Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,245,377 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA, including 140,173 crashes, 56,794 fires, and 8,580 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 2,245,377 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 35,035 complaints for SUBARU
Incident date: Dec 9, 2021
Recall on my 2020 Subaru Ascent was more than 7 months ago. The remedy is not available at my local dealership because SUBARU of America, Inc. has not sent them the remedy. This is my only vehicle and I must use it but is it safe?
Incident date: Jul 13, 2022
On July 13,2022, while easing into a parking slot with foot on the pedal brake, with final stop and reaching to shift gear into parking mode, my 2019 Crosstrek engine suddenly accelerated and made the car surge forward. My brake pedal was on the floor with no response and the car continued to shoot pass the curb and sidewalk onto a vegetation embankment, heading towards the building and its glass ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 3, 2022
The windshield cracks after being struck by minor objects. The windshield does not chip when struck with objects. One crack appeared without being struck by an object. It showed up from the bottom of the windshield is growing.
Incident date: Jul 6, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked over night under a car port the next morning it was discovered that the front windshield had developed multiple cracks. The contact indicated that no objects had made contact with the windshield to cause the cracks to occur. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contac... Read more
Incident date: Apr 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the battery was continually being drained and needed to be recharged frequently. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer however, a cause for the failure was not determined. The dealer recharged the battery. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure with electrical syste... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2022
My SRS airbag light came on and said it needed to be inspected. Notably, this issue is similar to a prior recall of this vehicle that I had repaired. The Subaru dealership indicated that the bottom of the seat needed replaced and that the airbag may not function properly until this is fixed; however, they also noted that the part won't be in stick until October/November. This seems like a huge saf... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2022
My SRS airbag light came on and said it needed to be inspected. Notably, this issue is similar to a prior recall of this vehicle that I had repaired. The Subaru dealership indicated that the bottom of the seat needed replaced and that the airbag may not function properly until this is fixed; however, they also noted that the part won't be in stick until October/November. This seems like a huge saf... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2022
on 7/9/22 @ 6:00p I was with my wife & 2 grandsons going into a diner parking lot. as I was slowly going into a spot the car suddenly and without warning accelerated causing the car to drive over a cement parking stop, over a 1foot high cement wall, through a chain linked fence which had privacy covering, down into a 12 deep ravine. after shutting off the car my grandsons, wife & myself had to cra... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jul 9, 2022
on 7/9/22 @ 6:00p I was with my wife & 2 grandsons going into a diner parking lot. as I was slowly going into a spot the car suddenly and without warning accelerated causing the car to drive over a cement parking stop, over a 1foot high cement wall, through a chain linked fence which had privacy covering, down into a 12 deep ravine. after shutting off the car my grandsons, wife & myself had to cra... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jul 9, 2022
on 7/9/22 @ 6:00p I was with my wife & 2 grandsons going into a diner parking lot. as I was slowly going into a spot the car suddenly and without warning accelerated causing the car to drive over a cement parking stop, over a 1foot high cement wall, through a chain linked fence which had privacy covering, down into a 12 deep ravine. after shutting off the car my grandsons, wife & myself had to cra... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jul 13, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outlook. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V955000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disc... Read more
Incident date: Jul 13, 2022
1. Front Windshield cracks easily instead of chipping. Appears to be under pressure in a strange way and it cracks then starts to delaminate. I had 2 windshields replaced within 30 days. Water also starts to enter the crack and it impacts the wiper blades when in use. 2. Center Info-Tainment system in underpowered to the degree that touch response is laggy to the degree to be dangerous. With all ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 13, 2022
1. Front Windshield cracks easily instead of chipping. Appears to be under pressure in a strange way and it cracks then starts to delaminate. I had 2 windshields replaced within 30 days. Water also starts to enter the crack and it impacts the wiper blades when in use. 2. Center Info-Tainment system in underpowered to the degree that touch response is laggy to the degree to be dangerous. With all ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 13, 2022
Driving and thought I heard slight cracking noises, couldn't figure out what it was. About 2 minutes later a huge crack about 18" spontaneously appeared from the passenger side of the windshield to nearly the middle of the windshield. No rocks or impact, just out of nowhere.
SUBARU
XV CROSSTREK
(2013) - STEERING
Jul 13, 2022
Incident date: Dec 9, 2021
involved in a collision, possibly related to the stall issues mentioned in the collision. Reported to the insurance. They are pending repair on the matter due to recall and entire engine was required, which is more than the car is valued for.
