Tsb was issued for this defective torque converter. Original warranty was extended, but vehicle is now out of warranty extension. Subaru denied my request to fix their design flaw as documented in service bulletin # 16-90-13R. The car engine shuts off when applying the brakes - thus creating a major safety issue.

- Apex, NC, USA

The car jumps and jerks, similar to a manual transmission stalling. This has occurred during acceleration from a stop at a red light, to deceleration in highway traffic!! upon taking it in for service at the Subaru schumacher in West palm beach, fl. The service manager informed me it's a common problem. Subaru is well aware of it, yet there is no recall. Sudden stalling of the vehicle is a serious safety issue! apparently someone must die for action to be taken! the dealer says to replace the valve body at a cost of $2345 + tax. Then mentions they will test drive the car, and if not resolved, they must replace the torque converter at $3500 +tax!!! any online search will tell you this car with 114,000 miles is not worth that! Subaru knows about this serious problem, and continues to place these faulty cvt transmissions in service. Problem persists up to 2017 models, simply because 2018/19 models haven't reached the mileage yet for failure. This statement came from the service manager himself. Thank you arnaud for being honest. Goodbye forever Subaru, you've lost a customer and hopefully you don't get anyone killed over this!

- West Palm Beach, FL, USA

Automobile stalling completely after braking to complete stop at stop light and stop signs on 3 separate occasions. Shuddering and shaking or automobile observed. Torque converter replaced in order to solve problem. Not known whether or not problem is completely fixed.

- Parkville, MD, USA

When coming to a stop or even slowing down, the car stalls. At times, this is an annoyance. Other times, it is very unsafe as cars behind me have to react to a sudden stop (especially in stop and go traffic). Subaru issued an extended warranty for this issue, but assigned an arbitrary 100K mileage limitation. This is a design flaw that should be repaired at Subaru's expense, regardless of the mileage that the imminent failure occurs. The design flaw was acknowledged as such by Subaru themselves, in a service bulletin #16-90-13R

- Jefferson, WI, USA

My vehicle accumulates a lot of highway miles. These are easy and unstrenuous to and from work. Over the past 3 months I had my vehicle misdiagnosed three times when I was complaining of transmission problems. As I have just broken 125,000 miles my vehicle gets diagnosed with needing a new head gasket and a new transmission. Costing easily more than the vehicle is worth. Subaru it not willing to back their vehicles. The vehicle should be lasting well past 125,000 without major mechanical problems like these that could have ended in serious injury. At this point nothing has been done to rectify what could have been an unsafe situation had I not continually prompted them to properly diagnose the problem. At this time my vehicle is unsafe to drive and has been over the past few months due to these issues.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

My 2011 Subaru Outback abruptly stalls when I stop. This occurrs in dangerous situations such as stopping at intersections, in traffic, and every other situation that requires braking while driving. It is similar to stalling a manual vehicle by braking without the clutch depressed

- Milton, VT, USA

I was 40 miles from home after coming down a steep curvy mountain road in manual when Subaru began shifting with big jerks and shudders in early Sept 2019, had trouble shifting from one gear to next. Hanlee's Subaru evaluated, replaced valve body and serpentine belt. A few days later in rush hour traffic at a rr crossing it shuddered to a stop and died during which there was a loud clanking sound under and behind me. I started it up again but was terrified of causing an accident. Returned to hanlee's where they had it for a week and could not reproduce the symptoms.since I picked it up it still has a "bump" when I slow down. Then 0N 11/4/19 it did the same shuddering stop when I braked in traffic(going 35 mph) five miles from my house, dying completely. I restarted it and took it to Subaru. They say it might be a torque converter. I'm worried for my safety. I also see that both the cvt and torque converter had extended warranties issued for these reasons. When these problems began the car had 110K miles. This is my third Subaru and have never experienced such poor, dangerous performance on a car that should run well for at least 200K miles with good service. I am waiting to hear from hanlee's on the second day they have had my car.

