There are 50 owner-reported lighting complaints for the 2011 Subaru Outbackin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
HEADLIGHTS BURN OUT REPEATEDLY, WITHOUT WARNING OR INCIDENT, SOMETIMES BOTH WITHIN A WEEK. CAR IS DRIVEN LESS THAN 10K MILES PER YEAR, YET ONE OR BOTH HEADLIGHTS HAVE HAD TO BE REPLACED ANNUALLY ON AVERAGE. BULBS ARE VERY DIFFICULT FOR CONSUMER TO REPLACE AND MUST BE DONE BY GARAGE OR DEALERSHIP. ON ONE OCCASION BOTH HEADLIGHTS WERE OUT BEFORE VEHICLE COULD BE TAKEN TO GET BULBS REPLACED.
LOW BEAM HEAD LIGHT BURNS OUT WHILE DRIVING ON THE THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY. REPLACING THE BULB IS NOT THAT EASY. THIS IS WELL KNOWN PROBLEM AND SUBARU HAS BEEN AWARE OF THE PROBLEM FOR LAST EIGHT PLUS YEARS. INSTEAD OF REPLACING THE DEFECTIVE LIGHTING SYSTEM SUBARU HAS EXTENDED THE WARRANTY FOR 10 YEARS AND IT REIMBURSES THE COST OF THE NEW BULBS. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND ALL THESE DEFECTIVE LIGHTING EQUIPMENT SHOULD BE REPLACED. LOW BEAM LIGHTS BURNED OUT SEVERAL TIMES SINCE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED.
MAIN HEADLAMPS BURN OUT EVERY 9 TO 10 MONTHS CAUSING A DANGEROUS DRIVING SITUATION. REPLACEMENT OF THESE BULBS IS UNNECESSARILY CUMBERSOME FOR THE OWNER AND SUBARU DEALERS CHARGE $150 TO REPLACE A $15 DOLLAR BULB. IF NOT INSTALLED CORRECTLY YOU RISK A FIRE HAZARD. THIS SEEMS TO BE OUTSIDE OF REASON, AND A POOR DESIGN THAT RISKS LIVES. I HAVE FOUND MYSELF AWAY FROM HOME WITH NO WORKING HEADLIGHTS SEVERAL TIMES NOW.
HEADLIGHTS GO OUT WITH ABNORMAL FREQUENCY. DRIVER'S SIDE BULB HAS NEEDED CHANGING ON AVERAGE EVERY 3-4 MONTHS, EVEN THOUGH THE VEHICLE IS RARELY DRIVEN AT NIGHT. PASSENGER SIDE HAS BEEN REPLACED TWICE IN THE LAST YEAR ALONE.
TRACTION CONTROL, BRAKE, AND CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHTS TOGETHER PERIODICALLY TURN ON, AND OCCASIONALLY THE SPEED CONTROL LIGHT FLASHES. HAPPENS WHEN CAR IS STATIONARY AND WHILE DRIVING. NO CAR PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN AFFECTED, YET. UNKNOWN IF THESE "SYMPTOMS" POSE OR COULD RESULT IN A SAFETY ISSUE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE HEADLIGHTS AND BRAKE LIGHTS FAILED TO OPERATE. THE CONTACT HAD TO REPAIR THE HEADLIGHTS THREE TIMES AND THE BRAKE LIGHTS FOUR TIMES. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO STATED THAT THE LIGHTS WERE FAULTY. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND SUGGESTED THAT THE CONTACT CALL NHTSA. THE DEALER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.
