Subaru Outback 2021

Car

Subaru Outback 2021

22 source-linked failure reports. Most reported: Electrical system failure. Typical failure around 2.4 yr.

Reliability signal C · Emerging signal · data confidence Moderate

22 confirmed failure reports

Reliability summary

What is likely to go wrong, when it happens, and how expensive it can be — from source-linked failure reports. Counts are reports in our database, not a population failure rate.

Reliability signal

C

22 confirmed failure reports · Emerging signal · Data confidence: Moderate

Most common issue
Electrical system failure
Typical first failure
2.4 yr
Median of confirmed reports with timing
Median repair cost
—
Reported costs only · market varies
Highest reported repair
—
Not a quote · costs differ by country

What breaks?

Failure types

Click a type in the reports section below to filter.

  • Electrical system failure12 · 54.5%
  • Other5 · 22.7%
  • Engine failure2 · 9.1%
  • Brake system failure1 · 4.5%
  • Structure / body failure1 · 4.5%
  • Steering failure1 · 4.5%

When does it break?

Failure timing

Months after purchase, using reports that included timing.

What does it cost?

Reported repair costs

Distribution of owner-reported repair costs— not a quote or guarantee. Labor and parts prices vary by country.

No reported repair costs yet for this model.

Median months to failure

29

Failure reports

22

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Median repair cost

—

Still recommend

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% repaired

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% mfr warranty

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% extended warranty

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% support helpful

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What breaks?

What breaks? · reports

Electrical system failure

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

29 months

Government / agencyIndexed Oct 9, 2026Source-linkedVerify source — NHTSA complaint #11557970

My vehicle is equipped with EYESIGHT. I was driving to my home after work at night and suddenly the infotainment system screen went blank; including Braking Assist, Adaptive Cruise control, Lane assist, Emergency Braking etc including Navigation, also the HVAC shut off and EYESIGHT that controls these as well, shut off. It was suffocating in the car due to no A/C and thusf I tried to pull over at a remote text-stop place and tried restarting the car but in vain. All screens were dark, no warm air, I couldn’t see what direction I was driving to, as well as I solely relied on navigation. I brought this car for it’s safety features and warmth in this cold temperature in UPSTATE NY and this happened. I waited for 20 mins, charged my phone for only 4-5% with a fellow citizen who was waiting there as well and checked online just to see a lot of people reported the same issue with 2021 Subarus with EYESIGHT. And there is NO way one can fix it. I tried contacting the dealer but in vain. I am afraid that if this would happen again, I wouldn’t be in a situation to face this scary experience.

VerifiedEvidence ★★★★☆
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Months until failure

29 months

Repair cost

Not stated

Repaired

Not stated

Manufacturer warranty

Not stated

Extended warranty

Not stated

Support helpful

Not stated

Would recommend

Not stated

AI extraction confidence

90%

Verification status

Verified

Evidence quality

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Discussion

Other

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

17 months

Government / agencyIndexed Oct 9, 2026Source-linkedVerify source — NHTSA complaint #11505358

The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving approximately 68 MPH with the cruise control activated, the vehicle suddenly lost motive power. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that it was difficult while attempting to shift the gear lever out of drive(D). The contact stated that once she was able to shift the gear shifter, she shifted into park(P) to turn off the vehicle. The vehicle was restarted after multiple attempts. The contact then noticed that the parking brake had engaged independently. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 14,000. The contact stated while driving on Mass Pike the Adaptive Cruise control was engaged, in the middle lane and no problems the vehicle lost power. After five minutes and traffic moving, the vehicle was trying to reboot but the emergency brake was on without anyone applying it. And the contact had a difficult time putting the vehicle into to park to restart the engine.

VerifiedEvidence ★★★★☆
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Months until failure

17 months

Repair cost

Not stated

Repaired

Not stated

Manufacturer warranty

Not stated

Extended warranty

Not stated

Support helpful

Not stated

Would recommend

Not stated

AI extraction confidence

90%

Verification status

Verified

Evidence quality

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Discussion

Other

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

4 months

Government / agencyIndexed Oct 9, 2026Source-linkedVerify source — NHTSA complaint #11438733

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 investigate to see what all functions/indications I have lost. It remains out of service for a short period (the times of the shut down seem to have varied) of time and then comes on and reboots itself. Sometimes it comes back to where/when it shut down, and sometimes it just comes back to the initial ignition/start screen. This requires action by the driver (which is a safety concern because it requires the driver's attention and is distracting) to reset control settings. Navigation sometimes requires resetting an address because the computer lost its destination. This is dangerous. I just had the vehicle serviced for this issue and had a Subaru "FIX" installed - that apparently did not work. The problem still exists.

