Equipment Problems of Subaru Outback - part 1

This is my fourth Subaru Outback windshield. The car has 80k. I had it replaced in 2019 when a rock hit the screen by safelight. I had another crack (no rock) fixed in July 2021 and another crack (unclear source) fixed in August 2025, both by Subaru. This weekend I got my fourth crack in the windshield, no rock. The last two times, the crack extended across the screen. This time the crack is so bad, it is hard to drive. Each time Subaru fixes my windshield, it is $1100. I don't know anyone who has broken a windshield, never mind four of them. There was a lawsuit but for some reason it did not include cars older than 2020.

See all problems of the 2018 Subaru Outback 🔎.

On June 15th 2026, I was at a red light and the auto start-stop feature shut off the engine. When light turned green, my car lost power and started rolling downhill. During this rolling downhill, the brakes stopped working, I was unable to engage parking brake, and I wasn't able to do anything except find a place to safely use gravity to slow the vehicle down. If the hill was steeper, this scenario could have been deadly. It was so scary, I called 911 for assistance but got lucky I was able to stop the car before there was an accident. It turns out the battery didn't have enough power to allow the vehicle to restart and if this happens when the auto start-stop feature is engage you lose the ability to use the brakes. I spoke to the local dealership and acknowledge that is a problem.

See all problems of the 2022 Subaru Outback 🔎.

I am writing to report a severe, escalating safety defect regarding the "ghost touching" / phantom input malfunction of the infotainment head unit on my Subaru Outback. This electronic defect has escalated from a minor distraction into a severe hazard that directly compromises the operational safety features of the vehicle, putting myself and my children at imminent risk of a crash. When this problem initially began, I investigated whether a safety recall had been issued. At that time, I was informed that my vehicle was outside of its standard warranty coverage period. Since then, the defect has degenerated significantly. The system now suffers from continuous, uncontrollable phantom inputs ("ghost touching"). Even when I manually power the radio off, the system overrides my command, turns itself back on, and initiates constant, rapid beep sequences. This continuous, high-volume auditory glitch creates a dangerous critical safety failure: the nonstop beeping totally masks and completely drowns out the vehicle's actual auditory collision avoidance and driver-assist safety alerts. Because of this defect, I am entirely unable to hear the safety tones meant to warn me of immediate hazards, including blind-spot detection alerts, lane-departure warnings, and cross-traffic alerts. This vehicle has become an active hazard to drive, as I am deprived of the core safety features I rely on to protect my family. I contacted Subaru of America to resolve this dangerous equipment failure, but they refused to offer any financial assistance or repair support. Subaru corporate documented this refusal under Subaru case #260603-1600711. Because Subaru refuses to address a known component failure that actively disables crash-avoidance warning systems, I am petitioning the NHTSA to investigate this defect as a systemic safety hazard before it results in severe injuries or a fatal accident. I can share video, but it won't allow me to upload down below. Thank you.

I am repeatedly getting a pop-up ad from sirius xm radio on my touch screen info center on the dashboard. I cannot use any of the other on-screen commands until I cancel it, and the x to cancel. It is in a place that's kind of far away from the driver side and difficult to reach. And it's very distracting. There's evidently a way to opt out of it, but you have to have a sirius xm radio account in order to do that. And I don't think it's reasonable to expect somebody to provide personal information to opt out of a service. This is a dangerous and distracting item that needs to end.

See all problems of the 2025 Subaru Outback 🔎.

Sirius xm advertisement popped up twice today while I was driving, effectively preventing me from following navigation guidance on the screen. I had to take my eyes off the road and find the “x” on the screen to close the advertisement, so I could continue following the navigated route. An accident could have happened during this time. This advertisement is unnecessary and unwanted. I never approved of receiving sirius xm ads, nor can I option out of receiving them and they take up the whole screen at random times.

See all problems of the 2024 Subaru Outback 🔎.

While driving, a siriusxm advertisement popped up in the center infotainment screen that controls not only the radio, but several of the driver assistance and climate control features of the car. They created it in a way that makes calling the advertiser very easy, with a big centrally-located button, and clearing the advertisement out with a tiny x over by the passenger side of the screen. I had to pull over in order to safely regain control of the screen.

Sirius xm ads keep popping up at random times removing the ability to use or see the media display unless you press the small x on the far side away from the driver. Usually happens when starting the car, sometimes happens when you are driving regardless of speed. Has happened multiple times and causes distraction and is more than potentially dangerous. Can not opt out of it on the car, have talked to sirius on the phone and told them I do not want their service. They don't care.

A message from siriusxm pops up on the screen from which every system of the vehicle is controlled. That screen is then inoperable until that advertisement is closed by hitting a button in an unsafe location on the screen relative to the driver. This has been harshening to me every time I’ve started the car over the last 2 days.

