2011 Subaru Outback: harsh or hard shifting

Filed Sep 14, 2023 · Body, Suspension · 109,000 miles · MN

The contact owns a 2011 Subaru Outback. The contact stated there was a clunking sound coming from the front suspension location and the vehicle started feeling unstable while driving approximately 30 MPH. The steering wheel began to sway towards the left causing the contact to use excessive force to steer the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who diagnosed that the front subframe had fractured due to severe corrosion and needed to be replaced along with the front suspension. The front subframe and suspension was repaired; however, while doing so the dealer further diagnosed that the rear subframe and suspension had severe corrosion. The rear subframe and suspension was not repaired or replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case. The approximate failure mileage was 109,000.

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 23, 2013 · Transmission · 33,400 miles · IL

The issue started at around 25,000 miles. My 2011 subaru outback, upon shifting from reverse to drive or from park to drive from a cold start, the transmission would pause for a second or two then would exhibit a loud bang/clunk and the car would lurch forward. Warming the car for several minutes (~5-10 minutes) did not solve the issue. I read others who had the same issue so at 28,622 miles (~1.5 months from the first incident) I brought the car to the subaru service/dealer. Unfortunately they could not replicate the issue, likely due to the fact that they did a transmission relearn before trying to test the transmission. The car was fine for about 2 days after receipt from service, but then the bang/clunk/lurch began again, on and off, under the same conditions mentioned earlier (I.e., cold start, shifting into drive, etc.) until its failure on april 22 (mileage ~33,400, ~3 months after bringing the car to the subaru service/dealer noted above). The transmission failed while I was driving 45 MPH, after I heard a bang from under the vehicle. The vehicle was still controllable, but only first gear worked. The car today (april 23) is at the service station to determine if it is a transmission issue or a computer issue.

Filed Dec 5, 2012 · Electrical · 52,000 miles · CA

As I was passing another vehicle the car made a loud clunk and I lost power to the engine. I was in the opposite lane of a two lane road and had to squeeze my way back into my lane before a head on collision with an on coming car. After I safely got to the side of the road it was determined that the car had no ignition connection. The car would turn over but not run. When the car was towed to the dealership and tested it was determined that the signal between the key and the ignition system had been broken. After the keys were reprogrammed the car ran just fine. However, I am very concerned that this could happen again and place my families lives in danger again. I have received no assurances that this will not happen again.

Filed Jun 23, 2011 · Engine · 2,052 miles · VA

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 subaru outback. While the contact was driving approximately 25 MPH, the vehicle began to jerk excessively with a loud clunking noise. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis where the timing belt was replaced. Also, there was a replacement of the timing belt tensioner and pulleys. The manufacturer was notified and they planned to provide an additional investigation related to the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 2,052.

Filed Aug 23, 2010 · Transmission · 9 miles · CA

When coming to a rolling stop and then stepping on the accelerator as our 2011 outback was turning, the new vehicle, with 9 miles on the odometer, experienced a brief hesitation followed by a hard transmission clunk and the vehicle lurched forward a few feet before driving normally. This occurred several times during rolling stops both when going forward and when turning a corner. We feel this is extremely unsafe and could lead to loss of control of the vehicle. We returned the vehicle to the dealership's service department within 17 hours of purchase and, after they had the car for 10 days, we were informed that, while they acknowledge the problem, there is no current fix for the issue and have no estimate as to when there might be one. In researching online, we discovered that a very similar, if not identical, problem was reported by owners of the 2010 outback model and a subaru service bulletin (11-94-09r) dated 01/05/10 was issued announcing that 'ECM' reprogramming files' were available to rectify the problem.