2011 SUBARU OUTBACK Complaints

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT HAD TO MAKE SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO RESTART THE VEHICLE EACH TIME THE FAILURE RECURRED AND IT WAS GETTING PROGRESSIVELY WORSE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THERE WAS AN INTERNAL FAILURE WITH THE TORQUE CONVERTER AND THAT THE PART NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 137,000.

DRIVING DOWN A FOUR LANE ROAD AND WENT TO TAKE A LEGAL U-TURN AND THE STEERING WHEEL TURNED FREELY BUT THE CAR WENT STRAIGHT. THE BRAKE LIGHT WAS FLASHING AND THE TIRES DID NOT MOVE DESPITE ME TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL. AWAITING AN UPDATE FROM SUBARU OF AMERICA. DEALER SAYS IT NEEDS A NEW STEERING SHAFT.

DRIVING ON HIGHWAY AT APPROX. 65 MILES PER HOUR. HEARD LOUD CLICKING AND ENGINE LOST POWER. I WAS JUST ABLE TO GET OFF THE HIGHWAY WITHOUT BEING HIT BY OTHERS. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHTS OR ANYTHING BEFORE THIS HAPPENED. THE CAR HAS RECEIVED REGULAR CHECKUPS/OIL CHANGES AND WAS NOT DUE FOR ANOTHER OIL CHANGE YET.

LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS KEEP BURNING OUT BOTH SIDES. LIGHTS BURN OUT INDEPENDENTLY OF EACH OTHER. SO FAR HAVE REPLACED LIGHTS 3 TIMES 6 IN TOTAL. PROBLEM REPORTED AS AN ISSUE IN SUBARU FORUMN

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 SUBARU OUTBACK. WHILE SLOWING DOWN TO MAKE A TURN, THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL NOISE COMING FROM THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE WITHOUT WARNING. THE FAILURE RECURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND STATED THAT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 10V326000 (POWER TRAIN). THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 113,750.

THE HEADLIGHTS AND TAIL LIGHTS HAVE FAILED (BURNED OUT) MULTIPLE TIMES IN THE 4 YEARS OF OWNING THE VEHICLE. SOME WITHIN 3 MONTHS OF BEING REPLACED OTHER MIGHT LAST 8 MONTHS TO A YEAR. I AM WONDERING IF THIS IS A WIRING ISSUE CAUSING SUCH SHORT BULB LIFE. *TR

I PURCHASED MY 2011 SUBARU OUTBACK NEW AND LOVE THE CAR. HOWEVER IT HAS ONE PROBLEM WHICH HAS SHAKEN MY CONFIDENCE IN IT. WITH THE VEHICLE IN DRIVE, MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE, AND AT A COMPLETE STOP, THE ENGINE WILL SHUDDER VIOLENTLY. THE RPM'S WILL LOOSE ABOUT 200 TO 300 RPM'S, THEN GO IMMEDIATELY GO BACK UP TO THE CORRECT RPSM; THE ENGINE WILL NOT DIE BUT FEELS AS IF IT MIGHT. THIS HAS HAPPENED MANY, MANY TIMES. IT DOES NOT SEEM TO MATTER IF THE ENGINE IS COLD OR WARM, IF THE A/C IS ON OR OFF, OF THE RADIO IS ON OR OFF, OR ANYTHING ELSE. I FULLY EXPLAINED THE SITUATION TO THE DEALER WHEN I TOOK IT IN FOR AN OIL CHANGE. I TOLD THEM I CAN SOMEWHAT REPLICATE THE PROBLEM BY PUSHING THE DOOR LOCK/UNLOCK BUTTON WHEN THE CAR IS AT A COMPLETE STOP, IN DRIVE,WITH MY FOOT ON THE BREAK; IT IS NOT AS VIOLENT A SHUDDER BUT VERY SIMILAR. THEY KEPT THE CAR OVERNIGHT AND SAID THEY TEST DROVE THE CAR BUT "COULD NOT DUPLICATE" THE PROBLEM. IT APPEARS THIS MUST BE SOME TYPE OF ELECTRICAL CONDITION. I AM DREADING THE DAY WHEN I AM ON A BUSY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FREEWAY IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC AND THE CAR LEAVES ME STRANDED. ANY SUGGESTIONS? *TR

