77 of the 12,381 complaints filed about the Subaru Outback are about the seat belts — 1% of everything owners reported. The worst model year for it is 2000.
77
Complaints
1%
Share of all complaints
17
Crashes
0
Fires
SEAT BELTS
The back passenger seatbelt does not retract. It stays loose after use and there are safety concerns. I don't feel safe having any passengers in my car.
NHTSA complaint #11751938 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS
The seat belts in the backseat get un-aligned when you sit in the seat buckled up. when this happens the seat belt will not retract. This happens every time I sit in the backseat and I have to remember to refeed the belt into the guide.
NHTSA complaint #11749039 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS
The driver lost control of the vehicle, possibly due to a failure involving the rear driver's-side tire. The vehicle initially made contact with the guardrail, causing moderate damage to the driver's side. Following this impact, the vehicle began to fishtail, and the automatic braking system activated. The driver recalls being thrown about within the seat during the incident, as the seat belt's emergency locking retractor appeared to fail. The seat belt did not lock during the collision sequence, which is supported by the absence of visible bruising across the chest area. Prior to the vehicle's final impact with the embankment, the seat belt unexpectedly released and struck the driver on the right cheek, resulting in visible bruising. Upon the final impact, after the seat belt had released, the driver was lifted from the seat and struck her head against the door frame. The vehicle's airbags did not deploy at any point during the crash. There were no warning messages, alerts, or noticeable symptoms indicating a mechanical issue prior to the incident. The vehicle has since been towed to a local body shop for a damage assessment and further inspection.
NHTSA complaint #11744208 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS
The seatbelts in the back row when uses occasionally lock up, when driver is not hitting the breaks and it let go, then as you try to loosen the seat belt it, it retracts more and more tightening more and more to the point that it feels like there is a rope going through your neck, the only way to make seat belt loosen is to completely take it off let it fully go back to place then put it back on again. This is an intermittent issue and it does not happen every time. But it does happen often enough that once my back seat passengers had to ride without seatbelts because of it
NHTSA complaint #11737307 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS
I have multiple malfunction codes on my car. without any incident in the car I have 4 separate codes of airbag ECU malfunction (3) and airbag ECU power supply voltage. B1149 Airbag ECU Power Supply Voltage History B1195 Airbag ECU Malfunction Current B1196 Airbag ECU Malfunction Current B1185 Airbag ECU Malfunction Current This has caused failure of safety components in my car. Warning lights caused me to pull the codes and evaluate the problems. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Seems to be a problem with these components in older vehicles as well.
NHTSA complaint #11722396 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS
This is a Base model automobile with manual seats. The right front passenger seat unlocked without warning during a quick deceleration. The seat slid forward on mounting rails and caused the front passenger to be squished between forward motion of seat and the seat belt. Lucky this was not a collision, but weight of seat moving forward & smashing passenger against seat belt was very uncormfortable. During a collision, this may have resulted in a serious injury. Seat bottom was replaced by dealer at my expense. I have kept defective seat bottom for further inspection. I have attached the repair invoice. Car has been used afterward without front passenger awaiting for part to be made available. Invoice incorrectly reports mileage. There is less that 15,000 miles on this car.
NHTSA complaint #11708006 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS
Right rear safety belt would not retract while installing a car seat with it. Seatbelt was pulled all the way out and it would not retract. Vehicle was taken to Subaru dealership. Dealer stated seatbelt had been over extended. I manually pushed belt in and pulled it out several times, and it finally retracted and started working. If belt doesn't retract it cannot be used. There was no reason for the belt to fail. Belt on left side of vehicle was used and retracted without a problem.
