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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

Fuel/propulsion System complaints

23 reports
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Mileage unknown · Oct 11, 2022
Electrical SystemFuel/propulsion System

My battery has died over 7 times in the 3 years I have owned it. No systems were left on. It runs one day and won’t start the next. It shows the battery light. This first happened 6 months after owning the car leaving me stranded waiting for roadside assistance and causing me to miss work. It has happened 3 times in the past yea…

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My battery has died over 7 times in the 3 years I have owned it. No systems were left on. It runs one day and won’t start the next. It shows the battery light. This first happened 6 months after owning the car leaving me stranded waiting for roadside assistance and causing me to miss work. It has happened 3 times in the past year. As I type this I am stranded again waiting for someone to come and give me a jump and praying that it will start once I get out of the grocery store. I’m afraid to go anywhere for fear of being stranded in a dangerous place. I always carry jumper cables with me now! The second issue is that it runs out of gas when there is a 30 miles left to empty notice. I ran out of gas in the left lane of a major highway at 4:45 pm bringing a friend home from the hospital. The gas station was 7 miles away. I was stranded there, waiting on Subaru tow service for hours until the police sent their own tow truck. It was very dangerous but I know better than to trust it now. It cost me 185 dollars. I was told this was a problem with 2018s but they thought they fixed it!

NHTSA ODI #11488805

Mileage unknown · Jul 31, 2022
Fuel/propulsion System

Summary: I have a 2019 Subaru Outback 3.6r with approximately 30k miles. It spent most of it's life in Texas, a low-corrosion state. When I was camping in Colorado, it started leaking fuel for extended periods from the tank area on the passenger side just in front of the rear wheel. The left a strong gas odor/fire danger as i…

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Summary: I have a 2019 Subaru Outback 3.6r with approximately 30k miles. It spent most of it's life in Texas, a low-corrosion state. When I was camping in Colorado, it started leaking fuel for extended periods from the tank area on the passenger side just in front of the rear wheel. The left a strong gas odor/fire danger as it leaked for many hours. I can supplies photos and video. The leak appeared rather suddenly, and is worse when the vehicle tank was just filled. It leaves large puddles of fuel on the ground. Failed system: fuel storage. It is available for inspection upon request. Safety: this issue resulted in a large fuel spill/gasoline vapor cloud, and the leak continues for hours. there is no crash damage/etc. to the vehicle. I have not taken the issue to a dealer yet. Should I get the car looked at by them? It is easy to reproduce by filling the tank normally at a gas station, the leak is worse when the tank is full. There are no warning lights/etc. The fuel gauge on the dashboard has also become intermittent after the leaking started. Sometimes it shows the fuel level, sometimes it shows empty (the tank is not empty). Note the image showing conflicting information on mileage to empty vs the needle fuel gauge level - the tank is appx 3/4 full in that image, neither fuel gauge is correct or agrees with each other.

NHTSA ODI #11476812

Mileage unknown · Aug 7, 2021
Electrical SystemFuel/propulsion SystemUnknown Or Other

My battery died overnight . I jumó started and took it to Subaru who said I needed a new battery . My car has 28k miles and under 3 years since I bought it . They replace the battery and same thing happened 2 days later . I keep having to jumó start my car every other day and they don’t seem to know what the problem is .

NHTSA ODI #11428136

Mileage unknown · Aug 3, 2021
Forward Collision AvoidanceFuel/propulsion SystemService BrakesCrash

My 2019 Subaru Outback unintentionally accelerated. I was sitting in my SUV waiting for an electronic gate to open at my storage unit. I was about 10-15 feet in front of the gate. My foot was firmly on the brake and the car was in drive. I have been at this gate many times. This time, before the gate could fully open, the ca…