- Napa, CA, USA

My 2011 Subaru Outback has stalled out several times this summer, but the event that I can recall most objectively for reporting purposes occurred on August 17, 2019 when my vehicle stalled completely after applying the brakes suddenly to stop due to being flagged by an oncoming driver on my neighborhood road while traveling about 40 mph. I had to turn over ignition switch to get the vehicle going again. When I reached home, I researched online for causes of stalling in 2011 Subaru Outbacks, and I found numerous complaints by other owners of the same issue. According to people who have had their vehicles repaired it is the torque converter. Subaru issued an extension to the vehicle warranty to cover the cost of repair up to 100,000 miles which does me no good because at the time of the incident, I was well over the 100,000 miles. Cost of the repairs on average is $2200. It is my understanding that if there is a known problem with a vehicle where driver/occupant safety is at risk, the car manufacturer has to recall the product. I would think a car stalling completely while in operation/motion in traffic/ road travel would qualify as a potential safety hazard.

- Signal Mountain, TN, USA

The car engine cuts off when suddenly decelerating. My wife and child stalled twice already in traffic, once at a busy intersection. Also water leaks into the center brake light. Parking brake does not work.

- Houston, TX, USA

My 2011 Subaru Outback sometimes shudders while slowing down and has started stalling out at stops. I feel this is quite unsafe. I took it to my local Subaru dealer and they told me it needs a torque converter. They quoted $1459.45 for the repair. The man at Subaru told me it is unsafe to drive, as it may fail while driving and cause an accident.

- Joplin, MO, USA

I purchased my 2011 Subaru Outback at 75,000 miles from hansel Subaru in santa rosa, ca in April of 2017 from a salesman named andre. A couple weeks after purchasing it I took it back to the dealership to get the transmission inspected because it was not driving properly (complaining of hard shifting). After they inspected it they asked me if this was my first cvt and I said yes, they told me that the car needed to learn my driving habits so they did a 're-learn' on the cvt which I had to pay for out of pocket. At this time I had no knowledge of the extended warranty or the cvt transmission the Subaru released in 2014. This should have been disclosed when I purchased the car. When I took it in for the inspection they should have replaced the cvt according to they service bulletin with the extended warranty. A couple weeks ago I'm driving home from ventura at night, traveling 70mph in heavy traffic and out of nowhere all the dashboard lights start flashing and the car suddenly looses power, almost causing the vehicle behind me to rear-end me. The vehicle is at 125,000 miles (just outside the 100,000 mile extended warranty) and Subaru is refusing to provide any assistance with a new transmission. Now I'm stuck with a repair bill of $8000 on a vehicle I still owe $10,000 on. This should be a recall, the passenger and I could have been injured or killed in a freeway pileup.

- Arroyo Grande, CA, USA

Car has been exhibiting intermittent low idling while parked or while stopped at red light and stop signs. About 3 days ago, on three separate trips my Outback shuddered and shaked quite violently when stopping for oncoming traffic as I was attempting to turn. When I depressed the gas pedal to make the turn, the car continued to shudder and stalled amidst the three lane oncoming traffic. I restarted the car and gently depressed the gas pedal to hobble my way into a parking lot. I made my way back home fully aware of how the car behaved to avoid incident, but also leaving me afraid for my family's safety. I immediately scheduled a service appt at the Subaru dealership. The car didn't exhibit any of the previous issues on my drive to the dealership. After agreeing to pay for the diagnosis fee, the service rep explained to me that I needed to replace the torque converter, which would cost me over $2000. I felt like I had no choice but to authorize the repair, so I did. After leaving my car at the shop to return home I had the opportunity to conduct some quick research about the torque converter as it pertains to my model year car. There have been numerous complaints filed to NHTSA and Subaru of America about this issue. I recently purchased my Outback used (second owner) at 145,000 miles in late May 2019. Extended warranty expired 8 months prior to my purchase. I took the car to the dealership to check for any outstanding recalls upon my purchase. But since the extended warranty (as a result of technical bulletin 16-90-13R) isn't an actual recall, nothing was flagged. There was absolutely no way for me to be aware of this until the problem revealed itself, now leaving me with a potentially hazardous (if not deadly) situation if not adequately remedied by the dealership. I'm currently working with Subaru of America to see if they'll cover the expense.

