Subaru Outback 2012 — Reported problems

The front sub-frame assembly has rusted through in several areas. This problem was discovered by the mechanic while preparing to make an unrelated repair. There were no indications of the problem until is was discovered by the mechanic.

While driving on I-5 at about 70 mph, I made a normal upshift from 5th to 6th gear in my 6-speed manual transmission. The shift lever went past the reverse lockout without my lifting the reverse pull collar (the owner's manual says the collar must be raised to select reverse) and the transmission briefly went into reverse at highway speed. The lever was in reverse for only a fraction of a second, but that was enough to strip the reverse gear teeth. There was no warning beforehand. I kept driving without knowing anything was wrong and found out later, when I tried to back up, that the vehicle has no reverse. The reverse lockout should make it impossible to select reverse during a forward upshift. Here it failed. Engaging reverse at 70 mph can damage or lock up the drivetrain and cause a loss of control or a crash in traffic. With reverse gone, I also can't leave the car in reverse when parking on a slope, as the owner's manual advises. Subaru appears to know about this. Service Bulletin 03-71-13 (07/2013) released a revised 6MT shift lever (P/N 35011CA010) "designed to improve the operation of the reverse selection mechanism," built into production starting in December 2012. My vehicle was built before that. Subaru's technician newsletter also lists a 01/2012 article, "2010 M/Y & Later Legacy / Outback 6 M/T Reverse Gear Damage." NHTSA complaint ODI 10512418 describes the same failure on a 2011 Outback. The bulletin was not a recall, so 2010-2012 6MT Legacy/Outback vehicles with the original lever remain exposed. Not yet inspected by a dealer. A Subaru of America case is open. The vehicle and parts are available for inspection. I ask NHTSA to look into the 6MT reverse lockout / shift lever on 2010-2012 Subaru Legacy and Outback.

The brake line junction box rusted through. This is a known issue with Subarus of this general era but the 2012 Outback is not on the recall list. Owner noticed brake fluid was getting low, after recently refilling the reservoir. Took the car to a shop and the brake light came on day of. The shop confirmed the brake line junction box was rusted through and leaking. Owner was advised that they were days away from a complete brake failure from a larger leak developing and brake pressure dropping catastrophically. As stated before this is a known issue Subaru recall campaign WQK-47. Looking online has revealed numerous Subaru owners experiencing the same problem.

Brakes failed completely due to excessive rust / corrosion on brake line junction area. Brake pedal suddenly went to floor and fluid leaked out near right rear quarter of vehicle in-front of right rear tire.

Driving on the highway was side swiped then rearended at high speed causing my driver seat to fly backwards. So the locking mechanism on the manual seat adjuster either failed or never locked

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2012 Subaru Outback. The contact discovered a mileage discrepancy after the purchase. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the mileage was 89,000. It was later discovered, when the title arrived, that the mileage on the title was 134,000.

The brake pedal suddenly went almost to the floor while attempting to stop. Researching I found there was a recall. NHTSA Recall No. 11V-562. My car was not apparently among the ones being recalled, yet this problem is exactly as described in the bulletin. The component in question is the master brake cylinder. It is available for inspection. It happened on Sat Sept 20 2025 returning from a trip approximately. 300 miles away. the symptom persists. There were no warning indicators.

I took my Outback to my local highly respectable mechanic on August 20, 2025 as I needed the oil changed and the concern I had about having to add brake fluid twice in the past 4 months. He inspected my car immediately and he refused to let me drive it out of his shop as there is a dangerous brake line leaking issue that could result in brake failure. He told me that my Outback is not the first that he had to repair this “Subaru manufacturing defect”. I had to get it repaired. I checked to see if there was a NHTSA recall on my Outback year and there was none, only prior years. Yet when I went online searching more, I found an article that stated that Subaru was going to recall the 2012 Subaru as well? The repair shop owner said to us that my wife is a "gentle driver" and that was good, because, if she had to apply the brakes very hard to avoid a collision, they probably would have failed. Please understand that I read the recall for previous years of Outbacks and other Subaru models, and my Subaru Outback had the exact same defect. I did contact Subaru of America and they responded that my Outback does not have a recall, only prior years. Unbelievable!!! The exact same make and model with the exact same defect and they just blow me off! I was lucky that we did not reach the point of a serious accident. I hope that NHTSA will evaluate my, and I am sure other safety issues with Subaru brakes, and take some action to give other owners the opportunity to make this very serious safety matter right, and avoid an accident. In a related question, can NHTSA somehow require auto manufacturers to inspect their vehicles that are still on the road after say 12 years to helpfully provide some safety assurance to the drivers of their vehicles?

