HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE DEFECTIVE AIR BAG BUT THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT IT DOES. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 15,500.

IN TEMPERATURES LOWER THAN 45 DEGREES F, IF NOT 'WARMED UP' THE CAR WILL MAKE A LOUD THUNK NOISE AND LURCH FORWARD UPON BEING PUT INTO DRIVE. IF THE BRAKE IS NOT FIRMLY ENGAGE, THE CAR WILL JUMP FORWARD. THE SUBARU DEALER CLAIMS THIS IS CAUSED BY THE CAR'S STATUS AS A PERFORMANCE VEHICLE, AND ENGINE WARM UP NEEDS TO OCCUR TO LOWER THE RPMS. *TR

SHORTLY AFTER I PURCHASED VEHICLE I NOTICED DIFFICULTY KEEPING IT CENTERED IN LANE. CONTINUOUSLY HAVING TO CORRECT STEERING AND HARD STEERING. I DRIVE ON INTERSTATE OFTEN AND I HAVE CHECKED TIRES CONTINUOUSLY AND NO DIFFERENCE IN THE HANDLING OF THE OUTBACK. ON FIRST SERVICE I TOLD THE SERVICE REP ABOUT IT AND SAID THEY WOULD CHECK IT OUT, I BELIEVE THEY CHECKED THE ALIGNMENT, WHEN PICKED UP THE VEHICLE AND WAS TOLD EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL. IS IT UNSAFE, YES. NOW I HAVE 25000 MILE ON IT AND STILL CONTINUES. STILL MENTION IT AT SERVICE TIME BUT THEY DON'T REALLY EVEN RESPOND ANYMORE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE BRAKING TO A STOP, THE ENGINE RPMS INCREASED EXCESSIVELY AS THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 12,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

I STOPPED AT A STOPLIGHT. WHEN THE LIGHT CHANGED, I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR AND MOVED FORWARD. I RELEASED THE ACCELERATOR TO SLOW UP BECAUSE OF TRAFFIC CONDITIONS. WHEN I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR AGAIN TO MOVE FORWARD, THE ENGINE DID NOT REV UP. IT WAS AS IF THE CAR STALLED. AFTER SEVERAL PUSHES ON THE ACCELERATOR ( 8 SECONDS WORTH) THE ENGINE REVVED UP AND THE CAR ONCE AGAIN MOVED FORWARD JUST AS IF NOTHING WAS WRONG. ALL THIS TIME I WAS BLOCKING THE INTERSECTION. THIS HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES NOW. DEALER INDICATES NO PROBLEM FOUND. *TR

AFTER STOPPING AT A STOP SIGN, I ATTEMPTED TO DRIVE OFF, BUT THE CAR DID NOT ACCELERATE ON APPLICATION OF THE THROTTLE PEDAL. THE ENGINE REMAINED AT IDLE, AND THE CAR ROLLED SLOWLY INTO THE INTERSECTION. NOTHING I DID CORRECTED THE PROBLEM UNTIL I PLACED THE TRANSMISSION IN PARK, TURNED OFF THE ENGINE, THEN RE-STARTED THE CAR. THE CAR THEN PERFORMED NORMALLY UNTIL I REACHED THE NEXT STOP SIGN, WHERE THE PROBLEM REPEATED. IN ALL, THE PROBLEM OCCURRED SEVEN (7) TIMES ON THIS DAY, APPARENTLY AT RANDOM. THAT IS, AT SOME STOPS THE CAR PERFORMED NORMALLY, AND AT OTHER STOPS, THE CAR FAILED TO ACCELERATE WHEN THE THROTTLE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT MY SUBARU DEALER WAS UNABLE TO REPLICATE THE PROBLEM AND THEREFORE PERFORMED NO REPAIRS. TWO WEEKS LATER, THE PROBLEM OCCURRED AGAIN, THREE (3) TIMES IN TWO DAYS. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS PROBLEM, BECAUSE IT CAN LEAVE THE CAR IN A BUSY INTERSECTION WITHOUT THE ABILITY TO MOVE UNTIL THE DRIVER TURNS OFF THE CAR AND THEN RE-STARTS IT. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN NOTED BY OTHER SUBARU OUTBACK OWNERS IN ONLINE FORUMS, AND AT LEAST ONE OTHER VEHICLE SAFETY COMPLAINT HAS BEEN FILED REGARDING THIS PROBLEM. *TR

I BROUGHT THE CAR IN FOR A ROUTINE REPAIR. WHEN I GOT IT BACK IT BEGAN TO MALFUNCTION. IT WOULD NOT SHIFT CORRECTLY. THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WAS SLIPPING. THE CAR DID NOT ACCELERATE CORRECTLY AND CHUGGED. THE ACCELERATION ABRUPTLY STOPPED AT A HIGH SPEED ON THE FREEWAY NEARLY CAUSING A SEVERE ACCIDENT AND REPLICATED THIS AT A LOW SPEED, AND FROM A STOP. I RETURNED THE CAR 3 TIMES AND THE ISSUES REMAIN CONSISTENT. TO DATE SUBARU OF AMERICA HAS NOT ADDRESSED MY CONCERNS. THE CAR IS UNSAFE FOR ME AND MY FAMILY. DOWNTOWN OAKLAND SUBARU HAS YET TO IDENTIFY WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF THE MALFUNCTION. EACH SERVICE DEPARTMENT PERSON HAS TEST DRIVEN THE CAR AND EXPERIENCED THE SAME ISSUES. *TR