2016 Subaru Outback Powertrain & Transmission Problems

My 2016 Subaru Outback CVT transmission has exhibited an intermittent jerking and grabbing sensation when accelerating from a stop, worse when cold, since at least February 2023. This is a known defect covered under Subaru warranty extension bulletin 16-115-18. February 2023 — An authorized Subaru dealer documented the complaint in writing. The technician stated the vehicle never warmed up during the test drive and dismissed the concern. The CVT issue was never repaired. I was never informed of Subaru's CVT warranty extension program. February 17 2026 — seven days before my warranty expiration — the same authorized Subaru dealer physically identified and documented a CVT oil pump cover leak. The same jerking complaint was again documented in writing. No repairs were made and the warranty expired one week later. The CVT defect has been physically confirmed by an authorized Subaru dealer within the warranty period and Subaru of America has denied my warranty claim in writing. This issue presents a safety concern. The unpredictable jerking and hesitation when accelerating from a stop creates dangerous situations in traffic, particularly at intersections and when merging. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Subaru chose to handle this known widespread defect as a quiet warranty extension rather than a mandatory recall despite hundreds of owners reporting identical symptoms.

I’m unable to remove the car key from the ignition when the vehicle shifter is in Park.

The "SELECT LEVER COMPLETE" or fear shift neutral park sensor switch stops working. Subaru has acknowledged the issue and issued a TSB (NUMBER: 16-112-18R). The issue is that the car does not sense it is in park or Neutral, even though the shifter is in that position. For keyed cars, the key cannot be removed and for push to start the car rear gate does not open and an alarm sounds when doors are open when the ignition is on. The car warns to move shifter to Park, even though the car is shifted to park. Car has been serviced several times with complaints indicating symptoms of issue, but was never informed of cause and lever select was never replaced.

Transmission went out at 72,000 miles. Was told it was not covered by warranty even though I purchased extended warranty. Will never buy another Subaru again. Spoke to a person at customer service who said she would take care of it. Made 19 calls over 3 months and no one returned a call. Terrible customer service at the main office.

The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be serviced; however, while the mechanic was inspecting the vehicle, he noticed oil splatter inside the engine compartment. The vehicle was diagnosed with an oil leak. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the oil warning light illuminated. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V502000 (Power Train). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 74,315.

Subaru dealer diagnosed oil leaks on the valve cover gaskets. I took the car to an independent repair business and the problem was diagnosed as a camshaft carrier oil leak. Upon removing the necessary parts, the company reported to me they found chunks of silicone around the carrier. I first noticed a smell of something burning after Subaru had done an oil change about 2 months prior. I was also getting the Check Oil lamp about 2 months after the oil change. It was losing oil. That’s when I had Subaru diagnose the problem. The loss of oil could have started a fire. Parts are available for inspection.

The transmission, without warning, stopped functioning.

oil leak from power train

Battery corrosion on terminal post and drained for no reason, failed battery test and had to be replaced. Windshield has imperfections throughout and cracks easily. Shift mechanism will not release the vehicle key while in park. Squeaking sound emanating from passenger seat belt buckle. Excessive exhaust noise and odor from exhaust pipe. Rear hatch will not close completely unless slammed very forcefully. Belts under the hood squeak very loudly when started and subside when warmed up.

Unable to turn key to off position when in neutral and unable to remove key from the ignition. In order to get the key out of the ignition, the car needs to be restarted and turned back off or the gear shift needs to be pushed as hard as possible into the neutral position multiple times. With the inability to turn the car totally off and remove the key, there are multiple safety issues that can arise. Was informed that the entire select lever assembly needs to be replaced due to a known issue by Subaru. The issue was reproduced by an independent service center. No warning lamps are illuminated.

Parking shifter sensor is failing intermittently. This prevents removing the key from the ignition. Seems to react better when you throw the shifter into park forcefully.

The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently started shuddering and jerking. The contact also stated that the vehicle was making abnormal sounds. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that she was able to continue to drive the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the transmission had failed. Then, the vehicle was taken to the dealer who tests drove the vehicle and diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they would replace the transmission, but she would be responsible for the cost of the labor. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 107,000.

COMPLETE DRAINING OF BATTERY JUST SITTING THERE FOR NO REASON... WE SEE THIS IS AN ENORMOUS PROBLEM WITH OUTBACKS, AND WE HAVE ONE WITH GREAT PROBLEMS LEAVING US STRANDED !

