The Recall Desk

Vehicle

Subaru Outback · 2012

16 recalls affect this vehicle. Sorted by severity, then date.

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1–16 of 16

  • Severity pendingNHTSA·20V001000·2020-01-02

    Subaru and Saab Vehicles Recalled for Air Bag Inflator Defect

    Subaru is recalling specific 2003-2014 models and Saab 9-2X vehicles because passenger air bag inflators may explode due to humidity, posing a risk of serious injury or death.

    Product
    SUBARU — SUBARU, SAAB OUTBACK, BAJA, IMPREZA, LEGACY
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide
  • Severity pendingNHTSA·19V008000·2019-01-09

    Subaru Recalls Vehicles Due to Passenger Air Bag Inflator Explosion Risk

    Subaru is recalling specific 2010-2014 models because passenger air bag inflators may explode during deployment, posing a risk of serious injury or death.

    Product
    SUBARU — SUBARU OUTBACK, FORESTER, LEGACY, IMPREZA
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide
  • Severity pendingNHTSA·20V003000·2020-01-02

    Subaru and Saab Recall Vehicles Due to Air Bag Inflator Defect

    Subaru is recalling specific 2003-2014 models and Saab 9-2X vehicles because passenger air bag inflators may explode, posing a risk of serious injury or death.

    Product
    SUBARU — SUBARU, SAAB OUTBACK, BAJA, IMPREZA, LEGACY
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide
  • Severity pendingNHTSA·20V002000·2020-01-02

    Subaru and Saab Recall Vehicles Due to Air Bag Inflator Defect

    Subaru and Saab are recalling specific model years because passenger air bag inflators may explode due to humidity, posing a risk of serious injury.

    Product
    SUBARU — SUBARU, SAAB OUTBACK, BAJA, IMPREZA, LEGACY
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide
  • Severity pendingNHTSA·19V297000·2019-04-11

    Subaru Recalls Vehicles Due to Ignition Switch Spring Failure Risk

    Subaru is recalling specific 2005-2014 models because a broken spring in the ignition switch could cause the engine to turn off unexpectedly, increasing crash risk.

    Product
    SUBARU — SUBARU LEGACY, OUTBACK, IMPREZA, FORESTER
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide
  • Severity pendingNHTSA·19V007000·2019-01-09

    Subaru Recalls Vehicles Due to Front Passenger Air Bag Inflator Defect

    Subaru is recalling specific 2010-2014 models because front passenger air bag inflators may explode during deployment, posing a risk of serious injury or death.

    Product
    SUBARU — SUBARU OUTBACK, FORESTER, LEGACY, IMPREZA
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide
  • Severity pendingNHTSA·19V009000·2019-01-09

    Subaru Recalls Vehicles Due to Air Bag Inflator Explosion Risk

    Subaru is recalling specific 2010-2014 models because passenger air bag inflators may explode during deployment, potentially causing serious injury or death.

    Product
    SUBARU — SUBARU OUTBACK, FORESTER, LEGACY, IMPREZA
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide
  • Severity pendingNHTSA·18V012000·2018-01-09

    Subaru Recalls Vehicles Due to Passenger Air Bag Inflator Explosion Risk

    Subaru is recalling specific 2009-2013 models because passenger air bag inflators may explode during deployment, potentially causing serious injury or death.

    Product
    SUBARU — SUBARU FORESTER, LEGACY, IMPREZA, TRIBECA
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide
  • Severity pendingNHTSA·17V014000·2017-01-10

    Subaru Recalls Vehicles Due to Front Passenger Air Bag Inflator Rupture Risk

    Subaru is recalling specific 2005-2012 models because front passenger air bag inflators may rupture in a crash, potentially causing serious injury or death.

    Product
    SUBARU — SUBARU BAJA, IMPREZA, FORESTER, LEGACY
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide
  • Severity pendingNHTSA·16V694000·2016-09-27

    Subaru Recalls 2010-2014 Legacy and Outback for Wiper Motor Fire Risk

    Subaru is recalling 2010-2014 Legacy and Outback vehicles because windshield wiper motor components may interfere, causing overheating, wiper failure, or fire.

