When driving at a high speed on the highway and then coming to an abrupt stop the car stalled. The car is an automatic. Apparently subaru distributed a bulletin noting that this was common in legacy and outback models made before 2013 (see attached) and is due to a torque converter problem. This seems dangerous as it can happen while driving on the highway with other cars moving at high speeds. Apparently this is over $1500 to fix, but I believe subaru should cover some if not all of the cost. The car is not under warranty and has 147k miles.
2011 Subaru Legacy engine complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 28 of 28, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Very routinely when coming to a stop from the car moving when you decrease your speed when stopping for a light, traffic, or anything that would require a quick stop, the car will stall out as your speed is less than 10-20 MPH and you loose control of the steering, brakes. Ect. This is a huge safety issue and needs to be addressed by subaru immediately. This can occur on any street, highway and will do this while turning as well. This happens daily in my commute and is a danger to myself and others. It occurs when coming to a stop from a moving position.
When car is coming up to a stop sign it stalls and dies on me and I have to put it in park and start it back up. I had a time where it idled like it was going to die and didn't but it does this 4 to 8 times a day. Not sure what is going on but I almost got hit by a semi truck due to it stalling. Please help this needs to be fixed it is not safe especially when I have small children in my car . I need answers.
My car hesitates and turns off sometimes when slowing down at a stop or red light, rpms fluctuate as I brake or accelerate, my brake light is on solid and I get a at oil temp light flashing and then I can't use my paddleshifters at all, car sounds highly rev'd but doesn't go as fast! Please help as this is a safety hazard, I drive on california freeways everyday and this is a danger to my family when commuting.
Engine idle RPM is unstable. (+ / - 500 RPM) engine stalled many times (6 or 7) without reason and in dangerous situation as turning in the intersection or crossing rail roads, when stopping or slowing down. I went twice in subaru service. At first they replaced the "torque converter" and proceeded with some adjustments in the engine. Second time they "re-programmed" the computer. As of today I am getting same issue without help from subaru service. They advised to file a claim and eventually sue the company.
01/07/2016 shortly after taking the freeway exit wife noticed the battery light turned on and power steering got heavy. All other warning light on the dash started to flicker as the passenger compartment quickly filled with smoke. She then pulled over and had just enough time to get both kids out before the entire car was engulfed in flames. Fire originated from under the hood of her 2011 subaru legacy 3.6r limited. The vehicle was a total loss.
Car sputters & stalls when braking
Whenever the brake is pressed hard to a complete stop, the car stalls and all electrical shut off. It doesnt seem to happen when you brake very slow before coming to a full stop. But if you brake slowly and then pressed the pedal full, the problem will occur. This can cause panic and also delay on cars running behind the car. It appears this is similar problem reported under 10395739. I also found a number of similarly reported problems online with subaru cars.
Car continues to stall when reducing speed. Occurs mostly at traffic lights and stop signs; however, has occurred when slowing for traffic. Car has completed all scheduled maintenance and oil changes as required. Initially told to service air flow sensor and have inspected for vacuum leak. Vehicle service did not resolve stalling. Service bulletin 16-90-13 shows subaru knows the torque converter to be faulty on these vehicles, causing the vehicle to stall under these exact conditions. This is creating a safety concern on these vehicles for the potential to be rear ended due to stalling when attempting to slow vehicle. Safety recall should be issued and torque converter should be replaced by subaru due to faulty design.
For the past 2 months my subaru legacy has been stalling and losing power when I roll to a stop and/or when suddenly braking. Almost got rear ended by semi truck on the freeway and multiple times at stop lights in foggy situations. Subaru dealership said if it was an annoyance I should bring it in. Almost dying in a subaru with my daughters is more than an annoyance. Dealership has known about it but performed a throttle body service, which was futile. Online forums suggest a faulty torque converter and a service#16-90-30. Quotes for replacing it are around $2000. Subaru knows it is due to faulty design of torque converter...this should be recalled. I used to love subarus and this car, I am now forced to take a loss financially and buy a safer car. Completely unsafe.