The contact's girlfriend owns a 2012 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated while starting. In addition, the contact attempted to jumpstart the vehicle; however, the vehicle failed to start. The check engine warning light was intermittently illuminated. The contact stated that during rainy weather, several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact scanned the vehicle with an OBD2 scanner and retrieved DTC codes: P0420 (Catalytic convertor) and P0057 (Ignition System). The vehicle was taken to a local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that there were failures with the rear brake pads, rotors, PCV valve, valve cover gasket, engine air filter, catalytic converter heat shield; and a cylinder #4 misfire. The DTC codes P0304, and P0420 (Catalytic convertor) were also retrieved. The contact was informed that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced first. The contact stated that several repairs were made prior; however, the failure persisted. Upon further investigation, the contact related the failure to Subaru Service Program Bulletin: WQC-39, WVY-35, WUF-91r, TKC-19R, and NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V003000 (Air Bags); however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 97,803.

When coming to a stop, the car shudders and often stalls just like if you didn't press in the clutch on a manual transmission. No warning lights or messages. See details in TSB- 16-90-13R. Subaru knows about this issue and it has been reported in many vehicles. My car was at a Subaru dealership at least half a dozen times during 2017-2018 when this issue came to light and no one notified us to have it checked. Fast forward to now and for the last year my car has been shuddering when coming to a stop, and about 2-3 months ago, it started stalling. This is an absolute safety issue and should be a recall. I've been in many situations where it stalls and I am vulnerable to getting rear-ended because it takes time to restart the car and get moving again. This is particularly true in traffic or situations where you need to stop suddenly and others behind you are not anticipating you being stopped in the roadway.

Vehicle stalls when stopping. This is a huge safety issue because stalling at intersections can cause accidents. Dealership diagnosed a faulty torque converter. This torque converter (it should be part number 31100AB170) issue is widely known in this production series of the Subaru outback. After hundreds of complaints were filed with the NHTSA, Subaru extended the warranty on all their automatic transmissions to avoid a recall around 2017, but closed the extended warranty in 2022. Subaru now tries to convince their customers that these vehicles are too old for the issue to be attributable to them, despite knowing that they equipped these vehicles with defective parts. See the following: [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The last incident? I couldn't recover my intentions. (Incidents of random acceleration seem to only happen when I am turning). The last incident occurred in my mall parking lot.. I was about to turn and suddenly the car shot forward. I could have fought to maintain my turn but that would have been aggressive maneuvering. Nothing, thankfully, was in front of me, so this was the first time I was deviated off course. 1 - random acceleration 2 - if my reflexes were not quick enough, there would have been vehicular accident and/or pedestrian being struck 3 - no... not able to duplicate. 4 - no check engine lights prior. One instance, as I avoided a collision, that threw a code (CEL) but scanner didn't see any codes. CEL went away 3 days later. NOTE: I am in North Bay, Ontario, Canada

The contact owns a 2012 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that vehicle was consistently burning out the headlight bulbs. The contact stated that within 3-years he had replaced the driver's and the passenger’s side headlight bulbs 7 times, and following one failure the passenger’s side headlight housing was replaced. The contact stated that the bulb in the new housing was blown. The contact stated that a headlight bulb had blown while driving at night at an undisclosed speed. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who determined that the wiring and electrical system was working as designed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

While driving on the highway, we were forced to brake swiftly. As a result, the known issue of the torque converter in this model of car caused the engine to stall in the middle lane of the highway and almost causing our deaths as multiple tractor-trailers had to swerve to avoid our immobilized vehicle until it could be restarted. This could've led to to the deaths of me, my family and many other road-users. I can't believe this isn't a recall when it's such a wide-spread and known problem with this model.

The warning lights stay on constantly. I have changed the mass flow air sensor, O2 sensors, serpentine belt, gas cap, treated the fuel system and the lights are still on. This is a common problem with Subaru Outback Owners.

