Factory build sheet
2012 Subaru Outback Limited +M/R+6CD HK
Build 4S4BRBKC-3 · 2.5L 4cyl · Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV)
VIN positions 1 through 8 read 4S4BRBKC and position 10 reads 3. Those nine characters define this build. Position 9 and positions 11 through 17 differ on every car.
Every Outback whose VIN starts 4S4BRBKC and carries 3 in position 10 left the plant with the same engine, transmission, drivetrain and equipment listed below. We know of 1 of them.
- Decoded Jul 7, 2026
- 1 known VINs
Factory specification
As filed by Subaru with NHTSA for this build. Fields the filing does not record are left out entirely — a missing row means no recorded value, not a missing feature.
Engine
- Displacement
- 2.5 L
- Cylinders
- 4
- Configuration
- Horizontally opposed
- Engine model
- 2.5NA U5
- Engine manufacturer
- Subaru
- Turbocharged
- No
- Fuel type
- Gasoline
Body & chassis
- Body class
- Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV)/Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV)
- NHTSA body type
- MULTIPURPOSE PASSENGER VEHICLE (MPV)
- Doors
- 4
- Manufacturer
- SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC
Weight rating
- GVWR class
- Class 1C
- GVWR
- 4,001–5,000 lb
Gross vehicle weight rating is the loaded ceiling set by the manufacturer, not the car's own weight.
The same build, other model years
Subaru used the VIN pattern 4S4BRBKC for 5 model years. Nothing but the year changes between these pages, so the price gap between them is depreciation on an identical car.
- 2010 Limited+M/R+6CD HK 2.5L 4cyl Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) · 2,103 vehicles code A $6,195
- 2011 Limited +M/R+6CD HK 2.5L Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) · 4,729 vehicles code B $7,800
-
2012 You are here code 3
- 2012 Limited +M/R+6CD HK 2.5L 4cyl Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) · 3,240 vehicles code C $6,999
- 2014 Limited +CWP 2.5L 4cyl Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) · 669 vehicles code E
How this VIN pattern is read
A 17-character VIN carries two kinds of information: what was built, and which one it is. This page is the first kind — the nine highlighted positions.
| Positions | Characters | What they encode |
|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | 4S4 | SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC · World manufacturer identifier |
| 4–8 | BRBKC | Model, body style, engine and restraint system |
| 9 | × | Check digit — computed per vehicle, not part of the build |
| 10 | 3 | Model year — 2012 |
| 11 | × | Assembly plant |
| 12–17 | ×××××× | Production sequence number, unique to each vehicle |
NHTSA safety ratings
Crash-test results are published per model year and body style, so they cover the 2012 Subaru Outback as a whole rather than this build alone.
Overall
★★★★ ★ 4 / 5
Frontal crash
★★★★ ★ 4 / 5
Side crash
★★★★ ★ 4 / 5
Rollover
★★★★ ★ 4 / 5
16 recall campaigns are recorded for the 2012 Outback. Recalls are issued per VIN range — check the VIN of the car you are looking at, not the model.
1 vehicles carry this build
Every VIN we have decoded to 4S4BRBKC-3 shares the specification above.
- 1 Known VINs
Keep going
Where this data comes from
Specification fields are decoded from the manufacturer's filings in the NHTSA vPIC database, keyed on VIN positions 1–8 and 10. We publish the filed values as they stand and leave out anything the filing does not record.
Vehicle counts come from the 1 VINs of this build we have seen in dealer inventory. They are a sample of the road population, not a production figure.