Problems with 2018 Subaru Outback ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

I have replaced the battery twice and the battery is still dead if i don't drive the vehicle for more than 3 days. obviously there is a parasitic drain. i don't have an options or accessories installed that did come with the vehicle when purchased.

Headunit, including backup camera, has been unresponsive for over six weeks. a replacement has been on order with the local subaru dealer for five weeks.

Smoke electrical short issue in driver side mirror. diagnosed by subaru mechanic to be a short in the approach light module. significant smoke was emitted from mirror with burn marks on bottom inside middle of mirror. the car had just came to rest in a hospital parking deck. car was removed from deck in order to prevent fire hazard. note - a 10 amp fuse did blow which caused a failure of the tpms (tire pressure monitoring system) and the remote lock/unlock system.

In dec 2018 the fuel line of my 2018 subaru outback had to be replaced because it had been chewed through by a rodent and was leaking in the car. total damage was over $2000. in may 2019 another $3500 damage was discovered from a rodent chewing on electrical harnesses in the dash. the dealer told me this is because subaru is now using soy-based insulation for fuel lines, wiring, and electrical harnesses. rodents are attracted to the soy because they think it is food. in both cases my damage was discovered while trying to start the car while it is parked. but what if i was driving down the road and a chewed wire came loose that shorted something out and impacted my ability to control the car? or what if the fuel line broke while driving down the highway and caused the car to suddenly stall? manufacturers should not be allowed to use materials (e.g. soy) that actually attract rodents. if anything, they should be using materials that deter rodents. fuel lines and electrical harnesses are critical to the safe operation of a car and these systems are needlessly being put at risk by using soy to produce them. this is especially troubling for subaru because part of their image encourages their owners to explore "the great outdoors." what happens why i go camping and park my car in the woods and chipmunks chew through my components and strand me in the middle of nowhere? or, worse, a critical system on the car fails as i'm driving home and i lose control of the vehicle and crash. the use of soy-based components should not be allowed. or, if it is, oems should cover rodent damage to these systems under warranty. at the very least, oems should be required to disclose the use of soy in the car before a vehicle is purchased. i had no idea soy-based products were used in this car. had i known, i would not have bought it. fyi... subaru denies using soy products.

Infotainment system would not boot up at start. loss of navigation, backup camera, hands free phone, sirius radio.

The entire "infotainment" system, central display console, and control panel does not work. it will not turn on. the screen is black. nothing works. the rear view camera safety system does not work. the radio, bluetooth, and navigation system does not work. this symptom is constant. it occurs when stationary, in motion, in city, highway, turning - always. in reverse the rearview camera does not display an image. the hands free calling system/bluetooth does not work - again, this issue is constant regardless of conditions.

The head unit in the sound system/electrical system keeps failing resulting in a loss of all sound functions. i don't get any warnings of problems as the sound system simply does not work. this is unsafe. to date, the dealer has replaced what he calls an amplifier twice. the new unit works for a few days or weeks and then fails again. so far, the other components connected to this system -- back up camera, for instance, still work. i don't know if this is related, but the rear hatch has opened by itself three times, each time when the car was parked. once, this caused the battery to drain because we did not discover it for more than 12 hours. once, there was damage to the rear hatch because we did not know it was open and it was damaged by the garage door when we opened it remotely from outside.

Three items: when vehicle is switched-on - video display for reverse/backup camera is not working. display components are responding to touch but no audio is heard for radio, phone, or navigation. once vehicle is switched-off - display console and side lights (on center computer) remain illuminated pulling from the battery. now my car is dead and requires a jump!

Video screen for the display of the backup camera view is not working.

Head unit is malfunctioning multiple times per day. intermittent phone muting, intermittent phone disconnect, no volume through apple car play while in park, speakers come through on weird channel extremely loudly all of a sudden, no volume on radio, channels on radio all of a sudden change, pulsating power signal through usb port(changed multiple cables)says its charging device but device dies, voice command button on steering wheel not working intermittently, phone connected on car play but car says no phone connected. starlink will not start up and have to restart car. intermittently squealing in the car. for all problems car may be moving or stationary. in park or drive or reverse. may be on any type of road condition going any direction. this intermittent behavior has been occurring since the onset of ownership.

Stereo output abruptly changed from all speakers at normal volume, to one speaker at increased volume. vehicle was in motion in an urban setting. this kind of random volume change from the infotainment system while driving can be quite jarring and surprising.

