2011 Subaru Outback Electrical System Problems
- 55
- 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.
Among these 55 stored complaint records:
- 3 indicate a crash
- 0 indicate injury
- 3 indicate fire
What owners report
- passenger side · 6 records
- beam headlights · 5 records
- brake light · 5 records
- both sides · 5 records
- light bulbs · 4 records
- lost power · 4 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 60–100k mi | 18 |
| 30–60k mi | 16 |
| 1–30k mi | 10 |
| 100–150k mi | 3 |
| 150–400k mi | 1 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Headlights burn out too quickly. I am replacing my headlights approximately every 12,000 miles.
ODI 11282044
Electrical System · Engine · Service Brakes
Noticed that dome/map lights not working and front time clock out. Then when going to put it in park the engine revved and the brakes would not engage and ran into a fence causing damage to front end of vehicle. Parking break has not worked for some time either.
Crash reported
ODI 11243198
Electrical System · Electronic Stability Control · Fuel/Propulsion System
When we were driving the 2011 subaru outback on the road on july 5,2019, the fuel gauge suddenly shifted from almost full to zero. The car stopped and we placed it in park. Subsequent attempts to start the car did not even ignite the engine, even when we added another gallon of gas and tried jump starting the car. There were no visible signs of a gas leak. Our insurance company towed our car to nearby coleman subaru…
ODI 11230302
Electrical System · Engine · Service Brakes
I was driving home tonight and the car stalled everything quit working, the car jumped a few times and turned back on. I lost brakes and no steering coming down a 8 % grade. I turned the car back on and it kept doing it. I was out of cell service range so i could not call for help. It was scary. I got home and i see there was a recall but my car is out of that recall range at 100000 miles. I just paid 11,000 for…
ODI 11203278
Electrical System · Unknown Or Other
Multiple warning lights appeared on the dashboard while driving. When sitting in the car, in the garage, the minute the key is turned, although the car is not started, all the dashboard warning lights went on although the car was stationary. Picture uploaded taken when car was in garage.
ODI 11176079
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Headlight and other exterior light bulbs die prematurely. I received a letter from subaru about a warranty extension and that they would cover the costs. So far i've had 3 headlights go out in the last two years (after 85k miles) and also was told by a subaru dealer yesterday that 5 other exterior lights were out. The general consensus is that it's a power surge in the lighting/electrical system that subaru isn't…
ODI 11166358
Electrical System
Dome light, clock, sunroof, remote key fob, garage door opener on rear view mirror, etc. Not working. Fuses blow within a day or 2 of being replaced. Origin of problem unknown in spite of many attempts at fixing it. This has been an ongoing problem for over 5 months. These devices don't work whether the car is running or in park.
ODI 11203378
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting · Visibility/Wiper
Tamara recall i have had my 2011 outback for 4 months now and have gone through 3 sets of low beam headlights. Not sure why they keep dying prematurely. I have gotten more expensive bulbs every time and now the $60 bulbs are doing the same thing. I feel there is an electrical issue and i have seen multiple forums describing the same issue from other people with the same year, make, and model.
ODI 11104910
Electrical System · Engine
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 subaru outback. While pulling in the driveway, the vehicle stalled and all the warning indicators illuminated. The contact also stated that the failure occurred daily for at least five months, but went away when the vehicle was restarted. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle…
ODI 11101180
Electrical System · Engine · Wheel Bearing
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 subaru outback. The contact stated that the vehicle had been at garavel subaru ([redacted], norwalk, ct 06851, [redacted]) for months due to an internal oil leak that was impacting the engine. The contact stated that the oil warning indicator failed to illuminate in a timely manner to alert that the oil level was low. The dealer also replaced the wheel bearings several times. The radio,…
ODI 11082706
Electrical System · Power Train
Over the past year my mechanic has put in two new batteries in my car. My 2011 outback has a problem with starting, this was back when i had 80,000 miles on it. The connectors where fine and he cleaned them. The issue still has not been resolved, he can't seem to figure out what is causing it. There is no problem with the alternator. The passenger rear brake light has been replaced three times in four years of…
ODI 11054230
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Two low beam highlights burned out at same time after starting car at night around 10:00 pm. After that, the battery was getting worse and dead at the service center just before replacing the highlight bulbs. The manager said that the battery's situation was not related with the problem of the high light, and there was no clues.
