Subaru Outback

""muffler failed, after I had the sub frame for the engine replaced""

"I have been thru 4 to 5 batteries"

"Unintentional tailgate opens when parked. Usually at home and discharges the battery."

"Had to replace battery twice"

"Battery does not charge"

"Battery drain resulting in continuous dead battery. Electrical components failing."

"The key remained stuck in the ignition while trying to turn the engine off. They replaced part of the shifter."

"Dead battery for no obvious reasons."

"Battery drain due to car searching for a 3G network that no longer exists. Unable to upgrade system."

"Save as the other 2017"

"Battery drain - have had the battery replaced by Subaru twice in the last 2 years. The most recent replacement was a more powerful battery."

"Oil leak - Front engine timing cover and oil pan leaking"

"SOLD VEHICLE"

"The front passenger window control does not function as intended. The window errantly re-opens immediately after it is fully closed from any open position. One must incrementally creep the window shut.and this action might require several attempts before the window stays shut. This problem has never been resolved."

"Antenna"

"Well-documented issue where the vehicle does not properly "sleep". Its electrical system (I've read it's the sat-nav/ entertainment system) draws too much current and the battery will drain if not driven for a week or so."

""Radiator leak along seam. Had radiator and hose replaced. Also replaced battery, but it was old.""

"Mysterious battery drain if car is not driven every few days."

""A module failed that caused the car to die and had to be jumped. It cost $1,450.00 to repair which I feel had been an ongoing from when the original battery dies around 44,000 miles. There was a Subaru settlement for the battery and fix but because I had replaced the battery through Auto Zone and not the dealer, I was not permitted to be included in the program. I feel the problem was known but Subaru used this to eliminate me from a fix by Subaru.""

"The power lift-gate stopped working. It was a costly repair because it required 2 motors to be replaced."

"I kept getting a shock when I closed the driver side door."

""windshield keeps cracking, in line to install 5th windshield""

"the leather seat on the driver's side peeled"

"This Subaru suffered from four (4) Battery failures. Subaru of America knew about this problem as far back as 2015. The problem was finally solved with a software update on the StarLink System."

"Struts all needed to be replaced - quite expensive"

"Turns out Subarus burn a lot of oil. Once the kms get to about 4000, the viscosity is too thin and your oil levels drop. Need to keep a constant eye on oil levels until you change. Talk to other outback owners and this is very common."

"Oil crankcase filter"

"battery drainage when not in use. Needed 2 new batteries. Dealer unable to diagnose or fix issue."

""Its a fault with these cars, the communication module keeps trying to connect to the outside world even when the car is turned off, draining the battery. There is a fix at Subaru that costs $700 but I just removed a fuse to stop the module. I loose some functionality such as automatic connection of the phone. I missed the recall somehow, but Ive bought so many batteries and this was only recalled last year or so. Not impressed.""

""Battery corroded after 30,000 miles/3 years. Had repaired /replaced.""

"Battery protections system often failed to work leaving me with discharged battery unable to start car."

"See previous comment"

"Paracidic drain by a bad relay. Programing the cars computer seemed to fix the electrical problems."

"battery dead no reason"

"Had to replace multiple, sometimes more than once."

""Replaced left headlight, had water leak inside. Had to remove front bumper and other mass removal to replace.""

"water in the light. had to replace the whole lamb section"

"Headlamp unit filled with water and had to be replaced."

""It has and STILL has problems when trying to start. We've replaced the fob battery, had Subaru try to find the issue, but to no avail. NEVER BUY ANOTHER SUBARU! Most trouble of any car I ever owned. Can't believe you folks rate it so high...""

"When battery died, could not access vehicle because manual emergency door device was not installed properly, required locksmith x2 and multiple days at dealership and $1000 expense"

""when battery died on car, unable to use the manual key to open the door""

"Dead battery. Passenger window could not be opened or closed. Suburu had to reprogram the main computer."

"I have had a chronic recurring problem with the front passenger window. They adjust it and it works fine for about three weeks then it wont go down. Its been fixed at least 7 or 8 times. I think it needs a fulll replacement"

"When parked for a period of over 5 days, the car will require a jump start due to the battery being drained while parked. The dealer has looked at the car and has been unable to fix the problem."

""driver's window automatic up and down function didn't work - about a year ago, difficult to open and close - fixed ? by my mechanic - told it was an issue with the button unit in the door. During the winter, the driver's side button to open the front passenger side stopped working (button on the passenger side continued to work). This went on for a couple of months and then suddenly, it started to work but the driver's side auto up and down stopped working. That was for a week. Without any intervention, both buttons are now working fine -? winter plays a role?""

"The alternator failed while on a cross country trip. No reason for this to have happened"

"This car has ruined three batteries. Had to be jump started multiple times. Dealer did a parasitic draw to find the problem. The dcm and starlink causing the draw through the telecom(as I understand). This is a known problem"

"Intermittent battery drain even when all lights are off, requiring a jump start. Happens once every few months."

