NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2012 Subaru Outback. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2012 Subaru Outback. The contact discovered a mileage discrepancy after the purchase. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the mileage was 89,000. It was later discovered, when the title arrived, that the mileage on the title was 134,000.
The brake pedal suddenly went almost to the floor while attempting to stop. Researching I found there was a recall. NHTSA Recall No. 11V-562. My car was not apparently among the ones being recalled, yet this problem is exactly as described in the bulletin. The component in question is the master brake cylinder. It is available for inspection. It happened on Sat Sept 20 2025 returning from a trip approximately. 300 miles away. the symptom persists. There were no warning indicators.
I took my Outback to my local highly respectable mechanic on August 20, 2025 as I needed the oil changed and the concern I had about having to add brake fluid twice in the past 4 months. He inspected my car immediately and he refused to let me drive it out of his shop as there is a dangerous brake line leaking issue that could result in brake failure. He told me that my Outback is not the first that he had to repair this “Subaru manufacturing defect”. I had to get it repaired. I checked to see if there was a NHTSA recall on my Outback year and there was none, only prior years. Yet when I went online searching more, I found an article that stated that Subaru was going to recall the 2012 Subaru as well? The repair shop owner said to us that my wife is a "gentle driver" and that was good, because, if she had to apply the brakes very hard to avoid a collision, they probably would have failed. Please understand that I read the recall for previous years of Outbacks and other Subaru models, and my Subaru Outback had the exact same defect. I did contact Subaru of America and they responded that my Outback does not have a recall, only prior years. Unbelievable!!! The exact same make and model with the exact same defect and they just blow me off! I was lucky that we did not reach the point of a serious accident. I hope that NHTSA will evaluate my, and I am sure other safety issues with Subaru brakes, and take some action to give other owners the opportunity to make this very serious safety matter right, and avoid an accident. In a related question, can NHTSA somehow require auto manufacturers to inspect their vehicles that are still on the road after say 12 years to helpfully provide some safety assurance to the drivers of their vehicles?
Vehicle stalls when stopping. This is a huge safety issue because stalling at intersections can cause accidents. Dealership diagnosed a faulty torque converter. This torque converter (it should be part number 31100AB170) issue is widely known in this production series of the Subaru outback. After hundreds of complaints were filed with the NHTSA, Subaru extended the warranty on all their automatic transmissions to avoid a recall around 2017, but closed the extended warranty in 2022. Subaru now tries to convince their customers that these vehicles are too old for the issue to be attributable to them, despite knowing that they equipped these vehicles with defective parts. See the following: [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The last incident? I couldn't recover my intentions. (Incidents of random acceleration seem to only happen when I am turning). The last incident occurred in my mall parking lot.. I was about to turn and suddenly the car shot forward. I could have fought to maintain my turn but that would have been aggressive maneuvering. Nothing, thankfully, was in front of me, so this was the first time I was deviated off course. 1 - random acceleration 2 - if my reflexes were not quick enough, there would have been vehicular accident and/or pedestrian being struck 3 - no... not able to duplicate. 4 - no check engine lights prior. One instance, as I avoided a collision, that threw a code (CEL) but scanner didn't see any codes. CEL went away 3 days later. NOTE: I am in North Bay, Ontario, Canada
When coming to a stop, the car shudders and often stalls just like if you didn't press in the clutch on a manual transmission. No warning lights or messages. See details in TSB- 16-90-13R. Subaru knows about this issue and it has been reported in many vehicles. My car was at a Subaru dealership at least half a dozen times during 2017-2018 when this issue came to light and no one notified us to have it checked. Fast forward to now and for the last year my car has been shuddering when coming to a stop, and about 2-3 months ago, it started stalling. This is an absolute safety issue and should be a recall. I've been in many situations where it stalls and I am vulnerable to getting rear-ended because it takes time to restart the car and get moving again. This is particularly true in traffic or situations where you need to stop suddenly and others behind you are not anticipating you being stopped in the roadway.
