2013 Subaru Outback: complete transmission failure

Filed Feb 19, 2022 · Engine, Fuel system · IN

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.

Filed Jan 12, 2021 · Engine · 117,000 miles · CA

At 95,000 subaru replaced my transmission which was covered under an "extended warranty". It is now 1.5 years later, I have 117,000 miles and they say I need another new transmission but because it is over 100,000 miles they will not cover it. I have since found countless other people with the same problem

Filed Jun 10, 2020 · Transmission · 129,000 miles · NJ

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.

Filed Jun 10, 2019 · Transmission · 58,000 miles · FL

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.

Filed Mar 15, 2019 · Brakes, Transmission · 250,000 miles · CA

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.

Filed Mar 4, 2019 · Transmission · 107,000 miles · NY

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.

Filed Jan 17, 2019 · Transmission · 112,000 miles · NY

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.

Filed Oct 15, 2018 · Transmission · 119,000 miles · PA

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.

Filed Oct 10, 2018 · Transmission · 131,000 miles · NY

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.

Filed Sep 10, 2018 · Transmission · 130,000 miles · CA

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.

Filed Sep 28, 2017 · Transmission · 88,000 miles · MI

Sabaru has a problem with their automatic transmissions in 2010 tho 2015 vehicles. I have 2013. It has been determined that my transmission needs to be replace. I've been waiting for over a month now and parts ( a new transmission} are still not available. I'm complaining so it is noted that sabaru is dragging their feet on getting this problem resolved. The least sabaru could do is inform the customer as to a date when the parts will available. I need to use the car.

Filed Jan 25, 2017 · Transmission · 94,000 miles · NY

On 11/24/16 while traveling at highway speeds, (60- 65 MPH), on the pa.turnpike my 2013 subaru outback 2.5i, with the CVT transmission and 94,000 miles on the car, suffered a catastrophic transmission failure. With no warning, other than somewhat higher than normal engine rpms, the transmission, with very loud noises and shaking the car, all 4 wheels locked up. This resulted in the car skidding somewhere between 200 and 300 feet. Just before the car stopped skidding, there was one last loud bang/clanging/ shaking of the car. We were extremely fortunate in that there was little traffic at the time, and we avoided any collision damage or personal injuries. The car had to be towed off the highway. While being loaded onto the flatbed truck, the front wheels were locked up, while the rear wheels were turning. This was with the engine running, and the transmission in neutral. I had to have my car towed 300 miles back home to a local subaru dealership. ( not where I had purchased the car new) the initial diagnosis from the dealer was that the transmission fluid had been contaminated by gear lube. They based this on a visual examination of the CVT fluid from my car. This was disproved by my having the CVT fluid analyzed by an independent lab. Their conclusions were that the fluid had been severely overheated, and the viscosity changed to where it no longer provided proper lubrication as of 1/24/17, subaru of america,(corporate offices) has denied my claim of a defective transmission, and will not assist me with any repair costs, or replacement. The local dealer and service department are still amazed with what happened, and the results of the CVT fluid report. They have not heard of this type of failure very often.