2017 Subaru Outback Fuel System Problems

While car was in motion car just stalled. Upon reading recalls the maker of the fuel pump which produce these pumps has recalled other models. Denso and Subaru should check these other models and replace the known issue. Vehicle had to be towed for safety of myself and my son.

I was pulling into a space in a parking deck, foot on brake. Just as I was shifting into Park, the car lunged forward and slammed into the guard rail. Popped the fender and did some paint damage. Thankfully no one was hurt, but frightening to think that this could have happened in an intersection.

On December 1, 2022, as I jockeyed my car out of my garage it accelerated as I tried to break and I slowly drove into a stack of boxes at the back of the garage. No damage and I was able to back out and continue my journey. My wife was in the car with me. I continued on my trip to North Carolina without incident. On Dec 5, 2022, on our return home I exited the highway in southern Pa. to get supper. After I entered the off ramp and then prepared to obey a yield sign, the car again accelerated despite my attempt to brake. I swerved to the right to avoid any traffic and the car did eventually stop. Again no damage. Subsequently we resumed our travel and arrived home with no further incident. On December 6, 2022, as I backed out of the garage again it accelerated as I tempted to brake. Fortunately no damage and the car did finally stop in the driveway. I called the dealer and drove the car in for a checkup. They found no problems and reported the car ran as designed. While in the service department they replaced the muffler, put in new spark plugs and replaced a wheel bearing. I have had no further problems since I picked up the car on December 12, 2022. The dealership was very cooperative but I wanted to issue this concern with your agency in case there have been other complaints of this nature. I drive my car with some anxiety that another incident may recur. Thank you for your review and anticipated response. [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

CAR LOST POWER AND ENGINE SHUT DOWN WHILE AT FREEWAY SPEED WITH 1/8 TANK APPARENT REMAINING ON THE GAS GAUGE AND 60 MILES REMAINING ON THE MILES TO GO INDICATOR. ADDED 1 GALLON AT ROADSIDE AND CAR STARTED IMMEDIATELY. ADDED AN ADDITIONAL 15.5 GALLONS AT A STATION 12 MILES FROM POINT THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN. THIS LEAVES BETWEEN 2 AND 2.5 GALLONS OF UNUSED FUEL IN THE TANK AT THE POINT THE CAR SHUT DOWN FROM FUEL STARVATION.

FUEL GAUGE IS INACCURATE AND DOES NOT SHOW NEAR EMPTY WHEN NO USABLE FUEL IS LEFT IN THE TANK. WE WERE DRIVING TO AN EVENT WITH SLIGHTLY LESS THAN 1/4 OF A TANK OF GAS REMAINING WHEN THE VEHICLE RAN OUT OF FUEL. COMPLETE ENGINE STALL (NO SPUTTERING/ETC. BEFORE) AT 70MPH ON THE HIGHWAY, REQUIRING AN EMERGENCY STOP ACROSS SEVERAL LANES OF TRAFFIC. THIS IS CLEARLY A DANGEROUS PROBLEM, AND IT SEEMS SEVERAL OTHER 2017 OUTBACK OWNERS HAVE REPORTED SIMILAR ISSUES. IT APPEARS TO BE SIMILAR TO THE 2018 FUEL GAUGE RECALL (WTW-82) BUT FOR 2017 VEHICLES. UNFORTUNATELY, I DIDN'T THINK TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THE FUEL GAUGE, BUT WAS ACTUALLY PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION AS I HAD RECEIVED THE NOTIFICATION FOR SUBARU'S WUD-89 "DISTANCE-TO-EMPTY SOFTWARE UPDATE," SO I KNEW THE DISTANCE-TO-EMPTY INDICATOR WAS WRONG, BUT GIVEN THE NOTICE SAID NOTHING ABOUT THE FUEL GAUGE ITSELF AND ONLY MENTIONED THE DTE SOFTWARE WAS INCORRECT, I MADE THE NATURAL ASSUMPTION THAT THE GAUGE ITSELF WAS STILL AT LEAST REMOTELY ACCURATE.

MILES TO EMPTY (MTE) SHOWS 40 MILES TO GO BUT RAN OUT OF GAS IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY INTERSECTION WHICH WAS TRAFFIC LIGHT CONTROLLED. I WAS STUCK THERE WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN FOR THE OTHER LANES AND CARS WERE COMING AT ME AND HAD TO DODGE MY VEHICLE.

FUEL GAUGE ERRATIC. CAR RAN OUT OF GAS AT 70 MPH ON THE INTERSTATE WHILE SHOWING 70 MILES REMAINING ON TRIP COMPUTER AND OVER 1/8 OF A TANK ON GAUGE. STARTING THE CAR SHOWS DIFFERENT FUEL LEVEL FROM ONE TIME TO THE NEXT (E.G.-SHOWS OVER FULL WHEN LAST STARTED, THEN IT SHOWED 3/4 FULL WHEN STARTED AGAIN. STOP/RESTART THE CAR AND GAUGE SHOWS 3/4 FULL AGAIN).

