2009 Subaru Outback engine problems

Filed Nov 20, 2025 · Engine · 200,000 miles · CO · fire · 1 injury

The contact owned a 2009 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at 50 MPH, the vehicle had failed to accelerate above 60 MPH without warning. The contact soon began to notice heavy white smoke in her rear-view mirror as the smoke quickly spread to the front end of the vehicle. The contact immediately pulled over, grabbed vital items, and exited the vehicle. The contact called 911 as flames quickly engulfed the vehicle, and a deputy who witnessed the fire pulled over to assist the contact. The fire department arrived at the scene and extinguished the fire. The contact sustained emotional distress as a result of the accident but did not seek medical attention. The contact was not given a police or fire report. The vehicle was initially towed to an independent tow yard before the contact's insurance had the vehicle towed to another location. The insurance company later deemed the vehicle a total loss. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.

Filed Aug 9, 2021 · Engine · PA

Both the head gasket and valve cover gasket are leaking oil. The head gasket started leaking at 52k miles and the valve cover at 65k miles. Both need to be replaced. Subaru has had issues with these gaskets for decades. There should be a recall for these issues.

Filed Aug 3, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · 81,000 miles · NY

The contact owns a 2009 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle shut-off with the check engine, traction control and cruise control warning lights illuminated. On several occasions the vehicle would not immediately restart. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer for service. No further information was available. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 81,000. The VIN was not available.

Filed Apr 30, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · 117,000 miles · NY

Previously submitted complaint regarding my subaru outback stalling. I was assigned complaint number 11414502 (attached) but when I didn't receive the email, I checked and it didn't pull up so I'm resubmitting.

Filed Apr 29, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · 117,000 miles · NY

The car intermittently bucks/chugs while driving and then stalls. All the lights flash on. It is difficult to restart. It has happened on the highway and local streets. It also idles very rough when at stops or in park and shudders like it wants to stall - sometimes it does. This has been going on for 2 months now. The first time, I was stopped at a red light and it stalled creating a hazardous situation. My mechanic has attempted to fix it and then he has taken it to the local subaru dealership where it has spent almost 2 months off & on while they "fixed" it. They give it back and it is back to them within a week with the same issue. The last time they replaced a map sensor and some wiring. This is hazardous and the vehicle is unsafe. It feels like they just keep clearing out the error and giving it back to me.

Filed Jan 20, 2020 · Electrical, Engine · 162,400 miles · SC

2009 subaru outback stalling while driving. The engine turned off while driving with light acceleration at low speeds (5-20 MPH) without warning. Warning lights flickered on and off. I was able to restart the car. This is a huge safety issue to have the car stall out without warning. Subara south blvd dealership say they do not know the root cause. Prior to the above incidence the car, while driving at low speeds, would occasionally shudder and the warning lights would flicker on then go off. It felt like the car was going to shut off but it didn't. Now it is shutting off. It's completely unsafe.

Filed Mar 19, 2018 · Engine · 105,000 miles · MA

Vehicle with only 105 k miles requires new head gasket due to leak.

Filed Mar 19, 2018 · Engine · 105,000 miles · MA

Catalytic converter replaced once back in 2013. This week had to replace front and rear catalytic converter again due to problem with catalytic converter. Mileage at 105,000.

Filed Apr 28, 2017 · Engine · 80,100 miles · CA

The head gaskets on my vehicle have developed leaks at just over 80,000 miles. This is a frequent (and known) problem with the head gaskets on this vehicle. All subaru-specific mechanics, many owners of this model and even subaru dealership employees have expressed knowledge of high failure rates for this head gasket at approximately 80-100k mile intervals. This is way shorter life than should occur and results in a $2000 or greater cost of repair (in my case, $3200!). Subaru has been aware of this defect on previous models and even had class action suits resulting in recalls for previous generation outbacks yet have not addressed the defect.

Filed Dec 11, 2016 · Engine, Fuel system · 115,000 miles · VA

While driving the engine suddenly died. Luckily we were on a lightly traveled road and were able to pull off to the side. The engine would start, run for about one second, then die. While waiting on a tow truck, a gearhead-type friend that I had called to take my wife home arrived, thought about the problem a bit, and unplugged the maf sensor. The engine ran great. It turned out that a defective air filter had allowed debris to clog the sensor. My complaint is that an invalid reading from a non-critical sensor should not be allowed to pull the engine fuel/air/timing parameters so far off that the engine will not run. Obviously the engine computer knows approximately what those values should be since it ran great with the sensor disconnected. Sensor readings beyond what would reasonably be expected should be ignored. We were lucky that we were on a country road when this occurred. Had we been in the middle lane of a busy freeway, or darting across four lanes of busy traffic, this could have been a disaster.