2004 Subaru Outback Problems and Recalls (88 Complaints)
The most-reported problem on the 2004 Subaru Outback is Airbags (27% of 88 owner reports). There are 11 safety recalls. Check the VIN and inspect Airbags — this is the NHTSA file, not a score.
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-09-07 88 complaints · 11 recalls
What problems show up on the 2004 Subaru Outback?
24 of 88 filings named Airbags (27% of the file). That is what owners wrote, not a shop diagnosis of the vehicle in the driveway.
Second is Cruise / speed control (17 reports).
There are 11 official safety recalls on this year. They were filed about Fuel system, Cruise / speed control, and Airbags. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov — a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific truck.
The 2003 has 90 reports on file; this year has 88. A smaller lifetime total is not a clean bill of health. If you need a fairer comparison, use the equal-time view.
What owners reported
System named most often: Airbags 24 complaints · 27.3% of the file
Crashes, fires, injuries and deaths in those filings:
- Crashes 9
- Fires 4
- Injuries 4
- Deaths 0
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
Which systems owners named
Share of owner complaints filed against each vehicle system. These shares are not adjusted for how many vehicles were sold.
“Unclassified NHTSA leftover” is not a car part. It is a filing bucket and always sits last.
View component data as a table
| System / Component | Complaints | Share of Reports | Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbags (AIR BAGS) | 24 | 27.3% | 1 crashes · 0 fires |
| Cruise / speed control (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL) | 17 | 19.3% | 5 crashes · 0 fires |
| Engine (ENGINE) | 11 | 12.5% | 0 crashes · 0 fires |
| Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) | 7 | 8.0% | 1 crashes · 0 fires |
| Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) | 6 | 6.8% | 0 crashes · 2 fires |
| Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM) | 5 | 5.7% | 0 crashes · 0 fires |
| Glass / wipers / cameras (VISIBILITY) | 5 | 5.7% | 0 crashes · 1 fires |
| Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) | 3 | 3.4% | 2 crashes · 0 fires |
| Suspension (SUSPENSION) | 3 | 3.4% | 0 crashes · 0 fires |
| Unclassified NHTSA leftover | 27 | 30.7% | 3 crashes · 1 fires |
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
When reports and recalls showed up
When owners filed reports, and when recall campaigns showed up.
- Campaign 13E065000 was reported 1,777 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 15V323000 was reported 4,194 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 16V358000 was reported 4,557 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 16V359000 was reported 4,557 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 16V361000 was reported 4,557 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 20V001000 was reported 5,874 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 20V002000 was reported 5,874 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 20V003000 was reported 5,874 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
| Date | Record type | Count | Record identifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-Q4 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2004-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2004-Q2 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2004-Q3 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2004-Q4 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2005-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2005-Q2 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2005-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2005-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2006-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2006-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2006-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2006-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2007-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2008-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2008-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2008-Q4 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2009-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2009-Q2 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2009-Q4 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2010-Q1 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2010-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2010-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2011-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2011-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2011-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2011-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2012-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2013-Q1 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2013-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2013-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2014-Q3 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2014-Q4 | Owner reports | 7 | |
| 2015-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2015-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2016-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2016-Q3 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2016-Q4 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2017-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2017-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2017-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2017-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2018-Q1 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2018-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2019-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2020-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 03V303000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 04V128000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 13E065000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 14V763000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 15V323000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 16V358000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 16V359000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 16V361000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 20V001000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 20V002000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 20V003000 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | PE14016 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | EA15001 |
Safety Recalls (11)
Official campaigns. Each one says what could go wrong and what the dealer was told to fix.
In short, these campaigns were filed about Fuel system, Cruise / speed control, and Airbags.
-
Recall campaign 03V303000
Fuel system
- Report date
- Component:
- Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM)
- Consequence:
- THIS COULD RESULT IN FUEL LEAKAGE. FUEL LEAKAGE IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE COULD RESULT IN A FIRE.
- Remedy:
- DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND TIGHTEN THE CLAMP ON THE FUEL FILLER HOSE. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN AUGUST 27, 2003. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT SUBARU AT 1-800-782-2783.
-
Recall campaign 04V128000
Cruise / speed control
- Report date
- Component:
- Cruise / speed control (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL)
- Consequence:
- IF THIS OCCURS DURING VEHICLE OPERATION, THE DRIVER COULD LOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, WHICH COULD RESULT IN A CRASH.
- Remedy:
- DEALERS WILL INSTALL A CRUISE CONTROL CABLE RETAINING CLIP TO THE CRUISE CONTROL LEVER TAB ON THE THROTTLE SHAFT IN ORDER TO PREVENT THE CRUISE CONTROL CABLE FROM COMING OUT OF ITS TRACK. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON APRIL 12, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT SUBARU AT 1-800-782-2783.
