What 295 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Subaru Outback

I purchased this car may 28th 2025 and had it over the weekend and check engine light came on and took it Monday once shop opened and came back for catalytic converter and o2 sensor I letted the dealership know about it and said its not much that i can fix it but I figured would say that since was a as is car and just had to come up with money... only thing month later it stalled on me and had to take to a shop to see what it is and came back for transmission but that shop told me the car never should have been sold I never try to let them know about that its been sitting since July when that happened I been trying to talk to consumer protection services but Noone willed to help but since last year was so rough I just wanted to try again once year is up

NHTSA ODI 11708999

According to my mechanic, the Engine Cradle is severly corroded and needs to be replaced. According to Subaru, today December 4, 2024, Subaru inspected my vehicle and determined it was badly corroded. I have pictures to show this and the report from Subaru showing they did look at this corrosion. I had wanted Subaru to replace the Engine Cradle because of the damage. They claimed the car was out of Warranty and was 12 years old. Even so, that much corrosion should not have happened.

NHTSA ODI 11628910

We bought this around June 2018 with ~96,000 miles. I change oil every 6 months or 6,000 miles with OEM filters and Mobil 1 0w-30 oil. This car has burned 1/2 to 3/4 of oil initially. After 140,000 miles it climbed to over 1 1/2 quarts between changes. I had repeated O2 sensor codes and sensor replacements and finally catalytic converter codes. Replaced the converter around 160,000 miles. I took off the intake manifold after seeing excessive oil deposits under the throttle body. There's was over 1/8" of caked oil inside the manifold and butterfly valves. I'm very confused as to why the class action lawsuit didn't cover my Serial number. I checked this before buying the car and incorrectly assumed all the affected cars were included in the recall/repair process.

NHTSA ODI 11603582

The contact owned a 2013 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked in the contact's residential driveway, the contact noticed the smoke exiting from the hood area of the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle was on fire. The fire department arrived on the scene and extinguished the fire. A fire report was filed. The vehicle remained at the contact's residence. The vehicle was condemned to total loss. The contact stated that as a result of the fire, the contact's residential driveway was damaged and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11598029

Piston rings are defective heavy oil consumption caused my engine to seize with only 150,000 miles

NHTSA ODI 11589050

I had 2 dealerships look at my vehicle and both gave me an answer that is blowing me off. As now I have seen it’s a major issue with a lot of people. Oil consumption progressively increased until it was 2 burning 2 quarts of oil for every fill up. That’s ridiculous especially when I was very religious about taking care of my vehicle. I cannot understand how a manufacturer can get away with not issuing a recall to fix their major known problem. It took me awhile to complain and the vehicle has been sitting for awhile now. It only has 145,000 miles on it. I bought a Subaru with taking care of it, keeping up with maintenance and it should have lasted in my opinion at least 200,000 miles. When you pay good money for a product and take care of it you certainly hope it lasts longer than it did. I hope others complain enough that they are forced to do something about it. I am not going to hold my breath. I am sure will not be made to take care of their issues. Know this, I’ll NEVER waste my money on another subraru EVER again! Thanks for letting me vent.

NHTSA ODI 11533760

I experienced a sudden unintended acceleration of my 2013 Subaru Outback while braking to make a left hand turn at a stoplight on Federal Road in Brookfield, CT. I was able to squeeze the brake hard while shifting into neutral to avoid slamming into the car in front of me while the engine raced. The car would have gone out of control had I not been able to press very hard on the brake pedal. This incident was not the first time this unintended acceleration of the vehicle occurred. About a month ago, I was in a similar situation on the road when I was decelerating and applying the brake that the car had a rapid unintended acceleration that caused me to press very hard on the brake pedal to keep the car from lurching forward. I’ve owned the vehicle since December 2012 and this situation has probably occurred less than 5 times over the 10 years of operation. Each time I thought it was perhaps my error for somehow touching the accelerator with my foot while the brake was applied. After the recent November 22 incident, I now realize that there is likely a systemic problem with the accelerator. I plan to have accelerator inspected by the dealer.

NHTSA ODI 11497663

Engine failure due to oil leakage. No “oil light” warning light ever turned on. Engine confirmed failed by repair shop and replaced.

NHTSA ODI 11485914

The engine was hesitating, loosing power on incline, and shaking when stopping. I had the engine replaced and the a few months later the transmission went down. The car does start but it will not go into any gear other than Park and Neutral. The car is now not drivable.

NHTSA ODI 11479096

Head gasket leak with 87,000 miles. All recommended service with the dealer except for routine oil changes. This is a safety issue due to the rapid overheating. Luckily for me it happened a few blocks from the dealership, but this could be deadly if I was driving in the desert.