I was coming to a red light slowing down from 15 MPH while applying the brakes, the car acts like something is grabbing & it shuts down the motor. The car was not cold it was warmed up & drove about 28 miles before doing this. The skid light came on. It was a dry road. This car has done it several times. I have searched this on the internet & have seen others saying the same thing has happened with their subaru. Its scary to think this might happen to me on one of our slick roads going off a hill. I have not had it checked out yet do to the holiday season. It does not happen every time I drive it. I have noticed while applying the breaks when it starts feeling like the rotors are grabbing if you ease off just a little and then apply again the car will not shut off it will stay running. I have shut off the skid protection and drove it & still it will do this and the skid light will show up. On the internet it says it could be the icv valve. But im not sure that has anything to do with the skid protection. I bought the car this summer & I had the dealer ship to put new breaks and rotors on it before I bought it. Had no trouble at all with this until last month. I just had the oil and filter changed this week. There are no service lights staying lit. & it still does this. I will be getting this checked out. A guy mentioned that it could be the transmission. This car is an automatic & does have the manual transmission shifters on the steering wheel. The car was in the automatic mode when this happened it is not drove in the manual side. Im thinking I should try driving in the manual side to see if it will do this. I've had no complaints with any of my other subarus weve owned. I have never had this problem with them. However I have never owned one with the skid protection or in the 2000 model until this one.
Vehicle was stopped at a red light. Upon light acceleration, check engine light came on (and stayed on), parking brake light began to blink, cruise control indicator began to blink, and traction control light came on and stayed on. Driver did not detect any slippage. Authorized subaru dealer found no problem with oil control valve (ocv) despite computer code indicating potential problem with that part. Dealer, however, indicated oil flush, rather than simply an oil change, was necessary despite less than 5,000 miles since previous oil change. Dealer asserted that oil level was not low, however. Cause of what triggered the indicators to be set off remains unclear.
On two separate occasions, I put the vehicle into drive and removed my foot from the brake, before accelerating; the car rolled forward in a shuttering manor and then lunged forward several feet (4-6 ft). The rpms seemed to drop (500-700 RPM) and then spike (1,200-1,500 RPM) with no acceleration at time of the incident. I immediately applied the brake and stopped for several seconds. I then took my foot off the brake again and the vehicle seemed to run fine. The engine was not cold at the time on occurrence; it had been driven approx. 30 minutes before the incident.
6 speed manual transmission. Vehicle stalls, and rough idles intermittently while at stop light or other traffic control. Vehicle also stalled while on highway twice disabling power steering, and power braking. Brought back to dealer and they were unable to replicate issue. Issue occurred again, brought back to dealer 2nd time same results. 3rd time issue was replicated while I was in vehicle with tech. Technician stated that they will address it. Left over weekend. Tuesday dealer notified me that the vehicle was experiencing a power draw after the window or electronic brake were used, and the factory advised that the computer would need to be "re-flashed" but currently, there is no re-flash program developed, and there is no time line as to when it would be. Contacted subaru america cust. Serv. District manager test drove and was unable to replicate. So as far as the dealer and subaru are concerned, there is no issue. Vehicle still stalls intermittently. Filed complaint with ct dvm lemon law, and now with the federal safety agency.
Feeling unsteady on highway speeds 60+, whistle noise in heater vent not fixed by dealer, volume buttons on steering wheel not working brought in 4 times to dealer to fix, whistle noise in window was told is the mirrors outside however when roll window up and down several times...it hits the top hard, but shuts fully and noise stops sound like window will break, hard start 3x dealer asked where I buy my gas, hood of car vibrates on highway, heat comes out strong on windshield on foot setting, dealer said normal and showed map however its the same as setting it to foot and windshield setting, mileage: on full says 430, I clocked it and when it showed 380 we had only drove 17 miles inaccurate. Cup holder broke after putting water bottle in it was replaced by dealer, transmission shifting down by bucking dealer stated memorizes driving. Inside scratches easy cheap. Have case w subaru of america but getting nowhere.
Dash trouble lights flashing constantly on and off check engine, brake failure, all wheel drive failure, cruise control failure, temperature light, oil warning light, engine not engaging when gas pedal depressed. Car wobbles side to side at speeds greater than 60 MPH, steering wheel excessive vibration. Currently in repair for over one week. Appears dealership can not correct. When originally reported to service advisor he stated to bring in the car in one week. Took car in immediately per owners manual and he then stated he could not release car back to me because it was unsafe to drive. This is a new vehicle with 1500 miles.
Drumming noise that appears to be coming from the rear-end of the vehicle, can be heard and vibrations felt inside the vehicle, when the engine is on and the vehicle is at rest or moving. Subaru of america factory and dealership service technicians are not certain that the issue is the fuel pump, but soa factory has instructed the dealership to replace it.
I started vehicle in driveway as usual. Put vehicle in reverse, slowly letting foot off brake, engine began to sputter and sounded like it was about to stall. Braked and put in park to let engine warm for a few more minutes. I proceeded to drive without incident.
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