Subaru Outback Complaints

1,029 consumer complaints on file.

#11533520July 20, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING
My car's battery died when I was on vacation. A friend of mine tried to jump start with his car and he couldn't. Then a roadside service jump started the car. After the jump start I was told to drive the car around so that it can charge the battery. The car did two unexpected things: 1- The steering was jittery and sometimes moving to the opposite direction that I was turning. This issue has been confirmed by the dealership. 2- When I was at a traffic light, my foot was on the brake, both traction control and brake warning lights came on and the car moved couple of inches forwards while my foot was firmly on the brake. This happened more than once to me but did not happen at the dealership. And the car didn't hold the charge at all after driving for more than 30 minutes. Meanwhile the car got towed to Subaru dealership (EastSide Subaru in Seattle) and they replaced the battery as a fix. But they did not provide any information about why all those issues happened and how to avoid them in the future. My concern is this, a brand-new car shouldn't have lost all its power in the first place. If it did, it should have charged itself with driving after jump-start and it should have been safe to drive even on low battery. Subaru advertises heavily to be the 'adventure' vehicle, image all what I explained happened to you on top of a mountain or remote places.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11533395July 20, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Spontaneous crack in front windshield, passenger side near edge of wiper blade, dealer says not covered by warranty, had not been inspected yet. Have pictures
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11532482July 15, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Case Number: # 230715-1900405 The car was just sitting in the garage, I got up the next day and saw a huge crack starting from the passenger side of the windshield for no reason. My 2022 outback is a year old, there is no origin of the crack, no chip! It seems to be a clean crack as if someone cut it! We are legitimately concerned about the cause and how easily this crack appeared on the windshield without being hit and is expanding too! We trusted Subaru with its safety excellency but this crack is a huge safety concern for us and it really doesn’t seem like it appeared because of a chip or anything. Dealership says it could be because of banging the door or cold hot climate changes, does this mean we need to change windshield every season or every time someone bangs the door? It’s been just above a year we got this car and we certainly didn’t get expect to see a crack this huge without any reason for it!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11532249July 14, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Windshield cracked on passenger side of vehicle without any impact to glass, extreme temperature change, or pressure change. Crack continues to grow, doubling in length in a matter of minutes.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11531503July 11, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
The original windshield cracked a month into ownership of the vehicle. I took it to a Subaru dealership and paid out of pocket to have them install a new OEM windshield. A year later, the windshield cracked again starting from the top edge, and was not caused by a rock or other object. The vehicle was parked when the crack formed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11531386July 10, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Observed 3 cracks on the Subaru outback - Touring Windshield and instances as below: First Crack observed on 1st of July 11 am Second crack on 4th of July around at 4:15 PM Third crack on 4th of July at 8 PM Case opened with Subaru of America with case num: Case # 230707-1700738 5th July i had visited a Subaru dealer in Missoula,Montana but it was no help. 10th July visited Eastside Subaru and shared the photos for further diagnosis. now they are asking me to take one more appointment with the dealer removing the tape and taking the photos again. As the eye sight protection is the key in safety of Subaru driver and passengers this will lead to dangerous situation. There are no warning lamps or symptoms observed before the incident
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11531247July 10, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
A crack appeared on the windshield without anything hitting it and spread up
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11530997July 7, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
On 10/10/21 my wife and I were sitting in a parking lot when we heard a loud crack. The windshield of my Subaru cracked from midline on the passenger side post thru the middle of the windshield. After going through SOA and multiple times back to the dealer, the dealership repaired the windshield for no charge. Three weeks ago my wife and I were sitting at my son's house and a crack appeared once again starting at the bottom of the passenger side, up and through the center of my windshield. I will be working with the dealership to have this one replaced. They told me my first windshield replacement was "complimentary, and one time" so I am not sure how this new repair will go. These windshields have to be considered a safety issue based on the numbers I am starting to see on line.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11530987July 7, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Our 2022 Subaru Outback windshield has been replaced on 2 occasions & repaired on 1 occasion due to cracking caused by unknown impacts. It has now cracked again while passing a vehicle on the interstate. The vehicle had just 16250 miles at the time of this occurrence. Sadly, we have had more windshield changes than oil changes at this point. Thankfully, we haven't experienced any issues regarding warning lamps or malfunctions of the safety systems as the cracks have not propagated into the cameras line of sight, but we're only one incident away from that possibility. Hopefully this won't result in a safety system malfunction.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11530412July 5, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Have owned the vehicle less than a year and it has already acquired 2 chips. One of the chips spread out to a larger crack immediately.