Major Problems with 2002 Subaru Outback Derived from Complaints & Recalls

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Worst 3 complaints of 2002 Subaru Outback

2002 Subaru Outback VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL Victims: 3

2002 Subaru Outback AIR BAGS Victims: 1

Browse 2002 Subaru Outback complaints by category

Problems with FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE, SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC and ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING are the most frequent issues recorded by the NHTSA from Subaru Outback owners.

Problem Category	Number of Problems
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE dangerous hesitation in first and second gears especially. at stop light upon attempting to accelerate car bogged down rpms dipped...	20 ~ 63562 miles
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC when the brake was applied the vehicle experienced extended stopping distance.jb ts...	12 ~ 23755 miles
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING master cylinder has a bad leakage causing engine to lock. ph...*ak...	9 ~ 60566 miles
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM the car always has a strong gas smell inside during winter. the smell is so bad that i get headaches.	8 ~ 69750 miles
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL engine stalls on acceleration from a stop. at times the engine will die when accelerator is pressed. dealer was contacted...	8 ~ 36178 miles
MANUAL TRANSMISSION > POWER TRAIN the manual transmission on this vehicle skips or shudders in 1st gear making it difficult to pull forward or into...	7 ~ 19457 miles
CLUTCH ASSEMBLY > POWER TRAIN while driving at lower speeds the clutch intermittently shuddered when pulling out from a stop. the vehicle has been to	6 ~ 26210 miles
ENGINE the car always has a strong gas smell inside during winter. the smell is so bad that i get headaches.	5 ~ 111833 miles
ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP > SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC when my vehicles brakes are depressed with uneven surface traction on the left or right side of the wheels the...	5 ~ 9000 miles
BODY > STRUCTURE bug deflector "flew off" while driving on highway at approximately 75mph. consumer concerned that deflector could have caused injury to	4 ~ 120000 miles
ACCELERATOR PEDAL > VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL when applying pressure to the accelerator pedal vehicle would jerk and experience sudden deceleration. when removing pressure from the accelerator...	4 ~ 18050 miles
SERVICE BRAKES dates are approximate problem is ongoing. upon initial start-up in cool/cold weather the brake pedal will be very hard and...	3 ~ 137227 miles
HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS > DELIVERY > FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE i have a subaru 2002 outback. the following is what i provided to the dealer in the last visit. earlier...	3 ~ 48667 miles
ROTOR > DISC > FOUNDATION COMPONENTS 2002 subaru outback h6 awd automatic transmission -- warped and glazed front rotors at relatively low miles (25 600) requiring...	3 ~ 2560 miles
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION > POWER TRAIN nhtsa#02-v-282-000. please provide further information. ph ...	3 ~ 42382 miles
AIR BAGS while driving 25 mph on a dirt road the consumers vehicle began to fishtail. when the consumer applied the brakes...	3
GASOLINE > ENGINE > ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING car has completely stalled twice while driving. engine stopped running while driving in downtown seattle....	3 ~ 7870 miles
TIRES while traveling on highway consumer hit a pothole and left front firestone tire and wheel came off.*ak...	3 ~ 10000 miles
MASTER CYLINDER > FOUNDATION COMPONENTS > SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC i have reported the problem to dealer been to subaru dealer 3 times who can't duplicate the problem however the...	3
UNKNOWN OR OTHER i bought car oct 6 first inspection appointment at my usual garage mon oct 12- failed due to rusty suspect...	2 ~ 140841 miles
REAR > SUSPENSION tl* the contact owns a 2002 subaru outback sport. while having the vehicle examined the contact was informed that the...	2 ~ 176000 miles
SUSPENSION tl* the contact owns a 2002 subaru outback. the contact stated that the vehicle was taken to a private mechanic...	2 ~ 159366 miles
POWER TRAIN clutch defects not acknowledged and not repaired by the dealer on a subaru outback 20002. dealership: liberty 1000 e park...	2 ~ 95000 miles
COOLING SYSTEM > ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 2002 subaru outback stopped blowing cold air from the a/c. pep boys charged over $1 000 to repair. there were...	2 ~ 68417 miles
STRUCTURE everytime it rains or go through a car wash the seat belt gets wet and is worse when the seat...	2 ~ 30000 miles
ENGINE > ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING at 69 013 miles the driver side head gasket is leaking coolant. we first noticed the problem due to the	2 ~ 80507 miles
FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER when the temperature is below 30 degrees there is a strong fuel smell in the cab when the heater is...	2 ~ 70392 miles
STEERING 2002 subaru outback wagon repeatedly and unexpectedly stalls while driving. has been ongoing for nearly 2 years. has been examined...	2 ~ 49000 miles
