Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,215,138 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA — including 138,663 crashes, 56,255 fires, and 8,561 deaths.
What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?
A consumer complaint is a free-form report filed by a vehicle owner directly to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) describing a safety concern about their vehicle. NHTSA collects these reports through its Vehicle Owner Defect Report (VOQ) system and publishes them publicly. Each complaint includes the affected component, the date and circumstances of the incident, whether the failure caused a crash or fire, and any reported injuries or deaths. The owner's full narrative description is included verbatim — NHTSA does not edit or moderate the descriptions.
The database below contains over 2,215,138 individual complaints. NHTSA's investigators monitor it for clusters of similar reports — when enough owners describe the same failure mode on the same vehicle, NHTSA may open a Preliminary Evaluation that can lead to a recall. Many of the largest recalls in U.S. history, including the Takata airbag recall and the Hyundai/Kia engine fire recalls, started as patterns visible in this complaint database years before they became formal recalls.
How to interpret what you read
A few principles for reading consumer complaints usefully:
- One complaint is anecdote; a hundred similar complaints is data. NHTSA does not investigate the truthfulness of any individual report — that's the job of the Office of Defects Investigation, which looks at the full pattern. When evaluating a vehicle, look for whether multiple owners describe the same chain of events.
- Crash, fire, injury, and death flags are owner-set. They are not verified by NHTSA. They are still useful as a filter, because owners who tick those boxes are typically reporting more serious incidents than those who don't.
- Component categories are NHTSA-assigned, not owner-assigned. NHTSA standardizes the component field so that complaints can be aggregated. The owner narrative often goes into more detail than the component category captures.
- Complaint volume scales with sales volume. A best-selling model will accumulate more raw complaints than a niche model even at the same defect rate. To compare across vehicles, look at complaints per 100,000 units sold, not raw counts.
If you've experienced a defect
File a complaint. NHTSA's investigators rely on this database to detect emerging defects, and useful complaints — specific, concrete, with dates and mileage and clear descriptions of what happened — feed directly into the agency's pattern detection. The form takes about 10 minutes and is at nhtsa.gov/recalls under "Report a Safety Problem." Your complaint becomes part of the same public record that this page is built from. Owners filing detailed VOQs are how recalls get triggered.
Read more from our blog
Showing 34,453 complaints for SUBARU
Incident date: May 10, 2022
Vehicle was about 1 year old and had about 2300 miles when I started having issues with the battery being dead and having to jump start the vehicle after it sat a few days. I contacted the dealership and the battery took it in. After about 4 hours they said the battery was "low" and they recharged it and said everything was fine. They said I didn't drive it enough so it was my fault the battery wo... Read more
Incident date: Jul 24, 2022
Multiple cracks/chips in windshield with normal driving
Incident date: Jul 23, 2022
Left front wheel bearing found on inspection at local service station to be failing. Defect has been repaired by Subaru dealer under warranty on 7/26/22.
Incident date: Jul 13, 2022
I have a 2021 Subaru Ascent Premium with 6,000 miles. The Transmission or CVT feels odd every time i shift from Park to Drive or Reverse i feel a hard clunk additional to that every time i get in the Highway and add some RPMs to the SUV the CVT shifting feels Hard more likely like i m driving a Manual vehicle something that is not suppose to happen or feel that way. I took it to the dealer and th... Read more
Incident date: Jul 17, 2022
The car is a 2019 Subaru Outback, purchased certified pre-owned in the summer of 2020 from North Park Subaru, San Pedro Ave., San Antonio TX.On 17 July 2022, the vehicle began shuddering, rolling backwards, and the transmission would not go into any gear position after starting it. The only way to keep the car from continuing to roll backwards was to remove the key from the ignition. At that point... Read more
Incident date: Jul 27, 2022
Windshield cracks Third time to replace
Incident date: Jul 22, 2022
Windshield cracked without outside impact (e.g., rock, debris). Retailer refusing to cover under warranty. Car was parked when the windshield cracked.
Incident date: Jul 26, 2022
I have a 2010 Subaru Outback that has significant corrosion on the rear four-way brake joint connector that can lead to a serious accident. There was a campaign that addressed this very issue (NHTSA ID: 14V-311) but it did not include 2010 Outback even though it had the same design. This issue is very serious.
Incident date: Jul 18, 2022
Battery dead from constantly parasitic drawing in less a week. Brand new Interstate AGM MTX-35 battery. Had to take out the battery nad charged in room because living in an old apartment building which does not have outlet to connect the charger. Very annoyed by this flaw. The Subaru of America should settle a recall to fix the problem.
Incident date: Jul 20, 2022
I have been getting an airbag warning light for the past few months. I took it into my local Subaru dealer and they confirmed that the issue was the passenger recognition system. The system will recognize a passenger and turn the airbags on sometimes, and sometimes it will not. This puts the passenger’s life at risk in the event of an accident and the airbags don’t deploy.
Incident date: Jul 7, 2022
vehicle stalled for no reason causing a dangerous situation, dashboard had 'eyesight' come on, possible crash avoidance feature ??
Incident date: Jul 7, 2022
vehicle stalled for no reason causing a dangerous situation, dashboard had 'eyesight' come on, possible crash avoidance feature ??
Incident date: Jul 7, 2022
vehicle stalled for no reason causing a dangerous situation, dashboard had 'eyesight' come on, possible crash avoidance feature ??
Incident date: Jul 26, 2022
At 89,000 the transmission was replaced because of a “known issue” and I was having problems. The car would lurch and hesitate coming off traffic stops. This prompted me to go to the dealer who called Subaru who offered to replace transmission, no further questions asked. Less than 20,000 miles later, this new transmission is causing problems again to the tune of $12,000! They refuse to repla... Read more
Incident date: Jan 4, 2022
The bluetooth system is not functioning properly. When a call is in progress, the bluetooth will indicate that no phone is connected and prompt the driver to connect the phone. In the meantime, the call is still active and the person on the other end hears the radio playing but the driver cannot hear the other person. The call will then reconnect for a few seconds before repeating this process. It... Read more
Incident date: Jul 19, 2022
On 7/19/2022 while backing out of a parking spot with a right hand turn we heard a loud noise and the car did not seem to want to continue moving. Upon further inspection the right front tire was sitting at an extreme and unusual angle. Tipped out at the top and no longer pointing in the same direction as the other front tire. Upon recovery of the vehicle and inspection the lower control has co... Read more
Incident date: Jul 19, 2022
On 7/19/2022 while backing out of a parking spot with a right hand turn we heard a loud noise and the car did not seem to want to continue moving. Upon further inspection the right front tire was sitting at an extreme and unusual angle. Tipped out at the top and no longer pointing in the same direction as the other front tire. Upon recovery of the vehicle and inspection the lower control has co... Read more
Incident date: Jul 24, 2022
I have only had this vehicle for 11 months and I’m about to have the windshield replaced for the second time. This poses a serious safety risk on any road and especially highways. If the crack spreads to the vehicle Eye Sight area then the function will shut off, causing further problems on the highway in regards to cruise control and emergency braking. The Outback vehicles are known for having ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2022
Spontaneous windshield crack. Crack went from drivers side edge of glass horizontally across approximately 2/3 of the windshield. After approximately 2 days, the crack began to seperate, it was nearly a 1/4" wide by the time it was replaced. There was no obvious sign of an impact, I assumed there had been an impact, but am concerned of an actual defect as I am hearing reports of this spontaneous c... Read more
Incident date: Jul 21, 2022
Windshield crack. With just under 3000 miles on our 2022 Subaru Outback while driving home, my wife noticed a small crack on the windshield near the "Eye sight" cameras which I could not see from the driver side. By the time I could finally pull over and look at this it had grown to over a foot long or longer. Prior to owning this Subaru, we helped our Daughter with the purchase of her first Subar... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2016
The battery keeps going dead for no obvious reason(s). The battery was tested at an auto repair shop and was determined to be fine but, nonetheless, continues to go dead.