2.12 FEBRUARY 2021, VEHICLE MILAGE APPROACHING 42,000. TRAVELING FROM MAZAMA WA TO SEATTLE VIA WA HWY 20, US 97 AND I-90, TRAVELED +/- 200 MILES. TEMPERATURE RANGES FROM 10F TO 20F. TRAVELING WEST ON I-90 +/-50 MPH, LANES CLEAR, SNOW IN BETWEEN LANES. NEW MICHELIN TIRES ON ALL 4 WHEELS. HOLDING THE SPEED CONSTANT FOLLOWING 18-WHEEL RIG. SUBARU STARTED WOBBLING AS IF ONE OF THE TIRES WAS GOING FLAT. TRIED ACCELERATING AND SLOWING TO DETERMINE IF THIS WAS FRONT OR BACK TIRE. DETERMINED IT MUST BE A REAR TIRE. NO LOW-PRESSURE INDICATION ON THE INSTRUMENT GAGES (I HAVE HAD TIRE WARNING DURING SUMMER DRIVING AND FOUND A NAIL IN TIRE). NEXT OFF RAMP CHECKED ALL 4 TIRES, ALL APPEARED TO BE THE SAME IN APPEARANCE. RESUMED TRAVEL. DURING ACCELERATION AND DE-ACCELERATING NO DIFFERENTIAL SWAY. WHEN CONSTANT SPEED MAINTAINED AROUND 50 MPH SWAYING OCCURRED UN TO WE REACHED THE WEST SIDE OF SNOQUALMIE PASS AND THE TEMPERATURE WAS INTO THE 30'S. LAST YEAR WHEN HAVING VEHICLE SERVICED, I TOLD THE SERVICE CHECK-IN PERSON & A SUPERVISOR THE CAR WAS STALLING OUT WHEN HARD ACCELERATION DURING MERGING LEFT INTO HIGHWAY WHERE SPEED LIMIT WAS 50 MPH. THE CAR STALLED AND I KICKED THE ACCELERATOR. LUCKILY, THE CAR RESPONDED THE SUPERVISORS RESPONSE WAS 'THERE'S NO WAY THIS CAN HAPPEN'.

WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, THE TRANSMISSION IN MY 2016 SUBARU OUTBACK STARTED MAKING A LOUD GRINDING SOUND AND VIOLENTLY HALTED THE CAR TO A STOP. I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH THAT IT WASN'T DURING A BUSY TIME AND AN ACCIDENT WAS NARROWLY AVOIDED. THIS TRANSMISSION ONLY HAD 67,000 MILES ON IT AND IS ACTUALLY THE SECOND TRANSMISSION THAT CAR HAS HAD. IN 2018 THE TRANSMISSION HAD TO BE REPLACED AFTER 68,000 MILES. LUCKILY IT WAS FULLY COVERED UNDER AN EXTENDED WARRANTY I PURCHASED WHEN I BOUGHT IT. LATER THE TRANSMISSIONS WERE GIVEN A WARRANTY EXTENSION WHICH EXTENDED THE WARRANTY TO 100,000. THE NEWEST TRANSMISSION (THE ONE THAT JUST VIOLENTLY GRINDED TO A HALT ON THE HIGHWAY) CURRENTLY HAS 67,000 MILES ON THAT NEW TRANSMISSION, BUT SUBARU WILL NOT HONOR THE 100,000 WARRANTY EXTENSION BECAUSE THE REMAINDER OF THE VEHICLE HAS 135,000 MILES ON IT. I DO COUNT MYSELF LUCKY THAT THIS DIDN'T CAUSE AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE I HAD MY FAMILY IN THE VEHICLE WITH ME AND WE COULD'VE BEEN SERIOUSLY HURT.

WE HAVE HAD 2 MAJOR ISSUES WITH THIS CAR: 1- MULTIPLE EPISODES OF BATTERY FAILURE REQUIRING A JUMP START OVER THE LAST YEAR. THIS HAS HAPPENED WHEN THE CAR WAS NOT USED FOR A WEEK, BUT ALSO RANDOMLY AFTER A DRIVE. JUST HAPPENED 4 DAYS AGO AFTER A 30 MINUTE HIGHWAY DRIVE- WHEN WE CAME BACK OUT TO THE CAR AFTER 15 MINUTES, IT WOULDN'T START. WE JUMP STARTED IT, AND IT WAS FINE FOR A FEW DAYS, BUT NOW DEAD AGAIN IN MY DRIVEWAY. THE CAR OFTEN HAS A SHUDDERING AND OCCASIONAL STALL WHEN STARTING IT. MOST WORRISOME, I WAS RECENTLY DRIVING WITH MY DAUGHTER AND AFTER WE EXITED THE HIGHWAY, AND SLOWED DOWN FOR A TOLL, THE CAR LOST IT'S ACCELERATION, DESPITE RPMS REVVING. WE PULLED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, TURNED THE CAR OFF AND RE-STARTED, AND IT RAN REGULARLY HOME, BUT THIS WAS FRIGHTENING.

