Problems with 2012 Subaru Outback 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.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 subaru outback. while driving approximately 45 mph and reducing the speed to 20 mph, the vehicle stalled and shut off. the vehicle was taken to subaru of glendale (1308 s. brand blvd, glendale, ca) where it was diagnosed that the torque converter was faulty and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and did not assist. the failure mileage was 162,000.

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.

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 customers

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

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 stalling in those conditions, causing traffic disturbances and endangering my family, myself, and other drives on the road. 4 days later the dash lights came on while driving-check engine, flashing emergency brake, traction control, flashing at temp oil-i immediately pulled off the road, bucking and near stalling all the way. car was towed. odb-ii codes were-transmission control malfunction, and torque converter clutch pressure control solenoid central circuit. mechanic says can't drive the car. background checking shows that instead of a recall, a warranty was put in place then due to the extent of the complaints on this, warranty was extended, and subaru refuses to take appropriate action to resolve this unsafe, expensive, and known issue. there is additionally a sulev emissions warranty which covers this, but it only goes to 150,000 miles and is not a safety issue.

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.

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 should be a recall. fatalities could be a result of this! subaru needs to be held accountable and not just by extending the warranty. again this is a huge safety isuue!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 first time, they admitted their mistake and paid for the repair. i asked them again to cover it and was even told on the phone by a subaru representative that the torque converter in a vehicle should not have gone bad the first time, much less the second time...but since my mileage is over their "goodwill" limit for the warranty extension, they will not fully cover the repar/replacement of the torque converter a second time (after having the new one for 2 years, only 45,000 miles.) i know that we are not the only consumers that this is happening too and as it is a known problem with their torque converters and a definite safety issue, my hope is that this will prompt a recall or in some way, have subaru fix their mistakes and not put it off on the consumer, as if we just happened to purchase a lemon or something.

Cvt failure causing random engine shut offs when stopping.

The car shuts off or shudders when slowing down to a stop or when accelerating. the transmissionis not working properly.

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 service bulletin covering more than 1.5 million vehicles for what appears to be known issue with the torque converter in the cvt transmission. however, the problem is sporadic and intermittent and every time the vehicle goes in to re-check the problem, the technicians cannot replicate it. this is very much a safety issue that should be elevated from a tsb to a recall if the issue is known. the feeling of a shuddering almost to a vehicle stall is not safe. why subaru has not issued a full on a recall is a little concerning, especially with the several subaru forums indicating from many other owners of the same problem. i have talked to subaru of america and they were not very accommodating of the issue and said if they cant recreate the problem, then they wont fix it. apparently the word of thousands of subaru owners is not sufficient enough.

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.

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!

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.

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 normally, was just sharply braking on a city road. we were very close to the accident, because everyone was driving with the speed 45-50 miles. while i was driving the car kept to have the strange sound and slowed down more and more. i was lucky to find a parking space next to me on somebody's tires weels shop. i took a little break about 40 minutes to find out what happened. after that when i turned the car on it stopped having the strange sound but it couldn't move anymore! i pushed on a gas pedal many times but the car just stayed in on place and didn't move to the front or back. my vehicle was towed to the subaru service center. the next day i was calling to the subaru service center several times, and when somebody answered i was replied that "the car had an inspection but we don't know what exactly happened yet" and it should take one more day. i did one more call the next day i received an answer from subaru service center that the vehicle have a broken transmission and to fix it costs $7600. in those days i found out that the cars 2010-2015 subaru outback have recalls or extended warranty. my friend from florida have a subaru outback 2012 with 168 000 miles and he also had the same problem with a car like me on october 2018. the subaru dealership in florida fixed that power train for free. but when i told with a subaru headquarter about my affected vehicle they gave me an answer that i have on my car more than 100 000 miles and they can't help me at all.

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 and told me to have it checked by a mechanic. i drove it about a mile to the nearest auto shop, a place i've taken my last 2 cars, and left it. the next day they said it was fixed, and that they had to replace the radiator and it was ready to pick up. from there i picked up the car and drove it to a friend's in a city about 100 miles away. i drove it the entire way on the freeway, came off the freeway, drove it about 4 blocks to my friend's house. i wen up her driveway, and as i pulled into a parking place, the warning lights again started flashing. i pulled into a parking slot and stopped it. my friend's son later went out to look under the hood with me. there was evidence of some spray under the hood, but not much. i called the dealer where i'd bought the car a month before, and he told me to have the car towed to their shop, where i'd left it with them for about 2-3 weeks. when i called about the progress, they said they didn't want to release it back to me until to was repaired. in the meantime, my friend where i was staying when i had it towed, told me she had an identical problem with her 2011 subaru outback and after replacing hoses, thermostat, water pump, tjey finally replaced her head gasket. my daughter then reminded me the same happened to her 1999 subaru outback, so i started researching the internet for similar issues. many sites, some well known said this is common with the 2.5l engine. this is a defect subaru should recall.

