Wiper problems of the 2017 Subaru Outback - part 1

My Outback has been through 5 genuine Subaru windshields this year, and 7 since 2019. Only one was impact damage, the rest developed cracks after installation. One only lasted 3 days after being replaced. Others have lasted 3 months. There is something defective with the current Subaru replacement windshields and the dealers can't help. These are $1,300 insurance claims each. Subaru needs to figure out what is happening with the poor quality before someone gets hurt from shattered glass or impaired visibility from cracks.

My windshield (which has had multiple class action lawsuits) cracked spontaneously sitting in my driveway. I contacted Subaru of America and they denied any responsibility and claimed there is no assistance they can provide. This crack has gone from about half of my windshield to nearly the entire windshield horizontally. This is clearly a defective product as numerous complaints have been made by owners of multiple Subaru models including the Outback. This is indeed a huge safety concern along with a very unfortunate lack of accountability by Subaru of America.

Ongoing problem with Subaru. Spontaneous windshield crack. 74 degrees, parked in shade, no chips. Came out and has the crack completely across windshield just above drivers eyeline. This is has happened to many Subaru owners and Subaru does nothing. Now I want safelite to do repair, but Subaru will not honor any work involving eyesight navigation unless it is Subaru glass,.

I have had to replace the windshield three times in this vehicle since purchasing it. I've had it repaired one other time. The most recent incident was this past week when I came out of work and found a large crack near the eyesight/rear view mirror area for no apparent reason.

My windshield was replaced on [xxx] for a spontaneous crack occurring behind the review mirror and where the eyesight is located. The crack was very long and serpentine-like. There was no history of "rock" damage. On [xxx] , 6,807 miles on city street driving early in the morning, another crack in the replacement windshield occurred spontaneously. I took the car to one Subaru of hayward and they wanted $250 to tell me the window was cracked. Their first response was it is a result of a rock. This is the exact location and pattern of breakage as the window was replaced in [xxx]. I have 3 Subaru Outbacks, and my daughter's 2015 broke in the exact location twice. My daughter's car was in the garage for two weeks while on vacation. Her VIN [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Windshield cracked 3 years in a row found it odd that we were needed yearly new windshields on line search lead to class action law suit due to defective glass.

As I was driving my car today I saw a crack suddenly appear in the windshield -- running horizontally two and half to three feet from one side to the other. It's quite a crack -- about three inches from the bottom, just above the edge of the black band. This is the third time this has happened -- although the first in this particular pattern -- and it will be the third time I have had to replace the windshield. I have always been told that it is dangerous to drive with a cracked windshield. And here in maine it is impossible to pass the annual safety inspection with even a small crack. This is a big one. I see quite a few other Outback owners have had to deal with this issue. It would be nice if Subaru would take responsibility. But it won't.

The windshield has cracked multiple times. I replaced in with the oem Subaru glass before learning it is a known problem, initially on 2015-16 models but now 2017 to 2020. Subaru insists on recalibration of the adas system which has been done, at my expense. I was informed the aftermarket w/s has a slightly thicker w/s glass with a lifetime guarantee. If the w/s is critical in rollover, and air bag deployments, this known defect should be taken seriously.

As I was driving on the highway, my windshield spontaneously cracked from the base where the windshield connects with the body of the car up in front of the drivers side. The crack is about 1. 5 feet in length.

Rear view camera would not display on head unit while vehicle is in reverse. Has happened multiple times.

Hello, I am making a complaint about my 2017 Subaru Outback's windshield. I am frustrated that my windshield has cracked for the second time in just over 2 years. In early October 2020, I purchased the vehicle as a used car. Three weeks later a small rock hit the windshield on the driver's side and a small chip became a large crack that spread across my vision over 1 ft long. I brought it to the Subaru dealership I purchased the vehicle from to have it replaced, which cost over $500. 00 for parts and labor which included recalibration of the eyesight technology installed with the vehicle. I recently (January 2023) replaced my windshield wipers and as I was doing so the passenger side wiper arm slipped from my hand and struck the windshield and immediately formed a 5 inch crack. The wiper arm was about 3 to 4 inches away from the windshield when this happened. I cannot believe this happened at all. In both cases the cracks traveled well over a foot across the windshield within 2 days. My vehicle is equipped with eyesight technology and I have come to understand that the windshields on these vehicles are made thinner than usual to accommodate it. I believe this is a defect in their windshield manufacturing and/or design. I find it unacceptable the windshield is that fragile. Subaru vehicles are touted as very dependable, rugged and capable of off road use. My confidence in this notion is low and everytime something strikes the windshield I pray it doesn't crack. I will be spending over $1000. 00 for new windshields in the 2 plus years I've owned this vehicle.

