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

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle failed to start-up. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the failure was due the battery not operating as designed. The battery was replaced; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the Data Control Module (DCM) had failed and needed to be replaced. The DCM was replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall for the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 24,941.

NHTSA ODI 11548669

My battery died and I replaced it. Suddenly my radio/screen system started to malfunction. It no longer works at all other than interrupting phone calls by switching from car to phone speaker. I have no access to any safety features. Now my brand new battery of one month isn’t working. When I had an oil change at the dealership last month, they were familiar with the issue but stated there was a recall on the exact issue for a different year. They said I’d have to pay $1000 for a new radio interface. My question is why is the radio/screen and the battery failing at the same time? Why is there a recall one year off and my car is costing me a fortune and so much time.

NHTSA ODI 11548364

Diagnosis from Dealer - DCM is causing a draw on battery during sleep mode will need new DCM to be replaced to stop draw on battery. Battery is drained after a couple days of not driving the car. Battery was replace in May 2023. Safety issue if somewhere where car can not be jumped.

NHTSA ODI 11548303

On July 28th, my touch screen (head unit) in my Subaru Outback suddenly delaminated overnight. From that point foward, all systems connected to the head unit have been either unusable or intermittent--often dangerously so. My backup camera and blind spot indicators are randomly unusable; the GPS system turns itself on and off in use (and half the time, screen itself cycles through "ghost touches" and is unable to be directed in any way); my car calls random people through the Bluetooth system while driving, which is a major distraction, and Starlink is unusable. Internet searching has revealed a proposed class action lawsuit against Subaru for the known issues with their head units; the 2018 models were recalled, but as mine is a 2019, I have been told I'm ineligible for support with repairs and would need to pay 3k out of pocket. I can't sell the car with the level of defects it currently has, and driving the vehicle is at best irritating and at worst, dangerous (depending on how the head unit behaves that day). I purchased this car because I wanted to have a backup camera, blind spot indicators, access to GPS support, and more.

NHTSA ODI 11547191

Radio Headunit -- Freezes and has ghost inputs. Makes the unit unusable- no backup camera. Flashes and beeps constantly. You can not mute it or stop it. It seems to also cause the "Eyesight" to not behave normally

NHTSA ODI 11546313

The screen has bubbles form behind it from condensation and causes it to phantom press buttons. It will interrupt any activity you do it's is very distracting and dangerousfor equipped to fail when it is a known issue.

NHTSA ODI 11544535

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while the vehicle was stationary, the check battery warning light illuminated. After calling roadside assistance, the technician was unable to jump-start the vehicle. The battery was later replaced but had since displayed symptoms of excessive power drainage, requiring constant recharges. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 64,000.

NHTSA ODI 11544337

The screen gets has bubbles form behind it from condensation and causes it to flash and click buttons on its own. It will interrupt maps while navigating, is very distracting, and dangerous to have this radio equipped when it is a known issue. I have almost crashed because of this.

NHTSA ODI 11544177

8/15/23 stopped at light. Car ceased to drive. Put in Neutral, then Drive, car lurched forward & drove. On 8/22/23, driving 50-60 mph, car suddenly goes into nothing. Flash of light across the dashboard. Manually put into Drive and drove. Took to Reynolds Subaru in Orange, VA. [XXX] , technician, drove car w/scan tool multiple times over several days. Unable to duplicate what happened to us. The Electric system? Transmission? Fear driving car as it could repeat incidents. We live with high speed roads, numerous 10- wheel trucks, no shoulders, no room for failures. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11543780

Car has 28k miles, has required 4-5 battery replacements. Cause is parasitic power drain. Subaru dealer can not diagnose and/or fix the problem. Subaru America is no help whatsoever. Battery failure makes car inoperable, several instances have put us in significant risk.

NHTSA ODI 11540848

Battery drain issue. The battery was replaced by dealer twice, and it drains down after about one month to two months. The car won't start and I need to call roadside service for a jump start several times a week. The dealer ran tests and says there is no unusual electronic drain when car is off, but didn't diagnose what the issue is--just replaced battery, and now after about 7 weeks I'm having same issue again.

NHTSA ODI 11539825

The infotainment system suddenly started playing random songs, started switching from maps to music, going through stations on the radio etc..escalated to not accepting any touch commands and totally took over doing its own thing like making random phone calls, etc which I could not stop because it won’t accept touch commands. My husband thought I was in an accident because it kept calling him as I was driving on the highway and I couldn’t stop it from calling him and I also couldn’t answer it. Very dangerous as it gets loud at various times and suddenly will make a beep beep beep sound like it would if you were scrolling through stations. The service manager said this is a known issue in these cars and said it’s coming from behind the screen. He said we can try to turn it off by pushing the volume and station buttons at the same time but this only works for a few minutes then turns back on. He said the fix is like $2200 and everything is on back order so we are looking at months. His advice was to go to Best Buy and get a new radio. This is a $39,000 car with 32000 miles on it…but we followed his suggestion anyway and went to Best Buy and they said no way can they can do it because of the amplifier in the car. They said a new radio would not connect to the amplifier and Harman Kardon speakers and said it would be about $6000 to replace all of that.

NHTSA ODI 11539662

Dcm / starlinks unit has a parasitic drain on battery that requires battery change every year. Car doesn't start unexpectedly. Not great for an outdoorsy car where we'd be more likely to be outside of cell signal.

