Consumer Complaint Detail

SUBARU / OUTBACK / 1998

Recalls
0 Injured
Investigations
0 Death
Complaints
No Fire
Components - Details
NHTSA Complaint Number: 007117794 Incident Date: Feb, 20 2007
Consumer's City: PORTLAND Consumer's State: OR
Vehicle Transmission Type: AUTO Manufacturers Name: Subaru of America, Inc.
Model Name: OUTBACK Model Year: 1998
Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Component's Description: Engine and engine cooling:engine
Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Persons Injured: 0
Vehicle's VIN#: 4S3BG6858W7 Date added to File: May, 23 2021
Date Complaint Received: Aug, 30 2007 Complaint Type: IVOQ
Incident Reported To Police: No Purchase Date: Oct, 31 2004
Was Original Owner: No Anti-lock Brakes: Yes
Number of Cylinders: 4 Date of Manufacturer: -
Was Vehicle Towed: - Description of the Complaints: We bought a 1998 subaru outback in 2004. at approximately 110,000 miles, we experienced a catastrophic overheating of the engine due to a faulty head gasket. the overheating caused approximately $3,000 worth of damage to the car. the head gasket, radiator, thermostat, water pump, oxygen sensors and (2) catalytic converters all had to be replaced. we have since learned that this is a common problem for subarus of this vintage. there are hundreds of anecdotal reports of people having this exact problem on the internet, and our mechanic tells us he fixes at least one of these problems per week at his shop. clearly, this is a defective product. *jb