-
Recall campaign 13E065000
Fuel system
- Report date
- Component:
- Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM)
- Consequence:
- A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.
- Remedy:
- Airtex will notify owners, and will replace the fuel pump, free of charge. Recall is expected to begin on January 2, 2014. Customers may contact Airtex at 1-800-880-3056. The recall is expected to begin during January 2014. This recall is being conducted by Airtex, not by Subaru.
-
Recall campaign 14V763000
Safety recall 14V763000
- Report date
- Component:
- Not available in the source record
- Consequence:
- In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passengers frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy:
- Subaru will notify their owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on January 15, 2015. Owners may contact Subaru at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WQP-51. Note: This recall supersedes recall 14V-471. This recall has been partially superseded by 15V-323. All 2005 model year Subaru Legacy and Outback vehicles will now be repaired under recall 15V-323.
-
Recall campaign 15V323000
Airbags
- Report date
- Component:
- Airbags (AIR BAGS)
- Consequence:
- In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy:
- Subaru will notify their owners and General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflator, free of charge. The Subaru recall began on June 17, 2015. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. The Saab recall began on July 27, 2015. Owners of Saab vehicles may call 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is WQR-53. Note: The recall completely supersedes recall 14V-399 (WQL-48) and partially supersedes recall 14V-763 (WQP-51) in that model year 2004 through 2005 Subaru Impreza and model year 2005 Saab 9-2x vehicles are now only part of this campaign. Note: On December 18, 2015 Subaru informed NHTSA of an expansion of this recall to include certain model year 2003-2004 Subaru Baja, 2003-2008 Subaru Legacy and 2003-2008 Subaru Outback vehicles.
-
Recall campaign 16V358000
Airbags
- Report date
- Component:
- Airbags (AIR BAGS)
- Consequence:
- An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy:
- Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 26, 2016. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-856-488-8500. Saab owners may contact GM at 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKA-16.
-
Recall campaign 16V359000
Airbags
- Report date
- Component:
- Airbags (AIR BAGS)
- Consequence:
- An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy:
- Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 24, 2016. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-856-488-8500. Subaru's number for this recall is TKB-16. Note: This notice is only for vehicles that were not covered by 16V-358 for Zone A.
-
Recall campaign 16V361000
Airbags
- Report date
- Component:
- Airbags (AIR BAGS)
- Consequence:
- An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy:
- Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 24, 2016. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-856-488-8500. Subaru's number for this recall is TKC-16. Note: This recall covers vehicles that were not previously covered in 16V-358 for Zone A or 16V-359 for Zone B.
-
Recall campaign 20V001000
Airbags
- Report date
- Component:
- Airbags (AIR BAGS)
- Consequence:
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy:
- Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators with alternate inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKA-20.
-
Recall campaign 20V002000
Airbags
- Report date
- Component:
- Airbags (AIR BAGS)
- Consequence:
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy:
- Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKB-20.
-
Recall campaign 20V003000
Airbags
- Report date
- Component:
- Airbags (AIR BAGS)
- Consequence:
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy:
- Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began January 7, 2020. Subaru owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-955-9007. Subaru's number for this recall is TKC-20.
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
What owners actually wrote
Short excerpts from the public NHTSA file. Look for the same symptom repeating.
Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-09-07
Showing 10 of 88 complaints · page 1 of 4
CrashFireInjuryDeath
AUTOZONE SOLD ME (VIA WARRANTY EXCHANGE) AFTERMARKET BRAKE PADS THAT SUPPOSEDLY WERE THE SAME PART #D929 AS THE BRAKE PADS AUTOZONE HAD PREVIOUSLY SOLD ME AND WAS REPLACING UNDER WARRANTY. HOWEVER, THE BRAKE PADS THAT THEY PROVIDED TO ME TODAY AS WARRANTY REPLACEMENTS WERE TOO LARGE FOR THE BRAKE CALIPER AND WOULD BE UNSAFE IF INSTALLED AND FORCED TO FIT IN THE CALIPER. SPECIFICALLY, THE INNER SHOULDER DIMENSION ON THESE PADS IS TOO LARGE TO FIT PROPERLY IN THE CALIPER. I VERIFIED THE PROBLEM BY PURCHASING BRAKE PADS FROM A DIFFERENT AUTO SUPPLY STORE AND INSTALLING THEM WITH NO DIFFICULTY. THIS PROBLEM OCCURRED WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY, BECAUSE IT HAPPENED DURING BRAKE PAD REPLACEMENT.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
I GET CARDS,I CALL,I GET LETTERS ,I CALL DOESN'T MATTER WHO SENDS THEM,YOU OR SUBARU DEALER ,TELLING ME I NEED TO HAVE AN AIRBAG SWAPPED OUT AS BEING DEFECTIVE,AND ME TELLING YOU I DO NOT HAVE THE CAR ANYMORE,IT WAS PICKED UP BY AN AUCTION HOUSE BUT IT NEEDED ALOT DONE TO IT SO THEY MAY HAVE SCRAPPED IT,I DON'T KNOW. WHAT I DO KNOW IS THIS IS THE LAST YOU WILL HEAR FROM ME ABOUT THIS CAR, AND YOU CAN WASTE AS MANY TREES SENDING ME NOTICES. FROM NOW ON THEY GO IN THE TRASH,NO MORE CALLS FROM ME,AND DON'T CALL ME ABOUT IT,THE CAR WAS JUNKED,PERIOD
CrashFireInjuryDeath
PURCHASED THIS CAR LISTED IN IAA WEBSITE AS HAVING $68,000.00 MILES, THIS WEEK MY MECHANIC TOLD ME THAT THE CAR HAD $220,000.00 MILES. I JUST CHECKED CARFAX UNFORTUNATELY THAT IS A ODOMETER ROLLBACK.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
NOTIFICATION OF AIRBAG PASSENGER FRONT RECALL.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
2004 SUBURBAN OUTBACK. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO TAKATA PASSENGER SIDE FRONT AIRBAG. *LD THE CONSUMER STATED THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME COMPLETING THE RECALL REPAIR. *JS
CrashFireInjuryDeath
EXCESSIVE UNDERBODY FRONT END RUST AS PER BODY SHOP BUMPER REPLACEMENT.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
TAKATA RECALL. NOT ABLE TO GET ACCESS TO REPLACEMENT AIRBAG. ON WAITLISTS AT 2 LOCAL SUBARU DEALERS.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
I RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE ON PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG IN JULY 2016..I WAS TOLD I WOULD BE INFORMED BY MAIL WHEN PARTS WERE AVAILABLE FOR REPAIR BY MY LOCAL SUBARU DEALER. IT'S 14 MONTHS LATER AND I HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY FURTHER NOTICE. I DO NOT BELIEVE THIS HAS BEEN HANDLED IN A TIMELY MANNER AND STILL CANNOT HAVE PASSENGERS IN FRONT SEAT.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
THE CAR WILL BE OPERATING PROPERLY AT SPEED ON LOCAL ROADS (30MPH OR SO) WHEN, WITHOUT WARNING, THE ENGINE WILL GO TO A FAST IDLE AND THE GAS PEDDLE LOSES ALL EFFECTIVENESS. STOPPING THE CAR AND RESTARTING IT HAS FIXED THE PROBLEM THE THREE TIMES IT HAS HAPPENED. THE DEALER REPLACED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL POSITION SWITCH BUT THE PROBLEM HAS REOCCURRED. THIS IS A POTENTIALLY VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION, ESPECIALLY IF IT WERE TO OCCUR PULLING ONTO A HIGHWAY OR BEING IN TRAFFIC ON A BUSY ROAD
CrashFireInjuryDeath
TAKATA RECALL. RECEIVED NOTIFICATION FROM SUBARU MONTHS AGO AND HAVE THEY HAVE STILL NOT CONTACTED ME TO REPAIR THIS PROBLEM. SINCE I WAS ADVISED NOT TO ALLOW A PASSENGER IN FRONT PASSENGER SEAT, IT MAKES IT VERY DIFFICULT TO USE MY VEHICLE.
Subaru Outback Complaints and Recalls by Year
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems on the 2004 Subaru Outback?
Owners named Airbags most often — 24 of 88 reports (27%). That is the NHTSA file, not a diagnosis of every vehicle.
Are there recalls for the 2004 Subaru Outback?
NHTSA lists 11 safety recall campaigns. They were filed about Fuel system, Cruise / speed control, and Airbags. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov; a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific vehicle.
What should I inspect before buying a 2004 Subaru Outback?
Look up the VIN for open recalls. Confirm the airbag light behaves normally and that open airbag recalls are closed. Then skim owner filings for the same symptom and take that list to a mechanic.
Does a high complaint count mean I should skip this year?
No. Counts are reports people chose to file and they are not adjusted for sales volume. YearTell does not publish scores or a list of years to skip. Inspect the vehicle.
Estimated Ownership Cost
EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates
Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Adjacent Model Years
Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records
Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.
Methodology & Data Integrity
Source: NHTSA ODI / recalls, snapshot 2026-09-07. YearTell is not a government agency.