Rear four way brake junction is completely corroded and leaking fluid causing a complete loss of braking. This appears to be the exact same issue as referenced in this recall [XXX] ) that affects previous model years. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Just after 100k mile service, car began to shutter when slowing and then stalls at stops. Eventually after I leave it in neutral for up to 2-20 min it will finally restart. First time it happened it wouldn’t start. I had to push vehicle out of major intersection to avoid being hit then pay to tow it to nearest mechanic. Once there, it restarted and problem couldn’t be replicated nor did it relay any codes. Happened again the next two occasions I drove it so I immediately took it to Subaru dealer using side streets to avoid potential accident. After researching my model/year and symptoms, I found this was a common complaint with 2012 Outback’s and there have been numerous CVT issues. One of these issues is a faulty torque converter that causes stalling and usually appears around 100k mile mark (of course just shy of warranty). In 2017 (prior to owning car) a bulletin was released notifying dealers of issue which led to extension of warranty due to customer complaints. Given this new information, I was not shocked when dealer diagnosed my car as needing a new torque converter. Had I known this was an issue beforehand, I would have requested an inspection when spending thousands for 100k mile maintenance. I even brought vehicle to same Subaru dealer years prior (when it would have still been under warranty) for noise and shaking when accelerating/braking. They said this was normal for box engines and test drove it without any concerns. I can’t believe with the vast complaints on CVT issues that Subaru has not issued a recall. It’s irresponsible, dishonest, and a major safety concern. Consumers have right to be notified if they may be affected or put at risk.

Car was involved in a head on collision [XXX] with a concrete exit barrier after being pushed into the lane by a driver trying to in front of them trying to make a last second dash for the exit. Not sure if the driver was in blind spot, but the vehicle trying to merge did use turn signal or respond to horn honking from myself. In order to avoid the hitting the other driver, who was unaware of my car while aggressively merging, I tried driving into the safety lane, but at 65 MPH could not stop in time from hitting the barrier My safety was put at risk because upon impact the driver airbag did not deploy. The entire front end of the car crumbled and the car was declared totaled by the driver's insurance. The airbag deployment could have prevented more serious injury to the driver, by did not deploy. The driver was wearing their seat belt and suffered a bruised sternum and PTSD. Driver called police who did not file a report due to no damage to another vehicle or property or several injury to any persons. Airbag was part of the takata airbag recall for Subaru. Airbags are on record of being replaced at a Subaru dealership Redwood City, California- driver verified post crash. There were no warning lamps indicated the airbag was disabled. Driver alerted Subaru's quality control hotline who inspected the car on [XXX]. No word has been returned on why the airbag did not deploy during the crash. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Subframe is rusted out and causing control arm wobble which I cannot control the steering correctly

The contact owns a 2012 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and decelerated, prompting the contact to quickly exit the roadway, where the failure persisted. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the continuously variable transmission (CVT). The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 125,000.

The car stalls out at stops. It shutters and them stalls like a 5 speed car. I have almost been rear-ended on a couple occasions. It is now in the shop for a torque converter replacement

Couple weeks back while driving on the highway my check engine light came on along with different lights and transmission oil warning and car immediately lost power. I was able to pull over without incident. Then I took it to my local mechanic, they changed the transmission fluid and changed some fuses. It seemed fine after the repair and I started to drive home, but again the same warning lights came on and the repair shop advised me to take it to the nearest Subaru dealer which is an hour away from my home. I paid for the diagnostics and the dealer concluded the problem as follows "Transmission Valve Body: faulty causing check engine light and at oil temp light, will need to sit overnight for sealant to dry before fluid can be added.". I did some research and found that this is a known problem for the 2012 Outback and Subaru had a 10 year/100k extended warranty for the exact problem and didn't do any recall even though so many vehicles were affected and are being affected every day. There are numerous complaints regarding this. Though as being 2nd owner and have driven just 9k miles in 2 years while performing regular maintenance this is very unfortunate and dangerous. I emailed the manufacturer to cover this since 100k was up and it should have been recalled. This was their response" Dear [XXX]: Thank you for contacting Subaru. Your vehicle did have a 10 year/100,000 mile warranty for extended transmission coverage. Regrettably, it is far outside of warranty and Subaru of America would not be in a position to consider financial assistance towards your repair. I will notate your feedback in the case for Product Development to consider when designing future models. Sincerely, David Subaru of America, Inc. Customer Advocacy Department 1-800-SUBARU3 (1-800-782-2783) Case Number: [XXX]" They should recall the vehicle for this problem or offer free repair. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

When coming to a quick or hard stop, car will rumble then stall out. To confirm that the issue is transmission based I shift the car into neutral then brake quickly and the issue does not arise.

Odd noise arising from Front driver side wheel while driving on the interstate at 70mph. No indicator/warning lights/messages. Noise became much louder prompting us to stop driving and inspect. One of the 5 lug studs had broken off. Two of the 5 lug nuts were loose enough to hand rotate. Once diagnosed, we tightened all 4 remaining lug nuts. After driving 15min on the interstate at reduced speed, the noise from the front driver side wheel returned. The car was slowly driven off the interstate and re-inspected. The lug nuts were loose again. At this point, I felt the car was unsafe to drive, so I and my two passengers had to find an alternative ride given our safety was at risk. We were about 200miles away from home. The car was towed to the Subaru dealership in Midlothian, Virginia (Hyman Bros) for further inspection/repair. The Subaru dealership repair team told me that the lug stud was corroded and snapped off. The same Subaru dealership had recently (2,500miles prior) serviced the car including tire rotation and inspection in which they report they inspect the lug studs and they were sufficient for driving.