On multiple occasions, the car's onboard, factory-installed user interface system (the computer screen that operates climate control, navigation, entertainment, etc. ) has pushed pop-up ads for sirius fm. These pop-ups persist and interfere with operating of the system. This presents a driving distraction and hazard due to (1) operator attention is drawn from the road, (2) normal function of the screen is not possible, and (3) the operator is required to interact with the screen to close the pop-up. Nor does the screen expire and simply go away - it persists until the operator takes action. The marketing cannot be turned off and there is no opt. Also, it is not limited to siriusfm customers - I have never been a user or subscriber. Sirius fm stated that the pop-up marketing is built into the software the Subaru installed in the vehicle.

There is a promotional pop up which shows from sirius xm, it appears several minutes into driving, while moving. This pop up advertises a deal on the subscription and is not only distracting, but it disables any other functions on the head unit including navigation assistance, drive modes and climate controls. The only way to exit from the promotional window is to clock an x which is nearly out of reach for the driver to press.

Before I begin my commute, I’m greeted by a persistent message within the center infotainment display from the satellite radio service provider sirusxm. The message will not go away until manually closed out, as the exit button is farther away from the drivers reach (more accessible from the passenger side). This can lead to distracted driving, especially if you’ve already expressed no interest in the service, prior to its other attempts. It also doesn’t help that the center console is frustratingly non responsive for the first few minutes during every vehicle startup. There’s also a number displayed on the screen to call sirusxm to opt out of the messages but the attempt is useless as they will corner you into purchasing subscription. I shouldn’t have to do this for a vehicle I own and the monopoly that service presents as the only satellite provider is anti competition.

I was driving and an ad for siriusxm popped up. This has happened before. This disables thr head unit until you press the c button. This is dangerous. Please address with Subaru.

I am reporting a severe saftey and crash-compatibility defect on the front passenger side of the 2026 Subaru Outback premium trim. This vehicle is equipped with a fixed-height passenger seat that is positioned unsafely high relative to the headliner and sun visor assembly. Because the seat height cannot be lowered, an adult passenger of average height sits with their head in immediate proximity to the sun visor. Under standard deployment of the vehicle brakes, forward occupant kinematics cause the passenger’s forehead to travel collide into the rigid, unyielding lower edge of the sun visor, which act as a hard/sharp parts cut the forehead and twisting the neck seriously. During a recent braking event, this lack of structural clearance caused a direct head-strike incident. The occupant’s forehead collided with the sharp bottom edge of the visor, acting as a blunt knife edge that resulted in a laceration to the forehead and a hyper-extension strain injury to the neck. This is a critical design failure where occupant safety clearance envelope was poorly designed for this elevated fixed-seat configuration. In a high-speed collision, this layout poses an imminent risk of severe facial trauma, skull fractures, or catastrophic cervical spine injuries from the visor before the seatbelt pre-tensioner can fully lock. This requires immediate investigation and a mandatory safety recall to provide height-adjustable/lower seat frames to affected vehicles.

More than 3 times, I have had a siriusxm pop-up completely covering my Subaru Outback's headunit screen while I was actively driving. It completely disables all functions on the screen until you are able to click the small red x in the far right corner, away from the driver. Even though the message says you can call to opt out, if you call sirius, they will tell you there is no way to opt out of the messages in the car. This is crazy unsafe, and sirius needs to be forbidden from doing this and punished for its current actions.

I have a suburu Outback 2026. . I was driving 30 mph on a country highway in monroe, michigan when my sun roof tempered glass window exploded upward. . . It sounded like a shotgun went off in my car… the suburu warranty claim was rejected… they determined it as “outside influence”… that caused my sun roof window to implode… if this had happened on a highway, it may have caused a serious injury accident. Since that time, I have researched to see if other people have experienced similar incidents. . It appears that sun roof spontaneous explosions are not uncommon. This is why I am reaching out to you.

After highway driving for 50 miles, stopped for a red light. Engine died but all lights stayed on. Sat 5 minutes with dead engine and when I tried again, the car started. Drove 1 mile to next light and it happened again. Went to auto zone (it was a Sunday and dealerships were closed) and they tested the battery which was 100%. Two days later, drove car for 10 minutes then parked for errand; 15 minutes later, car wouldn't start. Let it sit for a minute and it started right up. This happened 8 months ago (engine died at stop light after having been driven 30+ miles) but Subaru dealership could find nothing wrong. Also, radio speakers randomly will blast so loud it startles and distracts everyone in the car.

The entertainment system is dangerous and actively so. The system pushes pop up advertisements for sirius xm among other distracting features that require taking attention away from the roadway to dismiss.