NHTSA ODI 11538886

Two batteries in my Subaru suddenly started draining completely within a few days of each other. One day my husband was on a busy street and the dashboard began flashing, the lights, dImmed, and the car started making an unusual beeping sound. Our mechanic called Subaru and was told that it could be a problem with a VCM fuse. He tested the car overnight and easily discovered the VCM fuse was the problem. The part to fix the problem has been back-ordered for two months and the local Subaru dealer says it will be at least two more months before the part arrives. Subaru has acknowledged that the car is not safe to drive. Subaru customer advocacy has told us that the repair is not covered under our power train warranty. The part costs $900. Plus, we have had to rent a car for over $1000 a month. Subaru wants us to bring the car to a dealer to confirm that the problem is the VCM. The dealership is quite a ways away and the cost of towing the car could be very expensive. I said that I would be willing to pay the cost of towing so long as Subaru agrees to reimburse me if the dealership finds that the problem is the VCM. Subaru will not pay the cost of towing and said they might not pay for the cost of repairing the VCM if that is the problem. They would decide that only after they saw the car. Although Subaru has known for years of the problems with the VCM, they have never issued a recall nor have they even informed us of the potential problem. (My daughter had the same thing happen a few years ago. At that time, the needed part was available and Subaru did not charge her). The defect with the VCM presents serious safety issues and now I will be without the car for at least two months and Subaru is not taking responsibility for the defect. I appreciate any help you can give me. Kathleen Engel

NHTSA ODI 11535672

Car battery loses charge often due to parasitic DCM wire. Have been stranded often with my children despite buying new batteries. Battery, Alternator, everything tests fine. But there is an electrical issue. The radio and other electronics go on the fritz a week or two before each time the car needs a jump. it’s unreliable and unsafe.

NHTSA ODI 11535391

Battery failed to start vehicle. Jumped with another battery, checked that the charging system was operating. The next morning it would not start. Changed battery with a new one slightly larger, no problems. Found out later that there are so many functions that drain the smaller battery. I did not want to be on the road and unable to restart the vehicle. Others have had the same issues, there is a class action lawsuit with a settlement. Filed the required forms and was denied because I did not have a Subaru dealer replace the battery.

NHTSA ODI 11534754

There is a parasitic battery drain happening from somewhere in my Subaru Outback. I purchased a battery approximately 6 months ago because my previous one died. Today this one died. Nothing such as leaving lights on or anything else on my part precipitated this. It has not been inspected yet by the dealer. This seems to be a common thing based on research and needs to be a recall.

NHTSA ODI 11534940

Battery drain. The vehicle battery will be dead after 2 days. I've needed charges over 15 times in 6 months. The battery was replaced twice and dealer said there was no parasitic drain when car is off, but offered no solution for fixing the car. I'm still having to call roadside services for a charge off and on. It's highly inconvenient and could be dangerous to not have any reliance on the battery. The car has less than 10,000 miles. I have been gypped into buying this car that isn't working properly. When will Subaru take these vehicles back or provide a solution for dealers to implement?

NHTSA ODI 11533930

At roughly 57k miles, the infotainment system in my Subaru outback started flashing rapidly, thinking something was touching the top right corner of the screen. It changes the radio stations interrupts phone calls by transferring them off of the Bluetooth system, affects the navigation system by stopping the map, and eventually locks itself up and because unusable. Not only is this distracting to the driver, but it questions the integrity of all of the computer systems in the vehicle, including the Subaru EYESIGHT.

NHTSA ODI 11533533

The head unit of the vehicle is experiencing delamination which is causing "phantom inputs" where the screen registers touches on without any user input. This causes constant audio sound effects to be played which causes driver distraction. The only way to resolve this is to turn off the head unit completely. The delamination also causes "bubbles" to appear on the touch screen interface which renders the backup camera near inoperable due to the video from the backup camera being obstructed; this effect is further compounded in sunny conditions since the "bubbles" exacerbate the glare. Subaru is aware of the problem and has issued a warranty for the 2018 model year vehicles as outlined in Service Bulletin 15-263-20. However, Subaru has failed to correct the problem in subsequent model years.

NHTSA ODI 11533242

Power Rear lift gate does not work on a consistent basis. It will work normally for several days, then without warning, not work. Will not work with remote or interior opening mechanism. Only the manual release in the rear will unlatch the rear gate, which is quite heavy to lift and not designed to be done so in a manual fashion. Unable to duplicate issue at Subaru dealer. Obviously, this is a know issue after reviewing similar complaints here.

NHTSA ODI 11532756

Battery goes dead after vehicle not driven for a few days.

NHTSA ODI 11532474

MY19 Subaru Outback 3.6R. Battery died after being a vacation for about one week. Replaced with a brand new battery. About one month later went on vacation again for about 4-5 days, the battery was again completely dead. The car has an issue in which it is draining the battery when parked - this could result in unexpected failure of critical vehicle electrical systems due to operating in a low voltage state or potentially leave someone stranded. A new vehicle like this should not be draining a new car battery because it is not being ran for a 7 day period. Subaru needs to issue a recall to fix this battery draining issue.

NHTSA ODI 11528613

Dcm failure at 65K

NHTSA ODI 11527917

Since Oct-Nov ‘22 I’ve had 3 batteries drained; the latest June 10 ‘23. Last replacement was a new battery and a new communication unit; drained battery still occurring - chronic problem. No long term solution

NHTSA ODI 11527202