My Subaru Outback developed a strong smell of exhaust in the cabin last year. We finally had a chance to get it fixed in January, and it turned out the catalytic converter manifold had rusted through. The car is not that old, and is driven primarily in central North Carolina where road salt is not a major concern. An internet search reveals many other drivers with the same issue - metal corrosion at the "accordion" part of the exhaust pipe. I have no idea how much engine exhaust my family and I were exposed to, but it was significant enough to cause headaches and exhaustion.
2017 Subaru Outback engine complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 44, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Vehicle lost engine power twice while on the road between 8/12/23 and ~9/25/23. Took to Subaru Santa Monica service on 9/26, left it overnight, and was unable to replicate the problem. I cleaned the K&N drop in filter after 8/12 incident since I haven't cleaned it in a while. Subaru Santa Monica service said that there's oil contamination from the filter into throttle body and I need cleaning and new air box. I don't think that's the problem and this is a major safety issue. Although I have a 7 year warranty that's still active, I paid $219 for diagnostic. Not covered under warranty because can't replicate issue. My plan is to sell this car as it's a personal and public safety danger. Don't have time to keep going to the dealer and paying out of pocket.
There is a known cam carrier leak issue for this engine, and no safety recall has been issued. The motor oil leaks down to the hot exhaust creating smokes and may cause a fire.
Bought this car after having oil consumption issues with another outback Bought from another dealer that wasn't care for properly. Within 6 months of have this new one from an actual subaru dealership started to have oil consumption issues as well. Have gone through many of their "test" and pass. But within 2200 miles of 5k on an oil change I'm down over a qt. My mechanic has gone over the car and no leaks and states it is burning oil at a high rate. Paperwork from subarus test states as have their techs stated they put 6.1 qts in. The manual and my mechanic both state and put in 5.1qts. I have to put at least 1 qt in between oil changes and have to always have oil in the car so I don't get caught without oil to put in. I do know there is a lawsuit for this issue on 2016 models. My car was also placed on the road 12/2016. I've tried to have the owner of the dealership to deal with the issue of either fix it or buy back and haven't heard anything and can't get a response to text, call, or emails.
2017 subaru outback. Consumer writes in regard to engine stalling while driving.
The 2017 Subaru Outback has been slowly leaking oil and it has been determined that the cam carrier seal is defective and needs to be replaced. The vehicle has 70k miles on it and it has been brought to my attention that this a common problem among this vehicle. The service costs and replacement are very high and the car isn’t that old to be experiencing this problem yet. If it’s a common problem with Subaru then the part should be recalled and replaced at the companies expense. The vehicles warranty has expired at 60k miles and i never got an extended. Please advise.
The contact owns a 2017 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled without warning. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated as designed. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer would was unable to retrieve a diagnostic code. No failure was found. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised that the vehicle be taken to a different dealer. The failure mileage was 25,000.
Despite a replacement and multiple visits from AAA, the battery in our 2017 Subaru Outback dies constantly and leaves us stranded. Mechanics insist the batteries (both the original and the replacement) are fine and there must be a greater issue with the car itself. We drive regularly, run the engine in the driveway otherwise, and still continue to wake up and find the car dead.
I purchased a used 2017 Subaru Outback in December 2020 from a friend whose mother had owned the car before her death in Nov. 2019. That owner purchased it used from dealer in Sevierville TN in 2019 and had to replace a battery at least once according to records. The battery has failed three times since Dec. 2020, totally drained and would not recharge so a replacement was needed. I replaced the first battery then took it to dealer for other two replacements. The previous owner had a garage under her mountain house. She was found dead in her den chair. After her burial the family later found the 2017 Subaru Outback parked in her garage underneath the house was totally empty of gas. I believe from reading issues other Subaru owners have had that this car did not turn off and this lady died from carbon monoxcide poisoning. This is an issue well documented over many years and it is way past due for a recall by the manufacturer. Since it continues even to 2020 models there should at least be a stop production order until this issue is corrected. It is not just an inconvenience but a very real danger for owners who park in a home garage. As the government agency trusted to oversight of manufacturing defects presenting a danger to the safety of the public it is way past time for you to act.
I have been stranded repeatedly by my subaru since it was purchased with drained batteries, no explanation from subaru. Safety issues arise from the stranding. There is a lawsuit now with subaru but they are not acutally fixing the cars? No warnings were given and I now have a unreliable vehicle with no proposed fix from the manufacturer.
