2018 SUBARU OUTBACK Engine Problems

Arriving at my childhood home, I followed the driveway to the left to park in front of the garage door. With my foot on the brake and slowly rolling to a stop, the car suddenly accelerated and jolted forward making contact with the garage door and the frame of the garage. This caused damage to the house, garage door and the front of the car. Thankfully there was no other car in the way or a pedestrian! Only the house and car were damaged. This was sudden and there was no warning or prior occurrence to make me aware of the problem. We spoke to the dealer service manager and at first he said he never heard of anything like that. After further conversation he admitted that another car had a similar issue. They kept the car for two weeks and couldn't repeat the issue. We then went on line...

In heavy traffic, we were rolling slowly along, when all of a sudden the engine began revving on its own, against the brake. I quickly moved the shifter into neutral, and the engine revved wildly without my pressing on the accelerator. We couls have easily slammed into the car in front of us had I not moved the selector to neutral.

The cam tower seal on modern Subaru Outbacks fail at an incredibly high rate and the repair cost is typically higher than $3000. Subaru's standard warranty covers the repair up until 60,000 miles but a quick search on user forum's shows that this issues consistently pops up somewhere between 60 and 90 thousand miles.

Flex joint connecting to catalytic convertor. For 3+ years, exhaust from engine coming directly into cab, coughing, nausea, burning eyes/nose/lungs/chest. Foul odor, difficulty breathing. The problem has been reproduced and diagnosed by two independent mechanics. The dealer, when initially requested to inspect expeditiously, couldn't get me out the door fast enough. The component has only been inspected by two independent mechanics. There were no warnings. I would like to add that this specific part has already been subject to Subaru Program Bulletin WUB-87, WUJ-95, and is reported by mechanics as common defective part.

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....

Vehicle had valve replacement after finding an oil leak in January 2023 at around 135,000 mi. August 2023, around 159,000 mi, mechanic found that valve needed to be replaced again as vehicle was leaking oil. System warning message came on to indicate low oil and upon checking, mechanic found that there was no oil on the dipstick. No dashboard light came on to indicate low/no oil at any point.

Burning oil in the engine drastically

I was driving at 40 MPH in the left lane approaching the left hand turn lane. Once I tturned into the turn lane my car started to accelerate very hard. I hit the brake and the car kept acelerating, I pushed the gear shift into neutral and with both feet hard on the brake I was able to stop completely without cutting into oncoming traffic. I have been driving over 50 years and never had an incident like this happen. I do not drive carelessly. However, now I am affraid to drive this Subaru Outback and I will not let my wife or family even ride in it.

Vehicle was parked with engine idling (waiting for passengers), engine accelerated to very high revs without any operator action. Driver shutdown engine. Driver checked to be sure nothing could have hit the accelerator, nothing found. Restarted the vehicle, could not reproduce the problem. About 2 miles down the road a RED exclamation symbol appeared on dash panel and shut off after 5 to 10 seconds.

The battery has drained twice in the time that I have owned this vehicle. Once I was able to recharge the battery by jumpstarting and letting it run. The second time it required a battery replacement. This was approximately 12 months after the first incident. The electrical system also has unpredictable quirks related to the window functions and lighting. I am uncertain to other resulting irregularities that may be occurring under the hood. Currently, my car is being serviced for a radiator fan and motor replacement for the cooling system. The estimate for repair is $1747 + tax. This is potentially related to the electrical quirks related to the battery irregularities.

Normal vehicle start. While leaving shopping mall parking lot, vehicle suddenly shut down; no electrical, no accelerator, no power steering, no engine. Was able to steer vehicle to safe location out of traffic path. Waited approximately 10 minutes, tried vehicle again, and it started / drove normally. Vehicle inspected afterward by dealer, who found no issues, and returned vehicle with no repairs made. Driver is 86 year old widow, who is terrified of being stranded in an unreliable car.