VerifiedEvidence ★★★★☆
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Months until failure

4 months

Repair cost

Not stated

Repaired

Not stated

Manufacturer warranty

Not stated

Extended warranty

Not stated

Support helpful

Not stated

Would recommend

Not stated

AI extraction confidence

90%

Verification status

Verified

Evidence quality

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Discussion

Brake system failure

STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES

Government / agencyIndexed Oct 9, 2026Source-linkedVerify source — NHTSA complaint #11421481

While moving forward slowly with foot lightly on the brakes and pulling into a parking space at local shopping center the car accelerated and the steering wheel turned to the right. The result of the cars actions made the car jump the curb, drive across the sidewalk and then across small hedges in the landscaped area. Car finally came to a stop about 20 feet later, with me pushing hard on the brake, just prior to entering parking lot roadway cross traffic. There was no alarm, warning or any other indication from any of the safety systems. As far as the automobile was concerned, nothing wrong had happened. Luckily there were no other vehicles or pedestrians on sidewalk or in the landscaped area between the parking space and roadway. There was no vehicle damage as the shrubs were all fairly short and the car simply drove over them. My husband disabled the lane departure system and I continue to operate the car. Based on all the previous incidents reported on this site, my husband indicates that Subaru will blame operator error. I have a perfect driving record and this incident was not caused by me incorrectly stepping on the gas.

VerifiedEvidence ★★★★☆
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Months until failure

Not stated

Repair cost

Not stated

Repaired

Not stated

Manufacturer warranty

Not stated

Extended warranty

Not stated

Support helpful

Not stated

Would recommend

Not stated

AI extraction confidence

90%

Verification status

Verified

Evidence quality

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Discussion

Structure / body failure

VISIBILITY/WIPER

7 months

Government / agencyIndexed Oct 9, 2026Source-linkedVerify source — NHTSA complaint #11447100

The component that has failed twice is the windshield. They current windshield is available for inspection but not the first. In fact, I am taking it my Subaru dealer tomorrow so they can look at it. This is the second windshield in 13 months that has failed. The first one became heavily pitted across the entire windshield. This one has a crack starting from the passenger side, 2/3 of the way up and then continues 1/3 of the way towards the driver. I do not recall any impact on the windshield prior to the crack occurring. I am concerned about the frequency of this model's windshield issues and whether it can stay intact. As noted above, this problem has happened twice for me. I posted my concerns on Reddit to see if other owners of this vehicle are having issues and I have received numerous responses that others are also having quality issues and those issues are similar to mine. There was no warning prior to the issues with my windshield. It is interesting to note that Subaru had a class action lawsuit against them just a few years ago related to this very same issue with the windshields. I am concerned that the windshield issues have not been adequately addressed.

VerifiedEvidence ★★★★☆
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Months until failure

7 months

Repair cost

Not stated

Repaired

Not stated

Manufacturer warranty

Not stated

Extended warranty

Not stated

Support helpful

Not stated

Would recommend

Not stated

AI extraction confidence

90%

Verification status

Verified

Evidence quality

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Discussion

Other

UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

Government / agencyIndexed Oct 9, 2026Source-linkedVerify source — NHTSA complaint #11425744

Automatic braking system activated abruptly and forcefully when a vehicle in the adjacent lane slowed down to make a turn. This has occurred numerous time both on the highway and in city driving. I have called Subaru to report the issue. They did not recommend taking it to a service center, although I plan to. The car otherwise has shown no warning of automatic braking malfunction prior to or after the incidents. However the automatic braking system has continued to malfunction. I now deactivate the automatic braking every time I start the car to avoid further incidents. Potentially related to the automatic braking malfunction, the car regularly alerts me to keep my eyes on the road while I have my eyes on the road. Common situations when this happens include when I scan an intersection on approach for potential hazards (e.g., pedestrians, people running red lights, etc.), fixing my glasses or hat while continuing to look straight ahead, and simply scratching my face all trigger the warning. Occasionally, the warning is activated for seemingly no reason. At best, it’s a nuisance; at worst it’s a distraction and a liability. I now deactivate this feature when I start my car.

VerifiedEvidence ★★★★☆
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Months until failure

Not stated

Repair cost

Not stated

Repaired

Not stated

Manufacturer warranty

Not stated

Extended warranty

Not stated

Support helpful

Not stated

Would recommend

Not stated

AI extraction confidence

90%

Verification status

Verified

Evidence quality

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Discussion

Electrical system failure

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Government / agencyIndexed Oct 9, 2026Source-linkedVerify source — NHTSA complaint #11482923

The infotainment system is so buggy and slow it's dangerously distracting. It crashes all the time and takes a few minutes to reboot which is not good when you're using navigation. The volume randomly will go to 100% and the only way to fix it is to restart the car. I've had it happen maybe 10 times. It's very startling and it's painful to the ears. The most dangerous problem with the infotainment system, however, is how inconsistently slow it is. When you tap to open the HVAC menu, for example, it can take 1-45 seconds to open. That means you have to keep your eyes off the road waiting for a response. If you don't, the menu disappears right away. Then when you're waiting for a response, the driver monitor starts beeping loudly and flashes "Stay Alert". Even Subaru's own safety systems think the response time is unacceptable. I called Subaru about the issue but their primary purpose just seems to be deflecting complaints and and gaslighting. We've been expecting fixes for years and it never comes. Either Subaru doesn't know how to fix it or they don't want to. The system falls under the 3/36 warranty which means that by the time the find a fix, most of the cars won't be covered.

