No component failed or malfunction. It is working as designed but it is a serious safety concern that can not be addressed except by purposely bypassing the safety system or systems. For whatever reason Subaru added rear seat belt chime alarms to the rear seats. Three in total it appears. Driver, passenger, and center. The chimes will continue to grow louder until it blocks all radio and becomes a distraction. In theory this is not a bad idea. In practice it is a safety concern. Subaru markets their vehicles as being pet friendly. The issue is when I have my dog in the back seat the seat beat alarm continues to go of sporadically and she is not done growing yet. I don't use harness/restraints but even if I did there would be no way to keep her in the correct position to not make the adjacent seat chime. This is a major distraction while driving because I have to constantly take my eyes off the road and try to reposition her to stop the chime/alarm. It is also putting others at risk as I am not focused on driving. Problem confirmed by the dealer and Subaru (SOA) with no plan to fix except cut wires, buy seat belt buckles from Ebay to stick in holder, or clip seatbelts when not in use. Concern is this will cause passengers to not buckle up due to the hassle. Safety can't be an inconvenience or there is less chance it will be followed. No police have been involved. Dealer and SOA have confirmed it is a problem with no solution. Possible software update in the future. Not a failure but a design flaw.

- Canton, OH, USA

I discovered substantial seat belt fraying on the rear center seatbelt on my Outback Wilderness, mileage less than 3,600, on May 12, 2022. Photos will be attached. One fray is 1/4" x 1/4", is 30" from the tip end of the connector tongue, and has separated the belt. The second fray is 1/4" x 11/4" and is 34" from the tip end of the connector tongue. Both frays are on the same side or edge of the belt. Other than the frays, the belt was in new condition. I believe the belt to have been furnished in a defective condition or there is a defect in the retracting apparatus. There is no external cause of the fraying that I could determine. The belt has been replaced by the dealer, Adventure Subaru, of Fayetteville, Arkansas. A separate complaint will be submitted related to a 2019 Ascent we own that had three belts replaced with nearly identical fraying patterns.

- Fort Smith, AR, USA