2017 Subaru Outback brakes problems

Filed Jun 22, 2026 · Brakes, Engine · CO

On Monday [XXX] were driving on [XXX] going north up [XXX]. I was doing about 60-65 mph in traffic which was flowing in both directions. While ascending the pass, the car suddenly started to misfire, rapidly lost power, power steering failed and all dash lights lit up. With no shoulder to pull out this was a very scary experience. Eventually managed to limp to a spot where I could pull out off the pavement. Car was dead. Popping the hood showed significant battery corrosion. I had a toolkit with me. The voltmeter measured the battery voltage at 9.3V. Thinking maybe cleaning the battery terminals would allow the car to be restarted, I managed to get the cables off and cleaned everything with a wire brush. But still no power. After a while a state trooper passed by and hung on while I contacted a towing service. After another 1.5 hours, the tow truck arrived and towed the car the 60 miles or so to the dealership in Denver with my wife and I in the cab of the tow truck. Dealer repair invoice indicated Data Control Module (DCM) "causing excessive draw on electrical system." More significantly, the battery had drained below the the operating threshold voltage required for vehicle drivability (understood to be 10-10.5V). There was no mention of this by the dealer service adviser. Although dealer diagnostic was carried out, no computer codes were provided. Vehicle mileage at time of incident 73,456. I have owned the car since new and have all service records. Car was repaired and picked up from dealership on 06/10/26 with a replacement DCM. Battery was charged up but not replaced and left in corroded state. Battery will probably have been weakened by such a total discharge with reduced life expectancy. I have uploaded the dealer repair invoice. I have reported this incident to Subaru of America. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Jul 2, 2024 · Brakes, Transmission · 24,000 miles · CO

The contact owns a 2017 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the electric parking brake was stuck intermittently. The contact stated while shifting to drive(D) or reverse(R), the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that failure occurred after reversing several times. The message "Park" was displayed. The contact stated that upon jiggling the electric parking brake knob several times, the vehicle responded as needed. The vehicle was taken the dealer, where the failure could not be duplicated. The Subaru dealer was contacted and advised the contact to tow the vehicle to their location for a diagnostic test. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 24,000.

Filed Apr 29, 2024 · Brakes, Driver assistance · FL

On [XXX], around noon, my wife and I were driving south on [XXX] in our 2017 Subaru Outback, at approximately 70 mph. It was a clear and sunny day. We were just north of the [XXX] exit (in Port St. Lucie, Florida) in the far right-hand lane when our vehicle violently jolted. It felt like we were being dragged from behind, although we were still moving forward at a reduced speed. It was making a terrible sound (tires screeching), and you could smell rubber burning. This sensation felt similar to an airplane’s hard landing on the tarmac. My initial thought was that someone hit us from behind, while my wife thought we may have blown a tire. I glanced at the instrument panel and noticed that the word “Eye Sight” was displayed. As we were coming to complete stop, we realized cars were speeding to the left and right of our car to avoid hitting us. We both immediately realized that we were in a very dangerous situation and at risk of being hit from oncoming traffic. My wife put the hazard lights on while I was attempting to drive the car off the road. However, the car would not move forward even though the engine was running, and it was in gear (drive). Several good Samaritans stopped to assist us in trying to move the car off [XXX]. However, the car would not move because all four wheels were locked. My wife called 911 and Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) and Road Ranger arrived approximately twenty minutes later. They were unable to assist us with moving the car off the road. We called a tow truck company (Apex Towing) to move the car because all four tires were locked and had to be lifted off the road. Our car was towed to a safe location and we able to call AAA to have the car towed to Dyer Subaru in Vero Beach, Florida. As time has passed, we realize that our car was a stationary object on a heavily traveled interstate. If a car had hit us, the outcome could and most probable would have been catastrophic to everyone involved. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Jul 25, 2023 · Acceleration, Brakes · IA · crash · 1 injury

accelerator dangerously increased and could not slow down. i pressed the ignition button(to kill the engine and was "jamming on the brakes to no avail. to my knowledge subaru has not recalled vehicles for these reasons. no warning lamps or other symptoms. my car traveled approximately 1/4 before it stopped. i took out a tree or trees knocked down a light pole which slowed me down, hit a utility trailer. owner of trailer estimated my speed at 40mph. i was driving approximately 20mph when it violently accelerated. she witnessed my ride.

Filed May 21, 2023 · Brakes, Steering · TX · crash

In the morning of Jan 28th, I drove this car off highway(North bound MoPac) to the ramp to frontage road to 360 in Austin TX. the vehicle lost control out of sudden and crashed to the left side of the road. the accident caused total loss of the vehicle but luckily a>the passages and the the driver on the car are OK. b>no other vehicle was involved . As the drive of this vehicle , I feel the crash was so strange so later on I requested both insurance company (AAA) and Subaru to investigate the possibility of malfunctions of the car. AAA -- claim number 015641968 Subaru --case 230128-1800367 AAA claimed the total lost but refused to do further investigation. Subaru took my request in March. Early this month, Subaru said their finished the comprehensive inspection and simply claimed the car was running normal when the accident happened. They don't want to share any further information about what they've found and they also don't want the inspect technician to talk to me about the results. I would like ask the federal safety agency, as the regulatory authority, to look into the their inspection report to make sure this vehicle does not have any abnormalities as their claimed. Thanks!

