2013 Subaru Outback

IN TEMPERATURES LOWER THAN 45 DEGREES F, IF NOT 'WARMED UP' THE CAR WILL MAKE A LOUD THUNK NOISE AND LURCH FORWARD UPON BEING PUT INTO DRIVE. IF THE BRAKE IS NOT FIRMLY ENGAGE, THE CAR WILL JUMP FORWARD. THE SUBARU DEALER CLAIMS THIS IS CAUSED BY THE CAR'S STATUS AS A PERFORMANCE VEHICLE, AND ENGINE WARM UP NEEDS TO OCCUR TO LOWER THE RPMS. *TR

SHORTLY AFTER I PURCHASED VEHICLE I NOTICED DIFFICULTY KEEPING IT CENTERED IN LANE. CONTINUOUSLY HAVING TO CORRECT STEERING AND HARD STEERING. I DRIVE ON INTERSTATE OFTEN AND I HAVE CHECKED TIRES CONTINUOUSLY AND NO DIFFERENCE IN THE HANDLING OF THE OUTBACK. ON FIRST SERVICE I TOLD THE SERVICE REP ABOUT IT AND SAID THEY WOULD CHECK IT OUT, I BELIEVE THEY CHECKED THE ALIGNMENT, WHEN PICKED UP THE VEHICLE AND WAS TOLD EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL. IS IT UNSAFE, YES. NOW I HAVE 25000 MILE ON IT AND STILL CONTINUES. STILL MENTION IT AT SERVICE TIME BUT THEY DON'T REALLY EVEN RESPOND ANYMORE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE BRAKING TO A STOP, THE ENGINE RPMS INCREASED EXCESSIVELY AS THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 12,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

I STOPPED AT A STOPLIGHT. WHEN THE LIGHT CHANGED, I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR AND MOVED FORWARD. I RELEASED THE ACCELERATOR TO SLOW UP BECAUSE OF TRAFFIC CONDITIONS. WHEN I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR AGAIN TO MOVE FORWARD, THE ENGINE DID NOT REV UP. IT WAS AS IF THE CAR STALLED. AFTER SEVERAL PUSHES ON THE ACCELERATOR ( 8 SECONDS WORTH) THE ENGINE REVVED UP AND THE CAR ONCE AGAIN MOVED FORWARD JUST AS IF NOTHING WAS WRONG. ALL THIS TIME I WAS BLOCKING THE INTERSECTION. THIS HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES NOW. DEALER INDICATES NO PROBLEM FOUND. *TR

AFTER STOPPING AT A STOP SIGN, I ATTEMPTED TO DRIVE OFF, BUT THE CAR DID NOT ACCELERATE ON APPLICATION OF THE THROTTLE PEDAL. THE ENGINE REMAINED AT IDLE, AND THE CAR ROLLED SLOWLY INTO THE INTERSECTION. NOTHING I DID CORRECTED THE PROBLEM UNTIL I PLACED THE TRANSMISSION IN PARK, TURNED OFF THE ENGINE, THEN RE-STARTED THE CAR. THE CAR THEN PERFORMED NORMALLY UNTIL I REACHED THE NEXT STOP SIGN, WHERE THE PROBLEM REPEATED. IN ALL, THE PROBLEM OCCURRED SEVEN (7) TIMES ON THIS DAY, APPARENTLY AT RANDOM. THAT IS, AT SOME STOPS THE CAR PERFORMED NORMALLY, AND AT OTHER STOPS, THE CAR FAILED TO ACCELERATE WHEN THE THROTTLE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT MY SUBARU DEALER WAS UNABLE TO REPLICATE THE PROBLEM AND THEREFORE PERFORMED NO REPAIRS. TWO WEEKS LATER, THE PROBLEM OCCURRED AGAIN, THREE (3) TIMES IN TWO DAYS. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS PROBLEM, BECAUSE IT CAN LEAVE THE CAR IN A BUSY INTERSECTION WITHOUT THE ABILITY TO MOVE UNTIL THE DRIVER TURNS OFF THE CAR AND THEN RE-STARTS IT. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN NOTED BY OTHER SUBARU OUTBACK OWNERS IN ONLINE FORUMS, AND AT LEAST ONE OTHER VEHICLE SAFETY COMPLAINT HAS BEEN FILED REGARDING THIS PROBLEM. *TR

I BROUGHT THE CAR IN FOR A ROUTINE REPAIR. WHEN I GOT IT BACK IT BEGAN TO MALFUNCTION. IT WOULD NOT SHIFT CORRECTLY. THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WAS SLIPPING. THE CAR DID NOT ACCELERATE CORRECTLY AND CHUGGED. THE ACCELERATION ABRUPTLY STOPPED AT A HIGH SPEED ON THE FREEWAY NEARLY CAUSING A SEVERE ACCIDENT AND REPLICATED THIS AT A LOW SPEED, AND FROM A STOP. I RETURNED THE CAR 3 TIMES AND THE ISSUES REMAIN CONSISTENT. TO DATE SUBARU OF AMERICA HAS NOT ADDRESSED MY CONCERNS. THE CAR IS UNSAFE FOR ME AND MY FAMILY. DOWNTOWN OAKLAND SUBARU HAS YET TO IDENTIFY WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF THE MALFUNCTION. EACH SERVICE DEPARTMENT PERSON HAS TEST DRIVEN THE CAR AND EXPERIENCED THE SAME ISSUES. *TR

