2011 Subaru Outback: multiple warning lights

Filed Jan 9, 2023 · Electrical, Engine · IN

My car just dies on it's own while driving and it has trouble starting back up or somedays it just won't start up but after it dies while going down the road but after cranking it a few times it finally starts the check engine light comes on the traction control light starts flashing the brake light starts flashing and the cruise control light starts flashing I took it to a dealer and no codes were thrown in my car and after a few days of all the lights on and flashing they suddenly go away on their own this is extremely dangerous I can't control when or where this happens on the road I've almost been hit several times from this happening it does the exact same thing when I'm sitting still in park trying to start my car I get all the lights on the dashboard lit up and blinking on and off just like when it dies going down the road but nobody can find a cause or a reason why they say it's a manufacturer issue and subaru can't even figure it out

Filed Nov 2, 2022 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · TX

Vehicle is failing to shift correctly causing low acceleration and road safety issues. Cruise control and manual shift paddles not working, multiple warning lights on.

Filed Jun 23, 2022 · Transmission · MN

Transmission failed on my 2011 Subaru Outback as I was entering the freeway, putting me in a very dangerous situation and at risk for being hit by other drivers. I didn't know it was transmission failure until I took it to a service center and they told me my transmission had failed and would need to be either rebuilt or replaced. Multiple dash warning lights came on as the car was stalling out. The repair cost me $5,600 to rebuild. The dealer said they would only replace it at a cost of $8,900. Neither dealer or Subaru customer service were helpful. I've taken very good care of the car, done routine maintenance and it only had 119,000 miles on it. The transmission shop said they are seeing a number of failures with the CVT transmission.

Filed Jan 3, 2022 · Transmission · OH

While driving the car on or about 12/21/2021 at about 6 or 7 pm at night, I experienced a catastrophic failure of the transmission. The car lost drivetrain power and began to shudder and limp along the road. All the warning lights on the dashboard lit up at once. Fortunately, I was not on a highway, and I was able to safely pull over to the side of the road. But the incident did leave me unsettled and distressed especially as it was happening. There were no warning signs or indications of something was amissed prior to the failure. At a Subaru dealership service, I learned with the valve body and the torque converter need to be replaced at an expensive cost (almost $4,000). This is a problem that Subaru is aware of and has done little to address it before the failure occurs in affected vehicles at large. I feel this is a serious safety issue that needs to be proactively remedied before failure can occur. My car only has 160,000 miles and responsibly driven. Normally, such a car should not have experienced such a catastrophic failure in the transmission as mine did even at that accrued mileage. I also later learned that this is a prevalent problem on this particular car model, so much so that many dealership service departments are performing this type of repair at least once a week. For this problem to be this relatively widespread means there some sort of defect or design flaw in the system itself. There seems to be a high rate of incidence for a critical part on a vehicle that should normally and typically last the lifetime of the vehicle.

Filed Oct 7, 2019 · Transmission · 125,000 miles · CA

I purchased my 2011 subaru outback at 75,000 miles from hansel subaru in santa rosa,ca in april of 2017 from a salesman named andre. A couple weeks after purchasing it I took it back to the dealership to get the transmission inspected because it was not driving properly (complaining of hard shifting). After they inspected it they asked me if this was my first CVT and I said yes, they told me that the car needed to learn my driving habits so they did a 're-learn' on the CVT which I had to pay for out of pocket. At this time I had no knowledge of the extended warranty or the CVT transmission the subaru released in 2014. This should have been disclosed when I purchased the car. When I took it in for the inspection they should have replaced the CVT according to they service bulletin with the extended warranty. A couple weeks ago I'm driving home from ventura at night, traveling 70mph in heavy traffic and out of nowhere all the dashboard lights start flashing and the car suddenly looses power, almost causing the vehicle behind me to rear-end me. The vehicle is at 125,000 miles (just outside the 100,000 mile extended warranty) and subaru is refusing to provide any assistance with a new transmission. Now I'm stuck with a repair bill of $8000 on a vehicle I still owe $10,000 on. This should be a recall, the passenger and I could have been injured or killed in a freeway pileup.