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My 2019 Subaru Outback unintentionally accelerated. I was sitting in my SUV waiting for an electronic gate to open at my storage unit. I was about 10-15 feet in front of the gate. My foot was firmly on the brake and the car was in drive. I have been at this gate many times. This time, before the gate could fully open, the car raced forward at top speed into the gate. Damaging my bumper and terrifying me! The gate did stop the car. I felt like a ghost had slammed a foot on the gas pedal!!! The breaks did nothing. The Subaru floor mat was attached with 2 pegs and sticks like velcro to the carpet. Thank God I was not at a crosswalk or in front of a building - I would have killed myself or someone else! I reported this to my local dealer and they referred me to Subaru of America. The dealer had my car for 6 weeks and S.O.A. sent a team to inspect the car for 6 hours. Customer service after 6 weeks said my car was fine. That no issues were found! They will not provide me with a list of tests completed or what was reported by the "Black Box" on board. All I have is a email from Peter at Customer Service (that was my 3rd and final rep.) that that is all the information that he has or can get and the care is fine to drive! If that is so, why is there a CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT against them!

NHTSA ODI #11427658

9,300 miles · Dec 8, 2020
EngineFuel/propulsion System

RANDOM LACK OF ACCELERATION AND ENGINE STUMBLE; FAILED TO ACCELERATE WHEN PULLING OUT INTO TRAFFIC FROM SIDE STREET NEARLY BEING HIT BY ON-COMING CAR. SEEMS TO HAVE BECOME MORE FREQUENT AFTER ENGINE FUEL PUMP WAS CHANGED DUE TO RECALL.

NHTSA ODI #11378594

10,000 miles · Nov 14, 2020
Forward Collision AvoidanceFuel/propulsion SystemService BrakesCrash

UNINTENDED ACCELERATION EVENT WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKE AT SLOW SPEED, PULLING INTO A PARKING SPOT. BRAKING FORCE WAS UNABLE TO OVER COME THE ACCELERATION. FORTUNATELY NO INJURIES OR DAMAGE. A SCARY SITUATION, CONFIDENCE LOST IN THE VEHICLE.SUBARU NORTH AMERICA CLAIMS "THE VEHICLE IS SAFE AND OPERATING AS DESIGNED."

NHTSA ODI #11374689

11,000 miles · Aug 6, 2020
Fuel/propulsion System

I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO SAFELY DRIVE MY 2019 SUBARU OUTBACK SINCE JUNE OF 2020. I RECEIVED AN OFFICIAL SAFETY RECALL NOTICE IN THE MAIL FROM SUBARU. THE NOTICE STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS AT RISK FOR A CRASH IF NOT REPAIRED. SEVERAL WEEKS AGO I CONTACTED SUBARU OF EL PASO WHERE I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE, AS INSTRUCTED IN THE RECA…

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I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO SAFELY DRIVE MY 2019 SUBARU OUTBACK SINCE JUNE OF 2020. I RECEIVED AN OFFICIAL SAFETY RECALL NOTICE IN THE MAIL FROM SUBARU. THE NOTICE STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS AT RISK FOR A CRASH IF NOT REPAIRED. SEVERAL WEEKS AGO I CONTACTED SUBARU OF EL PASO WHERE I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE, AS INSTRUCTED IN THE RECALL NOTICE, TO SCHEDULE AND COMPLETE THE SAFETY REPAIR. I WAS INFORMED AT THAT TIME THAT THE REQUIRED PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE. THE SUBARU AGENT WAS UNABLE TO LET ME KNOW WHEN THE PARTS WOULD BECOME AVAILABLE. I HAVE RECEIVED NO FOLLOW-UP FROM SUBARU SINCE THAT TIME. THE REPAIR HAS NOT BEEN COMPLETED.

