Subaru Outback Wilderness Engine problems by year

4-5 lanes of traffic. Fortunately, a police vehicle was stopped behind me and he was able to put on his emergency lights and secure a safe exit from the vehicle and clear the lanes closest to the side of the highway. He assisted me to push the car to the side of the beltway. I called AAA and the technician charged the battery. The car did start but I had it towed to the Subaru dealership in case the same issue happened again. The dealership took a week to replicate the problem and eventually came to the conclusion that it was the battery. They did not mention that this issue has been documented in some Subaru models. A Google search advised me that this has been a recurring issue and advised that I submit this report to NHTSA. The dealership replaced the battery and the issue has not happened since, however I have mostly been turning the auto start/stop feature off manually for fear that the same thing might happen again. Unfortunately I did not learn about this issue until after the dealership had returned the car to me. I believe they only replaced the battery and no further manufacturer inspections were mentioned. The battery part is PB001993.

Park, depressed the brake, and pushed the ignition button to restart it. Instead of cranking, the vehicle experienced total electrical chaos - the dashboard, infotainment screen, and interior electronics began flashing erratically, and the engine refused to start. The vehicle had to be pushed out of the path of traffic by hand and subsequently towed to a Subaru dealership. The dealership confirmed that the Auto Start-Stop system had critically drained the battery below operating thresholds. There were absolutely no prior warning signs, dashboard battery lights, or slow engine cranks leading up to this event. The vehicle simply died without warning in live traffic. This creates a severe safety hazard; had this stall occurred while merging onto a highway like I-95 during stop-and-go traffic, it easily could have resulted in a high-speed rear-end collision. Because Subaru does not provide a permanent override switch for the Auto Start-Stop feature, drivers are forced into a recurring safety defect with no warning indicators that the system is about to fail and strand the vehicle.

regardless of whether the PCV valve itself has since been replaced. I want to be clear about the severity of this incident, as it is directly relevant to the safety concerns underlying my request. The failure occurred while I was driving on a New Jersey highway, approximately 1.5 hours from home, alone in the vehicle with my two young children, ages 6 and 8. The vehicle began emitting a volume of smoke from the tailpipe significant enough that three separate police vehicles surrounded my car out of concern that it might catch fire or explode. This was an extremely frightening experience for both myself and my children, and it is not one I am willing to risk repeating in this vehicle, regardless of what repairs have since been made. I also want to note that I received no warning lights or indicators on the dashboard before or during the onset of this failure. The smoke was first visible outside the vehicle and only afterward began seeping into the cabin. The absence of any prior warning is of particular concern to me, as it means I had no opportunity to pull over or take precautionary action before the situation became visibly hazardous. Subaru is refusing to provide a new lease to me.

exited the vehicle immediately, leaving it burning in the left-turn lane. The fire department, based only about half a mile away, arrived within approximately 4 minutes, but it still took them roughly 35 minutes to fully extinguish the fire given its intensity. The vehicle had just been returned that day (or very recently) from a 3.5-week internal engine repair at the dealership. This was the third time I had reported the same underlying engine problem to Subaru - the recent lengthy repair was the first real attempt by the dealer to address it, and it failed within days of the vehicle being returned to me. My spouse and I were in the car moments before the explosion. Had we been delayed even briefly - for example, had the car ahead of us not moved forward when it did - we believe we could have been seriously injured or killed by the explosion and flying molten debris. The vehicle was a total loss. I am filing this complaint because: This was the third report of the same engine issue prior to the fire, indicating a recurring, unresolved defect rather than an isolated incident. The failure occurred immediately after a dealership repair specifically intended to fix this problem, suggesting the underlying defect was not - or could not be - properly corrected. The nature of the failure (explosive engine fire while driving, throwing molten metal across an active traffic lane) presents a serious risk of injury or death to occupants, other drivers, and bystanders

failed; however, the dealer replaced the battery. The dealer had not yet determined the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.

slowly pull over to the fire right hand shoulder, even though it was during peak traffic time. As I pulled over, I started seeing smoke come from under the hood. I then seen a big flame which made me quickly get out of the vehicle and then seconds two minutes later the entire vehicle was in golf in flames and had many explosions throughout. I had no prior indications notifying me that there was something wrong with my vehicle. I had no problems with it. There was only 12,500 miles on the vehicle. There was no obvious cause to this happening. It was only me in the car however if there were small children in car seats or less mobile elderly people in the car, I don't think that they would have made it out safely. The fire department came and put out the fire. A police report was made with the Michigan State troopers. My insurance is progressing. They are working on a claim. I also contacted Subaru of America and opened up a case with them. I notified the Subaru of Troy dealership that this happened.

dealership replaced the battery. Approximately 4 weeks ([[redacted]]) later, the exact same failure occurred again. The dealership has now had the vehicle for approximately three weeks and states they cannot replicate the issue. No cause has been identified and no repair has been made. During one of these incidents, my [[redacted]] child was in the vehicle while we were stranded in traffic. This appears to be a repeat electrical / ignition / operability failure affecting the vehicle's ability to restart or properly shut down after stopping in traffic. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

minutes of dialing for assistance, my car was completely engulfed in flames and it was burned to a crisp by the time the fire trucks put it out. My insurance company retrieved the car from wherever it was towed and has assigned it to someone to investigate.

Could have caused fatal crash during emergency maneuver or in traffic. IMPROPER WARRANTY DENIAL: Dealer claimed "cut wire" was "outside influence" but provided NO evidence how wire became accessible on properly designed vehicle. No photos, forensics, or proof. Vehicle never modified/damaged, only normal highway use. PATTERN DEFECT - SUBARU OUTBACK ELECTRICAL FAILURES: - 2020 Outback: 873 NHTSA complaints, electrical failures, battery drain, module failures - 2017 Outback: 893 complaints, "Do Not Drive" warning, steering control loss - NHTSA 23V-551: 35,357 Subarus recalled for wiring harness "insufficient clearance" causing wire damage, short circuits, power loss - 2019-22 Ascent: 271,694 recalled for electrical overheating from improper wiring COMMON DEFECT: Improper wire routing, inadequate protection, vulnerable placement - DESIGN/MANUFACTURING DEFECTS not owner damage. CONCERN: If critical wire accessible to damage after only 11K miles normal driving, this is design deficiency. Properly engineered vehicles protect wiring from road debris, vibration, weather. REQUEST: Investigate 2025 Outback electrical/wiring design. Review for pattern failures. Determine if recall warranted. Complete power steering loss on highway is life-threatening defect. Vehicle: New 2025, maintained per schedule, no modifications/accidents. Subaru denying valid warranty claims by falsely claiming "outside influence" without proof.

enough power to start the car after being parked for 30 minutes. I got a jump start, and after letting car run for several minutes, attempted to leave the parking lot as described above. The car would move in forward and reverse at idle speed, but there was absolutely no response to gas pedal input. The car was towed to the dealer who will look into this.