Subaru Crosstrek Complaints

1,200 consumer complaints on file.

#11661551May 16, 2025
POWER TRAIN
The rear differential on my Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid has failed twice. The first failure occurred around 12,000 miles and the second around 50,000 miles, both while maneuvering slowly in a parking lot. There were no warning lights or messages beforehand. The failure caused grinding and drivetrain resistance while turning. During the second incident, a certified Subaru dealer confirmed the rear differential had failed again. They also discovered that Subaru had issued a revised version of the differential that is no longer compatible with the original axles, requiring additional parts to complete the repair. I was informed the original design has been discontinued, suggesting Subaru was aware of an issue. This kind of drivetrain failure is a significant safety risk, especially if it were to occur at higher speeds or in traffic. The issue has now occurred twice on my vehicle under normal driving conditions, and was verified both times by a 2 Subaru dealerships in Southern California. When I returned to pick up my vehicle, I was told by the service technician that another hybrid Crosstrek had just come in for the exact same failure. Additionally, a local independent Subaru performance shop mentioned they have performed three similar rear differential replacements this year. This clearly appears to be a recurring problem, potentially linked to a design flaw, and I believe it warrants further investigation.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11659413May 7, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, ENGINE, SERVICE BRAKES
1. Subaru 2022 Crosstrek accelerated on its own when foot is on the brake and trying to move the shifter knob to park, instead the car thursted into the parked car in front with such force that ran into the garage. 2. Towed car to Subaru dealer informed to escalate to Subaru of America, opened a case #250402-1600810, please see attached email communication. 3. Subaru will not respond unless I signed a consent to extract EDR (event data recorders) for inspection but denied me to be onsite or a copy of the files, The data retained from EDR is the property of the owner, per section 563.5 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. 4. 4 weeks later, Subaru issued the results of this vehicle indicate it has no brake, accelerator or throttle abnormalities. Also quoting the police report that I provided. 5. There was no EDR saved in the accident, Subaru cannot provide any summary or why the computer did not capture any of the events, the brake pedal, gas pedal, etc. 6. There has been over $12,000 damage on the Subaru, over $7,000 on the parked car, and the garage door. The insurance repair for the vehicles only address body work and no mention of the EDR testing, engine and throttle, eyesight, etc. 7. Subaru should be more transparent and issue the summary of the inspection from the team, not the Adovcacy (advocating for Subaru). The car battery went completely dead on March 14, 2025 and was told there is nothing wrong with it after the dealer service center look at it on March 15. The inspector was going to determine if the vehicle is drivable. 8. The car is under 3 year warranty with extended warranty for 7 years. I want a response from Subaru of America states that the Crosstrek 2022 is safe to drive and does not have an unintended acceleration issue since Subaru conducted the inspection.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11659349May 6, 2025
VISIBILITY:REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES:EXTERIOR
The drivers side mirror vibrates to the point of being unusable at freeway speeds causing a major safety hazard. The car has been in for 3 different mirror housings with no change in visibility and has been inspected 6 times at the dealership. I have been told by the dealership that there is nothing they can do anymore and that it is normal and expected of 2024 crosstreks.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11658990May 5, 2025
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HOOD:LATCH
Hood latch failed causing hood to fly open, smashing and breaking my windshield.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11658700May 3, 2025
VISIBILITY/WIPER
On [XXX], at [XXX] , my sunroof spontaneously exploded outwards while driving at 65mph going north bound. There was not an object that struck the vehicle. The next vehicle ahead of me was nearly 1/4 mile ahead of me. I was driving down the road, heard a loud pop, followed by a wind whistling noise. I opened my sunroof sliding cover to find shattered glass and some glass falling to my face. I contact the dealer and have a appointment scheduled for the 5th INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11657595April 29, 2025
POWER TRAIN, STEERING, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The CVT valve body was diagnosed as defective by the Subaru Dealership service department. The car was taken to the dcealership when the A/T OIL EMP, HILL ASSIST, ABS and TRACTION CONTROL, STABILITY CONTROL lights came up. The valve body is still available for inspection. The car was taken to the dealership for a Brake Light Switch recall that has the same simptoms.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11657095April 27, 2025
STEERING
The steering sticks when moving it from the null position. It feels as though there is a lock of some sort and one has to exert more force that normal to move the steering wheel in either direction. This is very noticeable when driving on a straight road or highway where normal steering adjustments are just slightly to either side of null. I find myself over adjusting for things like the crown/pitch of the road. Also, cold weather seems to mask the issue. Now that the weather is warming up though, the issue is consistent and seems to have become worse with more miles logged on the vehicle. Please note that this is not related to the lane assist or road departure safety features as the steering issue occurs with neither in use.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11655941April 21, 2025
VISIBILITY/WIPER
The windshield cracked without impact or any other obvious means of damage. I have had 2 other windshields crack in the same manner, the first being December 2022, second March 2024, and now April 2025. All incidents have starts from the bottom on the windshield on the passenger side, and spreading towards the roof. The vehicle was not moving at the time of the crack, it was noticed getting in the vehicle of all incidents
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11655584April 19, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
This is not a safety issue. But the paint on the car seems to be of poor quality that is easily chipped or stained by bird droppings. The hood of the car has a multiple chips in the paint. The car has been well taken care of and normal driving conditions. For only 18000 miles on the car, the paint seems very thin and poor durability to hold up to normal driving conditions.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11655581April 19, 2025
VISIBILITY/WIPER
The windshield appeared to have spontaneously cracked overnight while parked on the driveway. The crack formed across the top of the windshield, across the eyesight. The day before, the car was at the dealership for an oil change and tire rotation. Unknown if lifting the car for the tire rotation caused the stress that may have caused the crack formation. The car was taken back to the dealer and the windshield had to be replaced. A claim to our insurance was done because the dealer said this was not covered by the warranty. I did not see any chip in the windshield that would have caused this.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11655198April 17, 2025
