10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
19,867 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2013 Subaru Outback:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #23

Aug 192023

Outback

  • miles
Strapped kayak to roof rack. Roof rack ripped off car while in traffic. Kayak went flying and was hit by a truck.

- Egg Harbor Township, NJ, USA

problem #22

Jan 152023

Outback

  • miles
Key gets stuck in the ignition. There was a recall on multiple models/years due to ignition switch failure. Mine included, but apparently not my particular car. Have read that car engine can cut off, causing a major safety issue. Brought to dealer, they say they found nothing wrong.This issue has been ongoing since January.

- Pawcatuck, CT, USA

problem #21

Jan 312023

Outback 4-cyl

  • miles
The hood latch released while I driving on the 101 freeway at about 70 MPH. The secondary lock held and I was able to get off the freeway. The hood would not latch after this occurred. I took the vehicle to Kirby Subaru of Ventura and had the latch replaced. I am from a medical background, where we have certain "never" events. I would consider this to be one of those never events. If the secondary latch had failed I likely would have had a catastrophic event.

- Santa Barbara, CA, USA

problem #20

Jan 012023

Outback

  • miles
My horn became intermittent, and stopped working. The car will not pass state inspection. It was diagnosed as a faulty clock spring. The dealership stated that this was a common failure on Subaru's, especially those that had the Takata airbag replacement recall. They said there was no TSB or recall for the part. I reached out to Subaru customer service who said that due to the age and mileage on my car, there was nothing they could do to assist replacing the part.

- Weymouth, MA, USA

problem #19

Jan 112023

Outback

  • miles
Driving down interstate and the sunroof suddenly explodes. Thank goodness the shade was closed. In photo below we have covered it with plastic until I find someone to repair. Auto glass companies said they do not replace sunroofs. I am taking to dealer tomorrow.

- Ashland, VA, USA

problem #18

Oct 072022

Outback

  • miles
Driving back to work, the seat belt alarm started chiming. I noticed the airbag light was on for the passenger side along with this chime. Looking it up, I see recalls for the ODS system in later years than my vehicle, but not yet for the year of mine. No incident occurred.

- Germantown, NY, USA

problem #17

Aug 052021

Outback

  • miles
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.

- Danville, VA, USA

problem #16

May 012022

Outback

  • miles
Vehicle horn has failed to function.

- Moscow, ID, USA

problem #15

Apr 132022

Outback

  • miles
When backing out of garage, car seemed to rev up and increase speed. I was unable to stop the car while applying the brakes. Car went down over an embankment and stopped only after I put transmission into Park and car was slowed down by running over a large shrub. Luckily, I was unhurt, but easily could have been. This is the second time a similar incident has happened. I have not reported the incident previously nor had the car inspected yet.

- Dillsburg, PA, USA

problem #14

Mar 032022

Outback

  • miles
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

- Westpoint, TN, USA

problem #13

May 012021

Outback

  • miles
The backup camera began to malfunction (not work) intermittently until it stopped working altogether.

- Bel Air, MD, USA

problem #12

Aug 192019

Outback 4-cyl

  • miles
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).

- Marshall , WI, USA

problem #11

Jul 312019

Outback

  • 62,000 miles
Moonroof exploded. 2013 Subaru Outback. Occured on July 31, 2019 at approx 7:30 pm. It had been overcast all day, with high temp 75. Driving along hwy 89A at 65 miles an hour. One car ahead of me, about 6 car lengths ahead. Straight section of the highway. I saw no rocks, the car ahead was in the middle of the lane, not going off to edge where there might have been debris. The outside temp at that time read 72 on my car. I heard an exploding sound. Pulled over asap. The glass of the moonroof was shattered and still crackling. Large opening in the middle of the glass with surrounding glass sloped upward towards the hole. I saw no rock or any other debris besides the broken glass. The sliding upholstered sunroof prevented broken glass from falling into the car.

- Paulden, AZ, USA

problem #10

Mar 302019

Outback

  • miles
When in reverse, the rear camera displays on the screen as it should. The problem occurs when the system connect via bluetooth to a mobile device, the rear camera view is blocked by a large notification window reporting that the connection has been made to the mobile device. This obstructs the view. The timing of this process often occurs just as one has started backing up since it takes 30-60ish seconds to get situated and then start reversing and it also take about this much time for the bluetooth connection to establish itself. A solution could be to a) not display other notifications when the backup camera is on the display, or B) make the notification not obscure as much of the camera view.

- Kensington, MD, USA

problem #9

Oct 012018

Outback

  • miles
I have noticed many complaints and personally have, S non working horn and S non opening gas compartment in my Subaru. I believe the non functioning horn presents a safety hazard in all the Subaru models who have it/ which through research are many. No consumer should be required to correct a defect thst is in fact present in Subaru vehicles through no ear and rear or cause of the consumer. I expect this to be repaired via recall. Also it is known that the gas compartment does not open in vehicles as well- through no cause by the consumer.

- Midvale, UT, USA

problem #8

Sep 052018

Outback

  • 36,500 miles
My sunroof shattered while driving on the highway under normal conditions, and for unknown reasons.

- Anchorage, AK, USA

problem #7

Sep 022018

Outback

  • 78,000 miles
Steering wheel visible vibrates at 70+ mph on the highway despite multiple realignments and mechanic visits to various dealers. Car sometimes fights driver to veer left/right. It is difficult to drive (sometimes even exhausting). Has been an ongoing issue for last 5 years, progressively getting worse. Car has never been involved in an accident and has been maintained properly.

- Prescott Valley, AZ, USA

problem #6

Feb 142018

Outback

  • 98,450 miles
Driving down the highway at ~60mph, the sunroof shattered, exploding in an outward/upward pattern from the center. There were no vehicles in proximity to mine, to throw a rock or otherwise cause the incident. The weather was very hot or cold. Occurred yesterday. 2013 Subaru Outback.

- Boulder, CO, USA

problem #5

Jan 282018

Outback

  • 54,000 miles
My friends' son and wife had a crash on I 55 North near meadowbrook road on January 28, 2018. The car hit a highway barrier and spun around and resulted in an extreme fire after impact and the side airbag, nor the side curtain airbag did not deploy on drivers' side. The insurance company did not get consent from my friend to take it from the towed destination to another destination. She has yet to receive information regarding her claim status which she was informed of only when she initiated the call. Insurance adjuster inquired who and why someone else wanted to look at car when telling adjuster she would be having a third party to view her wrecked car. As of to date February 6, 2018, she has not received any call from insurance company? the airbags (side seat airbag and side curtain airbag and the extreme intensity of the fire are of major concern) especially not deploying on her sons' side of the car. Both son and daughter-in-law were transported to the university of Mississippi medical center emergency room by way of ambulance but were discharge that next morning, but continue to have ptsd like symptoms and also injuries that linger on. See pictures attached.

- Jackson, MS, USA

problem #4

Jan 072018

Outback

  • 105,000 miles
I was driving down a 2 lane highway, when I heard a loud sound like a shotgun and my sunroof exploded, completely shattered, for no reason.

- Freedom, WY, USA

Read the next 3 complaints »