2013 Subaru Outback Problems

Typical for Model

Real NHTSA owner complaints for the 2013 Subaru Outback. Part of Generation 4 — 2010–2014.

20122014
Complaints
403
Crashes
34
Fires
7
Injuries
24
Fatalities
2
Recalls
14

Worst 2013 Subaru Outback Problems

Top 3 most-reported issues with average mileage at failure.

#167 complaints

ENGINE

Avg mileage:58,469 mi
Crash-related:1
Fires:1
#258 complaints

POWER TRAIN

Avg mileage:199,379 mi
#339 complaints

AIR BAGS

Avg mileage:42,060 mi
Crash-related:8
Fires:1
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All Problems by Category

Every NHTSA complaint category for the 2013 Subaru Outback.

ComponentComplaintsCrashesFiresAvg MileageVolume
ENGINE671158,469 mi
POWER TRAIN58199,379 mi
AIR BAGS398142,060 mi
STEERING34112,259 mi
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL25727,293 mi
UNKNOWN OR OTHER242165,279 mi
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM23179,074 mi
SERVICE BRAKES232104,476 mi
SUSPENSION159,420 mi
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM12445,404 mi
VISIBILITY/WIPER11143,139 mi
EXTERIOR LIGHTING854,949 mi
SEATS81268,057 mi
STRUCTURE:BODY71189,200 mi
PARKING BRAKE582,775 mi
WHEELS542,992 mi
SEAT BELTS4140,013 mi
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)378,517 mi
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING31
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE35,545 mi
STRUCTURE3122,500 mi
EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:NAVIGATIONAL SYSTEM(GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM)220,156 mi
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES212,000 mi
SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:HEAD RESTRAINT2129,000 mi
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC294,500 mi
VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY21,349,000 mi
AIR BAGS: AIR BAG/RESTRAINT CONTROL MODULE1180,000 mi
BACK OVER PREVENTION:WARNINGS:EXTERNAL/PEDESTRIAN ALERT115,000 mi
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING112,000 mi
EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY14,000 mi

Recalls for 2013 Subaru Outback

14 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting ~2,114,174 vehicles.

20V001000AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
~258,813 affected

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.

20V003000AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
~111,562 affected

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.

20V002000AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
~127,547 affected

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.

19V297000ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH
~511 affected

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.

19V007000AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
~43,394 affected

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2013 Forester, 2010-2014 Tribeca, WRX, Outback, Legacy, and 2010-2011 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.

19V009000AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
~452,630 affected

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Tribeca, WRX, Legacy and Outback vehicles, 2010-2011 Impreza vehicles and 2010-2013 Forester 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.

19V008000AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
~330,120 affected

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Tribeca, WRX, Outback, and Legacy vehicles, 2010-2011 Impreza vehicles and 2010-2013 Forester 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.

18V626000PARKING BRAKE
~27,175 affected

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Subaru Legacy and Outback vehicles equipped with a manual transmission. The electronic parking brake (EPB) may not engage as intended, allowing the vehicle to rollaway if the transmission is not in the proper gear when parked.

18V012000AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
~64,179 affected

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.

16V694000VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER:MOTOR
~592,647 affected

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Legacy vehicles manufactured November 26, 2008, to June 7, 2013, and 2010-2014 Outback vehicles manufactured January 9, 2009 to June 7, 2013. Due to contamination, components within the windshield wiper motor bottom cover may interfere with each other. If an obstruction, such as a buildup of snow or ice prevents the wiper arms from being able to stop in the parked position, the wiper motor may overheat and the bottom cover may melt.

+ 4 more recalls

Other Subaru Outback Years

Wider context: See the full Subaru Outback reliability report with year-by-year comparison and generation analysis.

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