We are very concerned about the failure of some very important safety features of our 2021 Subaru Outback touring edition. We were involved in a bad car accident caused by a person under the influence who was in handcuffs when we were taken away by ambulance. As you can see by the photos, there was major damage to the other car and significant damage to ours. What is most concerning is the fact that none of the airbags deployed and the safety and security plan also failed - it did not call 911. I had to find my phone on the floorboard and call 911 myself. I am not sure if the insurance company will call it a total loss but I really don't think I want the car back because of the failures of these very important safety features. I truly feel like Subaru has some explaining to do on this.

See all problems of the 2021 Subaru Outback 🔎.

First battery drain in car. Bought a new battery and it drained again for the second time. Called suburu to ask about a parasitic drain from the dcm and they said it was likely that and told me to call suburu America. Did that but they wanted me to take it to a suburu dealer to get the problem verified. I don’t have the $ to do that. I notice there is a class action in court right now for this exact problem.

The front passenger window does not work correctly all the time. The driver is not able to put the window up when pressing button on driver’s side and the passenger needs to keep pressing button to have it go back up again. So if the driver puts the window down while driving, the driver cannot put it back up. It occurs every few months. It’s such a common problem that there are many sites on you tube on how to fix it. It is known on you tube that it happens with Subaru often.

See all problems of the 2017 Subaru Outback 🔎.

Driving slowly in a parking lot, I applied the brakes as I approached a parking space. Instead of slowing down, the car inexplicably accelerated quickly and did not respond to increased pressure on the brakes. The car was propelled into a metal post, resulting in my glasses flying off and a seat belt bruise, although the airbag did not deploy. I was examined by ambulance personnel at the scene. The car was towed, inspected by an insurance adjuster and eventually declared a total loss. There were no warning lamps prior to the incident and no reproduction of the incident was possible due to damage. The car has been relinquished to the insurance company. This was the first such incident occurring during 8 years of driving this vehicle.

Our Subaru backup camera screen is suffering from a factory defect delamination issue which has caused the screen to become hazy and difficult to see. In daylight, the screen is often completely obscured by the defect. Subaru issued a warranty extension from 2020 to 2023 due to class action litigation regarding this issue, but we were never made aware of the extension. Subaru has refused to repair this factory safety defect simply claiming it is out of warranty.

My car caught on fire while I was driving in 3/30/26. The far started somewhere in/near the front driver’s side, initial observed flames were coming from just above the front driver’s side tire. There were no warning lights on at the time the fire started. The car was a total loss by the time firefighters arrived.

Hood flew open at 70 mph on smooth highway. Visibility was restricted to narrow field below open hood and front windshield was cracked through force of impact of hood on front windshield.

Driving on highway and moon roof exploded. Have nonindication of a projectile hitting glass. Did not see any cracks.

The infotainment system on my Outback has become a complete distraction when driving. It calls people from my contacts on its own, it cuts off my navigation in the middle of a drive and it freezes up preventing cancelling of operation. This is the hub of the vehicle and makes using hands free devices next to impossible. I took the vehicle into the Subaru dealership and they confirmed the issue. They had me reach out to Subaru of America and they refuse to cover the cost to replace the malfunctioning unit in the vehicle. Upon researching this online, it is caused by delamination of the head unit and has plagued this vehicle. The issue started happening outside of warranty. I feel like this is a well documented problem and Subaru refuses to do a recall on it.

Total of 3 incidents when my car had approx 1/8 to 1/4 of a tank of gas. . . . As going up incline on interstate. . . . Car like stalls and slows down, will not speed up. . . . Get it over to the side to avoid being hit and it finally starts going again. . . Close call with vehicles behind us in the passing lane. Below listed the last time it happened. . . Did not use to do this. . . First time was same area listed below in November 2025.

Hvac system heating to dangerous levels and still radiating heat into the cabin even after hvac system was turned off. To mitigate, direction was changed to feet. Temperatures of over 100 degrees f were observed for sustained periods. Issue is intermittent, however it was reproduced consistently when it was cold outside (cold being cooler than 55 degrees f). I set the temperature to 65 degrees f with the ac on and recirculate, however it didn't make a difference. When this bug happens, it puts out a lot of heat and the only way to get it to cool is to drop it to the lowest cool setting ~60 degrees. I took it in 3 times to the dealer and they said they were unable to reproduce the issue, and while it has been intermittent, I was able to frequently reproduce the issue when it was cold outside, including yesterday, 04/19/26. It does not appear to happen when it's warm outside, although it hasn't been consistently warm to be able to conclude that at this point. What is certain is that the system does not appear to be functioning as designed (which is what both the dealer and Subaru of America (soa) claim, soa just restating the dealer's comments). Both lafontaine Subaru of commerce township, michigan and Subaru of America have at this point ignored the issue despite me bringing it up consistently.

