Vehicle was at a stop light on a 45mph road at which time the car shook very badly, the engine stalled, and almost every dashboard light illuminated. Vehicle was unable to move putting the passengers at extreme risk of a rear end collision on a major thoroughfare. The situation was safely resolved after shutting down the vehicle for a minutes and restarting it. Following the incident, the vehicle shudders often, and the car shakes very badly again if the transmission approaches 4000RPM. Vehicle will be taken in for service next week and it is suspected that Subaru will be required to replace the transmission under the extended warranty offered to all customers because of high transmission failure rates observed on this make/model of car. the federal safety agency needs to require a recall on all Subaru CVTs due to unreliability and stalling putting passengers and the public at risk.
2013 Subaru Outback transmission complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 60, newest first, as owners wrote them.
2013 subaru outback. Entire set of warning lights came on five minutes after started driving vehicle. Mechanic said to have it towed. Diagnosis: CVT transmission totally fried at a mere 106,600. Should be able to get a lot more miles from this transmission. Lemon law but should be a recall. $8000 repair bill.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 subaru outback. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact also mentioned that on a several other occasions, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle resumed normal operation after the vehicle was turned off and restarted. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer autonation subaru spokane valley located at 10000 e. Sprague ave, spokane valley, wa 99206 where it was diagnosed with needing the transmission valve body and solenoid to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted however, no assistance was offered. The vehicle had not been repaired as of yet. The failure mileage was approximately 122,000.*dt subaru contributed $1000 towards repair and dealer service center replaced valve body and solenoid. Afterwards noise from the transmission was worse than before repair and dealer now reports that the entire transmission needs to be replaced at a cost of $9,300. Subaru USA offered only $1,500 towards this replacement.*dt*jb*ln
During a 120,000 service at the subaru dealer (odometer at 121,333 miles) I was informed that metal filings had been observed in the differential fluid, indicating a problem with the transmission. Not long after that, my vehicle experienced an issue with the transmission. I accelerated to pass on the freeway, and after having done so, the transmission kept accelerating and would not kick down for about 5 seconds. I took the vehicle into an independent repair shop where they confirmed the transmission is indeed failing. This event set up a potential safety issue, at the least being distracted in trying to get the transmission kicked down again, and, at most, having a failure on the the highway, with the potential for serious consequences. A transmission should not be going bad after only 121,000 miles. All the required maintenance and servicing had been done following subaru's recommendations. This is a known defect. Subaru's weak extended warranty is just their way of avoiding the costs of fixing this defect, to the detriment of their customers.
Heard some noise coming from the car and brought it to subaru. They told me I needed a new transmission for $9,000. I checked online and found this type of transmission has had numerous problems. I only have 129,000 miles on the car. I service it regularly as I have done all my vehicles in my lifetime. I have never replace a transmission on any car I owed in the +50 years of purchasing cars.
This car guzzles oil, like a quart every thousand miles making it a [xxx] car for road trips. I bought this for road trips so thanks subaru. It has CVT issues that subaru won't acknowledge or repair, dangerous ones too such as loss of power while idling, and feeling the engine is going to die when in stop and go traffic. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 subaru outback. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed and the vehicle shuddered and stalled without warning. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The vehicle was taken to dreyer & reinbold subaru (1301 south, us-31 ste 2, greenwood, in 46143), to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 104,000.
Cvt transmission many issues including the transmission overheating and causing the car to completely shut off. Problems perseist and dealership can find nothing wrong initially , but the transmission has been becoming worse and worse sicnce these issues started and the transmission stalls the car.
I was driving home from work and a warning light came on. The warning light indicated that the transmission fluid was overheating. I noticed steam was coming from under the hood. The car ceased forward momentum and came to a halt in the middle of the road (curvy and hilly country road). Inspection showed transmission fluid gushing out of the transmission. A large puddle joined what I later discovered to be nearly ten miles of transmission fluid trail. This is the fourth transmission to go into the car.
Having maintained my subaru outback at a subaru dealer since purchase, I expected few major problems. Over the last few months, a small buzzing sound from the transmission has grown to a loud sound. The subaru tech said my transmission was done. 133000 miles and subaru offered $1000 toward a new car or new $8000 transmission. The car is now worthless.
