Gas gauge appears to be out of calibration. Not giving good / accurate readings. It's "50-50".
2018 Subaru Outback fuel system complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 46, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle stalled intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer as well as Hudiburg Subaru (210 E Interstate 240 Service Rd, Oklahoma City, OK 73149) on several occasions. However, both dealers could not duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V587000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.
The fuel tank evap system has stopped working and is not venting the fuel tank properly. When I take the gas cap off there is a lot of pressure released. Filling the tank is slow (0.5 gallon per pump click) and leads to some (very small amounts) fuel spilling from the fill hole. Also, the check engine light/code for this disables the cruise control (traction control I assume) and possibly the ABS. (The first time the check engine light came on, the ABS and Brake light also came on.)
Fuel injector fuel delivery line rupture and leaking. Left on vacation in this 2018 Subaru Outback 3.6R Touring on 07/23/2021, noticed the strong smell of gasoline when stopped, less so when interstate driving, with the fuel gauge declining more rapidly than it should. Stopped by Wheeling Volkswagen/Subaru Dealership just before their daily closing. They inspected and found the above ruptured fuel line, leaking onto the pavement under the engine compartment. They determined it was unsafe to drive, but did not have a replacement part. They found there were less than 10 of these fuel injector fuel delivery lines available in the whole U.S. Had to leave the vehicle with them, and the repair was completed 4 day later. The faulty component was observed by the service department personel, and by myself. I have no photos to submit, but have the repair invoice covered under Subaru's drive train warranty. This component failure could have easily resulted in a vehicle fire or explosion, and I feel very fortunate that did not happen! This fuel line is flexible rubber, not metal, and I think is made of faulty materials. I have never heard of such a failure personally. There were no warning lamps, messages or symptoms, other than the strong smell of gasoline.
To: Subaru Motors Consumer Reports the federal safety agency I, Richard McNitt, am the very unhappy owner of a 2018 Subaru Outback (4 cylinder “Touring” model with 33,900 miles), VIN 4S4 BSATCT J3362742. Primarily on the basis of “glowing” Consumer Reports Reviews I chose this model….sad to say this was an unfortunate choice. I list some of the troubles endured: • Shortly after delivery the “radio-GPS” failed, replacement was in short supply(!), Did without several weeks and the re-installation had a glitch. •We were informed that the radio would always “come on” when the car was started, My wife finds this very annoying, •We find the road noise to be excessive, especially at around 25 mph, •We were left sitting twice with a “dead” battery, once at the end of a two hour trip when the radio was on after for less than 15 minutes. ••But the worst situation was this…..My daughter, granddaughter, and I were 500 miles into a 600 hundred mile trip to a North Carolina Beach when we exited the Interstate at Laurenburg NC at about 3PM on a very hot day. At the first intersection stop sign when the accelerator was pushed at first nothing happened…that is the car did not accelerate, then abruptly the car lurched forward. Alarmed we drove it around a large parking parking lot, stopping, then trying to start again..we found the hesitating, then lurching forward to continue, so we changed drivers with the same result. As it was now late on a Saturday afternoon in this small town with no local garages open, we had the car “Roll-Backed” to the nearest Subaru Dealer in Fayetteville, NC and as there were no local car rentals available, we had a family member drive 108 miles (each way) to get us and take us to the beach. The Fayetteville Subaru Dealer called on Monday morning and said “they could find nothing wrong”, and to pick up the car (another 100+ miles each way). Needless to say, I was very nervous the whole way home from the beach ..but the trip was without incident.
Windshield cracked for no reason known - I my vehicle was parked in the garage upon getting into my vehicle to folllowing morning I noticed a crack that grow significantly within a day had to have it replaced a few months after purchasing fuel capacity does not register correctly - I did have the recall done but it still does not work properly
While in my driveway upon starting my 2018 outback I smelled strong odor of gasoline. Popped the hood and saw the fuel supply line spraying the entire engine compartment with gas mist/droplets in a full blown shower. I turned the car off,visually inspected the fuel supply line and saw that it had ruptured near the engine plenum intake, approximate size 1/8"1/4" (photo attached). Car has less than 2900 miles on it. Potentially vibration from bracket mount/inappropriate materials used for fuel supply line. Fuel supply line appears to be polyethylene plastic inside non-reinforced rubber outer shell. Hose uses friction clamps to attach to firewall and engine plenum.
