NHTSA complaint #11448305

Owner complaint summary

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 OEM replacement windshield. About 30 minutes into driving the vehicle at freeway speeds (65 mph), a crack with a total length of about 10 inches (5 inches vertical, 5 inches horizontal) formed spontaneously mid-length on the windshield beginning from the bottom edge of the glass. The formation of the crack occurred quickly and was associated with a loud snapping sound. The path of the crack traveled through the location of a small (2mm x 2mm) chip in the glass located approximately 2 inches from the bottom edge of the glass. This chip in the glass occurred at least 2 months prior to the cracking event and was the result of an impact from a small rock (about 1cm x 1cm). No additional damage or impact force had occurred on the chipped location between the creation of the chip and the cracking event. If the crack had been larger and the associated snapping sound louder, the startling nature of the event and loud volume of the snapping sound would likely put someone driving the vehicle at risk of reacting in a hazardous fashion and result in a crash. Furthermore, since the Subaru Outback's forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, and lane keeping assistance all operate through a camera-based system that requires a clear view through the windshield, the crack posed a risk of impacting these systems.