Service Brakes Problems of Subaru Crosstrek - part 1

The rear brakes keep engaging while the car is driving. We purchased the car in November 2022. This happened in December 2024 & at the time a dealership in [xxx] area (where my son attended college), said it was an issue and replaced parts in the brake system. Yesterday while we were driving back from [xxx] to houston - the brakes started to make loud squeaking noise as if they were engaged and the brake light keep going on and off. Fortunately, this happened very near to houston and we drove slowly on by roads back home. It feels likes driving with hand brake engaged. Fortunately nothing happened to us. But this is a systemic problem with Subaru crosstek! information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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 🔎.

On 2/5/2026, my "brake booster" failed while trying to leave the parking lot of a restaurant. When I put car in reverse I had my foot on the brake, I heard an usual sound and quickly realized the brake was not holding as I was moving backward. I had to reapply brake pressure hard in order to stop, once while backing up and once again to pull forward so I wasn't blocking anyone from maneuvering around me. I was towed to hanania Subaru where they identified the "brake booster" failed. My vehicle is ready today, 2/18/2026 to pick up and I'll return the Subaru loaner vehicle. Apparently the problem was an electronic failure code and replacing the brake booster was all that was needed. Fortunately, I was not driving in traffic when it failed and I'm told this type of failure is extremely rare. I do appreciate the ability to document this potential hazard to NHTSA.

See all problems of the 2024 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.

To whom it may concern, I am filing a formal dispute and safety complaint regarding my 2022 Subaru Crosstrek limited. On November 12, 2025, while driving at approximately 70 mph on the highway, the vehicle suddenly stopped operating automatically without warning. This was a terrifying and dangerous event for me and my family. We could have been seriously injured or worse. The service department later claimed that the issue might be related to the battery, but I am not convinced that this explanation is accurate or acceptable. A vehicle with only around 41,000 miles should not suddenly lose power or stop at highway speed. This is a serious safety defect and raises strong concerns about the vehicle’s reliability, engineering, and overall safety. I request that Subaru of America open a formal investigation into this incident and document it as part of my ongoing complaints. I also ask that this matter be reviewed under the florida lemon law and bbb auto line programs, since this issue demonstrates a clear and dangerous failure of the vehicle’s systems that should not occur under normal operation. Please confirm receipt of this dispute and provide a case reference number and next steps for resolution. Sincerely, [xxx] [xxx] ?? 786-718-0305 [xxx] et 2022 Subaru Crosstrek limited vi [xxx] 29 information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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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.

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.

The brake pedal some time goes down to the floor. I brought vehicle in Subaru dealer for check up. They stated that the power brake booster is defective, need to be replace. This is 2023 vehicle and the mileage is only 46,000 miles. For safety to me and other drivers please investigate this safety concern.

Rear rotors delaminating at 33000 miles.

The affected component of this vehicle is the braking system. When rocks or gravel get stuck to, in, on, or around the brake pads/brakes the braking system is compromised. Yes, the vehicle is available for inspection. When gravel gets stuck in, on, and around the brake pads, the safe operation of the braking system malfunctions. If the vehicle braking system does not work as designed/intended, lives are at risk. When you need to brake, the braking system needs to be reliable. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? yes, upon taking the vehicle back to the dealer, the service manager confirmed this is a known defect by both sales and service teams. The service manager said this happens often and we should expect it to happen again. The service manager told me this vehicle is not to be driven on gravel. This was not disclosed at the time of purchase. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? the dealer service department inspected the vehicle when it was towed back to them for service related to this problem. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? no, there was no warning. The brakes failed to operate properly, they did not completely fail.

1. Subaru 2022 Crosstrek accelerated on its own when foot is on the brake and trying to move the shifter knob to park, instead the car thursted into the parked car in front with such force that ran into the garage. 2. Towed car to Subaru dealer informed to escalate to Subaru of America, opened a case #250402-1600810, please see attached email communication. 3. Subaru will not respond unless I signed a consent to extract edr (event data recorders) for inspection but denied me to be onsite or a copy of the files, the data retained from edr is the property of the owner, per section 563. 5 of title 49, code of federal regulations. 4. 4 weeks later, Subaru issued the results of this vehicle indicate it has no brake, accelerator or throttle abnormalities. Also quoting the police report that I provided. 5. There was no edr saved in the accident, Subaru cannot provide any summary or why the computer did not capture any of the events, the brake pedal, gas pedal, etc. 6. There has been over $12,000 damage on the Subaru, over $7,000 on the parked car, and the garage door. The insurance repair for the vehicles only address body work and no mention of the edr testing, engine and throttle, eyesight, etc. 7. Subaru should be more transparent and issue the summary of the inspection from the team, not the adovcacy (advocating for Subaru). The car battery went completely dead on March 14, 2025 and was told there is nothing wrong with it after the dealer service center look at it on March 15. The inspector was going to determine if the vehicle is drivable. 8. The car is under 3 year warranty with extended warranty for 7 years. I want a response from Subaru of America states that the Crosstrek 2022 is safe to drive and does not have an unintended acceleration issue since Subaru conducted the inspection.

