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: Feb 1, 2022
Windshield randomly cracked along bottom edge. Rocks were not heard hitting windshield and extreme temperatures were not occurring at the time of fracture. Crack as extended and branched within days of appearing and has cause visibility issues. Glass repair shop as confirmed the crack and is replacing entire windshield now. Dealership was called originally and they confirmed this is unfortunately ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
I own a Subaru Outback 2019, and am based out of Chicago. The car was parked outside during a snowfall. After snowfall I went out to clear the snow off my car, and turned on the defoggers of the car to help clear out the snow on the windshield. After brushing off the snow I noticed a huge crack on the lower part of the windshield across the windshield wiper deicer. There was no other probable caus... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
I own a Subaru Outback 2019, and am based out of Chicago. The car was parked outside during a snowfall. After snowfall I went out to clear the snow off my car, and turned on the defoggers of the car to help clear out the snow on the windshield. After brushing off the snow I noticed a huge crack on the lower part of the windshield across the windshield wiper deicer. There was no other probable caus... Read more
Incident date: Feb 24, 2022
Our windshield has easily chipped and cracked repeatedly. We are having our windshield replaced for the 3rd time since November 2021, and it is March 1, 2023, this does not include the two times we have had chips repaired. Each time was due to a small piece of gravel or rock hitting our windshield while driving. Twice was at 20 MPH passing someone at the same speed. Anything that hits our windshi... Read more
Incident date: Feb 24, 2022
Winshield cracked with unknown reason
Incident date: Feb 20, 2022
While driving at approximately 55 miles per hour, a crack suddenly occurred in the lower passenger side of the front windshield. The crack extended to approximately 20 inches. There was no vehicle in front of the Subaru - no object struck the windshield. The failure mileage was 1100. When taken to the dealership, Subaru determined that the windshield was broken by "outer influences." When ta... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 2022
The windshield cracked from the bottom corner and slowly spread across the entire windshield. I took a picture before replacing the windshield, a repair that cost ~$900 to replace and recalibrate the eyesight system.
Incident date: Feb 28, 2022
I was driving on paved road, clear conditions, no other traffic, sunny, temperature around 10 F. Without warning, my front windshield cracked. There was no impact of any kind. The crack starts about 6 inches to the right of the driver's side A-post, about 6 inches above the dashboard. It extends horizontally about 2 feet and then curves down to the dashboard. There is no immediate hazard, but ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 28, 2022
For the third time in a week I have went out to the garage to find the lift gate up and the battery dead. I talked to the dealers service dept. and they said the fob button had to have been pushed which opened the lift gate and the open lift gate drained the battery. Their recommendation was to make sure the fob button doesn’t get accidentally pushed. I have never had any vehicle with this prob... Read more
Incident date: Feb 25, 2022
Windshield cracked after 3 weeks. Was hit by a very small rock when travelling at 30 mph, and a 10 inch crack appeared. In 40+ years of driving, I have never had a rock cause that much damage to a windshield, even at 60 mph.
Incident date: Feb 26, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the lower control arm detached. The contact became aware that there was rust on the control arm. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure however, no further assistance was provided. The approximate failure... Read more
Incident date: Feb 28, 2022
I was driving into the sunlight, and was slowing down due to utility pole work ahead. The car stalled, and engine shut off. The dash light indicated the eyesight was disabled. I was able to restart, but the incident was very concerning.
Incident date: Feb 28, 2022
I was driving into the sunlight, and was slowing down due to utility pole work ahead. The car stalled, and engine shut off. The dash light indicated the eyesight was disabled. I was able to restart, but the incident was very concerning.
Incident date: Feb 28, 2022
I was driving into the sunlight, and was slowing down due to utility pole work ahead. The car stalled, and engine shut off. The dash light indicated the eyesight was disabled. I was able to restart, but the incident was very concerning.
Incident date: Feb 28, 2022
Windshield fractured from the right wiper heater embedded into the windshield while the car was parked. The incident happened on 2/28/2022. The car is scheduled for a windshield replacement as it should not be driven.
