Skip to main content
Free VIN check/Common problems/2013 Subaru Outback
ForgeMeshNHTSA data · free

2013 Subaru OutbackProblems: Top Complaints, Recalls & Failures (NHTSA)

Every owner complaint and safety recall the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has on file for the 2013 Subaru Outback, ranked by the component that failed most.

Complaints on file

296

Recalls issued

12

Crashes reported

18

Fires reported

6

What breaks most

  • Engine67 complaints · 22.6%
  • Power Train59 complaints · 19.9%
  • Air Bags42 complaints · 14.2%
  • Steering34 complaints · 11.5%
  • Vehicle Speed Control26 complaints · 8.8%

Recalls on this model year

  • Air Bags › Frontal › Passenger Side › Inflator Module

    Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Tribeca, WRX, Outback, and Legacy vehicles, 2010-2011 Impreza vehicles and 2010-2013 Forester vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Ma

    Campaign 19V008000 · reported 09/01/2019 · recall work is free at any franchised dealer

  • Air Bags › Frontal › Passenger Side › Inflator Module

    Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2013 Forester, 2010-2014 Tribeca, WRX, Outback, Legacy, and 2010-2011 Impreza vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, Amer

    Campaign 19V007000 · reported 09/01/2019 · recall work is free at any franchised dealer

  • Parking Brake

    Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Subaru Legacy and Outback vehicles equipped with a manual transmission. The electronic parking brake (EPB) may not engage as intended, allowing the vehicle to rollaway if the transmission is not in the proper gear when parked.

    Campaign 18V626000 · reported 13/09/2018 · recall work is free at any franchised dealer

  • Air Bags › Frontal › Passenger Side › Inflator Module

    Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Tribeca, WRX, Legacy and Outback vehicles, 2010-2011 Impreza vehicles and 2010-2013 Forester vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mont

    Campaign 19V009000 · reported 09/01/2019 · recall work is free at any franchised dealer

  • Air Bags › Frontal › Passenger Side › Inflator Module

    Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa,

    Campaign 20V003000 · reported 02/01/2020 · recall work is free at any franchised dealer

  • Air Bags › Frontal › Passenger Side › Inflator Module

    Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbi

    Campaign 20V002000 · reported 02/01/2020 · recall work is free at any franchised dealer

  • Air Bags › Frontal › Passenger Side › Inflator Module

    Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (STI included), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawai

    Campaign 20V001000 · reported 02/01/2020 · recall work is free at any franchised dealer

  • Electrical System › Ignition › Switch

    Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester vehicles, 2008-2011 Impreza vehicles, 2008-2014 WRX vehicles, 2005-2014 Legacy vehicles, 2005-2014 Outback vehicles and 2006-2008 Tribeca vehicles equipped with a mechanical key ignition switch installed as a replacement part.

    Campaign 19V297000 · reported 11/04/2019 · recall work is free at any franchised dealer

  • Air Bags › Frontal › Passenger Side › Inflator Module

    Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Legacy, Forester, Tribeca, WRX and Outback vehicles, and 2009-2011 Impreza vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, Am

    Campaign 18V012000 · reported 09/01/2018 · recall work is free at any franchised dealer

  • Visibility › Windshield Wiper/Washer › Motor

    Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2010-2014 Legacy vehicles manufactured November 26, 2008, to June 7, 2013, and 2010-2014 Outback vehicles manufactured January 9, 2009 to June 7, 2013. Due to contamination, components within the windshield wiper motor bottom cover ma

    Campaign 16V694000 · reported 27/09/2016 · recall work is free at any franchised dealer

  • Electrical System

    Subaru is recalling certain model year 2010-2012 Legacy and Outback vehicles equipped with an automatic or CVT transmission and an Audiovox remote engine starter (RES) accessory, certain model year 2012-2013 Impreza vehicles equipped with a CVT transmission and an Audiovox remote engine starter (RES

    Campaign 13V061000 · reported 25/02/2013 · recall work is free at any franchised dealer

  • Steering

    Subaru is recalling certain model year 2013 Outback and Legacy vehicles manufactured from February 15, 2012, through June 15, 2012. In the affected vehicles, the inner and outer shafts of the steering column assembly may become disengaged from one another.

