2011 SUBARU OUTBACK Complaints

I TURNED RIGHT INTO A DRIVEWAY WITH A STEEP UPWARD INCLINE AND HAD TO STOP MY CAR BRIEFLY TO SPEAK TO A PERSON HELPING WITH PARKING FOR AN EVENT. MY CAR HAS A MANUAL TRANSMISSION, SO I ENGAGED THE ELECTRONIC PARKING BRAKE TO HOLD THE CAR SO I COULD GET MOVING AGAIN WITHOUT ROLLING BACKWARDS. HOWEVER, THE PARKING BRAKE ON MY CAR AUTOMATICALLY DISENGAGES AS SOON AS THE GAS PEDAL IS DEPRESSED (OR EVEN, ACTUALLY, TOUCHED AT ALL). BECAUSE OF THE VERY STEEP INCLINE, BY THE TIME I HAD ENOUGH REVS TO ENGAGE THE CLUTCH, MY CAR HAD ROLLED BACK INTO THE STREET BEHIND ME. FORTUNATELY NO VEHICLE WAS PASSING AT THE TIME, THOUGH A SERIOUS ACCIDENT COULD HAVE OCCURRED. I HAVE NOTICED THAT THE ELECTRONIC PARKING BRAKE NEEDS TO BE MANUALLY DISENGAGED IF THE DRIVER SEATBELT IS UNFASTENED, PRESUMABLY AS A REMINDER TO FASTEN THE SEATBELT. IN THE FUTURE IN A SIMILAR DRIVING SITUATION I WOULD BE TEMPTED TO UNFASTEN MY SEATBELT BEFORE ATTEMPTING THE STEEP HILL START, WHICH WOULD BE THE LESS DANGEROUS OF TWO DANGEROUS OPTIONS. I EMAILED SUBARU TO POINT OUT THE PROBLEM AND ASK WHETHER IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO MODIFY THESE VEHICLES SUCH THAT THE PARKING BRAKE IS ALWAYS CONTROLLABLE BY THE DRIVER. MY CONCERN WAS DISMISSED, SEEMINGLY WITHOUT MUCH CONSIDERATION. I LIVE IN AN AREA WHERE STEEP HILLS ARE THE NORM, AND HAVE ALWAYS DRIVEN A MANUAL TRANSMISSION CAR WITHOUT INCIDENT, BUT THE ELECTRONIC PARKING BRAKE ON MY NEW CAR PRESENTS A SERIOUS HAZARD. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THIS ADDRESSED BEFORE SOMEONE IS INJURED OR KILLED. *TR

I HAVE OWNED SEVERAL SUBARU'S OVER THE YEARS AND ALWAYS LOVED THE HEADLIGHTS. UNFORTUNATELY, I HAVE OWNED THIS ONE LESS THAN A MONTH AND I ALMOST HAD AN ACCIDENT DRIVING AT NIGHT ON THE COUNTRY ROADS IN CT. THE NIGHT TIME DRIVING LIGHTS ONLY ILLUMINATE TO A VERY LOW HEIGHT (10 FEET MAYBE?) AND HAVE A CUT OFF LINE WHICH APPEARS TO BOUNCE UP AND DOWN ON COUNTRY ROADS, MAKING IT ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE THE ROAD OR ANYTHING IN THE DISTANCE. WHEN I TOOK THE CAR BACK TO THE DEALER TO HAVE THEM ADJUST OR REPLACE THE HEADLIGHT BULB THEY SAID THAT IS HOW IT WAS MANUFACTURED AND THERE WAS NO ADJUSTMENT NEEDED. THEY SAID TO DRIVE WITH THE HIGH BEAMS ON IT WILL HELP. I HONESTLY THINK THAT THIS MAY (PROBABLY WILL IF IT HASN'T ALREADY) CAUSE ACCIDENTS, IT ALMOST DID FOR ME AND SUBARU SHOULD REALLY LOOK INTO A FIX FOR THIS BEFORE SOMEONE LOSES THEIR LIFE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 SUBARU OUTBACK. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE FRONT PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF INDICATOR WOULD ILLUMINATE INTERMITTENTLY WHENEVER THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANTS WEIGHT WAS 100 POUNDS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOUR DIFFERENT TIMES FOR THE IDENTICAL FAILURE; HOWEVER THERE WAS NOT A REMEDY FOR THE REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 5,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.

