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.
My wife was driving the Subaru in town on a paved road her when she heard a pop/crack noise. A crack became visible immediately and after she took a lunch break and returned to the car, the crack had expanded further into her line of site. The crack started in the lower corner of the windshield on the drivers side. This happened in mid August 2019. We had to replace the windshield in September since it interfered with her visibility. I have a photo which is too large (over 5mb) to be accepted by this form.
My windshield spontaneously cracked and spread to the point where I had to replace it. The car was parked in my garage when it cracked. After driving the car the crack spread the entire span of the windshield.
The windshield cracked and by the end of the day (sitting in a parking lot) was several feet long. I took it to the dealer service center and had it replaced. Used my insurance claim and paid out of pocket.
4th windshield replacement on 2017 Subaru Outback 2.5I premium with eyesight (43,000 miles). Minor impact while driving which I'm sure happens every day to other makes without needing to replace windshield. Never had to replace a windshield in this household with 80+ years of driving non-Subaru. Subaru cannot guarantee that defective glass from 2015-2016 is not being used as oem replacement. Went with aftermarket on 4th time. Seems to me that Subaru glass is defective.
Have to replace windshield for 2nd time on 2017 Subaru Outback. Cracks have been both times on drivers side from bottom up under wiper with no chips on windshield. There was a class action suit for the same problem for the 2015 and 16 Outbacks which Subaru lost but so far they are nor covering the 2017 models which is has a different windshield but having numerous complaints for the same problem. The cracking both times was first noted when the car was in the our garage.
We purchased this vehicle used in July 2019 and I noticed that the Subaru dealer we purchased it from had replaced the windshield. Now its been about 2 months and the windshield has developed a spontaneous crack on the bottom about 9 inches long in a S shape. The car was parked on my driveway when this occured. I believe there must be some kind of defective design on these vehicles. I have read that even 2019 Subaru Outbacks are having this problem. Subaru claims that a flaw in the windshield wiper deicer element causes the cracks on 2015-16 models but if thats the case, why is this happening to the model years up to 2019? the body style from 2015-2019 are pretty much the same. I believe Subaru is aware of this and does not want to acknowledge this problem.
Our Outback was sitting in the driveway since yesterday afternoon. This morning my wife discovered a large crack in the windshield. It's approximately 7 inches long. I've read on several websites that this is an ongoing issue with late model Subaru. Can you please help us?
The contact owns a 2017 Subaru Outback. The contact activated the dimmers for the rearview mirrors. She stated that she could not see out of the mirrors and the mirrors themselves were too dark. The contact stated that the vehicle also had tinted windows. The contact took the vehicle to dunning Subaru (3771 jackson rd, ann arbor, mi 48103, (734) 662-3444) and was informed that the tinted windows were the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 17,000.
Windshield developed crack from under driver's wiper up and across 3 inches then across to up to above other wiper then up in half circle and back across the windshield to the driver's side. Car had been parked.
In April 2017, just 3 months after purchasing my Outback new, I was driving along I-10 in Louisiana when I heard a loud noise and a crack in windshield appeared. It began to grow and a couple of months later, in June, there was another spontaneous crack in my windshield that appeared. My car was still under warranty but my dealership told me that this was not covered. The cost was over $600 for replacement and calibration of eye sight. We purchased the oem windshield because they told us our eye sight may not work with a generic windshield. It was replaced August of 2017 - car was less than one year old. Well, a year later in September of 2018, the spontaneous cracks started appearing again. And now the crack expands across the entire windshield. I am upset at having to change it again because I feel like this will happen over and over again. It is dangerous and effects visibility. Subaru should take care of this.
Driving on interstate and small pebble struck center of windshield. At the time of impact no visual damage to windshield. Drove approximately 5 miles on the way to home when the lower center of windshield cracked. Crack is estimated 8 inches in diameter.
My windshield was struck with debris while traveling down a 35mph road. The chip immediately began to crack in two directions. I have a extended warranty from Subaru that is for windshield protection, which my dealer said will not cover.
Windshield spontaneously cracked while driving in rainy conditions with the defroster on. I heard a large pop. I was driving on the freeway, I wasn't behind any traffic. The cracked started at the side of the windshield. On my way home later that day with the windshield the crack grew an additional 6 inches. I originally thought this was just a freak accident but then I seen someone else's post on newer model Subaru windshields and there are hundreds more incidents exactly like this one. I know there was a lawsuit in 2017 on the 2015-2016 model windshields, but I read enough to believe this problem still exists in the 2017 to present models. This isn't safe. Torque news there is an article dated May 5, 2018, "Subaru loses lawsuit over faulty Outback windshields" discussing the lawsuit, the comments from the fellow Subaru owners is concerning.
I hit a large deer on ih 10 at 75 mph. All airbags deployed safely but conpletely blocked my vision and prevented me from exiting the vehicle as the bags blocked door handles, window control switches and my seat belt release. Another motorist cut air bag strips and helped me to exit the car. Fortunately, no fire.
We put car in garage. It was clean perfect condition. The garage is locked and I found a spider scratch which had no visible hole from a pebble. The spider crack was internal so I could feel no indentation. I have witnesses in the vehicle. It is very clear that it was inherent in the window. To avoid possible danger I brought it to dealership. I still paid $100 for repair and I bought it new. Also I had scratch protection.
I had the original windshield in my 2017 Outback crack while driving on I-65 back in March of 2018, which I presumed was due to a stone chip even though the chip damage I observed was extremely minor. Not knowing about the ongoing windshield cracking issues that Subaru was undergoing with their 2015-2016 models, I had the cracked windshield replaced at my dealer with oem parts ordered through my dealer's parts dept. Which ended up costing me $500 out of pocket on a $788 insurance claim. Now I have the same kind of crack appearing in the replacement window with no apparent stone chip or other cause. I first noticed the crack originate from the area of the VIN window in the bottom driver's side of the window. This happened soon after I began driving on a quite cold day with the windshield defogger engaged. Since it happened less than 1 year after the first, I asked the service rep at my local dealership if the replacement window was covered by any manufacturer's warranty and he said no, not for cracking. After searching the windshield cracking problem online, I was shocked to read of the number of other Subaru legacy/Outback owners of similar model years and later with identical stories and with Subaru apparently ducking the issue by contending that they are not responsible for warrantying replacement windows. Needless to say I'm not happy to read of their dodging this potentially serious safety issue. I guess it will take another class action lawsuit to get Subaru to step up.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lexington, OH, USA