Incident date: Jul 23, 2022
Hello, Since February, we have replaced our battery 3 times. Eventually we discovered from a mechanic that the car had a parasitic draw that will drain the battery if the car is not driven every day. We put the battery on a trickle charger every night just in case. Two days ago, the car would not start after sitting in a parking lot for two hours. The AAA guy's first question was "is that a 2015 o... Read more
Incident date: Jul 24, 2022
The battery does not hold power and we have been stranded in a remote location more than once. I am nervous about going anywhere on my own, especially at night. The dealer has been totally unresponsive and told us this is normal and we should just buy a portable charger. We do now take a charger everywhere we go but this seems unacceptable for a new (and not inexpensive) car. It seems this is a p... Read more
Incident date: Jan 25, 2021
Child locks on both rear doors are stuck. Based on the online forums, this is a common issue that Subaru is charging a $300 repair per door. It is a safety concern now that my children are old enough to not need safety locks.
Incident date: Jul 22, 2022
Car continues to have ongoing lack of response with acceleration. Car was at dealer for 3 weeks for inspection after I was nearly rear ended due to lack of response in acceleration at a stop light, as well as shifting gears. No lights came on to indicate issue, thus the car was returned to me with no repairs. 2 weeks after car obtained from dealer, car again started having issues with acceler... Read more
Incident date: Jul 25, 2022
2 separate windshield cracks in 2 days!!
Incident date: Jul 20, 2022
I believe the SUBARU FORESTER 2020 WINDSHIELD is dangerous and is a system failure. In April, 2022 a piece of gravel hit the windshield--smaller than the size of a quarter. Within hours, the windshield had fractured so much that there was no way that I could continue to drive safely as the windshield flowered and split the driver's eye view. I reported the claim to insurance (USAA) and took the... Read more
Incident date: Jul 17, 2022
I was driving down the highway & noticed a crack was growing insanely large due to the heat & while I had other cracks on my windshield that were little dings it looked like a grain of sand/very small pebble hit the side of my windshield and nearly cracked in down the middle. I have heard of other people with Subaru foresters complaining about this issue & it makes the safety of the driver at risk... Read more
Incident date: Jul 23, 2022
Subaru installs terribly delicate windshields on their vehicles. I just bought this car in May of 2022 and already there are chips and cracks in the windshield. I had to replace the windshield on my previous 2019 Forester within months of purchase, too. If the slightest pebble (even at low speeds) hits the windshield, it will crack - currently the crack on my windshield is about six inches long an... Read more
Incident date: Jul 24, 2022
Multiple windshield cracks from small rocks on the highway. Crack has spread across the windshield. We have only owned the car 3 months.
Incident date: Jul 23, 2022
The hood primary latch frequently releases causing me to rely on the safety catch. Re-dropping the hood sets it again only to notice several days later that the hood is again unlatched.
Incident date: Jul 13, 2022
I just bought my 2019 Outback less than a month ago in perfect condition. One morning when I was leaving for work I noticed a crack about 6 inches long in the windshield. The crack is rapidly spreading, it tripled in size in less than 3 weeks. I believe my windshield is defective.
Incident date: Jul 24, 2022
Windshield cracked almost all the way across to other side and then down. This vehicle has the eyesight package. I do not remember date it happened but will state 2 years ago. When it happened it quickly moved across windshield.
Incident date: Jul 20, 2022
I am about to get my second windshield on this car due to chips and cracks. I currently have 7 with one large spider crack. I have never owned a car that had a windshield that chipped and cracked so much. Our Dodge Caravan which we have owned twice as long and drive in the same roads, highways and conditions, has never chipped.
