2009 Subaru Outback Engine Problems

Your 2009 Subaru Outback experienced a sudden loss of power while driving at 50 MPH and wouldn't accelerate past 60 MPH. Shortly after, heavy white smoke appeared in your rear-view mirror and quickly spread to the front of the vehicle, followed by flames that engulfed the entire car. You safely exited the vehicle and called 911; the fire department arrived and extinguished the fire, but your vehicle was deemed a total loss. This engine fire issue may involve fuel system components, ignition systems, or engine oil leaks that ignited under heat.

Your engine is leaking oil from two gaskets: the head gasket started leaking at 52,000 miles and the valve cover gasket started leaking at 65,000 miles. Both gaskets will need to be replaced to stop the leaks. Fixing this will require removing these gaskets and installing new ones to seal the engine properly.

CATALYTIC CONVERTER REPLACED ONCE BACK IN 2013. THIS WEEK HAD TO REPLACE FRONT AND REAR CATALYTIC CONVERTER AGAIN DUE TO PROBLEM WITH CATALYTIC CONVERTER. MILEAGE AT 105,000.

VEHICLE WITH ONLY 105 K MILES REQUIRES NEW HEAD GASKET DUE TO LEAK.

THE HEAD GASKETS ON MY VEHICLE HAVE DEVELOPED LEAKS AT JUST OVER 80,000 MILES. THIS IS A FREQUENT (AND KNOWN) PROBLEM WITH THE HEAD GASKETS ON THIS VEHICLE. ALL SUBARU-SPECIFIC MECHANICS, MANY OWNERS OF THIS MODEL AND EVEN SUBARU DEALERSHIP EMPLOYEES HAVE EXPRESSED KNOWLEDGE OF HIGH FAILURE RATES FOR THIS HEAD GASKET AT APPROXIMATELY 80-100K MILE INTERVALS. THIS IS WAY SHORTER LIFE THAN SHOULD OCCUR AND RESULTS IN A $2000 OR GREATER COST OF REPAIR (IN MY CASE, $3200!). SUBARU HAS BEEN AWARE OF THIS DEFECT ON PREVIOUS MODELS AND EVEN HAD CLASS ACTION SUITS RESULTING IN RECALLS FOR PREVIOUS GENERATION OUTBACKS YET HAVE NOT ADDRESSED THE DEFECT.

2009 SUBARU OUTBACK HEAD GASKET SEEPAGE. THIS ISSUE SOA HAS BEEN AWHERE OF AND SAID IT CAN BE NORMAL OVER TIME. YET I FOUND THAT THE GASKET USED AT THAT TIME WAS SUBSTANDARD. A RECALL WAS NEVER ISSUED. I FEEL IT SHOULD HAVE NOTIFIED CUSTOMERS, BUT DID`NT. PERHAPS IT WOULD HAVE COST SOA A TON OF MONEY. I BELIEVE THEY ARE DEALING WITH THIS AS CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS COME IN AND TOLD REPLACEMENT OF GASKET IS REQUIRED AT OWNERS EXPENSE.I FEEL THAT SOA SHOULD OWN UP TO THIS AND PAY ALL OR A MAJOR COST OF REPAIR. I HAVE TO HAVE MY HEAD GASKETS REPLACED AS TOLD UNDER INSPECTION.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 SUBARU OUTBACK. WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE VEHICLE STARTED TO MAKE AN ABNORMAL NOISE AND THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT AND CRUISE CONTROL WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE DECELERATED AND WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER. THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THE ENGINE FLUID WAS LEAKING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 149,000.

HEAD GASKET FAILURE ON 2009 OUTBACK WAGON WHICH AS BEEN SERVICED REGULARLY. *TR

SUBARU OUTBACK SPORTS 2009 MODEL, WITH NO PRIOR HISTORY PROBLEM EXCEPT THAT SUBARU RECALLED AN ELECTRONIC BOARD AND IT WAS REPLACED BY SUBARU DEALER. JUST GOT OFF THE HIGHWAY, COMING FROM THE AIRPORT, SMELLED SOMETHING BURNING LIKE WOOD. OPENED THE WINDOW TO MAKE SURE IT IS NOT OUR CAR. SMELL WAS STILL THERE. PULLED OFF THE ROAD. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WENT ON, LOTS OF SMOKE FROM HOOD AFTER ONE SECOND THE FIRE STARTED ENGULFING THE HOOD. MY HUSBAND AND I JUMPED OUT OF THE CAR OF FEAR OF AN EXPLOSION AND CALLED 911 RIGHT AWAY. WITHIN 7 MINUTES ABOUT THE CAR WAS COMPLETELY BURNT. FIRE DEPARTMENT CAME WITHIN 10 MINUTES WHILE CAR WAS STILL BURNING., LOST SOME ELECTRONIC GADGETS, CAMERA, TABLET, 2 GPS, ETC., AND SOME CLOTHING AND ODDS AND ENDS BUT EVERYONE WAS SAFE. . THE WOMEN FROM THE CLAIM DEPARTMENT SAID THAT SHE ALSO HAD CALL ABOUT A FIRE IN A SUBARU COMING FROM THE AIRPORT LIKE US. SHE DID NOT WANT TO SAY ANYMORE SINCE SHE ACCIDENTALLY SAID IT. SUBARU REFUSE TO INVESTIGATE THE FIRE UNLESS I PUT A CLAIM AGAINST THEM. *TR

CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE. APPARENTLY, A NOT UNCOMMON PROBLEM (ENGINE BEARING). VEHICLE UNDER BOTH FACTORY AND EXTENDED WARRANTY. SUBARU NORTH AMERICA IS TRYING TO AVOID FIXING UNDER WARRANTY (AGAIN, IT SEEMS A NOT UNCOMMON PROBLEM). SUBARU CLAIMS OIL LEAKED OUT, BUT OIL PRESSURE LIGHT NEVER CAME ON. SUBARU IS NOT DEALING ON THE UP AND UP. *JS

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 SUBARU OUTBACK 2.5. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 55 MPH WHEN THE ENGINE STALLED AFTER THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED.THE VEHICLE LATER RESTARTED AND THE FAILURE CONTINUED UNTIL IT WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER CONFIRMED THAT THE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED BUT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND THE CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 31,000.

IN JUNE OF 2009 MY HUSBAND AND I PURCHASED A 2009 V6 SUBARU OUTBACK (VIN [XXX]) FROM MANCHESTER SUBARU IN MANCHESTER, NH FOR $29,843.00.IN DECEMBER OF 2010, WITH APPROXIMATELY 30,000 MILES ON THE CAR AND STILL UNDER WARRANTY THE ENGINE FAILED WITHOUT WARNING, LEAVING US STRANDED, ONCE AGAIN, THIS TIME WITH OUR NOW 2 YEAR OLD AND 4 MONTH OLD. THE CAR MOMENTARILY RACED WHILE DRIVING AND THE RPM INDICATOR ROSE UNEXPECTEDLY TO THE RED ZONE FOR A BRIEF TIME. NO INDICATOR LIGHTS TURNED ON UNTIL THE ENGINE HAD ALREADY FAILED. WE HAD THE CAR TOWED TO MANCHESTER SUBARU WHERE THEY STATED THEY FOUND METALLIC PARTICLES IN THE OIL. WE WERE ASKED TO PROVIDE OIL CHANGE RECEIPTS, WHICH WE DID PROVIDE, AS MY HUSBAND REGULARLY CHANGED THE OIL HIMSELF. IT TOOK A MONTH FOR A DECISION TO BE MADE AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THE ENGINE REPAIR WOULD BE COVERED BY THE WARRANTY AND WE WERE WITHOUT A CAR FOR THIS ENTIRE TIME. WE REPEATEDLY ASKED FOR A LOANER CAR, WERE TOLD WE WOULD GET ONE, BUT NEVER DID. SUBARU AMERICA FINALLY DECIDED THAT THEY WOULD SPLIT THE COST WITH US AND THAT WE WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING $5,485.00. THIS WAS DUE TO THE FACT THAT ACCORDING TO SUBARU, WE DID NOT PUT ENOUGH OIL IN THE CAR AS IT REQUIRED 5.8 QUARTS AND WE PUT IN 5 QUARTS. WE HAD JUST CHANGED THE OIL IN THE CAR IN OCTOBER 2010 AND IT WAS LESS THAN 1 QUART LOW AT THE TIME OF THE ENGINE FAILURE. WE HAD CHECKED THE OIL LEVEL EVERY TIME WHEN CHANGING THE OIL AND THE DIPSTICK INDICATED THAT LEVEL WAS SUFFICIENT, GIVING US NO INDICATION THAT THE OIL LEVEL WAS LOW. THERE WAS NEVER ANY INDICATION OF LOW OIL PRESSURE AT ANY TIME DURING THE LIFE OF THE VEHICLE. THE NEXT DAY, MY HUSBAND SPOKE TO THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT MANCHESTER SUBARU. THEY INDICATED THAT THE V6 OUTBACK HAS A VERY SENSITIVE ENGINE AND IF THE OIL IS JUST A LITTLE BIT LOW, IT CAN CAUSE THE ENGINE TO FAIL. THE V4 MODEL WOULD HAVE ALSO GIVEN A LOW OIL PRESSURE INDICATOR LIGHT, WHICH THE V6 MODEL DOES NOT DO THIS. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR