Other suspension problem on the 2013 Subaru Outback
When other suspension problem gets reported
Owners of the 2013 Subaru Outback report other suspension problem at a median of 800 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 200 miles and a quarter after 5,000 miles, from 12 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 100,000 miles. It is the 11th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 100 miles at the tenth percentile to 10,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 8,546 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
Reports bunched into a band this tight usually mean the component has a life of its own: it goes at roughly the same mileage regardless of who owns it.
92% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 miles | 248 miles | 750 miles | 2,750 miles | 8,600 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $350–$2,000 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 14 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2018, at a median of 300 miles, and latest on the 2001 at 130,000 miles.
By volume the 2005 carries the most reports, with 46; the 2013 has 12. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
When I make a hard right turn, such as pulling out into the near lane or parking, my front passenger tire comes in contact with my fender well - specifically the body molding and violently. When measuring my hub (center) to hub (center), the passenger side of the car is a full .5 inch closer than the driver side. You can also measure the distance between the front tire to fender well and see that the passenger side is closer to the back of the fender well than the driver side. I notified west houston subaru in late dec. 2012 of the problem so they checked the alignment & measured the aforementioned hub/tire/fender distances. They acknowledged a discrepancy between the driver and passenger side; said they would contact subaru of america (soa) and follow up... Unfortunately I had to contact them back... Then it was suggested I contact soa myself so I did on january 8, 2013. At this time soa nor the dealership is willing to address my problem however many people in the www.subaruoutback.org forum are describing the exact same problem. [xxx] from soa has told me they are waiting for something but it is not clear... In the meantime I…
Vehicle wanders at hiway speeds requiring constant correction. Will not drive a straight path without veering off. Very unstable and unpredictable. Dealership claims vehicle is within specifications. I am not the only one with this issue. As of now manufacturer has not acknowledged issue and there is no effective solution. This is a link to a forum where many other owners of the same vehicle are making the same complaints. Http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/104-gen-4-2010-present/31638-ob-lane-wandering.html. *tr
Vehicle suspension does not control vehicle during freeway speed driving. Vehicle experiences large left-right sway motions on wavy pavement at freeway speeds and large uncontrolled vehicle motions up-down at freeway speeds. Vehicle is hard to control during occurrences and needs constant steering corrections as result of large suspension motions. Also due to the poorly damped suspension, braking distances are long. Car does not slow down as expected, especially when vehicle is undergoing a large suspension articulation. Several months ago, my vehicle was initially taken to dealership to verify problem, but, dealership mechanic said vehicle behaves w/ in spec and like other vehicles. I recently took my vehicle in for another issue, but, received a loaner vehicle identical to my vehicle. The loaner vehicle does not respond in the same manner as my vehicle. Loaner vehicle exhibits well damped suspension control and negligible body motions. Braking distances are much better on the loaner vehicle largely due to the well damped suspension. The loaner vehicle is significantly easier to drive than my vehicle. My vehicle is still…
Also reported on the 2013 Subaru Outback
Other engine problem
Excessive oil consumption
Other steering problem
Airbag inflator rupture
Other powertrain problem
Parking brake failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 12 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other suspension problem happen on the 2013 Subaru Outback?
Across 12 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 800 miles. A quarter were filed before 200 miles and a quarter after 5,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other suspension problem on the 2013 Subaru Outback?
12 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.2 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed