2018 Subaru Outback Engine Problems

The cam tower seal on modern Subaru Outbacks fail at an incredibly high rate and the repair cost is typically higher than $3000. Subaru's standard warranty covers the repair up until 60,000 miles but a quick search on user forum's shows that this issues consistently pops up somewhere between 60 and 90 thousand miles.

Vehicle had valve replacement after finding an oil leak in January 2023 at around 135,000 mi. August 2023, around 159,000 mi, mechanic found that valve needed to be replaced again as vehicle was leaking oil. System warning message came on to indicate low oil and upon checking, mechanic found that there was no oil on the dipstick. No dashboard light came on to indicate low/no oil at any point.

Burning oil in the engine drastically

Vehicle was parked with engine idling (waiting for passengers), engine accelerated to very high revs without any operator action. Driver shutdown engine. Driver checked to be sure nothing could have hit the accelerator, nothing found. Restarted the vehicle, could not reproduce the problem. About 2 miles down the road a RED exclamation symbol appeared on dash panel and shut off after 5 to 10 seconds.

2018 SUBARU OUTBACK. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO ENGINE FAILURE. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE HAD VARIOUS SAFETY DEFECT ISSUES INCLUDING A RECALL FOR LOW FUEL PROGRAMMING, LOW GRINDING NOISE AND VIBRATION IN THE BRAKES, AND VIBRATION IN THE STEERING WHEEL. THE VEHICLE ALSO HAD VARIOUS ELECTRONIC ISSUES INCLUDING GLITCHES WITH THE INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM, STEREO WOULD FREEZE, SPEAKERS WERE OUT OF SYNC AND RATTLED, SEAT HEATING TEMPERATURE TOO LOW, AND THE PASSENGER SIDE POWER WINDOWS DID NOT OPERATE PROPERLY.

While driving our 2018 Subaru Outback 3.6 the engine quit about 15 miles into our trip while driving at about 45 MPH. It had done this once before where after drifting to a stop and putting it in park it restarted and we finished the trip. This time we drifted to a stop and put it in park and tried to restart the engine. It restarted and immediately quit. We did this several times over a 20 minute time frame. We had it towed to the dealer where it took about 3 hours for them to look at it. It restarted and the fault codes showed it had stalled, but no other problem and no fix to be made. I see this problem in several forums with no fix offered. This is a significant safety issue since braking and steering power are lost.

I had pulled into our garage and had come to a stop. With my foot on the brake, I was reaching for the ignition button to turn the car off when the car suddenly accelerated forward and struck our large metal tool box, pushing it through the rear wall of the garage. The vehicle has not been inspected by anyone. No warning lamps or messages appeared.

DURING FISH-TAILING ON A SLICK ROAD THE ENGINE ACCELERATED WITHOUT PUSHING ON THE GAS PEDAL.

Flex joint connecting to catalytic convertor. For 3+ years, exhaust from engine coming directly into cab, coughing, nausea, burning eyes/nose/lungs/chest. Foul odor, difficulty breathing. The problem has been reproduced and diagnosed by two independent mechanics. The dealer, when initially requested to inspect expeditiously, couldn't get me out the door fast enough. The component has only been inspected by two independent mechanics. There were no warnings. I would like to add that this specific part has already been subject to Subaru Program Bulletin WUB-87, WUJ-95, and is reported by mechanics as common defective part.

SINCE THE CAR HAS BEEN BRAND NEW, A HALF GALLON OF COOLANT HAS NEEDED TO BE ADDED TO THE CAR ON A MONTHLY BASIS. NO LEAKS HAVE BEEN DETECTED. THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A VERY STRONG ODOR OF BURNING COOLANT. DEALER STATES THIS IS NORMAL FOR THE 2.5L ENGINE, SO THERE IS NOTHING TO REPAIR, JUST KEEP AN EYE ON THE COOLANT LEVEL. I FILED A COMPLAINT WITH SUBARU OF NORTH AMERICA, AND RECEIVED A SIMILAR RESPONSE. BOTH THE DEALER AND SUBARU STATE IT IS UNKNOWN HOW TO REPAIR THIS ISSUE AS THEY CAN NOT IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM CAUSING THE LOSS OF COOLANT. DEALER JUST KEEPS TOPPING OFF THE SYSTEM, AND STATING THAT THEY STILL HAVE NO SOLUTION.

WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE STARTED TO LOSE POWER AND ENGINE WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED AND UPON INSPECTION OF THE ENGINE THE ENGINE HAD CAUGHT FIRE. THE FIRE GREW AND THE CAR WAS DEMOLISHED AS A RESULT OF AN ENGINE FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS IN PERFECT WORKING ORDER BEFORE THE FIRE, WELL MAINTAINED AND HAD LOW MILEAGE FOR A ONE YEAR OLD VEHICLE.

SUBARU IS SELLING NEW VEHICLES WITH INADEQUATE AMOUNTS OF COOLANT IN THE ENGINES COOLING SYSTEM. THIS HAS CAUSED AN IMMEDIATE NEED FOR COOLANT BEING ADDED AS RESIDUAL AIR IN THE SYSTEM IN EXPELLED TO THE RESERVOIR. IF A CUSTOMER FOLLOWS SUBARUS GUIDANCE FOR TIME/MILEAGE TO FIRST INSPECTION THEY RISK HAVING THE CAR OVERHEAT/STALL WHILE DRIVING POTENTIALLY CAUSE BODILY AND/OR PROPERTY DAMAGE. I BROUGHT THIS ISSUE UP WITH MULTIPLE DEALERS WITH NO RESOLUTION.

ENGINE CUTS OFF UNEXPECTEDLY WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. I'M ABLE TO RESTART AFTER PULLING OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. FEBRUARY 22 AND MARCH 24, 2018 WERE THE FIRST TWO TIMES THE ISSUE HAPPENED. I TOOK MY CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP, AND THEY SAID SUBARU WAS AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THEY TOLD ME TO KEEP MY GAS ABOVE HALF A TANK. THE ISSUE HASN'T HAPPENED SINCE I STARTED KEEPING MY GAS HALF FULL. THE 'MILES TO EMPTY' GAGE IS VERY INACCURATE. I FEEL VERY UNSAFE DRIVING THE CAR BECAUSE IT SPONTANEOUSLY CUTS OFF, AND I'M WORRIED IT WILL CUT OFF IN AN INTERSECTION OF A MAJOR HIGHWAY. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT MACON, GA SUBARU HAS BEEN VERY UNHELPFUL AND UNWILLING TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. THE FIELD SERVICE ENGINEER NAMED KEVIN SAID THE PROBLEM IS LIKELY CAUSED BY FAILURE OF ONE OF TWO PARTS INVOLVING THE FUEL SYSTEM. HOWEVER, THEY ARE UNWILLING TO REPLACE THE PARTS. THE DEALERSHIP EXPRESSED CONCERN THAT THEIR SERVICE DEPARTMENT WOULD HAVE TO TAKE THE BRUNT OF THE COST IF THEY SENT MY PART BACK TO SUBARU. THIS SEEMS LIKE AN UNACCEPTABLE REASON TO REFUSE TO ATTEMPT THE REPAIR OF SUCH A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE.