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: Aug 16, 2021
Windshield cracked for no reason
Incident date: Jan 15, 2022
I have a 2014 Subaru Forester and I am having the exact same problem described in the NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V701000. The dealership wants to charge $1250 dollars to replace the seat bottom for a part that is recalled for all Subaru Foresters from 2015-2018. An electrical connection in the front passenger seat for the Occupant Detection System (ODS) is causing the airbag sensor to remain in t... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2022
I have a 2014 Subaru Forester and I am having the exact same problem described in the NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V701000. The dealership wants to charge $1250 dollars to replace the seat bottom for a part that is recalled for all Subaru Foresters from 2015-2018. An electrical connection in the front passenger seat for the Occupant Detection System (ODS) is causing the airbag sensor to remain in t... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2022
I have a 2014 Subaru Forester and I am having the exact same problem described in the NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V701000. The dealership wants to charge $1250 dollars to replace the seat bottom for a part that is recalled for all Subaru Foresters from 2015-2018. An electrical connection in the front passenger seat for the Occupant Detection System (ODS) is causing the airbag sensor to remain in t... Read more
Incident date: Jan 6, 2022
I was on a sharp incline at idle behind a line of cars, waiting for the light to turn green and my Subaru Forrester surged forward, out of my control, and hit the back of the vehicle in front of me, causing damage to my vehicle and the one in front of me. I questioned the Subaru service center regarding it and they did not have a means to report the incident to Subaru for investigation, but offere... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jan 6, 2022
I was on a sharp incline at idle behind a line of cars, waiting for the light to turn green and my Subaru Forrester surged forward, out of my control, and hit the back of the vehicle in front of me, causing damage to my vehicle and the one in front of me. I questioned the Subaru service center regarding it and they did not have a means to report the incident to Subaru for investigation, but offere... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jan 20, 2022
I have owned my certified pre-owned 2019 Subaru Forester for less than a year, with under 30K miles. Within the last 2 months I’ve gotten a crack and a chip in two different areas of my windshield. Nothing out of the norm happened to cause this. I only drive 20 miles round trip for work daily and some errands around town on the weekends.
Incident date: Jun 28, 2021
The windshield on my 2020 Subaru Outback spontaneously cracked shortly after I started the car on a hot summer day (06/28/2021). Roughly a minute after starting the vehicle and turning on the air conditioning, I drove a distance of about 100 ft and heard a really loud snap, but initially didn't see the cause of the sound. About 2 seconds later, a crack quickly spread horizontally from the driver's... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2022
The windshield on my 2020 Subaru Outback spontaneously cracked while I was driving the vehicle on a cold morning (01/20/2021). This crack is the second such spontaneous crack that has occurred with this same vehicle. The first crack occurred in the original windshield in June 2021, after which the original windshield was replaced with an OEM windshield. This second cracking event occurred with the... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2022
Windshield: Mid December noticed crack along right lateral side of windshield when car parked in garage. No preceding incident noted. Garage temp 40 degrees. Had windshield replaced with original Subaru replacement windshield at Safelite on 12/31/21. On 1/20/22, while driving 60 mph on highway, 33 degrees, snowing, wipers and defroster on, heard noise like a rock hitting windshield, and notic... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2022
Several batteries that have died prematurely, last one only 2 months since last use. Vehicle has refused to start on several occasions, despite the battery being okay. Suspect issues with controller area network.
Incident date: Jan 21, 2022
The battery in the vehicle completely drains if the vehicle is not started every day and run/driven for a period of time. I called the dealer where it was bought new by me and they told me it was a common thing that happens and just to make sure the interior lights went dark when the vehicle is parked. To me, that was a lame way to blow me off. I have talked to others that own these same vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2022
When I was idling in park, the car spontaneously accelerated at full throttle. Another incident occurred while braking the car started accelerating at full throttle, even though I was sitting still at a drive through. - it would not stop without turning off the ignition.
