Subaru Outback Exterior Lighting Problems
- 226
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
- 19
- Years with records
- 2000–2020
- Stored years
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 226 stored complaint records:
- 1 indicate a crash
- 0 indicate injury
- 3 indicate fire
Complaints by year
What appears in the records
- beam headlights · 20 records
- passenger side · 13 records
- high beams · 12 records
- high beam · 11 records
- headlight bulbs · 11 records
- every months · 10 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 1–30k mi | 54 |
| 60–100k mi | 52 |
| 30–60k mi | 41 |
| 100–150k mi | 22 |
| 150–400k mi | 7 |
Complaint evidence
Latest stored owner-submitted records. Open a year for the full list.
Exterior Lighting
Headlights burn out repeatedly, without warning or incident, sometimes both within a week. Car is driven less than 10k miles per year, yet one or both headlights have had to be replaced annually on average. Bulbs are very difficult for consumer to replace and must be done by garage or dealership. On one occasion both headlights were out before vehicle could be taken to get bulbs replaced.
ODI 11297469
Exterior Lighting
The headlights on this car are too bright or not adjusted correctly. I have been high beamed on many occasions. 9 times one evening, 13 times another evening, and 17 times on another evening. This is a safety concern not only for me but for the other divers as well. I have complained to subaru every time this has happened to me. I have also had it in for service and was told "that's just the way they are" "just…
ODI 11289323
Electrical System · Exterior Lighting
Headlights burn out too quickly. I am replacing my headlights approximately every 12,000 miles.
ODI 11282044
Exterior Lighting
Headlights are aimed too high. According to subaru this can't be adjusted. This is their steering adaptive headlight. I get high-beam blinked but too many oncoming cars. On dark nights i can see their angle is up not down toward road. I see great but oncoming must be difficult. You must be able to have ability to adjust.
ODI 11278339
Exterior Lighting
My 2020 subaru outback headlights are too bright and appear to be aimed too high. Driving at night is a very real problem due to the number of other drivers who keep putting on their high beam lights thinking mine are on when they are not.also i can see my beams pointing higher down the road then for any other car i have owned. I contacted first the dealership and then subaru of america, the dealer was apologetic…
ODI 11290255
Exterior Lighting
Main headlamps burn out every 9 to 10 months causing a dangerous driving situation. Replacement of these bulbs is unnecessarily cumbersome for the owner and subaru dealers charge $150 to replace a $15 dollar bulb. If not installed correctly you risk a fire hazard. This seems to be outside of reason, and a poor design that risks lives. I have found myself away from home with no working headlights several times now.
ODI 11266599
Exterior Lighting
Headlights go out with abnormal frequency. Driver's side bulb has needed changing on average every 3-4 months, even though the vehicle is rarely driven at night. Passenger side has been replaced twice in the last year alone.
ODI 11230781
Exterior Lighting
Water pours into vehicle from center rear brake light every time it rains. Bloomington subaru confirmed issue is water leak via center rear brake light. Soa contacted, no response received. Original owner since new, current mileage is 30,000. Still leaks.
ODI 11291661