Incident date: Jul 24, 2022
Windshield seems pretty fragile after being hit by a little gravel pebble due to construction work at the highway the crack extended in less than 24 hours to 12 inches. This is very concerning since it’s pretty weird to a chip to develop as bad as this one.
Incident date: May 11, 2022
was loosening the shoulder strap to get my child out of the seat and one of the straps came completely off of the seat. the strap hadn't broken, just had come unattached from the seat. now only one strap is usable. sent pictures to cybex and because it was 2 months out of the 2 year warranty, they couldn't replace it.
Incident date: Jul 23, 2022
There is a defect in the windshield. I’ve replaced the windshield twice. The first time a rock hit it and it caused the entire windshield to crack. I got the windshield replaced and a week later it cracked again. I replaced it again and 30 minutes later it happened again. My father in law has an Outback as well with the same issue. I also have a colleague with the same exact model vehicle with t... Read more
Incident date: Jul 23, 2022
There is a defect in the windshield. I’ve replaced the windshield twice. The first time a rock hit it and it caused the entire windshield to crack. I got the windshield replaced and a week later it cracked again. I replaced it again and 30 minutes later it happened again. My father in law has an Outback as well with the same issue. I also have a colleague with the same exact model vehicle with t... Read more
Incident date: Apr 18, 2022
At about 35,000 miles the car would not start. Had the battery checked and was told it was fine. Subaru garage could not find a parasitic drain. Replaced the battery and the car still would not start reliably. Took the car back to the Subaru garage and they had it for 5 days and at first said the DCM needed to be replaced then they back tracked and said the car was fine and they could not find any... Read more
Incident date: Apr 18, 2022
At about 35,000 miles the car would not start. Had the battery checked and was told it was fine. Subaru garage could not find a parasitic drain. Replaced the battery and the car still would not start reliably. Took the car back to the Subaru garage and they had it for 5 days and at first said the DCM needed to be replaced then they back tracked and said the car was fine and they could not find any... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2022
I received my Subaru legacy from the dealer after an unrelated repair. My wife got in the car and very slowly drove through the lot to exit the dealership. She was going 5-6 mph at most and luckily after putting the car into gear she had her hand resting on the center console literally right above the hand brake. As she approached the stop sign to exit the dealership, she put her foot on the br... Read more
Incident date: Dec 15, 2021
They have not have remedy for a long time!
Incident date: Dec 15, 2021
They have not have remedy for a long time!
Incident date: Jul 21, 2022
Passenger seat when empty will at times indicate person is sitting in seat without buckling seat belt and sound alert
Incident date: Jul 21, 2022
Passenger seat when empty will at times indicate person is sitting in seat without buckling seat belt and sound alert
Incident date: Jul 22, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH, the vehicle experienced phantom braking. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed; however, no fault codes were retrieved. The vehicle returned to operating as designed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 250.
Incident date: Jul 21, 2022
This is my fourth cracked windshield in less than 2 years! I’ve never cracked a windshield in ANY other car I’ve owned in the last 20 years! The windshields do not seem to be strong enough to accommodate the flex of the frame of the vehicle. I hear the car flex over rough roads or speed bumps. I’m assuming the torsion of the vehicle is weakening the glass, and any minor impact will cause the... Read more
Incident date: Jun 13, 2022
Windshied spontaneously cracked
Incident date: Jul 16, 2022
While driving eastbound on I-90 at the top of Snoqualmie pass, the sunroof completely shattered causing small pieces of glass to cover the small children in the back and driver and front seat passenger. At the time there were no vehicles in front of us and there was a cargo carrier on the roof racks. This caused small pieces of glass to go everywhere causing small lacerations to 2 of the occupan... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2022
My power steering one day lost all fluid out of no where. I have this awful sound and go buy new power steering fluid. It’s continuing to leak. I joined a Subaru Wrx/STi group on Facebook and found that this is a reoccurring problem for many Subaru sti owners around the year I have. It sounds faulty and defective and sucks that the customer is stuck paying for these issues instead of Subaru fixi... Read more