2011 SUBARU OUTBACK STALLED WHILE DRIVE UP IN A PARKING RAMP. CAR WAS JERKY WHILE DRIVING BEFORE STALLING. IT DID START UP AGAIN. *KB

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH THE STEERING WHEEL WOULD SHAKE AND VIBRATE. THE VEHICLE WOULD ALSO RESPOND LATE TO TURNS IN THE STEERING WHEEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THE STEERING COLUMN AND VARIOUS SUSPENSION COMPONENTS WERE REPLACED. THE FAILURES CONTINUED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,000.

THE PASSENGER SIDE FRONT AIR BAG INDICATOR RANDOMLY SHOWED THE STATUS 'ON' OR 'OFF' WHEN THE SEAT WAS OCCUPIED BY AN ADULT PASSENGER. NO PATTERN COULD BE IDENTIFIED FOR THE INDICATION ALTHOUGH WE TRIED EVERY PERTURBATION OF SITTING, FASTENING SEAT BELT, CLOSING DOOR, STARTING ENGINE, ETC. THE VEHICLE WAS RETURNED TO THE DEALER FOR REPAIR. THE PASSENGER SEAT SENSOR(S) WAS REPLACED AS DEFECTIVE, NOW THE INDICATOR NEVER INDICATES 'ON', ALWAYS 'OFF' REGARDLESS OF ACTIONS AS ABOVE. THE VEHICLE WAS RETURNED A SECOND TIME, THIS TIME IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE SENSOR(S) WERE BEING INHIBITED BECAUSE OF SEAT COVERS DISTRIBUTING THE WEIGHT IN SUCH A WAY AS TO 'FOOL' THE SENSORS. IT TOOK A 180 LB. PERSON TO ACTIVATE THE SENSOR, [A 170 LB. PERSON DID NOT] WITH THE SEAT COVERS ON, THE SENSORS APPEARED TO OPERATE CORRECTLY WITHOUT THE SEAT COVERS. THIS RAISES THE QUESTION OF WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION, ARE LARGE BUTTOCKS REQUIRED GIVEN THAT THERE ARE MULTIPLE WEIGHT SENSORS IN THE SEAT, HOW ABOUT A SMALL FRAMED 120 LB ADULT. THE ANSWER IS CLEAR, THE PASSENGER AIR BAG SHOULD ALWAYS BE ON UNLESS MANUALLY TURNED OFF BY THE USER. SUBARU MUST PROVIDE A PROGRAMMING OPTION TO THE OWNER TO DEFAULT THE AIRBAG STATUS TO ALWAYS 'ON'. MY TOYOTA AND HONDA BOTH PROVIDES A KEY LOCK OPTION TO DISABLE THE UNIT, DEFAULT IS, AND SHOULD BE REQUIRED, TO BE 'ON'. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE, AND SUBARU IS OPENING THEMSELVES TO CLASS ACTIONS, AND HEAVEN FORBID THE FIRST ACCIDENT WHEN THE UNIT FAILS TO DEPLOY BECAUSE IT WAS NOT ARMED BECAUSE OF QUIRKY WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION REQUIREMENTS. I BELIEVE THAT A PREVENTIVE RECALL SHOULD BE ORDERED IF SUBARU DOES NOT UNILATERALLY PROVIDE AN ALWAYS 'ON' DEFAULT OPTION FOR THE VEHICLE.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT WITH THE CRUISE CONTROL AND THE PADDLE SHIFTERS FOR THE STEERING WHEEL MALFUNCTIONED AND THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT DECELERATE. THE DEALER ADVISED THE CONTACT NOT TO USE THE PADDLE SHIFTERS WHILE USING THE CRUISE CONTROL. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED NOR WAS THE VEHICLE INSPECTED OR REPAIRED. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 30,000. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 27,000.