""As alluded to previously, there is something seriously wrong with the electrical system of the Outback. I dont know if there's a ground fault, if the batterys not sized properly (it is a laughable Group 25 battery which would be more fitting in my MR2 than the Outback), or if the alternators not sized to match the load actually created by the vehicle (relatively large 3.6L engine to start, EyeSight, heated steering wheel & 4 seats, etc) but weve had numerous issues with it. First, we cannot sit and listen to the radio with the ignition just on accessory (i.e. the engine not running), because if we do, in all of 5 minutes, the battery will become so depleted that the car wont restart. This was a hard-learned lesson after I had to go and boost my wife on three separate occasions until I finally pieced together what was happening. And were not talking try to shatter the windows with the subwoofer volumes here I mean just sitting with the music going in the background that you can still comfortably talk over. And yes, the ignition is just on Accessory position, and the climate control system and fan arent on, etc. Second, even if were not listening to the radio with the engine off, the battery wont keep a charge worth a damn. During the winter, I am out with the external charger every other night topping up the battery, and when I do, it always starts out as either 60% charge or Low, which is anything less than 60%. So that means that the battery is going from 100% to 60% charge (or less) in 2 days of use. I also suspect that because its perpetually operating in a realm of less-than-ideal charge, that's contributing to my battery attrition rate, because we are now on the THIRD battery in this car. Its a 2017, so that means 3 batteries in 8 years. Thats pathetic. Finally, when I replaced the battery last year, after looking at various forums, I decided to buy the largest battery that would fit on the tray (a NAPA Group 34 battery), and it has been better, but Im still having to charge it every other night through the winter, so the bigger battery helped, but it didn't fix anything.""

"The battery was underpowered and would die quickly. There was a recall on this but all they did was replace the battery. They did not correct what turned out to be a software issue where systems would stay active when the car was off and the keys removed."

"The battery will drain if you accident leave an interior light on. The light on the visor mirror is an example"

"All warning lights came on for no reason. It was due to a loose connection in a cable after brakes were repaired."

"Drivers leather seat opened up on a seam. Had to have it re-upholstered. Seems to be a common problem for Subaru according to repair shop."

""For the past year both the drivers seat and passenger seat have tears in the leather from wear, just me and the passenger entering and vacating the seats.""

"I think buttons on my husband's pants caused the upholstery to rip."

"Rt headlight has developed a water leak. Especially bad in winter season. New unit costs about $900 for part alone."

"Driver's side leather seat to crack and eventually break."

"The 'leather ' seat split on the driver side. I tried a repair kit that didn't work now its covered with purple vinyl tape."

"The drivers seat cover or surface cracked requiring replacement."

"The leather on the drivers side cracked and came apart at the seams on the left side of the seat."

"Seat cover cracked and torn at the seat and back area. Very common failure among this generation Outback. Subaru will not fix beyond warranty and failure keeps re-occuring. Needs new design or fabric."

"the driver seat has been cracking for over 40000 miles"

""Leather" seats cracking"

"seat covers cracked in many locations at around 90000 miles. Never replaced because it was over $1000 to repair not counting labor"

"The vinyl on the driver side seat has completely split and is breaking apart even with a seat cover. I've never had a vehicle seat completely lose it at less than 200,000 miles before. The mechanics are fine the electronics work fine"

"The leather seats on both the driver and passenger side are torn from use. The driver seat cover was replaced by the dealer as a courtesy (even though it was out of warranty), but the replacement cover ripped as well."

"Both front seat covers delaminated"

""First noticed tear in driver's seat summer 2024 (7 yr old car). Had both seats reupholstered early 2025. Auto upholstery shop said he fixed Subarus and MERCEDES-BENZ most of any cars (in business 25+ yrs), which was why I had passenger seat reupholstered also. (He did a perfect job -- matching, quality, color, pattern.) Had one Subaru with 100K mi., two Toyotas 15 yrs old. Never replaced upholstery before.""

""The lumbar control quit working on the driver's side power seat. It had been going on for several months when we had it serviced. It was fixed approximately one year ago. It was surprisingly expensive to repair, but National Subaru paid for part of it because of our low mileage. Also the light quit working in the passenger side sun visor mirror and we had that repaired as well at the same time.""

"Rain water leaks into car staining headliner and pooling on passenger footwell. Have repeatedly had the "vents/drains" blown out, This works for a while then the problem begins again."

"Hatchback hydraulics have malfunctioned numerous times and had to be replaced ."

"Passenger window wont close Electronic"

"The right (passenger door window periodically does not close. It goes up and then falls back to half up. I know how to repair this but ut us a nuisance"

""Passenger front window sometimes works properly, other times stops in the middle of opening or closing, especially when controlled from the driver position controls, completely erratic and unpredictable""

"driver's window switch broke."