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.
While washing my car, the passenger side wiper blade was extended and retracted into the windshield. I finished by drying the car, including the windshield, with a chamois cloth. No damage was noticeable at that time. After driving to the grocery store and back home, never going over 40 mph, I looked over and noticed an 18 inch crack had developed on the passenger side of the windshield. Close inspection reveals a possible very small impact mark directly under one of the metal blade retention pieces on the wiper blade frame. There were no rocks that hit the windshield between the car wash, the grocery store, and home. I was told by the dealership that I would need to pay to replace it, and that I could just get safelite to do it. Safelite ordered the glass for me and confirmed what the dealership had said, that I would have to wait indefinitely for the glass, as it is on back order. This no doubt is due to the high number of failures as seen on this website and elsewhere on the internet. The local safelite repair shop even had 5 Subaru vehicles with replacement glass on order. My research has uncovered numerous customers who have had to replace the glass on these 2015 vehicles multiple times. In my 37 years of driving, I have had windshield wiper blades retract against the windshield untold numbers of times, and this is the first time it has ever caused a failure. I think Subaru needs to investigate this issue, find out why it is occurring, and reimburse those customers who have been impacted. This is my first Subaru. Other than this issue, I like their product very much. My continued allegiance to them will depend on how they handle this issue.
Vehicle was parked outside overnight. In the morning a 12" S shaped crack had appeared in the passenger side of the windshield. There was no detectable prior damage and no known impact to cause the crack. The crack has continued to grow and branch. Dealer states the windshield fails the "pen test, " I.e. there is a tiny nick at one point of the crack which, they say, proves the crack is due to impact damage. I believe the chip appeared after the crack formed, but cannot prove this (nor can the dealer prove the opposite). Online research suggests there is a design defect in 2015 Subaru Outback windshields, which fail at remarkable rate.
I was washing the windshield, so I raised the wiper arms like most people do when they want to clean the entire windshield. A slight breeze blew and knocked the passenger-side wiper down onto the glass cracking the windshield on impact. The impact crack then split up and toward the driver's-side about 2 feet in length. I have had numerous cars over my lifetime, and a falling wiper arm has never cracked my windshields. Upon further research on the web, I discovered scores of stories of folks going on their third or fourth windshield (on a 2015 model!!). I have to drive around in an unsafe manner because safelite cannot get the original part from the dealer due to them being backlogged. The windshields are backlogged because they keep cracking on everyone. Now I'm short $500 on my deductible, and I can just imagine like most others, I will be short $500 again in the near future because of a faulty design. The windshield is not safe on the road for impacts (one guy shut his door and the windshield cracked...crazy!). please, get these windshields off the road and make Subaru design another windshield and pay to replace them all! thank you!
We purchased our 2015 Outback Jan 2, 2015. We were just getting on the freeway leaving new orleans when we heard a pop. We are not sure if a stone hit it or not, but a starburst smaller than a dime along with about 6 inch crack had occurred on the lower passenger area. The car had been parked in the sun so it was really hot. Now two days later it is about 24 inches long and is zagging across the entire windshield. When we called our insurance company we were told that their vendor could not get to us for several weeks. They referred us to a different vendor but the windshield is not available for 3 weeks. This appears to be a common occurrence so add me to the list of complainants.
We were extremely happy to purchase our first Subaru Outback with the new eyesight technology in mid-March. The car was almost 2 months old and I heard something hit the windshield while on a highway that I have been driving on for the past 7 years. I did not notice anything immediately. Nine hours later, I picked up a passenger who noticed a large crack at the top of the windshield (the rearview mirror was obstructing my view of the crack) which was about a foot long. Over the course of the next few days, the crack got larger and extended into my line of sight. After speaking to the insurance company, the windshield would be covered, but it was on national backorder and would not be available for 2-4 weeks. The glass arrived two weeks later and my windshield was replaced. Exactly one week after the windshield was fixed, I heard a little pop on the window while driving on the highway. I looked around and noticed I got another crack on the windshield. This time on the lower part of the windshield between the wiper blades. The crack started out around 3" long. A day later, the crack grew an additional 5". I started to think this can't be normal for a windshield to crack so easily, and after reading all the posts on this site and others, it seems that this is a common issue for the 2015 Outbacks.
