1998 Subaru Outback transmission problems

Filed Apr 2, 2010 · Transmission · 86,000 miles · MA

1998 subaru legacy outback wagon automatic transmission 86,000 miles. Purchased used many years ago with about 10,000 miles. My sister's car, she was driving alone. Experienced driver. About two months ago she came around a corner on a 30 MPH road near her home. Light snow on the ground (amherst, massachusetts) she could not control the car, and it slid around. She phoned me and was very upset at losing control. Commented that the car had not felt quite right. I suggested loose lug nuts, badly inflated (almost new) tires, bent rim, defective tire, alignment. All checked out fine. Then I mentioned suspension. She took it to her mechanic who replaced both rear struts. Car still unpredictable. Returned to mechanic who then test drove car and decided that it was a problem similar to that of his parents' similar car: power was not being proportioned properly to the four wheels. He replaced existing transmission / transaxle / differential lubricant with some more specialized lubricant. (amalie ama 1607881297 dextron lll atf) at this time my sister is trying this out to see if it does the trick. Since this defect affects the safety of the vehicle I thought that you should know. I drove older 4wd audis, owned military 4wd trucks, and cars with limited slip differentials. I was always aware of the need for specific lubricants. I do not think that the average car owner should be. Was there a secret advisory or recall?

Filed Sep 15, 2005 · Transmission · 77,000 miles · NE

1998 subaru outback - steering becomes jerky when backing or going forward at slow speeds and while making tight turning radiuses. Local repair shop called a local subaru dealer and they said that they have seen some incidents of this problem but know of no fix. It was said that the vehicle is safe to drive. The suspected problem is thought due to uneven regulation of the wheel speed in the all wheel drive regulator as one turns sharply. In a sharp turn the wheels on the inner curve of the travel of path need to travel at a slower RPM than the wheels of that are on the outer curve of the path of the vehicle. This jerky motion even if not unsafe devalues the car for any possible resale value thus compromising my investment in it. The jerky motion of the wheels when turning as in parking or backing out of the parking stall is noticeable and somewhat disconcerting to the point of my thinking that it may be less safe than I a currently LED to believe by the car repair shop and the local subaru dealer that advised. I think this problem warrants further investigation to see if others are being effected and if there is any evidence of damage or failure due to the problem. Thanks. Sincerely, [xxx]. *nm information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Jun 27, 2005 · Transmission · 61,000 miles · CA

The automatic transmission failed with just 61,000 easy miles. The failure was in the clutch assembly (it would not decelerate when taking pressure off the gas pedal). I took it to the dealer and the manager told me that the drive train was technically out of warranty and that I would be responsible for a new transmission. (before 60,000 I had the dealer check out the whole car and they could find nothing. When the transmission failed I took it in again and the mechanic told me "nothing is wrong"... I am not kidding; they were not competent enough to know that the transmission was not performing properly!!). After that experience there was no way I was going to replace the transmission with another subaru product. I took it to aamco for a rebuild. The mechanic there told me that the factory settings for the clutch assembly were set at 50 thousandths and should have been set at 15 thousandths or less. In other words, the factory built the transmission to self-destruct. When I approached takao saito, president of subaru about this problem, he had linda fouch contact me by telephone. She promised to help out with the repair bill because the failure was so close to the warranty. When she discovered that I was not interested in litigaton, she promptly forgot her promise and failed to respond to any further correspondence! If subaru is to keep its loyal customer base, it needs to aggressively address the problem of quality control and mend the bad experiences of its patronage.

Filed Oct 25, 2004 · Transmission · PA

All wheel drive binding tires. 2 sets of 4 tires each (new michelin agility) worn to steel b/c of "binding" -- 2 years in a row. Subaru currently having awd repaired.

Filed Aug 1, 2004 · Transmission · 91,486 miles · MA

Have a 1998 subaru outback. Bought it new in 1998. Has roughly 90000 miles. In the first year after purchase clutch went. Dealer replaced clutch free of charge (didn't want to, though). Read on the internet that there was a known clutch problem with the outback and a lot of people had similar problems. Clutch was never, and has never been "right". The clutch has been looked at on several different occasions by different mechanics. None have been able to determine what the problem was. The clutch pedal will fade and drop to the floor (requies bare foot to grab the pedal w/toes to pull back up) sometimes eventually failing completely, other times, miraculously, returning to working order. We are out of warranty range, so we don't expect much from subaru, however we would like to register a complaint. We would never buy another one. I am putting down the date of the most recent failure event, which was yesterday.

Filed Apr 30, 2004 · Transmission · 20,000 miles · AL

Subaru outback (1998) clutch failure. Notorious problem! Replaced entire clutch assembly, fly wheel, master cylinder and slave cylinder at my cost!!! Dealer would not cover. The clutches on outbacks are lemons! Class action suit from all owners is a real possibility because subaru has not taken advantage of a "recall". This is a terrible thing (money and time and worry) to see over and over on the internet forums, and experience personally.

Filed Feb 24, 2004 · Transmission · WA

Clutch chatter on my 98 subaru outback wagon. Problems from day one. Subaru 'fixed' the problem a few time under warranty, but to this day, there is severe chatter in the clutch.

Filed Feb 14, 2004 · Transmission · 17,000 miles · CO

I have had continuos problems with the clutch on my 1998 suabru outback. Since the car has been purchased I have had the cluch replaced 3 times, and it is now due to go in again. A common problem is "bucking" under load (1st & second). There are countless similar storied available on the internet. Subaru needs to be held accountable for this issue as it affects the majority of subaru owners.

Filed Oct 6, 2003 · Transmission · CA

Intermittently, automatic transmission will not shift into second gear. It goes into neutral and will continue to rev up to anywhere between 5500 RPM and redline before it shifts. This has been an ongoing problem for the past year. It usually happens at least once each time it is driven. We have taken it to subaru of santa cruz in the past and they could not identify a problem. When the 'check engine' and 'at oil temp' lights came on, we took it to subaru of santa cruz. The diagnostic computer indicated that the speed sensor needed to be replaced. Once replaced, the problem did not occur for about 5 days, but then began occurring again.

Filed Jul 9, 2002 · Transmission · PA

In hot weather, especially in slow-moving traffic, the clutch pedal will not return after being depressed. The first incident happened in may 2001, but the dealer could find nothing wrong. After the second incident a month later, they replaced the clutch master cylinder. The clutch recently started to feel "sticky" again, and failed on june 30 while in a traffic jam. After letting it cool for about an hour, the car was driveable again. The clutch fluid was replaced, but the problem returned about 30 minutes after I left the dealer. I returned to the dealer, where they informed me that the latest theory from subaru of america is that there is a pocket in the casting of the master cylinder that traps air which can't be released by pressure bleeding the system and it must be "gravity bled". They did this and the problem has gone away (at least for now). No reason was given for the return of the failure after a year.