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11529824June 30, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Our 2022 Subaru Outback windshield cracked for a second time with no clear reason. If there was a rock impact it was very light and not noticeable, certainly not sufficient to cause a crack in any other vehicle I have ever driven. We had a 2018 Subaru Legacy and had the windshield crack twice with little or no impact. This is the second time since new that the Subaru Outback windshield has cracked. I have been driving for thirty five years and have never had a windshield crack in any vehicle ever, even with very firm rock strikes. This will be the fourth Subaru windshield I have replaced in just a few years - the second in a year or so. There was a class action lawsuit already in 2018 on this issue. It is clear that Subaru has not fixed this dangerous problem.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11529285June 28, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I just had my second windshield failure in 2 years on this vehicle. The first time a rock hit me, but today a ~ 12" crack appeared out of nowhere while I was driving down the highway with no impact. The windshields on this vehicle seem overly prone to cracking, whether or not any impact is applied. I'm worried this will interfere with the eyesight functionality.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11529208June 27, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Sirius radio ads showing up while driving interfering with media console and acting as a distraction hazard. Intentional design flaw. The ad specifically shows up while the car is in motion, not when parked. I have explicitly non-consented these ads due to their hazard and they persist.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11529149June 27, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Multiple occasions of dead battery or stalling in an intersection have occurred since the car was 6 months old, with mileage of only 3,000 miles. Dead battery accompanied by electrical malfunctions such as loss of nav system, climate control system, and driving safety systems. Battery failure in cold weather in Michigan winter resulting in long waits for tow truck. Loss of heat in very cold temps on a road trip.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11528573June 23, 2023
AIR BAGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Yet to be diagnosed but possibly the cockpit control computer. Dealer service department has not been able to diagnose. No components have been replaced yet except for a software update that did not correct the issue. Safety systems all report as not functioning, These include all "eyesight systems";the air bags, automatic emergency braking, lane departure and lane keeping. Additionally all center console functions are not functional, including HVAC and radio. The vehicle has been to the dealer twice where the problem could not be reproduced. No other inspection has been performed. No warnings or other messages appear prior to the failure. The failure persists for approximately 10 minutes, after which normal operation resumes. I write this following the fourth occurrence of the failure.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11528553June 23, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
While driving my Subaru 2022 Outback with Eyesight Asssist, a 20 inch crack appeared from top left windshield down about 4 inches and across to center of windshield without sound of impact other than plop sound associated with bug hits, not a rock ping. When dealer reviewed, they pointed to a small impact point at center of crack (prior to expansion another 10 inchs the next morning). Impact area 2mm long, 1mm wide. Depth was even less shallow. Because of impact indication, Dealer said it needed to be handled through insurance, not vehicle warranty. I believe this is more a warranty issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11528372June 22, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
While driving at a high rate of speed on a remote road, using cruise control, my vehicle suddenly braked/decelerated for no reason. Could have been the automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, or forward collision warning. The first time it happened, a warning bell sounded, red lights flashed, and the vehicle decelerated VERY rapidly. It happened again about 6 weeks later, but the second time there was no audio or visual warning, the vehicle just decelerated rapidly. If there had been a vehicle behind my vehicle I might have been rear-ended because there was nothing on the road in front of me to warrant rapid deceleration. Also, on both occasions, the deceleration was swift enough to cause items in the vehicle to dislodge.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11528153June 21, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
The windshield made a "pop" sound and had spontaneously cracked from the driver's side pillar towards the center of the windshield, without warning or clear cause. This was all while sitting in the driveway, not in motion. The dealership service department inspection found no point of impact.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11528067June 21, 2023
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
I'm a first time Subaru owner but am now challenging my decision to buy a Subaru. While driving at night on dark roads in Pennsylvania, it was quite obvious and strange that the top half of the windshield was black while the bottom half was clear showing the lights on the road. This was quite annoying and disruptive while driving; We did not notice such on a well-lit road. I googled and found out that many Subaru owners experienced the same issue. I've been driving for over 55 years and have never experienced such an issue. I called the dealer and he never heard of such but did read the comments on the web link I shared with him. It's truly unsafe and disturbing while driving on darker roads. Please advise as I'm considering trading in this wonderful car, taking a loss, and buying something that doesn't disturb me while driving at night. I don't need a potential accident at this point of my life. Safety first... I've attached the url to those comments from other Subaru owners. https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-t83408_ds1044301
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11528027June 20, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
We were driving on a highway at 60 mph with a hard case roof carrier when our sun roof exploded and shattering all the glass.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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