Service bulletins for the 2012 Subaru Outback
A bulletin is a manufacturer's communication to its dealers, as NHTSA indexes it. The summary is NHTSA's. The document is the manufacturer's: read it at NHTSA. A bulletin is not a recall, and listing a model year does not mean every vehicle of it is concerned.
325 on file from NHTSA, as of 2026-10-19.
By type
By component
By trouble code
| SM04 | 2017-03-01. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL. SUBARU SERVICE PROGRAM WQC-39: ECM REPROGRAMMING |
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| 12-124-10R | 2017-02-28. Service bulletin. VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY. SUNROOF BINDS: IF YOU ENCOUNTER A CUSTOMER COMPLAINT WHEN OPENING THE SUNROOF (THE GLASS OPENS ABOUT ONE INCH THEN STOPS, MAKES A SQUEAK TYPE SOUND AND/OR OPENS HALFWAY THEN BINDS), THE WEDGE CAP MAY BE OUT OF ALIGNMENT. |
| 18-164-12 | 2017-02-28. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL. SERVICE MANUAL CORRECTIONS - THE PURPOSE OF THIS BULLETIN IS TO PROVIDE A DESCRIPTION OF CURRENT CHANGES TO SERVICE MANUALS AVAILABLE VIA THE SUBARU TECHNICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM (STIS) WEB SITE. |
| 03-67-12R | 2017-02-28. Service bulletin. POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. HAS EXTENDED THE AVAILABILITY OF REMANUFACTURED CVT TRANSMISSIONS TO INCLUDE CROSSTREK, FORESTER AND IMPREZA APPLICATIONS. PLEASE CHECK APPLICATIONS AND AVAILABILITY THROUGH NORMAL PARTS CHANNELS PRIOR TO MAKING VEHICLE REPAIRS. RETAILERS ARE REQUIRED TO USE A REMANUFACTURED UNIT FOR ALL REPAIRS REIMBURSED BY SUBARU THAT REQUIRE A MAJOR REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT, EXCEPT IN THE CASE OF A “NEW” AND “IN-STOCK” VEHICLE. |
| 06-52-15 | 2017-02-27. Service bulletin. SERVICE BRAKES. "THIS BULLETIN PROVIDES AN INSPECTION AND ADJUSTMENT PROCEDURE TO ADDRESS A DTC C0075 WHICH MAY BE STORED IN THE VEHICLE DYNAMICS CONTROL AND HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT (VDCCM&HCU). THE DTC RELATES TO INCORRECT INPUTS TO WHEEL CYLINDER PRESSURE SENSORS DUE TO AIR IN THE HYDRAULIC BRAKE LINES. IN ADDITION, ON IMPREZA AND XV CROSSTREK, AN IMPROPERLY ADJUSTED BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH (BLS) MAY ALSO CAUSE THE DTC." |
| 02-162-15R | 2017-02-27. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT. "THIS SERVICE INFORMATION BULLETIN ANNOUNCES A DESIGN CHANGE TO THE OIL PRESSURE SWITCH ASSEMBLY. NICKEL PLATING HAS BEEN APPLIED TO THE INTERNAL SWITCH CONTACTS TO ENHANCE THEIR DURABILITY AND REDUCE THE POSSIBILITY OF POOR CONTACT WHICH COULD AFFECT OPERATION OR CAUSE IMPROPER ILLUMINATION OF THE OIL PRESSURE WARNING LAMP. A SMALL PILOT PORTION WAS ADDED TO THE THREADED AREA ON P.N. 25240KA051 AS SHOWN IN THE ILLUSTRATION BELOW. REVISED PRODUCTION CHANGE INFORMATION." |
| 02-162-15 | 2017-02-27. Service bulletin. ENGINE. "THIS SERVICE INFORMATION BULLETIN ANNOUNCES A DESIGN CHANGE TO THE OIL PRESSURE SWITCH ASSEMBLY. NICKEL PLATING HAS BEEN APPLIED TO THE INTERNAL SWITCH CONTACTS TO ENHANCE THEIR DURABILITY AND REDUCE THE POSSIBILITY OF POOR CONTACT WHICH COULD AFFECT OPERATION OR CAUSE IMPROPER ILLUMINATION OF THE OIL PRESSURE WARNING LAMP. A SMALL PILOT PORTION WAS ADDED TO THE THREADED AREA ON P.N. 25240KA051 AS SHOWN IN THE ILLUSTRATION BELOW." |