FREQUENT HEADLIGHT BURNOUT (HAVE HAD TO REPLACE HEADLIGHT BULBS 4 TIMES IN THE LAST YEAR) REVIEW OF DATA ONLINE INDICATES THAT SUBARU RECOGNIZED THIS AS A PROBLEM AND WAS OFFERING REIMBURSEMENT FOR THESE COSTS TO CONSUMERS. DEADLINE WAS 2016. CLASS ACTION SUITS HAVE ALSO BEEN FILED. PLEASE HELP! THIS IS RIDICULOUS TO CONTINUALLY NEED TO REPLACE BULBS SO FREQUENTLY AND EXPENSIVE SINCE THEY ARE NOT EASY TO DO ON MY OWN
BOUGHT A 2011 SUBARU OUTBACK ON FEBRUARY 7, 2018 FROM DEALERSHIP, 90K MILES. I'VE OWED THIS CAR FOR 5 WEEKS AND ONE DAY AND I FINALLY HAD TIME TO GO TO THE DEALERSHIP TO HAVE THE DRIVER'S SIDE LOW BEAM BULB (WHICH BLEW OUT ABOUT 3 WEEKS AFTER PURCHASE BUT IS UNDER WARRANTY) AND ALSO BOTH BROW LIGHTS (DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS). ONE WAS DIM, THE OTHER WAS OUT. I BROUGHT THE BULBS AND GAVE THEM TO THE DEALERSHIP TO BE INSTALLED. WHEN FINISHED REPLACING, DEALERSHIP SAID I HAD A TAIL LIGHT OUT TOO. I TOLD THEM I WOULD REPLACE AND WENT ACROSS THE STREET TO PURCHASE A BULB. DROVE HOME AND WENT TO REPLACE TAIL LIGHT AND NOTICED I HAD TWO OUT, ONE ON EACH SIDE?! CONFUSED, I GRABBED A FRIEND TO VERIFY AND AFTER A BIT, I ENDED UP TAPPING THE LIGHT LENSE AND THE LIGHT CAME ON. BOTH OF THEM DID AFTER TAPPING EACH LENSE. CHECKED THE BULBS AND THEY WERE SECURE. ALSO, ABOUT 2 WEEKS AFTER PURCHASE, I HAD A PLATE LIGHT OUT. AGAIN, I BOUGHT BULBS AND WHEN I WENT TO REPLACE, IT WAS MIRACULOUSLY WAS WORKING.
THE SUBARU OUTBACK 2011 HAS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH HEADLIGHTS BURNING OUT FREQUENTLY. I REPLACE 7 HEADLIGHTS ON MY VEHICLE SINCE I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE USED IN SEPTEMBER 2017 COSTING ME $200. THE OUTBACK HAS AN EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR LIGHTBULB REPLACEMENT, BUT THAT ENDS IN 2021, AND CAUSES THE DRIVER THE INCONVENIENCE OF FREQUENTLY TAKING THE VEHICLE IN TO HAVE HEADLIGHTS REPLACED. A RECALL NEEDS TO BE CREATED TO FIX THIS ISSUE.
2011 OUTBACK AND HAVE REPLACED THE DRIVERS SIDE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT 4 TIMES AS OF TODAY. SEEMS TO BE FAILING WAY TOO OFTEN. VEHICLE HAS 41,000 MILES AND ALWAYS GARAGE KEPT, ORIGINAL OWNER.
I HAVE REPLACE ALL EXTERIOR LIGHTS MULTIPLE TIMES OVER THE 6 YEARS I HAVE OWN THIS CAR.
WHILE DRIVING HOME FROM WORK 11-09-2017 AT AROUND 6:30 PM BOTH MY HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT. I COULD NOT SEE THE ROAD AND I DROVE OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND SLAMMED MY BRAKES ON. I PUT THE CAR IN PARK AND GOT OUT AND LOOKED AT MY HEADLIGHTS. THEY WERE BOTH OUT. THE HIGH BEAMS DID WORK. I HAD TO KEEP HIGH BEAMS ON SO I COULD MAKE IT HOME.
WHEN PUT INTO GEAR, AND YOU TURN ON HEADLIGHTS LOW BEAM, THEY ARE NOT WORKING. CAR CAN BE STATIONARY OR MOVING. THE HIGH BEAMS WORK. FOG LIGHT WORK. LOW BEAMS ARE THE PROBLEM. WHILE DRIVING, IN MOTION THE SENSOR LIGHT WILL BLINK ON & OFF, THEN HEADLIGHTS GO OUT. HAVE REPLACED THE HEADLIGHTS MULTIPLE TIMES WITHIN PAST YEAR. WAS ALREADY IN FOR SERVICE, BUT NOW PROBLEM IS BACK
I HAVE REPLACED HEADLIGHTS IN THIS VEHICLE FIVE TIMES AND THEY KEEP BURNING OUT. THE DRIVERS SIDE HEADLIGH IS OUT AGAIN AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED.
