2012 SUBARU OUTBACK Complaints

Our low mileage car which we bought new and is under 10 years old experienced a complete brake failure in our driveway. The brake warning light did then come on. The brake pedal went to the floor when pressed. This event immediately followed a trip with a considerable passenger and luggage load on steep hills where complete brake loss would have been catastrophic and endangered us and the public. The dealer is familiar with the problem (rust-through of brake lines in a specific, well-known location). I am astonished to now learn that earlier years of Outback and other models are the subject of NHSTA 14V-311 and a Subaru product safety campaign WQK-47R to inspect and replace or protect the brake lines that just failed in our car, specifically in the vicinity of the 2-2way connector, however our car is not covered by this campaign. I've attached a picture of the corroded lines on our car which is essentially identical to the picture of the 2-2way connector on https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2014/RCMN-14V311-4153.pdf . This failure is compounded by the lack of a conventional emergency/parking brake, as the steps to engage the vehicle's electronic parking brake while the vehicle is in motion and picking up speed are not obvious.

I own a 2012 Outback 2.5 Limited, which I purchased new from a Subaru dealer in Evanston IL in June 2012. It currently has about 76000 miles on it. In the last 6 months my car started to shudder when coming to a stop at a traffic signal, or sometimes while being stopped at the signal. The shudder is significant but typically momentary and happens randomly. From the last 2-3 weeks, the car has started to stall and the engine shuts down abruptly when coming to a stop. This is very stressful, but fortunately, so far I have been able to put the car in P and start it again every time. However, this is very dangerous and puts me and my family at grave risk of a serious accident from cars coming from behind as my car stalls abruptly. Again, this happens randomly which makes it even more dangerous and impossible to mitigate as a driver. This has now happened multiple times and I called a local Subaru dealership. They gave an estimate of over $8000 to repair this issue. They also said they will repair the car only if they are able to recreate the problem. I am afraid that they will not be able to recreate the problem as it happens randomly as mentioned earlier. As far as I know no warning lights on my dash are on and the car otherwise runs normally.

On October 27, 2021 while driving the car a number of vehicle light began flashing. We checked every thing we could and proceeded to drive it home, approximately 47 miles. First thing on 10/28/2021 it was examined by a Subaru dealer service department and they found no issues other than they replaced the serpentine belt and a few light bulbs. The car was driven again on 1o/29/21 and 11/1/21 with no incident. On the way home from work on 11/3/21 the same vehicle lights began flashing. We checked everything we could and found nothing wrong. We began travelling home and about 25 miles into the trip we heard what sounded like metal clanking. Shortly thereafter we began to lose power and the engine started smoking. The engine compartment was on fire by the time we were on the side of the road so we exited the car. In around 10-15 seconds the car was fully engulfed by flames and burned to the metal.

2012 Subaru Outback stalls when braking. It stalls going up hills, on flat roads, after high speeds and after city driving too. The vehicle has shut off at stop lights, on/off ramps, and stop signs putting me and my family at risk of being rear-ended. It also stalls when parallel parking, increasing risk of being hit on city streets. No warning or check engine light. Subaru issued a bulletin about the issue but the local dealer and local mechanic were unable to replicate stalling on test drives.

This summer, my 2012 Subaru Outback began shuddering and stalling when slowing down. This has happened approaching stop signs and stop lights, but has also happened going up steep hills and on the highway as traffic slows. Cars behind me have gotten incredibly close, and it seems only a matter of time before an accident occurs. We brought the car to the mechanic, who told us it was the torque converter, which would cost upwards of $5000 to replace. Subaru extended the warranty on 2010 - 2015 Outbacks because of the faulty torque converter - but the warranty expires at 100,000 miles, which we've surpassed. I'm not sure how this works - the manufacturer had a defect but we're responsible? It's scary when the car stalls out and I'm not sure it's safe to continue driving the vehicle. Our mechanic said the issue would get worse over time.

I experienced issues with the engine of my 2012 Subaru Outback shutting down at times when coming to a stop, and also stalling/idling when accelerating (such as when entering freeway). My engine light and brake light also turned on at the same time. Very concerned, I took it in to the local Subaru service center at around 112,000 miles. They inspected the car and replaced 2 spark plugs, and must have restart the computer to turn the warning lights off. Recently at 117,000 after entering the freeway at night , my car roughly idled and the stalled and would not properly accelerate, almost causing me to crash as it happened suddenly while driving on freeway. The engine light was flashing and brake light came on as well. I immediately pulled over. After the Subaru inspection the next day, I was told that this was being caused by the torque converter and is a known issue on this model. This is a very dangerous issue, I believe that if this incident would have happened the next morning while on my commute instead of at the less busy hour at night, a crash would have occurred. I believe a recall is warranted on this dangerous issue as it is known by Subaru that this issue affects certain models and they will not provide much help to customers if they are past the extended warranty. The issue can occur past the 100,000 mile mark on an otherwise good condition and well cared for vehicle. This puts the customer and other drivers at great risk. I am very concerned and upset about the danger this put myself and others in. I was personally left on the side of the freeway at night at 7 months pregnant, but the situation could have been much worse. Since Subaru is not required to let customers know of this issue, customers may experience this issue without proper remediation until a serious issue happens.

Torque Converter issue consistent with Subaru Service Bulletin 16-90-13. Although Subaru issued a service bulletin with extended warranty rather than a recall, I want to document this as an ongoing problem with the model year and still a dangerous one. 08/09/2021 the vehicle shuddered while coming to a stop at a light, like the RPMs were dropping too low. At the next light, the vehicle shuddered and stalled while coming to a stop at the light. I was able to restart the vehicle after I realized the engine was dead and I needed to put the vehicle back into park before it would turnover. I couldn't immediately identify what I needed to do to restart, since the car won't turnover in drive, so I was stalled for a cycle of the stoplight. A few days later, the vehicle again shuddered and stalled while coming to a stop at a light. I had been driving for maybe 3 minutes from a cold start. I was again able to restart the vehicle. The second stall definitely felt like a transmission issue, and matched the description of a bad torque converter (technical service bulletin 16-90-13) for this model year. I had the issue diagnosed at my local Subaru dealership, and they identified it as being consistent with a bad torque converter, possibly requiring replacement of the valve body assembly if torque converter replacement was ineffective. I had the torque converter replaced by a Subaru dealership on 09/15/2021. My vehicle is outside the extended warranty period. I've made several stops without issue since the repair. With this issue, I was concerned what would happen if I was on the freeway and needed to suddenly decelerate, or what would have happened if my first time experiencing the issue, where I was stalled for almost a minute and was unable to restart the vehicle immediately, would have occurred during a freeway slowdown. I would have been a sitting duck. Even being stalled at a busy light could have been dangerous for me.

Brakes failed on the highway and it appears to be the brake lines as outlined in a Subaru Brake Line Recall. Of course I own a 2012 Outback which was not covered and now have a very expensive repair bill. Subaru and the NHTSA annouced that the recalled models include the model year 2008 to 2011 Impreza, 2008 to 2014 WRX and STI and 2009 to 2013 Forester crossover SUV. All affected cars are currently or were formerly registered in the snowy states, where salt is applied to the roads. It was duly noted that these vehicles were previously subjected to another safety campaign, which was given the 14V-311 recall number.

I was driving to work and applied the brakes to slow the vehicle while descending a hill and the pedal went almost down to the floor before the brakes took hold. I got the vehicle under control and proceeded toward the stop sign. I attempted to applied the brakes again and the vehicle went nearly through the intersection before I could get the car stopped. This happened at two more stop signs before I was able to pull into a parking spot at work. After the first stop sign incident, I drove very slowly to work, so as to not use the brakes but for stopping. A mechanic has looked at the car and determined the master cylinder is bad. The part number has been recalled for some vehicles, but not for my car, as determined by the VIN. No warning lights are on. I had two other incidences, on different days, and weeks apart, where I was applying the brakes and went over bumps or holes in the road and brakes momentarily gave out, but after letting off the brake and reapplying pressure the brakes were normal again, and remained so for weeks until this latest episode. I had notified the mechanic at the earlier instances and they noted it might be a problem with my car-make.

Good morning. Had to replace 3 car battery in 3 years, can not leave key in Ignition car goes dead, have to jump to start car more times I can remember. It's take more time to start, sometimes won't start. Had to call aaa road service. Airbag light came on. Tuck to subaru dealer in quincy ma. Came back with numerous codes on airbags failing and Electrical harness, Dealer advice replacing all air bags and harness.