I arrived at my destination. I turned the ignition OFF. The engine turned OFF. I opened the driver's door and the engine turned ON. I did not turn the ignition ON. I again turned the ignition OFF. This time the engine remained OFF.
The contact owns a 2017 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the windshield cracked on the upper driver’s side windshield and extended to the center of the windshield. There was no impact to the windshield to cause the crack. The contact had not informed a dealer of the failure. The windshield had not been replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 76,062.
I drove my Outback for 10 minutes. I stopped to run an errand that took 30 minutes. I then tried to start the car and it wouldn't start. All the lights on the dash turned on. I then tried several more times. It still would not start. Then I waited several minutes and it started. I drove it home. I have since tried to start it several times and it has started. The car has slightly less than 20K miles on it. This has never happened before. It was a very hot day - nearly 100 degrees and I was quite panicky that it would not start. I was worried I would be stranded. There was never any indication before that something like this might happen. I am going to call the dealership tomorrow.
I believe all of the following circumstances to be caused by an electrical problem: dec.31, 2020: car hesitates to start. It never turns over so it does not ever start. We install new battery & car starts. Mid-jan.2021: car won't start from push start, but does start when I use my remote start key fob. After that, car starts with push start. Feb.-april 2021: car has a several times when it hestitates to start, but ultimately it does start. May 1-3 2021: car hesitates to start, but ultimately starts. May 4-5 2021: car not only hesitates to start, but now I have all kinds of lights lit up on my dash, including check engine, eyesight, x-mode light is flashing, and several others that I cannot get to turn off. In all instances, vehicle was stationary and turned off. I have photos & video but can't seem to reduce file size to required 5mb. Side note: unless I am at work or running errands, my car is always in the garage.
In 2018 the battery kept dying and had go be replaced. Now, in 2012, the same thing is happening again. It had to be jumped off yesterday morning, again this morning and now this evening is dead again. The car only has a very little over 32,000 actual miles on it. The vehicle is keopt in the garage all the time and this is where it is as it is dying.
Tl* the contact owns a 2017 subaru outback. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start multiple times without warning. The contact purchased a battery charger to charge the battery. The contact mentioned that while the vehicle was turned off, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure recurred 3 additional times. Neil huffman automotive group (1220 versailles rd, frankfort, ky 40601, (502) 695-7500) was contacted and informed of the failure. The dealer recommended that the vehicle be taken in to be diagnosed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 24,000.
Battery drains for no apparent reason. Leaves people stranded.
Repeated problem of battery draining, usually when hatchback is opened for approx. 20 minutes, loading or unloading camping gear. This has happened almost half dozen times, and it is both frustrating and potentially dangerous, as I generally camp by myself. Now I have to leave the engine running when I put in or take anything out of the hatchback more than groceries.
Tl* the contract called on behalf of his father who owns a 2017 subaru outback. The contact stated that the battery was replaced on several occasions. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to miller hill subaru (4710 miller trunk hwy, duluth, mn 55811) where the failure was diagnosed as a faulty battery, remote starter, sensor and rear liftgate. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was unknown.
Pulling into our garage (as we have done probably thousands of times since owning the car), our 2017 outback accelerated out of control into the back wall of our garage. Car had been stopped at the parking position in the garage and was being shifted into park when the acceleration occurred. Gas pedal was not touched (car always coasts into garage under it's own power, and foot is only on the brake always). Extensive damage to car and garage. Both subaru and our insurance company have been alerted.
Battery drained
Outback accelerates by itself randomly. I notice most when approaching stop sign and switch foot from gas pedal to brake.
Tl* the contact owns a 2017 subaru outback. During cold weather, the vehicle failed to start. The failure occurred ever since the vehicle was purchased on april 15, 2017. The vehicle was taken to capital subaru (920 capital expressway auto mall, san jose, ca 95136) on three different occasions, but they were not able to replicate the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 38,718.
The coolant loose and has coolant smell after drive a car. I had several same reason service. They nothing wrong they fill up coolant that's it. Now almost empty reservoir. And it's over limited warranty. It's 36059 miles.
Yesterday morning, I stopped my subaru in order to back into a parking space. The car was in drive and my foot was on the brake. While my foot was still on the brake and I was changing gears from drive to reverse, the engine started accelerating full-throttle. I had to press the brake pedal very hard to prevent the car from going down the hillside behind the parking lot. I put the car back in park with the engine revving full-throttle and turned the ignition off. After this incident the car operated normally ' until today. Today, my car was parked in my driveway in front of my garage. When I started the car everything seemed fine ' until, with my foot on the brake, I attempted to change gears from park to drive. Again the engine immediately and unexpectedly accelerated full-throttle. As I was moving the gear shifter from park to reverse to neutral to drive, I again had to press the brake pedal very hard to prevent the car from backing into my garage door. I immediately called my subaru dealer but could not reach the service department. After 10-12 rings I got a message instructing me to leave a message for them to call me back since they were currently experiencing heavy call volume due to an increase in recall issues. I called back and got through to someone in the service department and explained the problem to them. They said they were unfamiliar with this problem on subaru outbacks.
Cannot remove key from ignition when in park. Many others have reported this online, and the dealership is charging me to check what the issue is. When in park, steering wheel is straight, not on a slope, the key is stuck in the ignition. Can turn it off, but can't remove the key. Sometimes jiggling, sometimes starting and turning back off, and sometimes starting, putting in drive, and slamming the shifter into park again solves the issue, but sometimes not. Spent over 20 minutes today trying to get it out, drove to the dealer, and it came out without an issue. No consistency to the issue.
In two separate events the car lost power while accellorating at highway speeds to merge into traffic from a stand still. The gas pedal became unresponsive and the tranmission stopped shifting. In the first incident the engine stalled, and in the second it sputtered and almost died during a heavy merge on an on ramp. No diagnostic codes were thrown, so the manufacturer claims there is nothing wrong with the car. In the first incident the car was leaving the toll plaze on the dulles greenway head toward leesburg, va. Under full acelleration leaving the toll plaza and effectively driving straight, the car started shufting erratically, and eventually lost power and stalled. In the second incident, about two months later, the car was on a decline on-ramp merging into heavy traffic on rt-270n heading toward frederick, md. The car again started to shift erratically, then began to stall, but I was abke to use the paddle shifters to shift the 'gear' of the CVT and prevent stalling. Afger about 30 seconds the car was operating as normal. Again, the dealer has not found any diagnostic codes, and indicates there is nithing wrong with the vehicle.
Not able to take key out of the ignition, key is being stuck 50% of the time. Second issue is the engine is making bird chirping noise, it comes and goes but it gets loude!! Took it to dealer a year ago by the time I got there the noise stopped so they could not figure out the issue, took in the second time about 8 months ago the service tech heard it and booked me for an appointment. By the time mechanic got to it next day it stopped. This was all under warranty and now I am out of warranty and have no support from a local dealer from where I bought the car. I did some research on this issues and there is a huge problem with this and subaru is not doing anything about it.
Similar to complain dated 12/09/2016 by someone else. About a year ago I was at a light waiting to turn left, my foot was on the brake when suddenly the engine revved up and I had to switch to neutral to return to idle speed. I notified a subaru representative on the internet. This month I had 4 occasions that I had similar experience in a shopping mall trying to turn right into a parking space. This friday I tried to park in my garage after 5 miles drive, and my wife was a passenger, I turned the wheel slightly to the left when the engine revved up from idle of 600 to 2000 RPM and then went to 4000 RPM. I was using the brake and I felt a skid of a tire. Switched to neutral and park and turned off the engine. My wife was scared and would not ride in my car. I have an appointment with my wakefield subaru dealer on 09/25/18, I did not drive my car since the last episode. My odometer is 14241 miles. I am positive I did not step on the gas, only the brake.
Open letter to subaru and subaru owners. I have a 2017 subaru outback. The reason I purchased the car was the high safety ratings. I came home yesterday, drove into the garage and shut the car off I thought. I apparently did not push the start and kill button hard enough. I am hard of hearing so did not notice the engine still running. This car does not have a remote start. My garage door automatically closes after a preset time. I happened out to the garage 3 hours latter to find the car engine still running. I can not the imagine the cars computer allowing the engine to continue to run for three hours without the key being in close proximity of the vehicle. This is a very dangerous situation. It was well over 100 degrees in the garage plus the carbon monoxide level was outrageous. If there is computer setting to stop this please let me know. Richard
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