Incident date: Jan 20, 2022
When I was idling in park, the car spontaneously accelerated at full throttle. Another incident occurred while braking the car started accelerating at full throttle, even though I was sitting still at a drive through. - it would not stop without turning off the ignition.
Incident date: Dec 5, 2021
We left our Outback at the airport and went on a 4 day vacation. When we came back on December 5,2021 the car would not start and the battery was in a deep failure. The battery had approximately 32,000 miles on it and was the original battery. Took home, put on charger and on December 7, 2021 the vehicle still would not start and had to be jumped. The Subaru dealer replaced the battery under ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2022
Battery keeps draining. We jumped it two days ago and already it's dead again. We've checked all lights and other systems for user error--it's not us, it's the car! I'm scared to go anywhere remote for fear of getting stranded, especially now that it's winter in New England!
Incident date: Jan 9, 2022
I got a cracked glass on the empty road and this is a same problem like at Impreza
Incident date: Dec 1, 2017
Rubber fuel lines under the intake manifold leak fuel when the temperature falls below 40 degrees F. The smell permeates the cabin and fuel can be seen wetting nearby surfaces under the intake. An inspection can be performed. This represents a fire safety hazard that could occur while the vehicle is in motion, jeopardizing all surrounding traffic. The problem is widely noted on Subaru internet... Read more
Incident date: Jan 21, 2022
Hello! I have a 2016 Subaru Legacy and have been experiencing issues with battery drain over the last 2 years. I have replaced the battery multiple times, the computer modular, and even the alternator with no solution. My safety is at risk as my wife and i both drive this vehicle and have a toddler. The persistent uncertainty on if the vehicle will start puts us at risk to be stranded and is heig... Read more
Incident date: Dec 3, 2018
I Had to jump start battery on several occasions, leaving myself and my family stranded. I took the car to my dealer on 12/3/2018. Dealer (Glanzmann Subaru) could not identify problem, performed two software updates. I received no information or explanation of the nature of the problem. A month later the problem repeated. I took the car to dealer on 1/16/2019 (mileage 25,941).They tried to tell ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2019
The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated after turning the vehicle off, the next morning the vehicle would not start. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the battery was faulty and needed to be replaced. The battery was replaced, and the failure was remedied but reoccurred. The contact indicated that on at least four separate occasions, the battery had f... Read more
Incident date: Jan 6, 2022
The Controller Area Network ("CAN") did not enter sleep mode when the car was turned off, resulting in a "parasitic battery drain." I replaced 3 batteries over a period of 24 months of ownership, and just paid $1355 to have the manufacturer-installed computer chip replaced to stop the battery drain and properly shut off the vehicle. This is a safety issue for several reasons - not knowing when my... Read more
Incident date: Dec 7, 2021
With no impact from flying debris the windshield developed a bubble/crack potentially in the interlayer. There crack/bubble cannot be felt on the inside or outside parts of the windshield.
Incident date: Dec 28, 2021
Battery draining and constant jump starting. If the car is not driven for a few days the battery is drained out. This has happened on more then one occasion. The vehicle has only 11,339 miles on it. Take it to the dealer and they claim dome lights were left on. Well a fully charged battery leaving a led dome light on won't drain the battery beyond starting. Of course they do a battery test and not... Read more
Incident date: Jan 20, 2022
The battery on my 2016 Subaru WRX has drained - twice - while parked for a week or less. This has occurred before and after replacing the battery at the dealership. Both times the battery was recharged by AAA and driven for 30-45 minutes to bring the battery back to full charge.
SUBARU
XV CROSSTREK
(2015) - WHEELS
Jan 19, 2022
Incident date: Oct 26, 2021
Right rear wheel bearing failure at around 71,000 miles. Loud, humm occurs around at around 35 mph and above.
