2019 Subaru Outback
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Electrical system is the leading concern among 1,034 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the highest complaint count among 26 Outback model years with reports.
Of the 2019 reports, 24 involved a crash and 2 involved a fire. 18 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, fuel pumpJul 29, 2021
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Ascent, 2018 Forester, 2018-2020 Impreza, Legacy, Outback, 2018-2019 BRZ, WRX, and Toyota 86 vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will replace the low-pressure fuel pump, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 24, 2021. Subaru and Toyota owners may call customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRG-21.
Campaign 21V587000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, fuel pumpApr 16, 2020
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019 Impreza, Outback, Legacy, and Ascent vehicles. The low pressure fuel pump may become inoperative.
If the low pressure fuel pump fails, the engine may stall without the ability to restart the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the low pressure fuel pump, free of charge. The recall began June 4, 2020. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRD-20.
Campaign 20V218000 on NHTSA.gov
StructureJun 26, 2019
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019 Legacy and Outback vehicles. Spot welds located on the duct below the cowl panel may have been improperly applied, impacting the vehicle's body strength.
In the event of a crash, the reduced strength of the vehicle body may increase the risk of injury.
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicles and repair or repurchase the vehicle, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began July 26, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUH-93.
Campaign 19V493000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints
1,034 reports, newest first.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 9, 2022
I have a large crack that started below my field of vision on the passenger side.
Electrical system, Jan 5, 2022
In Feb, 2021, I went to start my car in the garage. It was totally dead. It had just been in for 6 month svc 2 weeks earlier. I called dealership, they sent a tech to my home to get the car started. He said it was totally drained, left and came back later with a jumper system and got it started and drove it to the dealership. They installed a new battery and the tech said they were having trouble with original equipment batteries but this one should not have the problem. Now, Jan, 2022, the car is dead again. I am 79 and the sole caregiver to my wife who has dementia and cannot talk. At this moment, I have left a message for dealer service manager but have not received call back after 5 hours. It is just like the information posted on line about this Subaru issue.
Visibility, Jan 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Outback. The contact noticed that the windshield was cracked from the middle going upward. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the windshield needed to be replaced. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 46,000.
Electrical system, Jan 5, 2022
Parasitic Battery Drain left battery dead and unable to start vehicle. This was caused by a defective DCM (Data Communication Module). This problem first surfaced within weeks of new car purchase and took about 6-months and several visits to dealer to remedy. I also replaced the oem battery with a new upgraded battery at my own expense. Recently the problem reoccurred as the DCM module again failed and created a parasitic drain. This has probably damaged the new battery which is only a year old as it was completely discharged. The dealer again fixed the problem but as before was initially skeptical that it was caused by user error or letting vehicle sit too long between use; both of the most problematic failures occurred when the vehicle was left parked for 2-weeks at parksleepfly hotels while on trips and returned to find dead battery.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 4, 2022
CRACKED WINDSHIELD
Electrical system, Jan 2, 2022
The battery will drain in under a week if the car is not driven. Subaru dealer gave me 3 batteries in 6 months. The battery tests fine, but discharges if the car sits for a week. Subaru USA gave $350 to go buy a top of the line battery and the issue persists with an Optima yellow top.
Visibility/wiper, Dec 29, 2021
Windshield cracked overnight in garage without any driving or other incident Crack is over 12 inches long
Electrical system, Dec 25, 2021
I have had battery failures in the last 34 months 3 times. I have reported this problem before. The dealer replaces my battery and gives advice about not driving enough. not keeping my fob the proper distance from the car. This is casing me to be concerned about safety issues. I know there is a class action 2020 for this problem but subaru needs to solve this issue. It is a computer on wheels and I realize that uses a great deal of electrical power but you should not be stranded because subaru refuses to solve their issues. My next step is to contact subaru but I doubt they will take any action. So I guess next step is to change cars. Its a shame as they charge a great deal of money for this car. I owned the first outback when it came out and had no problems. I am extremely disappointed in their cars now.
Visibility, Dec 22, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked in the garage unattended, the front windshield cracked without impact. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted or notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 27,000.
Visibility/wiper, Dec 21, 2021
Front windshield spontaneously cracked while parked in a parking lot. No trees or overhead objects fell on windshield. Crack developed from bottom middle of windshield & cracked out in 2 directions.
Electrical system, Dec 17, 2021
Battery Drain....3 different times, car will not start, kills the battery 89 year old lady left to call for help with starting the car.
Visibility/wiper, Dec 17, 2021
Driving north on I-95 at speed limit. No vehicles in front of me for at least 1/4 mile. Heard a POP and immediately a crack appeared from the bottom outside edge of the windshield approximately 18" from the left hand edge of the window. The crack ran vertically for 5 inches then made a right turn (looking out of the window) and continued on for 3 more inches. This running of the crack occurred in less than 5 seconds. We were traveling that day for about 700 miles and each time we stopped we marked the crack length with a sharpie. During the traveling the crack continued to grow to a length of over 18 inches and made a fork in the crack for one turning up, and one continuing to the right. Crack continued to grow as car sat and heated through the following 2 days. By the end the windshield was almost completely cracked from top to bottom, and the crack to the right was 3/4 of the way across the windshield. The point where the crack started had no indication of a strike by an object, and did start from the outside edge of the windshield. Windshield was replaced with a NON OEM windshield by SafeLight Auto Glass.