NHTSA ODI 11475144

I bought this car on 3/1/22 from a dealer, and took it for several test drives - everything was great. Carfax report is clean. On 3/3/22, I was driving on a windy road with cliffs and ledges, 45 mph when all of a sudden the brakes slammed, the tires screeched, and I heard grinding. Every alarm went off and the car fishtailed and skidded over to the side - almost going off the side of the road. Every light was blinking and alarms going off. Once I came to a stop, I tried turning the key off and turning it back on. It turned on fine - but it would not go into drive or accelerate, and all the alarms and lights were still going off. I was stranded on the side of a curvy country road where it was not easy to be seen, and easy to be hit. I had to walk 30 min, leaving the car in the middle of the road to the closest store, at which I looked up a tow truck and service station. I had it towed to a service station, and the gentleman ran diagnostics and said that his machine is coming back showing transmission issues. I literally just bought this car - and paid good money for it - I am shocked that this is a known issue and Subaru won't do a general recall to fix this! This is dangerous - because the car LITERALLY went out WHILE I WAS DRIVING. I am calling Subaru dealers today and seeing what they plan to do to fix this, or if I am going to be stuck with paying for it

NHTSA ODI 11455291

Vehicle was at a stop light on a 45mph road at which time the car shook very badly, the engine stalled, and almost every dashboard light illuminated. Vehicle was unable to move putting the passengers at extreme risk of a rear end collision on a major thoroughfare. The situation was safely resolved after shutting down the vehicle for a minutes and restarting it. Following the incident, the vehicle shudders often, and the car shakes very badly again if the transmission approaches 4000RPM. Vehicle will be taken in for service next week and it is suspected that Subaru will be required to replace the transmission under the extended warranty offered to all customers because of high transmission failure rates observed on this make/model of car. The NHTSA needs to require a recall on all Subaru CVTs due to unreliability and stalling putting passengers and the public at risk.

NHTSA ODI 11453051

Valve spring broke dropping a valve into the engine and causing engine to seize. This is the same problem as the recall that was issued for other 2013 Subaru models, but it doesn't cover the Outback at this time. Instead, there's only a TSB (#10154425) that they've changed specifications for the valve springs.

NHTSA ODI 11446534

While driving near my home on June 5, 2021, the vehicle simply shut off and simultaneously all the warning lights flashed. I was unable to restart the vehicle after two or three tries. I called a tow service. About an hour later, before the tow truck arrived, I turned the key again, and the car restarted. This occurred in the middle of the roadway and I was lucky no vehicle was being behind me, as a collision could have happened. A local auto repair shop looked at the computer code and found one for a cracked gas cap. The mechanic replaced the gas cap, but stated that it could not have caused the car to cease running. I took the car to a Subaru dealer on June 14, 2021, but the service consultant stated that looking for the problem would be like "going down a rabbit hole" and told me to continue to drive the car until another incident happened.

NHTSA ODI 11421239

Last summer I was driving on the interstate. I would say I was on the road for about 1.5 hours, it was a very warm day. I was going about 75 miles an hour and I had sudden total loss of power to the engine. Radio never stopped playing , no check engines lights came on and I could also maneuver the steering wheel. I thankfully was able to get to the side of the road(traffic was heavy). Once my car was almost at a stop the engine regained power. I was able to drive to my destination. No check engine lights ever came on. I took the car to Subaru dealership the next week. They could find nothing wrong with the car. They did notice a speck of debris/fuzz on the mass flow air sensor, they did change that part. Now about one year later I’m having catalytic converters issues and that needs to be changed. I wonder if it is all connected, and I also worry the loss of engine power will happen again. Thank you, [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ODI 11420772

AT 95,000 SUBARU REPLACED MY TRANSMISSION WHICH WAS COVERED UNDER AN "EXTENDED WARRANTY". IT IS NOW 1.5 YEARS LATER, I HAVE 117,000 MILES AND THEY SAY I NEED ANOTHER NEW TRANSMISSION BUT BECAUSE IT IS OVER 100,000 MILES THEY WILL NOT COVER IT. I HAVE SINCE FOUND COUNTLESS OTHER PEOPLE WITH THE SAME PROBLEM

NHTSA ODI 11387760

THE MOTOR BLEW ON MY 2013 SUBARU OUTBACK WITH ONLY 78K MILES ON IT. THERE WERE NO WARNINGS THERE WAS ANYTHING WRONG JUST STOPPED WORKING AND SHUT DOWN. THE 2013 SUBARU OUTBACK HAS KNOWN ISSUES AND HAD MULTIPLE RECALLS. THIS SHOULDN'T HAPPEN ON A VEHICLE THAT WAS FULLY MAINTAINED AND HAD LESS THEN 100K MILES ON IT.

