Wiper Problems of Subaru Crosstrek - part 1

While driving home from the grocery store I heard a shattering sound. I was about 2 miles from home. When I got home I opened the rear hatch to see the rear quarter glass window shattered. I was driving 35 mph with no cars around me. I was shocked to see the window like that. I have read that Subaru has had problems in past Crosstreks with this same issue. Since it was yesterday and also Saturday I have not been able to talk to the Subaru dealership about it.

See all problems of the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

On Friday evening, [xxx], while closing the rear driver-side window, I heard a loud mechanical snap, after which the window failed to operate. The window regulator has binding issues (as documented in Subaru TSB 07-189-21r). This mechanical binding disables the anti-entrapment (anti-pinch) safety feature. The sensor is bypassed by the binding/mechanical failure, the window will not reverse when it hits an obstruction. This creates a direct entrapment and crush risk for passengers, specifically young children. A Subaru customer advocacy manager (jennifer) admitted on a recorded line that “the part should not break” (case #[xxx]). Despite this admission and the documented safety risk, Subaru of America refused to authorize a safety repair. The failure was inspected and confirmed by an authorized Subaru service center (walser st paul). No warning lights appeared prior to the failure as it is a pure mechanical defect. I have the recordings, but I’m not able to upload them at the moment. Please let me know if needed. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2021 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

1. Component/system failure the rearview mirror became completely detached from its mounting on the windshield. The detached mirror is still available for inspection upon request. Subaru has declined my reasonable request to either repair it or reimburse me for the time and effort required to arrange and perform the repair. 2. Risk to safety this sudden detachment posed a serious safety hazard. While driving, the mirror unexpectedly fell into my line of sight, causing me to brake immediately. Fortunately, this occurred while I was driving at low speed on a local road; had it happened on a highway, the risk of collision or a multi-vehicle accident would have been significant. 3. Problem reproduction / confirmation the issue has not yet been confirmed or replicated by any dealer or independent service center. Subaru refused to facilitate an inspection or to cover the costs associated with taking the vehicle to a facility able to assess the defect. Their position effectively obstructs verification of the issue by a qualified technician. 4. Inspections by others no inspections have been conducted by Subaru, law enforcement, insurance representatives, or other third parties. Given Subaru’s refusal to authorize and cover the costs of inspection, I’ve been prevented from obtaining an objective technical evaluation. 5. Warnings or symptoms there were no prior warning signs—no noise, movement, or looseness. The detachment was entirely random. This unanticipated failure further demonstrates a latent defect in the mirror’s attachment system.

The drivers side mirror shakes and vibrates during normal local driving on my brand new 2025 Subaru Crosstrek limited. I brought it in to be fixed and they did work on it but it did not fix the problem. I am have to bring it back a second time. I am reporting this as this is a known issue and Subaru has yet to come up with permanent fix. It makes car shake and provide poor visibility if don't have a clear view to gauge from.

See all problems of the 2025 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

Upon driving off the lot at highway speeds I noticed that the driver's side mirror was vibrating more than expected. Over the last few months of ownership and at almost 6,000 miles the vibration has gotten worse.

Since purchasing the vehicle, I have had numerous problems with the lane departure warning. It is inconsistent on a daily basis. The only time it responds the way it is supposed to, is if there is average light and very vivid road/lane markings. It sometimes does not respond to yellow lines in the road unless they are very vivid. It often misses white lines unless there is a strong contrast to the road. When it rains, all systems on my dashboard show that they are off and the word "eyesight" has a slash through it. There have been some instances where the car has not turned off, despite pushing the control repeatedly. . . And not allowing me entrance to the car despite the key in my hand and trying to open the locked car.

Driver's side mirror wobbles/vibrates at highway speeds causing blurriness of objects and led light trials. The dealer serviced it with a Subaru provided service bulletin #12-268-25 but still have the issue after that initial fix. This is a brand new car purchased in June 2025. My previous 2021 Subaru Crosstrek never had this issue and was noticed on my first highway trip.

The front windshield spontaneously developed a crack about 5 inches long which later suddenly increased to about 15 inches in length. It is our understanding that this problem has occurred in the windshields of other Subaru models. The internet states that Subaru windshields have had a tendency to crack without impact due to the windshield's angle or thinness to accommodate eyesight technology.

See all problems of the 2018 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

Shortly after I bought the new car from a dealership in June 2025, I noticed the driver side mirror vibrates at speed above 60 mph, which makes the images in the mirror become quite blurry and makes it hard to judge the distance of other vehicles especially at night. I took the car to the dealership, and they confirmed the issue, then they replaced the mirror with a new one from Subaru America. The vibration improved a little bit but still obviously blurry even around 45 mph. Weeks later, the dealership notified me that Subaru America provided a TSB for the issue. After the dealership applied the solution based on the TSB, there was not much change. The dealership then tried again with the TSB solution but didn't work.

There are 2 issues that I have noticed since I bought my car from a Subaru dealership 10 days ago. The first is that upon driving at highway speeds (over 50 mph) it feels like the car is jerky and pulls in a shaky rocking manner. This happened continuously, when I was using the cruise control and when I was not using the cruise control. It basically felt like I was driving in 40mph winds that were moving my car independently of what I was doing. The second is also something that happens at highway speeds, my driver side mirror shakes and vibrates so much so that I can't make out the surrounding space, cars and road at all. I scheduled a service appointment at the same dealership immediately. I told them these issues and upon inspection they reported that they do not see or report any such issues that I am concerned about. Stating that these are quote "characteristics" of the car. These are both potentially very dangerous problems that Subaru has stated is not an issue as far as they are concerned. There is a lawsuit about the driver side mirror that was filed in September of 2024. I just bought this car used with 10,500 miles on it and nobody mentioned anything in person or on the pre certified inspection checklist, carfax report or anything of that nature about these issues which Subaru must actually know about. If I was told about theses issues I would have not bought the car. And they are continuing to deny anything is wrong, saying its just a characteristic of the car. There are no warning lights or messages alerting of this issue within the car.

On [xxx], at [xxx] , my sunroof spontaneously exploded outwards while driving at 65mph going north bound. There was not an object that struck the vehicle. The next vehicle ahead of me was nearly 1/4 mile ahead of me. I was driving down the road, heard a loud pop, followed by a wind whistling noise. I opened my sunroof sliding cover to find shattered glass and some glass falling to my face. I contact the dealer and have a appointment scheduled for the 5th information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The windshield cracked without impact or any other obvious means of damage. I have had 2 other windshields crack in the same manner, the first being December 2022, second March 2024, and now April 2025. All incidents have starts from the bottom on the windshield on the passenger side, and spreading towards the roof. The vehicle was not moving at the time of the crack, it was noticed getting in the vehicle of all incidents.

See all problems of the 2019 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

The component that is compromised on my '23 Subaru Crosstrek sport is the windshield. My vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Monday, Jan 13, 2025, a crack formed on my windshield. The crack happened on the inside of the vehicle. It was positioned above the defroster vent on the driver's side, and I saw it happen right before my eyes. I immediately inspected the windshield from the exterior of the car. The crack cannot be felt by touch on the exterior of the windshield. There was no evidence of any damage that the vehicle could have sustained that would have caused the crack. I continued to use the defroster without further incident during my morning commute drive throughout the work week of Jan 13. Monday, Jan 20, the crack expanded to the full length of the defroster vent. It now stretches across both the driver's side and passenger side of the car. Because of the crack, I no longer use the defroster vent in fear of further damage to the windshield. Without use of the defroster, my vision is compromised due to condensation build up between the temperature difference in the interior cabin of the vehicle in contrast to the outside weather temperature. The problem was confirmed by my local Subaru dealership. On Jan 13, I took my vehicle to my local Subaru dealership where I purchased the car. A service manager took pictures of the windshield crack on site and submitted a claim to the dealership’s district manager for review. On Tuesday Jan 21, I received an update from my dealership. The district manager offered a 35% rebate to go towards the repair and/or replacement of the windshield. However, the cost to replace the windshield is quoted at $1600, in which I would be responsible for covering the remainder of the expense. I feel this is an unacceptable attempt of resolve on behalf of my dealership due to the issue at hand is and was completely out of my control. There was no warning lamp, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure.

See all problems of the 2023 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

6-8in windshield crack on passenger side, near the bottom just above defrost vents. No apparent trauma to the windshield in that area. No indication that there was a crack forming otherwise; appeared seemingly overnight. Have not yet reported to insurance, dealer, or mfg. I have seen that there was a class action settled recently regarding some Subaru windshields cracking without warning so this may be a known issue. Car is available for inspection upon request.