2018 SUBARU OUTBACK. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO ENGINE FAILURE. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE HAD VARIOUS SAFETY DEFECT ISSUES INCLUDING A RECALL FOR LOW FUEL PROGRAMMING, LOW GRINDING NOISE AND VIBRATION IN THE BRAKES, AND VIBRATION IN THE STEERING WHEEL. THE VEHICLE ALSO HAD VARIOUS ELECTRONIC ISSUES INCLUDING GLITCHES WITH THE INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM, STEREO WOULD FREEZE, SPEAKERS WERE OUT OF SYNC AND RATTLED, SEAT HEATING TEMPERATURE TOO LOW, AND THE PASSENGER SIDE POWER WINDOWS DID NOT OPERATE PROPERLY.

While driving our 2018 Subaru Outback 3.6 the engine quit about 15 miles into our trip while driving at about 45 MPH. It had done this once before where after drifting to a stop and putting it in park it restarted and we finished the trip. This time we drifted to a stop and put it in park and tried to restart the engine. It restarted and immediately quit. We did this several times over a 20 minute time frame. We had it towed to the dealer where it took about 3 hours for them to look at it. It restarted and the fault codes showed it had stalled, but no other problem and no fix to be made. I see this problem in several forums with no fix offered. This is a significant safety issue since braking and steering power are lost.

The batteries cannot seem to hold a charge. We have called AAA several times, but the recharging doesn't last, and they say this is a problem with the Outback. In addition, the Subaru dealer has replaced the battery twice. It just failed again. This most recent battery fail stranded my 70 year old husband in another city. I have contacted the dealer again asking for service. There is no warning whatsoever that the battery has drained. This is not a safe situation. The date below is the most recent incident of a drained battery.

WHILE BEGINNING A LEFT TURN WITH ARROW, THE MOTOR DIED AND THE VEHICLE STOPPED. I PUT THE TRANSMISSION IN NEUTRAL AND ATTEMPTED TO RESTART WITHOUT SUCSESS. I THEN PLACED THE TRANSMISSION IN PARK IN THE DRIVING LANE WITH MOVING TRAFFIC, ATTEMPTED TO RESTART,THIS ATTEMPT WAS SUCESSFULL.IPROCEEDED HOME WITHOUT FURTHER TROUBLE. THE NEXT DAY I LOOKED ON LINE AND READ OF THE FUEL PUMP ISSUE. THE SYMPTOMS SEEMED THE SAME AS I HAD EXPERIENCED. I THEN INQUIRED AT THE SUBARU DEALERSHIP AND GAVE THEM MY VIN # AND THEY INFORMED ME THAT OUR VEHICLE WAS NOT PART OF THE RECALL.PLEASE HELP

I had pulled into our garage and had come to a stop. With my foot on the brake, I was reaching for the ignition button to turn the car off when the car suddenly accelerated forward and struck our large metal tool box, pushing it through the rear wall of the garage. The vehicle has not been inspected by anyone. No warning lamps or messages appeared.

To: Subaru Motors Consumer Reports NHtSA I, Richard McNitt, am the very unhappy owner of a 2018 Subaru Outback (4 cylinder “Touring” model with 33,900 miles), VIN 4S4 BSATCT J3362742. Primarily on the basis of “glowing” Consumer Reports Reviews I chose this model….sad to say this was an unfortunate choice. I list some of the troubles endured: • Shortly after delivery the “radio-GPS” failed, replacement was in short supply(!), Did without several weeks and the re-installation had a glitch. •We were informed that the radio would always “come on” when the car was started, My wife finds this very annoying, •We find the road noise to be excessive, especially at around 25 mph, •We were left sitting twice with a “dead” battery, once at the end of a two hour trip when the radio was on after for less than 15 minutes. ••But the worst situation was this…..My daughter, granddaughter,...

The battery completely dies after at-least 3 days of not driving the vehicle. Within a few weeks of driving the car off the lot in 2017 (new from the dealership), the car would not start after not being driven over the weekend. I had the car jump started. It happened again the next week after a long weekend of not driving the vehicle. I had it jump started the drove it to the dealership. I was told there was nothing wrong with the vehicle or the batter. It happened again the next weekend and I had to get it jump started again. Since then I have not left the car un-driven for more than a couple of days. On June 18, I took the car for an oil change and was told i needed a new battery. I replaced the car battery that same day. Hooked everything up and the...