The entire "infotainment" system, central display console, and control panel does not work. it will not turn on. the screen is black. nothing works. the rear view camera safety system does not work. the radio, bluetooth, and navigation system does not work. this symptom is constant. it occurs when stationary, in motion, in city, highway, turning - always. in reverse the rearview camera does not display an image. the hands free calling system/bluetooth does not work - again, this issue is constant regardless of conditions.

The central display console where backup camera is went to black suddenly and will not turn on. this is a safety concern. here is a link to many other 2018 2019 subaru owners reporting same issue https://www.cargurus.com/cars/discussion-t75428_ds961674

The screen has gone black and side lights blink, unable to use any item controlled by the screen. appears the warning system for a vehicle stopping too closely is not working as well.

Was driving on highway while fuel range indicated on dash just hit 30 miles to empty and car ran out of gas. was never informed by subaru of any recall for this vehicle.

In 2018 a new law went into effect requiring all new cars cone with rear backup cameras. the subaru starlink infotainment system that is on all new subarus are defective, buggy, and subaru has no permanent fix. it renders the rear camera unoperable, replacements are on backorder and subaru makes owners continue to drive their card when it is unsafe and not following the new law for 2018 cars. i want subaru to fix this safety issue and provide affected owners with loaner cars while waiting for a fix/replacement.

Display panel shut down, completely dark, disabled are radio, gps, navigation and most importantly the back up camera. the dealership admits they are seeing quite a few of these and a new radio to repair the problem will take 3 months to arrive, no guarantee this will fix the problem. so i will be without a backup camera, deemed critical enough that it is mandated on all new cars for one quarter of the year. i also assume if not fixed by my next state safety inspection i will not be allowed to drive the car. so far i have received nothing from subaru.this looks a pretty big safety issue being swept under the rug.

I have owned two outbacks a 2016 and 2018 and both have had the problem of front windows will work and then for what ever reason i will roll window up with power switch and wind will automatically roll half way down and stay there if i try to roll it up again it does the same thing .until i pull over stop car and reset the switch the way the dealership showed me to do ,this only works sometimes so i am left with my window half way down.this is unsafe especially when it is raining and my wife is trying to pay attention to driving with kids in the car .not to mention leaving her car with the window down unsececured for someone to get in her car and hide to harm her ,most of the times she cannot get window to reset. can you please help with this issue,one dealership has claimed that it is a electrical problem and they know how to fix but they are up north i am far south.

Wtz85 - subaru of america, inc. (subaru) is recalling 2018 model year legacy, outback, and brz vehicles equipped with a certain combination of head unit hardware and software, due to the possibility of noncompliance with federal motor vehicle safety standard type: recall | service campaign: wtz85 | nhtsa campaign: 18v-000000 open recall date: january 02, 2019 description 18 leg/out/brz v3 head unit reprogram safety risk due to a software issue, the head unit memory retrieval and assembly time may exceed the designed time to begin the boot-up cycle. if this occurs, the head unit display will not boot, causing the screen to remain blank. in this condition, while backing the vehicle, the rearview image may not be displayed. the failure to display the rearview image creates a non-compliance with the requirements of fmvss 111 ' 'rear visibility,' increasing the risk of a crash. there are 1000's of these on backorder causing us to drive around in unsafe vehicles because they do not know when replacment units will be available and they are not providing a loaner car in the meantime. this is unacceptable for a company that prides themselves on their safety!!!!!

Entire center radio cluster has failed. car was parked in a garage and got into the car and started car and entire unit was black. this impacts radio, hands free cellular phone use, navigation, back up camera and warning system, vehicle notifications, star link program. this may sound just like a minor thing but this has significant safe operation impacts in regards to traffic and driving, cell phone use and navigation of the vehicle.

Infotainment screen went black on december 17, 2018. radio, navigation system, bluetooth and rear camera are all inoperable.

Infotainment system is faulty. i have no back up camera, bluetooth, radio, can not program clock. subaru dealer says there is no fix other than to replace head unit. i have been waiting since dec 14th for this replacement unit. while at dealer i asked for a loaner and was denied. subaru said the car was safe to drive which is not true since their biggest safety feature isnt accessible

I drove to a nearby town, indicator said 40 miles to go before empty. parked. restarted the car after half an hour. most of center display functions were dead. it did show back-up view, but no radio, no map. drove toward home and gas station. after twenty miles, on cruise control at 70mph on highway, engine suddenly started racing as though it had down shifted, i braked and headed for the shoulder. no turn signals, no indicators, no emergency flashers - it seemed that the computer crashed when i ran out of gas. after adding gas and restarting, all was normal except the the radio memory had been wiped.