While driving on the highway, we were forced to brake swiftly. As a result, the known issue of the torque converter in this model of car caused the engine to stall in the middle lane of the highway and almost causing our deaths as multiple tractor-trailers had to swerve to avoid our immobilized vehicle until it could be restarted. This could've led to to the deaths of me, my family and many other road-users. I can't believe this isn't a recall when it's such a wide-spread and known problem with this model.
Rear four way brake junction is completely corroded and leaking fluid causing a complete loss of braking. This appears to be the exact same issue as referenced in this recall [XXX] ) that affects previous model years. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Just after 100k mile service, car began to shutter when slowing and then stalls at stops. Eventually after I leave it in neutral for up to 2-20 min it will finally restart. First time it happened it wouldn’t start. I had to push vehicle out of major intersection to avoid being hit then pay to tow it to nearest mechanic. Once there, it restarted and problem couldn’t be replicated nor did it relay any codes. Happened again the next two occasions I drove it so I immediately took it to Subaru dealer using side streets to avoid potential accident. After researching my model/year and symptoms, I found this was a common complaint with 2012 Outback’s and there have been numerous CVT issues. One of these issues is a faulty torque converter that causes stalling and usually appears around 100k mile mark (of course just shy of warranty). In 2017 (prior to owning car) a bulletin was released notifying dealers of issue which led to extension of warranty due to customer complaints. Given this new information, I was not shocked when dealer diagnosed my car as needing a new torque converter. Had I known this was an issue beforehand, I would have requested an inspection when spending thousands for 100k mile maintenance. I even brought vehicle to same Subaru dealer years prior (when it would have still been under warranty) for noise and shaking when accelerating/braking. They said this was normal for box engines and test drove it without any concerns. I can’t believe with the vast complaints on CVT issues that Subaru has not issued a recall. It’s irresponsible, dishonest, and a major safety concern. Consumers have right to be notified if they may be affected or put at risk.
Car was involved in a head on collision [XXX] with a concrete exit barrier after being pushed into the lane by a driver trying to in front of them trying to make a last second dash for the exit. Not sure if the driver was in blind spot, but the vehicle trying to merge did use turn signal or respond to horn honking from myself. In order to avoid the hitting the other driver, who was unaware of my car while aggressively merging, I tried driving into the safety lane, but at 65 MPH could not stop in time from hitting the barrier My safety was put at risk because upon impact the driver airbag did not deploy. The entire front end of the car crumbled and the car was declared totaled by the driver's insurance. The airbag deployment could have prevented more serious injury to the driver, by did not deploy. The driver was wearing their seat belt and suffered a bruised sternum and PTSD. Driver called police who did not file a report due to no damage to another vehicle or property or several injury to any persons. Airbag was part of the takata airbag recall for Subaru. Airbags are on record of being replaced at a Subaru dealership Redwood City, California- driver verified post crash. There were no warning lamps indicated the airbag was disabled. Driver alerted Subaru's quality control hotline who inspected the car on [XXX]. No word has been returned on why the airbag did not deploy during the crash. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The car stalls out at stops. It shutters and them stalls like a 5 speed car. I have almost been rear-ended on a couple occasions. It is now in the shop for a torque converter replacement
The contact owns a 2012 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and decelerated, prompting the contact to quickly exit the roadway, where the failure persisted. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the continuously variable transmission (CVT). The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 125,000.