| 15-185-15R | 2017-02-27. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. THIS SERVICE INFORMATION BULLETIN IS INTENDED TO PROVIDE HELPFUL INSIGHT TO USE WHEN RESPONDING TO CUSTOMER INQUIRIES INVOLVING THE PAIRING AND USE OF CELLULAR PHONES WITH CLARION AUDIO UNITS. THIS INCLUDES CUSTOMER CONCERNS WHERE THE PHONE WILL NOT AUTOMATICALLY PAIR ITSELF BUT INSTEAD REQUIRES MANUAL PHONE SELECTION ON THE AUDIO UNIT TO ALLOW PAIRING TO PROCEED. |
| 15-185-15 | 2017-02-22. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:RADIO/TAPE DECK/CD ETC.. THIS SERVICE INFORMATION BULLETIN IS INTENDED TO PROVIDE HELPFUL INSIGHT TO USE WHEN RESPONDING TO CUSTOMER INQUIRIES INVOLVING THE PAIRING AND USE OF CELLULAR PHONES WITH CLARION AUDIO UNITS. THIS INCLUDES CUSTOMER CONCERNS WHERE THE PHONE WILL NOT AUTOMATICALLY PAIR ITSELF BUT INSTEAD REQUIRES MANUAL PHONE SELECTION ON THE AUDIO UNIT TO ALLOW PAIRING TO PROCEED. |
| 16-95-15 | 2017-02-22. Service bulletin. POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION; ENGINE. "THIS BULLETIN PROVIDES A DIAGNOSTIC PROCEDURE FOR CONFIRMATION OF A SUSPECTED CVT CHAIN SLIP CONDITION. EXAMPLES OF CUSTOMER CONCERNS MAY BE: ABNORMAL TRANSMISSION OPERATING SOUNDS, A SHUDDER OR VIBRATION SENSATION, LACK OF POWER, HESITATION, ENGINE RPM RISE WITHOUT INCREASE IN VEHICLE SPEED OR IN ISOLATED CASES, A CHECK ENGINE LAMP ILLUMINATION (WITH ENGINE MISFIRE DTCS STORED IN THE ECM MEMORY)." |
| WQH-44M | 2017-02-17. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT. "WE HAVE RECEIVED SEVERAL CALLS FROM DEALERS WHO HAVE CUSTOMERS ELIGIBLE FOR THE WQH44 SUBARU CARPETED FLOOR MAT RECALL BUT DO NOT HAVE THE ORIGINAL MATS THAT WERE IN THE VEHICLE AT THE TIME OF SALE. IN MOST CASES, THE CUSTOMERS HAVE STATED THAT THEY HAVE DISCARDED OR DESTROYED THE MATS. IN OTHER INSTANCES, THE CUSTOMERS INDICATED THAT THEIR VEHICLE DID NOT HAVE THE MATS WHEN THEY PURCHASED THE VEHICLE. IF, OR WHEN, THIS SITUATION ARISES, PLEASE FILL OUT THE ATTACHED FORM AND HAVE THE CUSTOMER SIGN IT AND RETAIN THE SIGNED FORM WITH THE REPAIR ORDER. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT THE CLAIMS HELPLINE AT 866-782-2782." |
| 18-173-13 | 2017-02-17. Service bulletin. TIRES:TREAD/BELT; EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL; TIRES. THE PURPOSE OF THIS BULLETIN IS TO PROVIDE A DESCRIPTION OF CURRENT CHANGES TO SERVICE MANUALS AVAILABLE VIA THE SUBARU TECHNICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM (STIS) WEB SITE. THE TABLES CONTAINED WITHIN THIS BULLETIN ARE TO BE USED AS GUIDES FOR BECOMING AWARE OF THE LATEST CHANGES. WE ADVISE YOU TO ALWAYS REFER TO THE STIS WEB SITE WHEN LOOKING FOR THE LATEST SERVICE INFORMATION. PRINTED PAGES WILL NOT BE MADE AVAILABLE TO UPDATE PRINTED SERVICE MANUALS. |
| 15-152-12R | 2017-02-17. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL. THIS BULLETIN CONTAINS ILLUSTRATIONS OF EXCHANGE COMPONENTS AND THEIR MANUFACTURER AS WELL AS A DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPER EXCHANGE PROCEDURE. THE EXCHANGE PROGRAM POLICY CAN ALSO BE FOUND IN SECTIONS 8.4.9 AND 11.2.10 OF YOUR SERVICE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL FOUND IN SUBARUNET. |
| 15-165-13 | 2017-02-17. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. THIS BULLETIN ANNOUNCES THE AVAILABILITY OF REPROGRAMMING FILES TO ADDRESS CUSTOMER CONCERNS OF THE BLUETOOTH AUDIO STREAMING FEATURE OPERATING WITHOUT BEING SELECTED. THIS CAUSES THE SOURCE’S (SMARTPHONE, IPOD®, IPHONE®, MP3 PLAYER) BATTERY TO DRAIN UNEXPECTEDLY. THE UPDATE WILL INITIATE AN “OFF” SIGNAL TO THE MEDIA DEVICE SHOULD BLUETOOTH AUDIO STREAMING BEGIN WITHOUT A REQUEST FROM THE VEHICLE’S AUDIO UNIT. THE REPROGRAMMING FILES ARE ACCESSIBLE VIA: SUBARUNET > SERVICE > CLARION DOWNLOADS AND WILL NEED TO BE DOWNLOADED ONTO A DEDICATED NEW OR COMPLETELY EMPTY AND FORMATTED USB STORAGE DEVICE (FLASH DRIVE) FOR INSTALLATION INTO THE AUDIO UNIT THROUGH THE AUDIO SYSTEM’S USB PORT. IMPORTANT: READ THROUGH AND UNDERSTAND THIS SERVICE PROCEDURE COMPLETELY BEFORE PROCEEDING ANY FURTHER AS DAMAGE TO THE AUDIO UNIT MAY RESULT IF PROPER PRECAUTIONS OUTLINED BELOW ARE NOT FOLLOWED. |