    Campaign 13V194000 · reported 13/05/2013 · recall work is free at any franchised dealer

What owners report

Engine

  • I purchased this car may 28th 2025 and had it over the weekend and check engine light came on and took it Monday once shop opened and came back for catalytic converter and o2 sensor I letted the deale
  • According to my mechanic, the Engine Cradle is severly corroded and needs to be replaced. According to Subaru, today December 4, 2024, Subaru inspected my vehicle and determined it was badly corroded.
  • We bought this around June 2018 with ~96,000 miles. I change oil every 6 months or 6,000 miles with OEM filters and Mobil 1 0w-30 oil. This car has burned 1/2 to 3/4 of oil initially. After 140,000 mi

Power Train

  • Please contact Carvana and make them take that vehicle off the market. I purchased it and by chance found out that bottom parts like subframe and exhaust pipe were inadequately installed . The mechani
  • I purchased this car may 28th 2025 and had it over the weekend and check engine light came on and took it Monday once shop opened and came back for catalytic converter and o2 sensor I letted the deale
  • I was driving on a highway when my car started to suddenly stutter, hesitate, and jerk after about an hour on the road. I pulled over on the shoulder immediately and tried to better position the car f

Air Bags

  • Not really sure, I don’t remember. It’s a wooded area , lots of deer etc. But I honestly don’t remember I saw my car It it fully intact , all doors , hood,trunk Open, car starts too Only front drive
  • The contact owns a 2013 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that after pulling into the driveway, the passenger-side door was opened and the driver-side airbag deployed. The contact stated the airbag h
  • The vehicle has had the seat belt replaced twice in one year for it dinging and now Subaru dealer says the ODS sensor is bad and does not detect a passenger in the seat therefore the air bag system is

Steering

  • * I detected a noise in the front end and an instability in the handling. My independent service mechanic found the cradle on the right front severely rusted out at the point where the control arm a
  • Power steering failed while driving. Power steering fluid had all leaked out. Luckily car was at a very low speed as steering was quite difficult. Repaired at Subaru dealer who discovered a leak in a
  • DIRECTIONAL STABILITY; DIFFICULT TO KEEP CAR CENTERED IN LANE; WANDERS OFF FROM WHERE STEERING IS SET; STEERING WILL NOT CENTER, BUT WILL STAY IN A GENTLE CURVE BY ITSELF UNTIL CORRECTED, THEN WILL

Vehicle Speed Control

  • I was pulling into a parking spot, without any warning the car accelerated through a fence and hit a tree. There were no injuries and the airbags did not deploy. A man was waving me to stop and I coul
  • I was pulling into a parking space very slowly when the car went into overdrive and suddenly accelerated at a high speed. It plunged down a slight decline and hit a large tree. My airbag failed to dep
  • The contact owns a 2013 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that on two separate occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to respond as

Excerpts are anonymized owner complaints as filed with NHTSA, trimmed to 200 characters.

Check your own VIN

This page covers the 2013 Subaru Outback in general. Enter your VIN for the recalls, complaints and crash ratings specific to your exact vehicle.

Buying a used 2013 Subaru Outback?

A full vehicle history report checks title brands, accident records, and odometer readings for the specific VIN — none of which government complaint or recall data covers.

Run a vehicle history report

Other model years

More Subaru models

← Browse all models

Disclosure: some links on this page (vehicle history reports, warranty options) are affiliate links. They fund the free checker, and your price never changes. Recall, complaint, rating and fuel-economy data are official U.S. government records for the year, make and model and are not a substitute for an inspection or a title history report on the specific vehicle. Not affiliated with any government agency.

ShareXFacebookPinterestWhatsAppTelegramLinkedInRedditHN