Tl* the contact owns a 2018 subaru outback. while driving 35 mph, the fuel gauge indicated 40 miles remaining, but the vehicle ran out of fuel. the vehicle was not taken to a dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 8,000.

Harman-kardon audio unit failure at 8,000 miles. results in loss a basic back up camera function. extensive safety features on this vehicle-basic back up camera not working.

Dashboard told me i had 20 miles worth of fuel left when suddenly the indicator changed to a dash and the car ran out of gas. occurred while driving 50 mph on a busy expressway, thankfully in the slow lane.

Tl* the contact owns a 2018 subaru outback. the contact received a recall notification for nhtsa campaign number: 18v773000 (electrical system, fuel system, gasoline) and stated that the manufacturer failed to repair the vehicle within a reasonable amount of time. the dealer (subaru of santa cruz, 4100 auto plaza drive, capitola, ca 95010) confirmed that parts were not available to perform the recall repair. the manufacturer was notified of the issue. the contact had not experienced a failure. parts distribution disconnect.

I was driving and the entire display went blank! this renders all electronic features controlled by the screen inoperable and also violates federal law mandating backup cameras on 2018 or newer cars. though technically my vehicle is still equipped with it, it doesn't matter because the display is completely dead. this is such a common problem the part is backordered for at least a month, in the meantime i will driving a car without an important safety feature.

2018 subaru outback: per dealer: original battery "bad" & replaced by dealer after it failed (unable to start & won't hold charge) after 10,500 miles at 9 mo. battery also failed in our previously owned 2015 outback after only 3 weeks, & in a 2015 subaru legacy after 35 months. the 2018 outback's touch screen (& back-up camera screen, etc) has also stopped working twice, at about 2 months (while backing out of the driveway) & again at 3 months, both times suddenly, the screen going black for a minute or longer, & then turning white for several minutes before resuming the normal screen configuration & appearance.

8- inch touch screen system is completely blank. as a result, the backup camera does not function. this is the second time this has happened. the first time, the unit was replaced after a one week wait for the part to be delivered. after several months,this unit went out. subaru 'a month wait for new unit due to repair demands.'

Tl* the contact owns a 2018 subaru outback. while driving approximately 55 mph at night, the fuel range dropped and the vehicle lost power and shut off. the contact pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road. the manufacturer's roadside assistance was called, but no one answered. the contact called the police for assistance due to the darkness. the contact called triple a and was provided some fuel to drive home. two days later, the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 18v773000 (electrical system, fuel system, gasoline). the vehicle was taken to groove subaru (720-279-9409, located at 5300 s broadway, englewood, co 80113) where it was confirmed that the parts were not available. the manufacturer was called, but no one answered the phone. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 12,500. ..*bf*jb *dt

Bluetooth will randomly disconnect. sometimes it lasts a few minutes, sometimes a couple hours. unable to re-connect once it does, so we have to mess with settings while driving to switch to aux cable, radio, etc or pull over and restart the car completely. we have verified the issue with 6 different devices. none of the devices demonstrate the same issue with any other bluetooth devices (we use a speaker for hours on end in the house with no issues). combine that with the infotainment screen being incredibly slow, this is a frustrating issue.

** 2018 subaru outback ** this has happened three times** driving car when car shuts off complete loss of power engine turns off without warning at various speeds - seems to occur when the low fuel warning system turns on at 1/4 tank of gas. this 3rd time almost got me killed traveling at 45mpg when it happened today inside a major intersection. software / sensor for the low fuel system? something is very seriously wrong. 1. is this car safe to drive with a full tank of gas? 2. has there been other complaints about this exact problem? 3. is there a recall or fix ?

