2013 Subaru Legacy Complaint Log

AIRBAG FAULT WARNING LIGHT TURN ON WITH FRONT PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF LIGHT TURN ON AND THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT BELT UNBUCKLE WARNING ALSO TURN ON WHILE DRIVING. THERE IS A PASSENGER IN THE FRONT SEAT WITH SEAT BELT ON. TURN OFF THE CAR AND STARTED THE CAR AGAIN MULTIPLE TIME DID NOT RESOLVE THE PROBLEM, THE PASSENGER AIR BAG LIGHT STAY OFF WITH SEAT BELT WARNING LIGHT ON EVEN WITH OR WITHOUT FRONT PASSENGER. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 SUBARU LEGACY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE AIR BAG SENSOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND STATED THAT THE PARTS WERE ON BACKORDER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 12,000.

THE ISSUE IS WITH THE OIL CONSUMPTION. I PURCHASE A 2013 SUBARU LEGACY LIMITED IN JANUARY 2014 WITH JUST OVER 12,100 MILES ON IT . I WOULD DO A FULL SYNTHETIC OIL CHANGE REGARDLESS BUT THIS MAKE/MODEL/YEAR REQUIRES FULL SYNTHETIC. THE 0W FULL SYNTHETIC IS WICKED EXPENSIVE TO BEGIN WITH. I HAVE BROUGHT THE CAR IN 3 TIMES IN THE 10 MONTHS I HAVE OWNED IT FOR AN OIL CONSUMPTION TEST AND OF COURSE I AM TOLD THERE IS NOTHING WRONG. I HAVE HAD ISSUES WITH IT SUCKING UP OIL ON OTHER OCCASIONS, I JUST DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO BRING IT IN BECAUSE I TRAVEL FOR WORK SO I DUMPED A QUART IN MYSELF ON THOSE OCCASIONS. I EVEN LEAP FROGGED THE DEALERSHIP AND WENT STRAIGHT TO SUBARU OF AMERICA AND AGAIN WAS TOLD THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE NEW VEHICLES OIL CONSUMPTION AND THEY JUST EAT MORE OIL (BTW, I DID SAVE THAT EMAIL). I DISAGREE, I DRIVE ROUGHLY 3000-6000 MILES PER MONTH AND I HAVE AN ISSUE WITH THE OIL LIGHT COMING ON AFTER 3000 MILES. MAYBE IF IT WERE RUNNING REGULAR OIL; BUT IT REQUIRES FULL SYNTHETIC. SO EITHER THE DEALERSHIP IS PUTTING REGULAR OIL IN A CAR THAT REQUIRES A SYNTHETIC OIL OR SUBARU IS HIDING SOMETHING. EITHER WAY I WILL GET TO THE BOTTOM OF IT AND IF I FIND OUT THEY ARE HIDING SOMETHING, THEN THEY CAN TALK TO MY ATTORNEY AND THE NEWS MEDIA. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2014 I DROVE 799 MILES FOR WORK AND WAS HALFWAY HOME OF A 4 HOUR COMMUTE AND THAT STUPID LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN AND BEGAN BLINKING EVERY TEN MILES OR SO. THE CAR IS GOING IN TOMORROW BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO BRING IT IN BEFOREHAND; AND IT'S BEEN ROUGHLY 3000 MILES SINCE THE LAST OIL CHANGE. *TR