ABOUT 1 MONTH AGO MY CAR BEGAN TO STALL WHEN COMING TO A STOP IE AT AN INTERSECTION OR STOP SIGN. THE CAR JUST SHUDDERS AND DIES. IT WILL START BACK UP. THE PROBLEM GOT WORSE, HAPPENING 1-2 TIMES PER DAY. AFTER SEARCHING THE INTERNET, I FOUND A SUBARU SERVICE BULLETIN #16-90-13 DESIGN CHANGE TO LOCK-UP TYPE TORQUE CONVERTER LINKED TO A DESCRIPTION OF AN ISSUE LIKE THIS. WHEN I BROUGHT MY CAR IN FOR SERVICE I MENTIONED THE SERVICE BULLETIN TO THE SERVICE COORDINATOR AND HE KNEW ALL ABOUT IT. THEY TESTED THE CAR AND THIS WAS CONFIRMED TO BE THE PROBLEM. MY CAR HOWEVER IS OUT OF WARRANTY. IT IS LESS THAN 5 YEARS OLD - NOT EVEN PAID OFF YET- BUT HAS >60,000 MILES. THE REPAIR IS NOT COVERED AND WILL BE CLOSE TO $1800.00. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND SHOULD BE A RECALL. I AM A REPEAT SUBARU BUYER AND IT SHOCKS ME THAT THEY WILL NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR CARS BETTER THAN THIS AND WOULD LET A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SITUATION GO ON WITHOUT PUTTING MITIGATION IN PLACE. *TR

AFTER BRAKING MODERATE TO HARD WHEN THE VEHICLE COMES TO A STOP THE CAR STALLS WITHOUT FAIL. IT OCCURRED WHILE MY WIFE AND 18 MONTH OLD WERE SLOWING DOWN/STOPPING ON A BUSY ROAD TO YIELD ONCOMING TRAFFIC BEFORE TAKING A LEFT TURN ONTO ANOTHER ROAD. WHEN WE FIRST BROUGHT THE VEHICLE INTO THE LOCAL SUBARU DEALERSHIP THEY RAN DIAGNOSTICS AND FOUND NOTHING WRONG AND SENT US ON OUR WAY. A FEW WEEKS LATER ON MARCH 10, 2015 WE BROUGHT THE CAR BACK AFTER IT OCCURRED SEVERAL MORE TIMES. THE DEALERSHIP DIDN'T EVEN NEED TO DO A ROAD TEST, THEY KNEW THE PROBLEM WAS A FAULTY TORQUE CONVERTER. WE WERE LED TO BELIEVE THIS IS A COMMON DEFECT FOR THIS MODEL. THEY ALSO SAID THE TRANSMISSION (CVT) MAY NEED TO BE REPLACED. THIS SAME PROBLEM HAS HAPPENED TO OTHERS WE KNOW WHO HAVE THE SAME CAR. OUR OUTBACK HAS 74K MILES ON IT NOW. THE WARRANTY EXPIRED AT 70K MILES. WE STILL OWE PAYMENTS ON THE CAR AND NOW WILL NEED TO SPEND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO FIX IT. THIS CAR IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE AND WE HOPE SUBARU RECALLS THIS MODEL TO HAVE THE TORQUE CONVERTER AND CVT REPLACED. AT BEST PEOPLE WILL NEED TO SPEND THOUSANDS TO FIX THE ISSUE. AT WORST THIS PROBLEM COULD LEAD TO SEVERE OR FATAL INJURIES. *TR

MERGING AND ACCELERATING ONTO INTERSTATE AND ENGINE CUT OUT FOR APPROX 3 SECONDS WITH NO ENGINE POWER. CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS ILLUMINATED AND STAYED LIT. DROVE OK AFTER THAT. THIS IS A REPEAT OF THE SAME PROBLEM THAT OCCURRED THREE DIFFERENT TIMES LAST YEAR. DEALER ADVISED BOTH THEN AND NOW THAT AN ELECTRICAL HARNESS CONNECTOR WAS WORKING ITSELF LOOSE AND THEY WILL TIGHTEN IT. NO ASSURANCES GIVEN THAT IT WON'T RE-OCCUR AT AN INCONVENIENT TIME SUCH AS A RAIL CROSSING OR WHEN A SEMI IS BEARING DOWN ON ME. *TR