2011 Subaru Outback: grinding or squealing brakes

Filed Jun 28, 2020 · Transmission · 120,000 miles · NH

Subaru of america's corporate call center and two separate dealerships (prime subaru manchester nh, clay subaru norwood ma) provided wrong information on numerous occasions that conflicted with their tsb 11-104-11. They affirmatively said that there was never an update for the transmission control module available for the vehicle after it left the factory. This is completely incorrect and thus I spent 2 years troubleshooting a known issue, hundreds of dollars on diagnostic fees, and I even replaced the torque converter as it was afflicted with the squeal described in tsb 16-101-16r and we couldn't rule out that issue. The symptom is an erratic shifting pattern, especially when slowing down for a red light then speeding up when it turns green. I did my own research to discover this tsb via online posts and download it from the federal safety agency website. Kristen weaver was the associate I spoke to at subaru of america on 5/29/2020. She denied that the tsb applies to my car even though it clearly says on the tsb that all my11 outback 3.6r are effected. Prime subaru in manchester nh performed the torque converter replacement and should have updated the TCM at the time, but they said there was no update available. Clay subaru in norwood ma also said affirmatively that there was never a TCM update available. Milford subaru in milford nh finally applied the update at my specific request and confirmed that prime subaru should have done so when they did the torque converter update, and that they did not.

Filed Oct 26, 2019 · WA

A squeaking noise while starting the engine may be due to a faulty ring gear on the torque converter.

Filed Apr 16, 2019 · Transmission · 106,000 miles · CO

Stationary, started car and went to put in reverse gear (manual transmission) only to have it grind and pop out. Unable to put in reverse, now the other gears have been affected by a damaged reverse synchro breaking up. Earlier model year 2011 outbacks were part of a transmission (manual 6 speed) recall failure for lack of lubrication- this is a later in the year model so not covered under other recall.

Filed Sep 13, 2018 · Transmission · 114,000 miles · MD

My husband and I were driving from maryland to new york city late at night. All of a sudden, we heard a grinding noise and within 30 minutes our car completely broke down. No warning lights ever came on in the car indicating there was a serious issue. We had just gotten off the verrazano bridge. Had the car stopped on the bridge, we could have been seriously injured, if not killed. We came to find out that it was a full transmission failure. The subaru dealer in new york indicated that there was no transmission fluid left in the front differential, but they could not find any signs of a leak. The valve body was repaired in september 2017 and at that time it was covered under subaru's extended CVT warranty. At the time of that repair work, the subaru service center who did the work confirmed that they had added some transmission fluid to the car. We contacted subaru of america to see if they would help us with the cost of a new transmission, since the extended warranty had only just expired on july 31, 2018 (our car broke down on august 28) and because we had already had transmission work done less than a year ago. Subaru of american very rudely informed us that they have "zero financial obligation to us" and would not be helping us with the cost of repairs ($7000 to repair). We are beside ourselves with how this happened to our car. How can we have a full transmission failure less than a year after transmission work was done on the car and have no warning lights come on in the car indicating there was an issue? How did all of the transmission fluid leak out of our car without us knowing, and how is it that subaru is unable to find the cause of the leak? And what kind of company does not stand by and help a customer with an issue that they clearly knew was occurring (hence extended the CVT warranty to begin with)? Subaru should have issued a recall on this vehicle.

Filed Mar 24, 2014 · Acceleration, Transmission · 31,300 miles · MA

I would like to report an abnormal behavior in my car on january 13, 2014 as this is a safety matter. The road condition was dry and the outside temperature was about 40 degrees. First I backed out of my garage onto the road, then shifted to the d position and drove about half a mile forward. I noticed that the car did not slow down as usual when I applied the brakes as I was approaching the first intersection. I had to press the brake pedal much further than usual. I did not slow down to a complete stop, made a right turn and continued to drive. I decided to pay closer attention to the behavior of the car during the next braking period. I drove another quarter mile and I had to apply the brakes again as I was approaching a stop sign. The car did not slow down as usual again, so I had to press the brake pedal to the floor to make a complete stop. When the car finally stopped moving I heard a loud squeaking noise and the tachometer arrow was moving back and forth between 2000 and 5000 RPM. It seemed as though the clutch was still engaged even though the brakes were applied and the car was not moving. This continued for 5-10 seconds until I shifted into the n position as I continued to hold my foot on the brake pedal. The squeaking sound disappeared and the tachometer arrow went down immediately. I shifted back into the d position again with my foot still on the brake and the car behaved normally. This problem has not appeared since that time. I have taken the car to a subaru service dealer at norwood, ma 02062 on jan. 27, 2014, but they did not find anything wrong (customer #[xxx], invoice [xxx], miles 31340). I would like to get to the bottom of the problem since this could be a serious safety issue. I have filed a complaint to subaru website on january 28, 2014 but did not hear a word from them since that. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Feb 3, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · 47,500 miles · MD

1st incident 1/10/2014- leaving a stop light car would not accelerate and vdc, cel and brake light flashing. Sat on the side of the road for about 1/2 hour. Husband came to pick us up and tried starting the car. The car started and was able to drive w/o further issue. Check codes and had misfire cyc 1,2,3,4. Local mechanic could find nothing wrong cleared codes. Husband noticed both drl lights were blown. Replaced both and when the key was turned on (not started) heard a loud squealing electrical noise from the area of the alternator/power steering pump where the electrical harness is bolted to the top of the engine. Started the car and it drove fine for about 2 weeks. 2nd incident 1/14/2014 - pulling away from a friends house vdc and cel lights come on. Turn off car and sit for about 20 minutes. Start car all warning lights gone and car drove fine. Husband checked codes and found misfire cyc 1,2 only 3rd incident 1/30/2014 - leaving stop light and vdc light comes on and car will only go about 3 miles per hour enough to get it off road and engine stalls. No cel this time. Sit for about five minutes start car and it drives fine and all lights gone. Replaced the battery and had mechanic clean out the ABS brake sensors. Subaru america and our dealership where we bought the car are aware and can find nothing wrong.