I have a 2013 subaru outback and it stutters driving between 20-40 MPH. It seems to loose power when driving on city streets. Doesn't happen every time
116,700 miles and need to replace valve body. Concern raised at 83,000 miles but was advised to flush transmission. Automatic transmission temperature warning light comes on every summer, and concern raised but was only advised to pull over and let it cool. Also having problem with low engine oil warning and need to add 1 - 2 quarts between 6000 mile oil change. This is a known issue and the short block may need to be replaced to repair this
"takata recall" the transmission started failing at around 105k. It turns out this is a known problem by subaru and after talking to customer service, they refused to fix the issue owing to the fact that it was over 100k miles. They gave extended warranties for vehicles but only up to 100k. I think that this should have been an actual recall and not an extended warranty. Its a major safety concern that subaru is aware of.
While driving on I 10 at 70 MPH, 30 mile's east of tallahassee. Fl, the transmission failed. Luckily, I coasted to the shoulder. It easily could have ended in a fatality. In february, 2019, the at oil temp light came on. At that time fitzgerald subaru in clearwater fl (my hometown) checked out my car and said nothing is wrong. So, I was driving the car for my vacation in michigan and the at oil temp came on again with subsequent transmission failure. Come to find out, these bad transmissions are a known problem. The federal government needs to make subaru do a recall before someone gets killed because of their negligence.
Issue is ongoing for the last 6 months. Vehicle intermittently stalls when at idle and placed in gear. Hesitation when accelerating while driving (acts as if it not getting enough power.) I have taken the vehicle to 3 different dealerships and contacted subaru of america and I am not getting anywhere. Dealerships can't duplicate the problem, so therefore can't diagnose the problem. I have video records of this issue occurring.
My car has been consuming oil to the point where it has a d minus according to the dealership but has not fixed the problem and it keeps happening. The first time they said it was almost an f. I have about 3000 miles on it when it needs oil .
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 subaru outback. While driving 60 MPH, the brakes seized without warning. Last week, the transmission seized while in traffic on the golden gate bridge. On both occasions, the contact had to pull the vehicle over to prevent a crash. The transmission warning indicator was illuminated. The vehicle was towed three times to marin subaru (595 francisco blvd e, san rafael, ca 94901, (415) 454-9240) where it was diagnosed that a new transmission was needed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was repaired five additional times, but the failure continued. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures and did not assist. The failure mileage was 250,000.
Loud noise when making a sharp turn down hill to the right. Also traction control/CVT fails on wet surface or snow.
At 107k miles my transmission failed. Only certain VIN #'s are recalled. Mine not being one of them. Although there is a known transmission problem with 2013 subaru outbacks. I have to replace the transmission.
The transmission jerks and stutters and while in traffic the car lost power for approximately 5 seconds and I was almost hit. It happens at low and high speeds. It has happened on city streets and the latest was on the highway. I have also had it stall completely at low speeds. I've had it in the dealership 3 times and they say they can't replicate it. I have had the transmission flushed. It still continues. It feels unsafe to drive.
I was driving early in the morning when the car, a 2013 subaru outback, started to act unpredictably;revving and jumpy. I was scared to continue driving it in that state and pulled into a parking lot. It seemed clear it would not make it up the 8 % grade hill that was 1/4 mile or so further down the road. I had to be towed out of the lot to the local subaru dealer. I understand such total failure transmission events are a known subaru issue for my model and year. I am very upset that there was no recall and now subaru is saying their voluntary extension of the warranty expired and they won't pay for the new transmission. They have offered $2500 in a gesture of good will, but that will not come close to covering the cost of replacing this defective transmission. Subaru should issue a recall for these defective transmissions that were included in the "customer satisfaction" extended warranty before something disastrous occurs.
Grinding coming from transmission. The vehicle stalls or delays in the transmission when taking off from stops. In one particular instance, the car had such a delay in heavy traffic that we could have had an serious accident if husband had not pulled over to get out of the way. Another time it delayed for over 20 seconds at a stop light and someone nearly rear ended us. 2 separate technicians from two separate dealerships recommended replacement of transmission. During their test drive both felt a shudder around 25 MPH and reported a noisy transmission. Other diagnosis was performed finding no other issues. The issue started 120,000 miles but technician seen unit at 128,572 miles in which he stated repairs for the replacement of the transmission would be between 8,000 and 10,000. This is our main vehicle and is unsafe and unreliable to continue to use.
Noise coming from underneath vehicle when accelerating that I noticed in feb 2017. Took the car in to subaru dealer and all they did was replace the differential fluid and said "noise will go away with time." like any car issue, it did not go away on its own. Oct 2018 took the car in to local mechanic and they said it needed a new CVT transmission. Also said that my car could stall at any time so I did not drive it. Took it to subaru for a second opinion and they agreed, new CVT transmission. They also informed me that there was an extended warranty on the transmission that ended july 2018, but I was never informed of the extended warranty. Subaru offered to pay 50% of a $10,000 repair so we paid $5,000. Still a very unacceptable amount of money for a car only worth $10,000. This part should be recalled as it can cause stalling at any time. Very disappointed in subaru at this time.