- Manorville, NY, USA
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Brand new vehicle, parked on the street for approximately one hour. When returning to the car, a crack in the windshield, beginning at the lower center and extending to the middle of the windshield approximately 6 inches was evident. No debris on windshield and no evidence of it being hit with anything. Crack has now extended further up and around (shape of a large question mark) of about 2 ft in length. Contacted local dealers and glass companies for repair but no one has any in stock due to a very large number of these issues. And the projected date for when replacement glass will be available is now July 1 2015, more than 10 weeks since the defect appeared. Given what's been happening, I fully expect this crack to continue to grow and begin to hamper visibility. Web searches have yielded many similar reports of this happening.
While car wash parked in driveway being washed I noticed a crack in the passenger side front windshield.the crack is coming from the lower windshield heater then goes up towards the middle of windshield.still using car and the crack is past the rear view mirror.told by dealer Subaru doesn't cover glass breakage advised him I was following up with Subaru to please take info and pic's.he suggested going thru my car insurance but there are no rock chips or cracks so why should they pay. He advised he would show to the rep in a few weeks on his visit??. I personally think a windshield is a safety issue and they should move on it now. While researching it and seeing how this is a common issue with other people I am wondering about the safety of the car now. Started a case with Subaru.
2015 Subaru Outback with eyesight technology. Had vehicle less than 2 months, sitting in driveway, next am noted large crack in windshield beginning in passenger lower corner and traveling diagonally up towards center of windshield. No trauma noted to windshield while driving (no rocks, etc). Seemed to have broken spontaneously. Made insurance claim 4/12/15. Unable to get new windshield as such a large backorder of these windshields for same reason and in same location. Still waiting with no end in sight. On-line threads indicate this is an ongoing issue that has yet to generate a recall.
We bought the Subaru in anchorage and started heading toward our home in fairbanks. Approximately 100 miles into the journey we stopped to rest and eat. While sitting in the car talking, there was a pop sound and a large 9-10" crack appeared behind the mirror and binocular cameras descended into the passenger's view. I inspected the outside window for evidence of impact from a rock or debris, such as chipping, but there was none. I tried to get a replacement window after Subaru blew me off, but was unable to due to an apparent large demand for replacement glass for this model. Since then cracks have appeared spontaneously from the bottom of the windshield working there way up. My son has a brand new 2015 Subaru forester, which did the exact same thing on the way home from anchorage. Again Subaru dealer denied they have seen any problem with the windshield, but read the complaints logged with NHTSA and one can only come to a different conclusion. Perhaps Subaru is making their glass too thin to reduce weight or there is some sort of flexing of the window midpoint on the glass but this is a problem.
Subaru Outback is two months old and developed a crack in the windshield, while the vehicle was parked. Crack started at the bottom/center of the windshield and was roughly eight inches straight up. Subaru accepts zero responsibility, so I have to pay for a new windshield. I have been waiting two weeks with no windshields available. Crack has grown to roughly thirty inches and a zig zag pattern now.
My windshield wipers stopped working. I was driving in atlanta, Georgia on 5/17/15 at 4-7pm and my windshield wipers don't work. I pulled into a parking space to restart my vehicle and the wipers still not work. I ended up waiting inside my Outback for over two hours waiting on the rain to stop. This is ridiculous! I brought this car brand new with 11 miles on it and after driving 900 miles the windshield wipers are not working.
