10 Reasons Why You Should AVOID The 2024 Subaru Outback

10 Reasons Why You Should AVOID The 2024 Subaru Outback

With a rich tradition in all-wheel drive technology, reliable engines and fun driving dynamics, Subaru is a very respected and beloved car manufacturer. But does the 2024 Outback model live up to its brand expectations? We’re about to find out.

Random problems with the electronics

Comfort and utility is great and the Outback continues to be the family wagon you can take on off road adventures. All-wheel drive is standard, which is a Subaru staple they take great pride in. What they cannot be so proud of, however, are the different electronic systems on the car that a lot of owners complained about over the years. And the issues seem to be still here in 2024.

Radio would turn on by itself randomly, or change stations. The power-adjustable memory seats sometimes won’t work, or would only work if the passenger gets in the car first.

The AC struggles, especially in the Texas heat. The front vents are quite narrow and oddly-placed so that the steering wheel blocks the airflow from reaching the driver.

The heated and ventilated seats also act up sometimes. One owner complained that after less than 250 miles, the fans in the seats began to make really loud noises and vibrate really badly.


The Subaru forums are also full with owners complaining about battery problems, including the battery dying constantly with no known cause.

The engine starter often appears to malfunction, leading to difficulties in starting the cars. Owners had to replace the starters after less than a year of ownership. That’s not normal.

The infotainment system is not “entertaining” at all

Depending on the trim level, the 2024 Outback features either two stacked 7.0-inch touchscreens or a massive 11.6-inch vertical touchscreen for the infotainment system.

It comes with built-in navigation, a Wi-Fi hotspot, and wireless charging as optional. Apple CarPlay or Android Auto are standard. There’s also an available 12-speaker, 576-watt Harman Kardon audio system.

The basic, dual-screen setup looks really cheap, so it’s sort of mandatory to pay extra for the single large display. Even so, the resolution of the 11.6-inch screen isn’t particularly sharp, and that’s not even 10% of the problem.

The first annoying thing you’ll notice after owning the Outback for a few months will be the absence of buttons. Almost everything in the car is controlled through the touchscreen. And maybe you do love that, but what you’ll hate is the slow responsiveness of the said screen. Owners often complain that it takes 4-11 seconds for the screen to react to their inputs.

Most of the AC controls are buried deep in the menus of the infotainment system, even the Auto Hold function is a touchscreen input. So, you’ll find yourself having to go through the touchscreen display a lot while driving. Pair that with the slow responsiveness of the system and the car will beep you to focus your eyes on the road.

And that’s quite ironic, right? The driver monitoring system that tracks your eyes while driving will beep you for spending too much time looking at the infotainment screen when in fact, you don’t have a choice if you need to make some adjustments to the ventilation.

But there’s one workaround here. Wear a pair of sunglasses and a hat and that will trick the driver monitoring system, at least that’s what some owners claim.

And on top of all these, other owners' complaints about the infotainment system include black screens, excessive lag, dropped calls and phone connectivity issues.

No 360 degree camera option

As of now, there is no 360 degree camera option, or at least a front camera. That’s really disappointing and baffling. The Subaru Ascent comes with a 360-degree camera. Couldn’t they just take it from there?

The only camera you get in the Outback is a rear-view camera. And that’s quite low quality. During heavy rain, sunny days or when it’s really dark, the rear view camera becomes almost useless.

Do you know what’s also useless in the Outback? The voice response unit. You ask for Costco and you get Pasco. You need to check the calendar and it turns on maximum cooling.

And don’t pay for the built-in wireless charger. It might overheat your phone to emergency shut off levels.

And speaking of phones, we’ve also read reports from owners complaining that their iPhones stopped being recognized by the car, and they had to restart the car a couple of times for the problem to go away.

What can you say, the Outback is quite a whimsical vehicle that will hit you with random technological and electronics issues when you least expect it.

#2024subaruoutback #subaru

[pbeths]

My 2024 Outback has left us stranded twice with CVT and gasket problems. Since I purchased gold warranty Subaru has covered all costs including shipping it back to us when it was not safe to drive 600 miles from home. I have put more miles on loaners and rentals than the 2024 Outback. Second Outback but the last one!

[restaurantattheendofthegalaxy]

This is a low quality, low information review. Rattling off anecdotes of one user’s experience doesn’t really show incidence or causation of any particular problem. The Subaru Outback isn’t a Mercedes, everybody knows that. Everyone hates all touch infotainment systems & CVT transmissions, but guess what? All cars have them below a certain price level. Subarus are known for being reliable if maintained, period.

