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2019 Subaru Outback

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Outback years

Owner complaints for the 2019 Subaru Outback are substantially higher than the model-year median of 207.5.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

469 reports with mileage · 564 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Electrical System. Review the 363 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Visibility/wiper. Review the 326 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Visibility. Review the 63 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

24 crash reports2 fire reports12 injury reports

Electrical System complaints

363 reports
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Mileage unknown · Aug 25, 2023
Electrical System

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

Mileage unknown · Aug 21, 2023
Electrical System

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 is…

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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

Mileage unknown · Aug 20, 2023
Electrical System

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. M…

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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

Mileage unknown · Aug 16, 2023
Electrical System

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

Mileage unknown · Aug 1, 2023
Electrical System

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…

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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

Mileage unknown · Jul 31, 2023
Electrical System

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 u…

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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

Mileage unknown · Jul 27, 2023
Electrical System

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 co…

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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

Mileage unknown · Jul 27, 2023
Electrical System

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 u…

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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

Mileage unknown · Jul 23, 2023
Electrical System

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 inc…

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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

Mileage unknown · Jul 20, 2023
Electrical System

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 …

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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

Official recalls

3

21V587000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump

Jul 29, 2021

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.

20V218000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump

Apr 16, 2020

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019 Impreza, Outback, Legacy, and Ascent vehicles. The low pressure fuel pump may become inoperative.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the low pressure fuel pump fails, the engine may stall without the ability to restart the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the low pressure fuel pump, free of charge. The recall began June 4, 2020. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRD-20.

19V493000 · Structure

Jun 26, 2019

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019 Legacy and Outback vehicles. Spot welds located on the duct below the cowl panel may have been improperly applied, impacting the vehicle's body strength.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: In the event of a crash, the reduced strength of the vehicle body may increase the risk of injury.

Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicles and repair or repurchase the vehicle, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began July 26, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUH-93.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.

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