- Seffner, FL, USA

Around 12pm on 8/28/19, my 2011 Subaru Outback stalled in the middle of an intersection as I was coming to a fast stop to allow an approaching ambulance to turn. I could not restart my car before the light changed, leaving me stranded in the flow of the intersection, unsure whether to continue through against the red light or stay put as cars drove by from both sides, a frightening and dangerous experience that left me shaken. As my safety was threatened by this incident, I notified Subaru of America by phone on 9/6/19. I was contacted by antoine laval (customer/retailer services dept.) and will have an appointment with my Subaru dealership at 1pm on 9/13/19 to have the transmission evaluated. My car has been shuddering/stalling intermittently for months, and it is now clear that this is due to the faulty cvt issue referenced in the letter sent to me June 2017. Although the letter states that "for vehicles that are more than ten (10) years old or have more than one hundred thousand (100,000) miles, inspections or repairs under this one year coverage period must be completed on or before July 31, 2018, " I am petitioning Subaru of America to fully cover the cost of repair/replacement of the faulty transmission in my Subaru as compensation for being placed in the dangerous situation of being stranded in the middle of an intersection in cross traffic.

- Wilmington, DE, USA

My car stalls when I brake suddenly. This happens randomly and has almost caused be to be involved in several accidents. Just this morning my car died after braking on the highway and I was nearly rear-ended.

- Berlin, CT, USA

When braking the car starts to shake and then stalls. You then need to put the car in park and restart. If you apply the brakes and feel the car shaking, sometimes letting off of the brake it will keep it from stalling. It is still an unsafe situation.

- New Albany, OH, USA

This is a new complaint after Subaru agreed to replace the transmission at no cost to us, the original owners. The car was dropped for diagnosis on 7/29-told that it needed a new transmissions, parts ordered, and service scheduled. Subaru had the car for just over two weeks. Picked up on 8/13 and experienced the same issues that we had prior to dropping it off. Hesitation and stalling, etc. See previous complaint. Now they want us to drop it off for service again.

- Northfield Falls, VT, USA

The car stalls when coming to a fast stop and sometimes shudders like it is going to stall when slowing down. This was horrible on the freeway during traffic as I had to restart my car numerous time. Got close to getting rear ended a few times. I took my car to Subaru and it is a common problem but instead of doing a recall they extended the warranty to 100,000 miles. My car now has 103425 and not covered. It started around 102250 miles while in California on my way back home. I had to pay $2490.59 to have a safe car to drive. This is a major safety issue when it comes to transmission stalling while driving. How is it even legal that this isn't a recall.

- Seattle, WA, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Subaru Outback. While driving various speeds, the vehicle started to vibrate abnormally without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the continuously variable transmission failed and the vehicle should be taken to an authorized Subaru dealer for repair. The vehicle was previously diagnosed at heritage Subaru owings mills (located at 9808 reisterstown rd, owings mills, md 21117, (866) 738-1475); however, the mechanic was unable to retrieve a fault code or duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

- Owings Mills, MD, USA

Within owning the vehicle for approximately 6 months, the vehicle began shuddering when coming to abrupt stops. This continued and by approximately 11 months, the shuddering had become more common in less abrupt stops and in some cases would stall the car. The issue remains persistent, however intermittent. The most recent time of it stalling was two days ago, approximately 18 months into owning the car. I've held up traffic numerous times due to this issue while having to restart the car, however this most recent time, it occurred on a steeper hill and, had I not reacted quickly with the brakes, I could have rolled back into a car and potentially injured the occupants and myself.

- Kent, WA, USA

Car would shudder when coming to a stop occasionally and feel like it was going to stall. I brought it to a mechanic who couldn't replicate the problem. After months of this happening randomly, the car suddenly lit up with all these dash warning lights, I tried turning the car off and back on but the lights remained on, afterwards the car would suddenly lose power. As it was late in the evening, I drove home, with the car alternating between lurching forward and losing power. The next morning the problems continued. I took my car to my mechanic who said it was a transmission issue and I needed a transmission shop. My car has been there for over 2 weeks. They said that there was damage to the transmission and that this is a common problem with these cars, I have yet to receive an estimate for repairs. The day before the issues started I had to drive an hour and a half away, should these issues had happened on the highway, the car could have stalled out doing highway speeds and caused a major accident. Furthermore, I was never notified of the warranty extension. I purchased the car in December 2017, the shuddering occured at random since I purchased it, I known the shuddering was a symptom of a impending large, catastrophic issue, I would have been able to bring it to a dealer to have it repaired as the warranty extension expired July 2018.

- Long Pond, PA, USA