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Electrical system

2013 Subaru Outback Electrical problems

Owners have filed 23 complaints about the 2013 Subaru Outback's electrical system with NHTSA - 8% of all its complaints, most recently on January 6, 2026. They describe 1 crash, 0 fires and 0 injuries. Dead batteries, warning lights, wiring, alternators, infotainment and electronic module failures.

Complaints
23
Recalls
2
Crashes
1
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0

Electrical recalls for the 2013 Subaru Outback

Electrical system: switch

19V297000511 vehicles affected

The problem
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester vehicles, 2008-2011 Impreza vehicles, 2008-2014 WRX vehicles, 2005-2014 Legacy vehicles, 2005-2014 Outback vehicles and 2006-2008 Tribeca vehicles equipped with a mechanical key ignition switch installed as a replacement part. The ball spring inside the switch may break, reducing the strength of the ignition switch. If this occurs, the weight on the key ring and certain road conditions could cause the ignition switch to move out of the run position to the accessory position, turning off the engine.
The risk
The engine turning off unexpectedly can increase the risk of a crash. If a crash occurs under this condition, the air bag may not deploy, increasing the risk of injury.
The fix
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ignition switch, replacing the ignition switch, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began May 10, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUF-91.

Electrical system

13V06100047,419 vehicles affected

The problem
Subaru is recalling certain model year 2010-2012 Legacy and Outback vehicles equipped with an automatic or CVT transmission and an Audiovox remote engine starter (RES) accessory, certain model year 2012-2013 Impreza vehicles equipped with a CVT transmission and an Audiovox remote engine starter (RES) accessory, and certain model year 2013 XV Crosstrek vehicles equipped with a CVT transmission and an Audiovox remote engine starter (RES) accessory. Additionally included are certain model year 2013 Legacy and Outback vehicles that may have received replacement RES fobs. If the RES fob is dropped, the fob may malfunction and randomly transmit an engine start request without pressing the button.
The risk
The engine may inadvertently start and run for up to fifteen minutes. The engine may continue to start and stop until the fob battery is depleted, or until the vehicle runs out of fuel. If the vehicle is parked in an enclosed area, there is a risk of carbon monoxide build-up which may cause headaches, dizziness or, in extreme cases, unconsciousness and/or asphyxiation.
The fix
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the RES key fobs, free of charge. The recall began on April 22, 2013. Owners may contact Subaru at 1-800-782-2783 for more information.

Electrical complaints

Transmission & drivetrainElectrical systemEngine & cooling

I purchased this car may 28th 2025 and had it over the weekend and check engine light came on and took it Monday once shop opened and came back for catalytic converter and o2 sensor I letted the dealership know about it and said its not much that i can fix it but I figured would say that since was a as is car and just had to come up with money... only thing month later it stalled on me and had to take to a shop to see what it is and came back for transmission but that shop told me the car never should have been...

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sold I never try to let them know about that its been sitting since July when that happened I been trying to talk to consumer protection services but Noone willed to help but since last year was so rough I just wanted to try again once year is up

Filed Incident Power train · Electrical system · EngineNHTSA 11708999
Electrical system

My horn became intermittent, and stopped working. The car will not pass state inspection. It was diagnosed as a faulty clock spring. The dealership stated that this was a common failure on Subaru's, especially those that had the Takata airbag replacement recall. They said there was no TSB or recall for the part. I reached out to Subaru customer service who said that due to the age and mileage on my car, there was nothing they could do to assist replacing the part.

Filed Incident Electrical system · Unknown or otherNHTSA 11502707
Electrical system

BACK UP CAMERA FAILURE! The camera in the lift gate get corrosion and stops working! the safety of people walking behind the vehicle.

Filed Incident Electrical systemNHTSA 11500004
Electrical system

Vehicle horn has failed to function.

Filed Incident Electrical system · Unknown or otherNHTSA 11472263
Electrical systemDriver assistance

On a handful of occasions while driving, suddenly the car detects an object in front of the car that it believes I will hit. The beeping and object collision detection message appears on my dash. On all these occasions, there has never been on object. One time it automatic to control the vehicle before causing an accident. I don't remember exactly when this started happening but I thankfully engaged my brakes. This happened while I was on a highway. Luckily, no car was riding closely behind me so I was able it was...

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2 years ago. There is an option to turn off the detection sensor, but this must be done every time the car is turned on, and I'm afraid I will forget. Moreover, the safety feature being turned off means I don't have that feature to detect real objects. My biggest concern is that one day I'll be driving at a higher speed, such as on a highway, and the car will detect an object, engage the brakes and cause me to be in an accident. I can make my car available for inspection upon request. I have not spoken to a local Subaru dealer or independent service center about this yet. My vehicle has not been inspection by the manufacturer, police, or insurance reps yet. No warning lamps, messages or other similar symptoms have occurred. However, this morning my car did auto-start on its own twice and this is the first time I've noticed this.

