1999 Subaru Outback: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 150 complaints
150
Total Complaints
87,000mi
Median Mileage
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Top Issue
22
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

47,075 25th Percentile
87,000 Median Mileage
112,310 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
14
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
11
POWER TRAIN
7
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
6
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
6
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
5
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
5
POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION
5
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
5
SUSPENSION
4

Severity Assessment

22
Crashes
2
Fires
31
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"'SLOPECONTROL' CAUSES THE CAR TO DOWNSHIFT ANY TIME THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED ON A SLOPE OF A CERTAIN PITCH. THIS IS AN ACCEPTABLE FEATURE AT SPEEDS BELOW 40 MPH, BUT AT FREEWAY SPEEDS THE CAR REACTS VIOLENTLY AND DECELLERATES TO AN UNSAFE SPEED WITH LITTLE OR NO WARNING TO FOLLOWING TRAFFIC. SUBARU I..."
"A NEW DESIGN CHANGE WITH THE CHIP WITHIN TRANSMISSION IS CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO DOWNSHIFT WHEN APPLYING BRAKES.THERE IS NO WAY TO FIX IT AT PRESENT MOMENT. *AK"
"VEHICLE VIBRATES WHILE DRIVING."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28