2002 Subaru Outback fuel system problems
Owners reported fuel system problems in 33 complaints for the 2002 Subaru Outback, 19% of the complaints on file. It is the 2nd most reported problem area for this model year.
At a glance
- Complaints
- 33 19% of this year's complaints
- Typical mileage
- 86,000 miles 24 complaints with mileage
- Crashes and fires
- 0 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 2 and 0
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
When fuel system problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 1 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 3 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 4 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 11 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 24 fuel system complaints that report mileage, the median is about 86,000 miles, and 17% were reported before 60,000 miles.
These complaints mention 2 injuries.
What owners wrote
I have a subaru 2002 outback. The following is what I provided to the dealer in the last visit. Earlier this year, before my warranty period had expired, I had issues with leaking fuel from the fuel lines at the top of the engine under the intake manifold. I tightened the clamps on the fuel line and the leak seemed to stop. There were additional smells of fuel in cold weather so I brought my care in to the dealership.
Both my 2001 and 2002 subaru outbacks had a strong smell of gasoline in the cabin when starting the cars. A check under the hood showed gasoline dripping from several of the rubber fuel lines where they joined metal fuel lines. The fuel was dripping onto the engine and running down to the ground. Upon tightening the fuel line clamps the problem stopped. When I used google to check on the problem there was several 100,000 hits with the same problem. It seems to be related to low temperature <+10f.