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 13, 2022
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, she saw a 2–3-inch crack on the lower passenger’s side windshield. The contact stated that the crack had since expanded to approximately 16-inches. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of t... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2022
-Windshield has spontaneous crack with no indication of any dent or chips due to object hitting. The vehicle is extremely new, picked up a month ago. -The windshield crack is getting bigger and likely will be a hazard for the driver and passenger of the vehicle. -Dealer is saying this is not covered under warranty. Dealer is saying go to insurance and they will replace at zero cost. -This will pro... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2022
Just had to replace the battery for the third time since we bought the car in Dec 2017. This last battery was installed in Aug 2021 and failed Jun 2022. The dealer we take the car for service has not been able to determine why the batteries are failing so often. Fortunately two failed our house but once it failed at a store's parking lot and we had to wait for three hours to get a tow to the de... Read more
Incident date: Apr 7, 2022
Windshield chipped with small pebble on highway. Chip was approximately the size of a penny.
Incident date: Apr 7, 2022
Windshield chipped with small pebble on highway. Chip was approximately the size of a penny.
Incident date: Apr 17, 2021
Windshield sustained 7 in crack and needed to be replaced. No determination on if anything hit the windshield.
Incident date: Jun 10, 2022
Travelling on the freeway and tapped brakes to disengage the adaptive cruise control due to slowing traffic ahead. The anti-lock brakes came on and the car came to a complete stop even though I had only tapped the brake and taken my foot off the brake. After coming to a stop the car was still running, but the transmission was completely out and the car wouldn't move. Was disabled on freeway until ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
The SRS airbag light is on, airbags disabled while driving vehicle with passenger in front. Sensor within passenger seat cushion is defective. Dealer says to fix passenger seat cushion needs to be replaced. Previous recall for harness already complete. Quoted $1400 to repair. 2017 Forester Premium, 78,000 miles
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
The SRS airbag light is on, airbags disabled while driving vehicle with passenger in front. Sensor within passenger seat cushion is defective. Dealer says to fix passenger seat cushion needs to be replaced. Previous recall for harness already complete. Quoted $1400 to repair. 2017 Forester Premium, 78,000 miles
Incident date: Jun 14, 2022
UNKNOWN. There is some sort of battery drain issue causing the battery to die and prevent my car from starting. The battery has been tested independently at two different locations, both of which found the battery was operating properly. My mechanic checked for anything causing any phantom power drain from the battery and could not locate anything. The tow truck operator told me they've been seein... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2022
Windshield Glass Cracked.
Incident date: Jun 12, 2022
While driving, a small pebble was believed to strike the front windshield (lower passenger side) because we heard a loud pop then noticed the windshield cracked immediately spanning the lower center of the windshield at least 18 inches from end to end. This crack negatively impacts driver visibility, distorting the view during both day and night driving. Insurance has not yet inspected the windshi... Read more
Incident date: May 2, 2022
Windshield on this vehicle cracked for no reason.
Incident date: Jun 3, 2022
Windshield large cracking in less than 3 months of ownership. Crack began initially about a week ago, around 4-6" in length, and has grown substantially to over 20" in the time I have waited for a replacement. Local subaru dealership has looked at the crack and taken photos. No replacement is available yet. Crack size is currently around 22" total length, and spreading daily with temperature fluct... Read more
Incident date: Jun 16, 2020
The contact owns a 2010 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the rear brakes were replaced by an independent mechanic. After 6 months, the contact noticed that the brakes needed to be replaced again. The mechanic stated that the automatic braking system was not releasing the brakes as needed, and the braking system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnose... 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 had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
Purchased 2021 Subaru Ascent Limited outright, drove it for few months, started having pain in my right thigh that resulted in cramping and severe discomfort which affected my ability to feel the break pressure. This nearly ended up causing a couple of near miss rear end collisions. The pain got so bad that it caused me to lay prone and apply muscle cream to the affected area then remain prone for... Read more
Incident date: Jun 2, 2022
WINDSHIELD CRACKED FROM PASSENGER SIDE "A" PILLAR 1/3 OF THE WAY DOWN FROM THE TOP ACROSS PASSENGER SIDE WINDSHIELD TO THE MIDDLE OF THE WINDSHIELD. ASIDE FROM THE OBVIOUS SAFETY FACTOR THE CRACK ALSO RENDERED THE CAR'S ADAS "EYESIGHT" SYSTEM INEFFECTIVE.
Incident date: Jun 12, 2022
The lane keeping assist even when shut off prevents lane changes. A truck drifted into my lane and I had to use extreme force to steer over the car. The collision assist will randomly brake at high way speeds, also while off. The brakes will get squishy, not properly engage and make funny noises while the parking collision is off as well.
