2018 Subaru Outback engine problems

“The car started to make very loud engine noises and then the engine completely failed. The car was no longer able to accelerate and lost the ability to go in both forward and reverse. Luckily, my son had just arrived home when the car completely lost power, but it began to have acceleration issues as he was driving home. No warning lights came on until after the car had completely failed. Less than a week prior to the incident, the car had an oil change and inspection by the dealership and no issues of concern were noted. The car was towed to the dealer. The technician said that the oil contained metal shavings, indicated an engine block failure.”

“Engine cam carrier seals are leaking. Repair cost is $5,700 plus tax. Vehicle is well cared for and well maintained with only 96,000 miles The Subaru Manufacturer was contacted and will do nothing to fix and does not admit engineer defect nor manufacturing defect. Basically, 96,000 and needs a new engine. Please put out a national recall.”

“Arriving at my childhood home, I followed the driveway to the left to park in front of the garage door. With my foot on the brake and slowly rolling to a stop, the car suddenly accelerated and jolted forward making contact with the garage door and the frame of the garage. This caused damage to the house, garage door and the front of the car. Thankfully there was no other car in the way or a pedestrian! Only the house and car were damaged. This was sudden and there was no warning or prior occurrence to make me aware of the problem. We spoke to the dealer service manager and at first he said he never heard of anything like that. After further conversation he admitted that another car had a similar issue. They kept the car for two weeks and couldn't repeat the issue. We then went on line and found there are several class action lawsuits against Subaru for the same thing - unexpected and sudden forward acceleration! But when contacting Subaru corporate for assistance in resolving this, they claimed they never heard of any class action lawsuits or problems such as this. We need help dealing with Subaru. They are playing with us.”

“In heavy traffic, we were rolling slowly along, when all of a sudden the engine began revving on its own, against the brake. I quickly moved the shifter into neutral, and the engine revved wildly without my pressing on the accelerator. We couls have easily slammed into the car in front of us had I not moved the selector to neutral.”

“The cam tower seal on modern Subaru Outbacks fail at an incredibly high rate and the repair cost is typically higher than $3000. Subaru's standard warranty covers the repair up until 60,000 miles but a quick search on user forum's shows that this issues consistently pops up somewhere between 60 and 90 thousand miles.”

“Flex joint connecting to catalytic convertor. For 3+ years, exhaust from engine coming directly into cab, coughing, nausea, burning eyes/nose/lungs/chest. Foul odor, difficulty breathing. The problem has been reproduced and diagnosed by two independent mechanics. The dealer, when initially requested to inspect expeditiously, couldn't get me out the door fast enough. The component has only been inspected by two independent mechanics. There were no warnings. I would like to add that this specific part has already been subject to Subaru Program Bulletin WUB-87, WUJ-95, and is reported by mechanics as common defective part.”