No issues with the car since I bought it new and was dedicated to regular Maintenance. Less than a week after a regular scheduled oil change and driving on the main interstate highway cruising at 65mph, the car just suddenly jerked. I thought I had blown a tire but the Brake light came on and then soon after the engine light came on. I was able to get off the highway but the acceleration decreased to a slow crawl. I had it towed to the nearest Subaru dealership that morning in which they said the issue is that both 1 and 4 are not correctly firing. They checked the spark plugs and checked the injector, but both did not fix the issue. They have now told me that they need to get the engine pistons/valves "machined". They are reaching out to Subaru to see if they can help since there is nothing I could have done to prevented this issue and they are hearing more of this issue occurring in Subaru cars. I'm praying that Subaru will help me with my vehicle but am waiting to hear from the Subaru dealership.

The engine shuts off while driving, especially when switching gears or when braking too hard (such as when traffic ahead suddenly stops). I had the engine shut off while I was making a left turn at an intersection and lost control abilities of the steering wheel.

The torque converter is failing at 113,00. It has happened at red lights, but more recently while on a Texas freeway that I had to come to a hard stop which cause the engine to stall out at 40 mph. My child was in the car and on a fast paced highway my safety was placed in jeopardy. It is going to the shop to be repaired because is this. I will have proof of repair service and faulty part. .

Concerns of The torque converter - there is very low engine RPM when coming to a stop. Thrust washer wear inside the torque converter causing restriction of the oil passage used to bleed off lock-up clutch application pressure. This has resulted in low engine ROM and stalling of my vehicle on dangerous intersections. My car stalled in an intersection several times due to this issue almost causing sever injuries or death. The problem has been reproduced and confirmed by an independent service center. Yes, has been inspected by independent service center. No warning lamps or other symptoms prior to the failure. They first appeared at/around 125,000 miles.

When driving normally on the road the car begins to flash the following lights in the dash( Engine check, Oil Temp Light, Brakes, ABS, Traction control light, airbag light, passenger airbag light indicator) the car continues to drive normally but I cannot know that for certain when almost every indicator light is flashing, I have had the car inspected at a Subaru dealer 4 times since last year for other repairs in which they indicated a detailed inspection of all components following the repairs( radiator, ABS module, Transmission Maintenance, Differential Maintenance, Brake Fluid flush,), spent roughly 6,000$ in repairs and nothing was ever mentioned about this issue, if an inspection was done how could they not find an electrical error.This has happened twice in 3 months I do not feel safe driving a car that cannot properly indicate what internal issues are happening. The car drives fine and is in good condition however only a battery reset and new battery have been able to halt this issue until it happens again. I hope this can be investigated and looked into getting it repaired.

The contact owns a 2012 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while entering the vehicle, it was discovered that rainwater had leaked into the vehicle from the sunroof. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on six separate occasions. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who determined that the cause of the failure was due to the sunroof drainage tubes being clogged with debris. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The contact stated that an unknown TSB addressing the failure had been issued by the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 16,781.

It was looked at by a subaru dealer but claims fault isnt on subaru. The paint is chipping around the trunk and other areas and has been getting progressively worse over the last several years. Paint ahould not chip at all unless its damaged and due to this now rust is starting to form i continually have to touch up new spots and try to slow the spread of paint flaking off for no reason at all. My 06 impreza never had this issue ir my 2012 town and country. The paint used is subpar needs to be repainted. ,

The rear brake lines sprung a leak in a well-known trouble spot with Subarus. The junction area underneath the passengers rear seat is where brake fluid is leaking from. I was driving under normal conditions, went and depressed the break and the pedal went to the floor. The cars brakes were not performing and upon inspection I found the leak. I researched this issue and found that Subaru did acknowledge this issue and other outback model years through recall and technical service bulletins. This is a significant safety issue and should be upgraded to a recall.

