2003 Subaru Outback Power Train Problems
- 5
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
What owners report
- head gasket · 4 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 60–100k mi | 2 |
| 150–400k mi | 1 |
| 100–150k mi | 1 |
| 1–30k mi | 1 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Engine · Power Train
After previous repairs to transmission fluid leak and head gasket repair, the car's transmission failed and had to be rebuilt. The transmission failed as i was driving. I could not shift from first to second. I was able to get the car to the dealer by driving in first and living with a sharp clunk into second. I was close to the dealer or else this would have been a tow. If this had happened on the freeway it could…
ODI 10875096
Power Train
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 subaru outback. The contact stated that the while parked, the vehicle rolled away. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the parking mechanism within the transmission failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 194,000.
ODI 10691850
Engine And Engine Cooling · Power Train
After smelling leaking oil for many months, my mechanic confirmed that the head gasket is leaking. Oil is leaking down onto the exhaust creating a constant burning smell. I contacted subaru and they are unwilling to address this in any way, despite the fact that the engine has been meticulously maintained and serviced. *tr
ODI 10435459
Engine · Power Train · Unknown Or Other
Head gasket failure***** 2003 outback **** this is not a new problem as four of the subaru's we've owned had hg issues. Although in the past subaru acknowledged the failures and repaired them under the wwp99 campaign (1998-2002 model years). While this failure continues to be widespread (just google subaru head gasket problems and you'll get pages of complaints of hg failures) subaru has stopped repairing them or…
ODI 10466702
Power Train
I took my 2003 subaru outback in for regular oil change maintenance. The auto mechanic informed me that the engine was quite noisy and thought it might need valve adustments. We took it to the dealer thinking that the dealer would cover this under the warranty. We left the vehicle with the dealer to be checked out, their diagnosis was that the timing belt tensioner was defective. Being that our vehicle only had…
ODI 10202929