I had a frontal accident on March 6, 2025. When I turned to pull into the driveway of my rental apartment, I lost control of the vehicle. It surged forward, climbed a low retaining wall of about 14" and then hit a support post. I sat there stunned thinking "what just happened and how?" at first, I thought it was me, but thinking about it more, I'm wondering if this could be a potential safety problem. I have read several other similar instances on the internet, and someone I know had a similar accident which was attributed to her age. Collision repair for the Crosstrek was $10,358 done by a local facility, not Subaru. Repair of damage to the support post was $1,340. I reported this to Subaru, but after several follow-ups (last one on July 29, 2025), I still have not received a reply from Subaru. I can forward the email string to you if you want. I don't know how to attach it in one of the acceptable formats.

Hello! I started financing my 2019 Subaru Crosstrek in 04/2023. A month after that date, I had a head gasket issue. Then in 2024, a radiator cap deformed after going to the dealer to get an oil change at sf Honda. (the time on that was suspicious being that I didn’t touch that cap at all. ) so I had to pay for that repair. Now in 2025, after getting an oil change at Subaru, a day after that oil change, a lot of lights came onto my dashboard. I have two diagnosis reports from other places because I didn’t have the money to pay Subaru $300 to “diagnose” the issue, especially after my car just came from there a day before the problem existed. Since I got into this vehicle, I’ve been suspicious whether or not it’s safe for me, reason also being, I found out in 2024, that this car has been into 5 wrecks. Which I was not aware of prior. And now, they are making me feel, there is nothing they can do, unless I have a CO-signer, or the approved “credit” score. And now that my vehicle has “7” recalls! I am hoping I can get out of this vehicle. Thanks!.

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On the morning of 12/26/24 - I stepped inside my 2023 Subaru Crosstrek and turned on the engine. The vehicle was parked in a commuter parking lot near my home to begin with. When I turned on the vehicle - I noticed a loud roaring sound when the engine turned on which I thought was very strange. Additionally I did not have my foot on the gas pedal at all during this time. I proceeded to place the car in drive and all of sudden the car experienced a unintended acceleration straight forward with a sudden burst that I never experienced before. I proceeded to press the brake pedal and tried to turn the steering wheel - but both functions were non-responsive which was incredibly frightening. My car then went straight into a tree with great impact and the vehicle was damaged beyond repair. Also - the vehicle's windshield mounted motion detection camera system (Subaru eyesight) along with motion detector auto breaking system did not engage before I hit the tree which was very troubling. Thankfully the airbag deployed and other then some medium knee pain I was not injured nor was anyone else injured. A local paramedic truck happen to be onsite at the same time and called local authorities. Overall the malfunctioning of the vehicle is of great concern to me.

At various times of day or night, the brake lights turn on, while there is no one in the vehicle. The vehicle sits parked and is locked with the security on, and the lights just randomly turn on by themselves. The only way to turn the lights off is to go into the vehicle and step on the brake and then the lights are off after releasing the brake pedal. If the lights stay on, because it’s not noticed, then the battery drains and then needs to be jumped. It is concerning for vehicles traveling behind, because one wouldn’t know if there is an issue happening while traveling and could cause someone to be rear ended.

See all problems of the 2013 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

My 2024 Subaru Crosstrek was stopped at a red light behind a car. My cruise was disengaged after the car stopped and my foot was on the brake. Suddenly, the car lurched forward on its own and only stopped when I pressed hard on the brake and moved transmission from drive to park.

On January 19, 2024 I was slowly pulling in to a parking spot at my doctors office. I did not pull up far enough, as there was a concrete retaining wall at the head of the spot and no tire block for safety. I was maybe 5 feet from the wall when I lightly tapped the gas pedal to inch up (as the back end of the car was sticking out into the passing lane). When I did so, the car slipped into rapid acceleration causing a full head on crash with the retaining wall. I had pressed the break pedal but the brakes did not have enough time to engage before the wall stopped my car. As a result, I had bumper damage, a crooked hood (due to bent hinge on the right side) and a cracked bracket above the light assembly. Thankfully I was not injured, but the repair was costly. I leased this car new in 2017, and am paying off end of lease buyout. I have been the only driver, and I bring my car for regular servicing. At this point I am afraid to drive it because I don't know when or where the next rapid acceleration will occur.