| 12-169-14 | 2017-02-15. Service bulletin. STRUCTURE. “CLICK”, “POP” OR “CREEK” SOUND FROM LEFT OR RIGHT OUTER COWL CORNER / BASE OF “A” PILLAR AREA - THIS BULLETIN PROVIDES A REPAIR PROCEDURE TO ADDRESS CUSTOMER CONCERNS OF A “CLICK”, “POP” OR “CREEK” SOUND HEARD COMING FROM EITHER THE LEFT OR RIGHT SIDE AROUND THE REAR CORNERS OF THE COWL / ENGINE COMPARTMENT / BASE OF “A” PILLAR AREA. |
| 12-147-13R | 2017-02-15. Service bulletin. WHEELS. POP SOUND FROM RIGHT REAR WHEEL APRON AREA - THE PURPOSE OF THIS BULLETIN IS TO PROVIDE A REPAIR PROCEDURE TO ADDRESS A CUSTOMER CONCERN OF A “POP” TYPE SOUND COMING FROM THE RIGHT REAR WHEEL APRON AREA. |
| 04-14-15R | 2017-02-04. Service bulletin. STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST:PUMP. THIS BULLETIN ANNOUNCES AVAILABILITY OF A DESIGN CHANGE TO THE POWER STEERING PUMP TO ADDRESS CUSTOMER CONCERNS OF INCREASED STEERING EFFORT, ESPECIALLY IN COLD TEMPERATURES. REVISED TO SPECIFY H4 MODELS ONLY. |
| 18-176-15 | 2017-02-03. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL. THE PURPOSE OF THIS BULLETIN IS TO PROVIDE A DESCRIPTION OF CURRENT CHANGES TO SERVICE MANUALS AVAILABLE VIA THE SUBARU TECHNICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM (STIS) WEB SITE. |
| 06-49-15 | 2017-02-03. Service bulletin. SERVICE BRAKES, AIR:ANTILOCK:ABS WARNING LIGHT; WHEELS. IN RESPONSE TO ISOLATED REPORTS OF CRACKED OR BROKEN ABS WHEEL SPEED SENSOR HARNESS RETAINING CLIPS CAUSED BY REACTION WITH ACIDS USED IN SOME WHEEL CLEANERS, THE CLIP MATERIAL HAS BEEN CHANGED TO POLYPROPYLENE (PPO). |
| 07-84-14 | 2017-02-02. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL. REVISED B1650 DIAGNOSTICS AND ODS REZEROING PROCEDURE |
| 12-166-14 | 2017-02-02. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT. REVISED L/FRONT DASH SPEAKER GRILLE |
| 07-84-14 | 2016-12-29. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL. REVISED B1650 DIAGNOSTICS AND ODS REZEROING PROCEDURE |
| 15-157-12R | 2016-12-02. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL. THIS BULLETIN CONTAINS ILLUSTRATIONS OF EXCHANGE COMPONENTS AND THEIR MANUFACTURER AS WELL AS A DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPER EXCHANGE PROCEDURE. THE EXCHANGE PROGRAM POLICY CAN ALSO BE FOUND IN SECTIONS 8.4.9 AND 11.2.10 OF YOUR SERVICE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL FOUND IN SUBARUNET. 2013MY SUBARU VEHICLES |
| 12-166-14 | 2016-11-30. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT. REVISED L/FRONT DASH SPEAKER GRILLE |
| 12-147-13 | 2016-11-29. Service bulletin. WHEELS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS BULLETIN IS TO PROVIDE A REPAIR PROCEDURE TO ADDRESS A CUSTOMER CONCERN OF A “POP” TYPE SOUND COMING FROM THE RIGHT REAR WHEEL APRON AREA. THE SOUND MAY OCCUR OVER BUMPS WHEN A TWISTING MOTION IS INTRODUCED INTO THE VEHICLE CHASSIS AT LOW SPEEDS. AFTER VERIFYING THE CUSTOMER’S CONCERN AND PERFORMING THE PROCEDURE, BE SURE TO ROAD TEST THE CAR AGAIN TO CONFIRM THE SOUND HAS BEEN ELIMINATED. |
The summaries are NHTSA's. Each bulletin's page links NHTSA's copy of the manufacturer's document.