Tl* the contact owns a 2018 subaru outback. while the contact was driving, the automated driving system stopped working and the back-up camera did not function. the vehicle was taken to the dealer (steve moyer subaru, 201 s centre ave, leesport, pa 19533, (888) 696-0345) where it was diagnosed that the computer that controlled the electronic and safety systems malfunctioned. the dealer explained that the failure was occurring with multiple vehicles and that they would replace the component under the warranty. the repairs were completed and the electrical failures were remedied. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 12,285. *tt *tr*jb

Tl* the contact owns a 2018 subaru outback. while the contact's wife was driving 50 mph, the vehicle shut off without warning. the vehicle was towed to mccurley integrity subaru (located at 9620 sandifur pkwy, pasco, wa 99301, (509) 412-7100) where it was diagnosed that the vehicle ran out of fuel. the contact was informed that when the fuel gauge displayed 20 miles to empty, the fuel tank was actually empty. the contact was informed that the fuel gauge was defective and the manufacturer was working on a remedy. the manufacturer was not contacted. the approximate failure mileage was 2,000. the vin was not available. *tt*jb

I recently purchased a 2018 outback. i was driving it going about 25 mph on road by my house and it shut down out of nowhere, dash lights came on, gas pedal wouldn't work, the only way i got it to go was shutting it off completely and restarting it. they car has 3500 miles, i dropped it off at the dealership on 8/25 and they have had it since. they replaced the fuel pump saying it was the cause of it shutting down on me. i received the car back on 9/21 and drove it for 180 miles, this time at 65 mph the car shutdown again while i was trying to pass someone on a 2 lane road, power steering lost and all lights came on dashboard like it had some type of electrical problem. very similar to the first time but i was driving much faster this time.after about 30 seconds the car just kind of started up by itself without me having to push the start button i believe this issue is a huge safety issue and could possibly get me killed or someone else killed while driving this car. subaru service facility has no clue whats going on since the car is not throwing codes. i have started the lemon law process but subaru is not being very helpful thus far. also having a problem with passenger seat not sensing if someone is sitting in the seat and not enabling the airbags. this problem came up on the scan on 8/25 analysis. i was unaware of the issue, nothing in the car told me passenger side airbag was not working. subaru replaced the seat but i am still concerned that the problem is going on since i have no way to tell if it works or not.

Vehicle developed drip from transmission approximately mid june 2018. took to dealer & unable to find source after 11 days in shop. they put dye in and i drove until 7-30-18 when drip returned. car in shop 6 days for new transmission. car returned 8-9-18. 11 days later 8-21-18 major oil leak & vehicle towed to dealership. as of 8-24-18 they are still attempting to locate leak. will have to pull engine. may not get car back during august. outback has less than 15000 miles. have contacted subaru requested lemon law as the vehicle has nearly 40 cumulative days in the shop since purchased 8-16-18. outback has also had 2 new radios and multiple software updates for numerous radio issues.

Soft keys for radio programming go to initializing and stay there rather than show the siriusxm channel that was set in memory. head unit is extremely bright at night it does dim but there are white sections that should be inverted at night this makes it distracting at night. radio boots up to a white screen now and nothing works. radio was replaced on 5/31/18 and at that time it had additional issues but all appear to be returning. all of the issues appear at start up.

The radio head unit will randomly not connect to apple car play. it will also get stuck on a fm radio station and not respond to anything until the battery is disconnected. this happens while driving and there is no way to control the volume or anything. i have been for software updates.

Our outback started to pull to the right at around 3000 miles. currently (at 9000 miles) the car still does that. it feels as if there is strong side wind pushing the car. the car also started making knocking sounds when turning the wheel in both directions while at stop or moving slowly. we are currently scheduled for an inspection at the dealership. the second major issue is the tire pressure monitor. the tire pressure that it displays does not match the actual one measured with several external instruments (constantly 2 psi lower on all four wheels). additionally, the monitor sometimes switches the front tire pressure with the rear ones, i.e. the monitor displays the front tire pressure as if it is the rear tire pressure. very confusing!

Radio and maps went to a black screen several times at 5k miles. it was sent to the dealership for update. still had issues, but not as many. then the lighting went out on the radio buttons. replaced main head which was covered under warranty w/a 100 dollar deductible. automatic door locks work intermittently when put in gear, drivers window control panel does not work for any windows in the car other than the drivers window. had transmission issues after 2 months of purchase. it idles high and does not smoothly glide into gear. windshield was cracked by a small rock. it was replaced and two weeks later it cracked again.

I have 6000 miles on my 2018 subaru outback and rodents ate the electrical wires in my engine which caused me not to be able to operate the car and could have caused a major accident. i found out my wires are soy based which attracted the rodents.i was driving on the highway when my dashboard indicators lit up indicating there was a problem. i immediately drove to the subaru service department and had the wiring repaired. it is the responsibility of subaru to replace all my wiring with non-soy based wiring at no cost to me immediately and give me a loaner car without soy based wiring until my car has been repaired. it is important that all cars on the road are hazard free.

