NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
Service Brakes complaints
22 reportsClear category filterMileage unknown · Oct 30, 2023
Service Brakes
My 2014 Subaru Outback, with only 42,000 miles on it, is unfortunately among the 3% (per Consumer Reports) with undiagnosable, therefore, unrepairable, brake failure issues. The brake failures began in April 2023 as I pulled out of my driveway in the Tucson Mountains, headed into town. On the downhill, I pressed my brakes to sl…
Read full complaint
My 2014 Subaru Outback, with only 42,000 miles on it, is unfortunately among the 3% (per Consumer Reports) with undiagnosable, therefore, unrepairable, brake failure issues. The brake failures began in April 2023 as I pulled out of my driveway in the Tucson Mountains, headed into town. On the downhill, I pressed my brakes to slow down. My foot went to the floor - no brakes. Terror! I pumped the brakes and gradually they came back. Luckily, no one was ahead of me. The brake fluid was down a very slight bit, so I brought it back up. No problem for two weeks, until the exact same thing happened again. Tucson Subaru has an excellent Service Center. I've kept the service on my Subaru up, so I booked in for a regular tuneup, plus advised them of the brake issue. The shop mechanic flushed the brake cylinder along with the usual tuneup: brake pads, etc. There was no problem for about two more weeks when brakes failed again. Took back to Subaru on a Friday. They kept over the weekend, but by Monday afternoon, brakes were still working "fine". They Ubered me to test, but I didn't need to even pull out of parking lot, everything seemed okay. Took my Outback home and all okay until brakes failed again. Took on AAA's and my friends' recommendations to Tucson's Primarily Japanese auto shop. The brakes failed once more in the interim, but worked fine at the shop. The owner thought possible a failing ABS unit. However, both Tucson Subaru/Primarily Japanese were reluctant to try replacing either the brake cylinder or the ABS unit as both are expensive fixes and they were unable to duplicate the failure. In the meantime, I went online and found that other owners of Outbacks across a range of years/mileage had the same problem - and the same results, none of fixes reliably worked. That included flushing/replacing the brake cylinder, the ABS unit, cleaning/replacing brake pads, etcs. Some owners were not as "lucky" as I was. The car is parked.
NHTSA ODI #11552720
Mileage unknown · Aug 27, 2022
Service BrakesVehicle Speed ControlCrash
I was driving home on a road I drive on regularly at 40 mph. The car unexpectedly accelerated to a high rate of speed causing me to go off the road. I was unable to stop. The brake pedal went to the floor. The car went airborne, just missing a huge tree. It slammed into the ground & continued on to crash into 3 cars & someone’s …
Read full complaint
I was driving home on a road I drive on regularly at 40 mph. The car unexpectedly accelerated to a high rate of speed causing me to go off the road. I was unable to stop. The brake pedal went to the floor. The car went airborne, just missing a huge tree. It slammed into the ground & continued on to crash into 3 cars & someone’s garage! The car continued to rev & was bouncing back & forth between the 2 vehicles in the garage. The engine continued to rev after I got out. The homeowner shut it off. He said my brake lights were flashing on and off on the dash. The air bags never deployed. I have a witness. I wasn’t able to do anything!! I’ve since learned there’s a class action lawsuit against Subaru for this problem. Please do something about this. I could be dead, that homeowner that was in his garage could be dead right now. All I want is for people to be aware of this & for Subaru to get held accountable. It’s not right that they are aware of this and doing nothing about it!!
NHTSA ODI #11481494
Mileage unknown · Jan 27, 2022
Service Brakes
Parking break did not disengage. It also blocked the key hole and car could not be moved. I called AAA and they could not even tow it because the gears would not switch from parking to neutral. While manipulating the car, the AAA technician does not know how, but was able to move the key and the gear, and then the car could star…
Read full complaint
Parking break did not disengage. It also blocked the key hole and car could not be moved. I called AAA and they could not even tow it because the gears would not switch from parking to neutral. While manipulating the car, the AAA technician does not know how, but was able to move the key and the gear, and then the car could start. After some online research, there has been recalls for this problem in Australia in Subaru Outbacks of around this year. Since AAA technician did not have to move in the end the car, there is no receipt of this event. It has happened twice by now.
NHTSA ODI #11449124
Mileage unknown · Jan 19, 2021
Service Brakes
ORIGINAL FRONT BRAKE PADS HARDLY WARN AFTER 100000 MILES. REAR BRAKE PADS WARE OUT AT ABOUT 30000 MILES. CHECKED TEMPERATURE OF FRONT ROTORS AFTER DRIVING BARELY WARM, REAR BRAKE ROTORS EXTREMELY HOT.
