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: Feb 22, 2022
We purchased our 2019 Subaru in 2018, before the New Year from the showroom floor. We will now have had to replace the windshield twice. Once in October 30, 2019 in which the dealership said that it was too no fault of Subaru, and now today February 22, 2022, the windshield is cracked again from the passenger side towards the middle. This has been a costly expense for us as we are retired. The lit... Read more
Incident date: Feb 11, 2022
My 2017 Subaru Forester has had its battery replaced twice. There is obviously either a problem with Subaru batteries, or there is something inherent in the electrical system of the vehicle that drains the battery. For a senior citizen, a dead battery when travelling is not only an inconvenience, but could be a major problem, especially in the winter months. I understand there is a class action l... Read more
Incident date: Feb 21, 2022
While the vehicle was parked in a driveway, the windshield developed a 10 inch crack in an upside down "J" shape, originating from the bottom edge of the windshield. There were no debris impacts in this area of the windshield and no "pitting" is visible that would have compromised the structural integrity of the windshield. There have been multiple class-action lawsuits related to the issue of cr... Read more
Incident date: Dec 23, 2021
I was driving in fine weather, in a smooth highway when a crack occurred in the windshield for no apparent reason. I initially thought a dust particle must have hit in the wrong place, but then was alerted to the fact that a windshield should not break for no apparent reason. I have owned cars for decades, and this is the first time that I have had a windshield crack, and in a nearly new car. It i... Read more
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
Unknown system that failed but vehicle equiped with EyeSight and all of Subaru safety features. Air bag did not deploy. Pulling into curbed parking space at city park. Speed <10 mph while in parking lot. Applied brake while pulling in space to park and car accelerated jumping the curb. The car was out of control and luckily heading into the woods. Tried to apply brake again but car kept ac... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
Unknown system that failed but vehicle equiped with EyeSight and all of Subaru safety features. Air bag did not deploy. Pulling into curbed parking space at city park. Speed <10 mph while in parking lot. Applied brake while pulling in space to park and car accelerated jumping the curb. The car was out of control and luckily heading into the woods. Tried to apply brake again but car kept ac... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
Unknown system that failed but vehicle equiped with EyeSight and all of Subaru safety features. Air bag did not deploy. Pulling into curbed parking space at city park. Speed <10 mph while in parking lot. Applied brake while pulling in space to park and car accelerated jumping the curb. The car was out of control and luckily heading into the woods. Tried to apply brake again but car kept ac... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Feb 21, 2022
Repeated battery failure issues. Vehicle has had to be jumped anytime the vehicle has sat more than eight hours since approximately 01/18/2022. Vehicle has been taken to an auto shop where battery and alternator test was done. Battery has been determined to be okay, simply in need of a charge. Alternator also okay. No indicator/warning lamp or message was given prior to initial or subsequent fail... Read more
Incident date: Feb 21, 2022
Out of no where the window chipped and then cracked later that day
Incident date: Jan 22, 2022
Battery won't hold a charge. Car is not reliable, danger of not starting and being stranded. Car has been inspected by dealership twice and new batteries were installed but the problem persists. No warning of low battery.
Incident date: Feb 21, 2022
Cracked windshield for the 2nd time.
Incident date: Feb 20, 2022
Windshield has cracked on 3 separate occasions while parked. Happened in 2 parking lots and my driveway.
Incident date: Jan 25, 2021
The battery does not hold a charge. I have had to have AAA charge my battery on 10 occasions in the fourteen months since I purchased this vehicle. I also have had to have the battery jumped by friends to start the car. The battery was replaced by the dealership in early September 2021, claiming it was a deflected battery and I should have no more battery problems. The replaced battery has not hel... Read more
Incident date: Feb 21, 2022
Hello! We have a 2017 Subaru Legacy 2.5I LM that was purchased used in 2018. Since the purchase of the vehicle, we have had to replace the battery 3x. The vehicle cannot seem to hold a charge, despite frequent use. Neither the car dealership we sold the vehicle to nor the Subaru dealership can seem to figure out what the issue is, however, it does seem to possibly align with this vehicle having ba... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
Windshield cracked across bottom portion. Many other Subaru owners have had the same problem.
Incident date: Jan 28, 2022
I was starting to reverse out of a parking spot in an underground parking lot. (It was about 10 am). The car accelerated and went backwards at top speed into a wall and door that led to elevators. It happened very suddenly. I did not have time to brake before impact. The car was still running after impact and I had to switch off the ignition to stop the engine running. The airbags did not deploy... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Feb 19, 2022
Windshield cracked for no reason.