VerifiedEvidence ★★★★☆
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Months until failure

Not stated

Repair cost

Not stated

Repaired

Not stated

Manufacturer warranty

Not stated

Extended warranty

Not stated

Support helpful

Not stated

Would recommend

Not stated

AI extraction confidence

90%

Verification status

Verified

Evidence quality

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Discussion

Electrical system failure

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES

0 months

Government / agencyIndexed Oct 9, 2026Source-linkedVerify source — NHTSA complaint #11436737

Your form would not allow me to chcek all applicable issues. I believe the computer system and brakes are the major issues. The start/stop system engaged when I was turning in the middle of an intersection. When driving at cruising speeds (foot on the gas pedal), the car suddenly felt as if the brake was being engaged. The forward and rear collision warning signals do not work. The blind spot warning does not work. There is grinding coming from the undercarriage at times (random), while my foot is on the gas. The car bucks for no reason. The battery is draining (less than 2,000 miles on the car). Sometimes I have to turn the ignition twice in the morning. I turn everything off when I get out of the car. My safety and safety of others is definitely at risk. What I didn't realize until recently is that prior to accepting the vehicle, the salesman must have turned the start/system off, because when I went for a test drive, the start/stop did not engage once and I drove in city traffic with multiple stops. Immediately upon diving off lot, the car stopped and I had issues. The salesman told me I had to get used to the start/sytem. This is a dangerous situation. My car is currently being looked at by the dealer.

VerifiedEvidence ★★★★☆
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Months until failure

0 months

Repair cost

Not stated

Repaired

Not stated

Manufacturer warranty

Not stated

Extended warranty

Not stated

Support helpful

Not stated

Would recommend

Not stated

AI extraction confidence

90%

Verification status

Verified

Evidence quality

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Discussion

Electrical system failure

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

32 months

Government / agencyIndexed Oct 9, 2026Source-linkedVerify source — NHTSA complaint #11572939

As I was approaching a T intersection and preparing to stop at the stop sign, I started to apply my brakes when all of a sudden my car accelerated and lunged forward almost into the path of oncoming traffic on the intersecting road. As I had originally started to apply my brake, it felt as if the brake dropped slightly under my foot but, as the car lunged forward, I immediately jammed on the brake so I am not 100% sure about that dropping sensation. It all happened within a matter of seconds. Anyway, jamming on the brakes stopped the forward momentum and the car stopped before actually entering the path of an oncoming car. If I had started to brake any closer to the intersection, I may not have had time to stop the car in time to avoid a broadside collision with the oncoming car. I have owned this car about a year and a half and this is the first time anything like this has happened. There was no warning lamps, messages etc at the time or prior to the incident. After the incident, my husband checked online and saw that others have described a similar experience with their Subarus and, apparently, there is an ongoing lawsuit involving this problem. This just happened last evening so I have not yet taken my car to the dealer to be inspected but plan to do so soon.

VerifiedEvidence ★★★★☆
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Months until failure

32 months

Repair cost

Not stated

Repaired

Not stated

Manufacturer warranty

Not stated

Extended warranty

Not stated

Support helpful

Not stated

Would recommend

Not stated

AI extraction confidence

90%

Verification status

Verified

Evidence quality

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Discussion

Electrical system failure

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

Government / agencyIndexed Oct 9, 2026Source-linkedVerify source — NHTSA complaint #11439615

2021 outback purchased Feb 2021. Within 2 weeks the touch screen, which controls the cruise control, heating, all eyesight controls went blank. This causes cruise control at highway speed to quit, causing sudden deceleration at highways speeds. Sometime the screen reboots, most times it requires driver to pull car over to reset. This also controls GPS and Heating/Air. There have been times when I have working canines in the car and loss of air conditioner in summer months has been extremely problematic requiring pulling car off road to open windows to ventilate. Multiple trips to dealer, and open case with SOA results in no resolution, as there apparently is no fix. Recently 11/1/21 instructed when this happens to push my front defroster button five times after reboot to record codes. How distracting while driving is this? Feel like this is severely underreported as owners frustrated. Receiving dealer instruction to look at touchscreen while driving causes the cars alert function to activate saying “keep eyes on road”. Why are they advising this unsafe action? Recent software updates as late as last week of October installed and does not fix issue, verified by dealer service manager. Multiple incidents, recorded on my phone video, last incident occurred 7/12/2021.

