2017 Subaru Outback Power Train

AT ABOUT 112,000 MILES, MY 2017 SUBARU OUTBACK'S TRANSMISSION SHOWED SIGNS OF FAILURE. THE "MANUAL SHIFT" GEAR LEVER POSITION WOULD NO LONGER INCREASE OR DECREASE THE TRANSMISSION RPM AND A WHIRRING AND CLICKING NOISE BECAME APPARENT AND INCREASED OR DECREASED WITH SPEED. THE SUBARU DEALER IN SALISBURY, MD DIAGNOSED A FAILING TRANSMISSION AND QUOTED $9,916 TO REPLACE IT.

Unable to remove key from ignition when vehicle placed in ‘Park’ and vehicle easily changes to ‘Reverse’ when unable to remove key, potential safety hazard to driver and anyone standing behind vehicle. Started around 40,000 miles, repair facility thought replacing the key cylinder would fix the problem but it recurred in less than 1,000 additional miles. Subaru Forums cite many, many owners with the same issue on multiple vehicle types resulting in replacement of the shifter mechanism due to a malfunctioning ‘Park’ sensor.

Rear bearing/hub assembly failure. Appears to be a known problem per information readily available online. Failure occurred at 40,746 miles. Replaced at dealership at my personal cost, out of warranty period. Hubs and bearings should not be failing at such low mileage. Could have caused other driveline or suspension problems and poses a safety issue as wheels would be unable to spin freely.

My car had it's third transmission installed in October 2021 at 42,730 miles. The car currently has just under 52,000 miles. The current transmission is exhibiting symptoms of slipping and delayed gear engagement. The slipping is most concerning due to the unpredictable and non-linear acceleration when I press the accelerator. I don't know if a light accelerator application will give the expected acceleration or a 1-2 second delay followed by either weaker than expected acceleration or a surge in engine RPMs (up to 3,000 at times) with significantly more acceleration than expected. I also don't know if the acceleration will decrease or increase if I keep the accelerator position the same. This is especially problematic in stop and go city driving where light on/off pedal application is required. The more I'm on/off the accelerator, the less predictable the acceleration becomes. My fuel economy is also down from ~25.5 MPG lifetime average to less than 20 MPG the last few tanks. Subaru dealers have not been helpful or receptive to my concerns. All the loaners I've driven behaved as expected and had smooth, linear acceleration.

It was a few days ago, the vehicle suddenly have shuttering or sputtering type of noise when accelerating from a stop. During the drive, I also started to hear a creaking type of noise. This became worse when accelerating uphill. I took the car to a Subaru dealership, and the service technician reproduced these problems. He then detected an transmission related error code P0841. He replaced the sensor related to this error code, but found he couldn’t get rid of the initial problems. In fact, when he checked the error code, P0841 came back again. Check Engine light come out during his examination. Even he could get rid of the warning, Check Engine light came back when I drove the vehicle back home. The technician found internal transmission failure and recommended to replace transmission assembly. The cost quoted at $10996, so no further repairs was made. Subaru recalled transmission of its outback vehicle in the past for the same type of problems, and I am wondering if my vehicle has a similar faulty transmission. I reported the problem to Subaru US customer service online, but didn’t hear back from them.

When I put the car into park, it does not recognize that the car is in park and will not release the key.

As I am slowing down by pushing the brake pedal, the vehicle will attempt to accelerate. It will increase speed by about 2 miles per hour and the RPM increases when this happens.

while driving Transmission begins making a squeaking noise.. Rpms climb and car does not increase speed RPM climb with no movement. Until RPMs climb higher than normal. the car then launches forward. The hesitation caused by the transmission will lead to an accident very quickly, especially if turning into a business with on coming traffic.. Merging on the highway is severely dangerous. This car has 86,000 miles. There are no warning lights associated with this issue.

NUMEROUS TIMES OVER PAST TWO MONTHS, WHEN AT SLOW SPEEDS, THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION STALLS CAUSING THE CAR TO STOP. AT LEAST ONCE, WHEN ENTERING TRAFFIC, A CAR BEHIND HAD TO DO AN EMERGENCY SLOWDOWN TO AVOID A REAR END COLLISION. TWO SUBARU DEALERS HAVE CHECKED THE VEHICLE BEING UNABLE TO FIND A PROBLEM. YET, ON SEARCHING THE WEB, THIS COMMON CONDITIONIS IS CLEARLY DESCRIBED IN NHTSA FILES.

