"How reliable is the 2004 Subaru Outback?"

"Based on 108 NHTSA complaints, the 2004 Subaru Outback has a median complaint mileage of 67190 miles. The most common issue is Air Bags."

"What are common problems with the 2004 Subaru Outback?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2004 Subaru Outback is Air Bags, accounting for a significant portion of the 108 total complaints filed."

2004 Subaru Outback: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 108 complaints

108

Total Complaints

67,190mi

Median Mileage

Air Bags

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

16,000 25th Percentile

67,190 Median Mileage

102,250 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Air Bags

Vehicle Speed Control

Electrical System

Engine And Engine Cooling

Windshield

Suspension

Unknown Or Other

Fuel/Propulsion System

Fuel System, Gasoline

Automatic Transmission

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"MY 2004 SUBARU OUTBACK COMES EQUIPPED WITH FRONT SIDE AIRBAGS. WITH ONLY 900 MILES ON MY CAR, I WAS "T-BONED" BY A FORD EXPLORER UNDER FULL ACCELERATION. WE WERE STRUCK ON THE DRIVERS SIDE WITH ENOUGH IMPACT TO CAUSE MY WIFE, IN THE PASSENGER SEAT, TO HIT HER HEAD ON THE PASSENGER SIDE DOOR POST ..."

"ON A VERY COLD DAY THE WINDSHIELD CRACKED AFTER TURNING ON THE DEFROSTER. NO CRACKS WERE PREVIOUSLY OBSERVED ON THE WINDSHIELD. THE CAR IS ONLY 3 WEEKS OLD. *NLM"

"WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE SPUTTERED AND STALLED. CONSUMER COULDN'T SHIFT THE VEHICLE INTO DRIVE, AND COULDN'T REMOVE THE KEY FROM THE IGNITION. DEALER HAS REPLACED THE ALTERNATOR AND THE BATTERY, BUT THE PROBLEM STILL OCCURS. *AK"

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

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Air Bags 24 complaints

25th: 73,875 mi Median: 102,500 mi 75th: 167,500 mi

Vehicle Speed Control 18 complaints

25th: 19,500 mi Median: 67,000 mi 75th: 99,500 mi

Electrical System 6 complaints

25th: 36,039 mi Median: 100,000 mi 75th: 119,000 mi

Engine And Engine Cooling 5 complaints

25th: 8,500 mi Median: 32,000 mi 75th: 65,000 mi

Windshield 3 complaints

Median: 4,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 13 NY: 12 CO: 7 MA: 6 WV: 6 NJ: 6 MD: 5 PA: 5 VA: 5 ME: 5

Who Files Complaints?

30.6%

Original Owners

69.4%

Second+ Owners

Subaru Outback — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1996	57	115,000	Frontal	19
1997	94	103,995	Engine	7
1998	165	91,056	Engine	13
1999	150	87,000	Automatic Transmission	22
2000	247	78,000	Tires	22
2001	207	74,999	Fuel System, Gasoline	18
2002	171	75,000	Fuel System, Gasoline	14
2003	116	74,110	Air Bags	7
2005	353	85,000	Suspension	20
2006	404	95,316	Vehicle Speed Control	12
2007	182	83,000	Air Bags	17
2008	277	80,000	Air Bags	12
2009	141	71,396	Air Bags	2
2010	466	66,800	Power Train	20
2011	851	80,500	Power Train	35
2012	367	87,000	Power Train	18
2013	403	40,000	Engine	34
2014	275	30,500	Air Bags	26
2015	633	20,000	Visibility/Wiper	36
2016	757	34,000	Electrical System	37
2017	1091	30,000	Electrical System	55
2018	962	15,000	Electrical System	42
2019	1277	10,200	Electrical System	48
2020	1122	6,000	Visibility/Wiper	37
2021	394	3,250	Visibility/Wiper	16
2022	521	11,963	Visibility/Wiper	18
2023	118	6,000	Electrical System	15
2024	111	1,900	Visibility/Wiper	9
2025	87	1,249	Unknown Or Other	9

Active Recalls (11)

Federal safety recalls issued for this vehicle.

Inflator Module

Campaign 20V001000 | 02/01/2020

An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

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, 2020. Subaru Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Saab owners may contact

Inflator Module

Campaign 20V002000 | 02/01/2020

An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

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 contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Saab owners may contact the Saab Customer Assista

Inflator Module

Campaign 20V003000 | 02/01/2020

An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Inflator Module

Campaign 16V361000 | 25/05/2016

An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 24, 2016. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-856-488-8500. Subaru's number for this recall is TKC-16. Note: This recall covers vehicles that were not

Inflator Module

Campaign 16V358000 | 25/05/2016

An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 26, 2016. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-856-488-8500. Saab owners may contact GM at 1-800-955-9007. Su

Inflator Module

Campaign 15V323000 | 28/05/2015

In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

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 may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. The Saab recall began on July 27, 2015. Owne

Inflator Module

Campaign 16V359000 | 25/05/2016

An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Subaru will notify their owners. General Motors will notify Saab owners. Dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 24, 2016. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-856-488-8500. Subaru's number for this recall is TKB-16. Not

Air Bags

Campaign 14V763000 | 01/12/2014

In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passengers frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.

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 number for this recall is WQP-51. Note: This recall supersedes recall 14V-471. This recall has been

Fuel Pump

Campaign 13E065000 | 29/11/2013

A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.

Airtex will notify owners, and will replace the fuel pump, free of charge. Recall is expected to begin on January 2, 2014. Customers may contact Airtex at 1-800-880-3056. The recall is expected to begin during January 2014. This recall is being conducted by Airtex, not by Subaru.

Cables

Campaign 04V128000 | 16/03/2004

IF THIS OCCURS DURING VEHICLE OPERATION, THE DRIVER COULD LOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, WHICH COULD RESULT IN A CRASH.

DEALERS WILL INSTALL A CRUISE CONTROL CABLE RETAINING CLIP TO THE CRUISE CONTROL LEVER TAB ON THE THROTTLE SHAFT IN ORDER TO PREVENT THE CRUISE CONTROL CABLE FROM COMING OUT OF ITS TRACK. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON APRIL 12, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT SUBARU AT 1-800-782-2783.

Filler Pipe And Cap

Campaign 03V303000 | 20/08/2003

THIS COULD RESULT IN FUEL LEAKAGE. FUEL LEAKAGE IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE COULD RESULT IN A FIRE.

DEALERS WILL INSPECT AND TIGHTEN THE CLAMP ON THE FUEL FILLER HOSE. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN AUGUST 27, 2003. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT SUBARU AT 1-800-782-2783.

Airbag Safety

Based on the most common issues reported for this vehicle.

Check for open airbag recalls at NHTSA.gov using your VIN
Never ignore the airbag warning light — get it diagnosed immediately
Don't install aftermarket steering wheel covers that block the airbag
Keep the area around airbag deployment zones clear of accessories

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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