Page 3 of 3 · complaints 101–106 of 106

2009 Subaru Outback complaints

Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2009 record →

Power Train › Automatic Transmission
Filed Jul 29, 201013,357 milesNC

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING AT 45 MPH WHEN EVERY SERVICE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO JERK ABNORMALLY WHILE CHANGING GEARS. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THERE WAS A MISCOMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE SPEED SENSOR AND TRANSMISSION. THE DEALER MADE REPAIRS TO THE VEHICLE. THE WARNING LIGHTS WERE NO LONGER ILLUMINATED. TWO HOURS LATER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE DEALER WHERE ANOTHER REPAIR WAS PERFORMED ON THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE PERSISTED INTERMITTENTLY AFTER THE SECOND REPAIR WHEN DRIVING BETWEEN 25 AND 35 MPH. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 13,357 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 14,800.

Vehicle Speed Control
Filed Jun 20, 20101,436 milesNH

MY 2009 SUBARU OUTBACK BEGAN IDLING ERRATICALLY IN NOVEMBER 2009, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO LURCH FORWARD WHEN SLOWLY ENTERING PARKING SPACES AND RESULTING IN ROAD SERVICE PULLING ME FROM A DITCH AT THE END OF A POST OFFICE PARKING SPACE. AS A RESULT I DRIVE WITH THE FOOT BRAKE FIRMLY DOWN WHENEVER I PARK TO FIGHT THE LURCHING. THE SUBARU SERVICE DEPARTMENTS AT TWO SUBARU DEALERS TELL ME THIS IS NORMAL, THAT NEWER SUBARU'S COMPUTERS ARE SET FOR FASTER IDLE TO COMPENSATE FOR POWER STEERING AND AIR CONDITIONING DEMANDS. I BELIEVE THE VEHICLE IS DANGEROUS AND WILL TRADE IT IN IF THE CONDITION CAN'T BE REMEDIED. THANK YOU. *TR

Steering
Filed Jun 11, 2010800 milesOH

VEHICLE HAS A SHIMMY WHEN DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS: 70-75 MPH. SHIMMY HAS BEEN PRESENT SINCE VEHICLE DELIVERY. 5 TRIPS TO THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT OVER 10 MONTHS DID NOT RESOLVE THIS ISSUE. *TR

Visibility › Windshield Wiper/Washer
Filed Feb 25, 2010OH

INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) 2009 SUBARU OUTBACK WINDSHIELD WIPERS ICE UP TOO EASILY, NECESSITATING MY PULLING OVER AND MANUALLY REMOVING ICE FROM BETWEEN THE METAL PARTS. HAVE HAD A MILD WINTER HERE AND WAS ONLY A PROBLEM IN THE PAST DURING SERIOUS WINTER STORMS. DEALER COULD ONLY REPLACE WITH SAME DESIGN. THE 2010 SUBARUS ALL HAVE REDESIGNED WIPER BLADES THAT ARE COVERED TO PREVENT THE PROBLEM. THESE BLADES DO NOT FIT MY MODEL. A CALL TO 800-SUBARU3, [XXX] SAID SUBARU HAS NO PLANS TO CHANGE THE WIPER BLADES ON THE 2009 MODEL. PRESENT DESIGN IS DANGEROUS HERE IN NORTHERN OHIO. *TR

Tires
Filed Feb 4, 20095,540 milesWA

SIDEWALL TIRE FAILURE IN ORDINARY USE; 2009 SUBARU OUTBACK, 5500 MILES, BRIDGESTONE/FIRESTONE TIRE FAILED, INNER RIGHT REAR SIDEWALL FRACTURED. NO EXCESSIVE DRIVING, SPEED, OR SEVERE USE AT ALL. I REPLACED ALL BRIDGESTONE/FIRESTONE TIRES AND HAVE THEM AVAILABLE FOR OSI/ODI EXPERT ANALYSIS. *TR

Unknown or Other
Filed Dec 29, 20083,700 milesMN

I RECENTLY PURCHASED A 2009 SUBARU OUTBACK 2.5 SPECIAL EDITION. WHILE DRIVING ON I-35 NEAR CLOQUET, MN, THE CAR EXHIBITED DANGEROUSLY UNSTABLE HANDLING THAT HAS BEEN DESCRIBED BY OTHER SUBARU OUTBACK OWNERS. THE ROAD CONDITIONS WERE ICY AND EVEN WITH GREATLY REDUCED SPEED THE CAR WOULD SLIDE/DRIFT SIDEWAYS ON STRAIGHTAWAYS. THIS WAS VERY UNNERVING AS I COULD DO NOTHING SAVE REDUCING MY SPEED TO A CRAWL TO AVOID THIS DRIFTING EFFECT. AT THIS POINT I WAS BEING PASSED BY ALL OTHER TRAFFIC ON THE HIGHWAY (SEMIS, FWD AND RWD CARS, ETC.), WHICH DID NOT SEEM TO HAVE THE HANDLING ISSUES I WAS HAVING. THE CAR IS NEW (3700 MILES) AND I HAD JUST TAKEN TO A SHOP THAT MORNING FOR AN OIL CHANGE AND EVERYTHING CHECKED OUT OK. I BELIEVE THE OUTBACK HAS A DANGEROUS HANDLING ISSUE THAT APPEARS TO MANIFEST PRIMARILY WHEN FULLY LOADED (I HAD 2 PASSENGERS AND GEAR) AND ON SMOOTH AND SLIPPERY ROADS. I AM SCARED TO DRIVE THIS CAR IN SNOWY CONDITIONS, WHICH IS UNFORTUNATE GIVEN I LIVE IN MN AND BOUGHT THIS CAR FOR WINTER DRIVING AND ITS AWD PROPERTIES. I HAVE NEVER HAD A CAR HANDLE SO POORLY IN MY 16 YEARS OF WINTER DRIVING. *TR

Reading these

NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Full record for the 2009 Subaru Outback → · Every Outback year → · How the figures are calculated →