This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
When the car idles for even short periods of time (5 minutes) the inside of the car will start to smell like fumes (exhaust type smell). This happens in any environment (parking lot, our driveway, rural area) when the car is in park and still running. Rarely have I smelled the fumes upon starting the car, although it has happened before. The problem has occurred in every season and with the car blowing out warm, neutral, and air conditioned air. This was noticed very shortly after purchasing the car in September of 2018. I have taken the car in to the Subaru dealership three times and they haven't been able to find the issue. The first time they were able to detect the smell but found no problem to correct. The other two times they said they weren't able to replicate the smell even after leaving it on for an hour. I can elicit the smell every time if I let it run for a few minutes while parked. Others appear to be having this issue as well and are being told the same thing by their dealerships. I am very concerned about this issue as my children may be affected when they are in the car.
1st replacement: Replaced factory windshield (7/27/19) due to crack from top right to the middle of the glass. 2nd replacement: On the highway on ramp at <55 mph, a pebble hit on the drivers side towards the bottom of the oem (7/27/19) replacement windshield and a substantial chip (immediate spider crack) resulted. In process of having the chip filled, a 12" crack formed that spread towards the exterior edge and interior of the windshield. Replaced windshield on 3/5/20 (second windshield replacement in less than 8 months). Still concerned about reliability and integrity of the oem/factory windshields that are installed on the Subaru Ascent.
2019 Ascent with 6000 miles garage kept sustained complete electrical failure at gas station refill. Car drove and started normally going to station and after fillup failed to start.
- Woodlands, TX, USA
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Brakes made loud noise even when driving off the lot. Told it was a new car and it will subside. The noise did not subside. It grew louder. Took car to Subaru dealer where they told me the rotors would need to, be cut! on a new car with under 900 miles! took it home and the noise was less but grew louder as the week went on. Brought the car back to Subaru and they indicated they would replace the rotors and the brake pads. Of course, they didn't mention it would take over a week and a half to get the parts. Noise was when braking whether stationary or moving. Another issue is when my cell phone rings, the radio starts blasting! I almost ran off the road. This happened twice and the dealership can't seem to replicate the issue. They told me they had not had to resolve both the brakes and radio issue with anyone else in their dealership. I find this hard to believe, unless they did not sell many Ascents. I am also worried about the electrical and transmission problems I keep hearing people complain about.
Rear tailgate won't open when button pressed maybe half the time. It has closed twice in the last week while groceries were being loaded and hit two people in the head. Subaru dealer has replaced the controlling module but it did not solve the problem. This problem has persisted for a year.
Traveling on highway at 70 mph when a deer jumped in front of our car and we hit it with the front end of the vehicle crushing the front end. All air bags immediately deployed and the front end began smoking profusely. Within minutes of getting out of the vehicle it burst into flames and the entire vehicle burned up. Concerned that these vehicles will burst into flames during a front end collision at high speeds.
The car will emit white heavy smoke on start. The white smoke smells like burned plastic/oil. The issue was reported to Subaru corporate and vehicle was taken to service for inspection. A video was recorded and sent to both dealer and corporate but issue could not be replicated. The issue still persists for more than 3 months and Subaru could not resolve it. This is a concern to my family safety and to the environment. Second issue was with spring assembly both front and back has to be replaced as defective.
My windshield and front passenger window are both cracked on my Ascent. They both need to be replaced. This is the 2nd crack and windshield replacement on our Ascent. The 1st replacement was in January 2019, just six months after purchase.
Suspected impact from a small pebble while driving on highway. This resulted in a small chip on the upper right corner of the passenger side within the top 1/2" of the glass. Afforded no time to schedule a fix with a glass company. Within less than 24 hours, crack spread to the edge and from upper right corner down to the middle of the windshield (over 2 foot long) crack. The crack appears to be only on the surface of the glass. With prior vehicles, a small chip did not result in a quick to develop crack. Concerned about quality and durability of Subaru glass.
We are hearing a thumping or knocking noise in the front right wheel well area. We notice this noise when the car is in motion on a rough road while driving, turning, or braking. The dealership we purchased our car from checked all running gear parts under the car, and steering components, to see if there were any visible problems. After a test drive by mechanic and another service department employee, they could hear the noise, but we're unable to find its source. We are wondering if any other owners of a 2019 Ascent have experienced a similar problem?
A couple of months ago, my wife started the car and backed off a parking lot. When she pressed the brake and felt wired - the brake could not be pressed down and felt like it's jammed somehow. The car did not stop even she switched the car to parking! it eventually stopped after hit a parked car behind. Because the speed was very low so there was no obvious damage to both cars. But after restarted the car, all the warning lights went on - rab, eye sight, at oil temp, low tire pressure, and the sun roof and sun shade not working.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Spokane, WA, USA