WITH NO WARNING AND DRIVING 70 MPH ON THE INTERSTATE PRESSING THE GAS PEDAL RESULTED IN NOTHING. DASHBOARD LIGHTS STARTED INDICATING 'BRAKE' AND OTHER DISTRACTING MESSAGES. I WAS IN THE FAR LEFT LANE IN HEAVY TRAFFIC, BUT WAS SOMEHOW ABLE TO CROSS OVER TWO LANES WITHOUT A COLLISION AND MAKE IT PART WAY UP A RAMP. CAR WAS TOWED INTO A SUBARU DEALER WHO FOUND A 'BROKEN VARIATION CHAIN'. A NEW TRANSMISSION WAS INSTALLED FOUR DAYS LATER. I NO LONGER FEEL SAFE IN THIS VEHICLE OR ANY WITH THIS TRANSMISSION NOW THAT I HAVE READ ABOUT ALL IT'S ISSUES. WHY DID I NOT HAVE A WARNING SINCE IT IS A KNOWN PROBLEM? IMPORTANTLY, WHY IN THE MIDST OF A POTENTIALLY LIFE ENDING EMERGENCY DID I NOT GET A MEANINGFUL DASHBOARD WARNING, E.G., 'PULL OFF ROAD', 'POWER LOST', 'TRANSMISSION FAIL'?

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE THE VEHICLE FORWARD AFTER OR DURING A MANEUVERING THE VEHICLE IN A SENSE WHERE THE CONTACT WOULD HAVE TO DECELERATE THE VEHICLE FIRST. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP A TOTAL OF 2 TIMES SUBARU OF JACKSONVILLE (10800 ATLANTIC BLVD, JACKSONVILLE, FL 32225, (904) 641-6455) WHO INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE TRANSMISSION WAS A DINO FLOW TRANSMISSION AND NEEDED TO BE OPERATED IN A CERTAIN MANNER THAT THE CONTACT MAY NOT HAVE DONE. THE CONTACT MADE THE NECESSARY ADJUSTMENTS OPERATING THE VEHICLE HOWEVER, THE FAILURE PERSISTED. THE CONTACT RETURNED THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER WHO PROVIDED THE CONTACT A LOANER VEHICLE. THE DEALER WAS NOT ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,000.

WHEN THE VEHICLE IS PLACED IN PARK IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO REMOVE THE KEY. THIS LEAVES ME STRANDED AS I CAN NOT LEAVE THE VEHICLE. I WAS LEFT STRANDED IN MEXICO. *TR

CVT TRANSMISSION AT 35326 MILES STARTED DISTRIBUTING POWER INDISCRIMINATELY TO ANY OF THE 4 WHEEL CAUSING INSTABILITY AND SHAKING WHEN DRIVING. VERY DIFFICULT TO CONTROL WHEN DRIVING. TRANSMISSION REQUIRES REPLACEMENT.

WHEN TURNING THE VEHICLE OFF, THE KEY IS INTERMITTENTLY NOT ABLE TO BE REMOVED FROM THE IGNITION. REAR HATCH WILL ALSO NOT OPEN WHEN THIS OCCURS, AS THE SHIFT SELECT SOLENOID DOESN'T RECOGNIZE THAT THE TRANSMISSION IS SHIFTED INTO PARK.

THE GEAR SHIFT DOES NOT ENGAGE FULLY IN PARK WHEN THE CAR IS STOPPED. THIS IS AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM. IF IT IS NOT ENGAGED FULLY WHEN THE ENGINE IS OFF, THE KEY CANNOT BE REMOVED AND THE GEAR SHIFT CAN SLIDE FROM PARK TO REVERSE AND NEUTRAL WITHOUT PRESSING THE GEAR SHIFT BUTTON. IT IS NECESSARY TO RESTART THE CAR SOMETIMES TWO OR THREE TIMES IN ORDER FOR PARK TO FULLY ENGAGE. TWICE WHEN THE CAR WAS IDLING IN PARK IT DID NOT ENGAGE FULLY AND SLID INTO REVERSE. THE SECOND TIME CAUSED AN ACCIDENT BUT NO INJURIES. THE CAR HAS BEEN SERVICED REGULARLY AND THERE HAVE BEEN NO WARNING INDICATORS TO DATE.

