There are 1 stored owner reports matching the tires & wheels leading-label group for the 2012 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 1 of 1 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)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.
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.