The contact owns a 2012 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and went down to the floorboard, increasing the stopping distance. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to his residence despite the failure. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the four-way brake connector was corroded and had started leaking brake fluid. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that there were no recalls on the VIN. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

WHEN BRAKING HARD, THE ENGINE SHUDDERS AND QUITS. WHEN CAR IS PUT IN PARK OR NEUTRAL IT CAN BE STARTED. AT TIME THE ENTIRE DASH LIGHTS ALL GO ON BEFORE THE ENGINE SHUDDERS AND QUITS WHEN BRAKING AT STOP LIGHTS. MY MECHANIS SAID IT IS THE TORQUE CONVERTER. THIS IS A KNOW ISSUE WITH SUBARU 2012 MODELS. THIS COULD CAUSE MY CAR TO BE REARENDED BY ANOTHER CAR WITH THE SUDDEN ENGINE STOP. SUBARU WILL NOT RECALL THESE VEHICLES BUT DOES OFFER AN EXTENDED WARRANTY. THE PROBLEM IS THAT, IN MOST CASES, THE ISSUES HAPPENS WITH MORE THAN 100,00 MILES ON THE DODMETER. THIS SEEMS LIKE IT COULD BE A SAFETY ISSUE.

Coming to a stop, not super hard at a turn light. the engine just died! all the lights started flashing so I put the car in park and tried to not freak out. Turned the key off and tried to restart right away and it didn't work, gave it another minute then it started up again, no light on or flashing what the heck. Like nothing just happened, omg my heart was beating and I was shaken up. They need to fix this! this is very dangerous and nerve racking I'm afraid to drive it now because you don't know when this is happing again or not.

1. Over the past months at different times the dashboard lights all start flashing the check engine cruise control breaks Flash on and off 2. Our safety's at risk because we don't know if the engine is needing repair or if it's an electrical problem or if the car's just gonna stop dead 3. We took the car in and they charged me $1500 for a new fan coil and it's still doing it 4. Yes there were many warning lights it has been happening for the past year and I've taken it in twice and it's still happening and now they're saying they have to replace the engine strap which is another $3000 this is ridiculous

Have been driving my car on the interstate for 6 hours and when this problem happened I was in cruise control. Out of no where a bunch of dash lights come on, (E brake and cruise control lights start blinking, traction control light comes on, and my check engine light comes on). I tried turning my car off for a few minutes and turning it back on but the lights still are blinking. I Googled my problem and found other people that have posted the same issue. I have also copied the found ID number for this issue: 10465487

Headlights keep burning out in less than a year.

The vehicle will accelerate all on its own I was pulling into a parking spot and the vehicle just accelerated thank god there was not another car in from of me or I would have hit them. Then later that same day with the cruise on the vehicle just started speeding up. I had to hit the brakes to turn cruise off or who knows how fast it would have taken me

I own a 2012 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium. The vehicle has approximately 161k miles. Recently, I have noticed the car beginning to stutter when approaching an abrupt stop. There have since been several instances where the car will stall when coming to a quick stop. This happened to me in the middle of traffic one day and I had my family in the car with me. In my opinion, this issue jeopardized the safety of my family. Stalling in the middle of the road and having to restart the car each time is a huge concern for me. My wife and I are now terrified to drive the car due to the looming safety concern. Upon further research, the problem stems from a faulty torque converter on the car, confirmed by TSB 16-90-13R. Subaru has not made this a recall unfortunately, but I don't feel I should be the one to pay the cost for a repair that is in my opinion very serious. Please take action to make this needed repair a more serious concern.

My Subaru Outback, at roughly 110,000 miles, displayed a dash indicator suggesting low brake fluid. After investigating, I found a brake line junction under the car, below the rear passenger seat. This 4-line junction is hidden behind a plastic cover that does have a removable inspection window. The junction's 4-lines are all corroded and at least one is leaking. After finding the issue and researching fixes online, I have discovered that this is a previously-reported problem although Subaru has not taken action to address it. I have not taken action to fix the issue as I am working out the best fix, but will not be driving the car until the leaking corroded junction is repaired.

Exhaust pipe cracked - same issue as indicated in Recall WUJ-95. Exhaust fumes leaking could be harmful to those riding in the car. Problem has been confirmed by an independent repair shop. No - the car was loud and I took it in to be looked at my independent car repair shop. I am not sure how recalls get started, but it seems that it should be looked into for this model year as well since it is only one year from the recall model year and it is the same problem.

Vehicle has always stuttered coming to stops but has began to start stalling. The problem was never diagnosed previously. Now that it is have found to be the torque converter I actually know what is happening. I don’t think being unable to rely on you vehicle to continue running in an emergency stop or break pump is a safety issue Subaru should take lightly. I have been faced with two Subaru known problem repairs recently that I didn’t know of at the time of purchase. The head gasket which left me stranded on a trip and a torque converter. The first was close to a 4k$ repair and the second is coming close to 2k$ repair. I am growing frustrated with Subaru ignoring how dangerous this and also how they are ignoring customer concerns. Both these issues are well documented by owners experiencing the same things I am. I would like to express this has happened since the vehicle was new but has gotten worse and is now stalling. Thank you, Joni