I purchased my 2015 Subaru Outback in November 2014 and the first windshield crack occurred beginning of March 2015. The crack happened overnight and it was the day after a major snow storm. The crack initiated from the passenger side and up to the center of windshield. There was no sign of chips/cracks due to foreign objects which seem like a defective part/design to me. The crack propagated really quickly. I contacted dealership and they said its not covered under warranty and refused to look at the crack. The dealership also told me straight up to go through insurance and deal with it myself. I went through insurance and replaced the windshield with a genuine Subaru part by the end of March. Just when I though it is over, a crack just appeared on my windshield on May 10, 2015. The crack seem to have initiated from the windshield heating compartment again. During the morning of May 11, 2015, I looked at the crack again and it didn't grow overnight. However, when I checked on it while it was parked at work during noon time, the crack grew about 2 inches. This is unacceptable for a brand new car to have to go through 2 cracked windshields. A good windshield should be able to withstand temperature change and minor impacts from foreign objects and the 2015 Subaru Outback is definitely not meeting that requirement. In addition, the dealership is not being helpful with the situation and not taking any responsibilities in investigating whether this can be a vehicle defect or not. I am not going to replace my windshield out of my own expense and I demand for an answer/explanation from Subaru.
Windshield hit by pebble on freeway, small chip noted on parking vehicle for the night in garage. Next morning approximate 9"vertical crack on windshield while driving to work, by the time I had driven vehicle 12 miles crack grew to approximately 27 inches horizontally across windshield. After two weeks of driving there are now competing dual cracks each measuring in excess of 30 inches horizontally across the windshield. With over 45 years of safe driving under my belt I have never seen a windshield perform in this manner. This must be a safety issue, I have a difficult time believing this is not a issue with either the structural integrity of the vehicle and or the windshield. What is the NHTSA doing to investigate this issue and insure or safety? I have the old windshield if this will help to determine the issue.
First time washing my new 2015 Subaru Outback with barely 900 miles on it. Parked it in front of the house. Walked from the garage to the vehicle to check for water spots and noted a 5" crack in the windshield where there wasn't one while I washed it! starts where the heating element is under the passenger side wiper. It's rapidly spread up and across my driving line of sight. When the sun is up, the glinting becomes almost blinding. I took it to the dealer where I purchased it to report what to me was an obvious defect. Their head of service looked at it and pronounced it was caused by a rock. He tried to explain where he saw this "impact". I disagreed. There is no impact craze. They told me to contact my insurance company. The insurance examiner took pictures and pronounced it due to "a structural defect". subsequently, the glass was ordered and I'm supposed to pay for it plus the installation or there'll be a re-stocking fee. I've waited over a month while being told there are shortages, or it's too new, and "due to the longshoreman's strike in long beach..." I rang up Subaru of America, who opened a case and are having me go back to the dealer, have them take pictures, send those and the report from the insurance company to them. Seems like I'm doing a lot of work for what to me should be covered as a defective windshield or a structural problem with this model. There are 7 complaints, filed on this web-site from Subaru owners, this model, same year, with the identical passenger side crack. There are numerous other records of these incidents recorded at safercar.gov, and subaruoutback.org I'm frustrated and disappointed beyond words as this is a new car.
I just bought a brand new 2015 Subaru Outback on March 18, 2015. I see already that there are numerous complaints already on the safety of the 2015 Subaru Outback windshields. I was driving down the freeway on May 2, 2015 and a very small pebble flew into the windshield and I couldn't believe that small a pebble would crack the windshield over 6 inches! I am very upset. I parked the car in a restaurant parking lot that day and when I came out, the crack had grown to 12 inches by itself! my relatives were in town and I couldn't drive my new vehicle on a short trip I wanted to take them on. Of course this is a special order item so I am waiting and waiting for it to be replaced. Called Subaru service department and they claim no knowledge of problems with the windshields (of course). I have no vehicle to drive because I feel it is unsafe to drive and have been inconvenienced to have to drive my other older vehicle. I didn't want to have insurance also pay for a rental/replacement vehicle as well when this is a Subaru problem and a national safety problem with this vehicle that needs to be addressed immediately. It is now May 6th and I still have no new windshield and don't expect one anytime soon. It looks like there is a good possibility that the windshield will crack again from all the complaints I am reading on this website. When will someone recall this windshield" after someone gets killed" please recall this windshield!