Windshield cracked for no apparent reason. Parked the car in front of the house for a few hours. When I came out the windshield had a 6" crack (starting at the bottom of the windshield going up then towards the passenger side of the vehicle). By the next day it was more than 12".

I was warming up my car and clearing it off after a snow storm. The windshield had no problems when I wiped it clear of the snow with the wipers up (I always leave them up before a storm to prevent damage to the blades). When I put the drivers side wiper down, a large crack formed on the windshield starting at the blade on the passenger side and crossing over the driver's side. This was clearly caused by some part of the wiper and is unacceptable. Since it happened on a Saturday morning I had to drive to get my daughters (2 hours away) and ride with them with the cracked windshield until I can get it in for repair on Monday. This is clearly unsafe because there is greater chance for the crack to expand in the cold weather and if an accident should happen our safety is severely compromised. I will report this to my dealer on Monday (I have a scheduled oil change). No problems with the windshield had been found in any previous appointments or inspections.

On June 27th, 2022 my 2017 Subaru Outback developed a large crack on the windshield extending from the passenger side diagonally up the windshield to the driver side. Obviously I had to replace the entire windshield to keep myself and others safe. Today, December 2nd, 2022, a crack has developed while the vehicle was parked starting at the same point as the June incident and extending in the same direction. Having the windshield crack in the same place twice in one year with no apparent impact from debris is highly suspect.

After 2 years of owning my Subaru a crack appeared out of no where. Eventually it spread and is now a serious visibility concern.

Front windshield without warning had a stress crack appear on the passenger side from the top of the windshield to the middle. No foreign item caused the damage. Again, the crack appeared without warning. My insurance company set up appointment with safe lite auto glass to replace the cracked windshield on August 2, 2022. The crack has now extended diagonally across the windshield as of Sunday July 31,2022. Because of the safety risk involved, I felt it was imperative to have it replaced ASAP. Plans are to reach out to the dealership on Monday August 1,2022 for their inspection and assessment.

Front windshield cracking appeared while was vehicle parked at home. Crack is several inches long and begins at the bottom edge of the windshield. I understand that Subaru has had many complaints about cracked windshields over the past several years and that the company has been involved in several lawsuits on this matter.

The windshield spontaneously cracked while driving at 60 mph. The crack is from the lower passenger side and extends approximately 8 inches. Did not notice a rock or object hitting the glass.

Driving in traffic stop and go and about at 25mph a very small stone smaller then a pea hit the lower passenger side windshield. It cracked immediately from the very bottom up about 5 inches and then towards the driver side about 8 inches. The next two days it cracked about 6 more inches. Safelite fixed it but cost me $200. 1-800-Subaru-3 started a claim and told me to go to dealer. Dealer looked at it and documented it but did not offer to fix even after I told them this is a issue with Subaru windshields. I took pics of the crack before it was replaced.

The windshield cracked for no reason. I went out to my vehicle in the morning to find the windshield severely cracked.

A spontaneous crack began at the bottom, center of my windshield about a week ago and began inching up and over. It is continuing to grow while I try to figure out where and when to have it replaced. I live in the mountains and this is not an easy trip to the dealer. While searching for a dealer to replace the windshield, I found the problem with spontaneous cracks in other Outbacks.

Windshield randomly cracked along bottom edge. Rocks were not heard hitting windshield and extreme temperatures were not occurring at the time of fracture. Crack as extended and branched within days of appearing and has cause visibility issues. Glass repair shop as confirmed the crack and is replacing entire windshield now. Dealership was called originally and they confirmed this is unfortunately an ongoing thing in similar models.

Windshield spontaneously cracked, twice. It just cracked, nothing going on. I heard it happen the first time. The second time, it was in the driveway. There was no evidence of anything hitting it. Just a new crack.

Driving on highway, noticed a chip on windshield, has run approx 12" since then. In 35 years of driving, I have not experienced a windshield crack run like this.

Windshield just started cracking across from drivers side to center. Windshield would craxk further just sitting in garage overnight. Looks like a river running across windshield. No apparent rock or chips as cause.

Windshield cracked out of the blue. Very large crack.

Upon getting in the car parked in the garage, noticed two cracks symmetrically coming from the base of the center of the windshield extending up about 6 inches. These cracks were not there upon parking in the garage the previous night. These cracks within a day kept moving upward and outward in a curvy symmetrical pattern and are slowly moving since. Upon investigation with a flashlight there is a tiny pin size chip under the wiper that should never have caused such dramatic cracking.

The windshield cracked for no reason while sitting in a novi, michigan parking lot on 8/14/2021. The temperature was in the low 80s. No precipitation. This is the second time this has happen on this vehicle. This will be our third windshield since buying the car in 2017.

My wife contacted me thru text this morning (Monday the 19th, 2021) asking if I remember seeing the windshield cracked (starting on the passanger side) on Saturday, as thats the last time the vehicle was driven. She had just got in the vehicle to go to work, when she saw it. I told her no and couldn't figure out how it even happened as there is no damage of any sort that would of caused it. Where it started to crack, its not just cracked but deeply separated about half the length of the damage. To the point your fingernail can fit in easily. It craked a bit further later in the day.

In October of 2020, I awoke to find that my 2017 Subaru Outback's windshield had cracked during the night. I assumed it might have been struck while I was driving the previous day and then it subsequently cracked as temperatures dropped. A Subaru-recommended company replaced the windshield with an oem windshield. However, on July 18 of 2021, the windshield cracked again. Thus, not even a year passed before the windshield cracked a second time. Once again, I assumed the windshield might have been struck while driving. After getting a quote on replacing the windshield a second time, the crack spread an additional 12" after the vehicle was parked outside for 4 hours. This time, I photographed the crack. The windshield is scheduled to be replaced on 7/27 so it will not be available for inspection after that date. My concern is that the windshields on this vehicle crack very easily in response to impacts that I didn't even notice. The cracks then spread very easily. These cracks obstruct drivers' visibility, which presents a safety risk. Replacing the windshields is very expensive because of the safety features require calibration.

The windshield randomly cracked while parked in a parking lot. The crack propagated over half of the windshield over the course of the day. From the pictures you can see there are no starbursts or evidence of road debris initiating a crack. There are active lawsuits over the weakness of the oem windshield on Subaru Outback’s. I have not had this inspected by a Subaru dealership.

I have noticed a crack on the lower corner of the windshield on the driver side. The crack goes from one side to across the bottom of the window, with no evidence of an impact point.

Safety risk: windshield- 05/14/21 exited my home and went to my vehicle that had not moved at all that day or the night prior. I noticed a large crack on my windshield that I had never noticed before. No sign of this crack prior to 5/14/21.

Walked out of staters bros and the windshield cracked from the very bottom center and traveled up 10 inches and over to drivers side 16 inches. Up on its own while I was in the store. No crack prior to leaving my vehicle 25 minutes earlier.

This Subaru Outback windshield cracked for almost no reason. We bought the vehicle 2/28/21 with 19700 miles. While driving from 4-5pm on 5/7 I did not notice any audible rock hits or impacts on the windshield. We were receiving rain in michigan and the temperature was dropping quickly. I parked the vehicle at 5pm, and there were no cracks in the windshield at that point. When I went to drive the vehicle at 11pm that night, I noticed what I thought was debris on the windshield (I parked under a tree), but I didn't realize this was a crack developing. I drove it from 11-11:45. When I parked the vehicle at almost midnight on 5/7 I didn't realize this crack was getting larger. On 5/8, I went to use the vehicle at about noon, and the crack was now 10-12" long and within the drivers line of sight. I called Subaru since the vehicle only has 23,000 miles, and they said to call my insurance. Now I have to pay for a windshield on a nearly new vehicle from a crack that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Most of the driving was on a clean and new freeway, no dirt roads. In the second photo you can see what is maybe a very small rock chip, but I have numerous similar chips on two other vehicles that have not developed into a crack, especially so quickly. I think this is a defective windshield on this new Subaru. I believe this should be replaced under warranty.