VerifiedEvidence ★★★★☆
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Months until failure

Not stated

Repair cost

Not stated

Repaired

Not stated

Manufacturer warranty

Not stated

Extended warranty

Not stated

Support helpful

Not stated

Would recommend

Not stated

AI extraction confidence

90%

Verification status

Verified

Evidence quality

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Discussion

Electrical system failure

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,WHEELS

23 months

Government / agencyIndexed Oct 9, 2026Source-linkedVerify source — NHTSA complaint #11520961

This vehicle has 3 major issues that the dealership has not been able to resolve and are as follows: 1) Battery---is not able to hold charge. In early 2022, dealership replaced a new battery, however, the problem still exists. Battery size does not have the charge capacity REQUIRED to start the vehicle even less than 1 week of parking during warm weather months. 2) Heating System---has a defect, specially on driver side of the system. With seat and steering heating on, the vents on driver side emit uncontrollable hot air that forces the driver to shut the driver side heating system. During winter this is unreasonable! Did inform the dealership of this issue and were unable to resolve the problem as I understand was inherent with the design. This problem is likely to cause fire if electrical wires are exposed to the heat. 3)Tires---are supposed to be inflated with nitrogen, and this innovation is to maintain the tire pressures for most weather conditions. However, all of my five tires are unable to maintain the pressures. Did bring it to the attention of dealership at each service. However the problem still persists. Possible problem can be any of the following individually or in combination: a) Seal between the tire and rim is inadequate. b) Slow leakage in tire valves or c) Tires are of poor quality permitting air to escape from the body of the tires.

VerifiedEvidence ★★★★☆
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Months until failure

23 months

Repair cost

Not stated

Repaired

Not stated

Manufacturer warranty

Not stated

Extended warranty

Not stated

Support helpful

Not stated

Would recommend

Not stated

AI extraction confidence

90%

Verification status

Verified

Evidence quality

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Discussion

Electrical system failure

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Government / agencyIndexed Oct 9, 2026Source-linkedVerify source — NHTSA complaint #11732036

This 021' outback XXX purchased in 023'/ 24k Mi Freehold subaru. freehold NJ 'if purchased new would've been on the desk of a local lemon law attorney by now. Over the few years the lock unlock function of key fobs stubbornly, randomly & repeadedly dont work. Freehold subaru saw no problem. Front passenger window months ago wouldn't go up. Freehold subaru supposed repaired at a cost to me. Recent cold weather with a brand new battery of 6 Mos old rendered the car unable to start or boost. Vehicle towed to Freehold tire center st freehold NJ, replaced a $400 battery. brought the 6 mo. old battery back to auto zone who load tested and advised nothing Wrong w battery? Not to mention the sub standard BS feature of coming to a stop, foot on brake & engine stopping-starting when proceeding? this is something of concern of being rolled over by an approaching truck in the rear of this 021' outback because 3 times when stopping at a red light the engine shut off and when proceeding, foot off the brake the engine wouldn't re-start & all the indicators on instrument cluster lit up, had to restart the car. Recent event where my wife, [XXX] old legally disabled- primary driver comes out of a store, starts the outback, puts in reverse to back out of a spot and the car dies. This vehicle is being brought into Freehold subaru south st. Freehold NJ Tues morning Apr. 21st 026' south st and is not being picked up due to it being unsafe to operate. Until all the issues are corrected. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

VerifiedEvidence ★★★★☆
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Months until failure

Not stated

Repair cost

Not stated

Repaired

Not stated

Manufacturer warranty

Not stated

Extended warranty

Not stated

Support helpful

Not stated

Would recommend

Not stated

AI extraction confidence

90%

Verification status

Verified

Evidence quality

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Discussion

Electrical system failure

STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE

38 months

Government / agencyIndexed Oct 9, 2026Source-linkedVerify source — NHTSA complaint #11611660

The car flashed “eye sight off” before flickering and shutting off while I was braking at a stop light. I tried putting my car into park and then turning it off and restarting it but it would not turn back on. I tried this a few more times but I was in the middle lane of a heavily trafficked street. The steering wheel was locked and I was not able to immediately remove it from the road and maybe an hour later it was able to be shifted into neutral and moved out of the street. However, it would still not turn on and when I did open my power gate, the gate would not secure closed. I took it to the dealership that I purchased it at and where it is also regularly serviced (with the last service date only over one week ago,) and they were not able to determine what happened but instead mentioned that my car had no internal data of any errors occurring and that the car was able to be started when they serviced it. I took a picture of the dash as it was flashing with all of the error codes and submitted that to the tech that was working on my car, but they asked me if I’d had someone “clear my codes” which is not something I’m familiar with or even capable of doing- I don’t even know anyone that would be capable of doing that for me. The whole ordeal cost me a day of work and now my peace of mind as I am unsure of if this may happen again and now I am worried it may happen while my kids are in the car. I’ve had similar issues with my center console messing up but nothing as urgent as my whole car shutting down and my steering wheel locking in the middle of traffic.

