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.
Windshield easily cracks, without an impact site. I will be putting my 3rd windshield in and have owned the car for 7 months. 1st windshield cracked while parked at work. Not driving. May 5th, 2021. Had 1805 miles. 2nd windshield cracked while parked at home last night. Not driving. Have approx 9k miles now
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. After approximately 17 minutes, function resumed. Wiper motor replaced by dealer. (3.5 weeks after vehicle purchase) The third time (9 weeks after purchase), after a heavy dew, the wipers (front and rear) did not function. After approximately 10 minutes, wipers began to function. The fourth time (12 weeks after purchase), rain began after driving 1.5-2 hours and wipers (front and rear) did not function at all. Dealer located and fixed a loose connection. (12.5 weeks after vehicle purchase) The fifth time (13 weeks after purchase), rain began after driving 1.5-2 hours and wipers (front and rear) did not function. After approximately 15 minutes, wipers began to function. The sixth time (15 weeks after purchase), rain began after driving 15 minutes and wipers (front and rear) stopped functioning after approximately 5-10 minutes of use. After approximately 30 minutes, wipers began to function.
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.
I bought my vehicle and less than 24 hours later I was driving in the middle lane of the highway when my ears popped, and my windshield cracked down the middle. No rock seen or heard. Bought 8/26. Windshield cracks over 12 inches 8/27.
- Kansas City, MO, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
The windshield cracked in the center while driving in a heavy rain storm. The temperature dropped from about 86 degrees to 73 degrees during the storm. I was operating my A/C at the time. The dealer inspected the windshield and found no external indication of damage. The repair was performed by the dealer under the new car warranty. Subaru America customer service was contacted and coordinated with the dealer for repair after inspection. Repair was listed as windshield install for stress crack.
windshield cracked only 3 months on road 2600 miles. long crack in middle of windshield distracts vision. yes it was estimated for repair of $1425. history of incidences are very high with cracked windshields since subaru change to acoustic glass. windshield seem more prone to crack damage than other vehicles.
March 2021: Windshield - cracked from a small stone on roadway (Rt 1). Crack is from top edge of windshield down and past the middle. Needed to be replaced. Paint chip needed to be repaired. Had to pay deductible of $500. Replaced with new OEM windshield. July 2021 weekend on highway(Turnpike). Stone caused a star shaped crack. Two days later the small damage radiated into 3 cracks covering more than half the windshield. Paying another $500 for replacement. Damage of two new OEM windshields in less than 5 months on a brand new car causes fear of driving freely in case the next pebble might come through. Police can ticket for driving with a cracked windshield. Loss of time and effort to replace. Causes anxiety driving even after the windshield is replaced since it is so prone to damage and costs $500 each time. Weakness in Subaru windshields known since 2015. I would expect such problems would have been resolved six years later. Have not experienced such a problem in 30 years of driving various model cars. Benefits of buying a new car is mostly lost both in expenses and peace of mind. Verified by insurance representatives.
Bought the Vehicle new. 2000 miles later I walk into my garage and notice a 6 inch crack at the top of my windshield. Completely out of nowhere. Neither my wife or I ever heard any impact that would have caused it. Immediately took it to dealership and had service rep inspect it. He seemed understanding and said he would try and get the go-ahead to replace from Subaru of America. Nothing for months. I finally followed up and now nothing again. I am at 7000 miles now and am driving with a 3 ft long C shaped crack because I am not paying for this absurdity. $30,000 and now I am to spend over $1000 more within 2 months of driving. The dealership has the original pictures from when it had just occurred.
The windshield was hit by a small stone on highway and show a minor chip mark a while ago. Nothing else happened and the chip mark remain as it happened on my other vehicles. I parked in my indoor garage as usual on the July 4 weekend. When I pull out the vehicle to work on Tuesday. I was terrible surprised by finding long cracks appeared on my windshield. One of them is more than a foot long.
This is the second cracked windshield on our new Subaru Forester in the past four months. We purchased the car new just over six months ago (12/29/2020). The first time, the windshield cracked, something hit the windshield while driving. The crack was extensive and we paid to replace the windshield on 3/22/2021. The second time something hit the windshield while driving (on 6/8/2021), it just chipped the windshield, and since the chip was a small star, less than the size of a quarter, we had the chip repaired to prevent further damage (on 6/10/2021). Today (7/4/2021), the windshield cracked while the car was parked in the driveway. The crack extends from the original chip. Since an intact windshield is critical to the safety of the vehicle, we will replace the windshield again. See attached photos and receipts. It is disappointing to have to replace the windshield twice within the first seven months we have owned the car. This seemed so unusual, I searched online to see if other Subaru owners have had similar problems. There is evidence that this has happened to others as well, so this may be a bigger issue. See https://www.subaruforester.org/threads/2021-3-days-new-and-my-windshield-is-crack-already-moan.821592/ and https://www.torquenews.com/1084/can-your-subaru-windshield-shatter-its-own-new-forester-and-outback-owners-say-yes
For no observed reason, the windshield cracked while the car was parked in the shade between the hours of 11:56 - 12:43 PM. The crack appeared to originate from the lower right corner and spread diagonally towards the center of the windshield.
The windshield cracked at 1,700 miles, while parked. The car had no visible chips/cracks and is brand new. After researching, it is apparently a common defect with the Subaru windshield. Crack is comparable to photos of other Subaru Forester owners. Seems that Subaru should already be aware of this problem and issue a recall on the windshield
Windshield on the car has a 18" crack after no impact. It was brand new when we got it just over 2 months ago. Only 1500 miles on the car and already the windshield cracked so badly that it's beyond repair and needs to be replaced. This is a known issue with Subarus that they have not addressed
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Pine, CO, USA