NHTSA ODI 11362461

ON A FREEZING DAY IN NOVEMBER 2019, WHILE RUNNING AN ERRAND FIRST THING IN THE MORNING, MY 2013 SUBARU OUTBACK REVVED AND TRIED TO ACCELERATE WHEN I WAS DRIVING THAT I HAD TO PUSH THE BRAKES DOWN ALL THE WAY TO CONTROL THE SPEED. I PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL WHILE PULLING UP TO A STOPLIGHT. IT QUIT REVVING SO MUCH, SO WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN, I PUT BACK IN DRIVE AND WAS CONTROLLABLE. I LET THE CAR SIT FOR AN HOUR AND DROVE AGAIN TOWARDS OUR LOCAL SUBARU DEALERSHIP. WHILE EN ROUTE, IT REVVED AND ACCELERATED AS BEFORE. I WAS ABLE TO PUT IN NEUTRAL AND IT QUIT REVVING. WHEN I ARRIVED AT THE DEALERSHIP, THE CAR WASN'T REVVING ANY MORE. THE SERVICE TECH SAID UNLESS IT WAS DOING IT WHEN I BROUGHT IN, THEY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY. THE CAR HAS NOT REVVED SINCE. HOWEVER, I READ AN ARTICLE ABOUT THIS PROBLEM IN OTHER YEAR OUTBACKS AND WANTED TO MAKE THE NHTSA AWARE.

NHTSA ODI 11360686

THIS CAR GUZZLES OIL, LIKE A QUART EVERY THOUSAND MILES MAKING IT A [XXX] CAR FOR ROAD TRIPS. I BOUGHT THIS FOR ROAD TRIPS SO THANKS SUBARU. IT HAS CVT ISSUES THAT SUBARU WON'T ACKNOWLEDGE OR REPAIR, DANGEROUS ONES TOO SUCH AS LOSS OF POWER WHILE IDLING, AND FEELING THE ENGINE IS GOING TO DIE WHEN IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA ODI 11324773

USE MORE THAN A QUART OF OIL A WEEK AND JUST CHANGE BRAKES AND THEY SHIMMY AND JOLT

NHTSA ODI 11318151

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE AT A RED LIGHT, THE ENGINE REVVED UP. THE CONTACT TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE CONTACT RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND DROVE TO THE RESIDENCE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED UNINTENDED ACCELERATION. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC AND LATER WAS TOWED TO SCHUMACHER SUBARU LOCATED AT (3021 OKEECHOBEE BLVD, WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33409) AND WAS DIAGNOSED HOWEVER, THE MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 87,145.

NHTSA ODI 11316225

FOR THE LAST 50K MILES, OIL CONSUMPTION HAS GOTTEN WORSE AND WORSE. NOW IT NEEDS A QT OF OIL EVERY 600 MILES.

NHTSA ODI 11315547

THIS CAR IS AN EXTREME OIL BURNER. WE HAVE TO ADD OIL EVERY 1,000 MILES. THERE WAS A LAWSUIT AND SUBARU IS OFFERING TO REPLACE THE ENGINE BLOCK, BUT OUR DEALERSHIP SAYS THE CAR CONTINUES TO PASS THE OIL CONSUMPTION TEST. ALSO, THE CLUTCH JUST WENT OUT AT 58,000 MILES. AFTER AN ONLINE SEARCH, I AM SEEING THIS IS TYPICAL OF THIS CAR.

NHTSA ODI 11308612

DATE OF EVENT: 01/11/2020 TIME OF EVENT: 14:00 WHILE ATTEMPTING TO MERGE ONTO INTERSTATE 84 OUR 2013 SUBARU OUTBACK CHUGGED THEN COMPLETELY STALLED, REQUIRING AN EMERGENCY LANE SHIFT ONTO THE SHOULDER TO AVOID ENTERING THE BUSY FREEWAY WITH NO ENGINE POWER. LUCKILY THE CAR STARTED UP AGAIN (ALBEIT VERY ROUGHLY) AND WE WERE ABLE TO LIMP IT TO THE NEXT EXIT TO A LOCATION TO BE TOWED. THIS WAS A VERY INTENSE AND SCARY SITUATION THAT THANKFULLY ENDED IN NO INCIDENT. UPON RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM IT APPEARS THIS STALLING ISSUE IS NOT UNCOMMON YET SUBARU DOES NOTHING TO CORRECT IT. THIS WAS A NEAR MISS THAT I ATTRIBUTE TO A RECALL THAT SHOULD HAVE ALREADY OCCURRED VOLUNTARILY BY THE OEM.

NHTSA ODI 11299075

I NEED TO PUT A QUART OF OIL EVERY 250 MILES. I DID AN OIL CHECK WITH GRAYSON SUBARU KNOXVILLE TN, AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THE CAR WAS FINE.

NHTSA ODI 11296821