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: Oct 23, 2021
The contact owns a 2010 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that as she attempted to park her vehicle, the vehicle independently accelerated forward at a high rate of speed without warning. The contact stated that the vehicle stopped on its own before hitting another vehicle. The contact was able to drive the vehicle home but had not driven the vehicle since the failure. The contact called the man... Read more
Incident date: Oct 23, 2021
The contact owns a 2010 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that as she attempted to park her vehicle, the vehicle independently accelerated forward at a high rate of speed without warning. The contact stated that the vehicle stopped on its own before hitting another vehicle. The contact was able to drive the vehicle home but had not driven the vehicle since the failure. The contact called the man... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2021
The contact owns a The contact stated while driving approximately 10 mph when the contact was hit by a different vehicle which resulted in the air bags not deploying. The contact sustained a cut on his hand and soreness in his back. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic where it was awaiting repairs. The manufacturer was informed of failure and was awaiting a response. The failure mileage was ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Oct 10, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Subaru Impreza. The contact stated while driving at 10 MPH, the contact was making a left turn when another vehicle struck the vehicle on the front driver side door which fractured the side mirror and glass on the driver side door. The air bag did not deploy. The contact was injured and sustained a cut on their left hand due to the glass but declined medical treatment at th... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Oct 22, 2021
I purchased a 2020 Subaru Legacy Sport in March of 2020. On August 25th 2020, while on the freeway a small rock chipped the upper passenger side of the windshield. By the next morning it turned into a crack which spanned almost half of the windshield directly in front of the Eyesight cameras. Once the glass was replaced with an OEM windshield, I noticed the new glass appeared to have defects. Duri... Read more
Incident date: Aug 7, 2021
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at 60 MPH, a pebble hit the bottom passenger’s side of the windshield and formed a horizontal crack. Within minutes, the crack expanded to almost 3 feet. The contact was referred to the dealer by his insurance provider. Upon taking the vehicle to the dealer, the contact had the windshield replaced out of pocket. A few ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 19, 2016
As far as I know, my vehicle is performing as designed, but I am quite serious in thinking this is a safety issue - the radio cannot be muted, or turned off, or the volume decreased, when the transmission in in Reverse, because of interference of its head unit with the backup camera. This is a hugely annoying distraction when trying to parallel park safely and quickly in dense urban settings. I ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 19, 2016
As far as I know, my vehicle is performing as designed, but I am quite serious in thinking this is a safety issue - the radio cannot be muted, or turned off, or the volume decreased, when the transmission in in Reverse, because of interference of its head unit with the backup camera. This is a hugely annoying distraction when trying to parallel park safely and quickly in dense urban settings. I ... Read more
Incident date: Nov 19, 2016
As far as I know, my vehicle is performing as designed, but I am quite serious in thinking this is a safety issue - the radio cannot be muted, or turned off, or the volume decreased, when the transmission in in Reverse, because of interference of its head unit with the backup camera. This is a hugely annoying distraction when trying to parallel park safely and quickly in dense urban settings. I ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2021
1. July 15, 2021 the brakes didn’t fully engage three times. Twice within 30 minutes while driving to work and once on my drive home. 2. Unknown 3. Yes. Car was at dealership put through all kinds of tests and field engineer checked it out. They had me come out on Monday, 9 August and drive it with the head mechanic while hooked up to a computer trying to see if the problem replicated. 4. Ye... Read more
Incident date: Jul 15, 2021
1. July 15, 2021 the brakes didn’t fully engage three times. Twice within 30 minutes while driving to work and once on my drive home. 2. Unknown 3. Yes. Car was at dealership put through all kinds of tests and field engineer checked it out. They had me come out on Monday, 9 August and drive it with the head mechanic while hooked up to a computer trying to see if the problem replicated. 4. Ye... Read more
Incident date: Oct 31, 2021
Battery dead something is happening with the trunk. I think it drained the battery. This is the second time this happened
Incident date: Aug 7, 2021
Intermittently, wipers do not function, even after 2 repairs. The first time, (3 weeks after vehicle purchase) after driving approximately 5-10 minutes in the rain, the wipers (front and rear) stopped working. After approximately 10 minutes, function resumed. The second time (later the same day), after driving approximately 5-10 minutes in the rain, the wipers (front and rear) stopped working. Aft... Read more
Incident date: Oct 26, 2021
The vehicle on board computer system periodically goes completely black (i.e., completely shuts down) disabling all of the operator controls (heater/fan/defrost controls, seat heater controls, temp controls, navigation, radio and other dash monitoring and informational controls, etc.). I am not sure of all features/functions that are lost because it happens when I am driving and I cannot investig... Read more
Incident date: Sep 30, 2021
2019 Outback Premium bought Bought May 2019. When I bought the car and for at least 6 months or more the headlight produced nice white light and I could see the road clearly. During this period the car was driven before sunrise and no issues with light emission. Driving the car today on the same roads at same time in morning road visibility is extremely poor. After the first 6 months I only dro... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2021
Had a small rock hit my window near the driver's side on the bottom. The window cracked instantly. It was a large crack!
Incident date: Sep 11, 2021
Had a small rock hit my window near the driver's side on the bottom. The window cracked instantly. It was a large crack!
Incident date: Oct 29, 2021
My battery keeps draining for some unknown reason. It's parked in the garage and locked but it is always dead when I need to use it. I need a reliable transportation and I have never had this problem before. I have had 4 - 5 jumps from my insurance company in the last few weeks. And it's dead again today after a jump a few days ago.
Incident date: Oct 21, 2021
Small star chip on top driver's side, about 2 minutes after that. Large 16" crack appeared on passenger side
Incident date: Oct 15, 2021
The battery in my car has been replaced 3 times (twice by the dealer and once by me) and the alternator once due to deep discharge, in addition I have had to "jump" the car one or more times. Subaru has paid the cost of all repairs for this issue despite the fact they don't admit there is an issue. In addition to the battery replacement there was an ECM update done this last time to reduce batt... Read more
Incident date: Oct 3, 2021
Battery died for no apparent reason. This left me stranded after dark in Baltimore City. I was able to get a jump start to get home but the car would not start even after the battery was placed on a charger. There are numerous internet news items describing similar stories. I contacted the dealer who refused to assist and therefore replaced the battery myself. There was no warning that this would ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2018
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that since purchasing the vehicle, her windshield had cracked on four separate occasions due to minor road debris. The first crack was a diagonal crack that formed on the lower corner of the driver-side windshield. The second crack was like a spider’s web that formed on the upper passenger’s side of the windshield. The third crack was ... Read more
SUBARU
OUTBACK
(2019) — VISIBILITY:DEFROSTER/DEFOGGER/HVAC SYSTEM:WINDSHIELD:ELECTRICAL HEATING ELEMENT
Oct 29, 2021
Incident date: Oct 21, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Outback. The contact stated the vehicle was parked in his garage overnight and the next morning he discovered a crack at the base of the windshield. The contact looked around but could not determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who took pictures of the crack and submitted a claim to the manufacturer; however, the manufacturer rejected... Read more
Incident date: Oct 28, 2021
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front windshield cracked without impact. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact mentioned that the windshield was previously cracked and was replaced. The manufacture was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 44,00... Read more
Incident date: Oct 28, 2021
Rear view camera stopped working.
Incident date: Jul 24, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving in the rain at 55 mph, the vehicle spun a couple of times, then crashed into the median wall. The median wall brought the vehicle to a complete stop. The contact's driver's side seatbelt did not lock the contact into her seat during impact, which caused injuries to the contact's right arm, wrist, and hand. No air bags d... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Jul 24, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving in the rain at 55 mph, the vehicle spun a couple of times, then crashed into the median wall. The median wall brought the vehicle to a complete stop. The contact's driver's side seatbelt did not lock the contact into her seat during impact, which caused injuries to the contact's right arm, wrist, and hand. No air bags d... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Oct 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph the vehicle crashed into a second vehicle causing substantial front end damage to the vehicle. During the crash no airbags in the vehicle deployed. The driver sustained chest and rib injuries and was transported to the hospital. A police report was taken at the scene and the vehicle was towed away. ... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: May 13, 2021
Windshields crack for no reason. We are on the fourth windshield. One was a stone hit. So while weak, that is not the main issue. But we then had the windshield suddenly crack from no contact driving slowly through a cemetery. We replaced that windshield at Subaru then again the next day it cracked. Again, nothing hit it and the speed was slow. Not cemetery slow. But about 40 miles an hou... Read more
Incident date: Oct 26, 2021
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that there was a crack in the windshield. There was no impact to the windshield that could have caused the crack. The contact stated that this was the third time that the windshield cracked and needed to be replaced. The first failure occurred in a parking garage when the contact heard a loud pop and noticed there was a crack while leaving... Read more
Incident date: Oct 8, 2021
The lane keeping assist pull abruptly into the other traffic lane when traveling on the highway for example when on a 4 lane road with two lane in the same direcstion and passing a semi truck the steering assist abruptly pulls the car into the truck's lane and requires immediate hard handed reaction to keep the car from hitting the truck. The lane assist on this subaru vehicle is more dangerous t... Read more
Incident date: Oct 27, 2021
Engine Hood-Latch disengaged while driving at speed. The secondary (emergency) latch failed to keep the hood down, causing it to fly open, shattering the windshield, and completely blocking a view of the highway. (The hood latch had an issue where it would not close 10 months prior, and it was serviced by Subaru at that time)
Incident date: Oct 26, 2021
Battery continually does not hold charge over any time longer than a few days parked. Even after long drive from Wisconsin to Ohio, car sitting for 6 days in cool weather (never under 40 degrees) caused dead battery. Battery has been replaced by Subaru dealer 3 times previously, each time dealer said they could not detect a problem. In winter, battery is dead each night, even with normal daily use... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2021
My forester has been used in salt belt for 12 years. Was on the list of recall for Front Suspension Control Arm Failure. We brought it to the dealership to have the car inspected and for a 4 year old car, they didn’t do anything. On 10/15/21, the front control arm broke right after we drove off highway. If the arm broke on the highway, then us and others might have been killed as the tire would ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 26, 2021
Battery dies after car is parked for more than 3 days. Car is available for inspection. I have been stranded/inconvenienced at least 5 times. Problem was solved through AAA, family jumpstart help, etc. Verbally reported to dealer, service writer comment made it sound like it must have been my fault or just the needs of the computer components. No warnings or symptoms.