Incident date: Jan 10, 2022
Temperature dropped to -20 and large crack randomly appeared on driver side windshield. This crack has caused the eyesight safety feature to not work meaning I don’t have lane departure warning or forward collision warning. Informed my warranty does not cover the windshield repair or required camera recalibration.
Incident date: Jan 10, 2022
Temperature dropped to -20 and large crack randomly appeared on driver side windshield. This crack has caused the eyesight safety feature to not work meaning I don’t have lane departure warning or forward collision warning. Informed my warranty does not cover the windshield repair or required camera recalibration.
Incident date: Jan 10, 2022
Temperature dropped to -20 and large crack randomly appeared on driver side windshield. This crack has caused the eyesight safety feature to not work meaning I don’t have lane departure warning or forward collision warning. Informed my warranty does not cover the windshield repair or required camera recalibration.
Incident date: Jun 18, 2020
I bought my 2018 Subaru Forester in may of 2020 it is now January of 2022 and I have replaced the entire windshield THREE TIMES. If requested, my vehicle can be inspected. It is clear that this windshield is too fragile and poses a safety risk for myself and those passengers that enter my vehicle. It is also costing me a lot of money to repair multiple windshields and causing my insurance to go up... Read more
Incident date: Jan 18, 2022
Multiple instances of the battery dying after being parked for a few days. New battery did not resolve the problem and diagnostics indicate that the battery is not the problem. Unable to use vehicle when it cannot be started. Most recent incident was 1/18/2022. First occurred shortly after I purchased the vehicle.
Incident date: Jan 17, 2022
In January 2020 my Outback failed to start. Battery was totally discharged and had to be jumpstarted. Took the car to dealer where technician tested battery and said it was good.I had him recharge the battery and test it again. It failed and they installed a new exact same battery under warranty. I was very pleased. However, the battery failed several more times over the year and had to be jumpsta... Read more
Incident date: Jan 18, 2022
The battery is continually draining and requires the car to be jump started. This has been happening for the couple of years.
Incident date: Nov 28, 2021
2019 Subaru Outback. Two failed batteries in the space of one year. The first was on 2/11/21 with 21,520 miles on the car. We were on vacation in Florida and the local dealer (Bert Smith Subaru) in St. Petersburg confirmed that the battery failed and installed a new one. On 11/28/21, newer battery died. Local Dealer (Dean Team Subaru) performed a battery test, confirmed that the battery was b... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2022
Frequent battery dying problem in 2020 Subaru Forester from Grayson Subaru, Knoxville, TN I am a 67 year old woman who does much scientific research in remote places alone at night. During the day, I manage 3 farms 100 miles apart. I am constantly opening and closing gates, getting out briefly to check livestock and fix fences. If my keys are left in the ignition even briefly, as I get in an out f... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2022
Frequent battery dying problem in 2020 Subaru Forester from Grayson Subaru, Knoxville, TN I am a 67 year old woman who does much scientific research in remote places alone at night. During the day, I manage 3 farms 100 miles apart. I am constantly opening and closing gates, getting out briefly to check livestock and fix fences. If my keys are left in the ignition even briefly, as I get in an out f... Read more
Incident date: Dec 29, 2021
Outback started jerking forward with an increase in RPMs and noise from engine. Malfunction was very alarming and could result in a traffic accident...especially at higher speeds and in traffic. No warning lamps/messages indicated from vehicle. Took vehicle to Subaru dealership and rode with mechanic. Was told by dealership that a new CVT (transmission) is needed at a quoted cost of $9,000+ (with ... Read more
Incident date: Dec 27, 2021
My son was driving the car when without warning the car shut down. I had the car in previously for a check engine light problem, which they diagnosed as a bad pin retention in connector in the bulkhead wiring harness. They replaced the harness but then found that the Unit EGI Con needed to be replaced probably due to the fault in the wiring harness (there words not mine). Previously I had the blo... Read more
Incident date: Jan 18, 2022
We bought a 2020 Outback used with 12k miles from local Honda dealership July 2021. At 18k miles we took it in for service and were told there was gross misalignment and all the tires were worn down and needed to be replaced. The Subaru dealership made it sound as though this is a recurring issue with the 2020 Outbacks - the alignment is going off early and the tires are wearing down very fast. Th... Read more
Incident date: Dec 27, 2021
2022 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium developed a spontaneous ~ 20 inch crack in the upper passenger quadrant of front windshield from the upper edge downward overnight. The windshield was not chipped or damaged. The vehicle was less than 4 months old and had driven 5732.7 miles and was parked at the the time the crack appeared. The low temperature in the previous 24 hour period was 3° F.
