2005 Subaru Outback Problems, Recalls & Reliability
354 owner complaints sit in the federal file for the 2005 Subaru Outback, alongside 9 recall campaigns and 2 defect investigations. It scores 30/100 on the trouble index — a middle-of-the-pack year for this model. Electrical leads the reports, typically around 93,781 miles.
Typical
Where 2005 sits among all Outback years
What owners report
“Rear hatch harness wires are broken/ frayed. Backup lights do not work, and the rear wiper works intermittently. Every now and them rear defroster doesn't work. Hazard a lot of 2005-2009 outbacks have.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 Outback
“On any wet or snowy pavement car is ghost walking, like the rear end has marbles under it. Speed of 35 mph, straight driving, on wet pavement. Like a cat walking on its nails.terrified. Had alignment, new tires, new rear struts, sway bar, transmission wiring harness. Disabled abs so at least i…”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 Outback
“Car randomly goes limp while driving, accelerator will not respond. Have to put it in neutral and eek to the side of the road. Very dangerous! Check engine light illuminates, pulling a p2138 code.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 Outback
“Takata recall we called in may 2016 and were put on a "list" and told it would be 7-8 weeks. We were told not to have anyone sit in the passenger seat of our car, rendering it fairly useless. Now it is november, more than 6 months and we are still on the list and repair is still quoted at 2 months.”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 Outback
“4way connector brake line leaking causing no brakes. Could of got in serious accident hazzard to drive called about recall on this but the said my car vin number was not listed and we're very rude and she hung up on me. Had to put car in nutral to slow diwn”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 Outback
“Head gasket leak causing anti-freeze leaking.,. Began after 100k extended warranty expired. Told that caused due to defect in engine design. Later models with new design have not had problem. Subaru is knows about issue, but not taking any action to compensate for repair (ext. Cost around $3k).”— owner report to NHTSA, 2005 Outback
Mileage when trouble shows up
Among the 274 reports that include an odometer reading, problems most often appear around 86,785 miles. Half of those reports fall between 42,412 and 127,000 miles — a useful range to weigh against the mileage of the exact car you're looking at.
Recalls (9)
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of…
Fix: 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…
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (including STI), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of…
Fix: 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…
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester, 2003-2006 Baja, 2004-2011 Impreza, 2004-2014 WRX (STI included), 2003-2014 Legacy and Outback, and 2005-2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of…
Fix: 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,…
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2009-2013 Forester vehicles, 2008-2011 Impreza vehicles, 2008-2014 WRX vehicles, 2005-2014 Legacy vehicles, 2005-2014 Outback vehicles and 2006-2008 Tribeca vehicles equipped with a mechanical key ignition…
Fix: 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…
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Subaru Baja vehicles manufactured January 22, 2003, to July 21, 2004, 2004-2005 Impreza vehicles manufactured January 28, 2003, to May 31, 2005, 2003-2008 Subaru Legacy vehicles…
Fix: 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…
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Legacy and Outback vehicles, and 2003-2005 Baja vehicles sold, or ever registered, in geographic locations associated with high absolute humidity. Specifically, vehicles sold, or ever…
Fix: 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…
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2005-2009 Outback and Legacy, 2008-2011 Impreza and 2008-2014 Impreza WRX/STI, and 2009-2013 Forester vehicles, currently, or formerly, registered in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana,…
Fix: 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…
Subaru is recalling certain model year 2005-2009 Outback and Legacy vehicles manufactured from December 2003, through April 2009 and currently, or formerly, registered in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,…
Fix: 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…
THE LEFT AND RIGHT SIDE CURTAIN AIR BAGS IN CERTAIN VEHICLES INVOLVED IN THIS CAMPAIGN MAY NOT FULLY DEPLOY RAPIDLY ENOUGH WHEN ACTIVATED IN A SIDE IMPACT COLLISION. DURING A SIDE IMPACT TEST CONDUCTED BY THE INSURANCE INSTITUTE FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY (IIHS),…
Fix: 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. .
Federal defect investigations
Led to recall campaign 14V668.
Led to recall campaign 13V172000.
Complaint history for this model year
When owners filed their reports — a long tail means problems kept surfacing for years.
Questions buyers ask
Is the 2005 Subaru Outback reliable?
The 2005 Subaru Outback drew 354 complaints in federal safety records — a middle-of-the-pack year for this model. Its trouble index is 30/100, scored against the model's worst year (2019).
What are the most common 2005 Subaru Outback problems?
The top reported problems for the 2005 Subaru Outback are electrical (58 complaints), suspension (56), and speed control (40).
At what mileage do 2005 Subaru Outback problems show up?
Owners most often report 2005 Subaru Outback problems around 86,785 miles. Half of all reports that include an odometer reading fall between 42,412 and 127,000 miles.
Does the 2005 Subaru Outback have recalls?
9 recall campaigns apply to the 2005 Subaru Outback. Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.