On 9/28/23 I was driving in a 2-lane construction zone with my daughter. While going through the construction zone, my car lost all power and just shut off completely. No warning signs just went completely dead. I almost got rear ended, thankfully the car behind me went to the left of the center, but almost had a head on coll…
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On 9/28/23 I was driving in a 2-lane construction zone with my daughter. While going through the construction zone, my car lost all power and just shut off completely. No warning signs just went completely dead. I almost got rear ended, thankfully the car behind me went to the left of the center, but almost had a head on collision into oncoming traffic. Thankfully, no wrecks were involved. It did eventually start back up and has yet to happen again. However, back in July/August of 2021, I received a recall notice on my vehicle NHTSA Campaign #21V587000. When I called to check on the recall it was stated that my vehicle did not have a current recall. I believe this is inaccurate to the fullest. When I bought the vehicle, I took my outback in several times to the dealership with what I thought was transmission and some electrical issues. They could find nothing wrong, how convenient for them, they weren't the ones almost killed because the vehicle would stall at intermittent times during acceleration. I took it in on 1/24/19, 4/26/19, 10/24/19, and 7/27/20. The mileage range was from 1K to 55K, now at 111K my car just has a complete system failure. Honestly, they didn't seem enough to care and treated me like I didn't know what I was talking about. I drove it 7 days a week and they drove it for 15 minutes and said there were no issues. That is not a fair assessment. I would like to resolve this matter before someone gets killed because of a defective issue on Subaru's part that was documented several times. I have the receipts and work orders to support the evidence. I have notified my family of the issues in case something does happen because of the vehicle, and I am, or others are injured or killed in an accident. Like I said, I have all the documentation to support any claim henceforth. I bought a Subaru because of its safety ratings. Now, I'm afraid to have passengers or my grandkids ride with me out of fear for their safety and others.
NHTSA ODI #11547483
Mileage unknown · Sep 23, 2023
Electrical System
Sunroof drainage blocked causing water to enter dashboard and fuse box area causing electrical damage. Unable To drive vehicle.
NHTSA ODI #11546185
Mileage unknown · Aug 6, 2023
Electrical System
The STARLINK multimedia touchscreen system screen started delaminating July-2022; April-2023 it developed a ghost glitch & changes all settings/info on its own - it doesn’t recognize any true touch on the screen & after multiple hard resets (holding down sound/tuner/cd buttons all at once), it rarely ever actually resets the tou…
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The STARLINK multimedia touchscreen system screen started delaminating July-2022; April-2023 it developed a ghost glitch & changes all settings/info on its own - it doesn’t recognize any true touch on the screen & after multiple hard resets (holding down sound/tuner/cd buttons all at once), it rarely ever actually resets the touchscreen; however, it may pause the glitching for 5-10mins.
NHTSA ODI #11536795
Mileage unknown · Jul 31, 2023
Electrical SystemUnknown Or Other
My vehicle just dies and leaves me stranded after turning off the car and leaving it overnight. This has happened many times, and I worry everytime I go camping or to some remote place where I may not have cell signal to get a tow truck to jump me. If I don't carry water and food, medicine, at all times, I fear what will happ…
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My vehicle just dies and leaves me stranded after turning off the car and leaving it overnight. This has happened many times, and I worry everytime I go camping or to some remote place where I may not have cell signal to get a tow truck to jump me. If I don't carry water and food, medicine, at all times, I fear what will happen to me if I am stranded and cannot get help on time. My car is 5 years old, I am on my 3rd battery. In every case, the battery should have been very well charged because it happens after highway driving for several hours. Suburu and the dealers try to deny that anything is wrong; but one of the rescue mechanics told me that the alternator seems to overcharge. Yes , I took the vehicle in for all inspection while it was under warranty. I reported these events to no avail. NO WARNING LIGHTS COME ON. I need to be able to get this fixed. How do I do that?
NHTSA ODI #11535407
Mileage unknown · May 28, 2023
Electrical System
Vehical infotainment system constantly beeps and changes formats, including randomly dialing phone numbers while driving. turning volume down does not control the distraction and system cannot be turned off. beeping is so load, it can be heard from 20 feet away from the car (outside of vehicle). the distraction is a safety probl…
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Vehical infotainment system constantly beeps and changes formats, including randomly dialing phone numbers while driving. turning volume down does not control the distraction and system cannot be turned off. beeping is so load, it can be heard from 20 feet away from the car (outside of vehicle). the distraction is a safety problem for the driver. problem is in effect over 6 monthes and unit cannot be replaced due to product unavailability.
