Intermittant engine acceleration or engine surge while braking at very low speeds.
2015 Subaru Outback engine complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 50, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Entering a residential garage to park; experienced sudden acceleration while braking. Vehicle went through drywall/wall about 2 feet. Placed vehicle in park to stop vehicle. No airbags went off. Driving vehicle to repair shop later; experienced same rapid unexpected acceleration with different driver. No issue with floor mats. OEM mats. Service center cannot provide any insight or reproduction of event.
The contact owned a 2015 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, he was alerted by another driver that the vehicle was smoking and flames were coming from under the vehicle. The contact stated that warning lights flashed off and on. The contact stated that he pulled over, exited the vehicle, and saw flames coming from underneath the vehicle before it was engulfed in flames and exploded. The contact stated that he sustained minor burns on his hands from the steering wheel however, medical attention was not required. The fire was extinguished by the fire department. A fire department report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a junkyard as it was deemed a total loss. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a field technician was sent to retrieve information from the EDR. The contact was not aware of the diagnosis. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.
On three separate occasions, most recently on 01/06/22 , my Subaru Outback began to accelerate without touching the gas pedal. My wife and myself were both fortunate to have a foot covering the brake pedal when this occurred . We fortunately avoided the potential collision hazard. The UNEXPECTED ACCELERATION is alarming and continues to occur !
Engine consistently burns oil. Adding pints between factory recommended oil change interval when low oil light comes on. On average, one pint is burned every 1500 miles.
Repeated dead batteries. Replaced OEM battery in year 2, new battery also comes up dead regularly. There is clearly a parasitic battery drain happening. Burning oil, this car burns more oil than any car I have ever owned. Subaru claims it is within specification, but their specification is 1 quart between changes, this is a ridiculous claim in 2021. Heat shield and exhaust noise. Always a new noise or exhaust leak. Lights are not adequate for country driving, it is dangerous.
While driving at highway speed and traveling over about 6 hours, the car simply shut off. We were traveling on the highway in the passing lane. Without warning the car began to slow down rapidly, no dash lights on, but the engine was off. We managed to cross two lanes of traffic without power assist and once on the shoulder and slowing down, the engine lights all came on. Once fully stopped, we turned the car off, waited a few seconds and restarted. We were then able to complete our trip without difficulty. This has happened twice. The dealer has done full diagnostics twice but has been unable to find the problem. We have heard that other year Subaru outbacks have been recalled for this problem but our year isn't included.
On 8/25/21, during servicing, I was informed by the Subaru dealer who has always serviced my car that the driver's side head gasket was starting to go bad. The car had 54,108 miles on it and was 6 years and 5 months old. It had always been driven under normal conditions, on public roads, and 100% of the servicing had been performed by the Subaru dealer who sold me the car, which I bought new. In addition, I had never used the car for towing. Under the circumstances, it seemed indefensible that the head gasket should be going bad. It's a very expensive repair. The engine in question is the 3.6-liter 6-cylinder.
Car stalled, could not take out of gear; could not restart, could not set emergency brake, couldn’t turn key to restart. Finally a light came on that said hatch was open. Could not operate hatch from inside car. Jumped out hatch was closed. Opened and reclosed. Car started rolling. Ran to jump in and apply manual brake. I’m 85 years old. Very dangerous situation. Consumer stated AAA batteries failed several times. Vehicle was taken to a dealer for electrical failure.
My battery has had to be replaced twice because it drains even though the car is used regularly and nothing is left on. I have had to be jumped six or seven times since I purchased the car and towed once to the dealership.
Within 80k miles the car has started showing high engine oil consumption. Engine oil is to be changed every 6000 miles but at 4000 miles low engine oil light will show up and checking on oil level, it shows at the low level of dipdtick.upon diagnosis, it was figured that it has stage 2 head gasket replacement by subaru dealership
The muffler makes a rattling or growling noise when idling or coasting. The noise disappears when accelerating.
I have this issue with my muffler. Tsb 09-66-16 rear muffler shell rigidity enhancement this bulletin announces a change in the production procedure for the rear muffler assembly. Spot-weld locations securing the outer shell portion have been changed to improve overall rigidity. A gap may develop at the spot welded seam as a result of repeated thermal shock (heating / cooling) which occurs during normal use. The gap does not create an exhaust leak. In some cases, a rattling sound from the muffler may develop.
Vehicle will not start/crank. Battery is brand new, all electronics function and light up, yet when ignition is turned the engine doesn't turn over. Vehicle is in the shop for the third time in 3 weeks. A new wiring harness was installed but failed to resolve the issue. Vehicle has been showing codes for the cam & crank sensors, including code p0340, yet all sensors have tested as operational. I'll post an update as soon as I hear from dealer.
Service technician reported a noise and leak from catalytic system. Hint of exhaust present in driver compartment at low speed and stops.
I was going 55 MPH on a straight flat surface when all of a sudden the RPM's shot up to around 4000 but the car was not accelerating. It was like it went into neutral. I pulled over to the side of the road and the car proceeded to die. Fortunately, it started right up and I drove home. I had a almost a full tank of gas. I had only driven it for 5 minutes as I was on my way home from work. I just had the oil/filter changed not even 2 months ago. I have 54,000 dealer serviced miles on the car. It was 86 degrees out. 2015 subaru outback premium 2.5
Noted over a period of several weeks, an increase in exhaust noise from the front of the car. The cabin would fill with exhaust fumes when stopped with the engine running. I took the car to the dealer twice to have the issue diagnosed and both times they indicated that no issue was found. On the third trip, they confirmed a hole in the exhaust manifold and initially refused to replace it under warranty, even though the vehicle was covered under the pzev emissions warranty and extended vehicle coverage. After pointing out the pzev coverage, the dealer replaced the manifold.