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 cover this now? i am responsible now for a large repair that is a known safety concern by subaru that they will not take care of as there is 24k over their warranty replacement mileage. i am disappointed.

'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 quoted to replace the transmission at $8000. in an effort to avoid a recall at all costs, subaru issued a warranty increase to 100,000 miles instead of 60,000 in direct response to the increasing complaints about the cvt transmission. the car has 103,000 miles so it is not covered under the warranty, i tried contacting subaru and they said 103,000 is over 100,000 sorry. what is interesting is that under the maintenance for transmission, it says no maintenance is required, to not even change the transmission fluid. if you tell your consumers that the cvt transmission does not require maintenance, and tell them not to change their fluid aren't you liable if the transmission fails?

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 extended warranty ended on july 31,2018 for subaru's cvt issue recall. subaru says, they will replace cvt, but i need to pay large amount,they will write off only 2500$. this is a known issue in subaru outback 2012 and subaru is not fixing my vehicle.

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 needs to be recalled before someone get hurt, please.

Driver started car to cool it off before running errands. it was parked on the flat portion of the driveway. it was in park & i did not touch the gear shifter. i left the door open to assist in cooling the interior off more quickly and went to retrieve an item needed for the errands. when i heard a strang noice i turned around to find my car missing. it had reversed itself 180+ down the driveway, across our lawn & only stopped when it hit a 24'+ tree. when i reached the vehicle the gear shifter was still in park. inline towing had to winch it out, and noted that even though the had shifted it to neutral the back up lights were engaged. it has been towed to the auto body shop for repairs. insurance has been notified.

I've been experiencing intermittent issues with the transmission where the vehicle would shudder like it was about to shut off when braking. i've also experienced issues where after starting the vehicle and placing the vehicle into gear, the vehicle would lock up. i took my vehicle to a certified mechanic back in september 2018 who pointed me to a technical service bulletin addressing the same issues i was having: tsb 16-90-13r, and recommended i go to a subaru dealership for diagnostics, and repair potentially under extended warranty. i did take my vehicle and get a transmission flush which seemed to alleviate the issue. however, after taking my vehicle to my local subaru dealership, i was told they could not reproduce the issue, or see any related codes; there doesn't appear to be any record of this issue recorded except for a related warranty request for seat repair. now that i am experiencing this issue again, i took my vehicle back to the dealer. they gave me the same response and i escalated to soa asking for help getting this transmission repaired. their response was the same as the dealership's response - that they could not reproduce the issue, and they will not perform the repair. i feel this is a serious issue that could lead to injury or death while operating the vehicle. however, i am still experiencing the issue from time to time, and i do not feel that this vehicle is safe. my wife primarily drives this vehicle to take my children to and from school and other activities. the last time this issue occurred, the vehicle would not start at the gym, and i had to drop everything to go pick up my child from school. my wife was able to restart the vehicle after turning off the vehicle, waiting for a minute, and starting again. this issue seems to occur at low rpms regardless if it is parked, or on city streets or highways.

2012 subaru outback cvt issue car will shudder while braking from highway speeds (40 mph+) down to 10-20 mph. car lurches, similar to a manual car dumping the clutch. in the case of a hard stop this has caused the engine to stall twice, and come close to stalling many more times. car starts up and runs fine once placed in neutral or park. i have to be extremely conscious of how quickly i brake, as you can feel when the tcc disengages. if it does not disengage before you stop, the car stalls. this leads to possible unsafe conditions, not knowing if your car is going to stall or not at a critical moment (turning left in a busy intersection). this would have been covered by subaru's extended warranty that they offered to cover this known problem (seemingly instead of a full recall), but by the time my car exhibited these symptoms it was well past the arbitrary 100k mile mark and past the july 31st deadline (my car is at 116k miles, and this started occuring in the past two months). i drive a large amount of highway miles, and recently i do not feel safe coming to a hard stop if necessary. i do not see how a known issue that can cause the car to stall in traffic is not considered a safety issue that necessitates a recall.

In august 2018 the car began stalling randomly when coming to a stop. when we brought it to the dealer it was diagnosed with the cvt problem that prompted the extended warranty. however, the extended warranty for our 200,000 mile car had expired 7/31. the fix is almost $5,000 and subaru will not apply the extended warranty. even through they admit it is a safety concern and that the extended warranty would have applied two weeks earlier (had the problem started then), they have refused to help.

