Subaru Outback Complaints

1,029 consumer complaints on file.

#11515866April 6, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Dear NHTSA, I am writing to report an issue I have experienced with the windshield of my Subaru vehicle. Recently, I noticed a crack on the passenger side of the windshield, which initially measured around 5 inches in length. To my surprise, the crack expanded to over 10 inches in just a day and continued to grow thereafter. Upon visiting the dealership, I was informed that the crack was likely caused by a small impact point on the windshield. However, I am not satisfied with this explanation as the "hit point" is extremely small and not commensurate with the size of the crack. I am also concerned about the quality of the Carlex windshield glass used by Subaru, as I have seen numerous complaints regarding the same on various websites. It is worth noting that Subaru does not allow customers to choose better quality aftermarket glass and refuses to perform recalibration if customers opt to use third-party glass. Furthermore, the Carlex glass costs approximately $1000 (without recalibration) and is of lower quality. I respectfully request that you investigate this issue further and take any necessary measures to address this problem for the safety of all vehicle owners. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, [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
#11515801April 6, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Early morning after sitting in the parking garage overnight, a crack randomly appeared from top middle portion of the front windshield and propagated vertically down the center of the windshield. The crack later spread through the center of the windshield after a few days. There appeared to be no other damage around the origin of the crack (center windshield area) nor was it due to negligence - the cause is unknown.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11515781April 6, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Driving on highway to my home on I 80 and ridge road, Illinois,a small tick noise was heard and the spider chip noticed on the passenger side windshield.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11515733April 6, 2023
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the front windshield cracked without impact. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the front windshield to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but experienced the failure for a second time. The contact took the vehicle back to the local dealer and had the front windshield replaced a second time. The vehicle was repaired but experienced the failure for a third time. The contact took the vehicle back to the local dealer and had the front windshield replaced for a third time. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11515488April 4, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY
battery failure
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11515103April 3, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
2022 Subaru Outback has has windshield replaced 3 times. And awaiting a new windshield AGAIN for 2 cracks. Current windshield was hit by rocks, within a day of each other. Very small impact site and both immediately cracked to about 6 inches on impact. Continue to spread in heather garage. First windshield hit by rock- cracked on impact, spread like wildfire. 2nd windshield cracked in garage less than a week after installation. Was told it was another rock and not covered under warranty. Not possible. Third windshield was installed, because, after the second windshield was installed, the windshield had a long, scratch in it. Glass company covered that. Now awaiting my fourth windshield to be installed. I have honestly never had this problem before. I have maybe gotten a chip in a window, that could be filled. But this is ridiculous. And expensive.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11515064April 2, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
this is the 2nd time in 2 months that my windshield randomly has a large crack in it. It is about 1 foot long starting from lower part of windshield. There is no marks that something hit the windshield no dings either. Had the windshield replaced approximately 1 month ago for the same reason. I there some type of defect with the car?
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11514823March 31, 2023
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD
The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, he became aware that hundreds of tiny air bubbles had formed over the front windshield. Additionally, there were air bubbles on a portion of the front driver’s and passenger’s side windows. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer where a service technician inspected the vehicle with a pen and claimed that the windows had been sandblasted which caused the failure. The contact disputed the claim and said that no work had been performed on the windows. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and a case was filed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 2,500.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11514806March 31, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Moonroof shattered with a loud boom while driving on highway. Window and shade was in closed position and window had not been operated/open. Owned at 4 mi odometer and occurred at approximately 300 mi odometer. The loud boom was frightening. No glass came into the driver/passenger are because the shade was closed. I assumed the window had been hit by rock. However, a couple of hours earlier on the drive, I heard a clicking/torquing sound that I could not determine location. The clicking sound only occurred a few times and then was not heard again. No way to determine if this occurred from a rock or was a tempered glass failure.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11514540March 30, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
As I was pulling in to park my vehicle, the car accelerated and after running over three small trees, finally stopped. Both my feet were on the brakes; I could not stop the car. Luckily, no one was hurt. The car was towed and Subaru had the car for close to 7 weeks for inspection; they reported no abnormalities with the car. I know that the car accelerated on its own- I had no control as I avoided hitting the cabin and plowing through the woods. I had my new car for 32 days and did not see any warning signs. It was towed on December 12, 2022, the day after the incident. Then Subaru had my car for inspection and repairs and it was picked up on March 22, 2023. I will not drive this car and Subaru has denied my request for a buyback. I will be trading it in for a loss.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11514504March 29, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Windshield is stress cracking. I am on my 3rd windshield in about 1 year.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11514367March 29, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I've had the vehicle less than 6 months and have already had 3 Safelite repairs for cracks and chips from road debris hitting the windshield. Windshields are fragile and prone to cracking. Attached the latest example, dead-center of photo.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11514123March 28, 2023