While driving, the car suddenly shut off while in motion. It came to a stop at the bottom of hill where we were able to put it in neutral, and push it into a parking lot. After that we attempted to start it 4 or 5 times, and the engine would turn over and shut off after a couple of seconds. After leaving it off for about 5 minutes, it was able to start. Additionally, it occasionally feels jerky while driving, usually at lower speeds.

The infotainment touchscreen in my 2018 Subaru Outback has developed severe screen delamination and now generates persistent “ghost touch” inputs. The screen registers touches without any driver interaction. While the vehicle is in motion, the system frequently activates functions on its own, including changing audio sources, adjusting settings, and opening menus. This occurs repeatedly and unpredictably. Because many vehicle functions are controlled through the touchscreen interface, the malfunction creates a significant driver distraction. The system may rapidly change screens or activate controls while I am driving, which forces me to divert my attention from the road to attempt to correct or override the inputs. The problem appears to be related to failure of the touchscreen hardware rather than normal wear. Numerous other Subaru owners have reported similar issues with delamination and ghost inputs in vehicles equipped with the starlink infotainment system. Given that this malfunction results in unintended electronic inputs affecting vehicle controls and creates a driver distraction while the vehicle is in motion, I believe it represents a potential safety concern that warrants investigation. The manufacturer has been contacted but declined goodwill repair assistance for the defective infotainment unit. I am submitting this report so the issue can be documented and evaluated as a potential safety defect affecting Subaru vehicles equipped with this infotainment system.

My front windshield started to crack. Nothing hit it, it looks like a smal; stress crack. When I bought th ecar Subaru assured me they fixed the windshield cracking lawsuit issue. Well, it started cracking. The dealer denied even they had lawsuit for the front windshield. And the ywill not fix this windshield.

My 2024 Subaru Outback has twice become inoperable while stopped at a traffic signal. In both incidents, the engine was off while stopped, but the vehicle remained powered on and would not restart. The vehicle also would not properly power down. The car could not be safely driven or moved and required towing both times. This created a serious safety hazard because the vehicle became disabled in active traffic and could not be restarted or properly shut down. After the first incident (on [xxx]), the Subaru dealership replaced the battery. Approximately 4 weeks ([xxx]) later, the exact same failure occurred again. The dealership has now had the vehicle for approximately three weeks and states they cannot replicate the issue. No cause has been identified and no repair has been made. During one of these incidents, my [xxx] child was in the vehicle while we were stranded in traffic. This appears to be a repeat electrical / ignition / operability failure affecting the vehicle’s ability to restart or properly shut down after stopping in traffic. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Failure of front subassembly while driving. Car pulled hard to right while driving. Scary and dangerous. Inspection showed severe rust has eaten thru the metal. Car inoperable. Research shows it is a known problem. Recall required immediately, thank you.

See all problems of the 2014 Subaru Outback 🔎.

Vehicle: 2016 Subaru Outback recall number: wuj95 – front exhaust pipe bellows crack I incurred repair expenses to address a condition that was later covered by Subaru recall wuj95. At the time of the repair, I was unaware that the vehicle was subject to this recall because I never received any recall notification from Subaru. The affected component was the front exhaust pipe bellows assembly covered by recall wuj95. The repair was completed by an independent repair facility. The condition involved a cracked exhaust bellows assembly. The failure of this component allowed exhaust gases to escape from the exhaust system into the cabin and is the condition identified by Subaru in recall wuj95. The issue was diagnosed and repaired by an independent repair facility. The repair addressed the same component and condition that was subsequently identified by Subaru as part of recall wuj95. After learning of the recall, I contacted Subaru of America seeking reimbursement because the repair was completed after the recall had been issued. Subaru denied reimbursement and stated that repairs performed at third-party facilities are not eligible. During the reimbursement review process, I requested documentation showing when and how recall notification was sent to me, including the address used, mailing date, and method of notification. Subaru declined to provide this information. Subaru also declined to provide the specific guidelines relied upon in denying reimbursement. My concern is that I never received recall notification before obtaining the repair, which prevented me from having the recall performed through an authorized Subaru retailer. I am requesting that NHTSA review whether recall notification requirements were properly satisfied in this case and whether vehicle owners are being provided sufficient information to verify recall notification when reimbursement requests are denied.

See all problems of the 2016 Subaru Outback 🔎.

Unknown why car sparked & ignited. Car was driven to grocery store 5min away then sat for approx. 2hrs before catching fire.

See all problems of the 2008 Subaru Outback 🔎.