    Product
    SUBARU — SUBARU OUTBACK, LEGACY
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide
  • Severity pendingNHTSA·13V078000·2013-03-05

    Subaru Recalls 2012 Legacy and Outback for Wiper Motor Fire Risk

    Subaru is recalling 2012 Legacy and Outback vehicles because wiper motor components may overheat, melt, and catch fire. Owners should contact a dealer for a free repair.

    Product
    SUBARU — SUBARU LEGACY, OUTBACK
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide
  • Severity pendingNHTSA·13V077000·2013-03-05

    Subaru Recalls 2012 Legacy and Outback for Moonroof Glass Defect

    Subaru is recalling 2012 Legacy and Outback vehicles because the moonroof glass may detach while driving, creating a road hazard.

    Product
    SUBARU — SUBARU LEGACY, OUTBACK
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide
  • Severity pendingNHTSA·18V626000·2018-09-13

    Subaru Recalls 2010-2014 Legacy and Outback for Parking Brake Defect

    Subaru is recalling 2010-2014 Legacy and Outback vehicles with manual transmissions because the electronic parking brake may fail to engage, increasing the risk of a crash.

    Product
    SUBARU — SUBARU LEGACY, OUTBACK
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide
  • Severity pendingNHTSA·13V061000·2013-02-25

    Subaru Recalls Vehicles with Faulty Remote Engine Starter Fobs

    Subaru is recalling certain 2010-2013 vehicles equipped with Audiovox remote engine starter accessories because the fobs may malfunction and start the engine without user input.

    Product
    SUBARU — SUBARU OUTBACK, LEGACY, IMPREZA, XV CROSSTREK
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide
  • Severity pendingNHTSA·12V047000·2012-02-09

    Subaru Recalls 2012 Legacy and Outback for Side Air Bag Defect

    Subaru is recalling certain 2012 Legacy and Outback vehicles because side curtain air bags may not deploy due to an incorrect propellant mixture.

    Product
    SUBARU — SUBARU LEGACY, OUTBACK
    Category
    Vehicle
    Distribution
    Distributed nationwide

NHTSA crash-test safety rating

Federal 5-Star Safety Rating from crash testing. This is a separate government program from the recall(s) above — a high star rating says nothing about whether a specific recall has been fixed, and a recall says nothing about crash-test performance.

Source: NHTSA New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), a federal crash-test program — not a recall record.

Wider context for this vehicle

Beyond the official recalls above. These are third-party figures derived from NHTSA complaint data — useful signal, but not part of our verified recall record.

Complaint clusters with no matching recall

  • 2017 · electrical 381 complaints, median 32,000 mi
    Includes 1 alleging a fire. Unverified owner allegations from complaint filings — not confirmed by any agency.
  • 2019 · electrical 359 complaints, median 13,563 mi
  • 2020 · visibility 354 complaints, median 7,216 mi
  • 2019 · visibility 347 complaints, median 12,000 mi
  • 2016 · electrical 294 complaints, median 43,000 mi

Technical service bulletins

1,455 manufacturer service bulletins across 22 model years. A TSB is repair guidance to dealers, not a safety recall.

Third-party reliability score

  • 2026: 4.4/5 · 12 complaints · most complained-of: electrical
  • 2025: 4.0/5 · 76 complaints · most complained-of: electrical
  • 2024: 4.7/5 · 2 complaints
  • 2023: 3.7/5 · 89 complaints · most complained-of: visibility
  • 2022: 3.1/5 · 462 complaints · most complained-of: visibility

This is ProblemsByVin’s own published heuristic (1 worst – 5 best), not an official rating and unrelated to our severity scale.

Data on this panel comes from ProblemsByVin, derived from US NHTSA owner complaints and recalls, and licensed CC BY 4.0. It is not published by a federal agency and is not part of our verified recall record.

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