Filed Incident Electrical system · Forward collision avoidanceNHTSA 11428634
Electrical systemEngine & cooling

While driving near my home on June 5, 2021, the vehicle simply shut off and simultaneously all the warning lights flashed. I was unable to restart the vehicle after two or three tries. I called a tow service. About an hour later, before the tow truck arrived, I turned the key again, and the car restarted. This occurred in the middle of the roadway and I was lucky no vehicle was being behind me, as a collision could have happened. A local auto repair shop looked at the computer code and found one for a cracked...

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gas cap. The mechanic replaced the gas cap, but stated that it could not have caused the car to cease running. I took the car to a Subaru dealer on June 14, 2021, but the service consultant stated that looking for the problem would be like "going down a rabbit hole" and told me to continue to drive the car until another incident happened.

Filed Incident Electrical system · EngineNHTSA 11421239
Electrical system

Backup camera shows blue screen and backup guide lines but no camera image when transmission is placed in reverse. Occurs intermittently. Can occur either when vehicle is stationary (e.G., Immediately on putting car in reverse) or in the middle of backing up. Sometimes camera image will come back on momentarily or not at all. This particular vehicle has the camera display integrated with the rear view mirror. However, the cause of the fault is unknown to me, and I have not been able to identify a pattern of occurrence. Camera image is clear and crisp when it does appear so the problem is presumably either software related or perhaps a wiring fault. Started occurring several years ago.

Filed Incident Electrical systemNHTSA 11354354
Electrical systemDriver assistanceBrakes

Took it home from dealer and the electronic parking brake would not turn on. The brake light was also blinking. A couple days later, on the way to dealer, I stopped at a gas station and turned on the electric parking brake. It worked this time, but when I got in the car to drive, the electric parking brake wouldn't turn off. I was stuck. There was no way to move it. I was blocking the gas pump for about an hour waiting for a two truck. Tow truck driver had difficulty loading vehicle and taking off vehicle because the parking brake was on and it was an awd meaning none of the wheels can move.

Filed Incident Electrical system · Electronic stability control (ESC) · Service brakesNHTSA 11253364
Electrical systemDriver assistanceEngine & cooling

2013 Outback limited 3.6R bought new and has 40k miles. On 3 occasions over the past 5 months, the vehicle can't catch 2nd gear and revs high and then a heavy jolt physically felt and a loud clunk. Have taken it to subaru service 3 times and they cannot reproduce the problem. Even after flushing transmission fluid and relearning the transmission, and vehicle did it the same day driving home after picking the vehicle up from relearning the transmission. This is aggravating, stressful, and dangerous. Subaru needs to own up and address a known issue, and do a recall.

Filed Incident Electrical system · Electronic stability control (ESC) · EngineNHTSA 11245142
BrakesElectrical system

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 subaru outback. While driving various speeds, the brake, windshield wiper fluid, cruise control, and check engine warning indicators illuminated. The contact stated that the emergency brake engaged independently and the vehicle failed to drive. The contact stated that the failure also occurred on other occasions. The vehicle was taken to subaru of orange park (located at 7023 blanding blvd, jacksonville, fl 32244, (855) 851-7200) where it was diagnosed and an unknown failure code was...

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located. The vehicle was repaired, but the contact did not know the specifics. The contact believed there was an unknown sensor failure. The contact stated that the failure recurred. The contact planned to tow the vehicle to subaru of orange park. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000.

Filed Incident Parking brake · Electrical systemNHTSA 11233739
Electrical system

While driving my subaru outback 2013 2.5I premium model, brake light, cruise control, check engine light started flashing in the dashboard. Took it to a dealer and I was told that it was body valve failure inside transmission. It was fixed (subaru paid $1,500 and I contributed $300 for the repair) by a subaru dealer. Yet, ten days later the same three lights went on. The dealer said it was different problems, catalytic converter and o2 sensors, quoted $1,800. Left the dealer without fixing the problems. It seems that my car was not the only one with this type of electrical problem. I saw the exactly same complaints posted by other user in virginia (refer to nhtsa id number: 11204834).

Filed Incident Electrical systemNHTSA 11205247
Electrical system

While driving the car on a city street the brake light, cruise control, check engine light started flashing in the dashboard. Cruise control would not work during this. Car seems to run fine but warning lights continue to flash

Filed Incident Electrical systemNHTSA 11204834
Electrical systemBrakes

I took my car in for airbag recall, the brake light indicator flashes on/off on dash, intermittent. Service dept could not replicate at first, discovered electronic parking brake component faulty. Parking brake could engage while car is in drive or fail on hill. Charging me 1100 for repair, says its not under warranty or recall. This is same defect/recall on 2015 model outback. Dealer says no recall for 2013 model outbcak. I dispute this.