SIDEWALL > TIRES while driving the passenger side rear tire experienced sidewall separation (size#p22560r16 please provide the dot#). *nlm...	2
SEAT BELTS when the consumer removed the car seat from the vehicle she notice the seat belt which was mounted in the...	2 ~ 69000 miles
FRONTAL > AIR BAGS while driving 25 mph on a dirt road the consumers vehicle began to fishtail. when the consumer applied the brakes...	2 ~ 18500 miles
BUCKLE ASSEMBLY > FRONT > SEAT BELTS consumer states the location of the seat belt buckle receptacle is so low that it is very diffcult to buckle...	2
AIR CONDITIONER > APPLIANCE > EQUIPMENT air conditioner has not worked properly since bought the car. have complained several times to 3 different dealers and they...	2
POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS > VISIBILITY the vehicles windshield washer squirts water over the hood instead of on the windshield. *jg...	2 ~ 27500 miles
FOUNDATION COMPONENTS > SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC the vehicles windshield washer squirts water over the hood instead of on the windshield. *jg...	2 ~ 21250 miles
WHEELS when applying pressure to the brake pedal the wheel would grind and make a noise. the vehicle had been to...	2 ~ 75000 miles
WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER > VISIBILITY my windshield wipers quit totally. when i looked in the vehicle manuel i found that failure of the wipers was...	2
UNDERBODY SHIELDS > FRAME AND MEMBERS > STRUCTURE when getting the car inspected we found out the frame of the car was rusted so badly it was cracked....	1 ~ 150000 miles
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES we were driving on highway i-95 going between 55 and 60 miles an hour and the hood latch failed. the...	1 ~ 110000 miles
FRAME AND MEMBERS > STRUCTURE tl* the contact owns a 2002 subaru outback sport. while having the vehicle examined the contact was informed that the...	1 ~ 152000 miles
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM fuse for tail lights blew due to tail light socket partially melting (area where the two contacts for brake/tail light...	1 ~ 150000 miles
EXTERIOR LIGHTING fuse for tail lights blew due to tail light socket partially melting (area where the two contacts for brake/tail light...	1 ~ 150000 miles
WEBBING > FRONT > SEAT BELTS everytime it rains or go through a car wash the seat belt gets wet and is worse when the seat...	1
WIRING > ELECTRICAL SYSTEM the front headlights are not working. i replaced the headlight but that did not fix the problem. there is no...	1 ~ 80000 miles
VISIBILITY 2002 subaru outback visibility is poor when it rains. *ts the consumer stated he can't see out of the windshield...	1
MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE > EXHAUST SYSTEM > ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 2002 subaru outback (not sure which engine) - noticed coolant smell around november 2005 was told by the dealer that...	1
DOOR > BODY > STRUCTURE when trying to open the rear right door the rear door would not open from the outside. consumer took the...	1
EXTERIOR > REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES > VISIBILITY when trying to open the rear right door the rear door would not open from the outside. consumer took the...	1
SWITCH > IGNITION > ELECTRICAL SYSTEM key stuck in the ignition switch compartment. also had a problem with the shift gear position indicator. dealer urged consumer	1
GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL) > AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION > POWER TRAIN key stuck in the ignition switch compartment. also had a problem with the shift gear position indicator. dealer urged consumer	1
DISC > FOUNDATION COMPONENTS > SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC experienced vibration when applying brakes. dealer recut rotors front & rear at approximately 13 000 mi. problem recurred at approx	1 ~ 13000 miles
ROOF AND PILLARS > BODY > STRUCTURE car leaks into cabin through moon roofs (i suppose). water pours through seat belt recoil in roof over cargo area....	1 ~ 8500 miles
WINDSHIELD > VISIBILITY front windshield had to be replaced for the forth time due to peck in the window that developed into a	1 ~ 12000 miles
PARKING BRAKE with emergency brake set car rolled into brick gate post and into street jumped curb door panel broke off door	1
TAIL LIGHTS > EXTERIOR LIGHTING rear lights will not come on at all.*ak...	1
CONTROL UNIT/MODULE > ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP > SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC my 2002 subaru outback sport (based on the imprezza) displays the same problem with the abs system being ineffective when...	1 ~ 10 miles
PARK/NEUTRAL START INTERLOCK SWITCH > AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION > POWER TRAIN vehicle was in park with engine running emergency brake not engaged. and it suddenly went forward across a field into	1
HEADLIGHTS > EXTERIOR LIGHTING the vehicles windshield washer squirts water over the hood instead of on the windshield. *jg...	1
PADS > DISC > FOUNDATION COMPONENTS when the brakes were applied there was a vibration. the dealer replaced the disc brake. *jb...	1 ~ 3000 miles
REAR COMPARTMENT/TRUNK > WIRING > ELECTRICAL SYSTEM a electrical short in the rear harness caused the tail lights not to work on multiple occasions without warning. nlm	1

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