NHTSA complaint #11629254 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS
The contact owned a 2013 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving at approximately 35 MPH, he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a metal guard rail on the driver's side along the length of the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle had bounced off of the rail and the front end on the passenger side had crashed into a metal post on the right side of the road. The contact stated that the force of the crash ejected him through the windshield. The contact stated that EMS and firemen were on scene but there was no police. The contact stated he had not lost consciousness. The contact was transported by ambulance to the emergency room. The contact had lacerations on his forehead, scalp, nose and chin. The contact had bruises on his chest, shoulders, both arms, and both legs. The contact stated that he was diagnosed with a Traumatic Brain Injury. The contact stated that his insurance provider declared the vehicle a total loss. The contact was advised by his insurance provider that the air bags and the seat belt had failed to function. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
NHTSA complaint #11622969 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS
middle seatbelt continues to tear in multiple placed . very disturbing
NHTSA complaint #11551783 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS
No component failed or malfunction. It is working as designed but it is a serious safety concern that can not be addressed except by purposely bypassing the safety system or systems. For whatever reason Subaru added rear seat belt chime alarms to the rear seats. Three in total it appears. Driver, passenger, and center. The chimes will continue to grow louder until it blocks all radio and becomes a distraction. In theory this is not a bad idea. In practice it is a safety concern. Subaru markets their vehicles as being pet friendly. The issue is when I have my dog in the back seat the seat beat alarm continues to go of sporadically and she is not done growing yet. I don't use harness/restraints but even if I did there would be no way to keep her in the correct position to not make the adjacent seat chime. This is a major distraction while driving because I have to constantly take my eyes off the road and try to reposition her to stop the chime/alarm. It is also putting others at risk as I am not focused on driving. Problem confirmed by the dealer and Subaru (SOA) with no plan to fix except cut wires, buy seat belt buckles from Ebay to stick in holder, or clip seatbelts when not in use. Concern is this will cause passengers to not buckle up due to the hassle. Safety can't be an inconvenience or there is less chance it will be followed. No police have been involved. Dealer and SOA have confirmed it is a problem with no solution. Possible software update in the future. Not a failure but a design flaw.
NHTSA complaint #11478240 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS
I discovered substantial seat belt fraying on the rear center seatbelt on my Outback Wilderness, mileage less than 3,600, on May 12, 2022. Photos will be attached. One fray is 1/4" x 1/4", is 30" from the tip end of the connector tongue, and has separated the belt. The second fray is 1/4" x 11/4" and is 34" from the tip end of the connector tongue. Both frays are on the same side or edge of the belt. Other than the frays, the belt was in new condition. I believe the belt to have been furnished in a defective condition or there is a defect in the retracting apparatus. There is no external cause of the fraying that I could determine. The belt has been replaced by the dealer, Adventure Subaru, of Fayetteville, Arkansas. A separate complaint will be submitted related to a 2019 Ascent we own that had three belts replaced with nearly identical fraying patterns.
NHTSA complaint #11468872 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
The contact owns a 2009 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that both the driver’s and passenger’s side seat belts failed to retract upon release. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer where the parts to repair both seat belts were ordered. When the vehicle was returned to the contact, both the driver’s side seat belt and the passenger’s side seat belt were replaced. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be serviced. The failure mileage was 70,198.
NHTSA complaint #11446042 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS
my air bags didn't deploy when I hit a tree, and the seat belt gave loose. A police report was filed, and the car was evaluated by a collision center. The insurance company has not yet evaluated the vehicle. The air bag indicator light indicated the air bags were in good working order. I slid off the road in snow and hit a tree dead on and my entire front end crumpled, but my air bags didn't deploy and my seat belt was fully extended when I exited the vehicle to get into the ambulance.
NHTSA complaint #11445596 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS
The Airbag light on my dash was lighting intermittently. I called Kendall Subaru here in Fairbanks, AK and was told I shouldn't drive the car as such a light indicated a problem with my airbags and that even a low level bump could set them off or that they might not function at all in a major accident. I scheduled an appointment to have this problem diagnosed. They told me there was a fault in the wiring and that I'd have to have the passenger seat indicator replaced. I have done some online research and found that there are several instances of faulty soldering in the wiring for the indicator. This would seem to me to be a reason for Subaru to issue a safety recall as a pot hole hit could set this thing off or people could get killed because the airbag didn't deploy! Kendall told me that they didn't have the part in stock. It would be in in 7-10 days. That was a month ago. I have noticed that since my vehicle was in for diagnosis, that the light has only come on whe the car is started, like it's supposed to!