ON 01/17/14, THE AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON AND CAR WAS TAKEN TO SUBARU DEALER. DEALER VERIFIED CONDITION AND PERFORMED RE-CALIBRATION OF THE AIR BAG SYSTEM. THIS CLEARED THE AIR BAG. ON 01/21/14, THE AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON AND THE CAR HAD 10611 MILES. CAR WAS TAKEN TO DEALER AND TECH VERIFIED AND STATED THERE WAS A SHORT IN THE RIGHT SEAT FRAME. SEAT FRAME WAS ORDERED AND REPLACED. ISSUES SOLVED FOR A FEW DAYS. ON 01/24/14, THE AIR BAG CAME ON AGAIN AND VEHICLE HAD 10929 MILES. CAR WAS TAKEN TO DEALER AND TECH VERIFIED AND FOUND THERE WAS A SHORT IN THE DETECTION MODULE AND STATED CAR WAS UNSAFE. DEALER PROVIDED A LOANER WHILE THE CAR WAS IN SHOP WAITING FOR PARTS. ON 02/07/14, THE AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN WITH 12,052 MILES. DEALER FOUND RIGHT FRONT SEAT BUCKLE WAS NOT STAYING CORRECTLY CONNECTED TO THE WIRE HARNESS. ON 11/17/14. THE AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON AND CAR WAS TAKEN TO DEALER. DEALER STATED THEY WILL CONTACT SUBARU TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHY THIS KEEPS HAPPENING. CARS AIR BAG LIGHT GOES ON AND OFF. *TR

SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED I HAD TO ADD AT LEAST ONE QUART OF OIL TO THE ENGINE BETWEEN EACH RECOMMENDED OIL CHANGE. I INFORMED THE DEALER WHO HAD ME RETURN APPROX 1300 MILES AFTER MY LAST OIL CHANGE, WHICH I DID. THE DEALER INDICATED TO ME THAT THE OIL LEVEL WAS FINE. BY 3,700 MILES THE OIL WARNING LIGHT CAME ON AND I HAD TO ADD A QUART OF OIL. THE SUBARU HAS APPROX 24,550 MILES. I HAVE NEVER OWNED A VEHICLE WHERE I HAD TO ADD OIL PRIOR TO SCHEDULED OIL CHANGE. *TR

MY VEHICLE SHOWED SIGNIFICANT LAG IN SPEEDING UP AFTER PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR AND REVVED VERY HIGH RPMS (34-4200). THIS ALSO OCCURRED WHEN I REMOVED MY FOOT FROM THE ACCELERATOR GOING DOWN A HILL...HIGH RPM (34-400) WITHOUT DECREASE IN SPEED. SUBARU OF MANCHESTER DETERMINED TRANSMISSION CAME FROM MANUFACTURER WITH OVERFILLED FLUID CAUSING HESITANCY AND LAG. REPAIRED AND RESET. ON 12/28/13, MY VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE WHILE TRAVELLING AT 60MPH ON A HIGHWAY SO I COULD AVOID BEING HIT BY ANOTHER VEHICLE WHO WAS DRIFTING TOWARDS MY RIGHT SIDE AS IT ATTEMPTED TO GET ON THE HIGHWAY. I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR CONTINUOUSLY AND THEN TO THE FLOOR; RPM'S REVVED TO 5400; LOUD AIRPLANE TYPE SOUND; WITH NO ACCELERATION. SUBARU OF MANCHESTER HAS SINCE DETERMINED THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED AN UPDATE AND RESET OF THE TRANSMISSION SETTINGS. THEY ALSO FOUND A LEAK BETWEEN THE TRANSMISSION AND THE ENGINE WHICH THEY STATE CAME FROM THE MANUFACTURER. THEY STATED THE POWER TRAIN IS FINE. I WILL PICK MY VEHICLE UP FROM THIS REPAIR WITHIN THE NEXT 24 HOURS AND WILL SEE IF THAT WAS IN FACT THE ISSUE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 SUBARU LEGACY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE TELESCOPIC STEERING WHEEL WOULD NOT LOCK INTO POSITION. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER WHERE THE STEERING WHEEL SHAFT WAS REPLACED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED BY THE MANUFACTURER THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 13V194000 (STEERING). THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 12,000.

