2005 Subaru Outback

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.During the course of PE14-016, ODI determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by Takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.Nonetheless, at ODI's insistence, all 10 vehicle manufacturers initiated a regional recall within approximately two weeks of the opening of the investigation.The regions recalled initially included Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, areas with high absolute humidity and climatic conditions believed to be a significant factor in the inflator ruptures.As part of the recall actions, inflators removed from remedied vehicles are to be returned to Takata for testing.Takata's initial test results on passenger inflators from remedied vehicles indicated a much higher than anticipated rupture frequency for inflators returned from Florida.Accordingly ODI requested all 10 manufacturers expand the regional recalls for passenger inflators to include other geographic areas where high absolute humidity conditions exist, including the Gulf States and other coastal areas.Takata's testing of the passenger inflators to date continues to indicate this geographic area as having the highest risk, with no ruptures occurring from inflators returned from outside the expanded recall regions.During PE14-016 four additional passenger inflator field events occurred, all in vehicles from the same expanded geographic region.Also during PE14-016 four additional driver inflator field events occurred including two in vehicles from regions not known for high absolute humidity, specifically California and North Carolina.Accordingly, ODI requested all five of the affected vehicle manufacturers currently using the subject Takata driver inflators expand to nationwide recalls.Significantly, neither of the affected vehicle manufacturers or Takata provided any explanation to account for these two driver air bag inflator ruptures outside the area of high absolute humidity.Takata testing of returned driver inflators indicates a lower rupture frequency as compared to passenger inflator testing.All test ruptures reported by Takata to date have occurred on inflators returned from high absolute humidity areas.The investigation now includes all manufacturers and vehicles known to be affected at this time.ODI's investigation will focus on, among other things, root cause analysis, other potential defect consequences, identification of affected vehicles scope, and adequacy of the remedy.The five ODI reports cited above can be reviewed online at http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following identification numbers: 10537899, 10568848, 10585224, 10605877, 10651492

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-016 in June 2014 based on six inflator rupture incidents involving consumer owned vehicles produced by five vehicle manufacturers.All six vehicles were operated in Florida or Puerto Rico at the time of the rupture and for the majority of their service life, and were equipped with inflators produced by Takata, a tier-one supplier of automotive air bag systems.During the course of PE14-016, ODI determined that five additional vehicle manufacturers used inflators of a similar design and vintage also supplied by Takata. No evidence of field failures was found in vehicles produced by these five additional manufacturers.Nonetheless, at ODI's insistence, all 10 vehicle manufacturers initiated a regional recall within approximately two weeks of the opening of the investigation.The regions recalled initially included Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, areas with consistently high absolute humidity and climatic conditions believed to be a significant factor in the inflator ruptures.As part of the recall actions, inflators removed from remedied vehicles are to be returned to Takata for testing.Takata's initial test results on passenger inflators from remedied vehicles indicated a much higher than anticipated rupture frequency for inflators returned from Florida.Accordingly, ODI requested all 10 manufacturers expand the regional recalls for passenger inflators to include other geographic areas where high absolute humidity conditions exist, including the Gulf States and other coastal areas.Takata's testing of the passenger inflators to date continues to indicate this geographic area as having the highest risk, with no ruptures occurring from inflators returned from outside the expanded recall regions.During PE14-016, four additional passenger inflator field events occurred, all in vehicles from the same expanded geographic region.Also during PE14-016, four additional driver inflator field events occurred including two in vehicles from regions not known for high absolute humidity, specifically California and North Carolina.Accordingly, ODI requested all five of the affected vehicle manufacturers currently using the subject Takata driver inflators expand to nationwide recalls.Significantly, neither of the affected vehicle manufacturers or Takata provided any explanation to account for these two driver air bag inflator ruptures outside the area of high absolute humidity.Takata testing of returned driver inflators indicates a lower rupture frequency as compared to passenger inflator testing.All test ruptures reported by Takata to date have occurred on inflators returned from high absolute humidity areas.The PE is now closed/upgraded to an Engineering Evaluation (EA15-001) to include all manufacturersand vehicles known to be affected at this time.ODI's EA investigation will focus on, among other things, root cause analysis, other potential defect consequences, identification of affected vehicles scope, and adequacy of the remedy.The recalls related to this PE are: 14V343, 14V344, 14V348, 14V351, 14V353, 14V655, 14V700, 14V701, 14V752, 14V763, 14V770, 14V773, 14V787, 14V802 and 14V817.The number of vehicles affected are an estimate since some vehicles may have both the driver and passenger side inflators recalled. The five ODI reports cited above can be reviewed online at http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following identification numbers: 10537899, 10568848, 10585224, 10605877, 10651492

P2138 code. Gas pedal stops responding to inputs. Car goes into limp mode and managed to get car off the road. Shut off and waited 5 minutes, restarted and it works again. Associated P0500 code also present. First time this has happened on this car.

NHTSA ID

11724365

Incident

Mar 14, 2026

The contact had received several recall notifications of an air bag recall for a 2005 Subaru Outback. The contact never owned the vehicle and requested to be removed from the recall distribution list. The manufacturer was contacted and advised the contact that the removal request could not be processed without the complete VIN. The contact had provided a partial VIN.

NHTSA ID

11711440

Incident

Jan 16, 2026

See attached document for complaint.

