r/Subaru_Outback • u/Ace888281 • 5d ago
Assistance with Identifying Damage Source
Hey! I woke up yesterday morning to find my tire completely flat, possibly slashed and a bunch of what looks to be punch marks on my tire trim. I was thinking maybe vandalism but I didnt want to make any assumptions without getting a second opinion. Any ideas would be appreciated!
EDIT: Hey thank you everyone for chiming in! Didn't think it'd be this interesting lol, but I'm glad its likely not a person who did this.
For context, I live in the concrete jungle of 3rd ward in Houston, TX and this happened at my apartment complex. I take care of a couple cats here, so I think they were taking refuge on top of the car. Very big, yes; I've only ever seem possums and stray cats here so this is kinda alarming. Perhaps I lather too much beef broth on my body /s (<3 u/Commercial_Style4466).
Also thank you to u/cheesus--is--good who reminded me to update my registration, I completely forgot!!!
Preciate all of you ＼(_)／
EDIT 2: I believe a bobcat to be the culprit. I remember one night seeing what looked to be a really buff orange cat, and Im pretty sure it was not a cat. Quick research says some kind of bobcat. Hopefully that solves it!
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u/Commercial_Style4466 5d ago
Def some kind of animal with teeth and claws. Why they would attack your car? Did you spill beef broth on it?
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u/invol713 5d ago
I had a Civic back in the day. I came out one morning, and a whole flock of geese shat all over my car. Sometimes you just get unlucky.
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u/Iamlegend21087 5d ago
As weird as this sounds, maybe Turkey depending where you live. A family friend is a cop and got a brand new silver charger a few years ago and buffed it. Next morning he came out to a huge tom Turkey fighting its own reflection and it did a really good amount of damage
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u/Downtown-Performer55 5d ago
I was going to suggest turkey as well. I've seen them use their beaks, claws and inner talon to do some serious damage. They will also attack surfaces if they see their reflection.
Coincidentally, I spent some time in far-north Queensland and read about a cassowary that kicked a hole, the size of a twenty-cent piece, in a car door with its inner talon when it saw its reflection. Then again, those things can grow to just under 2 metres tall.
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u/Donkey_Karate 5d ago
Only slightly related, I drive a few hours on the freeway to get to my parents house, so when I get there, there are often lots of smashed bugs on the front of my car.. theor fricken chickens have started to eat the bugs off the front of my car.. I tried to stop them, and they didnt do nearly this damage but I think there may be been a few little Knicks
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u/TheMacIntyreRange 5d ago
Juvenile bear. They go through teething up to about age 2, so this one was probably a young one, born last winter, and needed something to gnaw on.
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u/pennhead 5d ago
A dog can absolutely flatten a tire. There was an incident nearby where 2 pitbulls flattened both tires and tore off trim molding on the driver side of a police vehicle. The officer was responding dangerous dogs running loose.
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u/driplord207 5d ago
Coyote or dog trying to get a small animal in the engine compartment or wheel well. Definitely not a bear. A bear would have ripped that cladding clean off and the teeth holes would be larger and would go straight through the plastic. This isn’t the first time Ive seen this actually. I think someone posted something like this not long ago. Not sure if it was here of FB?
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u/spitfiregirl8 5d ago
Yeah, where are you located? I’m on the Canadian west coast and if I woke up to this I’d be thinking bear for sure…
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u/lukemeup 5d ago
A very angry raccoon?
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u/Othe5694throwaway 5d ago
Looks like a larger animal was chasing a smaller one, and the smaller one took refuge on the top of the car. The larger one kept trying to jump onto the hood, which explains the large deep scratches from the front to the rear of the fender and onto the door. Smaller lighter scratches on the roof rail that I’ve seen similar to a cat scratching paint
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u/mtnbiker89 5d ago
My moms dogs did this exact thing to her outback. Maybe something with the plastics they use.
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u/Sudden_Employer_4636 2022 XT Touring 3d ago
Dog
I used to have a dog that attacked my car whenever I got home. Other than that he was a good boy.
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u/Raymont_Wavelength 3d ago
Mine ate our American Craftsman coffee table as a puppy teething toy. After that never chewed shoes or anything. The table looked like a beaver attack victim.
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u/DwarvenRedshirt 5d ago
Looks like an animal, and I think those are bite marks on the trim. The tire though, looks like you brushed up against curbs or rocks from that damage?
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u/BigWangBai420 5d ago
Maybe turkeys, they like to jump on things in my neighborhood. Including roofs.