When i turn on the hazard emergency flashing lights on while parked and engine off and i lock the car , both keyless remotes stop working when i try to unlock the doors to enter. to be able to access car need to use the manual key, alarm horn goes off and then push the engine start button and all seems to work fine again. has happened multiple times.

Rear tail gate opens without activation at 35 mph while vehicle is in motion. i have a video but it is too big to send. my wife and i were on a busy highway after just purchasing flowers and plants at a local nursery when the tailgate just started to open all by itself spilling some of the plants on the highway. the tailgate locked in the open position at about two feet in the open position.

I was driving and the fuel indicator indicated 70 miles to go last time i saw it. i only had to drive 10 miles home and the car suddenly stopped, thankfully on a local road. some warning lights started appearing and i couldnt make what the problem was. i tried to restart a few times until i decided it had to be fuel. we pushed car to side of road and went to gas station to get gas. came back with gas, refilled and car started and went home. i thought it was my fault, althought i couldnt explain why the last time a saw the fuel gauge said 70 miles and i was just going home, not even 10 miles to get there.

I have always wanted a 3.6l and this is my first 3.6l 6 cylinder 2018 subaru outback! am disappointed with few problems: the front seating is not comfortable and not supportive at all, especial in hard turns the seats will not hold you in place, the seat bed is to short and does not support long legs if you are over 5 feet tall. for some reason this is my 3rd subaru 2nd outback that has wheel alignment problem right out of the box!!! i always seem to be pulling the steering-wheel/vehicle to the right and my steering is always on a 15-20 degree off and if i don't steer and pull to the right the vehicle drifts way to the left lane and this dangers and a major problem. also while driving on highways with speed over 60 the vehicle vibrates i took it in for 4 tire wheel balancing and i hope this will fix the problem, mind you this is a new car. 2018 outback has a problem while driving on highways and speeds over 60 the vehicle drifts or sways dangerously left and right out of control as if something is pushing or pushing the vehicle left and right, i don't know if the highway vibration with speeds exceeding 60 is associated with the sway or its a wheel balancing problem. previously owned subaru's 2011 outback, 2011 legacy, 2014 outback, 2018 outback with only 290 miles on the vehicle with a full gas tank i drove it till it displayed and the gas light is on that i only have 40 miles to go before running out of gas so i drove it to be precise another 12 miles then stated that i only have 30 miles to empty and parked it while i went to work , 6 hours later to go home and the vehicle will not start, unfortunately i ran out of gas! i don't know if this was a glitch or its going to be a problem but i will keep my eyes on it.

8" navigation/display frozen. no back-up camera when in reverse. does not respond to inputs either on the display or from steering wheel. "power" switch did not power down the unit. stopping the engine and restarting did not reset the unit. stopping the engine, open and close the drivers door and restarting did not reset the unit. remained inoperative during morning commute (30 min). center console remained on after exiting and locking the car. after 9 hours the battery was drained and the engine would not start. after a jump-start, the unit did reset and seems to be working normally. there should be a way to power-down (reboot) the navigation/radio display without having to stop the car and restart the engine.

Ran out of gas when gauge showed 40 miles left - car locked up on a 70mph freeway - reported to subaru almost a year ago and recently saw where a recall had been initiated but called subaru customer service and they have no idea when this will be resolved even though they have know about it for a year - why is this not a safety issue that the nhtsa is forcing them to fix

On occasion, and while in motion, the head unit (navigation display, radio, etc), in our 2018 outback limited w/ eyesight, will freeze up and no hard or soft buttons will reactivate the system. i must shut car down for a few minutes before a "reboot" takes place. i have seen numerous other complaints on subaruoutback.com.

After putting on hazard switch and leaving vehicle, i came back to vehicle and the keyless entry would not function. system did not seem to recognize my smartkey as the door handle sensor did not operate. i tried the buttons on the smartly fob and they too did not function. also tried the mobile remote app and that too failed. i had to use the mechanical key to enter vehicle. of course the security horn goes off, but strangely i was able to start vehicle so system was able to recognize my smartkey after entry. problem seems to only occur after a specific time period. if i put on the hazards and come back in a couple minutes, system works normally. it seems to occur around the five to 10 minute time frame.