TRANSMISSION PERIODICALLY PUTS EXTRA POWER TO WHEELS DURING BRAKING RESULTING IN MANY NEAR MISSES.

WE LIVE IN LA. WE BOUGHT OUR CAR NEW ON 5/31/17 FROM SUBARU OF SANTA MONICA. AT AROUND 6,000 MILES WE HAD ITS OIL CHANGED PRIVATELY IN DURANGO, CO, WHERE WE SPEND SUMMERS. BACK IN LA ON 12/17/17 WE WENT TO SUBARU OF SM FOR ANY REQUIRED ADDITIONAL SERVICE. THEY DECIDED TO PERFORM THE 12,000 SERVICE WITH 10,107 MILES ON THE CAR. WHEN SERVICE WAS COMPLETED, I DROVE THE CAR OFF. IT STALLED FOR MAYBE 5-10 SECONDS (BUT DIDN'T SHUT DOWN) ABOUT 100 YARDS FROM THE SERVICE AREA. INITIALLY, IT JUST WOULDN'T GO WHEN I DEPRESSED THE ACCELERATOR. I THEN REPEATEDLY DEPRESSED IT AND FINALLY THE TRANSMISSION SEEMED TO 'CATCH' AND THE CAR MOVED FORWARD NORMALLY. LATER, AT MY REQUEST, MY WIFE MET WITH THE SERVICE WRITER (A LADY) TELLING HER ABOUT THE STALLING. HER RESPONSE: THIS HAPPENS ON ALL SUBARUS'THEY OCCASIONALLY STALL FOR ABOUT 5 SECONDS. SUBSEQUENTLY OUR CAR HAS STALLED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS WITH MY WIFE DRIVING. AND IT ALSO HAPPENED TO ME AGAIN, THIS TIME AFTER ITS 24,000 SERVICE BY THE DURANGO SUBARU DEALER ON 10/10/18 (SEE SERVICE WRITE-UP). AS I WAS DRIVING AWAY, I STOPPED ON A DRIVEWAY BEFORE TURNING ONTO A CITY STREET. THAT'S WHEN THE CAR STALLED. [I HAD PREVIOUSLY TOLD THE SERVICE WRITER ABOUT THE STALLING, BUT THE DEALER'S MECHANIC COULDN'T GET IT TO STALL.] THE TWO DESCRIBED STALLINGS OCCURRED WHEN THE CAR WAS STOPPED AND I WAS ABOUT TO TURN ONTO A CITY STREET. WE JUST RECEIVED A CVT TRANSMISSION WARRANTY EXTENSION LETTER (SEE ENCLOSED) APPLICABLE ONLY TO 2016 AND 2017 SUBARUS (MOST MODELS) WHICH TELLS ME SUBARU KNOWS ALL ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND HAS FIXED IT ON ITS 2018 AND 2019 MODELS. I RESPECTFULLY REQUEST THAT THERE BE A RECALL OF ALL 2016 AND 2017 SUBARU VEHICLES DESCRIBED IN THE ENCLOSED WARRANTY EXTENSION LETTER SO THAT THIS VERY FRIGHTENING PROBLEM CAN FIXED. THANK GOD OUR OUTBACK DIDN'T STALL AT A TIME WHEN ONCOMING TRAFFIC WOULD HAVE PLOWED INTO IT.

NEW TYPE TRANSMISSION -HAPPENS ALL THE TIME, MORE SO WHEN CAR IS COOL. BACK OUT ON A DOWNHILL SLOPE HOLD BRAKE, PUT IN DRIVE. IT TAKES 1 TO 3 SECONDS FOR DRIVE TO ENGAGE BUT NOTHING SHOWS WHEN IT IS ENGAGED. YOU CAN HOWEVER HEAR THE PING OF THE ENGAGEMENT WITH WINDOW DOWN. IF YOU REMOVE FOOT FROM BRAKE AND PRESS GAS THE CAR WILL ROLL BACKWARDS 6-10 FEET TOWARDS ONCOMING TRAFFIC. THIS OCCURS WITH OR WITHOUT THE HILL ASSIST ON. SUBARU SAYS THIS IS NORMAL NATURE FOR THE CAR.