See all problems of the 2017 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

The contact owned a 2024 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that while driving at 15 mph in the slow lane in the snow, he lost control. The brake pedal was depressed but failed to respond. The contact veered to the side of the road, off a slope, and the fell and crashed into a tree. There were no warning lights illuminated. There were no reported injuries or fire. The airbags deployed. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an unknown location. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, where the event data recorder was retrieved. The manufacturer was unable to determine the failure. The vehicle was deemed a total loss by the insurance company. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000.

Car was thought to be placed in park, key was easily removed, and then the car became mobile and rolled downhill and could not be shifted back into park.

See all problems of the 2020 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

- pre-collision braking has deployed a number of times without cause (no one in front of vehicle, no collision threat at all. Most recently at 35mph, but at up to 55 mph prior. Feel free to inspect. - brakes are automatically deployed hard and without the warning that is supposed to occur. This has thrown me into the seatbelt a few times and poses a significant risk of getting rear ended. I'm afraid the automatic steering system is going to throw me into a ditch. - the dealer can't reproduce it and no log is recorded by the car because it isn't registered as a malfunction, rather the vehicle thinks it's doing the right thing. I've taken it in twice for this and a few other issues. - the vehicle has not been inspected by anyone else as there has been no damage yet. - no signals were given and there have been no other symptoms other than the adaptive cruise control slowing down for no reason on occasion, presumably it thinks there are ghost cars in front of me?.

Waiting in line to pickup prescription, stopped with foot on brake and vehicle accelerated into car approx 15 ft in front of me. Eye sight braking did not stop car, nor did imminent collision warning engage. Car is at dealership and they conducted test; found nothing. Awaiting Subaru engineer to pull and check "black box".

See all problems of the 2018 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

Beginning one year after buying this used 2020 Subaru Crosstrek base trim the starter failed and battery fully died after failing to start from a stop. The engine was off due to the auto-stop system and failed upon lifting my foot from the brake on a slight incline, causing a constant warning beep and a starter system failure message on the dash display. Immediately after failing to start the brake pressure significantly dropped causing my car to roll into the front of the car behind it. The car was stranded in the road and required a jump start. Since this event the issue has occurred twice more on two brand new batteries on no incline, and I now fully disable the auto-stop feature before driving to avoid an accident. The car starts properly with no battery damage if started from the full ignition off position, even if auto-stop originally stopped the engine, pointing to a failure of the auto-stop system specifically. Importantly, I have also personally seen this exact failure occur to a separate 2020 Subaru Crosstrek, with the sport trim.

The contact owns a 2014 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while driving approximately 30-40 mph, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly, and then decelerated. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred while reversing into a parking spot the following day. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 102,600.

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The contact owned a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while her husband was driving at 25-30 mph downhill, the vehicle before him stopped. The contact's husband depressed the brake pedal but it failed to respond and the vehicle accelerated unintendedly, causing the vehicle to fall into a ditch where it bounced and hit the rear of a trailer, then bounced back into the ditch. The passenger's side and driver's side roof rail air bags deployed. The frontal air bags failed to deploy. The emergency units transported the contact and her husband to the hospital where it was diagnosed that the contact had sustained a compression fracture in her back. Her husband did not sustain any injuries. The occupant of the trailer did not sustain any injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot where it was totaled. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The contact was awaiting a call back from the manufacturer. The failure mileage was approximately 31,200.

In the winter of 2021-22, while parallel parking, backing up, then pressing the brake, my Crosstrek spontaneously accelerated in reverse and rammed into the truck already parked behind me. The Crosstrek paused, then rammed again, as I pressed harder on the brake. I put the car into “park” and turned off the engine. I was baffled and had no explanation for what happened. Thank goodness a person wasn’t between my Crosstrek and the truck. More recently, on October 4, 2022, I was at the post office mailbox drop-off. My Crosstrek was stopped with my foot on the brake. Some mail had fallen out of the overstuffed mailbox, I opened my door, set my foot outside, leaned over to pick up the mail, and my Crosstrek spontaneously accelerated forward. My car door hit the cement pylon and closed on my leg. The car lurched forward again, then stopped, and I was able to open the door. My leg was broken with a compound fracture and my foot was nearly ripped off. I called for help, 911 was dispatched, and I was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.

Rear brake rotors and pads are wearing prematurely. Repairs to replace both were done in 2020 with mileage of 50,786. They needed to be done again in 2022 with mileage of only 63,000.