In dec 2018 the fuel line of my 2018 subaru outback had to be replaced because it had been chewed through by a rodent and was leaking in the car. Total damage was over $2000. In may 2019 another $3500 damage was discovered from a rodent chewing on electrical harnesses in the dash. The dealer told me this is because subaru is now using soy-based insulation for fuel lines, wiring, and electrical harnesses. Rodents are attracted to the soy because they think it is food. In both cases my damage was discovered while trying to start the car while it is parked. But what if I was driving down the road and a chewed wire came loose that shorted something out and impacted my ability to control the car? Or what if the fuel line broke while driving down the highway and caused the car to suddenly stall? Manufacturers should not be allowed to use materials (e.g. Soy) that actually attract rodents. If anything, they should be using materials that deter rodents. Fuel lines and electrical harnesses are critical to the safe operation of a car and these systems are needlessly being put at risk by using soy to produce them. This is especially troubling for subaru because part of their image encourages their owners to explore "the great outdoors." what happens why I go camping and park my car in the woods and chipmunks chew through my components and strand me in the middle of nowhere? Or, worse, a critical system on the car fails as I'm driving home and I lose control of the vehicle and crash. The use of soy-based components should not be allowed. Or, if it is, oems should cover rodent damage to these systems under warranty. At the very least, oems should be required to disclose the use of soy in the car before a vehicle is purchased. I had no idea soy-based products were used in this car. Had I known, I would not have bought it. Fyi... Subaru denies using soy products.
When I come to a stop and waiting to make a left turn, the vehicle will stall when I start to turn. Engine is still running, but the car essentially stops in mid turn. This leaves me exposed to a broadside collision. Dealer does not know what is causing it and it does not happen every time. In the last 1000 miles it has occurred 4 times. After the hesitation, about 3 -5 seconds, it starts to move. It has also occurred when moving from one lane to another after coming to a near stop due to a closed lane in the road.
Fuel software programming defect - fuel warning light does not illuminate nor read properly below 50 miles. I had 30 miles left in the tank, parked the car and after work (approx. 8 hours) I went to start the car and it would not start. Had to utilize roadside assistance - thank goodness this didn't happen while the vehicle was in motion or on the highway. This is unacceptable. Brand new car runs worse than my 1988 honda crx.
Fuel delivery problem. Sometimes when starting up from a stop sign and all of a sudden there is no power and you have to hit the accelerator a couple of times to get the car to respond. Sometimes this occurs at low speed going left and all of a sudden there is no power and you have to hit the accelerator a couple of times to get it to respond. The engine never stalls out. On the expressway it dropped out of cruse twice. I pulled up to a stop sign to cross into traffic and it had power at first and then no power. I was then in a panic mode pressing on the accelerator and finally it responded. This is why I think it is serious.
Gas indicator says I have more gas then I do. When empty it still registers gas. There is a recall but no fix is present.
Ran out of fuel even though the gauge had originally said 30 miles to empty. Then gauge went from 30 to ---- and then stalled all within a few miles while on the highway during rush hour.
I was driving through an intersection when the engine stalled with 1/8th of a tank of gas remaining. Gas light came on only a few miles prior. Luckily I was able to coast into a gas station. Car started after turning off and back on. Only took 16.9 gallons to top off. This is the second time this has happened. The previous time the miles to empty was showing 50 when it stalled. I was told by the dealership that there is no fix for the current recall.
I was driving and the fuel indicator indicated 70 miles to go last time I saw it. I only had to drive 10 miles home and the car suddenly stopped, thankfully on a local road. Some warning lights started appearing and I couldnt make what the problem was. I tried to restart a few times until I decided it had to be fuel. We pushed car to side of road and went to gas station to get gas. Came back with gas, refilled and car started and went home. I thought it was my fault, althought I couldnt explain why the last time a saw the fuel gauge said 70 miles and I was just going home, not even 10 miles to get there.
Open recall for fuel gauge not being accurate. I alreay ran out of gas once and when I took the car to dealer they said there was no remedy to make sure I always have a 1/4 of a tank of gas to avoid this in the future! This happened to me on july 13, and I have bee waiting since for solution
Infotainment system is faulty. I have no back up camera, bluetooth, radio, can not program clock. Subaru dealer says there is no fix other than to replace head unit. I have been waiting since dec 14th for this replacement unit. While at dealer I asked for a loaner and was denied. Subaru said the car was safe to drive which is not true since their biggest safety feature isnt accessible
Was driving on highway while fuel range indicated on dash just hit 30 miles to empty and car ran out of gas. Was never informed by subaru of any recall for this vehicle.
