There are 10 owner-reported suspension complaints for the 2013 Subaru Outbackin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
I purchased a car from Middletown Nissan on May 24, 2025. The car was assured to have all these different safety checks so far it had to have the power steering pump replaced twice the power steering lines replaced all new control arms a new bearing brand new back brakes which include rotors and pads, and four new tires When the tires were put on they found that the car had significant damage in the subframe from rotting there are holes in it. The car was at the dealership several times for different problems and they never disclose this problem. They basically told me it was my fault when I’ve had the car for two months that the frame is completely rotted. The car is clunking and not driving mechanically the way it should
EXCESSIVE OIL USAGE, REGULARLY OCCURS WITHIN 6000 MILES OF OIL CHANGE BURNS ONE QUART OF SYNTHETIC ENGINE OIL. ALSO NOTE BUSHING IN DRIVERS SIDE LOWER CONTROL ARM HAS FAILED AS OF 50,000.
IN TEMPERATURES LOWER THAN 45 DEGREES F, IF NOT 'WARMED UP' THE CAR WILL MAKE A LOUD THUNK NOISE AND LURCH FORWARD UPON BEING PUT INTO DRIVE. IF THE BRAKE IS NOT FIRMLY ENGAGE, THE CAR WILL JUMP FORWARD. THE SUBARU DEALER CLAIMS THIS IS CAUSED BY THE CAR'S STATUS AS A PERFORMANCE VEHICLE, AND ENGINE WARM UP NEEDS TO OCCUR TO LOWER THE RPMS. *TR
THE SUBARU CANNOT HOLD THE ROAD AND VEERS WITHIN THE LANE ALMOST CREATING ACCIDENTS WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY. THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED THREE WEEKS AFTER PURCHASING THE CAR THAT A PROBLEM EXISTED. THE CAR WAS TAKEN INTO THE DEALER AND THE SERVICE MANAGER DROVE THE CAR AND AGREED THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM. THE PROBLEM WAS HYPOTHESIZED TO BE DUE TO THE REAR SUSPENSION SYSTEM. SUBARU WAS NOTIFIED BECAUSE THE CAR IS UNDER WARRANTY AND THE PROBLEM MAY BE A DESIGN FLAW, BUT THE REQUEST WAS DENIED TO HAVE THE PROBLEM RESOLVED. I PERSONALLY NOTIFIED SUBARU AND FILED A COMPLAINT, BUT ONCE AGAIN THEY WILL NOT ACKNOWLEDGE A PROBLEM. THE CAR IS UNSAFE AND ITS CONSTANT WANDERING MOTION IS IMMINENT FOR AN ACCIDENT. IT IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM THAT NEEDS ACTION. *TR
VEHICLE DOES NOT HANDLE WELL ON THE HIGHWAY/INTERSTATE. SEEMS TO DRIFT AND WANDER. I HAVE DRIVEN MANY VEHICLES AND THIS IS THE FIRST VEHICLE THAT I HAVE OWNED THAT I HAVE HAD THIS EXPERIENCE WITH. I PURCHASED MY FIRST 2013 THAT WASN'T WHAT I WANTED SO THEY ORDERED THE SAME VEHICLE WITHE EVERYTHING I WANTED. BOTH OF THESE OUTBACKS DID THE VERY SAME THINGS SINCE DAY ONE. ON A NON-WINDY DAY IT IS IF A DRUNK DRIVER IS DRIVING, ALWAYS HAVING TO CORRECT THE STEERING. ON A WINDY DAY IT IS NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TO STAY IN YOUR OWN LANE PROPERLY. *TR
WHEN I MAKE A HARD RIGHT TURN, SUCH AS PULLING OUT INTO THE NEAR LANE OR PARKING, MY FRONT PASSENGER TIRE COMES IN CONTACT WITH MY FENDER WELL - SPECIFICALLY THE BODY MOLDING AND VIOLENTLY. WHEN MEASURING MY HUB (CENTER) TO HUB (CENTER), THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE CAR IS A FULL .5 INCH CLOSER THAN THE DRIVER SIDE. YOU CAN ALSO MEASURE THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE FRONT TIRE TO FENDER WELL AND SEE THAT THE PASSENGER SIDE IS CLOSER TO THE BACK OF THE FENDER WELL THAN THE DRIVER SIDE. I NOTIFIED WEST HOUSTON SUBARU IN LATE DEC. 2012 OF THE PROBLEM SO THEY CHECKED THE ALIGNMENT & MEASURED THE AFOREMENTIONED HUB/TIRE/FENDER DISTANCES. THEY ACKNOWLEDGED A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE; SAID THEY WOULD CONTACT SUBARU OF AMERICA (SOA) AND FOLLOW UP... UNFORTUNATELY I HAD TO CONTACT THEM BACK... THEN IT WAS SUGGESTED I CONTACT SOA MYSELF SO I DID ON JANUARY 8, 2013. AT THIS TIME SOA NOR THE DEALERSHIP IS WILLING TO ADDRESS MY PROBLEM HOWEVER MANY PEOPLE IN THE WWW.SUBARUOUTBACK.ORG FORUM ARE DESCRIBING THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. [XXX] FROM SOA HAS TOLD ME THEY ARE WAITING FOR SOMETHING BUT IT IS NOT CLEAR... IN THE MEANTIME I CONTINUE TO DRIVE MY 3 YEAR OLD SON AND WIFE IN A CAR WHOSE TIRE IMPACTS THE BODY OF THE CAR!! THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!! PLEASE HELP ME! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). 8TR
VEHICLE WANDERS AT HIWAY SPEEDS REQUIRING CONSTANT CORRECTION. WILL NOT DRIVE A STRAIGHT PATH WITHOUT VEERING OFF. VERY UNSTABLE AND UNPREDICTABLE. DEALERSHIP CLAIMS VEHICLE IS WITHIN SPECIFICATIONS. I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS ISSUE. AS OF NOW MANUFACTURER HAS NOT ACKNOWLEDGED ISSUE AND THERE IS NO EFFECTIVE SOLUTION. THIS IS A LINK TO A FORUM WHERE MANY OTHER OWNERS OF THE SAME VEHICLE ARE MAKING THE SAME COMPLAINTS. HTTP://WWW.SUBARUOUTBACK.ORG/FORUMS/104-GEN-4-2010-PRESENT/31638-OB-LANE-WANDERING.HTML. *TR
VEHICLE SWAYS AND DRIFTS IN LANE ON NON-WINDY DAY. WINDY DAYS MADE IF IMPOSSIBLE TO STAY IN LANE PROPERLY. 50+ MPH SPEEDS SEEMED TO BE WHERE/WHEN AFFECTED. I LATER TRADED THIS VEHICLE IN ON ANOTHER OUTBACK WITH MORE OPTIONS. THAT OUTBACK DOES THE VERY SAME THING. IT IS AS IF A DRUNK DRIVER IS BEHIND THE WHEEL. *TR
DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE SEEMS TO DRIFT BACK AND FORTH IN THE LANE, FORCING THE DRIVER TO CONTINUALLY MAKE STEERING CORRECTIONS, NEVER DRIVING IN A COMPLETELY STRAIGHT LINE. THIS HAS HAPPENED SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED NEW. *TR
VEHICLE SUSPENSION DOES NOT CONTROL VEHICLE DURING FREEWAY SPEED DRIVING. VEHICLE EXPERIENCES LARGE LEFT-RIGHT SWAY MOTIONS ON WAVY PAVEMENT AT FREEWAY SPEEDS AND LARGE UNCONTROLLED VEHICLE MOTIONS UP-DOWN AT FREEWAY SPEEDS. VEHICLE IS HARD TO CONTROL DURING OCCURRENCES AND NEEDS CONSTANT STEERING CORRECTIONS AS RESULT OF LARGE SUSPENSION MOTIONS. ALSO DUE TO THE POORLY DAMPED SUSPENSION, BRAKING DISTANCES ARE LONG. CAR DOES NOT SLOW DOWN AS EXPECTED, ESPECIALLY WHEN VEHICLE IS UNDERGOING A LARGE SUSPENSION ARTICULATION. SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, MY VEHICLE WAS INITIALLY TAKEN TO DEALERSHIP TO VERIFY PROBLEM, BUT, DEALERSHIP MECHANIC SAID VEHICLE BEHAVES W/ IN SPEC AND LIKE OTHER VEHICLES. I RECENTLY TOOK MY VEHICLE IN FOR ANOTHER ISSUE, BUT, RECEIVED A LOANER VEHICLE IDENTICAL TO MY VEHICLE. THE LOANER VEHICLE DOES NOT RESPOND IN THE SAME MANNER AS MY VEHICLE. LOANER VEHICLE EXHIBITS WELL DAMPED SUSPENSION CONTROL AND NEGLIGIBLE BODY MOTIONS. BRAKING DISTANCES ARE MUCH BETTER ON THE LOANER VEHICLE LARGELY DUE TO THE WELL DAMPED SUSPENSION. THE LOANER VEHICLE IS SIGNIFICANTLY EASIER TO DRIVE THAN MY VEHICLE. MY VEHICLE IS STILL CURRENTLY AT THE DEALERSHIP BEING REVIEWED BY SUBARU OF AMERICA'S TECHNICAL ADVISOR. *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.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026