Home · 2019 Subaru Outback Wilderness · Complaints

What 1,029 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 Subaru Outback Wilderness

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.

All (1,029)Crash / fire / injury (29)Visibility & wipers (386)Electrical system (362)Engine (39)Driver assistance (36)Steering (35)Fuel system (31)Body & structure (27)Speed control (26)Brakes (20)Lane Departure (18)

31 of 1,029 complaints match · Fuel system · clear filters · page 2 of 2

Jul 9, 2020Fuel system

MY OUTBACK HAD FUEL PUMP FAILURE AND STALLED ON HIGHWAY RAMP ON JULY 5, 2020 AFTER SUBARU DEALERSHIP REPLACED FUEL PUMP ON JULY 1, 2020 PER SAFETY RECALL WRD-20. ON JULY 1, 2020, I HAD MY 18,000 MILES SERVICE AND SAFETY RECALL WRD-20 (FUEL-PUMP) DONE AT SUBARU DEALERSHIP. PICKED UP THE CAR AND DROVE IT HOME. ON JULY 5, I DROVE FROM PLEASANT HILL TO SAN FRANCISCO AND THE CAR STALLED ON HIGHWAY 101 AT OFF RAMP. I CANNOT RESTART THE CAR AND THERE WAS HEAVY SMELL OF GASOLINE COMING INSIDE THE CAR. I CANNOT PUSH IT TO THE SIDE SINCE THE DRIVING WHEEL IS VERY HARD TO MOVE AND THE CAR STALLED IN THE MIDDLE LANE OF THREE LANES HIGHWAY RAMP. I HAD TO WAIT FOR TOW TRUCK TO COME TO GET OFF THE HIGHWAY AND IT WAS TOWED BACK TO MY HOME SINCE THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE SHOP IS CLOSED ON SUNDAY. AFTER THE TOW TRUCK DROPPED OFF MY CAR, I WAS TRYING TO START THE CAR AND FOUND OUT GASOLINE IS LEAKING/POURING FROM BOTTOM OF MY CAR AND STILL CANNOT START. I HAVE ATTACHED TWO PICTURES TO SHOW THE GASOLINE LEAKING/POURING CONDITION. I WENT ONLINE AND FOUND I AM NOT THE ONLY CASE THAT FUEL PUMP FAILED AGAIN AFTER RECALL WRD-20 FUEL PUMP REPLACEMENT. THIS IS NOT SAFE FOR DRIVERS.

NHTSA ODI 11338331

Jul 9, 2020Fuel system

MY 2019 SUBARU OUTBACK HAD A FUEL PUMP RECALL, AND THE DEALERSHIP DID THE RECALL. I DROVE THE CAR FOR 15 MILES, PARKED IT ON A CITY STREET, AND WHEN I RETURNED BACK AFTER AN HOUR TO START THE CAR, IT DID NOT START. THE WHOLE INTERIOR STARTED SMELLING LIKE GASOLINE. WHEN I EXITED THE CAR, I NOTICED GASOLINE LEAKING FROM THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE CAR, AND ALL OVER THE CITY STREET. I THINK THE NEW FUEL PUMP THEY ARE INSTALLING ARE DEFECTIVE.

NHTSA ODI 11338379

Jun 18, 2020Fuel system

THE VEHICLE RAN ROUGH AND THEN LOST POWER WHILE EXITING I-55 IN THE CHICAGO AREA. THE VEHICLE WAS STALLED ON THE SIDE OF THE EXIT RAMP, BUT I WAS ABLE TO RESTART IT AND EXIT THE INTERSTATE. IT SEEMS LIKE IT IS RELATED TO THE ONGOING FUEL PUMP RECALL. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11329652

May 28, 2020Electrical systemFuel system

IN JANUARY, 2020, MY 2019 SUBARU OUTBACK FAILED TO START BECAUSE THE BATTERY WAS DEAD. IT DID START WITH A JUMP BUT HAD A DEAD BATTERY THE NEXT TIME I WANTED TO USE IT. I HAD THE OUTBACK TOWED TO THE NEAREST DEALER OVER 100 MILES AWAY. THEY OFFERED NO HELP, TELLING ME THE PROBLEM WAS BATTERY DRAINAGE FROM THE REMOTE STARTER I HAD INSTALLED. SO, I DROVE HOME AND THEN ANOTHER 100 MILES IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION TO HAVE THE STARTER CHECKED. THE TECHNICIAN TOLD ME THE REMOTE STARTER WAS WITHIN ACCEPTABLE RANGE.I MANAGED TO GET THROUGH THE WINTER WITH A BATTERY MAINTAINER. THE OUTBACK WAS FINE ONCE THE WEATHER WARMED UP THIS SPRING. THEN IN MAY, 2020, I AGAIN HAD PROBLEMS. THE HATCH DID NOT OPEN, MADE CLICKING NOISES, AND BEEPED WHEN I WOULD DRIVE THE OUTBACK. THIS PROBLEM AFTER HAVING TO JUMP START THE OUTBACK BECAUSE THE BATTERY WOULD AGAIN BE DEAD. NOT FUN, WHEN I WOULD HAVE TO CALL FOR HELP TO GET HOME FROM GROCERY SHOPPING. MY FRIEND SUGGESTED BUYING A NEW BATTERY WITH MORE CRANKING POWER, WHICH I DID. NOW, THE OUTBACK IS WORKING FINE. WILL IT LAST??? THEN WHEN CONTACTING SUBARU OF AMERICA TO SEE IF I COULD GET SOME REIMBURSEMENT FOR THE BATTERY, THE REPRESENTATIVE TOLD ME THERE WAS A RECALL ON MY OUTBACK DUE TO FUEL PUMP PROBLEMS. I HAVE NOT RECEIVED A NOTIFICATION. *TR

NHTSA ODI 11326297

May 18, 2020Speed controlFuel system

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

NHTSA ODI 11324967

Aug 23, 2019SteeringBrakesFuel system

PURCHASED VEHICLE IN MARCH 2019, SINCE OWNING VEHICLE MY MILES PER GALLON HAS BEEN OFF RANGING FROM 6 MILES TO 99 MILES PER GALLON AND THE SUBARU DEALER DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THE ISSUE IS. ALSO, WHILE APPLYING THE BRAKES, YOU HAVE TO APPLY THE PEDAL ALL THE WAY DOWN TO STOP. THE VEHICLE HAS A SOFT PEDAL AND A BURNT SMELL IN THE ENGINE.

NHTSA ODI 11245993

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Working with the data? Download all 1,029 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 19, 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 2019 Subaru Outback Wilderness verdict →