VerifiedEvidence ★★★★☆
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Months until failure

38 months

Repair cost

Not stated

Repaired

Not stated

Manufacturer warranty

Not stated

Extended warranty

Not stated

Support helpful

Not stated

Would recommend

Not stated

AI extraction confidence

90%

Verification status

Verified

Evidence quality

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Discussion

Electrical system failure

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER

62 months

Government / agencyIndexed Oct 9, 2026Source-linkedVerify source — NHTSA complaint #11757279

I am reporting a serious and intermittent steering safety issue with my 2021 Subaru Outback. On two separate occasions, the vehicle suddenly lost what appeared to be power-steering assistance while the vehicle was in motion, causing the steering wheel to become extremely difficult to turn. The first incident occurred while I was driving on the highway and going down a ramp. The steering suddenly became extremely difficult to operate and a warning symbol illuminated on the dashboard. I was able to maintain enough control of the vehicle to safely pull over to the side of the road. I turned the vehicle off and restarted it, and the warning light disappeared and normal steering operation returned. The second incident occurred while I was making a turn into a neighbor. The same problem occurred: the steering suddenly became extremely difficult to turn and a warning light appeared on the dashboard. After turning the vehicle off and restarting it, the steering returned to normal. The intermittent nature of this problem is concerning because restarting the vehicle temporarily restores normal steering, but the failure has now occurred more than once without warning. One of the incidents occurred while traveling on the highway, creating a significant risk of loss of vehicle control and a collision. I am concerned that this may involve the vehicle’s electric power-steering system or related electrical components. I am reporting this to NHTSA because a sudden loss of steering assistance while a vehicle is moving presents a serious safety risk, particularly while turning or traveling at highway speeds. I am requesting that NHTSA document this complaint and evaluate whether similar steering failures have been reported by other owners of 2021 Subaru Outback vehicles.

VerifiedEvidence ★★★★☆
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Months until failure

62 months

Repair cost

Not stated

Repaired

Not stated

Manufacturer warranty

Not stated

Extended warranty

Not stated

Support helpful

Not stated

Would recommend

Not stated

AI extraction confidence

90%

Verification status

Verified

Evidence quality

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Discussion

Electrical system failure

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

57 months

Government / agencyIndexed Oct 9, 2026Source-linkedVerify source — NHTSA complaint #11759871

Vehicle's Auto Start-Stop system shut the engine off while stopped at a red light in [XXX], in rainy conditions in late XXX at approximately 29,000 miles. When the brake was released after the light turned green, the engine did not restart, leaving it stopped in the travel lane in live traffic. The driver had to use a portable jump starter to get it running again. This was not isolated — repeated failure-to-start incidents in prior weeks had already prompted carrying a portable jump starter in the vehicle. At the time we believed this was a failing 12V battery. The original battery was replaced XXX with a new aftermarket AGM battery. Despite that replacement, the vehicle has continued to have multiple complete battery drain if left parked for multiple days (but less than a week), indicating the restart failures were likely caused by an underlying parasitic electrical draw rather than a simple worn-out battery. Subaru's own Technical Service Bulletin 07-199-21R, "Measurement of Dark Current (Standby Current Draw)," describes this exact failure pattern (batteries/vehicles going dead over time due to standby current traced to the VDC module and/or Power Rear Gate control module) for this model and model-year range. A pending federal class-action lawsuit, [XXX] v. Subaru of America, Inc., Case No. XXX (D.N.J., filed XXX), alleges an electrical-system defect preventing one or more control modules from entering a proper low-power sleep state, causing parasitic battery drain, and specifically names 2021-2022 Outback vehicles. We are concerned this defect can cause the Auto Start-Stop system to fail to restart the engine at a stop in live traffic, creating a real risk of being rear-ended or blocking an intersection, as happened in the incident described above. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

VerifiedEvidence ★★★★☆
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Months until failure

57 months

Repair cost

Not stated

Repaired

Not stated

Manufacturer warranty

Not stated

Extended warranty

Not stated

Support helpful

Not stated

Would recommend

Not stated

AI extraction confidence

90%

Verification status

Verified

Evidence quality

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Discussion

Engine failure

POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE

56 months

Government / agencyIndexed Oct 9, 2026Source-linkedVerify source — NHTSA complaint #11727143