Incident date: Oct 26, 2021
2 battery failures… First failure 15 Mar, 2018 (4,381 miles) and the second of which was 26 Oct 2021 (16,237 miles). Batteries were completely drained. The first battery actually failed when I attempted to start the vehicle. Instead of engaging the starter, the accessories light went out along with a strange audible sound. Because of this I had the vehicle towed to the dealership where they rep... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2021
Twice I The car is approaching one year old, and twice in the last 2 months the car would not start when I got in the car after it had been sitting in my garage for a number of days. I did not leave the light on or the door open. I had to call Subaru Roadside Assistance to jump start the car because the battery had died. There were no warning signs that the battery had drained. I am a... Read more
Incident date: Oct 8, 2021
In humid weather SRS airbag warning light illuminates and passenger airbag turns off even with passenger in the front seat. Car is in motion (or can be stationary but running) when this happens. Does not occur on days when weather is cool and dry. I feel this should be considered a very serious issue.
Incident date: Oct 23, 2021
Windshield has crack starting at bottom middle of passenger side that curves up to about half way up and over the windshield ending about midpoint between passenger and driver. Car had been last driven Sunday, October 17th 2021 and then no crack was still visible as of Friday morning. But between Friday and Saturday, October 23rd 2021 the crack appeared when the vehicle had not been driven in 5 ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 26, 2021
Subframe or cradle Subaru OEM # 50527AJ01A is a vital safety component (see dealer's written comments below) and as designed and installed completely supports the weight of the engine and transmission - rust and corrosion per mechanics at 3 different garages (Mickey's, Weber, Ganley Subaru) advised vehicle is unsafe to drive due to subframe corrosion and imminent failure. Corrosion of sub frame a... Read more
Incident date: Aug 26, 2021
Subframe or cradle Subaru OEM # 50527AJ01A is a vital safety component (see dealer's written comments below) and as designed and installed completely supports the weight of the engine and transmission - rust and corrosion per mechanics at 3 different garages (Mickey's, Weber, Ganley Subaru) advised vehicle is unsafe to drive due to subframe corrosion and imminent failure. Corrosion of sub frame a... Read more
Incident date: Oct 18, 2021
If a passenger with mildly damp pants or bathing suit sits in the car the airbag warning light will come on and the indicator for passenger airbag disabled will light. This happens consistently and does not require much moisture. It happens with a mildly damp bathing suit under shorts while sitting on a towel. It will not happen (again, consistently) if the passenger sits on a plastic bag. Th... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2021
The car windshield cracked while driving without any apparent reason. It is a large horizontal crack on the driver's side which affects visibility.
Incident date: Nov 15, 2020
Rear driver side wheel bearing is bad at 75,000 miles
Incident date: Oct 21, 2021
Windshield spontaneously cracked
Incident date: Oct 25, 2021
Battery is draining at a faster rate than expected. Replaced 2 batteries with 3 year warranties in 5 year time.
Incident date: Oct 24, 2021
The windshield has cracked for the fourth time. We were driving and suddenly a 12 inch plus crack developed from the moulding on the driver's side. I have never had to replace a windshield on any car i have owned. This car has had 4 replaced in less than 4 years. 2 times i was able to see a tiny chip and two times i could not tell why the glass had failed at all. Regardless, this is an unacce... Read more
Incident date: Oct 4, 2021
Rock damage to windshield. Subaru advises to replace with OEM glass to guarantee safety systems operate correctly making this a safety issue. The problem is that Subaru windshields are back ordered. There are two problems here. First, Subaru windshields are very susceptible to damage, perhaps more than others. Second, Subaru fails to maintain critical safety system parts.
Incident date: Oct 4, 2021
Rock damage to windshield. Subaru advises to replace with OEM glass to guarantee safety systems operate correctly making this a safety issue. The problem is that Subaru windshields are back ordered. There are two problems here. First, Subaru windshields are very susceptible to damage, perhaps more than others. Second, Subaru fails to maintain critical safety system parts.
Incident date: Oct 4, 2021
Rock damage to windshield. Subaru advises to replace with OEM glass to guarantee safety systems operate correctly making this a safety issue. The problem is that Subaru windshields are back ordered. There are two problems here. First, Subaru windshields are very susceptible to damage, perhaps more than others. Second, Subaru fails to maintain critical safety system parts.