PURCHASED MY 2011 OUTBACK IN JULY IF LAST YEAR. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO THE DEALER ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS DUE TO A VIBRATION IN THE STEERING AND THUMPING IN THE TIRES...ALMOST LIKE THERE WAS FLAT SPOTS IN THE TIRES. THEY FIRST TOLD ME IT WAS FLAT SPOTS AND IT MAY TAKE UP TO 3000 MILES BEFORE IT WOULD QUIT, HOWEVER IT NEVER DID AND GOT WORSE. I TOOK IT BACK 2 MORE TIMES AND THEY FINALLY DID A FORCE BALANCE AND PUT A VIBRATION KIT ON THE STEERING. MY STEERING WHEEL DOES NOT VIBRATE/SHIMMY ANY LONGER, HOWEVER THE REST OF THE CAR STILL DOES. THEY HAD TO REPLACE 2 OF THE TIRES AFTER SEVERAL FORCE BALANCES. I HAVE TOLD THEM THAT THE CAR STILL HAS THE THUMPING...YOU CAN"T HEAR IT, BUT YOU FEEL IT, AND THE VIBRATION IS STILL THERE. YOU DON'T NOTICE IT AS MUCH AT A LOWER SPEED, BUT WHEN YOUR SPEED INCREASES YOU SURE CAN. THEY ARE TELLING ME THERE IS NOTHING ELSE THEY CAN DO. HOW IS THAT? IT WAS A BRAND NEW CAR, AND I CALLED THEM AND LET THEM KNOW OF THE PROBLEM RIGHT OFF. THEY HAVE TRIED TO FIX THE PROBLEM, BUT IT'S STILL THERE. THIS IS A $30,000 VEHICLE, AND IS A LEMON. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT I CAN DO. I KNOW IT'S BEEN ALMOST A YEAR, BUT AS I SAID EVERY TIME I MENTION IT AT MY OIL CHANGES THEY TELL ME THERE IS NOTHING MORE I CAN DO. I HAVE LISTED MY PERSONAL INFORMATION BELOW. ANY INFORMATION OR SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. [XXX]- CAR IS IN MY HUSBAND NAME [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 SUBARU OUTBACK. WHILE THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO JERK EXCESSIVELY WITH A LOUD CLUNKING NOISE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS WHERE THE TIMING BELT WAS REPLACED. ALSO, THERE WAS A REPLACEMENT OF THE TIMING BELT TENSIONER AND PULLEYS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED AND THEY PLANNED TO PROVIDE AN ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATION RELATED TO THE DEFECT. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 2,052.

RECENTLY PURCHASED 2011 OUTBACK SUBURU, BRAND NEW. WITH 1500 MILES, THE DEALER INSPECTED OUR TIRES AND FOUND 3 OUT OF 4 TIRES TO HAVE SIDE WALL BULGES. THE TIRES ARE CONTINENTAL TIRES. THE CALL BACK THIS MORNING FROM THE DEALERS SERVICE MANAGER SAID THAT THEY INSPECTED THE NEW CARS ON THEIR LOT AND FOUND SIDEWALL BULGES ALSO SHOWING ON THE TIRES OF NEW INVENTORY. THE SERVICE MANAGER SAID THIS WAS A RESULT OF EXTRA MATERIAL. AS NEW OWNERS WE FEEL THAT THE OPERATIONAL INTEGRITY OF THE VEHICLE IS COMPROMISED WITH AN INTERGRAL PART OF THE VEHICLE SHOWING MANUFACTURING DEFECTS, AND AT THIS PRESENT WRITING, NO AVAILABLE RECOURSE OFFERED FROM SUBURA. *TR