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
At the time,time, car was not fully 2 years old.. its brand new.This is an addition to a post created a week ago. After the dealership offered to detail the interior of the car to solve the sulferic acid feeling I noticed that the flap above the driving wheel started to feel warm. This happened right in the morning in February. I'm not sure if I am feeling an electrical voltage, smelling the ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
At the time,time, car was not fully 2 years old.. its brand new.This is an addition to a post created a week ago. After the dealership offered to detail the interior of the car to solve the sulferic acid feeling I noticed that the flap above the driving wheel started to feel warm. This happened right in the morning in February. I'm not sure if I am feeling an electrical voltage, smelling the ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
At the time,time, car was not fully 2 years old.. its brand new.This is an addition to a post created a week ago. After the dealership offered to detail the interior of the car to solve the sulferic acid feeling I noticed that the flap above the driving wheel started to feel warm. This happened right in the morning in February. I'm not sure if I am feeling an electrical voltage, smelling the ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 19, 2022
the car battery gets completely drained after up to 24 hours of non use. this has happened repeatedly over the last couple months. replaced the battery and the same issue occurs with the new battery, completely drained after less then 2 days of not being used.
Incident date: Feb 19, 2022
Vehicle was at a stop light on a 45mph road at which time the car shook very badly, the engine stalled, and almost every dashboard light illuminated. Vehicle was unable to move putting the passengers at extreme risk of a rear end collision on a major thoroughfare. The situation was safely resolved after shutting down the vehicle for a minutes and restarting it. Following the incident, the vehic... Read more
Incident date: Feb 19, 2022
Vehicle was at a stop light on a 45mph road at which time the car shook very badly, the engine stalled, and almost every dashboard light illuminated. Vehicle was unable to move putting the passengers at extreme risk of a rear end collision on a major thoroughfare. The situation was safely resolved after shutting down the vehicle for a minutes and restarting it. Following the incident, the vehic... Read more
Incident date: Feb 19, 2022
Vehicle was at a stop light on a 45mph road at which time the car shook very badly, the engine stalled, and almost every dashboard light illuminated. Vehicle was unable to move putting the passengers at extreme risk of a rear end collision on a major thoroughfare. The situation was safely resolved after shutting down the vehicle for a minutes and restarting it. Following the incident, the vehic... Read more
Incident date: Feb 19, 2022
This is the second windshield on my 2018 Subaru Outback that has cracked near the A-pillar without any evidence of being caused by an impact.
Incident date: Feb 7, 2022
Took 2012 Subaru Impreza to dealer on 2/07/22 for oil change and PA state inspections (60,130 mi). Maintenance and inspections performed without issues. Started car and noticed slight change in sound and vibration from engine that I attributed to cold winter day start up. A block from leaving dealership, the check engine, oil warning and vehicle dynamic control lights all illuminated at once. In t... Read more
Incident date: Feb 3, 2022
It's a 6mt. Randomly reverse stopped working. Seems like it wants to go in reverse. But when any bit of gas pedal pressed it grinds and pops out of reverse. I have no reverse. 1st thru 6th gear works shifting wise. Shifter has some play though.
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
In first 5,000 miles two windshields have cracked. The first had NO obvious impact. The second was hit by a VERY SMALL pebble (<1/4”). Seems like Subaru hasn’t resolved their windshield issues.
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
Front windshield crackle sound (like breaking glass) when temperature drops below 20 degrees. Constant sound.