AUTOMOBILE WOULD NOT START IGNITION ON LIGHTS FLICKERED BATTERY WAS ON THE VERGE OF DYING HAD TO JUMP START IT TO GET GOING IN THE MORNING OF COURSE IT WAS STATIONARY IN THE GARAGE IN A VERY TOUGH LOCATION

DURING FISH-TAILING ON A SLICK ROAD THE ENGINE ACCELERATED WITHOUT PUSHING ON THE GAS PEDAL.

BATTERY DIES PREMATURELY, IF VEHICLE IS NOT DRIVEN FOR A FEW DAYS, OR IF PARKED AND REAR HATCH IS OPENED AND CLOSED A FEW TIMES. DEAD BATTERY LEFT ME STRANDED FIVE TIMES SINCE 3/5/2019. BATTERY TESTED WELL AT DEALERSHIP THREE TIMES, SO WAS NOT REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY UNTIL IT FAILED A DRAW TEST.

SINCE THE CAR HAS BEEN BRAND NEW, A HALF GALLON OF COOLANT HAS NEEDED TO BE ADDED TO THE CAR ON A MONTHLY BASIS. NO LEAKS HAVE BEEN DETECTED. THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A VERY STRONG ODOR OF BURNING COOLANT. DEALER STATES THIS IS NORMAL FOR THE 2.5L ENGINE, SO THERE IS NOTHING TO REPAIR, JUST KEEP AN EYE ON THE COOLANT LEVEL. I FILED A COMPLAINT WITH SUBARU OF NORTH AMERICA, AND RECEIVED A SIMILAR RESPONSE. BOTH THE DEALER AND SUBARU STATE IT IS UNKNOWN HOW TO REPAIR THIS ISSUE AS THEY CAN NOT IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM CAUSING THE LOSS OF COOLANT. DEALER JUST KEEPS TOPPING OFF THE SYSTEM, AND STATING THAT THEY STILL HAVE NO SOLUTION.

DIVING 55 MPH ON HIGHWAY WHEN CAR STARTED TO HARD SHUDDER, LOSE ACCELERATION. ENGINE LIGHT AND ALL OTHER WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON. DIFFICULT TO STEER AND BRAKE. ABLE TO BARELY PULL OFF ROAD SAFELY AND AVOID GUARD RAIL. NO PREVIOUS PROBLEMS NOTED.

WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE STARTED TO LOSE POWER AND ENGINE WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED AND UPON INSPECTION OF THE ENGINE THE ENGINE HAD CAUGHT FIRE. THE FIRE GREW AND THE CAR WAS DEMOLISHED AS A RESULT OF AN ENGINE FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS IN PERFECT WORKING ORDER BEFORE THE FIRE, WELL MAINTAINED AND HAD LOW MILEAGE FOR A ONE YEAR OLD VEHICLE.

VEHICLE USES COOLANT AT AN ALARMING RATE WHICH HAS NEARLY LEAD TO OVERHEATING AND STALLING WHILE DRIVING. TRANSMISSION DISENGAGES WHILE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS WHEN TRYING TO PASS MAKING THE MANEUVER UNSAFE. MANUFACTURER REFUSES TO LOOK AT CAR AGAIN, ALREADY BEEN IN SHOP 4 TIMES.

I WAS DRIVING THROUGH AN INTERSECTION WHEN THE ENGINE STALLED WITH 1/8TH OF A TANK OF GAS REMAINING. GAS LIGHT CAME ON ONLY A FEW MILES PRIOR. LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO COAST INTO A GAS STATION. CAR STARTED AFTER TURNING OFF AND BACK ON. ONLY TOOK 16.9 GALLONS TO TOP OFF. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED. THE PREVIOUS TIME THE MILES TO EMPTY WAS SHOWING 50 WHEN IT STALLED. I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALERSHIP THAT THERE IS NO FIX FOR THE CURRENT RECALL.