IN 2012 DECEMBER, I PURCHASED A SUBARU LEGACY,2013, FROM RYE FORD & SUBARU. THE CAR HAS BEEN BURNING OIL IN THE ENGINE. I HAVE BROUGHT MY CAR TO THE SUBARU LEGACY DEALERSHIP MANY TIMES IN AN EFFORT TO PREVENT THE CAR FROM BURNING OIL. AT THE DEALERSHIP THEY CHANGED THE BLOCK AND PISTON RINGS, AND AT THE LAST OIL CHANGE THEY REPORTED THAT EVERY 1000 MILES 3 OUNCES OF OIL BURNS. THEY ADVISED ME TO CARRY COUPLE OF QUARTS OF OIL IN THE CAR EACH TIME I DRIVE. THIS PROBLEM CONTINUES TO PERSIST, EACH TIME I DRIVE MY CAR. I CALLED THE MAIN OFFICE IN NEW JERSEY AND DEMANDED A NEW CAR OR RE-FUND FOR THE CAR I PURCHASED. THE MAIN OFFICE STATED THAT THEY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO PROVIDE A REFUND FOR MY CAR. WITHIN THE PAST TWO YEARS THE DEALERSHIP HAS REPAIRED MY CAR SEVERAL TIMES, BUT THE PROBLEM STILL CONTINUES. I HAVE BEEN CARRYING THE ADDITIONAL QUARTS OF OIL WITH ME WHILE I DRIVE, BUT IT IS NOT THE EXPERIENCE I WAS LOOKING FOR WHEN I PURCHASED MY SUBARU VEHICLE. I EXPECT TO BE COMFORTABLE AND SECURE WHEN DRIVING MY CAR AND MY EXPERIENCE WITH THIS CAR HAS BEEN ANYTHING BUT THAT. IT IS VERY DANGEROUS AND I FEEL UNSAFE DRIVING THIS VEHICLE BECAUSE IT BURNS OIL. MY QUESTION HERE IS, WHAT GOOD IS IT TO CONTINUE TO REPAIR A CAR, WHEN THE CAR HAS SOME BASIC ENGINE TROUBLE, WHICH THE DEALERSHIP CANNOT DIAGNOSE? THE PROBLEM STILL REMAINS AND MY SAFETY IS AT RISK. I AM ALSO NOT COMFORTABLE OPENING THE HOOD, POURING THE OIL, AND WATCHING THE ODOMETER ALL THE TIME TO SEE THE MILEAGE ON THE CAR. THAT IS NOT THE PURPOSE OF BUYING A NEW CAR. THE CUSTOMER SHOULD NOT BE PUT IN A POSITION OF CONSTANTLY GOING BACK AND FORTH TO A CAR DEALERSHIP ESPECIALLY WHEN THE DEALERSHIP HAS ALREADY TRIED TO SOLVE THIS ISSUE AND FAILED TO DO SO. PLEASE UNDERSTAND MY SITUATION AND PLEASE ADVISE THE SUBARU COMPANY TO GIVE ME A NEW CAR WITH THEIR GOLD WARRANTY, OR REFUND THE PURCHASE PRICE. UPDATED 4/7/2016*JS

AS I DROVE MY VEHICLE INTO A PARKING SPACE WITH A CONCRETE BUMPER AT THE HEAD, JUST AS IT WAS READY TO STOP, IT SUDDENLY LUNGED FORWARD OVER THE CONCRETE BUMPER AND FINALLY CAME TO A STOP WHEN THE BACK WHEELS MADE CONTACT WITH THE CONCRETE BUMPER AND THE IGNITION WAS TURNED OFF. A VERY FRIGHTENING EXPERIENCE. AM NOT COMFORTABLE DRIVING THIS CAR FOR FEAR OF ANOTHER SIMILAR OCCURRENCE. *TR

LOW OIL WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER. THEY TOLD ME IT WAS NORMAL. AT 10,500 MILES, SAME THING HAPPENED. LIKE CLOCKWORK, EVERY 3,000 MILES THE LIGHT GOES ON AND I'M DOWN AT LEAST A QUART OF OIL. THIS HAS HAPPENED EVERY 3,000 MILES SINCE THEN. I'VE BEEN DRIVING FOR 50+ YEARS AND HAVE NEVER HAD ANY VEHICLE, FOREIGN OR DOMESTIC, USE A QUART OF OIL EVERY 3,000 MILES NO MATTER HOW OLD OR NEW THE CAR WAS. BEING TOLD THIS IS "NORMAL" IS RIDICULOUS. THERE MUST BE FLAW IN THE 2.5L BOXER ENGINE PRODUCED BY SUBARU. *TR