NHTSA ODI #11388917
80,000 miles · Jul 8, 2020
Service Brakes
I HAVE CHANGE MY EMERGENCY BREAKS. HOWEVER.KEEP THE LIGHT ON.IDID TAKE TO SUBARU DEALER AND THEY TOLL ME NOT USES THE EMERGENCY BREAK..SAMETHING IS WRONG..
NHTSA ODI #11338130
120,000 miles · Oct 3, 2019
Service Brakes
EBRAKE COMES ON INTERMITTENTLY WHILE DRIVING IN TOWN.
NHTSA ODI #11265900
57,000 miles · Jul 23, 2019
Service Brakes
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BRAKE INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO SUBARU NAPLETONS SCHAUMBURG SUBARU (911 WEST HIGGINS ROAD, SCHAUMBURG, IL 60195, (847) 884-6000) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE BRAKE MODULATOR FAILED. THE MODULATOR WAS NOT REPLACED. THE MANUFACT…
Read full complaint
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BRAKE INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO SUBARU NAPLETONS SCHAUMBURG SUBARU (911 WEST HIGGINS ROAD, SCHAUMBURG, IL 60195, (847) 884-6000) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE BRAKE MODULATOR FAILED. THE MODULATOR WAS NOT REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND PROVIDED CASE NUMBER: N1-45447123655. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 57,000.
NHTSA ODI #11234255
47,000 miles · Nov 5, 2018
Electrical SystemService Brakes
ELECTRONIC PARKING BRAKE ACTUATOR FAILED. WHEN THIS OCCURS YOU CAN'T USE THE PARKING BRAKE AND THE EYESIGHT SAFETY EQUIPMENT DOES NOT WORK. THIS OCCURS AT STARTUP, WHEN THE VEHICLE GOES THROUGH IT'S DIAGNOSTIC CHECKS. CAR HAS STRANDED US TWICE WITH THE BRAKE NOT ALLOWING US TO DISENGAGE. EVENTUALLY, AFTER STARTING CAR MULTIP…
Read full complaint
ELECTRONIC PARKING BRAKE ACTUATOR FAILED. WHEN THIS OCCURS YOU CAN'T USE THE PARKING BRAKE AND THE EYESIGHT SAFETY EQUIPMENT DOES NOT WORK. THIS OCCURS AT STARTUP, WHEN THE VEHICLE GOES THROUGH IT'S DIAGNOSTIC CHECKS. CAR HAS STRANDED US TWICE WITH THE BRAKE NOT ALLOWING US TO DISENGAGE. EVENTUALLY, AFTER STARTING CAR MULTIPLE TIMES OR REMOVING BATTERY, IT WILL WORK BRIEFLY TO ALLOW TO DISENGAGE. NOW WE DON'T SET THE PARKING BRAKE, OR USE THE EYESIGHT. SUBARU HAS RECALLED THEIR MANUAL TRANSMISSION MODELS WITH THIS ISSUE, BUT NOT THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION MODELS.
NHTSA ODI #11145346
40,000 miles · Aug 1, 2018
Parking BrakeService Brakes
MY E-BRAKE HAS NOT BEEN WORKING FOR THE PAST YEAR. THE RED BRAKE LIGHT COMES ON AT RANDOM TIMES WHEN PARKED AND IN MOTION AND I CANNOT ENGAGE THE E-BRAKE. SUBARU IS SAYING THAT I NEED TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE ELECTRONIC BRAKE MECHANISM FOR A COST OF $1,000.00 - THIS FOR A 2014 CAR.
