2013 SUBARU OUTBACK Complaints

I was pulling into a parking space very slowly when the car went into overdrive and suddenly accelerated at a high speed. It plunged down a slight decline and hit a large tree. My airbag failed to deploy although I was thrown violently forward, and the car sustained severe front end damage. The car is considered a total loss and I spent a day at a hospital emergency room. The sudden unexpected acceleration and the lack of airbag inflation is going to be assessed by Subaru on 10/24/23. I understand that there are two class action lawsuits against Subaru (in NJ & CA) for this same unanticipated acceleration issue.

Over time, brake pedal travel has increased and brakes have a ‘soft’ or ‘mushy’ feel. Unable to ‘lock up’ the brakes, and can frequently hit the end of travel on the brakes. Cannot stop quickly. Rotors, pads and calipers have been replaced and passed state inspection, but still unable to stop quickly in an emergency situation.

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? ACTUATOR ASSY-EPB, part number 26002aj02c (from technical service bulletin), part is not available How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Brake light and iSight warning light comes on. Safety systems will not operate properly when these lights are on Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? Brake light and iSight warning light comes on, this started several months ago After driving this car for about an hour, shutting it off then starting it back up after short amount of time, like 20 minutes, the brake warning light and iSight light (safety system/adaptive cruise control/automatic braking) will come on immediately, they will stay on until the car has been allowed to cool down for several hours. This happens more often in hot weather. This has happened about a couple dozen times already. Took the car to Eurasian Autoworks in Tilton NH, the mechanic, who i'm told is a former Subaru master tech says this is a common problem and is usually fixed by replacing the emergency brake actuator under Technical Service Bulletin 06-58-17R. I called the local dealership and they do not have any of these parts available. I called Subaru customer support, case number [XXX] . and was told the part is discontinued and essentially said I should get one from a junkyard. I do not believe a 10 year old car should have safety related parts unavailable, especially on a common issue with this year/model of car. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Key gets stuck in the ignition. There was a recall on multiple models/years due to ignition switch failure. Mine included, but apparently not my particular car. Have read that car engine can cut off, causing a major safety issue. Brought to dealer, they say they found nothing wrong.This issue has been ongoing since January.

I had 2 dealerships look at my vehicle and both gave me an answer that is blowing me off. As now I have seen it’s a major issue with a lot of people. Oil consumption progressively increased until it was 2 burning 2 quarts of oil for every fill up. That’s ridiculous especially when I was very religious about taking care of my vehicle. I cannot understand how a manufacturer can get away with not issuing a recall to fix their major known problem. It took me awhile to complain and the vehicle has been sitting for awhile now. It only has 145,000 miles on it. I bought a Subaru with taking care of it, keeping up with maintenance and it should have lasted in my opinion at least 200,000 miles. When you pay good money for a product and take care of it you certainly hope it lasts longer than it did. I hope others complain enough that they are forced to do something about it. I am not going to hold my breath. I am sure will not be made to take care of their issues. Know this, I’ll NEVER waste my money on another subraru EVER again! Thanks for letting me vent.

Like many other Subaru Outback owners, the torque converter, valve body tied to the transmission has put my Subaru out of commission at only 127k miles. There are many listservs and threads of Subaru owners who were duped by Subarus marketing of Subarus lasting into 200k miles who only reached half that because of these faulty transmissions and like myself have experienced car shuttering, stalling, and having to tow and chunk their allegedly safe cars that died half into their marketed lifespan. These cars are unsafe, have left my stranded and needing a tow and with many costly repairs https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-t37876_ds770713

The contact owns a 2013 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that on two separate occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to respond as needed. The contact stated that after several attempts of applying pressure to the brake pedal, the vehicle stopped. The contact was unsure if any warning lights were illuminated. The contact then stated that on a separate occasion, while driving at an undisclosed speed, she depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact then stated that the after approximately thirty seconds of applying pressure to the brake pedal, the vehicle stopped. Additionally, the cruise control warning light intermittently illuminated, and the contact heard the engine revving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed but no cause for the failure was determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure and an appointment was scheduled for the following day. The vehicle had not yet been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 117,000.

The electronic parking brake warning light keeps flashing indicating a failure in the off-on mechanism. The brake could go on while the car is in motion, causing loss of control. Or the brake could fail while in park, and the car could roll. Subaru mechanic has been telling me they are waiting for a part, which is on back order nationwide. This has been going on with my car for months, literally. I deal with Subaru of Rockville, MD, (240)903-9338.

The hood latch released while I driving on the 101 freeway at about 70 MPH. The secondary lock held and I was able to get off the freeway. The hood would not latch after this occurred. I took the vehicle to Kirby Subaru of Ventura and had the latch replaced. I am from a medical background, where we have certain "never" events. I would consider this to be one of those never events. If the secondary latch had failed I likely would have had a catastrophic event.

My horn became intermittent, and stopped working. The car will not pass state inspection. It was diagnosed as a faulty clock spring. The dealership stated that this was a common failure on Subaru's, especially those that had the Takata airbag replacement recall. They said there was no TSB or recall for the part. I reached out to Subaru customer service who said that due to the age and mileage on my car, there was nothing they could do to assist replacing the part.