Automatic Emergency Braking Problems of Subaru Crosstrek

On may 13, 2026 at approximately 2:50 pm, I experienced an unexpected activation of the eyesight pre-collision braking system in my 2026 Subaru Crosstrek while pulling into the chick-fil-a entrance area in [xxx] . The vehicle suddenly applied hard braking even though there was no imminent collision in front of me. The sudden braking created a hazardous situation and nearly caused me to swerve toward a pedestrian standing on the median area nearby. I was also fortunate there was no vehicle directly behind me, as the abrupt stop could have resulted in a rear-end collision. At the time of the incident, there were no warning lights or prior indications of a malfunction. The vehicle currently has approximately 900 miles on it. I have since contacted the Subaru dealership and scheduled a warranty inspection of the eyesight/pre-collision braking system for further evaluation. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Purchased vehicle 8/27/2025 within 1 day and 1 month of 2 separate class action lawsuits. Purchased from carmax wilmington. Car produced electrical shock to my hand first time I attempted to pair the vehicle. Parkway stated at that time I was under an additional warranty but the vehicle would require constant “updates”. This was an intentional deception to prevent me from pursuing what is required under the law, which is the replacement of head unit and subsequent by back of the vehicle when those services fail. "I am reporting a severe pre-crash safety module defect and subsequent dealer concealment on a 2023 Subaru Crosstrek. Two weeks prior to being rear-ended, parkway Subaru in wilmington, nc, executed seven failed eyesight safety recalibration sequences. The service department concealed the component failure, falsely stating the vehicle 'just needed updates,' releasing an unsafe vehicle with non-functional automated braking into commerce. Post-collision, the vehicle was redirected to an uncertified shop to perform unauthorized repairs and cover up the pre-existing safety failure. Service manager selena tighe verbally threatened me to suppress my references to federal class-action safety filings.

See all problems of the 2023 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

The car in front of me was about a two car's lengths away. It was very cold and that car's exhaust plume was larger than normal. The exhaust plume was highlighted by sunlight, and I believe my car thought it was an object. The auto braking system alerted and immediately slammed on the brakes in the middle of heavy traffic. There was no time for me to respond. Thankfully no one hit me. If I'd been on the highway it could have been catastrophic. The problem has not been reproduced or inspected.

See all problems of the 2021 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

Within 10 days of purchasing this vehicle a certified Subaru dealership documented the following safety defects. Both front cv axles failing and clicking on turns creating loss of vehicle control risk. Eps electronic power steering fault codes creating safety critical steering concern. Can bus communication fault u0073 affecting multiple vehicle safety systems simultaneously. Cvt transmission fluid critically low at 1 to 2 quarts. These defects were professionally documented by Subaru of portland certified technicians on [xxx] at 113,494 miles. Repair quote for safety related defects totals $7,516. 51. Vehicle was sold by overland automotive llc 2900 se cornelius pass rd ste 105 hillsboro or 97123 with these defects undisclosed. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2013 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

I was driving today January 30th 2026 on the road going 35 mph into the sunlight and all of the sudden my vehicle acted like I slammed on my brakes and I jerked forward almost hitting my chin in the steering wheel. Luckily no one was close behind me or I could have easily been hit. There was nothing in front of me so emergency brakes should not have deployed.

Automatic emergency braking engaged unnecessarily. It was triggered by a plastic trash bag being blown in front of the vehicle. I was driving about 70 mph and was fortunate to avoid being rear-ended by another vehicle.

See all problems of the 2025 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

Automatic braking: one incident of the automatic braking system engaging on a side street when the road was clear of obstacles. The road surface had been prepared for some kind of minor work in the center of the road - there were regularly intermittent disturbances to the otherwise smooth surface. These appeared to be small prox 6-8” square cuts in the surface. On two occasions the car braked suddenly and sharply in front of these disturbed areas. Potential risk from a following car. . Steep, windy road with cars parked on either side. Weather clear. I have not yet reported this to the dealer so it has not yet been inspected. I did not notice any other signs or warning systems prior to this event and during the event I was distracted by the event itself and too busy looking for vehicles that might hit me from behind,etc. To notice.