Incident date: Feb 7, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start-up. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that rodents had eaten through the engine wiring harness. The contact was informed that the wiring harness was made of a soy-based material that was attractive to rodents. The vehicle was not yet repaired. Th... Read more
Incident date: Feb 7, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start-up. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that rodents had eaten through the engine wiring harness. The contact was informed that the wiring harness was made of a soy-based material that was attractive to rodents. The vehicle was not yet repaired. Th... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2022
Bought my brand new Forester less a month and i have to replace a windshield already!!! Discovered about 5 inches crack while warming up the car on the snow day. Subaru have a glass action agains them about windshield so easily to crack. Service dept refused to replace my windshield because of a super tiny hold that can not be seen by normal eyes, i think it was a damage from crack . We have a... Read more
Incident date: Feb 11, 2022
The contact owned a 2017 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 - 45 MPH on a two-lane road, he attempted to overtake the driver in front and crashed head-on into a vehicle coming in the opposite direction. The contact stated that the driver's front air bag failed to deploy however, both side curtain air bags deployed as needed. The contact stated that he suffered two fra... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Feb 4, 2022
Vehicle has always stuttered coming to stops but has began to start stalling. The problem was never diagnosed previously. Now that it is have found to be the torque converter I actually know what is happening. I don’t think being unable to rely on you vehicle to continue running in an emergency stop or break pump is a safety issue Subaru should take lightly. I have been faced with two Subaru... Read more
Incident date: Feb 27, 2022
Windshield cracked while parked in a line waiting to go through a carwash. Nothing was above the car that could have dropped on the windshield to cause it to crack. I heard a "crack" looked up and could see the crack starting from the edge of the driver's side window - within minutes it was approx 8 - 10 long. Thankfully no safety for me or others but depending upon where the crack was it cou... Read more
Incident date: Feb 26, 2022
Heard a pop, Spontaneous crack to the windshield
Incident date: Feb 25, 2022
The child lock in the back passenger door is stuck .
Incident date: Feb 5, 2022
System does not recognize the car is in park mode correctly. The side effect of this is ignition key gets locked in the key hole and cannot be pulled out. Repeated problem in all weather situation once the failure started to show symptom. This issue is common enough across multiple product line of Subaru vehicles with a service bulletin reference 16-112-18R with google search. Plenty of website po... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 2022
System does not recognize the car is in park mode correctly. The side effect of this is ignition key gets locked in the key hole and cannot be pulled out. Repeated problem in all weather situation once the failure started to show symptom. This issue is common enough across multiple product line of Subaru vehicles with a service bulletin reference 16-112-18R with google search. Plenty of website po... Read more
Incident date: Feb 22, 2022
There is some kind of electrical malfunction or drainage that the battery drains even when car is turned off. Replacement of new battery results in the same problem after a few days
Incident date: Feb 25, 2022
2016 Subaru Outback (purchased new) with severe electrical problems in the form of (frequent) battery discharge/non-start. This has been a reoccurring issue since early 2017 and is still a problem, even after replacement of the previous battery. I've had the replacement battery tested on several occasions after recharging and the result has always been that the battery is in good operating order. ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 25, 2022
2016 Subaru Outback (purchased new) with severe electrical problems in the form of (frequent) battery discharge/non-start. This has been a reoccurring issue since early 2017 and is still a problem, even after replacement of the previous battery. I've had the replacement battery tested on several occasions after recharging and the result has always been that the battery is in good operating order. ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 3, 2022
Make noise in the front driver site every time when I drive over bad roads
Incident date: Jul 1, 2020
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Legacy. The contact stated that while driving approximately 15 MPH, the contact noticed a fracture at the bottom center of the windshield that was approximately 12-inches long. The contact stated that this would be the fourth fractured windshield in approximately a year and a half due to sudden fractures without impact. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 2, 2022
While parked and without any impact a Crack formed from the edge to the center of the windshield. There was no impact While driving previously and to this point there is still no impact damage, just a smooth crack accross half the windshield.