I DROVE TO A NEARBY TOWN, INDICATOR SAID 40 MILES TO GO BEFORE EMPTY. PARKED. RESTARTED THE CAR AFTER HALF AN HOUR. MOST OF CENTER DISPLAY FUNCTIONS WERE DEAD. IT DID SHOW BACK-UP VIEW, BUT NO RADIO, NO MAP. DROVE TOWARD HOME AND GAS STATION. AFTER TWENTY MILES, ON CRUISE CONTROL AT 70MPH ON HIGHWAY, ENGINE SUDDENLY STARTED RACING AS THOUGH IT HAD DOWN SHIFTED, I BRAKED AND HEADED FOR THE SHOULDER. NO TURN SIGNALS, NO INDICATORS, NO EMERGENCY FLASHERS - IT SEEMED THAT THE COMPUTER CRASHED WHEN I RAN OUT OF GAS. AFTER ADDING GAS AND RESTARTING, ALL WAS NORMAL EXCEPT THE THE RADIO MEMORY HAD BEEN WIPED.

VEHICLE IN MOTION APPROXIMATELY 30-40 MPH IN REGULAR STREET DRIVING. THE CAR HAS FELT AS IF THE ENGINE WAS ABOUT TO STALL OR AS IF THE TRANSMISSION WAS SEIZING UP. THIS OCCURRED A FEW TIMES. A BIT UNNERVING BECAUSE IT HAPPENED WITH MOVING TRAFFIC BEHIND, IN FRONT AND TO THE SIDES.

** 2018 SUBARU OUTBACK ** THIS HAS HAPPENED THREE TIMES** DRIVING CAR WHEN CAR SHUTS OFF COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER ENGINE TURNS OFF WITHOUT WARNING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS - SEEMS TO OCCUR WHEN THE LOW FUEL WARNING SYSTEM TURNS ON AT 1/4 TANK OF GAS. THIS 3RD TIME ALMOST GOT ME KILLED TRAVELING AT 45MPG WHEN IT HAPPENED TODAY INSIDE A MAJOR INTERSECTION. SOFTWARE / SENSOR FOR THE LOW FUEL SYSTEM? SOMETHING IS VERY SERIOUSLY WRONG. 1. IS THIS CAR SAFE TO DRIVE WITH A FULL TANK OF GAS? 2. HAS THERE BEEN OTHER COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS EXACT PROBLEM? 3. IS THERE A RECALL OR FIX ?

I RECENTLY PURCHASED A 2018 OUTBACK. I WAS DRIVING IT GOING ABOUT 25 MPH ON ROAD BY MY HOUSE AND IT SHUT DOWN OUT OF NOWHERE, DASH LIGHTS CAME ON, GAS PEDAL WOULDN'T WORK, THE ONLY WAY I GOT IT TO GO WAS SHUTTING IT OFF COMPLETELY AND RESTARTING IT. THEY CAR HAS 3500 MILES, I DROPPED IT OFF AT THE DEALERSHIP ON 8/25 AND THEY HAVE HAD IT SINCE. THEY REPLACED THE FUEL PUMP SAYING IT WAS THE CAUSE OF IT SHUTTING DOWN ON ME. I RECEIVED THE CAR BACK ON 9/21 AND DROVE IT FOR 180 MILES, THIS TIME AT 65 MPH THE CAR SHUTDOWN AGAIN WHILE I WAS TRYING TO PASS SOMEONE ON A 2 LANE ROAD, POWER STEERING LOST AND ALL LIGHTS CAME ON DASHBOARD LIKE IT HAD SOME TYPE OF ELECTRICAL PROBLEM. VERY SIMILAR TO THE FIRST TIME BUT I WAS DRIVING MUCH FASTER THIS...