Our fully-loaded '15 Outback with eyesight & lane assist was parked overnight in the garage (as always). When we got into the vehicle, we noticed an 12-inch crack in the windshield (beginning in the lower corner on the passenger side and heading up toward the center of the vehicle). There was no accident or rock incident to warrant the crack - it came out of nowhere. We called our Subaru service department and they referred us to their (outside vendor) windshield repair guy. After several calls to Subaru, he was told that Subaru has pulled these windshields from their production line because there is an inherent problem with cracking due to their substandard quality and inferior aeronautical design. He said that the Subaru plant was waiting on a set of windshields and an order was placed for me, but that I would be competing with the new cars rolling off the production line. This information alone (assuming it is accurate) should warrant a recall. We contacted the windshield guy again today to follow up and he said he just ordered another '15 Outback windshield for someone this morning - - same problem (no accident or incident). He reiterated his conversation with Subaru production personnel once again that "there is a design problem with the windshields and Subaru has pulled them from their production lines." Two weeks ago we put a post-it flag inside the windshield at the end of the crack to mark its place and progress - the crack has now grown to 20+ inches straight across the center of the windshield. It is easy to find other folks with this problem - - inexplicable cracked windshields with no obvious signs of cause. The cause and effect of these broken windshields should be investigated immediately before someone is seriously hurt or injured through no fault of their own.
Upon entry of vehicle for the first time of the day, I discovered a 5-6 in. Crack in windshield. I had not observed any impacts while driving the day prior. The vehicle was only 2 months old at the time. All other auto glass issues previously were observed and obvious. Having reviewed similar stories and pictures online of issues with the windshield of this model and year the vehicle, I am concerned that the issue is more than coincidence.
Subaru Outback 2015 windshields have very low quality and crack with minimal contact. Our windshields broke twice in one month after replacing the original one with another from Subaru. The two times driven on the highway and two tiny rock hit the windshield and created a 12" long crack across the windshield. The cost for the windshields is very expensive at around $700 to purchase a new windshield and to have it installed.
Windshield on eyesight equipped 2015 Outback developed a large crack starting in the wiper heating area just under the passenger side wiper. The crack appeared spontaneous as it appeared while the car was parked and was at least eight inches long. By the next morning with the car remaining parked and only a few degree temperature change overnight it was at least 14 inches long. The only mark on the glass I can find along the crack is a minuscule dot that is absolutely no larger than a grain of sand in the wiper heating area. It is a barely visible and is not even as deep as a grain of sand. It would be invisible except in the brightest light and it seems impossible that it could or should be related to the crack. I have done a quick search online and am finding an inordinate number of complaints of spontaneous cracking, or cracking from entirely insignificant chips on Outback windshields. My older Outback has 160,000 miles and numerous pits and marks on the windshield with no cracking. Ditto with the old legacy wagon I owned before that. I've never heard of windshields cracking the way they are on the new eyesight equipped vehicles. I believe there is a defect in manufacture that results in the windshields being under enormous pressure. It is only a matter of time before a spontaneous crack shoots through someone's line of sight as they are driving and causes an accident. Subaru needs to be ordered to recall these vehicles and find a way a to prevent this. I foresee a class action suit particularly in light of those who have reported two or three destroyed windshields in the first months of vehicle use.
Purchased car new from dealer. Car had been sitting in driveway for 4-5 days. I went outside and noticed a long horizontal crack in the windshield running from half way up drivers side to the middle of the glass. I did not see or hear anything hit the windshield at any time while I had been driving, and I can see no chips, pits or scratches in the windshield. There are numerous reports of these "spontaneous" windshield cracks from new Outback owners on the Subaru owners website, so I know this is not some random unlucky event. Some owners have reported 2-3 windshield replacements cracking. Subaru dealers refuse to take blame. This is a safety issue that needs to be addressed by Subaru!!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Draper, UT, USA