Incident date: Dec 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, a rock struck and cracked the passenger’s side windshield. The contact was able to continue driving to the residence. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic who replaced the windshield with a factory windshield. However, a few weeks later the contact entered the vehicle and noticed a new crack had f... Read more
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
After replacing my battery today, I am on the third battery in 4 years. There is an apparent problem with parasitic battery drain with this vintage Outback. My car died at a gas station after getting gas. I work in an area with no cell coverage, so had this happened at work, I could have been remotely stranded. I had a local service center (not the dealer) confirm the battery drain. I had no ... Read more
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
I purchased this car in July 2019. Three times the windshield has cracked without any explanation or cause. Three weeks ago, I replaced the second cracked windshield at my own expense. Three weeks later -- just yesterday, Feb. 17, 2022 -- the brand new windshield simply cracked. All three times the crack has appeared in roughly the same place. There was no road debris or anything else that came in... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
There is a software problem which caused the alternator to not charge the battery correctly, causing the battery to go bad prematurely. The battery was just a few months outside of it's warranty, with it needing to be jump started frequently. It was tested at an Autozone then at the Subaru dealership confirming the bad battery. Subaru dealership confirmed the software malfunction that caused the p... Read more
Incident date: Feb 17, 2019
First the sensor for the passenger seat failed and I had to keep the seat belt buckled even when no one was in the seat because the alarm would sound. Then the air bag light came on and says it is not operational. When I checked with Subaru I was told we must have spilled a drink on it. Once the airbag light came on and stayed on the seat belt alarm stopped going off. The interior seats are a... Read more
Incident date: Feb 16, 2022
The car battery in my 2019 Subaru Forester drained completely overnight. The car was stuck in the garage and I could not go anywhere. I had to call for roadside assistance to get the car jumped. The battery power was at 0%. I had driven the car over 1 hour the day before, so it should have had good power stored. It appears to be parasitic power drain that happened overnight. There were no wa... Read more
Incident date: Feb 12, 2022
The windshield cracked spontaneously. There are no signs of chips or any cracks indicating something hit it. The weather was chilly but not freezing and the vehicle was parked and unoccupied. The crack starts at the top and curves/snakes down the middle
Incident date: Feb 16, 2022
I’m very disappointed in the terms of the Subaru recall. Instead of just replacing the faulty transmission, they will only fix CVTs w/ evidence of problems. I reported transmission issues at my last service and was told to wait for the recall as they would charge me $175 if they couldn’t replicate the problem. So now I have to drive until at least May (probably longer with all the other recall... Read more
Incident date: Feb 16, 2022
I’m very disappointed in the terms of the Subaru recall. Instead of just replacing the faulty transmission, they will only fix CVTs w/ evidence of problems. I reported transmission issues at my last service and was told to wait for the recall as they would charge me $175 if they couldn’t replicate the problem. So now I have to drive until at least May (probably longer with all the other recall... Read more
Incident date: Feb 16, 2022
I’m very disappointed in the terms of the Subaru recall. Instead of just replacing the faulty transmission, they will only fix CVTs w/ evidence of problems. I reported transmission issues at my last service and was told to wait for the recall as they would charge me $175 if they couldn’t replicate the problem. So now I have to drive until at least May (probably longer with all the other recall... Read more
Incident date: Feb 13, 2022
The key gets stuck in the ignition. We have to turn the ignition to ACC or start the car then switch it back to OFF multiple times for it to release. We have not had the issue looked at yet. It's easily reproduceable. No other symptoms are present. Subaru issued a recall for this issue for vehicles with a CVT transmission but there are countless complaints of this happening to non-CVT transmission... Read more
Incident date: Feb 13, 2022
My windshield cracked straight up the middle for no apparent reason. This problem has been confirmed by numerous NHTSA complaints. Less than 12,000 miles. No rock hit my windshield but I hit a bump when it cracked. $470 to replace or pay my $2,000 deductible.
Incident date: Feb 13, 2022
My windshield cracked straight up the middle for no apparent reason. This problem has been confirmed by numerous NHTSA complaints. Less than 12,000 miles. No rock hit my windshield but I hit a bump when it cracked. $470 to replace or pay my $2,000 deductible.
Incident date: Feb 7, 2022
cracked front windshield for no known reason
Incident date: Feb 7, 2022
cracked front windshield for no known reason
Incident date: Feb 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the windshield cracked without impact. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 39,591.
Incident date: Jan 19, 2022
I am now on my SIXTH battery in my 2017 Subaru Outback, having had to replace it 5 times in the last 2 years. For a car that has less than 30,000 miles, is maintenanced regularly, taken care of and driven well, this is absurd. The dealership has acknowledged that there was a technical issue that was making the battery drain quickly, but even after reprogramming, the NEW battery still died a few mo... Read more
Incident date: Dec 16, 2021
Windshield washer barely works, only one of the three nozzles will spray fluid. Pump sounds like it's working and fluid is full. For sure a safety issue in winter months.
Incident date: Feb 16, 2022
Contacting Subaru going on 4 years to get airbag recall completed. Subaru has Persistently promised to call back to set appointment BUT NEVER CALLS. Just did 2 chats again today both MYSTERIOUSLY disconnected AS USUAL. Please record for legal purposes my absolute frustration at trying to get Subaru to fulfill this Critical RECALL for Deadly Airbag Repair
Incident date: Jan 24, 2022
Windshield has cracked 4 times in 21 months, at least 3 times this did not appear to impact related. The crack quickly spreads along the entire width of windshield over a 2-3 day period. We have replaced 3 times, each time through Subaru Clearlake dealership.
Incident date: Nov 1, 2021
My windshield cracked within a few months and few thousand miles of purchasing my vehicle for no real apparent reason.