Subaru Outback

"The car sometimes does not recognize the presence of apple carplay when my iPhone is plugged in"

"Display freezes and nothing works until I turn off the car and restart it. It's like a beast takes over the radio and display screen and requires a reboot. This happens randomly."

"Problem occurs about every week or two. The screen freezes and then restarts. It is more prevalent in hot weather. I have had the screen replaced (under recall and warranty) and the problem is still there"

"The reason I wont buy another Outback. The display freezes and hesitates on a regular basis. Its not reliable."

""On multiple occasions the screen would freeze. Eventually we brought the car to the dealer and there is a TSB and a software update. If we did not have the extended warranty we would have had to pay for this out of pocket. Since the update it's mostly better, but about once per month the screen will freeze and loose all control to the radio/phone/climate. The only way to reset it is to stop the car and power the car off and back on.""

"4 times in the last 3 years the screen feezes, when the vehicle is started the screen does not come on. i have to disconnect battery to reset the screen."

"We have experienced a Head Unit issue with our Subaru since we purchased it. We make numerous calls to the dealer and they looked but did not detect any problems. We are aware of the class action lawsuit concerning this problem and Subaru has extended the warranty to 8 years/150,000 miles. We hope to be able to get the issue resolved. The problem is the screen freezes, goes blank, reboots, and eventually abilities return. This involves not only the entertainment system but eyesight and cruise options as well as other features controlled by this unit. We hope Subaru will help resolve this issue."

"I would say it freezes up once every month, but slow to start very often. Physical buttons are also locked during that short freeze period when you start the car for about 2-3 minutes."

"Screen quit working"

"Would be driving the screen would go blank. Went out three times and was able to resolve by shutting off car and restarting car. The last time had to disconnect battery to reset entertainment center. Had to take to dealer to do update. It was under warranty or it would have cost me to do update."

""Screen would just be black. Shut off car to reboot. One time lost audio. Checked online and people said disconnect battery to reboot. It did, but then had to reset all settings""

"The screen will occasionally just quits, then reboots itself after a few minutes. This is particularly distressing when using the screen for navigation, either with the built-in maps or Waze through Apple Play."

"Since I purchased the car numerous different issues. It goes black periodically. When I initially turn the car on frequently greeted with loud static from the radio. Can be difficult at times to change radio stations. Thru the years there have been many problems with the hole system. It is bad enough that I would not buy a Subaru in the future."

""I always use my apple iPhone maps. While navigating, the screen on the console either freezes or goes blank. This happens from time to time (1 x per month). It is dangerous, because I will have to pick up my iPhone to see where I need to turn.""

"Infotainment screen goes blank and the audio doesn't work"

"every few months the display screen either goes blank or freezes"

"I have had all dash displays go black for a few seconds"

""display screen would freeze up and then go blank.Radio, phone connection stopped working. There was a recall and the dealership updated the software. No problems since then.""

"I think there is a recall for thus issue."

"same issue as already discussed - it freezes and then goes blank and restarts"

""After rest area stop during 2-day highway travel, radio, ipod could not be accessed""

""The unit froze, went blank and needed to be replaced twice.""

"Needed an update that required money"

""Voice recognition sucks. English is my native language, and 80% of the time it doesn't understand me. For example, if I ask for directions to a local address, it responds with directions to the center point some town on the other side of the country.""

"Randomly fails to load along with the radio. Will load after turning off the vehicle. Audio will sometimes screech. There is a warranty call out now for the unit to be replaced."

""When I hook up my Android phone, the navigational system comes on but when I engage the mircophone to input an address, I get "Oops, something went wrong" continuously.""

"The built in navigation system very rarely worked properly. Not until I got the wireless device off Amazon did it actually work."

""The major communications element for StarLink failed. The repair cost was about $850. Dealer service manager suggested I call Subaru customer support. I did, and Subaru agreed to pay for 50% of repair cost.""

