2012 Subaru Outback Power Train Problems
- 71
- 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 71 stored complaint records:
- 3 indicate a crash
- 1 indicate injury
- 1 indicate fire
What owners report
- coming stop · 19 records
- torque converter · 16 records
- extended warranty · 10 records
- slowing down · 7 records
- like someone · 7 records
- stalls coming · 6 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 100–150k mi | 20 |
| 60–100k mi | 20 |
| 1–30k mi | 13 |
| 150–400k mi | 8 |
| 30–60k mi | 6 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Power Train
The vehicle stalls when coming to a stop. If the accelerator is pushed you can avoid the stall but this is not always feasible. The sudden stall out is very unsafe as it takes putting the vehicle in park, restarting, putting in drive to mobilize the vehicle again.
ODI 11297350
Power Train
When driving on the freeway my transmission suddenly lost power it would intermittently go then stop again. I had a semi right behind me that almost ran over the top of me. As i made it to my exit it began making noise. I drove it straight into my mechanic who thoroughly inspected it and said the transmission had failed.
ODI 11277821
Power Train
After 7 years of diligent care of my 2012 outback, my transmission is failing. This is a known issue in my make and model. This will cost me $7k out of pocket to replace. Subaru claims to have 'quality as our highest priority', but did not address this known issue and have put the burden on their customers. This is my third subaru, and it would be nice if the company stood behind their work and supported their…
ODI 11268393
Power Train
My vehicle has been stalling when coming to a stop, it starts to shudder when slowing then stalls at stop. Safety is becoming an issue when in traffic, or on highway in stop and go. There has not been a recall for torque converter issues or cvt transmissions just extended warranty. Unfortunately there were not issues when this was extended. This is on a 2012 subaru outback, with 130,000 miles
ODI 11265582
Power Train
Accelerating from a stopped position, or from a low speed as when making a turn or merging, the vehicle jerks and bucks, comes to a near stall at least once each time, more often 2 or 3 times in quick succession, until the vehicle gains more speed, approximately 10 mph, and the symptoms subside. Vehicle was driven out of necessity a maximum 20 miles on a few days since symptoms began, consistently bucking and near…
ODI 11258433
Power Train
The cvt transmission failed while traveling at a high speed down the interstate with no warning. After doing further research subaru is very aware of this cvt issues and has taken a very poor and limited approach to stand behind and fix this issue. They told me at the dealership that i was on my own to pay for the repair and it was a 10k fix.
ODI 11242750
Power Train
My 2012 subaru outback engine will shut off when coming to a complete stop when exiting a freeway, coming to a stop on a side street. Speed does not play a factor in this. This happens intermittently and clearly, is a safety issue! I never received a notification on this matter from subaru that there is a known defect with the torque converter in the transmission. This is something that should have been and still…
ODI 11242962
Power Train
While in motion,the cvt transmission suddenly failed without warning. Causing the car to stop forward motion. If this had happened in traffic, it could cause a accident. This is a series safety issue. Cvt transmission is a sealed unit, no serviceable parts. Car is 11k outside warranty. Only repair is 8k replacement.
ODI 11230795
Power Train
My outback stalls when coming to a stop. It would do it randomly but now it does it all the time. Subaru won't do anything for me except tell me how much it will cost to fix the torch converter without even checking it on their computer. I have heard of several issues with the cvt and i want to know for sure.
ODI 11241166
Power Train
While getting on an off ramp vehicle stalled going 45mph due to the valve body in transmission locking up. Subaru has knowledge of this issue and released a bulletin: 16-90-13r, but only will fix if the issue arises and not before. This issue does not gradually show up but rather happens all at once.
ODI 11218919
Power Train
Vehicle occasionally stalls while stopped at a street light. Dealer says it is probably torque converter lockup. Has happened 3 times while waiting to make a left hand turn. Vehicle has 135k miles on it. Seems like a legitimate safety issue to me.
ODI 11208351
Power Train
Vehicle stalls intermittently when coming to a stop or attempting to accelerate from a stop. This is an extremely urgent safety concern. This also seems to have caused inconsistent starting issues. I have replaced the starter and still have issues. Seems to be a torque converter problem. This issue has been reported by many owners and has not been adequately addressed by subaru with an available fix in a recall.