Incident date: Jun 12, 2022
The lane keeping assist even when shut off prevents lane changes. A truck drifted into my lane and I had to use extreme force to steer over the car. The collision assist will randomly brake at high way speeds, also while off. The brakes will get squishy, not properly engage and make funny noises while the parking collision is off as well.
Incident date: Jun 12, 2022
The lane keeping assist even when shut off prevents lane changes. A truck drifted into my lane and I had to use extreme force to steer over the car. The collision assist will randomly brake at high way speeds, also while off. The brakes will get squishy, not properly engage and make funny noises while the parking collision is off as well.
Incident date: Jun 14, 2022
Uknown. This vehicle was purchased in January of 2021. Approximately a month afterwards, the windshield had cracked and I paid out of pocket to get it replaced. Shortly after replacing the windshield, it had obtained 2 chips on the windshield and from the second chip, it cracked from the bottom left corner up towards the middle of the windshield. The frequency in which chips and cracks are occurri... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 2020
In February of 2020, while in lock down for the pandemic, my windshield started to crack on the passenger side below the seal in the black area. It continued to spread. I took my car into the dealership once lockdown had lifted and I could get an appointment. I was aware of the issues with the windshield and they did a pin test confirming it was not due to a rock but rather the windshield itself. ... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle in the driveway, the vehicle failed to restart after thirty minutes. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was due to the pump assembly and noticed that the connector was difficult to remove and had melted. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer where it was diagnose... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2022
Battery keeps draining and dying. Replaced battery in October 2021, December 2021 and February 2022. Battery dead again June 2022.
Incident date: Jun 11, 2022
Transmission completely failed last year April 2021 in the middle of Highway and car is stalled. Tow to dealership for transmission replacement. After almost a 1 year of driving the transmission problem is coming back with gears are slipping again. Took the car to dealership and this time they are doing the repair of transmission instead of replacement. I am not comfortable with the approach since... Read more
Incident date: Jun 14, 2022
It has been six months and I have not received any communication from Subaru since the recall was announced. Submitting a complaint that the known recall has not been addressed in a timely manner.
Incident date: Jun 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated that the front windshield was cracked. The contact was unsure what caused the windshield to crack since the vehicle was rarely driven. The contact scheduled an appointment with the dealer for an inspection. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 81,500.
Incident date: Jun 14, 2022
I bought my 2020 Subaru Outback in March of 2020. Since then I have had many instances of the battery dying. In one instance (May of 2021), it died and after jumping they had to repair something to the electrical system. On another occasion it was dying multiple times (jumped it and drove it 3 consecutive times only for it to die 12 hours later each time in December 2020) I had the vehicle towed t... Read more
Incident date: Dec 9, 2021
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. 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 had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts... Read more
Incident date: Jun 12, 2022
Windshield spontaneously cracked while car was parked- I had just gotten in the car and waiting for my passenger to enter when it cracked from the driver's side edge to center of glass. Upon inspection, no crater or damage was visible or palpable.
Incident date: May 11, 2020
Two issues. Main cabin computer reboots randomly. This causes other safety systems, Eyesight, to stop working until the device boots back up. This is 2020 and "fix" / update for cockpit control module wasn't available until Feb. 2021.Thsi did not fix the problem. Dealership updated cockpit control module again in Dec 2021 and yet again in Jan. 2022. This issue is still ongoing and I've learned ye... Read more
Incident date: May 11, 2020
Two issues. Main cabin computer reboots randomly. This causes other safety systems, Eyesight, to stop working until the device boots back up. This is 2020 and "fix" / update for cockpit control module wasn't available until Feb. 2021.Thsi did not fix the problem. Dealership updated cockpit control module again in Dec 2021 and yet again in Jan. 2022. This issue is still ongoing and I've learned ye... Read more
Incident date: May 11, 2020
Two issues. Main cabin computer reboots randomly. This causes other safety systems, Eyesight, to stop working until the device boots back up. This is 2020 and "fix" / update for cockpit control module wasn't available until Feb. 2021.Thsi did not fix the problem. Dealership updated cockpit control module again in Dec 2021 and yet again in Jan. 2022. This issue is still ongoing and I've learned ye... Read more
Incident date: May 20, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, a small rock struck the windshield and immediately caused a crack. The windshield was replaced by the insurance company and the dealer. The contact stated that while driving a cracking sound was heard and the windshield cracked with glass pieces falling off. The contact stated that no injuries were sustained. The cont... Read more
Incident date: Jun 13, 2022
The electrical system failed to go into sleep mode after parking the car. The battery was totally drained by morning causing us to find someone to use jumper cables to juice it up again.