Incident date: Feb 25, 2022
2019 SUBARU ASCENT. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO SUBARU SAFETY RECALL WRK-21. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED THE USE OF A RENTAL VEHICLE AND STORAGE BE PROVIDED WHILE AWAITING THE RECALL REPAIR COMPLETION. THE CONSUMER STATED THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME COMPLETING THE RECALL REPAIR.
Incident date: Jul 1, 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 took the vehicle to the local dealer and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated shortly after receiving the letter while driving approximately 30 MPH, the vehicle decelerat... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2021
Right trunk tail gate broke at pivot point due to rust. I had lifted the rear trunk door up to remove packages when the trunk door suddenly came down on my head. Subaru had issued a warning about this but this should be a recall!! I was thankful a child was not standing next to me! The dealer replaced both gates when I complained.
Incident date: Feb 25, 2022
I was sitting in park w/ac on and heard a crack looked up, initially saw nothing a few minutes later I saw a crack that has continued to spread.
Incident date: Jan 24, 2022
This is not a specific incident but a serious safety concern with a new vehicle purchased in January 2022. There are three contributing issues to the concern with the vehicle’s headlights: 1.There are two large shaded dark spots directly in your field of vision. These are approximately fifteen to twenty feet directly in front of the vehicle. 2.The cutoff lines are jagged and irregular with low... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2022
During the January snow storm in the Washington, DC area the ADAS system began to malfunction. The system that controls Adaptive Cruise Control, Automatic Emergency Braking, Forward Collision Warning and Lane Departure Warning all shut off. The vehicle was parked at an upward facing angle in order to allow all moisture to drain out/off the back of the vehicle. Once dry, the issue resolved itself. ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2022
During the January snow storm in the Washington, DC area the ADAS system began to malfunction. The system that controls Adaptive Cruise Control, Automatic Emergency Braking, Forward Collision Warning and Lane Departure Warning all shut off. The vehicle was parked at an upward facing angle in order to allow all moisture to drain out/off the back of the vehicle. Once dry, the issue resolved itself. ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 17, 2022
During the January snow storm in the Washington, DC area the ADAS system began to malfunction. The system that controls Adaptive Cruise Control, Automatic Emergency Braking, Forward Collision Warning and Lane Departure Warning all shut off. The vehicle was parked at an upward facing angle in order to allow all moisture to drain out/off the back of the vehicle. Once dry, the issue resolved itself. ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2022
My 2019 Subaru Forester experienced an unexpected (random) activation of the pre-collision avoidance automatic breaking feature. While driving on a major city road (dry, sunny, typical Arizona conditions) at approx 40-45 mph the system activated despite there being no obstacle (car or otherwise) anywhere near the vehicle. The nearest car was at least about half a mile ahead. The break force applie... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2022
My 2019 Subaru Forester experienced an unexpected (random) activation of the pre-collision avoidance automatic breaking feature. While driving on a major city road (dry, sunny, typical Arizona conditions) at approx 40-45 mph the system activated despite there being no obstacle (car or otherwise) anywhere near the vehicle. The nearest car was at least about half a mile ahead. The break force applie... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2022
