There are 13 stored owner reports matching the engine leading-label group for the 2008 Subaru Outback in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 13 of 13 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)CAR CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON, ALONG WITH TRACTION LIGHT ON, CRUISE LIGHT ON. CAN'T SHUT ANY OFF. CAR ACTUALLY GETS VERY HOT TO THE TOUCH DRIVERS SIDE NEAR FENDER HEADLIGHT. COULD START ON FIRE! DANGEROUS! THINK THERE IS A RECALL ON FRONT OXYGEN SENSOR, ONLY IF TURBO? REDICULOUS! SHOULD BE ALL NOT JUST TURBO MODEL! ALSO HAD TO REPLACE HEAD COVER GASKET AND EVERYTHING THAT GOES WITH THAT 5/17/2017 108,900 MILES. THAT SHOULD BE A RECALL ALSO.
TRANSMISSION FAILED, ON THE ROAD, PROBLEM SHIFTING, I WANT TO KNOW IF THERE HAS BEEN A RECALL. I COULD FIND THE PLACE TO ENTER THAT INFO. I AM NOT A MACHANIC!
MY CAR HAS HAD CYLINDER MISFIRES FOR OVER A YEAR. SUBARU HAS TOLD ME IT IS "NOT THEIR PROBLEM" AND THEY HAVE CHARGED ME OVER $2,000 FOR THE VARIOUS TIMES I HAVE BROUGHT IT IN TO FIX THE PROBLEM. THEY JUST "FIXED" IT LAST WEEK AND WITHIN 1 DAY, ALL MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS CAME BACK ON, AND WITHIN 3 DAYS IT IS MISFIRING AGAIN. THEY DO NOT RETURN MY CALLS OR PROPERLY SERVICE MY CAR. I BELIEVE THIS IS AN ENGINE RECALL PROBLEM THEY ARE AVOIDING FOR THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE RECALL. I DO NOT WANT THIS DANGEROUS CAR.
2008 SUBARU OUTBACK. CONSUMER SEEKS REIMBURSEMENT FROM MANUFACTURERS CATALYTIC CONVERTER DEFECT RECALL REPAIRS. *SMD THE CONSUMER STATED A FEW DAYS AFTER PURCHASING THE VEHICLE, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. A LOCAL REPAIR SHOP READ THE CODES AND EXPLAINED TO THE CONSUMER, THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER WAS FAILING. THE CONSUMER LEARNED SUBARU HAD ISSUED A SELECTIVE RECALL, ONLY HONORED IN CERTAIN STATES, ON THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER WITH A REPROGRAMMING OF THE ECM. THE CONSUMER PAID FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER. HOWEVER, SHE IS REQUESTING REIMBURSEMENT. *JB
ENGINE HEAD GASKET IS LEAKING OIL. WARRANTY IS EXPIRED, BUT 74K MILES IS TOO EARLY FOR THIS MAJOR PROBLEM TO OCCUR. SUBARU CUSTOMER SERVICE HAS AGREED TO PAY FOR A PORTION OF THE REPAIR COST.
HEAD GASKETS FAILED AND, ONCE DISASSEMBLED, VALVES WERE FOUND TO BE LEAKING. *TR
IN JULY FOLLOWING THE REPLACEMENT OF OUR CATALYTIC CONVERTER I WROTE TO SUBARU TO INQUIRE ABOUT REIMBURSEMENT. THERE WAS NO RESPONSE. THE REPLACEMENT COST WAS $728.08. APPARENTLY ONLY SEVEN STATES ISSUED A MANDATORY RECALL. VIRGINIA ISN'T ONE OF THEM. THE VEHICLE WAS RELIGIOUSLY MAINTAINED, ALL SUPPORTED BY DOCUMENTATION. AT 97,600 MILES THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER WEARING OUT HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE PART ITSELF. REIMBURSEMENT FOR THIS CATALYTIC CONVERTER WOULD GO A LONG WAY IN OUR FUTURE DECISION OF WHICH BRAND CAR TO BUY. IT'S KNOWN IN MARKETING IT COSTS A LOT LESS TO KEEP A CUSTOMER THAN TO GAIN A NEW ONE. *TR
BLOWN HEAD GASKET, DAMAGE OCCURRED OVER MANY YEARS WHILE CAR WAS UNDER WARRANTY AND WAS BEING SERVICED REGULARLY BY THE SUBARU DEALER. NO NOTIFICATION OF THIS DAMAGE WAS GIVEN TO ME UNTIL THE CAR WAS JUST OUTSIDE OF ITS WARRANTY. PREVIOUSLY SUBARU HAS ACKNOWLEDGED THIS DEFECT WHICH COULD CAUSE AN ENGINE TO SEIZE WHILE DRIVING CAUSING A SAFETY ISSUE IF THAT OCCURRED ON A HIGHWAY. *TR
VEHICLE HAS HAD SEVERE OIL LEAKING FOR 4 YEARS. DEALERSHIP INFORMED ME OF HEAD GASKET PROBLEMS, BUT ONLY OFFERED REPAIR AT FULL SHOP RATE PRICES. I SEE THIS A POTENTIAL FIRE HAZARD.
