2005 Subaru Outback Problems and Recalls (268 Complaints)
The most-reported problem on the 2005 Subaru Outback is Suspension (17% of 268 owner reports). There are 9 safety recalls. Check the VIN and inspect Suspension — this is the NHTSA file, not a score.
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-09-07 268 complaints · 9 recalls
What problems show up on the 2005 Subaru Outback?
46 of 268 filings named Suspension (17% of the file). That is what owners wrote, not a shop diagnosis of the vehicle in the driveway.
Second is Airbags (36 reports).
There are 9 official safety recalls on this year. They were filed about Airbags, Brakes, and Electrical. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov — a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific truck.
The 2004 has 88 reports on file; this year has 268. Older years collect more reports just by being on the road longer. If you need a fairer comparison, use the equal-time view.
What owners reported
System named most often: Suspension 46 complaints · 17.2% of the file
Crashes, fires, injuries and deaths in those filings:
- Crashes 12
- Fires 3
- Injuries 11
- 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension (SUSPENSION) | 46 | 17.2% | 0 crashes · 0 fires |
| Airbags (AIR BAGS) | 36 | 13.4% | 2 crashes · 0 fires |
| Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) | 29 | 10.8% | 2 crashes · 1 fires |
| Cruise / speed control (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL) | 29 | 10.8% | 4 crashes · 0 fires |
| Lights (EXTERIOR LIGHTING) | 28 | 10.5% | 0 crashes · 1 fires |
| Engine (ENGINE) | 22 | 8.2% | 0 crashes · 1 fires |
| Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM) | 14 | 5.2% | 0 crashes · 0 fires |
| Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) | 11 | 4.1% | 0 crashes · 0 fires |
| Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) | 11 | 4.1% | 1 crashes · 0 fires |
| Unclassified NHTSA leftover | 86 | 32.1% | 2 crashes · 3 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 13V110000 was reported 2,778 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 14V311000 was reported 3,218 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 15V323000 was reported 3,494 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 19V297000 was reported 5,011 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 20V001000 was reported 5,174 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 20V002000 was reported 5,174 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
- Campaign 20V003000 was reported 5,174 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
| Date | Record type | Count | Record identifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-Q4 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2005-Q1 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2005-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2005-Q3 | Owner reports | 8 | |
| 2005-Q4 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2006-Q1 | Owner reports | 8 | |
| 2006-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2006-Q3 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2006-Q4 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2007-Q1 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2007-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2007-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2008-Q1 | Owner reports | 9 | |
| 2008-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2008-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2008-Q4 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2009-Q1 | Owner reports | 7 | |
| 2009-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2009-Q3 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2009-Q4 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2010-Q1 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2010-Q2 | Owner reports | 7 | |
| 2010-Q3 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2010-Q4 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2011-Q1 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2011-Q2 | Owner reports | 7 | |
| 2011-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2011-Q4 | Owner reports | 8 | |
| 2012-Q1 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2012-Q3 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2012-Q4 | Owner reports | 12 | |
| 2013-Q1 | Owner reports | 8 | |
| 2013-Q2 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2013-Q3 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2013-Q4 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2014-Q1 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2014-Q2 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2014-Q3 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2014-Q4 | Owner reports | 7 | |
| 2015-Q1 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2015-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2015-Q3 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2015-Q4 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2016-Q1 | Owner reports | 7 | |
| 2016-Q2 | Owner reports | 9 | |
| 2016-Q3 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2016-Q4 | Owner reports | 8 | |
| 2017-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2017-Q2 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2017-Q3 | Owner reports | 5 | |
| 2017-Q4 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2018-Q1 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2018-Q2 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2018-Q3 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2018-Q4 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2019-Q1 | Owner reports | 6 | |
| 2019-Q2 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2019-Q3 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2019-Q4 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2020-Q1 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2020-Q2 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2020-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2020-Q4 | Owner reports | 4 | |
| 2021-Q1 | Owner reports | 3 | |
| 2021-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2021-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2022-Q1 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2022-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2022-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2023-Q1 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| 2023-Q4 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2025-Q3 | Owner reports | 1 | |
| 2026-Q1 | Owner reports | 2 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 04V274000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 13V110000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 14V311000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 14V763000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 15V323000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 19V297000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 20V001000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 20V002000 | |
| Recall campaign | 1 | 20V003000 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | PE14016 | |
| Defect investigation | 1 | EA15001 |
Safety Recalls (9)
Official campaigns. Each one says what could go wrong and what the dealer was told to fix.
In short, these campaigns were filed about Airbags, Brakes, and Electrical.
-
Recall campaign 04V274000
Airbags
- Report date
- Component:
- Airbags (AIR BAGS)
- Consequence:
- THIS MAY RESULT IN FAILURE TO PROVIDE THE INTENDED HEAD PROTECTION, INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURY TO A SEAT OCCUPANT.
- Remedy:
- DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE LEFT AND RIGHT SIDE CURTAIN AIR BAG MODULES. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JUNE 11, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT SUBARU AT 1-800-782-2783. .
-
Recall campaign 13V110000
Brakes
- Report date
- Component:
- Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES)
- Consequence:
- Brake line corrosion may result in brake fluid leakage. Fluid leakage may result in longer distances being required to slow or stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy:
- Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicles. If no brake fluid seepage is observed, the affected area will be rustproofed with anti-corrosion wax. If brake fluid seepage is observed, the brake lines will be replaced followed by rustproofing with anti-corrosion wax. These services will be performed free of charge. The recall began on May 30, 2013. Owners may contact Subaru at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's recall campaign number is WQG-43.
-
Recall campaign 14V311000
Brakes
- Report date
- Component:
- Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES)
- Consequence:
- Brake line corrosion may result in brake fluid leakage. Fluid leakage may result in longer distances being required to slow or stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy:
- Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will test the brake system by depressing the brake pedal and inspecting for brake fluid leaks. If no brake fluid seepage is observed, the affected areas will be rustproofed with anti-corrosion wax. If brake fluid seepage is observed, the brake lines will be replaced followed by rustproofing with anti-corrosion wax. These services will be performed free of charge. The recall began July 2014 and second notifications will run through November 2014. Owners may contact Subaru at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's recall campaign number is WQK-47. Note: This recall supersedes recall 13V-110 which applied to certain 2005-2009 Legacy/Outback vehicles. Vehicles that were remedied under the previous campaign still need additional areas rust-proofed.
-
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 19V297000
Electrical
- Report date
- Component:
- Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM)
- Consequence:
- The engine turning off unexpectedly can increase the risk of a crash. If a crash occurs under this condition, the air bag may not deploy, increasing the risk of injury.
- Remedy:
- Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the ignition switch, replacing the ignition switch, if necessary, free of charge. The recall began May 10, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUF-91.
-
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 5 of 268 complaints · page 1 of 11
CrashFireInjuryDeath
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.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
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.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
See attached document for complaint.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
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.
CrashFireInjuryDeath
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.
Subaru Outback Complaints and Recalls by Year
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems on the 2005 Subaru Outback?
Owners named Suspension most often — 46 of 268 reports (17%). That is the NHTSA file, not a diagnosis of every vehicle.
Are there recalls for the 2005 Subaru Outback?
NHTSA lists 9 safety recall campaigns. They were filed about Airbags, Brakes, and Electrical. 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 2005 Subaru Outback?
Look up the VIN for open recalls. Listen for clunks over bumps and look at tire wear for alignment issues. 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.