My 2019 Subaru Forester experienced an unexpected (random) activation of the pre-collision avoidance automatic breaking feature. While driving on a major city road (dry, sunny, typical Arizona conditions) at approx 40-45 mph the system activated despite there being no obstacle (car or otherwise) anywhere near the vehicle. The nearest car was at least about half a mile ahead. The break force applie... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2022
THE MAIN COMPUTER SYSTEM THAT CONTROLS THE EYESIGHT SYSTEM, CRUISE CONTROL, LANE DEPARTURE, ALL HVAC CONTROLS, NAVIGATION, ETC. SHUTS DOWN (GOES BLACK), AND REBOOTS RANDOMLY. WHEN THIS OCCURS, ALL OF THE FUNCTIONS AND CONTROLS ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMPUTER SYSTEM ARE LOST. CRUISE CONTROL DROPS OUT AND THE BUILT IN SAFETY FEATURES ARE DISABLED. IT IS DISTRACTING TO THE DRIVER AND REQUIRES THE D... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2022
THE MAIN COMPUTER SYSTEM THAT CONTROLS THE EYESIGHT SYSTEM, CRUISE CONTROL, LANE DEPARTURE, ALL HVAC CONTROLS, NAVIGATION, ETC. SHUTS DOWN (GOES BLACK), AND REBOOTS RANDOMLY. WHEN THIS OCCURS, ALL OF THE FUNCTIONS AND CONTROLS ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMPUTER SYSTEM ARE LOST. CRUISE CONTROL DROPS OUT AND THE BUILT IN SAFETY FEATURES ARE DISABLED. IT IS DISTRACTING TO THE DRIVER AND REQUIRES THE D... Read more
Incident date: Feb 23, 2022
THE MAIN COMPUTER SYSTEM THAT CONTROLS THE EYESIGHT SYSTEM, CRUISE CONTROL, LANE DEPARTURE, ALL HVAC CONTROLS, NAVIGATION, ETC. SHUTS DOWN (GOES BLACK), AND REBOOTS RANDOMLY. WHEN THIS OCCURS, ALL OF THE FUNCTIONS AND CONTROLS ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMPUTER SYSTEM ARE LOST. CRUISE CONTROL DROPS OUT AND THE BUILT IN SAFETY FEATURES ARE DISABLED. IT IS DISTRACTING TO THE DRIVER AND REQUIRES THE D... Read more
Incident date: Feb 22, 2022
Battery completely died on a nearly brand new car overnight, after being parked for less than 48h at temperatures around 5°F. Took it to a dealer who claims that the LED dome light was left on, draining the battery. However, the dome light is an LED light rated at about 100mA @ 13V, and the battery is rated over 100 Amp-hours (de-rated to 45% at ~0°F, so a single dome light by itself should ta... Read more
Incident date: Feb 24, 2022
NUMBER: WUJ-95 - Exhaust Pipe Front (EPF) Bellows Cracking recall that affects cars produced as below Model Year Carline Affected Production Dates 2015-2016 Legacy 12/16/2013 - 9/30/2015 2015-2016 Outback 12/09/2013 – 9/30/2015 Affects cars outside this date. My 2016 Subaru Outback was built in March of 2016 and the exact same part broken at the exhaust bellows, requiring a $2600 repair. Inste... Read more
Incident date: Feb 24, 2022
WENT OUT TO MY CAR THIS MORNING AND NOTICED A LINEAR 6 INCH CRACK IN MY WINDSHIELD-IT EXPANDED FROM NEAR THE WIPER ON THE DRIVER SIDE UPWARD AND WITHIN 2 HOURS ANOTHER CRACK BEGAN ABOUT 5 INCHES LATERAL TO THE EVER EXPANDING FIRST CRACK WHICH IS NOW GREATER THAN 12 INCHES LONG. I CALLED DEVOE SUBARU IN NAPLES FLORIDA AND ASKED ABOUT WINDSHIELD CRACK AND REPAIR-I HAD BOUGHT THE CAR THERE 3 YEARS AG... Read more
Incident date: Feb 15, 2022
In the last 11 months, we have had to replace the front windshield four times due to significant cracks that occurred after a rock hit the windshield (3 times) and one time following a hailstone hit. The cracks do not show up immediately, but about two hours after the incident. The "Eyesight" safety features don't work when this happens. Our driving is in town or on a freeway. We DO NOT do of... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2021
Car started stalling when coming to a stop. No warning lights before or after. No check engine light or codes. Subaru dealership diagnosed it as torque converter without inspecting the car. Torque converter replaced by independent shop solved issue.