See all problems of the 2020 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

The windshield cracks if you spit at it. It has had the original one, one from safelite and one from bright glass and it is now cracked again. To top it off, when it cracks, unless I put clear nail polish on it right away it splits the length of the window. The 2005 crv has had a crack in its windshield for years. Not one cm bigger. The windshield is garbage.

See all problems of the 2022 Subaru Crosstrek 🔎.

Headlight performance on this vehicle is extremely dangerous when driving at nighttime. Unless you keep your high beams on constantly, these headlights offer only extremely limited visibility during night driving. From the top of the windshield down about16 inches it's totally black. You can only see out of the bottom half of the windshield. The road in front of you is only lit up for about 60 feet then it's dark beyond that point. Visiblity problem gets even worse when going downhill. Incident #1. . . . I almost ran into a bicycle rider the other night as he was traveling just beyond the area that was lit up by my lights. I was only traveling at about 35-40 mph, but by the time he was visible I was almost not able to avoid hitting him. He was riding his bike just on the edge of the lane of car traffic so he was easily in the line of my car. I was so shaken up, my heart was pounding, that I had to pull over to the side of the road to reflect on what had just happened and to get my bearings again. Now I find myself afraid to drive this Subaru, my new car of only 2 months, at nighttime. Incident #2. . . . Same complaint regarding headlights. The above described problem with headlights gets even more, much more, dangerous when you're driving down an incline such as a hill. Because you're car is going downhill, the available space that is lit up in front of you becomes even more diminished so that you also can't see any curves in the road that are coming up as well as stop signs, pedestrians or other cars!. It's a miracle if you don't end up crashing your car off the side of the road while trying to navigate down that hill. I have complained numerous times at the dealership, but no help. To verify, a rep. Would have to drive the car at night time. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have Subaru needs to make this right and correct this headlight problem ASAP or there is bound to be drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists injured and/or killed.

I have only had my vehicle (new 2024) for 5 months- no known or prior issues. I was driving on the highway, no vehicles around me and I hear a loud pop. A few minutes go by and the windshield begins to crack. Over the course of about an hour, it had spread across almost the entire windshield. With the recent history of Subaru windshields, I’m worried about the strength of their glass. Not saying there is a widespread issue at the moment, but concerned that in a few months or a year there may be a pattern.

The front windshield has cracked all the way across the bottom without a reason, while I was parked at work. There were no prior chips or dings that would cause the windshield to crack all the way across. There were no outside factors that would have caused this either since the stop was only a few minutes and was in a completely empty parking lot. I’ve read online, and also heard from the glass repair shop while they seen if it would be fixable, that a large amount of people have experienced this same exact issue with the 2022 Crosstrek windshield spontaneously cracking. Never have I ever experienced this type of issue before with any of the cars I’ve owned previously.

The windshield appeared to have spontaneously cracked overnight while parked on the driveway. The crack formed across the top of the windshield, across the eyesight. The day before, the car was at the dealership for an oil change and tire rotation. Unknown if lifting the car for the tire rotation caused the stress that may have caused the crack formation. The car was taken back to the dealer and the windshield had to be replaced. A claim to our insurance was done because the dealer said this was not covered by the warranty. I did not see any chip in the windshield that would have caused this.

Driver side exterior mirror vibrates and blurs / distorts the visibility at higher speeds when on the freeway or interstate. This is on a brand new 2024 Subaru Crosstrek purchased less than a month ago. Dealer recreated the issue but will not fix because they said other new Crosstreks do this as well and is a design flaw issue that does not have a repair???.

Driver side exterior mirror has a vibration over 60 mph. The passenger side is fine. I reported to Subaru America at dealership but they will not acknowledge the defect. It makes it difficult to see while vibrating. No warning lights or anything are on. Yes, it is available for inspection.

Driver's outside mirror shaking at highway speeds. Massive blur, headlights "dance" around, quite distracting and disorienting when checking for safe lane changes. Took brand new (less than 400 mile) 2024 Crosstrek limited into local dealer to report buzzy left mirror. They took a look at it. Received this report: (tech) said the mirror glass itself does shake but that is going to be normal because of how the mirror glass sits in the housing. . . According to our tech the vehicle is operating as designed I'm sorry, there's no way that a mirror should be shaking like that. The inside rearview mirror is pristine. The passenger side doesn't shake. It's the driver's mirror and now two Subaru employees have confirmed some shake, but won't do anything about it. This is a safety issue. It's starting to get traction on reddit. . Read more...

