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: Jun 3, 2022
I was informed of the recall of my 2020 Ascent and my Subaru dealership gave me a 2021 Ascent loaner car. but it is going on 2 months and no information when my car will be fixed. At this point time I don't want my car anymore if they CAN'T FIX IT.
Incident date: Jul 2, 2022
Dead battery. Replaced battery twice since owning vehicle. Will not start even with trying to jump.
Incident date: Jul 1, 2022
power steering fails and then begins working again, happened while driving and lost power steering while getting off the highway.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
I believe my car having some issues with fuel system, gasoline delivery, cooling down and exhaust system, electrical system:ignition. This vehicle only has 15,606 miles on it and should not be giving me this kind of problem.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
I believe my car having some issues with fuel system, gasoline delivery, cooling down and exhaust system, electrical system:ignition. This vehicle only has 15,606 miles on it and should not be giving me this kind of problem.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
I believe my car having some issues with fuel system, gasoline delivery, cooling down and exhaust system, electrical system:ignition. This vehicle only has 15,606 miles on it and should not be giving me this kind of problem.
Incident date: Jun 30, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, a horizontal crack formed on the middle driver’s side edge of the windshield. Within thirty minutes, the contact stated that the crack had expanded vertically and horizontally across the windshield to approximately 22-inches horizontally and 2.5-inches vertically. The contact stated that the crack obstructed her vis... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
2017 Subaru Forester - Passenger airbag seat sensor intermittent failure. Does not detect passenger when seated and thus does not arm airbag while in motion. Safety of driver, passenger, and other drivers at risk due to product failure. Problem has been confirmed by local Subaru dealer and Subaru of America, but part is back ordered with no timetable for fulfillment. Multiple owners facing same is... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Forester. The contact stated she was parking in a parking space when the vehicle accelerated at a very high speed without any warning causing the driver to crash into a building. When the vehicle came to a complete stop, the contact shifted the vehicle into reversed and the vehicle accelerated backward at very high-speed once again causing the contact to hit another ... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Jun 30, 2022
The car battery was completely dead (no warning light or anything) after ~3 years and 45k miles. When we replaced it, the new battery died within 2 days and less than 150 miles. The mechanic who replaced our battery said that the new one was also completely dead.
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the battery was drained. The battery warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was jumpstarted and taken to an independent mechanic who referred the contact to an authorized dealer. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure however, no additional assist... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2022
The car experienced an unexplained spontaneous front windshield crack. It started small on the drivers side near the wiper and has continued to spread. No foreign body or rock has hit the windshield. I took the vehicle to O'Steen's Subaru in Valdosta and they refused to repair it.
Incident date: Jun 29, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that as she approached the vehicle, she noticed that the passenger’s side windshield was cracked. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact notified the dealer by phone. The dealer informed the contact to notify her insurance company of the issue. The contact related the failure to a manufacturing defect. The vehicle was not ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 11, 2020
The brakes on this car squeak constantly. Even after replacing brake pads and rotors the car still squeaks every time the brakes are used. After searching the issue I have found multiple Reddit forums of 2019 Impreza owners complaining of the same issue. I have filed a complaint with Subaru and the dealership I bought the car from (brand new) and they refuse to address this issue. It is extremely ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 29, 2022
The front passenger airbag sensor is faulty. It is a known issue and can be found in the owners manual to not have any electronics or clothing on the seat. Subaru wants to charge over a grand to replace the entire seat bottom whenever this issue.
Incident date: Dec 8, 2019
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that there was a crack the size of a quarter at the lower center bottom of the windshield The contact had the windshield repaired by a glass specialist. The failure recurred close to the location of the repair. The windshield was repaired a second time. The failure recurred a third time however, on the top passenger’s side of the windsh... Read more
Incident date: Jun 17, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle started jerking and hesitating while attempting to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and the transmission fluid was flushed; however, after retrieving the vehicle the failure persisted. The contact stated that several unknown warning messages were displayed. The vehicle was ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 17, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle started jerking and hesitating while attempting to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and the transmission fluid was flushed; however, after retrieving the vehicle the failure persisted. The contact stated that several unknown warning messages were displayed. The vehicle was ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2010
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked overnight, the following morning it was discovered that the windshield was cracked near the heating element. The contact indicated that no object had struck the windshield to cause the crack. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who repaired the damage; however, approximately five months later the ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 28, 2022
our windshield has had to been replaced 4 times! it randomly gets cracks while sitting in the driveway. why is this happening?