The failure involves the engine (powertrain), which was under warranty. The vehicle has experienced four catastrophic engine failures resulting in sudden loss of power, including at highway speeds (65–75 mph). The most recent failure also involved an oil-saturated catalytic converter. These failures occurred between 06/25/2024 and 03/16/2026. During this ~629-day period, the vehicle was only in my possession for about 184 days, as it remained at the dealership for diagnosis, repairs, and repeated engine replacements. The issue remains unresolved. The vehicle is currently in my possession, available for inspection, and is not being driven due to safety concerns. All failures occurred during normal driving and caused sudden loss of power with no prior warning, leaving the vehicle inoperable and stranded. This created a significant safety risk due to inability to maintain speed or safely merge, increasing the likelihood of rear-end collisions. The failures have been confirmed by an authorized Subaru dealership, with multiple engine replacements performed under warranty and most recently as a goodwill repair. Both the dealership and Subaru of America have acknowledged they cannot determine the root cause. The dealership’s Operations Director stated the vehicle is not safe and he would not allow his family to drive it. The vehicle has been inspected multiple times by the dealership and Subaru of America. However, no inspection reports, diagnostic data, or detailed findings have been provided despite repeated requests. Additional issues (including a broken axle and oil-saturated catalytic converter) were only identified during a third inspection after being missed previously. Requests for explanation were not answered, and further details were withheld as “internal.” There were no warning indicators prior to the first three failures. During the fourth, a temperature warning appeared only seconds before failure.

VerifiedEvidence ★★★★☆
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Months until failure

56 months

Repair cost

Not stated

Repaired

Not stated

Manufacturer warranty

Not stated

Extended warranty

Not stated

Support helpful

Not stated

Would recommend

Not stated

AI extraction confidence

90%

Verification status

Verified

Evidence quality

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Discussion

Electrical system failure

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,WHEELS,SERVICE BRAKES

29 months

Government / agencyIndexed Oct 9, 2026Source-linkedVerify source — NHTSA complaint #11557430

I have experienced premature rear brake wear and excessive tire wear. Issues with infotainment system and pre-collision braking system. (1) Regarding Tires: Performed all dealer recommended tire rotations and aligned vehicle when recommended. Needed new tires at 31,169 miles. Tires showed excessive inside wear. Bought new tires from a 3rd party shop and had alignment done with hunter alignment system. Showed rear right camber at -2.0. Subaru recommends -1.8 to 0.3. Rear camber is not adjustable on this model. Took vehicle back to dealer for brake job and they said camber was fine...there is a spec for a reason. Did not want to attempt to bring it in spec with aftermarket kits (i.e. adjustable cam bolt) or fix under warranty. (2) Regarding Brakes: Needed new brakes at 31,169 miles. Not covered under warranty and not what I would consider typical wear based on my driving style and my past experience with Subaru vehicles. If this is an expected side affect of the EBD system I would highly recommend Subaru consider ways of improving brake life on their vehicles. (3) I have the Onyx XT trim with navigation. Infotainment system is constantly glitchy. Examples include booting with blank black screen, failing to load, excessive lag while operating system or will freeze and beep repeatedly while buffing a menu selection. Also, had my car battery replaced under warranty within the first two years due to a bad battery. (4) Issues with ADAS system, specifically pre-collision breaking. This system is extremely sensitive and will over-react / take control in certain situations where I didn't need it to even when I was in the process of braking. Have had this system activate on the highway at high speeds while switching lanes on the highway or when having a vehicle merge quickly into my lane in front of me. Constantly, have to turn off this system which is a chore as this system is defaulted to always being on. Do not feel safe driving with this system on.

VerifiedEvidence ★★★★☆
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Months until failure

29 months

Repair cost

Not stated

Repaired

Not stated

Manufacturer warranty

Not stated

Extended warranty

Not stated

Support helpful

Not stated

Would recommend

Not stated

AI extraction confidence

90%

Verification status

Verified

Evidence quality

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Discussion

Electrical system failure

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

23 months

Government / agencyIndexed Oct 9, 2026Source-linkedVerify source — NHTSA complaint #11545464