Incident date: Apr 22, 2022
The contact owned a 2017 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while reversing, the vehicle accelerated backward. The contact pumped the brake pedal and was depressed aggressively several times however the brakes failed to respond. The vehicle collided with a pillar of bricks causing the vehicle to stop. No airbag deployed and no one was injured. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a ... Read more
Crash
SUBARU
OUTBACK
(2017) - SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:BRAKE FLUID LOW WARNING:SWITCH/SENSOR/FLOAT
Jun 13, 2022
Incident date: Apr 22, 2022
The contact owned a 2017 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while reversing, the vehicle accelerated backward. The contact pumped the brake pedal and was depressed aggressively several times however the brakes failed to respond. The vehicle collided with a pillar of bricks causing the vehicle to stop. No airbag deployed and no one was injured. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 12, 2022
Driving on residential road, heard a spontaneous pop and did not know what it was. By the end of the drive there was an approximately 2 foot long crack in the center of the windshield behind the rear view mirror. Crack started from top edge of the windshield, nothing had hit it, and proceeded to spread quickly. Due to the crack, the eyesight technology in the car stopped working. This has been s... Read more
Incident date: Jun 3, 2022
My windshield is constantly getting cracks and chips. When I tried to get the most recent crack repaired, the windshield cracked, forcing me to get a replacement. When the windshield got replaced, another crack appeared 24 hours later, rising from the bottom (near the car frame), towards the top of the car. This crack nearly doubled in size within 48 hours. I will be spending about $1500 total o... Read more
Incident date: Jun 12, 2022
First of all, I took my car in for an oil change 2 months ago, and they found nothing wrong with my car. However, yesterday, I attended a meeting away from my home. I was in the meeting in the morning for 2 hours. When I returned to my car, without any previous warning whatsoever, it would not start. My car is only 3 years old. I tried to open the hatch to get my jumper cables, but it requir... Read more
Incident date: Nov 20, 2015
The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while attempting to park in a driveway, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated causing the contact to crash into a building wall. There were no injuries sustained. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was repaired but the failure continued to proceed to accelerate. several times after the repairs. The manufac... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 12, 2022
The contact owned a 2021 Subaru Forester Sport. The contact stated while driving at 75 MPH, the front end of the vehicle crashed into a small deer. The air bags did not deploy. The contact veered to the side of the road. The contact's friend who was occupying the front passenger seat exited the vehicle and inspected the front end of the vehicle. The contact's friend then advised her to immediately... Read more
Crash
Fire
1 injured
Incident date: Jun 11, 2022
Windshield cracked randomly while car was parked at my house. The crack isstarting from from bottom corner at seam. And extends almost all the way up in 1 single crack. After showing pictures to a mechanic he confirmed this is not from a rock or dust storm. If the windshield were to crack when driving it could potentially spiderweb, causing little visibility.
Incident date: Feb 20, 2020
In February 2020, my wife and I discovered fraying on the edge of the second row center seat belt on our 2019 Subaru Ascent. The belt was stuck in the connected position and would not retract into the ceiling retracting apparatus. Other than the fraying on the edge of the belt, the belt was in near-new condition. The vehicle had approximately 23,000 miles on it. She took it to the dealer, Adven... Read more
Incident date: Jun 10, 2022
A very, very small pebble hit the windshield while driving and caused a ~9 inch fracture in the windshield. I see that Subaru has had a class action lawsuit for defective windshields, but for some reason did not include the 2018 Crosstrek — but I can assure you, it's the same glass on these vehicles and the smallest pebble caused a nearly foot long crack.
Incident date: Jun 10, 2022
I will be on my FOURTH windshield in less than a year. Cracked for no reason four times!
Incident date: Jun 8, 2022
Three cracked windshields, according to the service personnel the windshield on this vehicle is thin, Subaru was aware of it, but has done nothing about it. Subaru cover the cost of the first windshield and the part that was not covered by insurance on the second one. Now it’s out of warranty and I’m sure the windshield will be out of pocket and it’s well over $1000. The first crack was for ... Read more
Incident date: May 12, 2022
I discovered substantial seat belt fraying on the rear center seatbelt on my Outback Wilderness, mileage less than 3,600, on May 12, 2022. Photos will be attached. One fray is 1/4" x 1/4", is 30" from the tip end of the connector tongue, and has separated the belt. The second fray is 1/4" x 11/4" and is 34" from the tip end of the connector tongue. Both frays are on the same side or edge of ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 9, 2022
We have owned the 2019 Subaru Forester for approximately 3 years and have had to replace the windshield FOUR times due to cracking (some that have occurred without noticing a chip from an object from the road. When we purchased this vehicle, the dealer suggested we purchase a fairly expensive extended warranty for the windshield without disclosing that the Forester (and other models) have a much g... Read more