Incident date: Jun 28, 2022
TWICE now, once a year ago and then again today, my car battery is completely drained. I do not leave my FAB in the car and there were no lights left on in the vehicle. A year ago, the same thing happened and they replaced the battery with another OEM battery, thereby just temporarily fixing the issue. The service manager lied to me and told me he had no knowledge of a class action lawsuit in plac... Read more
Incident date: Jun 27, 2022
Windshield failed while car sitting in driveway. No impact found on windshield. Took to a dealership where they refused to acknowledge that it was not caused by impact and would not replace. Having to spend $1000 to fix a defect on vehicle.
Incident date: Jun 27, 2022
Windshield failed while car sitting in driveway. No impact found on windshield. Took to a dealership where they refused to acknowledge that it was not caused by impact and would not replace. Having to spend $1000 to fix a defect on vehicle.
Incident date: Jun 27, 2022
Vehicle navigation system crashes with a black screen once or twice a day. While the system is rebooting, navigation, Eyesight and Reverse Automatic Braking are disabled. Needless to say, this is very distracting and especially bad since Eyesight is required to avoid a collision. This has happened multiple times over the 11 months that I've owned the vehicle.
Incident date: Jun 27, 2022
Vehicle navigation system crashes with a black screen once or twice a day. While the system is rebooting, navigation, Eyesight and Reverse Automatic Braking are disabled. Needless to say, this is very distracting and especially bad since Eyesight is required to avoid a collision. This has happened multiple times over the 11 months that I've owned the vehicle.
Incident date: Jun 27, 2022
Vehicle navigation system crashes with a black screen once or twice a day. While the system is rebooting, navigation, Eyesight and Reverse Automatic Braking are disabled. Needless to say, this is very distracting and especially bad since Eyesight is required to avoid a collision. This has happened multiple times over the 11 months that I've owned the vehicle.
Incident date: Jun 17, 2022
Windshield chips and cracks easily- I have had my car for less than 4k miles- I had one small chip near top of windshield, and within 2 weeks time it has spread almost all the way down and through the windshield. In that time I have had 2 other small chips to the glass and as of now they have not spread in the heat but I will be watching closely. The crack effects my ability to see road clearly ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 3, 2022
Battery continually found dead requiring frequent jump starts
Incident date: Jun 16, 2022
MESSAGE TO SUBARU OF AMERICA BEFORE REPAIR Hi there, our 2018 Subaru Outback 3.6R was parked in a covered parking garage for the last week. When we entered the vehicle, we noticed the windshield was cracked all the way from the passenger edge to near the rear view mirror. The windshield was not cracked after prior use of the vehicle. No object has struck the windshield during the time it was park... Read more
Incident date: Jul 29, 2020
Transmission failed. Began to make bad noises then failed to accelerate in an intersection. Was almost hit by another car. Dealer indicated that the Subaru transmissions were only lasting 90, 000 to 100,000 miles before requiring replacement. Contracted Subaru who said they had a voluntary fix, but we were not notified and were outside of the short time frame for the fix. We replaced transmission ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 26, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, extra brake travel time was needed upon the depression of the brake pedal while attempting to stop the vehicle. The contact stated that the brake pedal would depress to the floorboard during the failure without warning. An independent mechanic inspected the vehicle and related the failure to NHTSA Camp... Read more
Incident date: Dec 15, 2021
Have been experiencing issues with the transmission for 6 months. Still have not been provided a remedy to correct the issue.
