2009 Subaru Outback problems
The 2009 Subaru Outback has 143 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (21%) concerns air bags. Next are electrical system (16%) and engine (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 143 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 21% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 2 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 3 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 71,000 miles 109 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 13 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 19 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 14 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 12 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 9 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 24 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 5 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 4 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 4 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Of the 109 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 71,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 73,000 miles (18 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 2 complaints mention a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 3 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2009 ranks 26th most-complained-about out of 31 model years of the Subaru Outback with enough data (56 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 13 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
The contact owned a 2009 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at 50 MPH, the vehicle had failed to accelerate above 60 MPH without warning. The contact soon began to notice heavy white smoke in her rear-view mirror as the smoke quickly spread to the front end of the vehicle. The contact immediately pulled over, grabbed vital items, and exited the vehicle. The contact called 911 as flames quickly engulfed the vehicle, and a deputy who witnessed the fire pulled over to assist the contact.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 subaru outback. The contact stated that while the brakes were depressed, the vehicle accelerated forward unexpectedly and then in reverse before crashing into two other vehicles and a brick wall. The vehicle was destroyed. The police and fire department were contacted and a report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a local repair shop and the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and the current mileage was 22,000.
About a month ago (april 2011) while moving forward at around 5 to 10 MPH I reached for the glove box and my shirt cuff caught the shift handle and thru the transmission into reverse. While I was lucky and there were no injuries this appears to be a serious safety defect that should be addressed by subaru of north america. There are no built in safety locks or mechanisms to prevent the transmission from being moved from reverse to drive or drive to manual shift option.
The car intermittently bucks/chugs while driving and then stalls. All the lights flash on. It is difficult to restart. It has happened on the highway and local streets. It also idles very rough when at stops or in park and shudders like it wants to stall - sometimes it does. This has been going on for 2 months now. The first time, I was stopped at a red light and it stalled creating a hazardous situation.