LOW BEAM HEADLAMPS BURN OUT VERY QUICKLY - WITHIN 3-6 MONTHS, REPEATEDLY. ALSO, THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS ONLY COME ON AFTER DARK. AS DAY-TIME RUNNING LIGHTS THEY FAIL TO COME ON. THIS OCCURS AT ALL TIMES REGARDLESS OF SPEED, TEMP, OR DRIVING CONDITIONS.
EXTERIOR LIGHTS BURNING OUT FAR TOO FREQUENTLY.
HEAD LIGHT LOW BEAMS CONTINUE TO BURNOUT, HAVE HAD FOR 3 YEARS. HAVE HAD TO REPLACE 3 LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS IN PAST YEAR
THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS BURN OUT EVER 8-10 MONTHS. NO MATTER WHAT TYPE OF BULB USED, THE LOW BEAM BULB OVERHEATS AND BURNS ITSELF OUT FASTER THAN ANY OTHER CAR.
THE HEADLIGHT BULBS ON MY 2011 SUBARU OUTBACK "BURNOUT" EVERY 4-5 MONTHS. I ADDRESSED THE ISSUE WITH THE ORIGINAL DEALER WHERE THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED, TO NO SATISFACTORY END. THEY BASICALLY SAID THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO OTHER THAN REPLACE THE BULBS. SINCE THE FIRST INSTANCE I HAVE PERSONALLY REPLACED THE BULBS A MINIMUM OF A DOZEN TIMES. THE LATEST BURNOUT OCCURRED THIS WEEKEND WHILE DRIVING IN A SNOWSTORM.THE ORIGINAL DEALER IS NO LONGER IN BUSINESS SO I TOOK IT TO A DIFFERENT DEALER. THEY EXPLAINED THAT THERE IS NOW A "WARRANTY EXTENSION" IN PLACE TO REPLACE THE BULBS FOR A TEN YEAR PERIOD FROM THE DATE OF PURCHASE. WHEN I QUESTIONED WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO TO CORRECT THE OBVIOUS ELECTRICAL PROBLEM, THE SERVICE WRITER STATED "THERE IS NOTHING THAT CAN BE DONE OTHER THAN REPLACING THE BULB". A SUBSEQUENT CALL TO SUBARU OF AMERICA PRODUCED NOTHING MORE THAN A "SIR, WE HAVE EXTENDED THE WARRANTY FOR UP TO TEN YEARS TO REPLACE THE BULBS" WHEN I REPEATEDLY QUESTIONED WHAT WAS BEING DONE TO FIX THE PROBLEM. I SEARCHED THE INTERNET AND DISCOVERED THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE THAT SUBARU IS DOING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO RECTIFY. THEY ARE BAND AIDING THE PROBLEM WITH THE "EXTENDED WARRANTY". THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE WHEN HEADLIGHT BULBS JUST "BURNOUT", ALMOST ALWAYS AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME. IS IT GOING TO TAKE MY VEHICLE BURNING TO THE GROUND DUE TO AN ELECTRICAL SHORT, VOLTAGE SURGE OR WHATEVER ELSE IS CAUSING THE BURNOUTS, OR WORSE YET A SUBARU OWNER BEING INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT, BEFORE SUBARU INITIATES A RECALL TO FIX THE ISSUE THEY ARE WELL AWARE OF. *TR
REPEATED PREMATURE FAILURE OF HEADLIGHTS, MARKER LIGHTS, BRAKE LIGHTS. I'M AWARE OF THE RECALL REPLACING THE HEADLIGHTS BUT THAT IS NOT FIXING THE PROBLEM.
Showing 1–20 of 50 complaints
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.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026