The 2021 Outback XT which we purchased new on April 15, 2021, would not start on September 15, 2023. My spouse had a medical appointment that morning. On September 18, 2023, the vehicle would not start again. My spouse had a medical appointment that morning as well. This same problem occurred several months earlier. On the morning of May16, 2023 I called the dealership's service department for a service appointment. This was the first such incident and caught me totally by surprise. Here is a direct quote from the Service's Manager's May 19, 2023 email. " The tester/charger determined that your battery was healthy, had a good state of charge and accepted a good rate of charge and also held the charge. The battery has no fault, the drain was the issue determining replacement of your battery was unnecessary and not warrantable." The dealership service department manager went on to state "it (battery)required 3 hours and 45 minutes of charging". Following the May 16, 2023 service appointment the vehicle performed as expected until the morning of September 15, 2023. On September 19, the vehicle was again taken to the dealership for servicing. During this visit, a "new battery" was installed by the service department because they determined the existing battery failed their test. The service rep stated the “new” battery will fix the problem. Also, the service rep stated, when asked, that the Electronic Control Module was updated but the Data Communications Module was not replaced. Additionally, the rep stated, when asked, the “new” battery did not carry the normal warranty because it was installed under the vehicle’s existing 3-year warranty which expires on April 15 2024. This limited battery warranty makes no sense. Since the May 16, 2023 incident, we experienced emotional tension every time we have driven the vehicle, dreading it would not start when we needed the vehicle the most. We are 70+ and believed that we were purchasing a safe vehicle.

VerifiedEvidence ★★★★☆
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Months until failure

23 months

Repair cost

Not stated

Repaired

Not stated

Manufacturer warranty

Not stated

Extended warranty

Not stated

Support helpful

Not stated

Would recommend

Not stated

AI extraction confidence

90%

Verification status

Verified

Evidence quality

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Discussion

Other

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

4 months

Government / agencyIndexed Oct 9, 2026Source-linkedVerify source — NHTSA complaint #11441218

When I bought my new 2021 Subaru on Sep. 27, 2021. It was twilight and the sales lady said it had a small rock chip in the windshield but they were going to fix it. Driving home, I saw the windshield had a spider web of cracks all over it. I took it back on Sep. 30 and they replaced the windshield. On Oct 31, I drove 660 miles. When I looked at the Subaru in the motel parking lot the next morning, the new 5-week old windshield had cracks. There was a rock chip where the cracks crossed. They were not spread all over but covered an area about 14" wide and 8" high. I didn't want to drive it but I had to get it back to the dealer. Later I saw the State of New Jersey had filed lawsuits against Subaru for cracked windshields on 2.5M vehicles. I felt sick and didn't know what to do. I found a "Service Bulletin" No. 12-192-12R dated 10/26/15. It was only for 2015-2016MY Legacy and Outback models and MY's but it described the crack issue and illustrated it. It was very limited. It just offered an extended warranty and one repair on specific models. I believe this is a serious Safety Defect because it is spread over a large population of vehicles and Subaru is not admitting any defect or safety problem. If this occurs on a trip, it's likely the driver will continue to drive to their destination with a dangerously compromised windshield. FMVSS 205 states that Glazing in Auto windows is to reduce injuries resulting from impact to glazing surfaces, to maintain transparency for visibility and minimize the chance occupants are ejected from the vehicle in a collision. It also appears the windshields do not meet Fracture Test 7 in SAE Z26 for tempered glass and multiple glazed units. The size of fragments observed in the spider-web patterns are 1" to 3" and more and likely weigh more than the 4.25 grams in the Fracture Test. In my 65 years of driving, I’ve never had a windshield crack like the two windshields cracked on my Outback in the period of five weeks.

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Months until failure

4 months

Repair cost

Not stated

Repaired

Not stated

Manufacturer warranty

Not stated

Extended warranty

Not stated

Support helpful

Not stated

Would recommend

Not stated

AI extraction confidence

90%

Verification status

Verified

Evidence quality

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Discussion

Other

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

7 months

Government / agencyIndexed Oct 9, 2026Source-linkedVerify source — NHTSA complaint #11446637

The Subaru Eyesight system malfunctioned while I was driving. All Eyesight components were enabled at the time of the incident, including pre collision braking and forward collision warning. I had been stopped at a red light at a four way intersection. I was the first car waiting at the red light, with other cars behind me and to each side. The intersection had multiple lanes in each direction. There were four lanes going the direction I was driving, and I was in the second from the right. When the traffic light turned green, I took my foot off the brake and onto the gas to begin accelerating. I accelerated through the large intersection reaching approximately 20 miles per hour. The speed limit is 25 or 30 there so I was continuing to accelerate to that speed and was just about through the intersection when the pre collision braking suddenly engaged with no warning at all. My foot was still on the gas trying to accelerate when this happened. All of the lights that show on the windshield seemed to light up red, and it showed that the pre collision braking had engaged on the dashboard screen behind the steering wheel. The car came to an immediate stop in the middle of the road and would not move forward. I took my foot off the gas and my car would still not move. My dashboard said something along the lines of “firmly press brake to hold stop.” I hit the brake, then everything returned to normal and I could move forward. I moved forward, safely switched to the right lane and pulled into the nearest driveway to get off the road and park. I then disabled all Eyesight features and called my Subaru dealership who said they will “diagnose and recalibrate” the system on 1/14/2022. My car and windshield were clean and my windshield is the same from the factory with no defects. No cars were in front of my- the road ahead was wide open, clear, flat, and straight. No one turned in front of me or anything. Fortunately I was not rear ended but it was very scary and dangerous.