Filed Apr 15, 2019 · Transmission · 100,000 miles · CA

Car stalls at low speeds, all lights are flashing, code reads transmission control system and torque converter failing , when coming to a stop it stalls out which is dangerous for my wife and kids

Filed Feb 10, 2019 · Electrical · 71,137 miles · NY

Multiple warning lights appeared on the dashboard while driving. When sitting in the car, in the garage, the minute the key is turned, although the car is not started, all the dashboard warning lights went on although the car was stationary. Picture uploaded taken when car was in garage.

Filed Jan 2, 2019 · Engine, Transmission · 113,000 miles · VT

All of the lights started flashing on my dash. The car has 114,000 miles. It is a faulty valve body and the transmission is shot. There are metal shavings in the transmission fluid. Subaru quoted me $7000 to fix it. The cars not even worth $5000. I am out of warranty and there's nothing they can do. I am done with subarus.

Filed Sep 17, 2018 · Transmission · 182,000 miles · NY

The car started shaking violently on the highway and all warning lights came on flashing, prompting us to pull over immediately with our two small children in back. We had to get the car towed and our mechanic noted the computer codes were for the transmission issue that subaru was extending the warranty for. We took it to 2 subaru dealers to confirm, which the 2nd one did after the 1st one refused to look at the car. Unfortunately, since it happened 11 days after their warranty expired they won't fix it unless we pay $4000+ or trade it in for a brand new car which we can't afford. If they knew this was an issue to provide a warranty on it then they should repair it for free as the car is unsafe to drive as-is. There should be a recall.

Filed Feb 22, 2016 · Electrical, Lights · 70,000 miles · OH · fire

Ascended steep hill and stopped at stop sign. Processed to drive through intersection uphill. All lights on dash began to flicker on and off and car stalled out going down the road. After this occurred, I lost all electrical functions of car. I was not able to restart car, place car into park, apply emergency brake, turn on hazard lights, and the power brakes and steering were not present. I spent 5-7 minutes trying to restart the car and trying to figure out a way to stabilize the car since I was currently going down a steep hill without anyway of stabilizing it. After this time, smoke began coming out from under the hood. I had to coast car down hill into busy intersection and turn it onto next road in order to find a flat area to stabilize car so I could get out of it. When I got out, I began seeing flames drop down from front driver side of engine area. The car quickly caught on fire and most of the engine burnt out before flames were extinguished. The fire appeared to start in computer area. This car was bought new and have had no previous problems with the car, except we have had to change the low beam headlight bulbs several times while owning it. After I witnessed my car catch on fire and afterwards discovered subaru has a service bulletin for the torque converter, I believe the headlight issue and the torque converter issues are all connected. I believe what happened to my car is the torque converter failed that day causing an over voltage/over draw of power that was so bad it took out my computer unit, I then believe the battery continued to feed the computer unit, in its unresponsive state, until it caught on fire. The fire inspector told me sometimes bulbs will burnt out due to an over voltage situation. Something is definitely overdrawing power and it needs to be looked into because it endangers every driver, passenger, and anyone around these cars.

Filed Jun 25, 2014 · Acceleration, Brakes · 57,000 miles · TX

I was driving on the freeway when my check engine light, ABS brake light, traction control (all wheel drive) light and cruise control lights began flashing all at once. I called the dealership immediately and was told that all the lights flash because most drivers ignore just the check engine light. At the dealer the next day I was told the same thing with the addition of the facts that the ABS brake system and the traction control systems were actually disabled during this incident. During the conversation it was said that to correct the problem, a "reflash " of the computer system was needed and that this was a known problem on some outbacks. I asked why there was no recall if the problem was known and was told they just fixed the problem when it happened. This seems to me to be a significant safety problem since if the problem occurred while the driver was on ice or snow or wet road , vehicle stability would be compromised. I think subaru should at least be made to recall the suspected vehicles and fix the problem even though it is something that may not happen to all vehicles.

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.