Subframe is rusted out and causing control arm wobble which I cannot control the steering correctly
Couple weeks back while driving on the highway my check engine light came on along with different lights and transmission oil warning and car immediately lost power. I was able to pull over without incident. Then I took it to my local mechanic, they changed the transmission fluid and changed some fuses. It seemed fine after the repair and I started to drive home, but again the same warning lights came on and the repair shop advised me to take it to the nearest Subaru dealer which is an hour away from my home. I paid for the diagnostics and the dealer concluded the problem as follows "Transmission Valve Body: faulty causing check engine light and at oil temp light, will need to sit overnight for sealant to dry before fluid can be added.". I did some research and found that this is a known problem for the 2012 Outback and Subaru had a 10 year/100k extended warranty for the exact problem and didn't do any recall even though so many vehicles were affected and are being affected every day. There are numerous complaints regarding this. Though as being 2nd owner and have driven just 9k miles in 2 years while performing regular maintenance this is very unfortunate and dangerous. I emailed the manufacturer to cover this since 100k was up and it should have been recalled. This was their response" Dear [XXX]: Thank you for contacting Subaru. Your vehicle did have a 10 year/100,000 mile warranty for extended transmission coverage. Regrettably, it is far outside of warranty and Subaru of America would not be in a position to consider financial assistance towards your repair. I will notate your feedback in the case for Product Development to consider when designing future models. Sincerely, David Subaru of America, Inc. Customer Advocacy Department 1-800-SUBARU3 (1-800-782-2783) Case Number: [XXX]" They should recall the vehicle for this problem or offer free repair. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
When coming to a quick or hard stop, car will rumble then stall out. To confirm that the issue is transmission based I shift the car into neutral then brake quickly and the issue does not arise.
No issues with the car since I bought it new and was dedicated to regular Maintenance. Less than a week after a regular scheduled oil change and driving on the main interstate highway cruising at 65mph, the car just suddenly jerked. I thought I had blown a tire but the Brake light came on and then soon after the engine light came on. I was able to get off the highway but the acceleration decreased to a slow crawl. I had it towed to the nearest Subaru dealership that morning in which they said the issue is that both 1 and 4 are not correctly firing. They checked the spark plugs and checked the injector, but both did not fix the issue. They have now told me that they need to get the engine pistons/valves "machined". They are reaching out to Subaru to see if they can help since there is nothing I could have done to prevented this issue and they are hearing more of this issue occurring in Subaru cars. I'm praying that Subaru will help me with my vehicle but am waiting to hear from the Subaru dealership.
Odd noise arising from Front driver side wheel while driving on the interstate at 70mph. No indicator/warning lights/messages. Noise became much louder prompting us to stop driving and inspect. One of the 5 lug studs had broken off. Two of the 5 lug nuts were loose enough to hand rotate. Once diagnosed, we tightened all 4 remaining lug nuts. After driving 15min on the interstate at reduced speed, the noise from the front driver side wheel returned. The car was slowly driven off the interstate and re-inspected. The lug nuts were loose again. At this point, I felt the car was unsafe to drive, so I and my two passengers had to find an alternative ride given our safety was at risk. We were about 200miles away from home. The car was towed to the Subaru dealership in Midlothian, Virginia (Hyman Bros) for further inspection/repair. The Subaru dealership repair team told me that the lug stud was corroded and snapped off. The same Subaru dealership had recently (2,500miles prior) serviced the car including tire rotation and inspection in which they report they inspect the lug studs and they were sufficient for driving.
The torque converter is failing at 113,00. It has happened at red lights, but more recently while on a Texas freeway that I had to come to a hard stop which cause the engine to stall out at 40 mph. My child was in the car and on a fast paced highway my safety was placed in jeopardy. It is going to the shop to be repaired because is this. I will have proof of repair service and faulty part. .
The engine shuts off while driving, especially when switching gears or when braking too hard (such as when traffic ahead suddenly stops). I had the engine shut off while I was making a left turn at an intersection and lost control abilities of the steering wheel.
The rear brake lines sprung a leak in a well-known trouble spot with Subarus. The junction area underneath the passengers rear seat is where brake fluid is leaking from. I was driving under normal conditions, went and depressed the break and the pedal went to the floor. The cars brakes were not performing and upon inspection I found the leak. I researched this issue and found that Subaru did acknowledge this issue and other outback model years through recall and technical service bulletins. This is a significant safety issue and should be upgraded to a recall.
The contact owns a 2012 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and went down to the floorboard, increasing the stopping distance. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to his residence despite the failure. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the four-way brake connector was corroded and had started leaking brake fluid. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that there were no recalls on the VIN. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.