Electrical system, Dec 13, 2021
The battery of my Subaru Outback appears damaged. My car's battery has died or shorted two times over the past two days. It had to be jump started for it to work, only for it to stall again. This puts I and my passengers at risk because the vehicle could've stalled while in motion. This problem has been confirmed by an independent service provider, the towing company. There were no warning signs or symptoms prior to this problem.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Dec 12, 2021
Abnormal draining of battery when I dont drive for a couple of days leaving me stranded due to my medical immobility. This has been ongoing for the past six months. . Several instances of where I have had to jump start it only to find the battery dead in a few days Have alerted dealer on issue and will need to be checked when I take it in for the Fuel Pump recall for which I was put on a waiting list as they did not have the parts in???? A very annoying problem with the battery even had to have it jump started thi evening. Unrelable
Other or unspecified, Dec 7, 2021
Chipped and cracked windshield. My first Subaru Outback was a 2018. The windshield was chipped 2 times than the third time I had it replaced at my expense. Traded that car in and the 2019 windshield cracked.
Steering, Dec 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at 40-50 MPH, the steering wheel felt loose, causing the vehicle to drift from the lane. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to continue to drive the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that no issues were found. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 23,000.
Visibility/wiper, Nov 30, 2021
I purchased my vehicle in the summer of 2019 and within that same month my windshield got hit by rock and needed to replace it. Again, yesterday, the same thing happened.
Structure, Nov 20, 2021
We bought the car from the Ford dealership. after nearly owning it. the windshield crack in a place where no rock or vandalism could have happened. It started underneath the windshield wiper and has scaled across the whole windshield within a week. I contacted my bumper to bumper warranty and they don’t cover replacements. I looked up and their is a current lawsuit on suburu for this exact reason.
Visibility/wiper, Nov 16, 2021
I have had 3 windshields crack for no apparent reason in the 2.5 years that I have had the vehicle. All had to be replaced. Average costs to replace was $950. All started with the smallest cracks only to spider across the windshield within minutes.
Visibility/wiper, Nov 3, 2021
Windshield cracks at the smallest pebble. I have needed 3 windshields in this calendar year. I have driven for 52 years and have never had any issue with windshield damage until this year with my Subaru Outback.
Visibility/wiper, Nov 3, 2021
My windshield started to crack from the bottom of passenger side where wipers come up for no reason at all. Now it has spread scross whole windshield.
Exterior lighting, Oct 30, 2021
2019 Outback Premium bought Bought May 2019. When I bought the car and for at least 6 months or more the headlight produced nice white light and I could see the road clearly. During this period the car was driven before sunrise and no issues with light emission. Driving the car today on the same roads at same time in morning road visibility is extremely poor. After the first 6 months I only drove while sunlight was present. Last month I drove the car once at night and thought "strange, the lights look dark and the street is not very bright." Then two weeks later I took a trip and stayed at a place that had few street lights. The first night I drove at night I could barely see 20 feet in front of me. Even when I turned on the high beams I still could not see. I notice when I pull behind a car or my lights shine on a stop sign the light looks orange/brownish. I brought it to the dealer today and the said the battery was good and the light output was "legal". They said they put in a new bulb to compare and said the light output was essentially the same. So according to them there is nothing wrong and nothing to do. The covers on my lights appear to be clear and clean.
Visibility, Oct 29, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Outback. The contact stated the vehicle was parked in his garage overnight and the next morning he discovered a crack at the base of the windshield. The contact looked around but could not determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who took pictures of the crack and submitted a claim to the manufacturer; however, the manufacturer rejected the claim. The contact stated that the crack had extended to 75% of the windshield. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 24,000.
Visibility, Oct 29, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that since purchasing the vehicle, her windshield had cracked on four separate occasions due to minor road debris. The first crack was a diagonal crack that formed on the lower corner of the driver-side windshield. The second crack was like a spider’s web that formed on the upper passenger’s side of the windshield. The third crack was a diagonal crack that formed in the middle of the passenger’s side windshield. The fourth crack was a Z-shaped crack that formed in the middle of the windshield right below the eyesight camera. The contact stated that each crack obstructed her vision while driving. The contact had the first two windshields replaced at Subaru of Richmond (9177 W Broad St, Richmond, VA 23294) and Hyman Bros. Subaru (11960 Midlothian Turnpike, Midlothian, VA 231130) respectively. The contact had an independent mechanic replace the third windshield after the failure. The fourth crack was not yet repaired. The manufacturer had been notified of the failure and offered $250.00 towards the replacement of the windshield. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 5,000.
Visibility/wiper, Oct 25, 2021
The windshield has cracked for the fourth time. We were driving and suddenly a 12 inch plus crack developed from the moulding on the driver's side. I have never had to replace a windshield on any car i have owned. This car has had 4 replaced in less than 4 years. 2 times i was able to see a tiny chip and two times i could not tell why the glass had failed at all. Regardless, this is an unacceptable default in the materials. I have spent over $4,000 on these windshields. I am stunned there is not a recall on these.