While slowing down the vehicle has pulled (feeling like it is not shifting down , for years, thought it was the nature of the beast) so had to brake harder. since the summer of 2018 the car pulls and sometimes stalls or almost stalls when decelerating fast. this happens on highway and also city (between streetlights). i looked online and see that subaru has had a bulletin since 2014 knowing about a thrust washer wear problem inside the torque converter . 1-27-2019 i took the outback in for service and the diagnosis was torque converter replacement. estimated cost for repairs $1715.00. my wife and i not only had the standard subaru warranty but paid extra for the extended warranty,. all service was done at the subaru dealership ( stanley subaru ) and the last service before warranty expired in 2017 i specifically asked for the car to be gone though with a fine tooth comb (at that time we was concerned with noisy wheel bearings. no mention of the bulletin on the torque converter was mentioned. *tr

Engine stalls while pressing break pedal rapidly. was told by the dealer that torque converter is a problem and extended warranty is available to fix this issue. my car has salvage title related to minor flooding and is not covered by this warranty. manufacturer faulty design should result i recall so all the cars are covered( like faulty air bags). thyis is potentially more danger problem then faulty air bags and i guess subaru is waiting for causalities as result of this negligible approach.

Vehicle stalls unexpectedly when stopping. local mechanic states it is a transmission issue and has been reported by many owners of this model. i am just outside the extended warranty and over 110,000 miles. it started earlier when my warranty would have covered it but subaru did not make us aware of the potential problem and we didn't know what was causing this. it has caused some close calls when we suddenly have to stop in traffic. have almost been hit from behind several times. should be a safety recall on this problem. has been an ongoing issue since about the middle of june and has happened almost every time we use the car lately. we are elderly and can not afford the expensive repair job.

At times, i have been experiencing the engine shutting off when i come to a complete stop. it kind of shudders first and then just dies. if i'm able to roll through the stop, it doesn't die, but when i come to a complete stop, sometimes it just dies. i have to quickly put it in park or neutral and start it again. this could be very dangerous with people behind me not expecting that long of a stop! i do a lot of driving in town and this happens when stopping at stop signs. it is unknown to me at this point as to what is causing the problem.

Coming to a stop at stop sign, car stalled. no warning. very dangerous in busy city. vehicle was breaking from 20mph to stop when stalled.

As many other owners have reported, i have been told that the torque converter on my 2012 subaru outback has to be replaced (at a cost of nearly $1800). this is because of the shuddering and/or stalling of the car when coming to a stop. this issue is, and has been, very inconsistent which is why i never brought it to the attention of the service department before the end of the revised warranty option provided by subaru (100,000 miles or 7/31/2018 cutoff date). my car currently has 110,000 miles on it. the problem with the way this whole matter has been dealt with by subaru is that, despite the fact i brought the vehicle in for regular service prior to the mileage/date deadlines, i was never asked if i was experiencing any of the problems related to the torque converter. had the issue been explained to me, i would have said that i was indeed having issues and would have had the part replaced under the warranty. this sort of behavior clearly demonstrates that subaru is not "dedicated to customer satisfaction." subaru should be more proactive than reactive to dealing with the torque converter problem. in fact, subaru should replace the torque converter whenever it becomes a problem. it is absolutely shameful that subaru and the nhtsa has not done more to address the matter. i guess it is going to take someone getting injured or killed before the problem gets escalated to a point that there will be a recall or subaru voluntarily replaces the torque converter regardless of time or mileage.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 subaru outback. while the vehicle was placed in park on an incline, the contact suddenly heard a scraping noise and noticed that the vehicle independently rolled away. the contact's wife was leaning into the vehicle and was pulled in reverse along with the vehicle. the vehicle crashed into a curb and the front driver's door struck the hedge, which slowed the vehicle down. the vehicle then crashed into a tree hedge. the contact's wife sustained an injury to the right side of her hip that required medical attention. a police report was filed. the dealer was not contacted. the vehicle was towed to an auto shop where all of the panels were repaired; the manufacturer was notified of the failure. an inspector was sent to inspect the vehicle, but no diagnostic failure codes were found and the failure could not be duplicated. the approximate failure mileage was 47,000. *tt *tr *bf *tr

Tl* the contact was driving a 2012 subaru outback company vehicle. while driving various speeds, the vehicle hesitated to stop when the brake pedal was depressed. the contact stated that all the warning indicators illuminated. the vehicle was taken to fitzgerald subaru (11407 rockville pike, rockville, md 20852, (301) 230-9000) where it was diagnosed that the driver and passenger side knock sensors and the passenger side brake light needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the transmission body and harness needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired again, but the failure recurred. the manufacturer was not notified of the failures. the approximate failure mileage was 73,763.