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Months until failure

7 months

Repair cost

Not stated

Repaired

Not stated

Manufacturer warranty

Not stated

Extended warranty

Not stated

Support helpful

Not stated

Would recommend

Not stated

AI extraction confidence

90%

Verification status

Verified

Evidence quality

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Discussion

Engine failure

POWER TRAIN,ENGINE

62 months

Government / agencyIndexed Oct 9, 2026Source-linkedVerify source — NHTSA complaint #11758285

Good Day! I bought my 2021 Subaru Outback XT Onyx in Jan 2021. I had waiting 6 yrs for Subaru to use the Turbo Motor in the Outback again. I've had this car for 5 years with my warranty running out Jan 2026, but I only drive 5000-7000 miles per/yr. Current odometer is 29,901 miles. At my most recent oil change service at the Dealer, they showed me a video of my cars drivetrain from underneath. There were two bad seal leaks. One at the transmission pump housing and the other at the Upper Oil Pan. I had been there for an oil change a year earlier for the same service and there was no mention of these issues! After speaking with the service advisor, he said to call Subaru Customer Advocates. They listened to my situation and a few days later offered a $1400 credit for a $4000 job that involves the removal of my cars engine (upper oil pan) to replace it because it's bolted to the frame there. The other leak seal involves dropping the transmission. These are major repairs that following will dampen my ownership experience after decades of Subaru praise by Americans. I researched this issue online and found out there was a manufacturing defective regarding the silicone liquid seals they used for 2020-2022 Outback, Ascent, & WRX! This procedure was used throughout the driveline with the Turbo Motor & CTV Trans. There are 1000s of accounts of this defect placing burden on the owners of these cars who bought them in good faith. I did the research, called the dealer & Subaru with the discovery & overall complaint! I asked for 80% to 100% help with these repairs because how many more will I have to deal with after these two are repaired??? I have received zero responses from either after expressing that this was a known defect, Bullitens went to all the dealers, nothing was mentioned to the owners, and they've just covered those cars still under warranty. Since I didn't drive enough, the seal issues on my car took longer to start leaking, and then out of warranty. HELP!

VerifiedEvidence ★★★★☆
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Months until failure

62 months

Repair cost

Not stated

Repaired

Not stated

Manufacturer warranty

Not stated

Extended warranty

Not stated

Support helpful

Not stated

Would recommend

Not stated

AI extraction confidence

90%

Verification status

Verified

Evidence quality

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Discussion

Steering failure

STEERING,SUSPENSION,UNKNOWN OR OTHER

31 months

Government / agencyIndexed Oct 9, 2026Source-linkedVerify source — NHTSA complaint #11735647

I am filing this complaint regarding multiple serious safety defects in my 2021 Subaru Outback purchased in July 2021, currently at 48000 miles THERMO CONTROL VALVE FAILURE (26,307 miles) While traveling in the center lane on [XXX] southbound in [XXX] the evening of 1/6/2024 my vehicle suddenly experienced a complete loss of control. It seemed that the car was accelerating and braking at the same time without driver input making it impossible to operate safely. It started shaking and several lights were illuminated on the dashboard, power steering was not working. The car coasted to the right shoulder and starlink was used to call for help. The car was towed to the dealership for repairs. The diagnosis was a failed thermo control valve and related sensor circuit. There were no dashboard lights before the incident that fore shadowed this event. This failure rendered the vehicle completely inoperable at highway speed and posed and extreme risk to the safety of the driver, passenger and other motorists. I am aware that Subaru has extended the warranty on the thermo controls valve to 15 years/150000 miles for 2020-2022 Outback’s which suggests that Subaru had knowledge of the defect. Since the incident several other premature “wear” defects have presented under 48000 miles on a 2021 vehicle: - 41,402 miles: driver side rear strut replaced - 41,402 miles: rear brake pads and rotors - 41,402 miles: driver side front window motor, regulator and run Chanel - 41808 miles: rear knuckle assembly, rear wheel bearing and backing plate replaced - 45,768 miles: front brake pads and and rotors replaced - 48,000 miles: complete exhaust system - 48,000 miles: passenger side front window motor, regulator and run chanel This vehicle has proven to be uncharacteristically unreliable for a Subaru Outback. The intended use for this vehicle is for my children to drive to college nearly 600 miles from home in the fall. This car is not appropriate for this purpose. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUA

VerifiedEvidence ★★★★☆
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Months until failure

31 months

Repair cost

Not stated

Repaired

Not stated

Manufacturer warranty

Not stated

Extended warranty

Not stated

Support helpful

Not stated

Would recommend

Not stated

AI extraction confidence

90%

Verification status

Verified

Evidence quality

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Discussion

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