"The processor seems to be slow with the new larger screen. It is slow to start and freezes while operating at times. We didn't have that issue with smaller screen 2019 Outback we own. The automatic stop/start of the engine was very glitchy. I often had engine stalling when stopping behind traffic signals, and had to turn it off and back on again. Subaru recently during my 90,000 mile service recommended upgrading to a higher voltage battery that resolved that. We didn't have that issue on 2019 model, only on 2021 model."

"Hard to get a connection to update and dealer would not do."

""Suddenly, my phone wouldn't pair. After about 2 weeks, my husband showed me a letter that arrived about a recall that Subaru would fix with a one time replacement of the screen and associated systems. Subaru drove me to work, fixed the car by lunchtime, and picked me up after work. Great outcome!""

""There is a chronic problem with relying on the navigation from a paired iPhone. Sometimes the voice narration from the navigation fails to speak, which is not helpful or safe when the driver is the only person in the car. We cant figure out why the voice fails because the occurrence seems random. Particularly on long trips, we have two iPhones connected - e.g., one charging and one one with the navigation app open. Very confusing. Potentially dangerous.""

"My iPhone sometimes won't pair with the car unless it is plugged in."

"The phone could make and receive calls but they other end could not hear me and I had to repare the phone with the system. It happened more than once and with both new sets of new screen hardware. I got a notice that the media screen would be warrantied for eight years though."

""Sometimes it does not come on when starting and I need to re start teh vehicle, at times requiring a few minutes prior to re starting the car to fix the issue.""

"Since I purchased this car I have had problems with the radio. At times the radio simply does not work. The entire information/entertainment system Intermittently does not function"

"Same as previous comment"

"The response to voice commands usually results in a message that the command is not understood. The navigation voice commands are usually "not heard" or an erroneous destination is displayed. or"

"Hard to pair with iPhone to use hands free calling"

"Voice commands in the vehicle are mostly worthless. The reaction is too slow and frequently did not understand the command. I stopped using is during the first year I owned the car."

"Battery died suddenly in April 2025 and would no longer hold a charge. Replacement cost nearly $500 at Subaru dealership."

"Persistent oil leak -- pump failed."

"Windshield developed crack with no apparent cause."

"Gas cap replaced"

"Replaced oem tires due to premature wear. Replaced with Michelin cross climate2 with amazing results."

""When opening the rear gate, sometimes it will go up and then immediately close.""

"battery wasn't big enough to support the vehicle. Car shut down in the middle of an intersection and wouldn't start. They had to put in a larger battery which fixed the problem"

"Windows channel guides stuck windows in down position."

"4th broken windshield"

"Passenger mirror in reverse has broke 2x in 6 months where it doesnt return to programmed position. Air conditioner coolant has been checked 2x but output is poor even after running it several minutes as suggested by dealer. The wiring harness of hitch installed by dealer wore through and needed replaced."

"Overheating senor shut car down when failed."

"I don't know how to continue as I no longer see what I have written. I was writing about Ford- I have owned cars , pick ups, large trucks (up to 850's) General motors from passenger (including Corvette) to large diesel powered Trucks, Peterbilt Trucks, international trucks, Datsun pickup. I have purchased vehicles new and used from dealers and private individuals and never treated as poorly as Subaru. I owned a small Water Well Drilling Corporation in the foot hills Southwest of Denver and was responsible for the purchase of multiple vehicles and associated equipment."

""The seam joining the base seat to hip/thigh area of the seat started develooping a tear in the passenger side. As it got larger, a similar tear in the driver's seat began developing and getting larger.""

"Leather seats wore at teh seams on both the driver and passenger side which were replaced partly by me and partly by the manufacturer. I was told this is a common problem with Outbacks with leather seating"

"The drivers seat back would move back and forth from the drivers seat bottom. There was a TSB about this. Thankfully we had the extended warranty so this was covered."

"memory does not work! Has not been corrected for over a year"

"The driver's seat has to be reset every time the driver sits in it - they keep saying it's fixed but it's not - it's been taken to service 3 times - still doesn't work."

"control quit working for seat bottom. Replaced under extended warranty"

"Programming the seat controls doesnt always stay the same. Sometimes you get in and the seat will raise and move you all the way up and forward. Which is very inconvenient. K"