My transmission failed at 120k miles. subaru reimbursed me for a replacement which failed 9k miles later. i replaced that one out of my own pocket with a used transmission with only 35k miles on it. the third transmission failed while my wife and i were in the fast lane on a major freeway. we had to navigate across traffic with absolutely zero acceleration. subaru claims that their transmissions do not put their customers in danger, but i am on my fourth transmission and the last one almost caused us to get into an accident with a tractor-trailer.

Vehicle in motion traveling 65 mph on the highway, vehicle appeared to lose power, all dash lights flash, gas pedal unresponsive, coast to side of road, wait 20 minutes, car starts back up, called subaru dealership, mechanic states it is okay to try and drive, all dash lights flashing, no cruise control, drove 75 + miles before lights stop flashing, scenario repeats itself x 3 more times, lights flashing, no cruise control, take to dealership, subaru states, "computer reset", has happened once since the "reset" but the car did not completely shut down. it felt like it lost power for a second but came back on while on the highway.

Vehicle stalling while stopping or attempting to accelerate from a stop. there is a warranty extension on the cvt transmission, but only to 100,000 miles from subaru. this problem should be a recall, not only a warranty extension. it is a significant safety problem that could easily result in collision with injury or death. vehicle stalling when slowing down or accelerating from a stop.

Very low engine rpm, or complete engine quit when coming to a stop. the condition is similar to coming to a stop in a manual transmission equipped vehicle without depressing the clutch pedal. has happened many times and is more of an annoyance until it happens when i might need to accelerate suddenly again. subaru service bulletin # 16-90-13 design change to lock-up type torque converter pertains, but subaru has not issued a recall. maybe they're waiting for someone to die first.

Purchased used with 150,000 miles on it. it started stalling and cutting off when braking at intersections or sudden stops but does not do it all the time. has stalled out in traffic when stopped suddenly and have to quickly put it in park, start the engine again, put in drive and go before being rear ended. it has stalled at stop signs on inclines or declines, on a gravel drive way that goes uphill, behind cars that brake suddenly to where i have to quickly stop, or even moving slowly in a car line and then coming to a stop. subaru is aware of this issue with legacy and outback models from 2010-2012 and has issued a service bulletin but not a safety recall. the cost to repair is anywhere from $1400 on up. if it is out of warranty like mine, they do not offer any assistance with price. this is a safety hazard when you vehicle cuts off in traffic and should be recalled.

My car would stall with a hard stop at an intersection or going uphill subaru reported that it was a bad torque converte, a bulletin notice was done for this by subaru.i feel this is a big safety issue any recalls should be done, due to a the car stalling with a drop in rpm and a potential accident could occur while trying to restart the car. this occurred numerous times between the months of march and may when i brought it to the dealership. i had vacuum hoses checked i have had engine spark plugs cleaned out and it was at this point generate 112,000 mile tuneup that they informed me the prom was the tour converter and they knew this was an issue.

Vehicle stalls at red lights or stop signs. it also hesitates on acceleration. this is a very dangerous situation when having to restart the vehicle in heavy traffic.

In april of 2017, the transmission completely and suddenly failed while traveling on i 35 southbound in iowa. (we were traveling around 60 miles an hour when the transmission failed) we had it towed to closest subaru dealer, who then denied the warranty. we were at approximately 59,000 miles and 2 months shy of the original transmission warranty. even after they sent out letters less than 2 months later extending the warranty on the transmission to 100,000 miles they have continued to deny the warranty and have continued to blame the 3rd party who performed an oil change on the car. the party that performed the oil change is a well established ase certified company. they only performed an oil change and tire service they did nothing with the transmission. their refusal has dragged on for almost a year straining our finances. we are still in the process of litigation through our attorney. as a consumer we feel outmatched. it is incredibly frustrating especially since they have admitted that they have a transmission problem. yet they still refuse to fix or solve the problem in anyway and have hired a partner at an expensive law firm to continue to deny the warranty. how is the average consumer supposed to handle this type of situation? i have read in forbes magazine that consumer groups and your organization are aware of this problem but i wanted to make you further aware that even though they have admitted the problem they still continue to make it a problem for the consumer. thank you

The vehicle suddenly and unexpectedly stalls when coming to a rapid stop, such as approaching a stop sign or braking to avoid hitting the car ahead. when my cars stalls, i lose control which could very well lead to an accident.

Subaru outback 2012 has been stalling out when coming to a stop, especially when on an incline or at a fast stop, does not do it every time vehicle stops but does it enough to be a safety hazard. dealership said it is due to a faulty torque converter and also told me i have to have the valve body replaced due to metal shards falling into it from the torque converter.

Letter from senator klobuchar on behalf of constituent regarding subaru warranty complaint. *ld the consumer stated the vehicle failed catastrophically while away on vacation. *js

Torque converter needing replaced after engine stall and/or dying at stop.