NHTSA ODI #11115213
Mileage unknown · Aug 25, 2017
Service BrakesSuspension
THERE IS NO EMERGENCY BRAKE ON A 2014 OUTBACK,THE PARKING BRAKE DOES NOT WORK WHEN THE CAR IS MOVING.UNSAFE, IF ANYTHING HAPPENS WITH BRAKES THERE IS NOTHING TO STOP CAR FOR SAFETY THE HAND EMERGENCY BRAKE SHOULD BE IN THE CENTER CONSOLE, SO PASSENGER COULD ALSO PULL IT ON. .FRONT SPRINGS BOTTOM OUT FOR THE SLIGHTEST DIP IN THE …
Read full complaint
THERE IS NO EMERGENCY BRAKE ON A 2014 OUTBACK,THE PARKING BRAKE DOES NOT WORK WHEN THE CAR IS MOVING.UNSAFE, IF ANYTHING HAPPENS WITH BRAKES THERE IS NOTHING TO STOP CAR FOR SAFETY THE HAND EMERGENCY BRAKE SHOULD BE IN THE CENTER CONSOLE, SO PASSENGER COULD ALSO PULL IT ON. .FRONT SPRINGS BOTTOM OUT FOR THE SLIGHTEST DIP IN THE ROAD.. I COMPLAINED TO SUBARU ABOUT THE BRAKE AND THEY TOLD ME BUY ANOTHER CAR
NHTSA ODI #11019553
Official recalls
10Jan 2, 2020
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (STI included), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy: Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators with alternate inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKA-20.
Jan 2, 2020
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy: Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKB-20.
Jan 2, 2020
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy: Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKC-20.
Apr 11, 2019
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester vehicles, 2008-2011 Impreza vehicles, 2008-2014 WRX vehicles, 2005-2014 Legacy vehicles, 2005-2014 Outback vehicles and 2006-2008 Tribeca vehicles equipped with a mechanical key ignition switch installed as a replacement part. The ball spring inside the switch may break, reducing the strength of the ignition switch. If this occurs, the weight on the key ring and certain road conditions could cause the ignition switch to move out of the run position to the accessory position, turning off the engine.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: The engine turning off unexpectedly can increase the risk of a crash. If a crash occurs under this condition, the air bag may not deploy, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ignition switch, replacing the ignition switch, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began May 10, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUF-91.
Jan 9, 2019
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2013 Forester, 2010-2014 Tribeca, WRX, Outback, Legacy, and 2010-2011 Impreza vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: An explosion of an inflator within the passenger frontal air bag module may result in sharp metal fragments striking the front seat passenger, driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy: Subaru has notified owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began January 25, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is TKA-19.
Jan 9, 2019
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Tribeca, WRX, Outback, and Legacy vehicles, 2010-2011 Impreza vehicles and 2010-2013 Forester vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: An explosion of an inflator within the passenger frontal air bag module may result in sharp metal fragments striking the front seat passenger, driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy: Subaru is notifying owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began January 25, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is TKB-19.
Jan 9, 2019
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Tribeca, WRX, Legacy and Outback vehicles, 2010-2011 Impreza vehicles and 2010-2013 Forester vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: An explosion of an inflator within the passenger frontal air bag module may result in sharp metal fragments striking the front seat passenger, driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy: Subaru is notifying owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on January 25, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is TKC-19.
Sep 13, 2018
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Subaru Legacy and Outback vehicles equipped with a manual transmission. The electronic parking brake (EPB) may not engage as intended, allowing the vehicle to rollaway if the transmission is not in the proper gear when parked.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A vehicle rollaway can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the EPB actuator assembly, free of charge. The recall began July 19, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WTV-81.
Sep 27, 2016
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Legacy vehicles manufactured November 26, 2008, to June 7, 2013, and 2010-2014 Outback vehicles manufactured January 9, 2009 to June 7, 2013. Due to contamination, components within the windshield wiper motor bottom cover may interfere with each other. If an obstruction, such as a buildup of snow or ice prevents the wiper arms from being able to stop in the parked position, the wiper motor may overheat and the bottom cover may melt.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the windshield wiper motor overheats, the wipers may fail, reducing driver visibility and increasing the risk of a crash. Additionally, the wiper motor cover may melt, increasing the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the windshield wiper motor bottom cover assembly, free of charge. The recall began October 2016. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WTK-71. Note: This recall supersedes recall 11V-469. All vehicles that were remedied under that campaign are affected by this campaign, and need to have their wiper motor bottom cover replaced again.
Aug 1, 2013
Subaru of America is recalling certain model year 2014 Legacy 3.6R and Outback 3.6R and 2013 Tribeca vehicles manufactured June 12, 2013, through June 28, 2013 and equipped with 5-speed automatic transmissions. In the affected vehicles, the parking rod may come loose inside the automatic transmission.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: As a result of the parking rod detaching, the transmission may not be able to be moved from the "park" position preventing the vehicle from being moved or driven. Furthermore, even with the transmission shifted into the 'park' position, the parking mechanism may not engage, and the vehicle may roll away while in the "park" position, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the transmission, free of charge. The recall began during August 2013. Owners may contact Subaru at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's recall number is WQJ-46.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
Illustration