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 subaru outback. The contact stated that when the vehicle was taken to austin subaru (8100 burnet road, austin, tx 78757 phone (512)220-0930) to be repaired under the federal safety agency campaign number: 15v502000 (power train), the mechanic found an internal oil leak and needed to remove the engine to be able to correct the engine oil leak. The contact stated that the dealer replaced engine rings, cylinder heads, and installed a longer lasting silicone sealer. The vehicle was repaired. The vehicle was out of warranty however, the manufacturer repaired the engine oil leak failure as a good will offer. The failure mileage was 25,600.
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 subaru outback . The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was contacted but no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 69,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 subaru outback. While driving 60 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate, lost power, and the check automotive transmission and check engine warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated that the continuously variable transmission failed. The vehicle was towed to subaru of puyallup (720 river rd, puyallup, wa 98371, (253) 286-5900) where it was diagnosed that the incorrect transmission fluid was placed in the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and provided case number: 150070620183. The failure mileage was 74,000.
Vehicle would not start. After jumping the battery vehicle started, aaa performed roadside testing and determined the battery and alternator are working properly and are sufficiently charged. Car would not start for unexplained reasons. Previous service history leads me to believe there is an ongoing electrical issue with this vehicle. Previously the airbag light would frequently illuminate. Dealership stated it was due to electrical interference and that nothing was wrong.
Excessive exhaust entering passenger cabin anytime the engine is running because of crack in flex pipe on the exhaust manifold that occurred with less than 60k miles.
The car would stall when coasting to a stop light or stop sign a few times and have been back to the dealer and can't replicated the problem. This is a dangerous situation and can cause an unsafe and huge accident with my family. The car would die while in drive and sometimes can't be restarted. It's happening again and afraid to drive the car since the dealer will say nothing is wrong with the car. It looks like it's related to idle being low or the CVT acting up when taking the foot off the gas pedal and try to accelerate from a dead stop or coasting to a stop. This happened a few times during factory warranty window.
Please read upload documents. My 2015 subaru outback began showing signs of excessive oil consumption in the summer 2018. Apparently this was a known problem with subaru and class action lawsuit was filed against subaru for models made prior to 2015. My vehicle failed a oil consumption test in the fall of 2018. I was told by white bear subaru if the vehicle failed an oil consumption test subaru of america would pay to have a new short block installed due to this ongoing engine defect. However, subaru of america refused to pay the full amount to have a new short block installed as even though my car was make in 2014 it is technically a 2015 that the class action lawsuit only protected consumers of models prior to 2015. Also, in the fall of 2018 the interior of this vehicle began to have a exhaust smell and was making me feel sick. They determined that part of the exhaust system was broken but told me not to have it fixed before the new short block was installed and the exhaust system would just become clogged with the oil the car was burning. I went ahead had had the repair done anyway as the exhaust air was terrible.
Exhaust system issue. Exhaust mainfold leak at catalyst converter. For our outback we noticed a significant levels of exhaust fumes in passenger cabin. They were no indication of failure of exhaust system or catalyst converter on the car. But we are getting some much fumes smell when we stopped at the traffic signal or parking lot. It all most made us sick. Luckily I got it checked at the service center and they find the leak. This is potentially a very risky thing for people who don't notice the smell might get slow poisoned with carbon monoxide or other elements in exhaust fumes. There may be direct injury from this issue but as I said I was almost got sick because of fumes. For people with pzev vehicle, the exhaust system is covered under warranty. Please bring this issue with manufacturing. For people out there if you notice a loud exhaust note at start of your vehicle or small rattling noise when we you accelerate after a complete stop, it might be your exhaust system, please get it checked as soon as possible. Ps attached is the diagnosis report from dealer service center be safe out there !! Thank you.
Excessive oil consumption between oil change. When the vehicle reached to 45,000 miles, the low oil light is on less than 5,000 miles between oil change. If the driver ignore the warning and not add oil to the vehicle, the engine can be damages. A three years old vehicle with 45,000 miles should not have to change oil freqently. I spoke to the dealer, they said the oil level is normal, and oil consumption test is not needed. When I took the car to a car repair shop, they told me the oil level is lower than standard between oil change. I also contacted subaru north america, was told that my vehicle is not covered by the class action settlement, and only a very small number of customers have identified a concern on this issue.
We noticed an exhaust leak (noisy) on our 2015 outback, upon inspection by the dealer they determined the catalytic converter needed to be replaced, they initially rejected our warantee claim because subaru authorizes replacement only if a mil is present. After some discussion the dealer (subaru) agreed to replace as "good will". We live in the northeast and it seems road salt and sand cause the converter to rust prematurely, the location of the converted is aft of the exhaust manifold and at the base of the passenger compartment, there is a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning with these types of leaks, and it is unheard of that these parts fail after three years.
While parking the car at an open parking lot in shopping center at low speed (<5mph) the engine surged suddenly and the vehicle accelerated uncontrollably. It required tremendous pressure on brake to eventually override the engine.
After 2 years of ownership on my brand new subaru outback 2015, I have noticed a loud squeaky sound coming from the engine when I start my car after it rained/snowed. The sound would go away after a few minutes, however, it didn't seem normal. I took the car to the dealership to have it checked out. The dealership told me that nothing is wrong and it is perfectly fine. However, the squeaky noise still occurs after rain/snow. It seems to me that water is leaking into a belt when it's not suppose to and it is causing the noise when the engine is started. Subaru needs to look into this issue because this problem only happens after it rains/snows and cannot be replicated when the car is brought to the dealership. Therefore, it is hard to have this issue fixed.
2015 subaru outback. Consumer writes in regards to rough idling in vehicle. *ld the consumer stated the vehicle annoyingly vibrated when the air conditioner was on.
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