Subaru Outback electrical problems

I purchased my car on [XXX]. Since then I have now had two incidents where I was driving on the expressway and the computer completely shuts down. Engine is still active but the dashboard goes black, air conditioning turns off, turn signals don’t work etc. I brought it back to Gerald Subaru of Naperville and they told me the first time that they had not done the factory reset when they first got the vehicle. They explained to me they fixed the issue and it would never happen to me again. It happened again to me yesterday on the expressway. I was put in a very scary, very unsafe situation that I never thought I would be in because I bought a Subaru, the “safest” car on the market. Come to find out my service paper work states that Gerald Subaru did not do a “factory reset” when I brought it in the first time. They claimed I said the engine light turned on and then the dashboard turned off, which is not accurate and I have an email and photo to prove that. I would like answers as to why my brand new 2025 Subaru Outback is failing. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the infotainment system was displaying a blank screen. No warning light was illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the infotainment system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 68,000.

I purchased this vehicle in May 2024 within 2 months of purchase the eyesight function malfunctioned. I took it back to the dealership where I purchased it and they attempted to diagnose it at cost of parts and I ended up paying a few hundred dollars for that repair. That didn’t work and they offered to attempt something else but this was just guessing. Then a few months down the line I receive a post card in the mail for a ‘warranty extension’ on the exact issue I am having. I take it to the Subaru dealership once and they had me return a second time saying they couldn’t diagnose it at that time because the lights that appear on and off weren’t appearing for them. Returning a second time they said they were able to diagnose the issue but the warranty only covers 75%. The remaining 25% that’s left to me comes to $1098.34. The issue I have with this is being it is a safety concern. The features eyesight provides are to be additional safety features. The biggest one being the cruise control that has gone out on me while using it. Going high velocity down the freeway using it and it shuts off completely, luckily I it hasn’t caused an accident and there hasn’t been anyone behind me when it happens and no one to close in front of me but this has happened on multiple occasions to myself, my boyfriend and most recently a friend when we went out of town when I didnt think to inform her of it. We no longer use the cruise control being it is scary and a risk to our safety. I have escalated to Subaru of America who says that it is a warranty extension to care for their customers but the representative I spoke with denied it being a known issue. He says the warranty expired in 2016 for my vehicle but Subaru extended it as to care for the customers. With that in mind I do not think I’m the only one with this issue and concern or else why would they put this extension out if they’re no just trying to be compensated and avoid a recall for the issue.

My 2018 Subaru Outback has a defective head unit that poses a serious safety hazard. Subaru has already acknowledged this defect in this exact make/model/year and issued an extended warranty, but my vehicle was denied full coverage because the warranty window expired. The defect causes the head unit to: -Power on/off by itself. -Force phone connections even when Bluetooth is disabled. -Place dozens of calls on its own while I am driving (call random number, hang up, call number, hang up, etc). -Randomly connect to nearby devices. -Emit loud, unexpected noises. During a recent 4-hour family trip with my [XXX] son, the head unit repeatedly dialed contacts and hung up on them uncontrollably, forcing me to pull over on the highway. This is a clear safety risk, as it distracts the driver and requires emergency stops. At Subaru Customer Advocacy’s request, I took the vehicle to a Subaru dealership twice and paid nearly $200 for a formal diagnosis, which confirmed the known delamination defect and the need for replacement. Despite this, Subaru refuses full coverage and is offering only partial cost assistance, while other owners with the same defect have received full coverage. This is not normal wear-and-tear. It is an acknowledged manufacturer defect that is creating dangerous driving conditions. I request NHTSA’s investigation into Subaru’s inconsistent response and the safety risks of this defect. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Good Morning. I am the victim of a lemon of a car, a 2019 Subaru Outback and no one, I mean no one wants to get involved with exposing this disgraceful uncaring car manufacturer. I am forwarding the 10, yes 10 issues with this dangerous piece of junk I am unfortunately driving putting our lives at risk!! Please see the information below and my hope is that you will care enough to expose and help us get a resolution with this horrible company manufacturing rolling death traps. Thank you [XXX] [XXX] Listed below are the continuing problems with my 2019 Subaru Outback which was purchased new: 3 new batteries in a mileage span of 40,000 or 50,000 miles up to 80,000 miles. These replacements were done at no cost as a result of a class action lawsuit. A windshield settlement which only extends the warranty mileage and not an automatic replacement. Talk about a huge safety risk if this windshield just cracks or breaks, especially if on a major highway. A fuel pump settlement which only extends the warranty mileage and not an automatic replacement unless the fuel pump fails. Very unsafe in my opinion. What if the fuel pump fails while on a major highway. This puts us and our safety at serious risk if this fuel pump were to fail especially going at a high rate of speed. Engine burns a quart of oil, by the way at $11.00 per quart every 3,000 miles which is not normal, and in my opinion, is an engine problem. Replacement of an ECM or Engine Control Module. Received a letter about the VCT or variable control transmission, more ridiculous problems going on. A broken right front axle replaced and then that same axle which was replaced by an incompetent mechanic, the axle seal on the replaced axle started leaking and I was charged $100 for that incompetence. Just this past week, the car was in for a radio issue with radio stations and the cd arbitrarily jumping around only to find out the radio needs to be replaced. While on my way to the dealership my tire press INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATI

The contact's husband owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the vehicle was difficult to start intermittently, but was able to be jump-started. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Advance Auto, where the contact was informed that the battery and the alternator were in good condition. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000.

Subaru was not willing to cover the cost to replace their faulty gear shifter. My key gets stuck in the ignition. This problem has been confirmed by a dealership. No warnings happen, it gets stuck. This is a safety issue because I have to leave my keys in my car (unlocked) and come back for them when the car decides to recognize that it is in park. This is a know issue and Subaru wiped its hands of me and said deal with it by yourself.

The malfunction I am concerned with is the battery and the battery charging system (alternator, engine control module). I purchased this car new in July of 2024. However, last month the battery drained to a point where I had to jump it to start it. I drove with the hope that the alternator would charge the battery. Yet, it did not. Within the last four weeks, I proceeded to have to jump the car almost every time I started the car, including every stop when running errands around town. This is a safety concern for me because if I didn't have a jump box for the car I would have been stuck or stranded. This could have been in 110 degree weather with my niece in the back seat. Or if the auto start/stop system was engaged, I could have been stuck with a dead car on the freeway in stop/start traffic in Los Angeles. I have seen multiple Outbacks on the freeway with dead batteries. When I took it to the dealer last week they confirmed the battery had gone bad, but were unable to find a parasitic drain or another reason why a year old battery would go bad. They acknowledged that older model Outbacks have the same battery drain issue and there is a current class action lawsuit for older model Outbacks (2015-2020) with this issue. They did not acknowledge that newer Outbacks had the same issue. No warnings appeared before this issue. There has been electronic issues with the vehicle since I took possession of it last year. After the battery issue presented itself, I did receive warning through my car there were issues with the backup breaking system and the collision control system. The dealer found an update for the Media Center, which they say may have been the cause of the battery drain. The two notifications have been cleared after the update. A simple search online revealed hundreds of complaints about the battery on the Outback, including people stating the manufacturer set the alternator to not charge the battery so they could market better gas mileage for the vehicle.

While slowly backing out of a parking space, the vehicle suddenly accelerated on it's own - I do not recall pressing on the accelerator but the engine surged and the vehicle rapidly reversed and struck 4 other parked cars. It felt as if the accelerator became stuck and would not respond to braking. No warning light or dashboard alerts appeared. Subaru eyesight and adaptive cruise control were not engaged at the time. There was no known obstruction under the petals. This felt like a serious malfunction and could have caused serious injury. I am reporting this in case it is part of a wider issue affecting this model and because i see that there are multiple complaints to you about sudden unintended acceleration, especially during low speed maneuvers like backing out a parking space.