Filed Incident Electrical system · Service brakesNHTSA 11084774
Electrical system

Elderly woman nearly ran us off the road. Horn wouldn't work. Barely avoided crash. Reliable subaru in springfield, mo charged us $117 for diagnostic and didn't fix: no part on hand. If I had okayed, it would have cost another $548 to repair, total of $665 to fix what I regard as a safety issue. Art fletcher subaru in joplin, mo repaired for $237. My opinion: this is a safety issue that subaru should pay for. Horn problems with subaru are commonplace.

Filed Incident Electrical systemNHTSA 11039862
Electrical systemLights

Have replaced the low beam h7 bulb 5 times this year and has even blow less than 1 hour after fixed by a subaru dealership. Tail lights have been replaced 3 times in 8 month. High beam lights 3 times in the past 12 months. Fixtures twice. Charred from extreme amp spikes in wires. Now to top it all off entire wiring harness for passenger side is out.

Filed Incident Electrical system · Exterior lightingNHTSA 11011731
Electrical system

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 subaru outback. While the vehicle was in operation, the check engine, abs, and oil warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed as a locked up duty solenoid circuit failure. The part needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 108,610.

Filed Incident Electrical systemNHTSA 10870045
Electrical systemLights

Upon noticing a blown 3rd tail light(one of the tail lights on the rear hatch/door of the wagon,) I disassembled and found that the sockets on both sides(left and right 3rd tail-light sockets) were scorched around where the bulbs fit into them. The discoloration was brown/black and was present not only on the socket with the blown bulb but also the other, working side. Dealer replaced blown bulb and made no comment on scorched bulb sockets. It almost appears as if they were so heated they were ready to melt or...

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burn the plastic. Car has been in service for 27 months and has 27k mostly city driving on it. Happy to provide photos of the affected sockets to anyone investigating or concerned. *Tr

Filed Incident Electrical system · Exterior lightingNHTSA 10683474
Electrical systemAirbags

Passenger side airbag indicator light and alarm go off whether passenger is in the seat or not. Intermittently, when I start the car, the indicator light flashes and then remains lit. If the car is driven in this state, the alarm sounds at speeds over 25/30 mph. Subaru doesn't know how to trouble shoot. *Tr

Filed Incident Electrical system · Air bagsNHTSA 10678514
Electrical systemAcceleration & cruise controlCrash

Prior to this incident, I had noticed several occasions where the engine would suddenly rev for no reason while I was driving at a slow speed or braking. This incident happened on dec 2, 2014 at approx. 7:40Am eastern time. As I was approaching the security check-in gate at my job, traveling about 10 mph, I depressed the brake to slow down and wait for the gate to open. As I was slowing down, the engine suddenly rev'd to maximum and the car accelerated and lurched forward. I was not able to stop or control the...

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car and it crashed through the security barrier gate. No one was injured and there was no damage done to the car, but the metal arm of the gate was severely bent. I took the vehicle to my subaru dealer several days later to be inspected and report the incident. The dealer said there was a problem with the engine control module (ecm) and updated the software. Since then, the car has run smoothly with no further acceleration problems. The ecm update also seemed to solve a problem I had experienced where the car had difficulty starting up. *Tr

Filed Incident Electrical system · Vehicle speed controlNHTSA 10670219
Electrical systemBody, doors & structure

Apply brakes while in motion and car door locks open. Passenger complained when getting out of car that they got a shock. *Tr

Filed Incident Electrical system · Latches / locks / linkagesNHTSA 10607949
Electrical systemAcceleration & cruise controlSeats & seat belts

With the eyesight system, outback may start braking when you are coming up on another car or trying to pass it, even though you are moving away from the vehicle to pass it and are not endanger of an accident. Very annoying at times and forces you to disable it but might be worthwhile if it didn't go off just from coming near vehicles. I suppose they don't want it to go off too late. The seat/headrest is the bigger problem. *Tr

Filed Incident Electrical system · Vehicle speed control · SeatsNHTSA 10502121
Electrical systemEquipment & accessories

The navigation system overrides the safety backup camera with messages when the car is in reverse. This is very dangerous since the navigation system can display a message on the screen and completely obscure the backup camera display while backing up. This happens every time I start my car and begin to backup. The backup camera comes on when I put the car in reverse but as I'm backing up, the navigation system displays messages from my bluetooth phone connection and I can't see what is behind me via the backup camera. Nothing should override the backup camera when the car is in reverse. *Tr

Filed Incident Electrical system · EquipmentNHTSA 10499330
Transmission & drivetrainElectrical systemBrakes

Made a turn and was halfway down the block going approximately 15 mph when the engine suddenly shut off. The instrument gauge lit up with all sorts of annunciators. I was able to pull over to a safe location and park. The following annunciators were flashing; at oil temp, cruise control indicator, and the brake light. The following annunciators were lit solid; check engine warning light /malfunction indicator light and the vehicle dynamics control warning light. Turned off vehicle. Waited. Turned engine on and the annunciators were still present and the instrument gauge remained unchanged. *Tr

Filed Incident Power train · Electrical system · Service brakesNHTSA 10485982

Subaru Outback electrical complaints by year

Outback electrical problems, every year

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Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data

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