Coming to a stop, not super hard at a turn light. the engine just died! all the lights started flashing so I put the car in park and tried to not freak out. Turned the key off and tried to restart right away and it didn't work, gave it another minute then it started up again, no light on or flashing what the heck. Like nothing just happened, omg my heart was beating and I was shaken up. They need to fix this! this is very dangerous and nerve racking I'm afraid to drive it now because you don't know when this is happing again or not.
WHEN BRAKING HARD, THE ENGINE SHUDDERS AND QUITS. WHEN CAR IS PUT IN PARK OR NEUTRAL IT CAN BE STARTED. AT TIME THE ENTIRE DASH LIGHTS ALL GO ON BEFORE THE ENGINE SHUDDERS AND QUITS WHEN BRAKING AT STOP LIGHTS. MY MECHANIS SAID IT IS THE TORQUE CONVERTER. THIS IS A KNOW ISSUE WITH SUBARU 2012 MODELS. THIS COULD CAUSE MY CAR TO BE REARENDED BY ANOTHER CAR WITH THE SUDDEN ENGINE STOP. SUBARU WILL NOT RECALL THESE VEHICLES BUT DOES OFFER AN EXTENDED WARRANTY. THE PROBLEM IS THAT, IN MOST CASES, THE ISSUES HAPPENS WITH MORE THAN 100,00 MILES ON THE DODMETER. THIS SEEMS LIKE IT COULD BE A SAFETY ISSUE.
1. Over the past months at different times the dashboard lights all start flashing the check engine cruise control breaks Flash on and off 2. Our safety's at risk because we don't know if the engine is needing repair or if it's an electrical problem or if the car's just gonna stop dead 3. We took the car in and they charged me $1500 for a new fan coil and it's still doing it 4. Yes there were many warning lights it has been happening for the past year and I've taken it in twice and it's still happening and now they're saying they have to replace the engine strap which is another $3000 this is ridiculous
Have been driving my car on the interstate for 6 hours and when this problem happened I was in cruise control. Out of no where a bunch of dash lights come on, (E brake and cruise control lights start blinking, traction control light comes on, and my check engine light comes on). I tried turning my car off for a few minutes and turning it back on but the lights still are blinking. I Googled my problem and found other people that have posted the same issue. I have also copied the found ID number for this issue: 10465487
The vehicle will accelerate all on its own I was pulling into a parking spot and the vehicle just accelerated thank god there was not another car in from of me or I would have hit them. Then later that same day with the cruise on the vehicle just started speeding up. I had to hit the brakes to turn cruise off or who knows how fast it would have taken me
When driving normally on the road the car begins to flash the following lights in the dash( Engine check, Oil Temp Light, Brakes, ABS, Traction control light, airbag light, passenger airbag light indicator) the car continues to drive normally but I cannot know that for certain when almost every indicator light is flashing, I have had the car inspected at a Subaru dealer 4 times since last year for other repairs in which they indicated a detailed inspection of all components following the repairs( radiator, ABS module, Transmission Maintenance, Differential Maintenance, Brake Fluid flush,), spent roughly 6,000$ in repairs and nothing was ever mentioned about this issue, if an inspection was done how could they not find an electrical error.This has happened twice in 3 months I do not feel safe driving a car that cannot properly indicate what internal issues are happening. The car drives fine and is in good condition however only a battery reset and new battery have been able to halt this issue until it happens again. I hope this can be investigated and looked into getting it repaired.
My Subaru Outback, at roughly 110,000 miles, displayed a dash indicator suggesting low brake fluid. After investigating, I found a brake line junction under the car, below the rear passenger seat. This 4-line junction is hidden behind a plastic cover that does have a removable inspection window. The junction's 4-lines are all corroded and at least one is leaking. After finding the issue and researching fixes online, I have discovered that this is a previously-reported problem although Subaru has not taken action to address it. I have not taken action to fix the issue as I am working out the best fix, but will not be driving the car until the leaking corroded junction is repaired.
