RecallMyCar

2004 Subaru Outback Recalls, Complaints & Specs

10 safety recalls list the 2004 Subaru Outback, and owners have filed 90 complaints with NHTSA. Check your own VIN below.

10
safety recalls
90
owner complaints to NHTSA
9 / 4
complaints citing a crash / fire

10 safety recalls for the 2004 Subaru Outback

Most recent first. Recall repairs are free at any authorised dealer. Click a recall for the full defect, consequence and remedy text.

  1. Inflator module (air bags)

    NHTSA 20V001000 Reported 258,813 vehicles potentially affected Subaru of America, Inc.

    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 Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South…

    Remedy: 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…

  2. Inflator module (air bags)

    NHTSA 20V002000 Reported 127,547 vehicles potentially affected Subaru of America, Inc.

    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 Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas,…

    Remedy: 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…

  3. Inflator module (air bags)

    NHTSA 20V003000 Reported 111,562 vehicles potentially affected Subaru of America, Inc.

    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 Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan,…

    Remedy: 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…

  4. Inflator module (air bags)

    NHTSA 16V358000 Reported 302,127 vehicles potentially affected Subaru of America, Inc.

    Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Legacy, Outback, 2009-2011 Legacy, Outback, Forester, 2006-2011 Impreza, Tribeca, 2003-2006 Baja, and 2006 Saab 9-2x vehicles originally sold or that have ever been registered in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South…

    Remedy: 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…

  5. Inflator module (air bags)

    NHTSA 16V359000 Reported 146,010 vehicles potentially affected Subaru of America, Inc.

    Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Legacy, Outback, 2006-2008 Impreza, Tribeca, 2006 Saab 9-2x, and 2003-2006 Baja vehicles originally sold or that have ever been registered in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska,…

    Remedy: 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…

  6. Inflator module (air bags)

    NHTSA 16V361000 Reported 62,940 vehicles potentially affected Subaru of America, Inc.

    Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2003-2004 Legacy, Outback, and Baja vehicles originally sold or that have ever been registered in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota,…

    Remedy: 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…

  7. Inflator module (air bags)

    NHTSA 15V323000 Reported 432,016 vehicles potentially affected Subaru of America, Inc.

    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 manufactured January 22, 2003, to May 2, 2008, 2003-2008 Subaru Outback vehicles…

    Remedy: 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…

  8. Air bags

    NHTSA 14V763000 Reported 4,175 vehicles potentially affected Subaru of America, Inc.

    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 registered, in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Saipan,…

    Remedy: 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…

  9. Cables (vehicle speed control)

    NHTSA 04V128000 Reported 127,580 vehicles potentially affected SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC.

    On certain passenger sedans, wagons, and sport utility vehicles, the cruise control cable could come out of its track on the cruise control lever and lodge on the control lever tab when the accelerator pedal is released. If this condition occurs, the throttle will not return to the idle position and will remain in an open position.

    Remedy: 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…

  10. Filler pipe and cap (fuel system)

    NHTSA 03V303000 Reported 7,874 vehicles potentially affected SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC.

    Certain passenger or sport utility vehicles may have a loose or out of position fuel filler hose clamp.

    Remedy: 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.

90 owner complaints filed with NHTSA

Owners of the 2004 Subaru Outback have filed 90 complaints with NHTSA; 9 describe a crash and 4 describe a fire. Reports cite 4 injuries and 0 deaths. The average mileage at failure in those reports is 82,336 miles. Complaints peaked in 2016 with 12 filed that year.

Most-reported components

What owners are reporting

“Autozone sold me (via warranty exchange) aftermarket brake pads that supposedly were the same part #d929 as the brake pads autozone had previously sold me and was replacing under warranty. However, th”

Owner complaint to NHTSA, October 17, 2020 · Service brakes

“I get cards,i call,i get letters ,i call doesn't matter who sends them,you or subaru dealer ,telling me i need to have an AIRBAG swapped out as being defective,and me telling you i do not have the car”

Owner complaint to NHTSA, July 26, 2019 · Air bags

Compare Subaru Outback model years

Recall and complaint counts for every Subaru Outback model year in NHTSA's database.

Model yearRecallsComplaints
1995 Subaru Outback12
1996 Subaru Outback246
1997 Subaru Outback479
1998 Subaru Outback2127
1999 Subaru Outback1111
2000 Subaru Outback1207
2001 Subaru Outback3171
2002 Subaru Outback4143
2003 Subaru Outback1493
2004 Subaru Outback1090
2005 Subaru Outback9273
2006 Subaru Outback7277
2007 Subaru Outback8129
2008 Subaru Outback8226
2009 Subaru Outback13106
2010 Subaru Outback18360
2011 Subaru Outback16652
2012 Subaru Outback16292
2013 Subaru Outback12297
2014 Subaru Outback10208
2015 Subaru Outback5510
2016 Subaru Outback4643
2017 Subaru Outback4917
2018 Subaru Outback3813
2019 Subaru Outback31,035
2020 Subaru Outback6899
2021 Subaru Outback4296
2022 Subaru Outback4465
2023 Subaru Outback289
2024 Subaru Outback0103
2025 Subaru Outback081
2026 Subaru Outback016

Checking a specific 2004 Subaru Outback

How do I know if my 2004 Subaru Outback has an open recall?

Enter your 17-character VIN above. The VIN is on the driver's side dashboard (visible through the windshield), the driver's door jamb sticker, and your registration or insurance card. The check runs against NHTSA's live database and tells you which campaigns list your vehicle. 10 campaigns currently list the 2004 Subaru Outback; your car may already have been repaired under some of them.

Is the recall repair free?

Yes. Under federal law, manufacturers must fix safety recalls at no charge for vehicles up to 15 years old from the date of sale to the first owner. Contact any authorised Subaru dealer with your VIN and the NHTSA campaign number (for example 03V303000).

What is the difference between a recall and a complaint?

A recall is a safety campaign filed by the manufacturer or ordered by NHTSA, with a defined defect and remedy. A complaint is a report an owner sent to NHTSA; it is not verified, but patterns of complaints are what trigger NHTSA investigations and, eventually, recalls.

Other Subaru models

Source: NHTSA recall and complaint databases and EPA fuel economy data, October 2026. Complaint counts are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. Recall counts are safety campaigns that list this model year; whether a particular car was already repaired depends on its VIN. How this data is compiled.