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The 2024 Subaru Crosstrek brakes engaged twice without the driver pushing on the brakes, slowing the car down significantly. The initial vehicle speed was around 65 mph on the highway, and slowed to around 45 mph after the second automatic braking incident occurred. Adaptive cruise control was not on. The car in front of the Crosstrek was 8-10 car lengths away. Then while the Crosstrek was still moving, a truck hit the back right bumper of the Crosstrek and pushed it into the next lane to the left. (I), the driver of the Crosstrek, was able to steer back into the original lane of travel to the right. After the Crosstrek was steered back to the original lane of travel, it came to a stop due to right rear axle damage. The Crosstrek driver was able to creep to the shoulder to wait for emergency personnel to arrive. The safety of myself and others, due to the Crosstrek (eyesight?) malfunction, is extremely important to investigate. This safety feature when engaged unexpectedly is dangerous. When drivers do not have control over the braking system of the car, sudden and unexpected slow-downs can lead to rear-end accidents, and even the loss of life. When I was pushed to another lane of travel, a secondary accident could have occurred, or a chain-reaction with many cars. I did not see or hear any warnings, messages, or experience any unusual symptoms before the car braked on its own and I was rear-ended. After I crept to the right shoulder of the interstate, the Crosstrek was still running and there were no warnings or messages. Since the Nov 11 accident, dean team dealership in ballwin mo has reported the issue. State farm insurance has totaled the 24 Subaru Crosstrek, recovered data from the event date recorder (edr), and is discussing the vehicle losses with Subaru corporation. Julie bowman is receiving chiropractic care also. Additionally, there similar reported incidents on websites—reddit and car complaints. Com.

Traveling at speed of 30mph. A tocoma truck in front of me suddenly stopped in road lane. Driver said that his vehicle made an auto assist stop were the brakes lock. My 2021 Crosstrek eyesight/braking system failed. I saw the truck stop but the system failed and I went into the back of a large truck. There is a witness who is happy to talk with you. He saw the truck's sudden stop and my Crosstrek failure to stop. My car is totaled. I have the police report and have reported this to my insurance company.

I was driving on the highway in stop-and-go traffic when suddenly I found myself depressing the brake pedal to the floor and the car would not stop. Additionally, the eyesight function that prevents forward collisions did not alert for obstruction or stop the vehicle. I was able to put the vehicle in park and then tried to reengage the vehicle, but the brakes failed to respond. I was in the middle lane of a major highway. My vehicle could have harmed someone else, in addition to myself, and I was also at risk by being stopped in the middle of traffic. I could have died, had I been traveling at actual highways speed. No lights or warnings were on in the vehicle before, during, or after the incident. As of now, the dealership has been unable to replicate the issue, thought they still have the vehicle. They have not been able to identify the cause of the issue, but have also been unwilling to put the tests they have done in writing for me at this point. At this point, I have little confidence in my vehicle, despite it being a 2022 with low miles. I am terrified that this intermittent issue could happen again. The week prior, I had an experience where the acceleration and braking were not functioning as expected, but I had just pulled out of a parked position and this resolved after putting the vehicle in park and reengaging the vehicle.

See all problems of the 2022 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

Vehicle will randomly break while driving when there is nothing in the way. This worries me that it will happen while driving on the highway. It seems to be happening more frequently.

The 2019-2021 Crosstrek hybrid has an issue with the fuel tank design. Subaru has finally released a TSB (reference: 09-82-23r) that explains the issue in more detail and how the defective parts need to be replaced. In short, the fuel tank has a design flaw such that regular fuel corrodes the fuel tank and causes clogging in the vapor vent tubes. Subaru says it's related to fuel with high ethanol content, however I have been filling up with regular fuel and have still experienced the issue. I have personally owned two of these vehicles and experienced the occasional p0452 check engine light which when diagnosed by a licensed shop pointed to this fuel evap system issue. Subaru has finally acknowledged that this is a known issue and issued the TSB, however they have not yet issued a recall. The repairs for this issue are expensive and the symptoms are an occasional check engine light. I am concerned because this issue is not easily detectable and is expensive to repair. Since this involves the fuel tank and fuel vapors tubes I am concerned there might be a fire risk or health risk, but since there is no recall issued I don't know if it can be ignored or needs immediate attention. Subaru does cover this repair under 3 yr / 30k mile warranty but with the irregular symptoms it is hard to detect and diagnose it and Subaru only issued the TSB in Jan 2024 when the 2021 model became 3 years old and out of warranty. It seems like Subaru knew about the issue but didn't want to address it under warranty so they issued the TSB only after all the cars were out of warranty and only now when the consumers have to pay out of pocket are they diagnosing it correctly. Also, this issue triggers the check-engine light only occasionally and at random, and when the light goes on all the vehicle safety aids like pre-collision braking and rear cross traffic warnings are disabled. I think this is dangerous because drivers tend to get used to having those features.

See all problems of the 2020 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

A/c drain clogged and let water into car drenching all carpets below all seats- (2) electronic devices below driver and passenger seats malfunctioned and caused all eyesight and safety systems to fail along with check engine light turning on, all safety systems failed, all wheel drive offline and power steering went manual.

While driving in the left lane on a three lane highway (about 70mph) the car's automatic braking system engaged. The car would not accelerate creating a very dangerous situation on a congested highway at night. Luckily, we are able to navigate to a brake down lane without a collision. The check engine light, eyesight light and rab light turned on. The car would not function normally and was towed to a Subaru dealer (patrick Subaru, shrewsbury MA). Diagnosis was a failure of the engine coolant bypass valve p26a6. Other failure codes were: p0087, p2004, p2005, b2806, b2c22. I was told this is a known problem in Subarus of certain years, but, instead of recalling, the company has extended the warranty on the malfunctioning part. This incident happened without any previous warning and caused a life threatening situation for us and those around us.

Suddenly warning light "check engine" came on along with eye sight malfunction warning. "I rab off" "check engine" automatic emergency braking not working. Yes, available for inspection. Not confirmed yet by dealer. It is the weekend. There were no unusual symptoms prior to adas malfunction.

Subaru eyesight system engaged randomly with no forward obstacles. Dashboard lit up, signaled alarm, and brakes engaged causing the car's nose to bottom-out. This has happened twice, thankfully at low speeds and thankfully without another car rear ending me. I'm worried this will happen on the highway. Eyesight system is generally unreliable. Random lane departure warnings and obstacles detected where there are none.

The windshield cracked for no reason while parked in our garage. The windshield was not stuck by any objects, the car was simply setting parked in our garage. There is no evidence of any object striking the windshield such as a rock chip or other items. The crack is in line with the left side eyesight driver assist technolgy sensor mounted inside the windshield. The crack in the windshield may effect the operation of the eyesight safety features.

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On 12/21/23 at approximately 9:19am pst, I was driving west on pebble rd away from the intersection of eastern Ave. This is a divided four lane road (two lanes in either direction). While driving on a winding section of road divided by pillars, my forward collision detection and automatic braking systems erroneously activated when there were no cars or objects in front of me. My dashboard displayed a pre-collision braking warning message and there was a loud beeping alarm. My vehicle rapidly and unexpectedly decelerated. Another driver was following closely behind me when my car rapidly and unexpectedly decelerated. This could’ve caused the driver behind me to rear end me. Also, at various points in the past the forward collision detection system has at time alarmed erroneously without activating the brakes, even when there are no cars in front of me or said cars were very far in front of me and there was no risk of collision. I reported to incident to Subaru and made a service appointment for the issue on 1/18/2024. The service advisor advised me that the system has been known to produce false positives. He advised me to disable the pre-collision braking system on windy roads, where the system may incorrectly detect that the car is about to collide with static objects in the median, especially if those objects are reflective. No further service or inspection was performed related to these issues on 1/18/24.

The auto engine shut off was disengaged by the dealer while doing some repair. When we picked up the car, noticed engine trouble icons signifying this. We called the dealer and advised of this situation. We had asked if it could be disconnected and was told no, it is forbidden and a safety issue. So when I advised it was turned off, the dealer then refused to work on the car any further or to turn it back on. They are the only local Subaru dealer in knoxville. That certified mechanic is the one who did not reconnect this safety feature and then refused to fix it. What ever measures need to be taken to this dealer (grayson Subaru - knoxville) I need to do so. This has created a huge safety issue with the car and driving and a authorized / approved Subaru dealer refuses to follow the law.