Incident date: Jan 6, 2022
Took my 2013 BRZ Limited in for the Valve Spring recall. After work completed I was unable to get my car home before I had severe knocking, CEL, and power failure. Car was at dealership for over a month. After I got it back it's been driven 10k miles and has a rod bearing failure and all the same symptoms - power loss, grinding/knocking, and dash lights lit up.
Incident date: Jan 15, 2022
The windshield on my 2022 Subaru Legacy cracked. The crack looks like it started at the bottom center of the windshield and is working its way up several inches and now spreading to the passenger side. I took it to the dealer this morning. They used a marker to trace the crack and found a very small impact point. They said it doesn't take much as the windshields are thinner in Subaru's due to ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 14, 2022
Car back door won't open, despite 3 new batteries. Remained locked so that couldn't remove equipment from back--Dangerous. Have been through 3 batteries in 26,000 miles....all that the car has been driven since it's purchase, new, in 2017.
Incident date: Jan 14, 2022
Car back door won't open, despite 3 new batteries. Remained locked so that couldn't remove equipment from back--Dangerous. Have been through 3 batteries in 26,000 miles....all that the car has been driven since it's purchase, new, in 2017.
Incident date: Dec 31, 2021
> 5 total jump starts and 3 dead batteries requiring battery replacement since purchase 2 years ago. Total mileage currently <10k. Multiple diagnostics from dealer reported to be negative. We have been diligent about assuring no lights left on although this has been cited as a theoretical cause. Most recently, received a jump start at an airport, then driven >90 miles continuously, then was again ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2021
Brand new 2022 Outback XT driven 500 miles. Got hit by the tiniest rock that left a barely visible chi on the lower right passenger side. By the next morning it had cracked and spread across half of the windshield. One week later, the same thing happens but on the driver side and now the cracks have connected forming one massive crack. I am hesitant to replace this since it sounds like windshields... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2022
Drove car to and from work in the morning, no visible crack on windshield. Parked in garage 1-2 hours. Came back and found 12+ inch crack starting at base of passenger side windshield in an L shape. Don't remember getting hit with any debris while driving and there is no visible impact point. It was cold outside but can't remember if I used the defrost/deicer. A little research online shows this... Read more
Incident date: Dec 26, 2021
The battery on the vehicle began dying repeatedly. At first, the service provider said there was nothing wrong, however the vehicle died again the next day after inspection. Subaru replaced the battery after I brought it in a second time and the vehicle died again the next day. I brought it in a third time, and It turned out that there was a problem in the electrical system that was draining the... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2022
Underlying and undiagnosed electrical issue is placing excessive load on battery to a point where battery can't recover. Have had issues on shorter drives and long drives. We are currently on 4 battery replacements in less than 18 month period. After a quick Google search is a common issue among other Outbacknowners. Best guess is something with a faulty design on alternator and/or electrical syst... Read more
Incident date: Oct 20, 2019
2019 Subaru Outback purchased 7/10/19 during that fall and following winter had the battery die multiple times. We keep it in a garage where it does not freeze in the winter. Had to jump it to start each time. Finally took it to the dealership 4/29/20 with 4,669 miles on it to complain to dealership. They said that there was nothing wrong with the battery. They told us that it needed to be dr... Read more