FOR A FEW YEARS OFF AND ON WITH THE CAR STOPPED AND ATTEMPTING TO COMPLETE PARKING, THE KEY WOULD NOT TURN FROM THE ACC TO OFF POSITION OR RELEASE THE KEY FROM THE IGNITION. OF THE SEVERAL TIMES WE MENTIONED IT TO MULTIPLE DEALERSHIPS, WE WERE TOLD IT WAS OUR TECHNIQUE, NOT A PROBLEM WITH THE VEHICLE. FINALLY A DEALERSHIP REPORTED THE SHIFT ASSEMBLY WAS NOT RECOGNIZING THE CAR WAS IN PARK THUS WOULD NOT TURN THE KEY PAST THE ACCESSORY POSITION TO OFF OR RELEASE THE KEY. THIS OCCURRED WITH MULTIPLE KEYS AND DIFFERENT PEOPLE. THE SAFETY ISSUE IS THAT YOU CANNOT LOCK THE CAR WITH THE KEY IN THE IGNITION. ALSO, IF YOU CANNOT REMOVE THE KEY AND LEAVE THE CAR, YOU ARE HANDING THE CAR OVER TO WHOMEVER WANTS TO STEAL IT. ONLY WITH LOTS OF TIME, STARTING THE CAR, PUTTING IT INTO ANOTHER GEAR, THEN BACK TO PARK AND TURNING IT OFF AGAIN, WITH LUCK THE ASSEMBLY RECOGNIZES YOU ARE IN PARK AND ALLOWS THE KEY TURN TO OFF AND ALLOWS THE KEY TO BE REMOVED. THE DEALERSHIP WHO IDENTIFIED THE DEFECTIVE SHIFT ASSEMBLY STATED THE ONLY FIX IS TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE ASSEMBLY AT A COST OF $1100.00.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT WAS UNABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE. AAA WAS CONTACTED AND THE VEHICLE WAS JUMP STARTED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE RECURRED 4 TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO COMPETITION SUBARU OF SMITHTOWN LOCATED AT 601 MIDDLE COUNTRY RD, ST JAMES, NY 11780 WHERE THE BATTERY WAS REPLACED. THE FAILURE RECURRED AND THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE SAME DEALER AND THE BATTERY WAS REPLACED. THE FAILURE RECURRED AND THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED OF AN UNKNOWN VOLUNTARY MANUFACTURER RECALL TO REPLACE THE EXHAUST AND CATALYTIC CONVERTER HOWEVER, THE PART WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT WAS PROVIDED A LOANER VEHICLE. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED A WEEK LATER TO RETURN THE LOANER AND RETRIEVE HIS VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 13,270.

THE CVT TRANSMISSION FAILED AT 79K MILES AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS CAUSING THE CAR TO VIOLENTLY STALL. WE BARELY AVOIDED HITTING THE CARS AROUND US TRYING TO PULL OVER. LUCKILY THERE WAS NO CAR TO REAR END US. WE WERE VERY LUCKY THE TRAFFIC WAS LIGHT. THESE TRANSMISSIONS ARE DEFECTIVE AND WHEN THEY FAIL, THEY FAIL IN A SPECTACULAR MANNER CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO VIOLENTLY JERK AND STALL, A TRAUMATIC EVENT EQUIVALENT TO JUMPING ON THE BREAKS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND WILL CAUSE PEOPLE TO DIE IN CRASHES. SUBARU NEEDS TO RECALL EVERY SINGLE CVT AND STOP PUTTING THEM IN NEW CARS. EXTENDING THE WARRANTY IS INSUFFICIENT.

NOTICING WHEN I PARK MY CAR THE KEY WON'T RELEASE FROM IGNITION SWITCH WHEN CAR LEVER IS SET IN "P" POSITION. AS I PUSH IN AND TURN THE KEY FROM START TO LOCK THE KEY WILL STAY ACC POSITION WON'T GO INTO LOCK.