Incident date: Mar 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while depressing the accelerator pedal, the Brake Hold feature failed to automatically disengage and the vehicle was driven and a clunking noise coming from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who indicated that the noise was due to a faulty transmission and that the transmission needed to be replaced. The ve... Read more
Incident date: Jun 25, 2022
My windshield simply cracked for no reason that I can tell. I parked it in garage and came out the next morning and there was a crack all the way across to middle of the car. Started on the driver side mid height of the windshield and ran horizontally to just under the eyesight cameras. I don't see where anything hit it or chipped it.
Incident date: Jun 15, 2022
On multiple occasions I have had the infotainment system (the touchscreen) either freeze, go completely blank, or reset itself while driving. Most often this has happened while using Apple Car Play but that's not always the case. When this occurs, I also get a message that EyeSight is not available. While this has not caused me to have an accident the potential is there. I have had the screen go b... Read more
Incident date: Jun 26, 2022
Battery died following limited use.
Incident date: Jun 26, 2022
While stopped at a light. My windshield cracked from the bottom to middle of the glass. No point of entry
Incident date: Jun 26, 2022
While stopped at a light. My windshield cracked from the bottom to middle of the glass. No point of entry
Incident date: Jun 26, 2022
While stopped at a light. My windshield cracked from the bottom to middle of the glass. No point of entry
Incident date: Jun 15, 2021
The CVT Transmission has a known problem where the torque converter causes stalling. This issue is well documented on Subaru forums. I took my vehicle to Subaru about the problem and they said the fix for the stalling is to replace the Torque Converter., It is not yet covered for a recall despite being such a large issue with these vehicles.
Incident date: Jun 15, 2021
The CVT Transmission has a known problem where the torque converter causes stalling. This issue is well documented on Subaru forums. I took my vehicle to Subaru about the problem and they said the fix for the stalling is to replace the Torque Converter., It is not yet covered for a recall despite being such a large issue with these vehicles.
Incident date: Jun 24, 2022
I was driving about 55 mph on a county highway and an animal appeared in the road. I hit the brakes suddenly, and my work bag containing my laptop and file folders that I had placed on the backseat behind my driver seat Flew forwards and hit the back of my seat. I felt the impact in my spine, And by the next morning I had moderate back pain moving and breathing as if my ribs were bruised. I can o... Read more
Incident date: Jun 20, 2022
Repeated battery drained issues. Multiple batteries replaced.
Incident date: Jun 24, 2020
The contact owns a 2017 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was jump started. The contact had the battery replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed; however, the mechanic found not fault with the vehicle. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2022
The Brake, ABS, and traction control (VDC) lights all came on a couple of weeks ago. I brought the vehicle into the Subaru dealership and they diagnosed a failed Vehicle Dynamics Control board as the problem. I've requested to receive the old VDC board. That there were brake issues was clearly indicated by the dash lights, so my safety risk was low. There seemed to be no impact to regular brake f... Read more
Incident date: Jun 6, 2022
The Brake, ABS, and traction control (VDC) lights all came on a couple of weeks ago. I brought the vehicle into the Subaru dealership and they diagnosed a failed Vehicle Dynamics Control board as the problem. I've requested to receive the old VDC board. That there were brake issues was clearly indicated by the dash lights, so my safety risk was low. There seemed to be no impact to regular brake f... Read more
Incident date: Jan 18, 2020
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the coolant needed to be replenished frequently. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer where a pressure test was performed however, the mechanic did not discover failure with the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.
Incident date: Jun 20, 2022
Windshield developed a crack of about 20” that starts at the passenger side of the vehicle and worked its way inward.
SUBARU
XV CROSSTREK
(2013) - SERVICE BRAKES
Jun 23, 2022
Incident date: Jun 10, 2022
Whilst driving down Highway 101 near Sequim WA, I was on cruise control doing 55 MPH going up a steep hill which I have done numerous times before without issue. When all of a sudden the car suddenly slowed down, for me to hear honking from a Semi behind me who had to suddenly swerve to go around us to stop him from rear ending me (luckily that part of the road on the hill had a second lane for t... Read more