Whilst driving down highway 101 near sequim wa, I was on cruise control doing 55 mph going up a steep hill which I have done numerous times before without issue. When all of a sudden the car suddenly slowed down, for me to hear honking from a semi behind me who had to suddenly swerve to go around us to stop him from rear ending me (luckily that part of the road on the hill had a second lane for the truck to use, if not then me and my son would probably be seriously injured or dead. ) I looked at the dashboard to find the engine warning light on, and the cruise control flashing, but the car was still running and drove fine with the accelerator pressed. Later on I found out this error code was p0024. When that issue happened, not only had the engine warning light illuminated, it caused not only the cruise control to disengage (without my input) but also for the vehicle stability control to stop working. Once again though the engine was still running file and in my opinion it disabling the cruise and stability control gravely endangered the occupants when it had no reason to disable them. Since then I have had other similar error codes such as p000d which have cause the same thing, but they happened on level ground so the car did not slow down so suddenly. I believe the issue is low or used engine oil, as when I got an oil change (within service life) the issues seems to have gone away; this has happened many times before. These pzev vehicles not only in my opinion break epa laws on emissions as they make the car burn through many quarts of oil in the service life, so how Subaru can claim pzev when exchanging high rps and a boat load of oil for some if any pzev's I do not know. My car has two recalls, I have been urgently trying to get these fixed, but my two local dealerships (both 50 miles away) refuse to do the recalls as I filed a lemon complaint, and bbb complaint as one refused to honor a price match for thousands to me. I am a disabled veteran and need car.

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.

On Jan 7th, during rush-hour traffic on the highway, without any warning all of my vehicle lights began to dim. The power steering and brakes went out. I was able to steer to the side of the road. Then, all of the lights went out and the car shut off. I was unable to shift the vehicle into park, and as I was going up a hill at the time, I was forced to roll backwards slowly and engage the emergency brake. Only luck prevented a serious, perhaps fatal accident. It was also below freezing in ohio so I had to sit in the frigid temperatures until a tow truck arrived. After being towed to two separate dealerships, the Subaru dealer believes this was caused by a faulty hybrid battery, alternator, or both. An inspection is available by request. The problem did flag multiple error codes (confirmed by the dealer) but it is very frightening that there was absolutely no warning and I feel unsafe driving this vehicle, even after it will be repaired. Next time, myself or others, may not be so fortunate. The alternator is being recalled in 2017+ Subaru Crosstrek for this very issue, but not the 2016 (my vehicle).

See all problems of the 2016 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

Rolling into a stop sign, the brakes did not work and was stuck- extremely difficult to step on. It eventually loosened after about 7 seconds and I was able to stop, but had to run the stop sign and almost hit a car. This occurred when the temperature was about 25 degrees f outside. Upon reading on forums and in a Subaru bulletin (# 06-79-20), it seems like this is a common occurrence for many Subaru owners when the temperature drops.

Caliper seized and caught on fire, front passenger side. Was told by mechanic second crosstreck this week with same problem.

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Outer left rear brake pad broke away from the backing plate causing damage to the brake rotor. The pads were original equipment and not worn out.

The vehicle of concern is a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek plug-in hybrid (phev). In the past 2 to 3 months, we have had multiple warning lights come on when the vehicle is started. In some cases, we were able to clear the warning lights by turning the vehicle off and back on several times over the course of 30-40 minutes. The two most recent occurrences involved the vehicle having to be towed to the dealership as either the car would not shift out of park or upon shifting out of park, the parking brake would not release. The car was driven to the burlington Subaru dealership in burlington, vt about 5-6 weeks ago where they were unable to reproduce the problem or find any information logged in the vehicle's logs. Two weeks ago (8/19/21), the vehicle was towed to the dealership. The service department was able to log/see the errors (abs, check engine, eyesight system and vehicle dynamic control) which were also logged in the mysubaru app. The dealership drove the vehicle almost 250 miles in attempts to diagnose the problem further. They upgraded the ecm software and they did not see the problem after that. I picked the vehicle up the morning of 8/30/21 and the problem recurred the evening of 8/30/21 resulting in the 2nd tow back to the dealership. The same errors as before were reported and seen by the dealership. On 9/1/21, I was informed by the service dept rep the problem was root caused to be a faulty electronic parking switch resulting in a drained battery. They are awaiting the new part which is in short supply in the us currently so no reliable eta. The dealer would like to keep the car an additional couple of days after they receive the part to see if the problem is resolved. The car has approximately 23,000 miles on it currently.

My daughter was in process of pulling her car into the garage when it experienced sudden acceleration and crashed into the garage. My daughter was unable to stop the car as the brake system failed during the incident. She is now too terrified to drive the car. Subaru claims that the car is and has been operating as intended. The Subaru eyesight, anti-lock braking, vehicle dynamic control systems all failed during the sudden acceleration event. It's fortunate that this incident did not happen at a stoplight (intersection).

Break lights are on, but do not light up when breaking. Changed break lights with many different bulbs, but same problem occurs. Not lighting up when breaking.