NHTSA complaint #11437275 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS
Incident occurred on Interstate 25 Northbound at approximately mm 190. My speed was approximately 70 mph. Weather was dry and about 70 degrees. I was in the next to left lane in 4 lanes of traffic. The moonroof on my 2016 Subaru Outback exploded violently sending glass outward into traffic. I had never heard of this phenomena so when I saw black material from the top of my car going into traffic I thought it was pieces of my roof rack. I pulled over to the shoulder to examine my car and saw a massive hole in the moonroof. Knowing that if I continued shards of glass would continue to be expelled onto the interstate I pulled the remaining pieces of glass into the interior of the car. Not that it mattered, that's where they fell anyway when I opened the moonroof. The pieces of the moonroof fell into the slots for the seatbelts, rendering the drivers side inoperable. It was a miracle that no other car was seriously impacted and that I was able to get home safely. Subaru and any other car manufacturer that is involved with this problem needs to be held accountable for the damages and remedial repairs. This problem should be addressed by the NHTSA immediately.
NHTSA complaint #11430039 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS
My Outback lost AC/Heat and even after repair at an Outback dealership, it still goes out intermittently. My car battery seems to drain for no reason at all, without any consistency to the drainage of power either. I have it looked at, and the dealership said there isn’t a cause and there isn’t anything that can be done. Back rear door doesn’t lock and unlock with the key fob designation; sets off the alarm when we don’t pay attention to it. Hatch door only lifts about 14 inches upon designation. Has to be manually lifted the rest of the way. Has been fixed once at a dealership, but since returned to the aforementioned diagnosis.
NHTSA complaint #11426058 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS
Passenger side front seatbelt locked up and became non-functional, unable to be used. This left our passenger without a safe or legal way to ride in the vehicle with all other seats being used. The part was replaced by the dealer under warranty
NHTSA complaint #11424553 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS
The passenger seat belt is not staying buckled in, it take about 3 tries before it clicks.
NHTSA complaint #11422975 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT DOES NOT FULLY RETRACT ALL WAY BACK AFTER USE, WHICH CAUSED THE SEAT BELT TO GET STUCK INTO THE DOOR CAUSING DOOR JAMS AND DENTS INTO THE DOOR FRAME OF THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO A LOCAL DEALER CAPITOL SUBARU (920 CAPITOL EXPRESSWAY AUTO MALL, SAN JOSE, CA 95136) WHO COULD NOT DIAGNOSE OR REPAIRED THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 43,300.
NHTSA complaint #11389307 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS
THIS IS NOT AGAINST SUBARU IT IS AGAINST DOHCLO COMPANY. I PURCHASED AN AFTER MARKET SEATBELT EXTENDER. IT IS DEFECTIVE AND WILL NOT SECURE THE SEATBELT TO RESTRAINT YOU IN AN ACCIDENT THAT COULD RESULT IN EJECTION FROM THE VEHICLE DURING AN ACCIDENT. I CONTACTED THE COMPANY AND THEY ARE REFUSING TO ASSIST. I WORRY ABOUT THE SAFETY OF OTHER PEOPLE THAT MAY USE THE ITEM WITHOUT CHECKING THAT IT IS SECURED PROPERLY. I FEEL THAT A RECALL SHOULD BE STARTED. I HAVE PHOTOS, THE PRODUCT AND COPIES OF ALL MY EMAILS REGARDING THIS.*DT*DT*AS*DT *TR
NHTSA complaint #11361456 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.