OUR OUTBACK RAN OUT OF GAS ON TWO OCCASIONS: THE LOW FUEL LIGHT NEVER CAME ON, THE FUEL GAUGE REGISTERED ABOUT 1/4 TANK AND COMPUTER SAID 100-120 MILES LEFT ON THE TANK. OTHERS HAVE HAD SIMILAR ISSUES AND THEY ARE DOCUMENTED ON THE INTERNET. INCIDENT #1: 10/25/2017, GPS: 38.365669,-82.850853. INCIDENT #2: 06/05/2018, GPS: 38.519781,-89.707681. BOTH INCIDENTS WERE ON INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS DURING A LONG DAY OF DRIVING. DURING THE 2ND INCIDENT I TOOK PICTURES OF THE DASH TO DOCUMENT THE GAUGES. THE DASH PHOTOS SHOW ABOUT 1/4 TANK OF FUEL REMAINING, 100 MILES UNTIL EMPTY AND NO LOW FUEL WARNING LIGHT. AAA PUT 2.5 GALLONS OF GAS INTO THE TANK, WE DROVE A FEW MILES TO THE NEXT EXIT AND FILLED UP. TANK ACCEPTED 13.5 GALLONS. SO 2.5 + 13.5 = 16 GALLONS, YET THE FUEL CAPACITY IS LISTED AS 18.5 GALLONS. SO SOMEWHERE THERE IS A DISCREPANCY OF 2.5 GALLONS. ALL THESE DETAILS AND DOCUMENTATION WAS PROVIDED TO THE LOCAL SUBARU DEALERSHIP. WE NOTIFIED OUT LOCAL DEALERSHIP OF THE ISSUE ON 6/5/18, THEY HAD THE CAR SEVERAL DAYS AND SAID A FIX WOULD BE OUT BY END OF SUMMER. TO DATE SUBARU AND MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO PROVIDE A FIX FOR THE ISSUE. SO NEARLY 6 MONTHS LATER AND STILL NO FIX. THIS SAME PROBLEM WAS REPORTED TO SUBARU AS FAR BACK AS 12/2016. HERE'S A WRITE-UP FROM 12/2016 ABOUT A PERSON HAVING AN ISSUE RUNNING OUT OF GAS. THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES WERE VERY SIMILAR TO OURS: HTTPS://WWW.SUBARUOUTBACK.ORG/FORUMS/66-PROBLEMS-MAINTENANCE/385545-2017-OUTBACK-2-5I-PREMIUM-RAN-OUT-GAS-2-5-GALLONS-LEFT.HTML WE WERE IN THE PASSING LANE ABOUT HALFWAY AROUND A BUS WHEN WE RAN OUT OF FUEL ! THIS PROBLEM IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND NEEDS TO ADDRESSED BY SUBARU IN A PROMPT MANNER.

WE WERE TRAVELING ON THE INTERSTATE AND THE MILES TO GO BEFORE NEEDING FUEL MONITORING SYSTEM SAID WE HAD 60 MILES OF FUEL LEFT. WHEN REACHED 30 MILES OF FUEL LEFT ON THE FUEL MONITORING SYSTEM THE CAR DIED AS IF WE WERE OUT OF GAS. IT WOULD NOT START AGAIN UNTIL BE PUT FUEL IN THE TANK. I FEEL THIS IS A DANGEROUS LIABILITY. IT JUST SO HAPPENED THAT WE HAD TAKEN AN EXIT AND COULDN'T EVEN MAKE IT TO THE GAS STATION WE COULD SEE A 100 YARDS FROM THE EXIT. WE DID MANAGE TO GET THE CAR PULLED OFF TO THE SIDE OF A VERY BUSY HIGHWAY, BUT IT WAS TO DANGEROUS TO LET ANYONE WALK TO THE STATION AND HAD TO CALL SOMEONE FOR HELP. I HEARD THERE WAS A RECALL FOR THIS PROBLEM BUT WE DID NOT RECEIVE A NOTICE FOR OUR CAR. I AM FILING THIS REPORT BECAUSE I FEEL SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE BEFORE IT HAPPENS AGAIN. WE CAN'T TRUST THE FUEL GAUGE AND THEREFORE WE MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T GET VERY LOW BEFORE REFUELING.

FUEL GAUGE DOES NOT REGISTER FULL WHEN CAR IS FILLED UP. DEALER DID NOT REPAIR THE FIRST TIME AND PROBLEM RETURNED SAME DAY AFTER FILLING UP AGAIN. HAVE TO GO BACK AGAIN TO DEALER. I AM CONCERNED THAT IF GAUGE DOES NOT REGISTER PROPERLY CAR MAY RUN OUT OF GAS IN A PLACE THAT COULD BE DANGEROUS (I.E.; FREEWAY , BUSY ROAD, ETC.). CAR DEALERS AND COMPANIES RESPONSE TO THIS PROBLEM SEEMS EVASIVE . I AM VERY CONCERNED THAT THIS COULD BECOME A VERY SERIOUS AND DANGEROUS PROBLEM .VEHICLE IS STATIONARY OR IN MOTION AND NO CHANGE IN FUEL GAUGE. DOES NOT MATTER IF YOU TURN VEHICLE OR GO UP OR DOWN HILL EITHER . HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES NOW. NOT REPAIRED AS OF YET.

ONGOING PROBLEM FOR 8 MONTHS AND COUNTING. I PURCHASED A NEW 2017 SUBARU OUTBACK. FROM THE FIRST DAY OF OWNERSHIP, THE FUEL GAUGE HASN'T DISPLAYED THE CORRECT AMOUNT OF GAS IN THE TANK. AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS BY SUBARU SERVICE TO FIX THE PROBLEM, I WAS TOLD THAT SUBARU IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM, BUT THERE IS NO SOFTWARE FIX AT THIS TIME, EVEN 8 MONTHS LATER. I NEVER KNOW HOW MUCH GAS IN IN MY CAR. THE GAUGE SKIPS AROUND WHILE DRIVING. IT MAY SHOW A FULL TANK, BUT 5 MINUTES LATER SHOW 1/4 TANK. AFTER ANOTHER 5 MINUTES THE GAUGE MAY SHOW 3/4 TANK. A NEW CAR WITHOUT A WORKING GAS GAUGE! RIDICULOUS!