I was travelling down a 3-lane road wherein another vehicle in front of me, several car lengths away, merged into the middle lane to turn left. The turning vehicle approached the intersection and was stopped several seconds waiting for opposite traffic to clear to make their turn. As I proceeded through the intersection at 55mph, the eyesight technology must have falsely locked on the vehicle in the turn lane and applied the automatic emergency braking. This resulted in a sudden skidding and a near miss rear-end collision from a vehicle behind me. I was able to apply the gas and avoid being rear-ended. I immediately disarmed the pre collision braking, called Subaru, and gave them an ear-full. They recommended having the eyesight re-calibrated.

Subaru pre-collision braking activates when no danger present. It detects exhaust steam or smoke as an obstacle. Approximately February 25th of 2021: while acceleration from a stop light in winter, eyesight falsely detected the exhaust of the car in front of me as a danger and slammed on the brakes to a full stop causing the car behind me to bump into me. Thankfully this driver was paying attention and no damage was caused. This function overrode my foot being on the accelerator. Late spring of 2021: while using cruise control on the highway, 70+mph, a diesel truck accelerated to merge. The eyesight again detected the exhaust as a hazard and slammed on the brakes causing the drivers behind me to take evasive actions and put them at risk for no reason. During both incidents, the collision warning lights fully activated. I spoke to the dealership about these incidents and was told to turn off the pre-collision system on cold days and watch out for diesel exhaust.

The automatic braking system engaged at highway speed while changing lanes with no other vehicle or object in front of the vehicle. I was accelerating to change lanes when the sensor started beeping and the car slammed on the brakes causing a sliding skid. I was able to maintain control and fortunately there was no one behind me. I believe the eyesight control malfunctioned. I do not believe this is a safe feature as it not only puts my safety at risk but also the safety of anyone on the road around me.

When starting the vehicle in a narrow area, the reverse automatic braking will sometimes activate. This causes the anti-lock brake system to actuate while the car is backing up making a rapid clicking noise. After backing up approximately 6-8 feet, the vehicle will stall, the steering wheel will lock, and all warning dash lights such as "check engine" will be on. Air conditioning codes are triggered u0401 (confirmed - invalid data received from ecm/pcm "a"), and u0416 (invalid data received from vehicle dynamics control module). Powering off the vehicle for a minute or two and starting the vehicle will return normal operation. This is a safety hazard if the car stalls when backing out from a driveway into a busy intersection. The car will also stall by locking the steering wheel and showing check engine and other errors on the dash, as well as activating the u0401 + u0416 codes when starting the vehicle (push button + brake), and then rapidly shifting out of park, and then using the accelerator. When this occurs, the hybrid system will not start, and the engine will not turn over. No power is transferred to the transmission.

My vehicle is equipped with eyesight, which is a Subaru technology that includes adaptive cruise control, forward collison warning/breaking, lane departure warning, rear automatic braking, etc. Subaru claims that windshield replacements must use Subaru glass due the optical clarity of the windshield and that the eyesight system must be recalibrated. This is a $1339 cost (via safelight) to replace the windsheild. I have 8400 miles on my vehicle, and I am getting ready to have the second windshield put on the car. The glass simply breaks to easily. First incident, a rock hit the windshield and it cracked about inches while traveling through albuquerque, nm on I-25. Second incident happened today on I-25 with a barely perceptible sound, and the windshield has a crack about 6. 6 inches long. I am not sure what the issue is with Subaru windshields, but looking in owner forums, it's a pretty common occurrence. The fact that I am averaging a new windshield every 4200 miles is ridiculous. I have been driving for 35+ years and have had to replace a windshield less than three times. With the Subaru, I am doing it almost every 4-5 months (so far).

Eyesight switches on and off too often for no obvious reason when the vehicle is in motion regardless of a city street or on the highway.

See all problems of the 2018 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.