NHTSA ODI #11343636

Mileage unknown · Jul 9, 2020
Fuel/propulsion System

MY 2019 SUBARU OUTBACK HAD A FUEL PUMP RECALL, AND THE DEALERSHIP DID THE RECALL. I DROVE THE CAR FOR 15 MILES, PARKED IT ON A CITY STREET, AND WHEN I RETURNED BACK AFTER AN HOUR TO START THE CAR, IT DID NOT START. THE WHOLE INTERIOR STARTED SMELLING LIKE GASOLINE. WHEN I EXITED THE CAR, I NOTICED GASOLINE LEAKING FROM THE PASSE…

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MY 2019 SUBARU OUTBACK HAD A FUEL PUMP RECALL, AND THE DEALERSHIP DID THE RECALL. I DROVE THE CAR FOR 15 MILES, PARKED IT ON A CITY STREET, AND WHEN I RETURNED BACK AFTER AN HOUR TO START THE CAR, IT DID NOT START. THE WHOLE INTERIOR STARTED SMELLING LIKE GASOLINE. WHEN I EXITED THE CAR, I NOTICED GASOLINE LEAKING FROM THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE CAR, AND ALL OVER THE CITY STREET. I THINK THE NEW FUEL PUMP THEY ARE INSTALLING ARE DEFECTIVE.

NHTSA ODI #11338379

15,600 miles · Jul 9, 2020
Fuel/propulsion System

MY OUTBACK HAD FUEL PUMP FAILURE AND STALLED ON HIGHWAY RAMP ON JULY 5, 2020 AFTER SUBARU DEALERSHIP REPLACED FUEL PUMP ON JULY 1, 2020 PER SAFETY RECALL WRD-20. ON JULY 1, 2020, I HAD MY 18,000 MILES SERVICE AND SAFETY RECALL WRD-20 (FUEL-PUMP) DONE AT SUBARU DEALERSHIP. PICKED UP THE CAR AND DROVE IT HOME. ON JULY 5, I DRO…

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MY OUTBACK HAD FUEL PUMP FAILURE AND STALLED ON HIGHWAY RAMP ON JULY 5, 2020 AFTER SUBARU DEALERSHIP REPLACED FUEL PUMP ON JULY 1, 2020 PER SAFETY RECALL WRD-20. ON JULY 1, 2020, I HAD MY 18,000 MILES SERVICE AND SAFETY RECALL WRD-20 (FUEL-PUMP) DONE AT SUBARU DEALERSHIP. PICKED UP THE CAR AND DROVE IT HOME. ON JULY 5, I DROVE FROM PLEASANT HILL TO SAN FRANCISCO AND THE CAR STALLED ON HIGHWAY 101 AT OFF RAMP. I CANNOT RESTART THE CAR AND THERE WAS HEAVY SMELL OF GASOLINE COMING INSIDE THE CAR. I CANNOT PUSH IT TO THE SIDE SINCE THE DRIVING WHEEL IS VERY HARD TO MOVE AND THE CAR STALLED IN THE MIDDLE LANE OF THREE LANES HIGHWAY RAMP. I HAD TO WAIT FOR TOW TRUCK TO COME TO GET OFF THE HIGHWAY AND IT WAS TOWED BACK TO MY HOME SINCE THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE SHOP IS CLOSED ON SUNDAY. AFTER THE TOW TRUCK DROPPED OFF MY CAR, I WAS TRYING TO START THE CAR AND FOUND OUT GASOLINE IS LEAKING/POURING FROM BOTTOM OF MY CAR AND STILL CANNOT START. I HAVE ATTACHED TWO PICTURES TO SHOW THE GASOLINE LEAKING/POURING CONDITION. I WENT ONLINE AND FOUND I AM NOT THE ONLY CASE THAT FUEL PUMP FAILED AGAIN AFTER RECALL WRD-20 FUEL PUMP REPLACEMENT. THIS IS NOT SAFE FOR DRIVERS.

NHTSA ODI #11338331

9,060 miles · Jun 18, 2020
Fuel/propulsion System

THE VEHICLE RAN ROUGH AND THEN LOST POWER WHILE EXITING I-55 IN THE CHICAGO AREA. THE VEHICLE WAS STALLED ON THE SIDE OF THE EXIT RAMP, BUT I WAS ABLE TO RESTART IT AND EXIT THE INTERSTATE. IT SEEMS LIKE IT IS RELATED TO THE ONGOING FUEL PUMP RECALL. *TR

NHTSA ODI #11329652

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.

Go deeper into Subaru Outback problems