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that while turning into a parking spot at 20 MPH and upon depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle continued to accelerate, causing the contact to crash the front of the vehicle into the concrete wall. The vehicle came to a stop upon impact. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed to a local autobody center. No warning lights were illuminated. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not destroyed. The contact seated in the driver's seat was injured. No body outside of the vehicle reported an injury; however, a bystander nearby the crash site was taken to the hospital as a precaution in spite of her refusal to seek medical attention. The contact sustained internal bruising to her abdomen and chest, and medical treatment was needed for her injuries. The local dealer was not contacted, and the vehicle was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 4,000.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11654714April 15, 2025
STEERING
Full electrical power steering failure
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11654253April 12, 2025
STEERING
I recently have started experiencing a sticky/jerky steering wheel (24K miles). It happens when the car is fully warmed up on longer road trips whether the cruise control engaged or not. In fact, it's worse without cruise control. The steering wheel requires stronger pull and then releases quickly. I could not reproduce it at the dealership as it's nearby and does not require a long trip, but of course right after I left it, the steering wheel started sticking again. The technician did not know what it could be and stated he could not reproduce the issue. There is no issues with alignment or tire balancing. I am noticing it more consistently in warmer weather. It is not an issue at all when it's 20 degrees F. No lights are triggered. I believe this is a huge safety issue as I constantly need to correct the steering when it is stuck. I posted this issue on Reddit with multiple owners experiencing the same problem: [XXX] / It is also the same problem as Honda Civic 2022-2023 models have. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11654134April 11, 2025
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that while driving in the parking lot and attempting to park, a sudden unintended acceleration occurred. No warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, who informed the contact about the release of the EDR data. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11650867March 26, 2025
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING
The 2019-2021 Crosstrek Hybrid has an issue with the fuel tank design. Subaru has finally released a TSB (Reference: 09-82-23R) that explains the issue in more detail and how the defective parts need to be replaced. In short, the fuel tank has a design flaw such that regular fuel corrodes the fuel tank and causes clogging in the vapor vent tubes. Subaru says it's related to fuel with high ethanol content, however I have been filling up with regular fuel and have still experienced the issue. I have personally owned two of these vehicles and experienced the occasional P0452 check engine light which when diagnosed by a licensed shop pointed to this fuel evap system issue. Subaru has finally acknowledged that this is a known issue and issued the TSB, however they have not yet issued a recall. The repairs for this issue are expensive and the symptoms are an occasional check engine light. I am concerned because this issue is not easily detectable and is expensive to repair. Since this involves the fuel tank and fuel vapors tubes I am concerned there might be a fire risk or health risk, but since there is no recall issued I don't know if it can be ignored or needs immediate attention. Subaru does cover this repair under 3 yr / 30k mile warranty but with the irregular symptoms it is hard to detect and diagnose it and Subaru only issued the TSB in Jan 2024 when the 2021 model became 3 years old and out of warranty. It seems like Subaru knew about the issue but didn't want to address it under warranty so they issued the TSB only after all the cars were out of warranty and only now when the consumers have to pay out of pocket are they diagnosing it correctly. Also, this issue triggers the check-engine light only occasionally and at random, and when the light goes on all the vehicle safety aids like pre-collision braking and rear cross traffic warnings are disabled. I think this is dangerous because drivers tend to get used to having those features.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11649740March 21, 2025
STEERING
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while taking the vehicle for a routine oil change. There were no warning lights illuminated. The independent mechanic informed the contact that the control arm was cracked. The contact stated had not experienced the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not made aware of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20,500.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11649346March 19, 2025
VISIBILITY:REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES:EXTERIOR
Driver side mirror has a vibrating issue at high speed or bumpy road. The visibility is impacted and causing motion sickness. It can create a safety issue if the manufacturer or dealership is not able to fix or address the issue properly This issue has been confirmed by multiple people including delearship technicians. Per dealership technicians, this is the way crosstrek is for 2024/2025 model. The dealership tried to correct by installing more insulation. Unfortunately it does not help.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11647243March 9, 2025
ENGINE
I have a 2018 Subaru Crosstrek, I am the second owner, the first owner bought it in 2019, I am having acceleration problems, I have already taken it to two different mechanics, they say it is a problem with the computer, they have already checked and scanned it and they tell me that you have to reprogram the ECM for DTC P1603 / Engine idle drop or stall, when the car accelerates it makes a jerky or knocking noise when I go 15 miles or stop and move forward again the car locks, this only happens when the car is already warm and has been used for about 10 minutes
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11646465March 5, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I have had my car jumped twice in the last 7 days. Today I will be replacing the battery with AAA. Is there a recall on my vehicle? I saw an article there is a recall for starting issues and the coils. Please advise. Thank you.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11646581March 5, 2025
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Headlights are pointed low. It is hard to see down the road. The top half of windshield is darker than the bottom half. Car may be safe for city driving, but not for country roads. Going up and down hills and around curves the suv is unsafe. Dealer said they recieving complaints but can not adjust the lights. Sorry I bought such an unsafe suv.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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