There is a delay in the transmission when shifting from park or reverse to drive. The car has already been involved in a minor accident because of the problem. The car was taken to a subaru service center and I was told I needed a new rebuilt transmission at $3600.
2000 Subaru Outback transmission complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 42, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The clutch on my subaru outback 2000 it's been a problem since day one I purchased the car in 2000. At times randomly it would slip or the pedal would not return up. Slipping of the clutch or the pedal being stuck multiple times almost caused me to get into accident when changing lanes or merging into traffic.
Vehicle will not engage into drive from park, or vehicle will disengage from drive without warning, putting the car into neutral. Although no accident has occurred vehicle has failed to engage into drive in several high traffic situations. The vehicle only has 67,000 miles.
Passenger side sun roof drain plugs up, second time this has happened. Backed up water drains into inside rear cargo area. My vehicle came equipped with the large all weather rubber mat in the cargo area. Since the area where the water pours out is near the right rear of the car the most of the water ends up on the carpet under the mat and it is not always noticeable. Original contractor that fixes leaks for dealer said the fix should take care of problem, did not. This contractor, different from the first contractor, said basically there was nothing I could do to prevent drains from plugging up. Was not driving this time, washed car and saw water on rubber mat while cleaning inside of car. The first time I was driving, in rear view mirror I saw water coming from headliner area, very distracting. Also, worry about possible damage to headliner and future body structural integrity due to water leaking into roof area. If drains continue to plug up headliner could possible become weak and fail. If this were to happen while driving this could potentially cause the driver to have an accident. Not sure of actual date this was addressed with dealer believe it was addressed when I took care in to have cv joint repaired. Dealer did not report worker to subaru.
Driver side front cv joint boot tore for no apparent reason, 62,289 miles. Neighbor who is a former subaru mechanic said should not happen unless I ran over something and punctured boot, I did not. Subaru would not replace under warranty out of warranty at 36k. A possible fire hazard due to cv grease leaking onto exhaust system as well as a potential mechanical failure if problem is not caught in time.
Passenger side front cv joint boot tore for no apparent reason, 39,744 miles. Very low mileage for a boot to tear for no reason, neighbor who is a former subaru mechanic said should not happen unless I ran over something and punctured boot, I did not. Subaru dealer replaced under warranty though part was out of warranty. A possible fire hazard due to cv grease leaking onto exhaust system as well as a potential mechanical failure if problem is not caught in time.
Automatic transmission has delay in engaging from a stop into any forward gear from any gear.
The automatic transmission has delayed engagement when changing from park to drive. The transmission will not engage for up to 10 seconds then it will engage abruptly causing the vehicle to lunge forward uncontrollably in an unsafe manner. Subaru has deemed the problem a transmission failure requiring a new transmission. Problem has occurred at 74,000 miles despite regular maintenance. This situation has been described in complaint# 10074032, 10090065, 10106683, and 10122566. Subaru of america denies that there is a pattern of complaints/problems.
Vehicle approximately 9 months ago was experiencing a slight delay in engaging automatic transmission from any gear into drive. Had dealership look at it and do a transmission flush of all fluid. The problem really didn't get better until finally on 3/19/05 at only 51,800 miles the transmission would no longer engage in drive at all. A transmission shop looked at it and said an 'o' ring failed causing the entire transmission to need to be rebuilt and catalytic converter to be replaced. Cost was $2,644 and was only 6 weeks past expiration of the warranty.
Consumer complained about a transmission problem. Vehicle delayed when it was put into drive. Also, consumer would be driving and suddenly the transmission would go into neutral without changing gears. Consumer contacted the dealer, who recommended that the transmission needed to be replaced. *ak......initially, dealer could not find a problem. After 2 mor evisits to dealer, it was determined that transmission needed to be replaced.
Transmission will not go into gear. When driver applied the gas vehicle will not move. Consumer was told by the dealer to wait until it failed completely. Dealership will not acknowledge the defect until it happened permanently.
Burning smell eminating from transmission.
Driving normal shifted the car and the clutch felt soft and the return to normal position was slow. I called the dealer repair and explained the situation. I was told that there was a service bulletin on this type of incident, however there was no recall. I took to dealer for repair. It cost me $216.00 to repair something that the manufacturer knew was defective and it wasn't covered by my extended warranty.
Intermittently, the gear positioning lever sticks in gear. The consumer depresses the brake pedal several times and plays with the lever to unstick it. The dealership has replaced a part in the gear positioning lever, but the problem still exist. Also, the consumer was unable to remove the key from the ignition when the vehicle is in the park gear.
Consumer states that vehicle is unable to shift into drive intermittently. The dealer indicated that transmission needed to be replaced due to an internal failure. *ak when the computer diagnostic was done no codes registered, according to the diagnostic machine the vehicle was not in need of repair.
There currently has been several technical service bulletins regarding 2000-2002 manual transmission subaru outbacks. These bulletins refer to a defect in the clutch that causes a premature wear of the clutch and yoke due to an imbalance in causing the car to "judder" or shudder when engaging into gears. I have had an independent mechanic, glen owner of oakland auto works state that he could not warranty the repair of clutch because the recommended repair by subaru does not reliably fix the problem and many people end up having to have the clutch replaced numerous times in a short time span. Subaru is aware of this problem because they have changed the clutch kit several times and the method of repair to address the problem yet have failed to perform a recall. I am currently unsure on how to proceed in the repair of my vehicle as the repair cost is $1350.00 and if the unit fails outside of warranty I may be subject having to pay this amount again. Some other problems which errupt from this defect include the clutch catching fire. The clutch pedal sticking and not releasing due to the yoke being worn for the clutch "judder". Last, premature of the clutch with only having a lifespan of 30,000 miles or less.