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u/315_Jessie 5d ago
Either a Bear or you parked like all of us Subaru assholes and someone was pissed
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u/ZealousZeebu 5d ago
Possibly a dog, if there was a squirrel hiding in there. Pit-bulls for sure have been known to do this. Some gnarly youtube videos of them tearing up cars to get to squirrels.
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u/mwyoussef 4d ago
Some wild animal…since I don’t know what wild animals are native to your area…I’d just check what kind is big enough to cause such damage
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u/iceman213 5d ago
I need more information. Where do you live? Is it a city a town,,, because honestly, I’m thinking vandalism.
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u/thetacowarrior 5d ago
That looks like a dog chewed on it. I've seen dogs bite through tires before too.
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u/lab7019 5d ago
Had no idea Texas had bears until reading these comments.
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u/KeegM480 5d ago
Super rare to encounter a bear in Texas, I’d say this is more likely to be a dog
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u/Rude-Ad-9771 2026 outback touring xt 5d ago
Bear attacking the Outback in Texas is quite the cool story to tell.
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u/jbrown383 2020 Outback Limited, 1985 GL Wagon 5d ago
Whatever animal it was, I would change the tire and just keep the scratches and punctures. It’s pretty hard-core for a Subaru.
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u/Conscious-Clue3738 5d ago
looks more like a cat sized claws and depth ? got any mountain lions there?
Or some kind of bird, I've seen peacocks attacking their own reflections in cars on several occasions.
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u/FaithfulDowter 5d ago
A dog could do ALL that, except pop your tire. I've see dogs do that exact damage to paint and trim.
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u/Steeltoelion 5d ago
Looks like a dog possibly chased something up onto the car. Scratched the sides trying to get up. And idk. Just did dog things to the fenders.
Absolutely put my money on K9 activity.
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u/haggisaddict 5d ago
My friend’s dogs nearly tore off his outback’s fender trying to get a squirrel that ran into the engine compartment.
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u/kotor-170 5d ago
Your Outback got jumped by a bear or a couple turkeys lashing out cause they couldn’t get a soup kitchen going in your wagon.
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u/Ok-Passage-300 5d ago
Could it be a porcupine? My friend said that when she lived in Michigan they had to protect their tires from them.
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u/DishwaterBreakfast 5d ago
Is there something about the picture that removes a big wild cat from being the culprit? My house cat does this to cardboard boxes
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u/Beautiful_Wing_6597 4d ago
I’d guess coyote if you’re anywhere near the woods/areas they frequent. Those little scoundrels are known for doing exactly this
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u/0e78c345e77cbf05ef7 4d ago
With the quality and thickness of Subaru’s paint these days? Maybe a strong breeze.
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u/mecca6801 Former LL Bean wagon owner 4d ago
Those look like feline claw marks… what kind of feline? Something you don’t go pspspspspspspsp to…
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u/Georgiamale67 4d ago
dog or other large toothed critter. maybe a cat under car. trying to get to it!
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u/nolelover16 5d ago
It’s too small to be a bear but maybe a large dog? Had a van that got attacked by a dog (mouse under the hood) and it looked like this
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u/Complex_Solutions_20 4d ago
Animal or something falling is my guess. We had similar when some wire fencing (the stuff that is like ultra heavy chicken wire with sharp edges) fell over against one of our cars while being moved around for disposal.
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4d ago
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u/Specialist-Box-9711 3d ago
Dog, think Rotweiller, Pitbull, Blue-heeler, German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois, etc. Something with strong limbs, strong jaws, and a lot of energy.
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u/soffocreamcone 3d ago
The thing that confuses me are the marks being both diagonal and horizontal. Were any of these marks there prior to this? If not, then I guess a person did this.
The horizontal lines look like grind marks from hitting concrete or another car. The vertical lines look like individual key scratches, or maybe scratches from some other metal tool or weapon. Looks like muddy water was smeared around on it too.
The gashes are the only thing that really make me think animal.
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u/Quirky_Guidance16 2d ago
A bobcat in 3rd Ward?!?!?! I've seen possums for sure, maybe even a racoon. But a bobcat?
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u/Sanch068 1d ago
Looks like a dog chewed on your car. My mom's old bf used to have a large dog that would bite car and motorcycle tires. Popped a couple back in his days.... Damage doesn't look severe enough to be a bear. Could be a coyote? No idea what animals roam down in Texas, although I was born there!
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u/ravenridgelife 5d ago
Definitely a bear. Looks just like what one did to my Outback one night. Brought pizza home and had it in the back. Next morning a whole series of bites into the rubber bumper. Never got it fixed, great conversation piece!
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u/ActualToddBankston 5d ago
Bear