I TURNED THE CAR ON WHILE IT WAS STATIONARY, AND SWITCHED TO REVERSE BUT IT WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. I SWITCHED IT TO DRIVE AND PRESSED THE ACCELERATION PEDAL BUT THE ENGINE WOULD ONLY REV; THE TIRES WOULD NOT MOVE. I SWITCHED THE CAR TO NEUTRAL AND CALLED BOB WADE'S SUBARU DEALERSHIP TO TOW THE CAR TO THEIR DEALERSHIP.

I TURNED THE CAR ON WHILE IT WAS STATIONARY, AND SWITCHED TO REVERSE BUT IT WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. I SWITCHED IT TO DRIVE AND PRESSED THE ACCELERATION PEDAL BUT THE ENGINE WOULD ONLY REV; THE TIRES WOULD NOT MOVE. I SWITCHED THE CAR TO NEUTRAL AND CALLED BROWN'S MANASSAS TO TOW THE CAR TO THEIR DEALERSHIP.

SUBARU 2017 PUSH BUTTON START ALLOWS THE DRIVER TO TURN OFF THE ENGINE WITH CAR GEAR SELECTOR STILL IN DRIVE. WHEN I DID THIS, THE CAR BEGAN TO ROLL AS I EXITED. FORTUNATELY, I HAD ONE FOOT STILL IN THE CAR AND WAS ABLE TO PRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL.

2017 SUBARU OUTBACK HAS 8200 MILES ON THE CAR. I WAS AT 85 MILES AN HOUR 1ST TIME ON THIS CAR. ALL OF THE SUDDEN TRANSMISSION DISENGAGED AND ENGINE RPM WENT TO 4000. GAS PEDEL WAS UNRESPONSIVE FOR 2 SECONDS. AFTER 2 SECONDS CAR SLOW DOWN AND GAS PEDAL WAS RESPONSIVE AND CAR WAS PERFORMING NORMAL. SUBARU DEALERSHIP GOING TO CHECK WHAT IS WRONG.

I BOUGHT A 2017 SUBARU OUTBACK IN MARCH,2017. IT HAS 1946 MILES. CAR HAS SAFETY ISSUES. CAR DOESN'T GO INTO PARK, INSTEAD IT GOES INTO REVERSE. IT HAPPENED WHEN COME HOME TRY TO PUT IN PARK, I COME OUT OF THE CAR BUT IT START GOING BACK. ALSO AFTER THAT IT WAS NOT GOING INTO DRIVE EITHER. SUBARU CHANGE THE SHIFT ASSEMBLY, BUT THE CAR STILL MAKE "KLUNK" NOISE WHEN I PUT IN THE PARK.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 SUBARU OUTBACK. WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH THE CONTACT WAS THE PASSENGER IN THE VEHICLE AND INADVERTENTLY MOVED THE GEAR SHIFTER. THE CONTACT WAS UNAWARE UNTIL SEVERAL MOMENTS LATER WHEN THE VEHICLE SHIFTED INTO MANUAL DRIVE. THE VEHICLE'S SPEED REDUCED AND THERE WAS A LOUD GRINDING NOISE. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,500. UPDATED 04/05/17*LJ *CN

WHEN SHIFTING FROM REVERSE TO FORWARD THERE IS A CONSIDERABLE HESITATION AND THEN THE VEHICLE LURCHES FORWARD. I HAVE TAKEN IT INTO TEAM SUBARU IN NAMPA IDAHO AND THEY CANNOT DETERMINE ANY PROBLEM. I WAS TOLD THAT THE HESITATION IS NORMAL. I DO NOT AGREE. BECAUSE NOT ONLY DOES IT HESITATE, BUT THE LURCH WHEN THE TRANSMISSION FINALLY ENGAGES IS CONSIDERABLE. I DID NOT NOTICE THIS UNTIL THE VEHICLE HAD APPROXIMATELY 1000 MILES ON IT. I HAVE JUST OVER 7100 MILES ON IT NOW.