Purchased car with 78k on it. Prior it driving from colorado to wisconsin, had it looked over. Replaced leaking water pump, timing belt, and leaking fwd drive shaft seal. Within a week of getting to wisconsin, radiator and driver side head gasket found to be leaking. Head gaskets are big on subaru web sights. Soa recommends a "conditioner" to put in the radiator, but it was not available yet. Parts guy said problem was that owners are not allowing car to warm up in cold environments.
Clutch shudders & required replacement. Hindsight being 20/20, I realize the clutch appears to have been defective from date of delivery. My own review of automotive websites indicates that others have either heard of or have had this problem and subaru of america has been of no assistance. I have had numerous discussion in the last few months with soa about this and they refuse to acknowldge they have a problem.
Automobile performance/maintenance.
Premature clutch failure on subaru outback wagon 2000. Original clutch replaced at 7500 miles and found to have a manufacturers defect, bent forks.ew clutch placed in car. Shortly after, smell of burning, esp. When backing up or in cold weather, which lasted for 1 month. Clutch then failed prematurely after 40,000 miles. My hypothesis is that the clutch lost a substantial amount of its lining and life span when burning up in the first month of use. Numerous posting on edmunds.com regarding premature clutch failure, burning smell, and clutch shudder in subaru outbacks. My experience, and the experience of other owners, suggests that there is a general defect present in subaru clutches from 2000-2002. Lease investigate this defect and consider a recall.
The vehicle experienced a delayed response when changing from one gear into another. The vehicle was stopped on a steep slope and put into reverse. The driver took his foot off the brake and onto the accelerator then the vehicle rolled forward. The consumer believes this problem is called shift lag. *ak
We experienced problems with our 2000 subaru legacy outback as similarly reported in complaint # 766462 (transmission leaking fluid, smoking, failure). Subaru dealer refused to provide warranty service for the transmission work (2 incidents between aug 2002 and may 2003), and only a letter by us in june 2003 (noting previous reports in the federal safety agency website & elsewhere) finally convinced subaru USA headquarters to investigate the problem further. The fix subaru performed was replacement of a seal between the transmission and differential housing, which seems to largely resolve the problem (although a slight smoke odor still occurs when driving at high speeds). Subaru USA also refunded all our previous charges by the dealer for prior unsuccessful repairs (which should have been free under the warranty). There appears to be an inherent defect in this transmission (4eat model) under high heat conditions, which has a long historical track record in this regard. In one incidence, we almost incurred a severe fire on the road and this could be a potentially fatal hazard. The federal safety agency should examine this problem closely with subaru.
"fuzzy logic" transmission controller is dangerously slow, inconsistent, and unpredictable. Scanning 19 inputs is excessive over-kill and removes much of driver's control and peace of mind.
Clutch and flywheel caught fire while driving on the freeway. Car has 36000 miles on it and is serviced by the dealer regularly. Dealer charged me $1200 to replace the clutch and said that it was my fault, that I must "rife the clutch" or habitually overload the vehicle, neither of which is true. I suspect the clutch was flawed to begin with.
The transmission failed, which caused the vehicle not to accelerate, the transmission was replaced 3 times.
Transmission failure
Several weeks ago the dealer replaced the first gear of the manual transmission because it repeatedly came out of gear when going down steep inclines, such as in a parking garage. After the work was completed, the car emitted a very strong smell. I have taken the car back to the dealer four times. The last time the dealer said the seals on the transmission were leaking and replaced. It is apparent that a petroleum product is leaking onto the exhaust system and burning and the smell enters the ventilation system while the car is stationary. Dealer says I need to keep A/C on and the recycle air button pushed. Issues unresolved.
While driving vehicle flipped into neutral from fifth speed due to a lost bolt.
There is slippage in transmission. When driving, it can happen at any speed, and will happen more often in stop and go traffic. Contacted dealer. *ak consumer states that oil light and check engine light come on together and then the power goes out, this has occurred when stopping and moving , the problem is still on going. Dealer claims that the onboard computer shows that a problem exists but they can?t identify the cause unless it happens in their presence.
The clutch system appears to be unable to handle san francisco (extreme) driving conditions. I know of 4 other people whose clutches have all failed at 13,500 miles or less. We are all experienced clutch drivers in san francisco. Other cars don't have this problem. While I was told by the dealer mechanic that there was nothing wrong other than that I burned out the clutch, my friend was told a month later that the clutch needs to be readjusted more frequently in s.f. - every 7.5 months. This implies to me that someone has looked into this and determined that the clutch system is problematic. My clutch needed to be fixed an additional 3 times before it was working correctly. However, I do not want a car that will need a new clutch every 2 years, or that needs to be brought in for a clutch adjustment every 7.5 months. I think this vehicle should be recalled for drivers in s.f. Or similar extreme environments and replaced with a car that can handle normal driving.
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