I own a 2012 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium. The vehicle has approximately 161k miles. Recently, I have noticed the car beginning to stutter when approaching an abrupt stop. There have since been several instances where the car will stall when coming to a quick stop. This happened to me in the middle of traffic one day and I had my family in the car with me. In my opinion, this issue jeopardized the safety of my family. Stalling in the middle of the road and having to restart the car each time is a huge concern for me. My wife and I are now terrified to drive the car due to the looming safety concern. Upon further research, the problem stems from a faulty torque converter on the car, confirmed by TSB 16-90-13R. Subaru has not made this a recall unfortunately, but I don't feel I should be the one to pay the cost for a repair that is in my opinion very serious. Please take action to make this needed repair a more serious concern.
The warning lights stay on constantly. I have changed the mass flow air sensor, O2 sensors, serpentine belt, gas cap, treated the fuel system and the lights are still on. This is a common problem with Subaru Outback Owners.
Exhaust pipe cracked - same issue as indicated in Recall WUJ-95. Exhaust fumes leaking could be harmful to those riding in the car. Problem has been confirmed by an independent repair shop. No - the car was loud and I took it in to be looked at my independent car repair shop. I am not sure how recalls get started, but it seems that it should be looked into for this model year as well since it is only one year from the recall model year and it is the same problem.
The contact owns a 2012 Subaru Outback. The contact stated she starting the vehicle and there was an abnormal noise coming from the engine. The contact stated while reserving, she was depressing on the brake pedal but failed to stop the vehicle, causing her to rear into 2 vehicles. The contact was not aware if there were any warning lights illuminated. The contact stated she continued to depress the brake pedal for almost 10-20 feet from where she started until it stop the vehicle completely. The air bags did not deploy. The contact did not sustain any injuries or seek medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a towing lot. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Vehicle has always stuttered coming to stops but has began to start stalling. The problem was never diagnosed previously. Now that it is have found to be the torque converter I actually know what is happening. I don’t think being unable to rely on you vehicle to continue running in an emergency stop or break pump is a safety issue Subaru should take lightly. I have been faced with two Subaru known problem repairs recently that I didn’t know of at the time of purchase. The head gasket which left me stranded on a trip and a torque converter. The first was close to a 4k$ repair and the second is coming close to 2k$ repair. I am growing frustrated with Subaru ignoring how dangerous this and also how they are ignoring customer concerns. Both these issues are well documented by owners experiencing the same things I am. I would like to express this has happened since the vehicle was new but has gotten worse and is now stalling. Thank you, Joni
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.
Headlights keep burning out in less than a year.
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.
Rear view camera stopped working.
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.
battery drains quickly. had to replace battery three times in two years
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.
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.
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.
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.
Brake line failure. Burst under plastic gas tank cover.
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.
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.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH AND RELEASING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DEWEY GRIFFIN SUBARU (1800 IOWA ST, BELLINGHAM, WA 98229, (360) 734-8700) BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 155,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.
I BOUGHT THIS CARD AT THE END OF MARCH AND ONLY FOR ONE WEEK IT REGISTERED THE CAR GOT FIRED AND BURNED WHILE DRIVING LAST FRIDAY AROUND 10PM. WHEN I CHECKED THE VIN#. THIS CAR HAS OVER 16 RECALLS
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE THEIR SON WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH, WHEN THE DRIVER ATTEMPTED TO APPLY THE BRAKE PEDAL HOWEVER THE BRAKES FAILED. THE DRIVER HAD TO DROP THE VEHICLE INTO FIRST GEAR THEN CRASHED INTO THE CURB WHERE IT CAME TO A STOP. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DRIVER RECEIVED A CHEST INJURY HOWEVER THERE WAS NO MEDICAL ATTENTION NEEDED. THE REAR PASSENGERS ALL OF WHICH WERE CHILDREN WERE NOT INJURED BUT ALL CAR SEATS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER (WALKER MOTORS INC 265 RIVER ST, MONTPELIER, VT 05602; (802) 229-0391) WHO DIAGNOSED THE BRAKE LINE HAD CORRODED. THE VEHICLE'S BRAKE LINE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND CONFIRMED THAT THEIR VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN ANY RECALL. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 112,000.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026