[chnactsnflwr]

Having a ‘10 Forester, ‘19 Crosstrek, and ‘24 Outback I’ve never had a problem. The maintenance is kept up and we haven’t been too hard on them. I’m very satisfied with my safe and reliable choices.

[ArthurHWT]

I have a 2024 Outback and have had none of the problems recounted on this video. After 10, 000 miles the only thing I have done is change the oil. It is recommended by Consumer Reports and has a very good frequency of repair record.

[paindoc]

I own a 2024 Subaru Outback with 11, 000 miles on it. My AC died on the hottest day of the year while driving to the Shore 2 days ago. I called several local dealers and no one would look at it Friday afternoon or on a Saturday. Today I will drive home in the heat. The dealer who I bought if from will service it on Tuesday. A new car should not have an AC fail.

[JesusTorres-bwbn]

I have a 2023 Forester and it’s great, the AC is amazing in 100 degree weather. I had a 2015 Forester before my current one and it had 228k miles with the original engine and transmission.

[ericpizarro]

I think Subaru is the most hated vehicle brand in the world. I never see many bad videos as I see with Subaru. Still we, who owns one or more Subarus knows how amazingly they drives. Their safety and their reliability is as good as Toyota and Honda. CR rate this brand above those two. I am on my # 5 one and will never buy another brand. This is coming from a guy who loves and still think beautifully about Toyota and Honda.

[RayGriffiths]

These people are exaggerating. I have a 2016 Outback with 228, 000 miles on it. I have never had a problem with the transmission.

[intrepid]

I have a 2020 Outback that I love! It works just fine, and aside from annual servicing & saftey inspection I've had no problems!

[scottw]

I have a 22 Outback Touring (non-turbo) and have had zero problems or issues, not even a squeak or rattle. After 2+ years of driving 44k miles my overall fuel average is 27.7 MPG and I get between 34-37 mpg on long highway trips. I would buy another Subaru without any hesitation.

[RomeoWhiskey]

Getting 2024 outback touring xt soon. Trading 2007 with 280k miles. Wife has 2019 3.6R. Awesome. Subies rock.

[fjg]

This review grossly exaggerates the issues. Consider the commentary with a grain of salt.

[ayyjae]

Have a 2021 outback premium . No problems at all except updating my info system and maps navigation all by myself which took 2 hours lol. Info system is laggy though. Had x3 nails on the same tire and patch them and still running strong lol . Love outbacks

[jhonrutger]

The 2 issues we had with our subaru (forester) was the USB socket would quit working and at 70, 000 miles the thermal control valve went out which would have cost 3, 000$ to fix if we didn't have the hook up we had. It's still a good vehicle but it's some things to be aware of.

[aasillak]

Have 4 Subaru’s currently still in the family 2016 Outback 2018 Crosstrek 2019 Outback and my 2022 Legacy. My 2022 has the most issues. 800 miles oil leak, battery issues always having to use a trickle charger, infotainment glitches and unresponsiveness, windshield just cracked at 5500 miles sitting in the garage overnight with no impact. I currently have 6600 miles. Buy your Subaru but get the extended warranty if you plan to keep it past 3yr/36k. Are we still going to own more? Yes.

[chrisferUtoob]

I can't stand the new direction of putting all the controls into these awful giant touch screens.

[LucjanBurakowskai]

I own 2018 outback 3.6 R my car. It’s good perfect none of this problems what you’re saying I’ve been driving for six years my CVT it’s good. I pulled the trailer. I don’t have no issues. My car is very reliable perfect for winter and with V6 got enough power and it’s not that bad on a guzzling too. It’s very good car. I’m proud of it.

[fnk]

My wife has a 2020 Outback touring xt. And she's never encountered these issues. Not sure if this applies to the 2024 model's

[cyrusizdivine]

I have experienced a lot of these issues in my 2022 Outback, and yet I still love it and am in talks to lease a new one. Take these issues with a big grain of salt - every car has its own issues, these ones are really not deal breakers and many you will find across all vehicles with these features. The overall experience with the Outback has been second to none - the safety features alone make it the gold standard.

[subiesojourner]

As I watch reviews of cars/SUV's/Trucks I'm hearing many reviews talked about the electronics/infotainment systems having issues. I'm in the market for a new car and I've pretty much narrowed it down to the 2024 Subaru Forester Wilderness. I've seen videos of the 2025, but I don't care for the Ford like front end and also the big infotainment screen.