Crash
SUBARU
XV CROSSTREK
(2013) - ENGINE
Jul 13, 2022
Incident date: Dec 9, 2021
involved in a collision, possibly related to the stall issues mentioned in the collision. Reported to the insurance. They are pending repair on the matter due to recall and entire engine was required, which is more than the car is valued for.
Crash
SUBARU
XV CROSSTREK
(2013) - FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Jul 13, 2022
Incident date: Dec 9, 2021
involved in a collision, possibly related to the stall issues mentioned in the collision. Reported to the insurance. They are pending repair on the matter due to recall and entire engine was required, which is more than the car is valued for.
Crash
Incident date: Jul 13, 2022
The battery of the car keep dying, leaving us stranded in what could possibly be unsafe situations. We have gotten the battery checked out numerous times at the dealership, plus got a battery replacement in October 2020 but it still keeps occurring. This is a 2017 Outback with less than 30,000 miles, so should not be happening.
Incident date: Jul 13, 2022
The battery of the car keep dying, leaving us stranded in what could possibly be unsafe situations. We have gotten the battery checked out numerous times at the dealership, plus got a battery replacement in October 2020 but it still keeps occurring. This is a 2017 Outback with less than 30,000 miles, so should not be happening.
Incident date: Feb 24, 2022
On the week of February 24th, 2022 we had a snow/ice storm that caused significant buildup on my windshield and after clearing it off and running the defrost and I noticed cracking on the windshield. I have heard of several consumers that have had problems with Subaru windshields around the same time (2015-2019) and were having the same cracking issues for the same defrost issue and cracking with... Read more
Incident date: Dec 9, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Ascent. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V955000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the transmission was jerking and hesitatin... Read more
Incident date: Jul 8, 2022
The transmission is slipping and lunges forward, I believe this is the same reason there was a recall for my model car in 2019 & 2020. I have reported this to the car dealership and it will be placed in their service department tomorrow... I was carrying five (5) passengers in the car when it lunged forward and I almost rear ended the car in front of me and was also rear ended because I had to a... Read more
Incident date: Jul 8, 2022
The transmission is slipping and lunges forward, I believe this is the same reason there was a recall for my model car in 2019 & 2020. I have reported this to the car dealership and it will be placed in their service department tomorrow... I was carrying five (5) passengers in the car when it lunged forward and I almost rear ended the car in front of me and was also rear ended because I had to a... Read more
Incident date: Jul 4, 2022
This issue has happen 2 other times one time last year where Suburu Tow Truck had to be called, 2nd time May 2022 in Larchmont, NY and a Police Office Had To Come Help Me. And, the 3rd time on July 4, 2022, in the super market of Key Food, Throggsneck, NY a stranger had to help me. When, I park my car and I turn off my ignition and the steering wheel is to the left it will lock. The manual says ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 4, 2022
This issue has happen 2 other times one time last year where Suburu Tow Truck had to be called, 2nd time May 2022 in Larchmont, NY and a Police Office Had To Come Help Me. And, the 3rd time on July 4, 2022, in the super market of Key Food, Throggsneck, NY a stranger had to help me. When, I park my car and I turn off my ignition and the steering wheel is to the left it will lock. The manual says ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 8, 2022
My 2012 Subaru forester had a recall on my passenger air bag that I had completed February 2019. It is now July 2022 and it’s displaying the same codes for a faulty air bag per my mechanic. I contacted Subaru of America and they stated that it’s not their problem because they have already complied with the recall. Clearly there is still an issue with the air bag or it would not have the same s... Read more
Incident date: Jul 12, 2022
Rear suspension is garbage, is rusted and broken and seized to the vehicle. The spring has fallen off the strut. Did not know what the weird noise was, but apparently it is the rear suspension. Cannot use the vehicle until repaired, was not notified of the brake sensor recall, and this part should be recalled as well. I want a reimbursement for my expenses to repair this faulty suspension
Incident date: Jul 7, 2022
Rear axle seal was leaking. Found during oil change and tire rotation. Vehicle has 47,000 miles.
Incident date: Jul 9, 2022
Windshield cracked for no reason. While driving turning on ram windshield cracked
Incident date: Jul 11, 2022
The key will not come out of the ignition when the engine has stopped. It has to be restarted (often multiple times) before the key will come out. Does not happen every time but is frequent. This could lead people to leave the key in place if they are in a hurry and result in the possibility of theft. Roommate has 2017 Outback that does the same thing and was told that it could be fixed but the co... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2022
It has been since February and they still do not have a fix for recall 21V-955 I have called the dealership several times without a solution.
Incident date: Jun 27, 2022
The windshield is fragile- there have been 2 broken windshields in the last 3 months- one from a minor ding and one that is not confirmed as to why the crack started (dealer says a ding- we did not hear or see a ding prior to the crack popping into place as we were driving). In both cases the cracks extended to over 50% of the windshield rapidly and suddenly while driving. The sudden nature and ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2022
The battery has had to be jumped 3 times in the last six months. And less than 29,000 miles. Took to dealership on July 5 and they said no issue and next time it happens would need to have it towed. Just worried it could happen in a remote place or in the evening.
Incident date: Jul 11, 2022
The glass sheet on the vehicle’s sunroof spontaneously exploded while I was driving on the freeway. Some broken shards fell onto myself and into the cabin as the interior pull cover was in the open position at the time of the explosion. Luckily no additional passengers were in the vehicle at the time of the incident. I was in shock as I heard and felt the explosion. As broken shards were fal... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2022
The glass sheet on the vehicle’s sunroof spontaneously exploded while I was driving on the freeway. Some broken shards fell onto myself and into the cabin as the interior pull cover was in the open position at the time of the explosion. Luckily no additional passengers were in the vehicle at the time of the incident. I was in shock as I heard and felt the explosion. As broken shards were fal... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2022
Car has repeated failed to start due to drained battery. Battery is drained by system. This has occurred dozens of times since the car was purchased new. Date of most recent occurrence is listed below.
Incident date: Jul 8, 2022
The battery loses its charge so that the car will not start if I don’t drive the car at least once or twice a week. The battery and electric system of the car was checked July 11, 2022 at the Bay Ridge Subaru dealership in Brooklyn, NY and all systems were found to be normal and good, including the battery. The battery is only 1 year old and is under a 30 month warranty. The Subaru service tech... Read more
Incident date: Jul 3, 2022
Windshield development a crack about 12 inches long without any known impact. It just popped and cracked by itself. Conditions were normal, no extreme heat or cold.
Incident date: Jun 27, 2022
Two dead batteries in 5 days. Dealer is looking at it this week.
Incident date: Jul 11, 2022
2015 SUBARU FORESTER. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO DEFECTIVE FIRESTONE TIRES. THE CONSUMER STATE THE TREAD SEPARATED FROM THE TIRE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED.
Incident date: Jul 5, 2022
The vehicle engine revved higher and would not stop even while applying the brakes. I was stopped in a parking lot waiting to take a left. As I took the turn, a mother and her two children exited the store quickly in my path. I took my foot off the gas and pressed on the brakes. The engine continued to accelerate and did not slow with the brake being applied. I slipped it into neutral while p... Read more
Incident date: Jul 9, 2022
Sitting in line to get gas and when I put car in Drive it went to full throttle and struck two vehicles in front of me. Car ended up on resting on driver's side and had to be towed.
Crash
Incident date: Sep 13, 2017
The contact stated that his girlfriend owns a 2018 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that when the vehicle was purchased, the front windshield seal dislodged and was visible by the dashboard. The contact stated that the seal should not be visible. The dealer was contacted and stated that they could not repair the windshield. The contact stated that a rock recently struck the windshield and a spi... Read more
Incident date: Jul 11, 2022
The vehicle has 27000 miles and the windshield shows multiple small chips and voids. The windshield is really thin and can’t take any wear and tear.
Incident date: Jul 11, 2022
The vehicle has 27000 miles and the windshield shows multiple small chips and voids. The windshield is really thin and can’t take any wear and tear.
Incident date: Jul 10, 2022
It has happened 3 times. I was approaching a traffic light about 200 yards away, and it was changing to yellow. I was in the left lane of a 3-lane small highway, there was a left turn lane, then my lane and the right lane. Someone started standing on their brakes in front of me, I looked into my rear-view and saw that someone was approaching me quickly, so I looked to my right and saw that I c... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
Power adjustment of Driver's seat front left corner does not raise in synch with right side. This causes the seat to be uneven, resulting in an unsafe driving position. Apparently the weld of the adjustment arm breaking is a well known and documented issue based on even a cursory internet search.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
Inoperative horn. Traced to continuity failure in steering roll connector, part #83111AL13. No indication of fault and no other apparent continuity failure in adjoining wire paths.
Incident date: Jul 6, 2022
Windshield cracked for no reason at all. This vehicle had been parked on my driveway and had not been driven in about 3 days. There are no trees or anything near the driveway that could have fallen on the car. While the car was parked on my driveway, the car was facing away from the street. The next morning the crack had already expanded and covered most of the middle part of the windshield.... Read more
Incident date: Jul 6, 2022
We had a rock fly up and hit the windshield 7" below top center of windshield, on impact the crack was over 12" in length, now the Crack is now over 24" in length.