NHTSA ID

11682367

Incident

Jul 29, 2025

Vehicle brakes failed while driving, the brake pedal went to the floor and almost caused a serious car accident. Yes, vehicle and brake lines are available for inspection upon request. My safety, the safety of others and more importantly my life and the lives of others were severely threatened because of the major break failure that occurred. It is terrifying to think that I was unknowingly driving around this vehicle with an imminent accident that could happen anytime, without any warning, which could have killed me. After taking pictures of my brake lines, recording videos and doing some quick research, I called a local to inspect my brake lines. I told them the scenario that I experienced and reported to them that my brake lines were covered in rust. I told them that I found out my vehicle had a recall remedy done on the brake lines in 2017, which is before I owned the vehicle. I told them that the rust and corrosion was in the same spots that were supposed to be fixed in the recall repair and that I am positive that the repair was done incorrectly or the repair was not done at all. I requested they take pictures of the brake lines and show them to the manufacturer or use the photos I took but they ensured they would take care of all of that. Called for update a week later and was unable to get in contact with anyone. I waited over a month before one of my calls was finally answered. I was told they still hadn’t looked at my vehicle yet. Having no vehicle had a very negative impact towards my job because I had no transportation for so long. I called back a few days later and was told that they would not repair my vehicle. My vehicle was not inspected by the police or insurance because I wasn’t in an accident. I was less then a minute from home when this life threatening incident occurred and thankfully was able to pull the car into my driveway. No warning lamps, no messages and no symptoms of the problem were present prior to this life threatening occurrence.

NHTSA ID

11552352

Incident

Sep 5, 2023

There should be a recall for front suspension on this vehicle if not the entire suspension. Mine has been garage kept since day 1, is in showroom condition, not driven in salt on roads during snow, therefore no reason for the suspension to be in this condition. In 2019 at 74,000 miles I had to have the entire front end suspension all components replaced at a cost of over $2,500 USD the suspension was also causing what others refer to as "drifting" under any road driving conditions on dry or wet pavement at any speed above 30mph and would and still does after having the entire suspension replaced, drift, unstable, and when the original suspension was replaced even after being flawlessly maintained the suspension components from the factory were severely worn and including rubber gaskets, sway bars, etc and appeared to have a rust or corroded appearance in spite of the vehicle never being driven in weather during snow when most areas would place salt on roads which is a primary cause of rust or corrosion. The factory suspension also caused significant wear to any tires this causing any tires to wear uneven and require replacement within less than 15kmi. After suspension was replaced in 2019 tires were replaced as well. Vehicle driven 15kmi since 2019 and replacement, in 2021 the suspension again was drifting, causing severe uneven tire wear, and at highway speeds 60mph& above causes a severe drift and vibration which could cause a dangerous situation for the average driver and at highway speeds U have to literally hold the vehicle on the road with a moderate force or it will I'm fact drift and cause incident. I believe the manufacturer should recognise this issue and repair or replace all the components of suspension at no cost to consumer as I am not the only one affected by this. I have receipts I can provide upon request showing the suspension was replaced. Please do not show my personal information or very specific details about my vehicle online.

NHTSA ID

11511298

Incident

Jun 16, 2021

The contact owns a 2005 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed and went to the floorboard. The brake warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to drive home where he inspected the vehicle and discovered severe corrosion at a connection point on the brake line. The contact stated that the brake line was leaking brake fluid. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V311000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle had already been serviced previously under the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 180,000.

NHTSA ID

11508340

Incident

Feb 16, 2023

Mileage

180,000 mi

Vehicle experienced sudden complete brake failure while driving due to a rupture in brake system in the exact area of a known defect / recalls NHTSA SUBARU RECALL WQG-43 and WQK-47 (both completed) which had been issued to inspect and repair the defect. Safety of driver / occupants were immediately put at grave risk due to inability to slow or stop vehicle. Car was traveling on a two way high traffic road at a speed of approximately 30+MPH. I was able to stop slowly using the emergency hand brake though only after attempting to pump the brakes which became absolutely unresponsive (this took approximately 7-10 seconds while pumping the Brake pedal). It was pure luck that there was no one directly in front of me at the time. If anything had been in front of me my choices would have been: A) swerve to the right into parked cars B) swerve left into oncoming traffic or C) run into or hit whatever was in front of me. None of those would have been acceptable options and all could have potentially injured or killed occupants within the vehicle not to mention the potential to have injured or killed any other parties involved in a collision. I am frankly amazed that a brake system defect of this nature was not fully repaired and or replaced using a non-defective design and parts. I view any application of a aerosol surface treatment as temporary & superficial at best. It's only a matter of time for the brakes to fail on every 2005-2009 Subaru that has this defect. The risks to vehicle occupants and any other individuals involved in potential accidents are simply too high.Vehicle is currently at IRA Subaru in Danvers Massachusetts and has been inspected by them confirming the problem with photo documentation. There was no other prior warning before the sudden complete brake system failure. It is unclear if the Vehicle or component has been inspected by the manufacturer. No other party has inspected the vehicle. Vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Mileage: 77,884K

NHTSA ID

11497084

Incident

Nov 9, 2022

puddle of brake fluid under car no brakes after looking at it 4way joint connector at rear of car is leaking . online says recall was done but specifications for the repair are ludacris to spray wax over corrosion ! the lines are already damaged and that would just seal the corrosion in and continue to deteriorate! that recall in itself is a safety hazard and needs to be reevaluated!

NHTSA ID

11486355

Incident

Sep 15, 2022

This announcement is requesting retailer staff to retain the EyeSight protective hood covers from Generation 4 EyeSight cameras.

This bulletin contains additional information for recommended materials listed in the Service Manuals for individual models.

This announcement provides information on the remanufactured CVT transmission program.

This Service Information Bulletin was developed to provide interim guidance for vehicles exhibiting DTC B2A20.

This bulletin announces the service manual correction regarding clutch master cylinder reservoir service procedures.

This bulletin contains additional information for recommended materials listed in the Service Manuals for individual models.