Worst 2009 Subaru Outback Problems
Top 3 most-reported issues with average mileage at failure.
AIR BAGS
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
ENGINE
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All Problems by Category
Every NHTSA complaint category for the 2009 Subaru Outback.
| Component | Complaints | Crashes | Fires | Avg Mileage | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIR BAGS | 30 | 1 | — | 70,453 mi | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 22 | — | 1 | 98,661 mi | |
| ENGINE | 15 | — | 1 | 109,343 mi | |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 9 | — | — | 91,667 mi | |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | 8 | — | — | 103,500 mi | |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 6 | — | — | 115,236 mi | |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 6 | — | 1 | 35,541 mi | |
| POWER TRAIN | 5 | — | — | 29,319 mi | |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 5 | — | — | 12,672 mi | |
| STRUCTURE:BODY | 4 | — | — | 72,103 mi | |
| SUSPENSION | 4 | — | — | 28,650 mi | |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | 3 | — | — | 154,667 mi | |
| STEERING | 3 | — | — | 49,325 mi | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 2 | — | — | 42,500 mi | |
| POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | 2 | — | — | 22,678 mi | |
| TIRES:PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS | 2 | — | — | 95 mi | |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 2 | 1 | — | 11,718 mi | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:STARTER ASSEMBLY | 1 | — | — | 115,000 mi | |
| ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) | 1 | — | — | 26,000 mi | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE | 1 | — | — | 30,000 mi | |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 1 | — | — | 115,000 mi | |
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HOOD:LATCH | 1 | — | — | 24,811 mi | |
| POWER TRAIN:CLUTCH ASSEMBLY | 1 | — | — | 75,000 mi | |
| SEAT BELTS | 1 | — | — | 39,000 mi | |
| SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR | 1 | — | — | 70,198 mi | |
| STRUCTURE | 1 | — | — | 47,000 mi | |
| SUSPENSION:FRONT | 1 | — | — | 800 mi | |
| SUSPENSION:REAR | 1 | — | — | 800 mi | |
| TIRES | 1 | — | — | 5,540 mi | |
| VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER | 1 | — | — | — |
Recalls for 2009 Subaru Outback
13 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting ~1,988,974 vehicles.
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (STI included), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." These vehicles had their passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
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.
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2010 Tribeca, Impreza, Forester, WRX, Legacy, and Outback vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Legacy, Forester, Tribeca, WRX and Outback vehicles, and 2009-2011 Impreza vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009 Tribeca, Impreza, Forester, WRX, Legacy, and Outback vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2005-2006 Baja, 2009 Forester, Legacy and Outback and 2006-2009 Impreza (including WRX and STI models) and Tribeca vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2005-2006 Subaru Baja, 2006-2011 Impreza (including WRX and STI models), 2006-2012 Tribeca, 2009-2012 Forester, Legacy, Outback, and 2012 WRX vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2007-2009 model year Legacy and Outback vehicles, 2008-2014 Impreza vehicles and 2009-2013 Forester vehicles, all equipped with turbo-charged engines. The relay that controls the secondary air injection pump may fail, causing the pump to continuously operate and overheat.
+ 3 more recalls
Other Subaru Outback Years
Wider context: See the full Subaru Outback reliability report with year-by-year comparison and generation analysis.
Check Your Specific 2009 Subaru Outback
Real owner complaints tell you about the model. The VIN tells you about your specific car — accidents, title issues, odometer fraud.
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