2013 SUBARU LEGACY. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO VEHICLE ACCELERATION PROBLEMS. *SMD THE CONSUMER STATED THE ENGINE STALLED QUITE FREQUENTLY ON ACCELERATION, USUALLY AT SPEEDS OF 35 MPH. IT WOULD OCCUR WHEN GOING UP SLIGHT HILLS, DOWN HILL AND LEVEL ROADS. THE ENGINE WOULD RE-START ITSELF AFTER LOOSING 5-10 MPH. APPLYING THE ACCELERATOR MADE NO DIFFERENCE. THE DEALER REPROGRAMMED THE COMPUTER, BUT THE PROBLEM RETURNED, SHORTLY THEREAFTER. THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO FIND ANYTHING WRONG.

I am the original owner since purchased new on the dealer lot in 2013. Within the first year, the drivers side headlight prematurely burned out (low beam). I have had to replace four bulbs (so far) since owning vehicle. The first two incidents I payed over $100 to have the bulb changed/replaced by a local mechanic. Since then, I have figured out how to replace the bulbs myself; but unfortunately the remedy is to remove the front driver's tire, remove inner plastic wheel well, and finagle and twist my arm to do this procedure (not easy!). Two main issues: Subaru needs to recall and fix the issue that is prematurely burning out this bulb, and 2; bring back the ability to (engineering design) that allows the owner of the vehicle to replace this bulb from the engine bay - NOT going through a procedure that involves a lengthy and expensive repair.

I HAVE A DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT LOCK THAT CLICKS ALL THE TIME AND CREATES A HAZARD WHEN DRIVING. THE NOISE IS EXCESSIVE AND CAN DISTRACT A DRIVER FROM THE ROAD, THINKING THAT SOMETHING IS WRONG. I AM REPORTING THIS TO YOU, BECAUSE SUBARU THINKS THIS IS NORMAL. I, AS A LESSEE, WAS NEVER INFORMED REGARDING THIS ISSUE BEFORE SIGNING PAPERWORK. IT KEEPS GETTING WORSE AND IS VERY DISTRACTING. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 SUBARU LEGACY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THE VEHICLE WANDERED LEFT AND RIGHT. AN INSPECTION WAS PERFORMED, BUT NO PROBLEM WAS FOUND. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE AND THE CONTACT WAS ADVISED THAT THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 13V194000 (STEERING). THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100. UPDATED 10/22/13*LJ THE CONSUMER STATED ADJUSTMENTS WERE MADE, BUT IT DID NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 SUBARU LEGACY. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 75 MPH, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO SWERVE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION AND THEY STATED THEY COULD NOT DIAGNOSE THE CAUSE OF FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 1,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.

I want to add my report of oil loss in the hope a recall is made. I found out after purchase that 2012-2014 or 2015 has a known problem with piston rings. With normal local driving I need to top off the oil every couple of weeks. With longer trips, say a couple hours of driving one way, the oil gets a quarter to half way down on the dipstick. I carry oil for all roadtrips and can't forget to keep checking the level. My understanding from many sources online is that Subaru is aware they put in bad piston rings and just call it good enough or within spec, but dumping so much oil isn't right. This isn't a wear and tear problem, although it can get worse over time and lead to other problems. The problem goes away when the rings and the engine block is replaced. Scotty Kilmer on Youtube tells a story of a customer that complained enough and after being persistent had it fixed for free (piston rings and block), and still has no oil loss issues after 60k miles. He also recommended reporting it here. This engine is used in various Subaru's, not just the Legacy.