2013 Subaru Outback Electrical Problems

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  529%
• 25k–50k
  424%
• 50k–75k
  16%
• 75k–100k
  318%
• 100k–150k
  318%
• 150k+
  16%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2013 Subaru Outback owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

On a handful of occasions while driving, suddenly the car detects an object in front of the car that it believes I will hit. The beeping and object collision detection message appears on my dash. On all these occasions, there has never been on object. One time it automatic to control the vehicle before causing an accident. I don't remember exactly when this started happening but I thankfully engaged my brakes. This happened while I was on a highway. Luckily, no car was riding closely behind me so I was able it was 2 years ago. There is an option to turn off the detection sensor, but this must be done every time the car is turned on, and I'm afraid I will forget. Moreover, the safety feature being turned off means I don't have that feature to detect real objects. …

While driving near my home on June 5, 2021, the vehicle simply shut off and simultaneously all the warning lights flashed. I was unable to restart the vehicle after two or three tries. I called a tow service. About an hour later, before the tow truck arrived, I turned the key again, and the car restarted. This occurred in the middle of the roadway and I was lucky no vehicle was being behind me, as a collision could have happened. A local auto repair shop looked at the computer code and found one for a cracked gas cap. The mechanic replaced the gas cap, but stated that it could not have caused the car to cease running. I took the car to a Subaru dealer on June 14, 2021, but the service consultant stated that looking for the problem would be like "going down a rabbit hole" and told me to continue to drive the car until another incident happened.

I purchased this car may 28th 2025 and had it over the weekend and check engine light came on and took it Monday once shop opened and came back for catalytic converter and o2 sensor I letted the dealership know about it and said its not much that i can fix it but I figured would say that since was a as is car and just had to come up with money... only thing month later it stalled on me and had to take to a shop to see what it is and came back for transmission but that shop told me the car never should have been sold I never try to let them know about that its been sitting since July when that happened I been trying to talk to consumer protection services but Noone willed to help but since last year was so rough I just wanted to try again once year is up

My horn became intermittent, and stopped working. The car will not pass state inspection. It was diagnosed as a faulty clock spring. The dealership stated that this was a common failure on Subaru's, especially those that had the Takata airbag replacement recall. They said there was no TSB or recall for the part. I reached out to Subaru customer service who said that due to the age and mileage on my car, there was nothing they could do to assist replacing the part.

Prior to this incident, I had noticed several occasions where the engine would suddenly rev for no reason while I was driving at a slow speed or braking. This incident happened on dec 2, 2014 at approx. 7:40 am eastern time. As I was approaching the security check-in gate at my job, traveling about 10 MPH, I depressed the brake to slow down and wait for the gate to open. As I was slowing down, the engine suddenly rev'd to maximum and the car accelerated and lurched forward. I was not able to stop or control the car and it crashed through the security barrier gate. No one was injured and there was no damage done to the car, but the metal arm of the gate was severely bent. I took the vehicle to my Subaru dealer several days later to be inspected and report the incident. The dealer said there was a problem with the engine control module (ECM) and updated the software. …

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 Subaru Outback. While driving various speeds, the brake, windshield wiper fluid, cruise control, and check engine warning indicators illuminated. The contact stated that the emergency brake engaged independently and the vehicle failed to drive. The contact stated that the failure also occurred on other occasions. The vehicle was taken to Subaru of orange park (located at 7023 blanding blvd, jacksonville, fl 32244, [phone]) where it was diagnosed and an unknown failure code was located. The vehicle was repaired, but the contact did not know the specifics. The contact believed there was an unknown sensor failure. The contact stated that the failure recurred. The contact planned to tow the vehicle to Subaru of orange park. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000.

Upon noticing a blown 3rd tail light(one of the tail lights on the rear hatch/door of the wagon,) I disassembled and found that the sockets on both sides(left and right 3rd tail-light sockets) were scorched around where the bulbs fit into them. The discoloration was brown/black and was present not only on the socket with the blown bulb but also the other, working side. Dealer replaced blown bulb and made no comment on scorched bulb sockets. It almost appears as if they were so heated they were ready to melt or burn the plastic. Car has been in service for 27 months and has 27K mostly city driving on it. Happy to provide photos of the affected sockets to anyone investigating or concerned.

While driving my Subaru Outback 2013 2.5i premium model, brake light, cruise control, check engine light started flashing in the dashboard. Took it to a dealer and I was told that it was body valve failure inside transmission. It was fixed (Subaru paid $1,500 and I contributed $300 for the repair) by a Subaru dealer. Yet, ten days later the same three lights went on. The dealer said it was different problems, catalytic converter and o2 sensors, quoted $1,800. Left the dealer without fixing the problems. It seems that my car was not the only one with this type of electrical problem. I saw the exactly same complaints posted by other user in virginia (refer to NHTSA id number: 11204834).

Backup camera shows blue screen and backup guide lines but no camera image when transmission is placed in reverse. Occurs intermittently. Can occur either when vehicle is stationary (e.g., immediately on putting car in reverse) or in the middle of backing up. Sometimes camera image will come back on momentarily or not at all. This particular vehicle has the camera display integrated with the rear view mirror. However, the cause of the fault is unknown to me, and I have not been able to identify a pattern of occurrence. Camera image is clear and crisp when it does appear so the problem is presumably either software related or perhaps a wiring fault. Started occurring several years ago.

Took it home from dealer and the electronic parking brake would not turn on. The brake light was also blinking. A couple days later, on the way to dealer, I stopped at a gas station and turned on the electric parking brake. It worked this time, but when I got in the car to drive, the electric parking brake wouldn't turn off. I was stuck. There was no way to move it. I was blocking the gas pump for about an hour waiting for a two truck. Tow truck driver had difficulty loading vehicle and taking off vehicle because the parking brake was on and it was an AWD meaning none of the wheels can move.

Related recalls

Electrical complaints in other Outback years