ODI 11204401
Power Train
Vehicle shudders when coming to a stop and will stall when going from stopped to motion. Subaru replaced the torque converter 2 years ago and told us this would fix the issue and it did for a little while. The vehicle is now doing the exact same thing--stalling out is a safety issue. Subaru determined that it was once again a faulty/bad torque converter--so this seems like an issue with subaru torque converters. The…
ODI 11210890
Power Train
Cvt failure causing random engine shut offs when stopping.
ODI 11185048
Power Train
The car shuts off or shudders when slowing down to a stop or when accelerating. The transmissionis not working properly.
ODI 11184173
Power Train
The vehicle has experienced a shuddering feeling intermittently when coming to a stop. The issue has been ongoing and my vehicle currently has 87,000 miles, although the issue has occurred since around 50,000 miles. I have taken the vehicle in to a subaru dealer in 2017 and the issue was recreated however was not fixed since the problem is still occurring. It is my understanding that subaru issued a technical…
ODI 11173702
Engine · Power Train
Vehicle shudders and stalls when braking/decelerating. Engine shuts off completely and abruptly with little time to react. I have 128,000 miles on the vehicle. Mechanics do not know what exaclt is causing the problem.
ODI 11172731
Power Train
Vehicle stalls when coming to a stop. Almost felt like if i was coming to a stop without engaging the clutch on a standard transmission. This has happened 4 times in the last three days and i do not feel safe letting my family drive it!
ODI 11170599
Power Train
My 2012 subaru outback cvt transmission shutters and stalls the engine when coming to a stop in traffic. This is a known problem and i have contacted subaru od america and they are of no help.
ODI 11179744
Power Train
About month ago i bought a car. It's a subaru outback 2012 with 156 000 miles. At the beginning everything was fine. Nothing seemed to be happening. December 10 we drove around santa fe, nm. At first i had stopped in some stores, spent time about 2 hours and after that decided to go to another place. And when i was driving my car again in 5 minutes it suddenly started having a strange sound and couldn't move…
ODI 11165617
Engine · Power Train
I was taking it for an oil change and lube. After driving on the freeway at 60-70 mph, i came off the freeway, went 2 blocks to a stoplight. As soon as i stopped, many warning lights started flashing, and became alarmed, went 3 blocks to the lube service center and some steam started coming from under the hood. The service men immediately took it in to check it out. They replaced some coolant, completed the service…
ODI 11164315
Power Train
The vehicle began stalling following a hard stop and now has accelerated to the point of stalling out even with a soft braking. Very dangerous as the vehicle shuts off when traveling in traffic. Have been notified by my repair shop that the torque converter needs replaced. There are 124k on vehicle now. Subaru apparently covered this repair up to 100k miles or by june 2018 with unlimited miles. Why won't subaru…
ODI 11151809
Power Train · Vehicle Speed Control
When driving on freeway, at about 60mph, there is a noise in the engine, the speed slips for a second, the rpm screen bumps little bit and comes back.about 3 years ago, the vehicle stopped dead at the stop signal. Took it to the dealer, they did not find any code and said, bring it back if it happens again. It did not happen again, but this slipping happened end of october 2018, just 2-1/2 months after their…
ODI 11154359
Power Train
'went for a drive to run errands and then the transmission started shifting violently in the lower gears. After the third red-light, the transmission shifted so hard that the car shut off on me. After sitting on the side of the road for a while, i started the car again and drove it straight to the dealership. The dealership informed me that it was a cvt transmission issue, and subaru was aware of the issue. I was…
ODI 11142251
Power Train
The transmission (cvt) is bad (per 2 mechanics who have reviewed) makes whining noises and can cause car to stall. There are many reports of this already online. Subaru extended their warranty because they know this is a problem, but indicated that they will not cover my car (2.5 months after the extended warranty.) this will cost about $5,000 to fix. This is a known problem by subaru and so the 2012 subaru outback…
ODI 11140447