I WAS TRAVELING WEST BOUND IN THE FURTHEST RIGHT HAND LANE AT APPROXIMATELY 45-MPH ON LOS ANGELES AVE. ON 10/31/13 IN MOORPARK, CA AT APPROXIMATELY 11:30 A.M. ON THURSDAY MORNING. A FULL-SIZE FORD F150 PICKUP TRUCK FAILED TO YIELD WHILE MAKING A LEFT TURN INTO THE ADJACENT SHOPPING CENTER. HE WAS TURNING LEFT OUT OF A MEDIAN DIVIDER IN THE CENTER OF A FOUR-LANE HIGHWAY. THERE IS NO MARKED SIGNS OR LIGHTS TO MAKE A LEFT TURN THERE, BUT YOU MUST YIELD TO ONCOMING TRAFFIC ON LA AVE. FROM THE BROKEN YELLOW LINED CENTER DIVIDER. I HIT THE SIDE OF THE TRUCK CAUSING THE TRUCK TO SPIN AROUND WITH THE FORCE OF THE IMPACT. MY AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY EVEN THOUGH THE IMPACT OF THE CRASH WAS SIGNIFICANT, THE WHOLE FRONT END OF MY CAR WAS SEVERELY DAMAGED, AND THE CRASH WAS ESSENTIALLY HEAD-ON. I SUFFERED A ACUTE CERVICAL STRAIN, AND I WENT TO THE HOSPITAL THE DAY AFTER WITH PAIN. I AM IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING FURTHER TESTING TO SEE THE SEVERITY OF MY INJURIES. MY TWO-YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WAS IN HER BRITAX CAR SEAT IN THE PASSENGER SIDE BACK SEAT, AND LUCKILY SHE WAS UNHARMED IN THE INCIDENT. I AM VERY SHOCKED THAT THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, AND I FEEL LIKE THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN THAT SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED. *TR

THE NEW OUTBACK IS EXHIBITING LANE WANDERING AS OTHERS DESCRIBED IN GOOD DETAIL. OTHER VEHICLES I'VE DRIVEN GO IN A (MORE-OR-LESS) STRAIGHT LINE WITH MINIMAL EFFORT AND MINIMAL CORRECTIONS. THE OB IS ALL OVER THE ROAD, ABLE TO STAY IN THE LANE WITH A LOT OF EFFORT AND CORRECTION. THERE IS A BIG FLAW IN THE STEERING (MAYBE NOT ALL BUT A LOT OF THEM) AND IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE. IS IT GOING TO TAKE A MAJOR ACCIDENT AND/OR A DEATH BEFORE NHTSA AND SUBARU TAKES A LOOK AT THIS ISSUE?? *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 15 MPH, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO RESPOND UPON ENGAGEMENT OF THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THE ENGINE WAS TURNED OFF AND AFTER BEING RESTARTED, THE VEHICLE RESUMED NORMALLY HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED SIX TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS BUT THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE DEALER OFFERED TO REPLACE THE THROTTLE BODY AT NO EXPENSE TO THE CONTACT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE DEFECT. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 2,088.

I HAVE OWNED OVER 20+ CARS RANGING FROM 4RUNNERS, S2000, TO LANCER EVO. MY 2013 OUTBACK IS BY FAR THE HARDEST CAR TO STEER ON THE HIGHWAY. IT WANDERS TO BOTH DIRECTIONS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND ITS DIFFICULT TO CORRECT IT BACK TO CENTER. SOME OWNERS HAVE BEEN ACCUSED OF DRIVING DRUNK IN A OUTBACK, SUBARU NEEDS TO FIX THIS BEFORE LOOSING YOUR MOST LOYAL OWNERS! MANY 2012 2013 OUTBACK OWNERS HAVE BEEN CALLING THIS ISSUE STIFF, HEAVY, HARD, NOT RETURN TO CENTER STEERING. HERE ARE MY OBSERVATIONS AFTER SOME RESEARCH: -2013+ NEW FB25 ENGINE 2ND GEN CVT RETURNED SUSPENSION -I ALSO OWN A 2014 FORESTER WITH ELECTRIC STEERING (DRIVES NORMAL), OUTBACK HAS HYDRAULIC STEERING -I TEST DROVE COUPLE OTHER 2013 OUTBACK 2.5I SAME FIRM STEERING -I TEST DROVE A 2013 OUTBACK 3.6R (STEERING FEELS NORMAL MUCH SOFTER) -CHECK STEERING EFFORT SHOULD NOT HAVE MORE THAN 6.6 LB (MEASURED WITH SCALE) -SOME OWNERS HAD SUCCESS READJUSTING THEIR GEARBOX BACKLASH TO LESS THAN 3 LBS GO TO: HTTP://WWW.SUBARUOUTBACK.ORG/FORUMS/104-GEN-4-2010-PRESENT/31638-OB-LANE-WANDERING-122.HTML -ON PAGE 114 THERE ARE 3 PICTURE ATTACHMENTS POSTED BY J DELMAN -STEERING COLUMN RECALL FOR 2013 LEGACY/OUTBACKS MANUFACTURED FROM 2012 FEB15-JUN15 (I DON'T THINK THIS WILL FIX THE WANDERING ISSUE) *TR