NHTSA ODI #11524176
Mileage unknown · Apr 15, 2023
Electrical SystemUnknown Or Other
The touchscreen on the Starlink head unit is delaminated and there is a “ghost touch” whenever the screen is on. You can visibly see bubbles under the screen. While I was driving my kids to daycare the other day, the navigation system activated and said that “you cannot change the volume at this time” repeatedly for no reason. I…
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The touchscreen on the Starlink head unit is delaminated and there is a “ghost touch” whenever the screen is on. You can visibly see bubbles under the screen. While I was driving my kids to daycare the other day, the navigation system activated and said that “you cannot change the volume at this time” repeatedly for no reason. It also changes driving directions mid-trip. It’s very distracting while driving and makes the car information system and radio unusable. My dealer said that this is a known problem and that they would fix it; however, the part is back for months. They said they could not turn the screen off without disabling other safety features such as the back-up camera.
NHTSA ODI #11517235
Mileage unknown · Mar 17, 2023
Electrical System
In the past 6 months, the electrical system of my 2018 Outback has completely shut down on at least 4 occasions. I required several jump starts with the car parked in the garage, no doors left open, and no lights left on. I took it to the dealership where I was basically accused of lying because I “must have left something on”.…
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In the past 6 months, the electrical system of my 2018 Outback has completely shut down on at least 4 occasions. I required several jump starts with the car parked in the garage, no doors left open, and no lights left on. I took it to the dealership where I was basically accused of lying because I “must have left something on”. I tried to assure the staff that I did not. They gave me a new battery and 4 weeks later I walked out to a dead car again today. I started searching online and found that Subaru is well aware that this problem has been a frequent occurrence with Outbacks dated 2016-2020, and there is a class action lawsuit against the company because they have failed to issue a recall. After my husband figured out that something must be pulling on the battery, we turned off all the safety features of the car. Within 7 days of turning them back on, the battery was dead. I specifically bought this car for safety reasons. What good is it if I can’t use the safety features?
NHTSA ODI #11512462
Mileage unknown · Feb 14, 2023
Electrical System
Battery died prematurely and failed to hold a charge had to be replaced 4 DEC 22, for 194.63 from Advance Auto parts, Battery had failed to hold a charge in the past and Subaru roadside assistance had to be called on a previous occasion to issue a jump start.
NHTSA ODI #11507221
Mileage unknown · Feb 13, 2023
Electrical System
My 2018 Subaru Outback battery is draining practically every day now. There must be something in the car that drains the battery constantly so in the morning I am unable to start. I needed to jump start the battery on multiple occasions now.
NHTSA ODI #11506939
Mileage unknown · Jan 23, 2023
Electrical System
Battery drainage Have had to have vehicle jumped twice now. Battery totally dead when I tried to start car and return home after appointments. Afraid this may happen while driving which happened to a friend of mine! Very dangerous situation!!
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Ascent, 2018 Forester, 2018-2020 Impreza, Legacy, Outback, 2018-2019 BRZ, WRX, and Toyota 86 vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the low-pressure fuel pump, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 24, 2021. Subaru and Toyota owners may call customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRG-21.
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2018 Legacy, Outback, and BRZ vehicles. In the affected vehicles, a software issue may cause the audio display system to not initialize, resulting in the camera display remaining blank. If this occurs, the rearview image will not display while backing up the vehicle. As a result, the vehicles fail to comply with requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety (FMVSS) number 111, "Rearview Mirrors."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Failure to display the rearview image while backing up increases the risk of crash.
Remedy: Subaru has notified owners, and dealers will reprogram the audio system display software, free of charge. The recall began on February 5, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WTZ-85.
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2018 Subaru Legacy and Outback vehicles. Due to a software error, the low fuel warning light may not illuminate at the intended remaining fuel level and the miles-to-empty display may incorrectly indicate a positive number despite the tank being empty.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: The inaccurate fuel display may cause a driver to unexpectedly run out of fuel and the vehicle to stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the combination meter software, free of charge. The recall began February 20, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WTW-82.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Electrical System:software
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2018 Subaru Legacy and Outback vehicles. Due to a software error, the low fuel warning light may not illuminate at the intended remaining fuel level and the miles-to-empty display may incorrectly indicate a positive number despite the tank being empty.
Consequence: The inaccurate fuel display may cause a driver to unexpectedly run out of fuel and the vehicle to stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the combination meter software, free of charge. The recall began February 20, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WTW-82.
Fuel System, Gasoline
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2018 Subaru Legacy and Outback vehicles. Due to a software error, the low fuel warning light may not illuminate at the intended remaining fuel level and the miles-to-empty display may incorrectly indicate a positive number despite the tank being empty.
Consequence: The inaccurate fuel display may cause a driver to unexpectedly run out of fuel and the vehicle to stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the combination meter software, free of charge. The recall began February 20, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WTW-82.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