VEHICLE DEVELOPED DRIP FROM TRANSMISSION APPROXIMATELY MID JUNE 2018. TOOK TO DEALER & UNABLE TO FIND SOURCE AFTER 11 DAYS IN SHOP. THEY PUT DYE IN AND I DROVE UNTIL 7-30-18 WHEN DRIP RETURNED. CAR IN SHOP 6 DAYS FOR NEW TRANSMISSION. CAR RETURNED 8-9-18. 11 DAYS LATER 8-21-18 MAJOR OIL LEAK & VEHICLE TOWED TO DEALERSHIP. AS OF 8-24-18 THEY ARE STILL ATTEMPTING TO LOCATE LEAK. WILL HAVE TO PULL ENGINE. MAY NOT GET CAR BACK DURING AUGUST. OUTBACK HAS LESS THAN 15000 MILES. HAVE CONTACTED SUBARU REQUESTED LEMON LAW AS THE VEHICLE HAS NEARLY 40 CUMULATIVE DAYS IN THE SHOP SINCE PURCHASED 8-16-18. OUTBACK HAS ALSO HAD 2 NEW RADIOS AND MULTIPLE SOFTWARE UPDATES FOR NUMEROUS RADIO ISSUES.

SUBARU IS SELLING NEW VEHICLES WITH INADEQUATE AMOUNTS OF COOLANT IN THE ENGINES COOLING SYSTEM. THIS HAS CAUSED AN IMMEDIATE NEED FOR COOLANT BEING ADDED AS RESIDUAL AIR IN THE SYSTEM IN EXPELLED TO THE RESERVOIR. IF A CUSTOMER FOLLOWS SUBARUS GUIDANCE FOR TIME/MILEAGE TO FIRST INSPECTION THEY RISK HAVING THE CAR OVERHEAT/STALL WHILE DRIVING POTENTIALLY CAUSE BODILY AND/OR PROPERTY DAMAGE. I BROUGHT THIS ISSUE UP WITH MULTIPLE DEALERS WITH NO RESOLUTION.

ENGINE CUTS OFF UNEXPECTEDLY WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. I'M ABLE TO RESTART AFTER PULLING OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. FEBRUARY 22 AND MARCH 24, 2018 WERE THE FIRST TWO TIMES THE ISSUE HAPPENED. I TOOK MY CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP, AND THEY SAID SUBARU WAS AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THEY TOLD ME TO KEEP MY GAS ABOVE HALF A TANK. THE ISSUE HASN'T HAPPENED SINCE I STARTED KEEPING MY GAS HALF FULL. THE 'MILES TO EMPTY' GAGE IS VERY INACCURATE. I FEEL VERY UNSAFE DRIVING THE CAR BECAUSE IT SPONTANEOUSLY CUTS OFF, AND I'M WORRIED IT WILL CUT OFF IN AN INTERSECTION OF A MAJOR HIGHWAY. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT MACON, GA SUBARU HAS BEEN VERY UNHELPFUL AND UNWILLING TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. THE FIELD SERVICE ENGINEER NAMED KEVIN SAID THE PROBLEM IS LIKELY CAUSED BY FAILURE OF ONE OF TWO PARTS INVOLVING THE FUEL SYSTEM. HOWEVER, THEY...

I WAS DRIVING MY CHILD TO SCHOOL ON A RAINY MORNING IN TRAFFIC,20-30MPH ON A STRAIGHT ROAD. THE CAR STALLED AND THEN THE ENGINE SHUT OFF. (I AM LUCKY I DID NOT GET REAR ENDED; OTHERWISE I WOULD BE IN THE HOSPITAL GETTING MY CHILD CHECKED OUT.) ROLLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD; AS CLOSE AS I COULD GET.. SHIFTED INTO PARK AND RESTARTED THE CAR. STARTED RIGHT UP. I HAD A QUARTER TANK OF GAS AND DROVE THREE MILES AFTER THAT AND STILL HAVE ENOUGH TO GET TO A GAS STATION; SO IT IS NOT A FUEL SUPPLY ISSUE. THIS IS NOT SAFE!!! THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!!!! THIS IS A NEW CAR PURCHASED THREE MONTHS AGO!!! CALLED THE DEALER'S SERVICE REP AND ASKED IF THIS COULD BE PART OF THE ISSUE I AM HAVING WITH FUEL ECONOMY. I AM AVERAGING 16.1 MPG. MY 2007 MERCURY MILLAN PREMIER...