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What 295 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Subaru Outback
These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.
2 of 295 complaints match · Steering · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters
Nov 20, 2015SteeringTraction Control SystemBrakesCrash
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 SUBARU OUTBACK. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH IN INCLEMENT WEATHER, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO SLIDE WHILE DRIVING DOWNHILL. THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO CONTROL THE STEERING, BUT IT WOULD NOT MOVE. THE VEHICLE DID NOT RESPOND AND STRUCK A DELINEATOR POST, SLID IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION TOWARDS A CONCRETE WALL, AND SUDDENLY STOPPED. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 37,000.
NHTSA ODI 10795169
Sep 24, 2013Steering1 injury
2013 SUBARU OUTBACK 3.6R W/SAP I AM EXPERIENCING A HEAVY STEERING ISSUE. WHERE THE RETURN TO CENTER DOES NOT HAPPEN UNLESS I MANUALLY STEER IT BACK TO CENTER. STEERING IS SO HEAVY THAT AFTER 3000 MILES. (PURCHASED IN JUNE 2013), BOTH OF MY WRISTS ARE IN PAIN, MY RIGHT ELBOW IS IN PAIN, AND MY RIGHT HAND FEELS LIKE IT HAS CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME. CONSTANT CORRECTIONS ARE NEEDED TO KEEP TRACKING STRAIGHT. I INCREASED TIRE PSI TO 34/32, AND IT HELPED A LITTLE, BUT STEERING STILL DOES NOT RETURN TO CENTER. HERE ARE 2 LINKS TO SIMILAR ISSUES: HTTP://WWW.SUBARUOUTBACK.ORG/FORUMS/104-GEN-4-2010-PRESENT/73034-NEED-RETURN-CENTER-TEST-2013-OUTBACK.HTML HTTP://WWW.SUBARUOUTBACK.ORG/FORUMS/104-GEN-4-2010-PRESENT/31638-OB-LANE-WANDERING.HTML *JS
NHTSA ODI 10545155
Working with the data? Download all 295 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 11, 2026
How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your
pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the
full 2013 Subaru Outback verdict →