For several months, subaru of america was made aware of our vehicle's dangerous performance. Stalling while coming to a stop, turning as well as a noticeable whining noise from the CVT. The vehicle was taken into gillman subaru sw due to these issues in july, 2018, before the end of the "extended warranty". The vehicle was misdiagnosed as having bad wheel bearings and possibly bad spark plugs. Both ended up turning out to be wrong. Wheel bearings were changed, spark plugs as well. In effect, the dealership stalled and soa effectively took advantage of this to deny the claim. Should the federal safety agency care to have audio recordings of various calls that demonstrate this, please feel free to contact us. We are now forced to seek legal recourse as soa has decided to act in bad faith with a very dangerous symptom. A recall, that forces the manufacturer to act in good faith is needed. We're fortunate to have recorded conversations, texts, e-mails that hopefully will serve us well. However, the idea that legal recourse is required in an effort to motivate or force a manufacturer to perform in good faith is unreasonable and entirely unsafe. How many others do not have the pertinent conversations on tape? A recall is warranted. An automatic transmission that dies while turning need not be the standard of what's appropriate on the road.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 subaru outback. While driving various speeds, the vehicle stalled and vibrated. Numerous unknown warning indicators illuminated on the instrument panel. Periodically, the vehicle would not start. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where the contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The dealer was not notified. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 120,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 subaru outback. While driving various speeds, the transmission failed. The contact stated that all four wheels seized intermittently and the vehicle made a loud grinding noise prior to the failure. Sendell subaru (5085 us-30, greensburg, pennsylvania 15601, (724) 837-1600) replaced the transmission. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and provided the contact with case number: sr#: 1-35673914925. The failure mileage was approximately 119,000.
I am the original owner of this vehicle. The transmission failed at around 71,000 miles with a 60,000 mile warranty. Subaru offered to assist with the cost of the repair in the amount of $3,600. Much later subaru reimbursed the full amount of the repair. I believe this action was to avoid a recall. The vehicle is now at around 131,000 miles and the transmission has failed again. Subaru has offered a $1,000 credit on a new subaru as compensation. I expected at least a 60,000 mile warranty on my 2nd transmission but subaru informed me that the warranty was only for 24 months or 24,000 miles. I believe that subaru knows that these transmissions are defective and should be recalled. In my opinion the original repair by subaru was nothing more than a temporary patch job and not an actual fix for the transmission. On both occasions the transmission became very loud while driving and appeared to be in imminent danger of complete failure.
While driving the transmission light starts flashing along with the brake lights many warning lights and I drove it right to the dealer just a couple miles away they tested it said the transmission is no longer functioning properly the car was making a low pitched rumbling sound for a few weeks before that and for a long time there was a delay while putting the shifter in to park before that for over year and a half while I was driving when I would slow down to a stop the engine would slow down where it seem like it was going to stall out dealer checked it and said the transmission was ok that was over a year ago now one month out of the extended warrantee it conks out completely and subaru does not want to do anything about it I wondered if you are still talking about doing a recall on the transmission because subaru got around it before by doing this extended warranty? There should be a recall on this faulty transmission that they used in this 2013 subaru vehicle thanks
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 subaru outback. While driving 50 MPH, the vehicle would downshift to a lower gear without warning. The failure intermittently recurred. The vehicle was taken to capitol subaru (located at 920 capitol expressway auto mall, san jose, ca 95136, (408) 763-4024) where diagnostic testing was completed; however, a failure code could not be found. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 17,000. *tt consumer stated loses power suddenly.
This 2013 subaru outback was purchased in dec. 2013. The original warranty was for 60,000 miles. At some point, due to issues with this make and models transmission, the warranty of these vehicles was extended to 10 years or 100,000 miles. This car now is 5 years old and has 130,000 miles and the subaru dealership is saying that the transmission needs to be replaced at a price tag of $10,000. Subaru USA is offering to apply $1500 towards the transmission replacement or apply towards a new subaru. Subaru USA knows that these transmissions were defective or they would not have extended the warranty. Extending the warranty does not absolve subaru USA from the responsibility of installing defective transmissions. This 5-year old automobile with 130,000 miles is now virtually worthless. Subaru USA installed defective transmissions and should be liable for replacement of the transmission. There was no accident involved with this complaint.
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