Filed Mar 9, 2023 · Brakes, Transmission · 32,000 miles · VA

The contact owns a 2017 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated towards a truck in front. The contact used excessive force to depress the brake pedal to stop the vehicle. The contact stated that the braking distance was extended due to the failure. Additionally, there was an abnormal thumping sound heard while the vehicle was coming to an abrupt stop. The contact pulled to the side of the road and inspected the vehicle but found no cause for the failure. After waiting momentarily, the contact proceeded to drive, and the vehicle operated as needed. The vehicle had been taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 32,000.

Filed Nov 22, 2022 · Acceleration, Brakes · NY

I was driving my 2017 Subaru Outback on a trip from New York to Florida. On I-95 in heavy traffic I hit a bump in the road, and at that instant, nearly every warning light on my dash came on, including EyeSight, lane departure, and emergency braking. My adaptive cruise immediately disengaged causing the vehicle to suddenly slow (this incident was at highway speed). The "brake" light was also illuminated. Not knowing what happened, I pulled over on the side of the highway and found that the wire to the electric parking brake on the passenger side had disconnected from the brake module. I tried to plug it back in, but it would not stay. I secured the cable with a hair tie and continued on the trip. Approximately 500 miles later, I hit another bump or pothole, and the same thing happened. I checked under the car again, and discovered that the driver side had failed in the same manner. I secured the cable with another hair tie and was able to complete my trip. When I returned home, I discovered that this is a known issue and there is a Subaru TSB published, 06-63-18R. There is no warranty on this issue, and I was charged nearly $750 to fix a KNOWN PROBLEM caused by a plastic retainer. In my opinion, this issue should be treated as a safety defect and subject to a recall to replace with the newer part. Having all of your vehicle assists suddenly fail at highway speed in heavy traffic is a disconcerting and dangerous event.

Filed Jun 13, 2022 · Brakes, Transmission · 41,806 miles · TN · crash

The contact owned a 2017 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while reversing, the vehicle accelerated backward. The contact pumped the brake pedal and was depressed aggressively several times however the brakes failed to respond. The vehicle collided with a pillar of bricks causing the vehicle to stop. No airbag deployed and no one was injured. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a collision center where the insurance deemed the vehicle a total loss. The manufacturer was contacted and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was 41,806.

Filed May 10, 2021 · Brakes, Transmission · 50,000 miles · NE

My new battery was drained to a point the vehicle would not start. I messaged some bible study friends and one was going to come over and jump my vehicle. While waiting I put the car in neutral and pushed it out of my garage into the driveway. The driveway is on a steep slope. Once in the driveway I tried putting the car into park, it would not go into park. In fact it would only go into drive which did not stop the vehicle from rolling backwards. I tried the emergency brake but it is electrically operated and did not work. The brakes were very hard to hold since the hydraulics were not kicking in, same with the power steering. I am a big strong guy so I wrestled the car to turn it diagonally in the driveway as it rolled backwards, trying to prevent it from going into the street and flying into someone's house or vehicle. Once diagonal in the driveway I threw a padlock under the front tire from the drivers seat with my foot on the brake to prevent it from rolling back. At this point it was barely held but stationary so I got out, chalked the wheels with 2x4's until by bible study friends came over and jumped my car. I did not have my cell phone and no one else was around to help me. I litterally thought I was going to have to just let my car roll down into the street and let it go because I had no other options. I called subaru of america and they directed me to a youtube video that shows once the battery completely dies, there is a special tool you need in order to get the car in and out of park. But it doesn't tell you that if the car won't start and there is enough power to get it into reverse, don't do it without the tool. What if this happened in the mountains or san francisco or any hilly or mountainous location? I believe this is a high potential for life threating injury or loss of property. E-brakes should not be electric in my opinion.

Filed Apr 9, 2021 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 30,929 miles · CA · crash

This is a re-submission of complaint no 11398779. Photo files failed to upload. I had just entered the golf course parking lot and had turned right to enter a perpendicular parking slot. My speed was less than 5 MPH. My car suddenly accelerated out of control, hit a concrete parking block (6 in high) and then over a 1 foot high wall which was 3 feet from the block. The car ended up on a down slope and the rear wheel fortunately caught on a retaining wall. I was not injured and the airbags did not deploy. There was one witness to this terrifying event which occurred on february 4, 2010 at about 8:10 am. It occurred in a part of the parking lot I have used at least 50 times in the past year. Several members have said they are afraid of parking in these spots and will never use them again. The component that failed is unknown to me, but I feel it is a definite safety risk. I was fully insured and the minor damage to the car was covered by my insurance.