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Issue with low beams. I live in a rural area with limited street lighting. Low beam Visibility approx.15 ft. or less. Once or if I would observe an object or person on the roadway my stopping distance would be limited. A hooded shadow from the lighting limits the visibility. E mailed Subaru who suggested I have the dealer could help with my problem. They adjusted the lights. Now I have oncoming traffic flicking their high beams.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11514090March 27, 2023
STEERING
The contact's wife owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle experienced loss of power steering as the power steering warning light and several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the failure occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the power steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, that the failure recurred. The vehicle was then taken back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the power steering wiring harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle remained at the dealer awaiting repairs. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 17,500. The VIN was not available.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11513834March 26, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Windshield cracked for second time, no warning given.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11513604March 24, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
My car was parked in the driveway and I noticed the windshield was cracked when I was leaving my house for the day. The crack started at the bottom of the windshield, under the plastic trim. There’s no visible impact zone to cause this. I called SOA and I’m getting the run around. They told me to get an assessment done to determine if it was an outside force or manufactured defect. The dealership said they are unable to do so. They are not trained to determine that. Because of the runaround I am having to drive with a broken windshield. I do not feel safe doing so. Especially with the windshield cracked with no impact zone.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11513176March 22, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I purchased a new 2023 Subaru Outback in December 2022. The two displays on my 2023 Subaru Outback (both the main entertainment one and the tiny dash one) randomly restart without notice and/or freeze and are unresponsive. This disables adaptive cruise control, EyeSight warnings, lane departure warnings, front collision warnings, rear back up camera, navigation, Apple Car Play, phone capabilities, and electrical display odometer. Even in reverse, the backup camera will appear at times and then freeze, so the image I am looking at on the display is not true. I noticed this the other day when I was in reverse and saw a mother and child walking outside of my review mirrors that never appeared on the camera. I have taken it to my Subaru dealer where they had trouble twice uploading new software onto the car. They finally uploaded the "new" software and the issue persists. This last issued occurred today 3/22/2023 - I was on a 10 minute drive and the software restarted at least 11 times in the short 10 minutes. I am unsure what else this electrical/software issue impacts but it seems to be a safety one if I cannot trust the rear camera, departure or collision warnings, or cruise control. Luckily, I have never been in cruise control when the system malfunctions, as I'm not sure what the result would be. This has occurred at random speeds, as slow as 12mph, as fast as 60mph. It has happened when I have been on phone calls and when I have not been on phone calls. I have photos and videos of the unresponsiveness, and have attached the invoice for when I got it serviced on 3/20/2023. This is a serious issue and it seems Subaru does not have a fix at this time. Since this is a new car, I was also told that if this happens after my warranty, it will be MY responsibility to pay for the updated software and to fix this glitch, and that they will charge me for service and the update.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11513158March 22, 2023
STRUCTURE:BODY, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
This incident occurred on January 20, 2023. I was driving alone on I-73 in Greensboro, NC. It was around 5:45 AM and was about 40 degrees outside. I had no vehicles in front of me and a very large separation to the vehicles in the oncoming traffic direction. The car was still new as it only had 4k miles on it. I was driving at 65mph merging onto I-73. Suddenly, I heard what sounded like an explosion followed by what sounded like flapping and "pebbles hitting roof" sound. I knew something had broken so I pulled off the road. My moonroof had shattered. I took pictures while I was trying to determine my next step. There was a hole in the center and part of the right side of the glass. I did not have any way to contain the damage when it was put on the flat bed trailer to take it to the dealership. I dropped by the dealership later that day. The hole had grown significantly while being towed to the dealer (wind damage expanded the hole). The dealership said it was the second Outback they had seen that week for an exploding moonroof. They stated it would not be covered under warranty, but they did replace it as a one-time goodwill gesture. Searching online, this seems to be way more common of an experience than it should be with Subaru Outbacks. If I had had the interior closeout panel open, I would have been covered in glass. I feel this was not damage induced by any impact as there were no cars near me within at least 100 yards in any direction.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11513106March 21, 2023
VISIBILITY/WIPER
I started my car via the mysubaru app so it could warm up. The outside temperature was around 25 and I had full heat via the app..which the front defroster was on. I get to leave and before I pulled away, the windshield cracked, without any cause. It cracked mid-way left side and spread halfway across over the following few days. It is apparent this is a known issue as there appears to be a defect with this generation of windshields and the amount of reported issues. Additionally, I filed a complaint with the BBB and encourage others to report this safety issue to BBB.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11513045March 21, 2023
STRUCTURE:BODY
The rear driver side door popped open so as to be not fully closed, but not fully open (door not fully secure/ajar) while driving. The vehicle was being driven on a highway with speed no more than 55 mph, exiting an off ramp and approaching a stop light. When the brakes were depressed to ease into the off ramp stop there was a loud pop and the instrument panel displayed the door open warning for the drivers side rear door. It was necessary to fully stop the vehicle and re-secure the door from the outside. There were no passengers in the rear seat during this occurrence. The dealer inspected the door hinges observing no abnormalities and was not able to reproduce the error when test driving the vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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