ODI 10984521
Electrical System · Service Brakes
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 subaru outback. While reversing the vehicle, the brakes failed. The contact attempted to shift and turn off the vehicle; however, it would not power down. The failure occurred without warning. As a result of the brake failure, the rear of the vehicle struck a tree. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. After restarting the vehicle, it was fully functional. The contact…
Crash reported
ODI 10967687
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting · Visibility/Wiper
My headlights have gone out 6 times! The last time i switched to an led system and now it has blown my rf headlight in 6 months! Led it supposed to last longer! I definitely have some kind of electrical issue!
ODI 10940389
Electrical System · Steering
Tl* the contact owned a 2011 subaru outback. While driving approximately 30 mph, the steering lost power without warning. The vehicle was pulled to the side of the road and smoke appeared underneath the hood. The contact quickly exited the vehicle. Within a couple of minutes, the vehicle became engulfed in flames and was destroyed. A police report was filed. The fire department arrived and extinguished the fire.…
Fire reported
ODI 10939455
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Ongoing failure of both passenger and driver side headlamps. Same complaint that others have documented that this is an ongoing issue and the headlamps are difficult to replace. Serious safety hazard and can also lead to traffic violations. Subaru needs to provide a fix, not just a one-time reimbursement of replacement headlamps.
ODI 10920385
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Frequent replacement of low beam bulbs. Not easy to replace and subaru service best equipped to do procedure. Labor costs at various dealers for this service widely vary and can increase without reason. Subaru of america recently sent out letter saying warranty on bulbs has been extended (not that there is issue with electrical system). Soa will replace or refund, however, this does not solve the issue of continued…
ODI 10901962
Electrical System · Unknown Or Other
I have replaced the passenger side low beam lights multiple times also when i started the car the brake light, traction control light, and multiple other lights started blinking while driving. This scared me very much. The owners manual seemed to imply brake failure and to stop immediately, which i did. Called aaa and they towed my car to thoroughbred transmission in laurel. They checked the codes and nothing made…
ODI 10887532
Electrical System
Started vehicle and center counsel would not light up. Headlights and fog lights worked and electric windows were ok. Second incident: same as first - also heard sound in dash that acted like a loose wire or stripped wire that had touched metal and shorted out. Latter on after resting, the electrical came back to the counsel.
ODI 10853860
Electrical System
The subaru outback front halogen head lamp bulbs keep going out. Have had to replace both sides within the last 8 months. Now front left lamp is out again and needs replacement.
ODI 11040102
Electrical System
Have owned the vehicle since new. After one year of use began having trouble with low beam headlights burning out. At this time i have replaced at both sides at least 5 times. I do not have this amount of trouble with any other vehicles. I always use gloves when replacing the lights. Replacing the bulbs is not easy as you must go through the wheel well. This can lead to delay on replacing the bulb. Given that they…
ODI 10820715
Electrical System · Service Brakes
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 subaru outback. While driving approximately 35 mph, the abs, brakes, traction control, check engine, and cruise control indicators remained illuminated. The contact drove home and contacted an independent mechanic who performed a function test of the abs pump/module and was able to clear all the codes. The failure recurred after one year. The contact called the independent mechanic and…
ODI 10947434
Electrical System
Vehicle has repeated loss of lighting due to frequent headlight bulb failure. The low beam light bulbs have suffered electrical failure 3 times in the last 1.5 years. Both sides of the vehicle have been affected each time at the same time. The bulbs fail in the same manner each time, in which the filament breaks off inside the bulb. This failure is typical of excessive voltages being applied to the bulb, and not of…
ODI 10817347
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting · Power Train
Ascended steep hill and stopped at stop sign. Processed to drive through intersection uphill. All lights on dash began to flicker on and off and car stalled out going down the road. After this occurred, i lost all electrical functions of car. I was not able to restart car, place car into park, apply emergency brake, turn on hazard lights, and the power brakes and steering were not present. I spent 5-7 minutes trying…
Fire reported
ODI 10837474
Electrical System
HEADLIGHTS CONTINUE TO BURNOUT
ODI 10795105