Tl* the contact owns a 2018 subaru outback. While driving approximately 55 MPH at night, the fuel range dropped and the vehicle lost power and shut off. The contact pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road. The manufacturer's roadside assistance was called, but no one answered. The contact called the police for assistance due to the darkness. The contact called triple a and was provided some fuel to drive home. Two days later, the contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 18v773000 (electrical system, fuel system, gasoline). The vehicle was taken to groove subaru (720‑279‑9409, located at 5300 s broadway, englewood, co 80113) where it was confirmed that the parts were not available. The manufacturer was called, but no one answered the phone. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 12,500. ..*bf*jb
Tl* the contact owns a 2018 subaru outback. The contact received a recall notification for the federal safety agency campaign number: 18v773000 (electrical system, fuel system, gasoline) and stated that the manufacturer failed to repair the vehicle within a reasonable amount of time. The dealer (subaru of santa cruz, 4100 auto plaza drive, capitola, ca 95010) confirmed that parts were not available to perform the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
I drove to a nearby town, indicator said 40 miles to go before empty. Parked. Restarted the car after half an hour. Most of center display functions were dead. It did show back-up view, but no radio, no map. Drove toward home and gas station. After twenty miles, on cruise control at 70mph on highway, engine suddenly started racing as though it had down shifted, I braked and headed for the shoulder. No turn signals, no indicators, no emergency flashers - it seemed that the computer crashed when I ran out of gas. After adding gas and restarting, all was normal except the the radio memory had been wiped.
Dashboard told me I had 20 miles worth of fuel left when suddenly the indicator changed to a dash and the car ran out of gas. Occurred while driving 50 MPH on a busy expressway, thankfully in the slow lane.
Car stalled and ran out of gas when the system said I had 20 miles left. I was 2 miles from home/gas station. This happened at a street light on a busy street. I had to get out and push the car out of the way in 5 lanes of traffic.
Ran out of gas when gauge showed 40 miles left - car locked up on a 70mph freeway - reported to subaru almost a year ago and recently saw where a recall had been initiated but called subaru customer service and they have no idea when this will be resolved even though they have know about it for a year - why is this not a safety issue that the federal safety agency is forcing them to fix
Tl* the contact owns a 2018 subaru outback. While driving 35 MPH, the fuel gauge indicated 40 miles remaining, but the vehicle ran out of fuel. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 8,000.
Our system showed 40 miles to empty. Luckily we were in a turn lane coming up to a traffic light and the car shut off/stopped running. Traffic had to go around us to turn at the light. Someone stopped and gave us 5 gallons of gas. We were able to restart the car and go to a service station and fill up.
30 miles left as indicated on fuel tank, car engine shut down while driving on road and came to a complete stop in left side of highway, my family were passengers in my car and this could have been a fatal situation. A good samaritan helped us move our car over to side of road out of harms way. I am very disappointed in subaru and do not trust that it has the best 'safety' features if it is this inaccurate in informing me of mileage! I can't help but think what worse outcome could have happened to my family. Thank god we are all ok. Do better subaru, for the lives of your customers driving your vehicles and the safety of the general public.
** 2018 subaru outback ** this has happened three times** driving car when car shuts off complete loss of power engine turns off without warning at various speeds - seems to occur when the low fuel warning system turns on at 1/4 tank of gas. This 3rd time almost got me killed traveling at 45mpg when it happened today inside a major intersection. Software / sensor for the low fuel system? Something is very seriously wrong. 1. Is this car safe to drive with a full tank of gas? 2. Has there been other complaints about this exact problem? 3. Is there a recall or fix ?
Number of miles showed 40 until gas was needed- 8 miles later was completely out of gas on major highway- contacted subaru service where car was purchased and asked if there were any issues with this, he said yes-- he actually said the same exact scenario-- where said 40, and approx. 8 miles later completely out of gas- he told me that they had fuel engineers look at the car that was brought in and said the only way to get good information is to re-set trip a and re-set trip b after you fill your tank-- so it can calibrate. I had never heard of this before- they should communicate this to their customers to avoid this huge safety risk. Police were called to us broken down on freeway to alert traffic we were sitting on shoulder- very unsafe area to "run out of gas"- subaru should get this glitch fixed-- and most importantly, communicate to people that this is a known problem. I have also contacted subaru america to let them know and I have opened a case. They will call me back no later than wednesday, oct 10th, 2018 with an update. I also wanted this to be brought to ntsb attention since subaru sounded like they knew about it, but didn't even tell us when we purchased the car. Car has roughly 4k miles on it.
Tl* the contact owns a 2018 subaru outback. While the contact's wife was driving 50 MPH, the vehicle shut off without warning. The vehicle was towed to mccurley integrity subaru (located at 9620 sandifur pkwy, pasco, wa 99301, (509) 412-7100) where it was diagnosed that the vehicle ran out of fuel. The contact was informed that when the fuel gauge displayed 20 miles to empty, the fuel tank was actually empty. The contact was informed that the fuel gauge was defective and the manufacturer was working on a remedy. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 2,000. The VIN was not available. *tt
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