VEHICLE OVERHEATED, DROVE TO NEAREST SERVICE STATION. RADIATOR FLUSHED AND TESTED FOR LEAKS, NONE FOUND. NO OTHER DETERMINATION MADE. CAR OVERHEATING, SLOW COOLANT LOSS. SUBARU DIAGNOSED MAJOR HEAD GASKET FAILURE PROBABLY OCCURRED PRIOR TO 73000 MILES, BUT BEYOND POWER TRAIN WARRANTY. SUBARU HQ DECLINED TO HELP WITH COST CONSIDERING THE SERVICE TECH MGR STATED A 2008 MODEL CAR SHOULD NOT HAVE THIS FAILURE. PREVIOUSLY OWNED 1998 SUBARU OUTBACK WITH SIMILAR GASKET FAILURE SOME TIME AFTER POWER TRAIN WARRANTY EXPIRED. COSTLY REPAIR. *TR
VEHICLE STARTED RUNNING BIT ROUGH WHILE IDLING AT INTERSECTION; UPON ACCELERATION, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND OTHER INSTRUMENT LIGHTS STARTED FLICKERING AND CAR STALLED. RESTARTED NORMALLY. *TR
MY CAR ENGINE STALLS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD WHILE DRIVING AND WHILE MAKING A LEFT TURN IN A SIGNAL, WHILE WAITING ON THE RED LIGHT AND WHILE STOPING AND IDLING AT THE PARKING LOT. WHEN THIS ISSUE HAPPENS ALL THE LIGHTS IN THE DASH LIGHTS UP AND THE STEERING WHEEL BECOMES LOCKED. THIS ENGINE STALLING ISSUE HAPPENS RANDOMLY. SOME TIMES EVERY DAY IN A WEEK, 2 DAYS IN A WEEK OR 3 DAYS IN A WEEK. SOME TIMES THE ENGINE STALLS MORE THAN 10 TIMES IN A DAY. IN ORDER TO CORRECT THIS ISSUE, I TOOK MY CAR TO SUBARU DEALERSHIP AND EXPLAINED THE SERVICE TECHNICIAN THE PROBLEM. FIRST TIME, I WAS ASKED TO LEAVE MY CAR AT THE DEALER SHIP OVERNIGHT TO SEE IF DEALER CAN RECREATE THE PROBLEM. DEALER TOLD ME HE COULDN'T RECREATE THE ISSUE. SECOND TIME, DEALER FOUND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON AND USED THE DIAGONSTIC TOOL TO FIND OUT THAT MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR IS BAD AND REPLACED IT. BUT THIS DIDN'T FIX THE PROBLEM. THIRD TIME I CONTACT SUBARU CUSTOMER SERVICE AND EXPLAINED THE ISSUE. SUBARU CUSTOMER SERVICE ASKED ME TO TAKE MY CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AGAIN. I TOOK MY CAR TO DEALERSHIP AND LEFT IT THERE FOR 2 DAYS. ON THE THIRD DAY, DEALER SAID THE BATTERY WAS BAD AND REPLACED THE BATTERY AND SAID HE COULDN'T REPRODUCE THE ISSUE. WHEN I TOOK THE CAR BACK FROM THE DEALERSHIP ON THE THIRD DAY, WITHIN FEW HOURS MY CAR ENGINE AGAIN STALLED. THIS TIME I TOOK THE VIDEO OF THE ISSUE. I CONTACTED THE SUBARU CUSTOMER SERVICE AND EXPLAINED WHAT WAS HAPPENING AND I WAS TOLD THAT DEALER CANNOT FIX THE ISSUE UNLESS HE CAN RECREATE THE ISSUE. SO I TOOK MY CAR TO SUBARU DEALERSHIP MORE THAN 3 TIMES, SPENT MORE THAN $1000 FOR PARTS, LABOR AND CAR RENTAL AND STILL THE PROBLEM IS NOT FIXED. ACTUALLY IT IS GETTING WORSE DAY BY DAY. *TR
THE PROBLEM IS THE CAR SUDDENLY LOOSING POWER AT VARIOUS SPEEDS FOR NO APPARENT REASON. HAS OCCURRED OVER 6 TIMES IN THE PAST MONTH, 4 TIMES IN THIS LAST WEEK. THE MOST RECENT ON 4/30/10 THE CAR COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN WHILE DRIVING AT A SPEED OF 20 MPH. NO WARNING INDICATORS CAME ON THE DASHBOARD. FIRST TIME WAS WHEN ACCELERATING UP AN ON RAMP AND SEVERAL MORE TIMES ON OTHER INCLINED RAMPS, THEN LEAVING A STREET TO ENTER A HWY 4/28/10, ANOTHER AT A COMPLETE STOP THE CAR SHUDDERED 4/29/10, SAME DAY TRAVELING AT 60 MPH LOST POWER FOR A BRIEF MOMENT THEN RESUMED, THESE TWO INCIDENTS WERE WITHIN 5 MINUTES. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO THE DEALER WHERE PURCHASED AND SERVICED TO HAVE THEM LOCATE AND REPAIR THE PROBLEM. HAVE NOT RECEIVED INFORMATION AS YET. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.