My Subaru Crosstrek sport with 600 miles on it, had a small pebble hit the windshield while on the highway. Within 24 hours it splintered out about 10 inches. As the repair company was cleaning the windshield for repair, it went from a ~4 inch crack to 10".

Got the car in December, a month later I took the car to the dealearship to show them the scratches from the windshield but claimed its not from the wiperblades and not covered by warranty. Now got chipped and spreading fast.

Turned on defroster to clear window fog, window cracked along bottom of windshield about 3-4 inches from bottom along 2/3 the length of the windshield. No prior chips or scratches existed.

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.

This is my 3rd Subaru. This one has now has 3 windshield cracks. 2 spontaneous, one by a tiny pebble. The photos are all from this one vehicle.

A pebble flew at the windshield with less than 1800 miles on it and chipped it. By the next morning the chip had spread to a crack spanning the length of my windshield. Replaced windshield. Several months later, same thing happened. Replaced windshield again. I am on my 3rd windshield in less than 36k miles.

I wanted to reach out to you about our new 2024 Crosstrek wilderness. Subaru is having many issues with their thin windshields for 2023/2024 Crosstrek windshields. Our new vehicle has barely 2100 miles and the windshield has cracked in two places. Not from a rock chip and from normal highway driving. This is a safety issue. Normal to work driving, no off roading. I have been reading up on Subaru windshields and how they require constant repair/replacement. Subaru should issue a recall and install thicker windshields that meet higher safety standards. William meyer 262-705-7913.

Windshield cracked on the second day I owned the car. No visible incident but it is cracked all the way left to right. The windshield is impossibly thin.

A crack appeared on front windshield starting from base of windshield upwards. Started at approximately 3 inches upward then curved to lateral direction. Nothing hit the glass. The crack appeared spontaneously.

We went to put groceries in our trunk and the rear driver side window shattered and my 2 year old was in the car. Glass got inside the car where his car seat was, and the entire window shattered on the ground. There was nothing touching the window to make the window shatter when I shut the trunk.

While driving home in the evening, I was startled by a sudden cracking sound that I heard. Although nothing appeared to have impacted the windshield, I speculated that it may have been caused by a plastic bag in which I stored trash in my vehicle on occasion. The following day, my partner noticed a significant crack in the windshield as he loaded bags into the car. I recounted the previous night's experience of hearing the disturbing sound that had caught my attention. The crack in the windshield continued to expand, causing me great distress and anxiety about the potential safety implications. As someone who relies on my vehicle for work-related commitments, the thought of the windshield shattering while I was driving deeply concerned me. This experience exacerbated my chronic pain and added financial worries due to the unexpected repair costs. Despite the absence of any apparent cause for the crack, I sought assistance from my car dealership, only to be advised that an independent service center would offer a more cost-effective solution and repair quicker. Following the windshield replacement process, which was completed by an independent service center. I have documented the progress of the crack through photographs. This unforeseen issue, with no prior indicators, caused significant distress for someone who struggles with change and is reluctant to have their vehicle undergoing repairs, beyond routine maintenance. While the windshield has been successfully replaced, I remain vigilant due to the abrupt nature of the initial damage.

Rear view mirror fell off while driving down the hwy. When the mirror detached from the front windshield it sent small shards of class on to me and my wife. This startled me and caused me to jerk the wheel. I corrected the vehicle and safely pulled to the side of the road. After inspecting what happened I realized the the glass broke and the mirror had a chuck of glass still attached to it. The damage was only on the inside potion of the glass and there is no damage to the outside. I called Subaru of America and the representative side it was covered under warranty. Once I called the service shop they informed me that I needed a claim number and Subaru does not warranty windshields. I called back and after 35 minutes the representative said I would have to wait for another representative to call back with further information.

Windshield developed large crack starting on lower passenger side and moving along to lower center of windshield. No incident of a rock or other object hitting windshield. A cracked windshield is a safety concern. Car is going in to dealership to have glass replaced this week. Crack appeared June 2023.