NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
On July 13,2022, while easing into a parking slot with foot on the pedal brake, with final stop and reaching to shift gear into parking mode, my 2019 Crosstrek engine suddenly accelerated and made the car surge forward. My brake pedal was on the floor with no response and the car continued to shoot pass the curb and sidewalk onto a vegetation embankment, heading towards the building and its glass door. I was terrified as the car did not respond to braking and tried to shift into neutral but the shift gear was struggling, until the car got stopped by the vegetation bank and continued to rev loudly, but then allowed me to shift into neutral. There was no warning of any sort when the phenomenon took place. When the tow truck arrived, tow personnel turned on the engine and tried the brakes pedal which went straight to the floor, with no pressure response. What was terrifying was the car engine suddenly accelerated forward and would not stop until the car was stopped by the dirt and vegetation. Without the vegetation, my car would have plowed into the building and the tall glass windows. The front of my car was damaged. It is now in a body shop. My car was bought brand new, has been serviced regularly by the dealership that I ordered it from. The last maintenance was March 2022, for a 24k service, with all in good operation. It currently has 25K miles. In the aftermath, I researched the web for info, and I found out that there is a current class action suit against Subaru for this type of sudden acceleration on several models of Subaru. This sudden acceleration is when cars are ready to park, with brake pedal applied, yet cars just accelerate. This is a life endangering car malfunction for drivers and other nearby drivers. Please help keep us all safe. Thank you for reviewing my report.
Windshield cracked randomly while car was parked at my house. The crack isstarting from from bottom corner at seam. And extends almost all the way up in 1 single crack. After showing pictures to a mechanic he confirmed this is not from a rock or dust storm. If the windshield were to crack when driving it could potentially spiderweb, causing little visibility.
2019 SUBARU CROSSTEK. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO VEHICLE BEING FLOODED WITH WATER AFTER SAFETY RECALLS BEING REPAIRED. THE CONSUMER STATED THED VEHICLE WAS FLOODED DUE TO THE AIR CONDITIONER BEING CLOGGED. ALSO, AFTER HAVING THE ENGINE RECALL PERFORMED THE TECHNICIAN FAILED TO RECALIBRATE THE COMPUTER AND/OR VALVES PROPERLY. THIS CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO FAIL ON THE HIGHWAY WHILE DRIVING. DUE TO THE DANGEROUS CONDITION, THE CONSUMER HAD DIFFICULTY GETTING A RIDE OFF OF THE HIGHWAY.
Windshield Replacement due to rock chips: Within 3 months of purchasing my Crosstrek, my windshield received 3 rock chips: I will say, I don't drive OFF ROAD. I drive on the highways or paved city streets. When this first occurred in 2018 (purchased in Oct2018), I was shocked. I've owned cars all my life (I'm over 50y - drove Nissans) & NEVER had a rock chip incident. Anyway, dealer told me I should be more careful and it's my fault - the service guy actually inferred that it must be because I'm a woman and drive badly (I haven't gone back to that dealer). I wasn't happy but had the rock chip repaired but one: It couldn't be repaired because it was on passenger side but down by the black area where the shield connects with the body of the car. Was told to wait and see. That winter the crack spread significantly to a 48+ inch crack that scaled the entire windshield. Because of the pandemic, I recently took it in for replacement (costing $1,076.52). Now, not even a month after replacing the old windshield - yesterday in fact - the windshield developed a new rock chip crack. I'm beyond understanding why this is occurring. It's as though the Crosstrek is a magnet for this type of event. I love my car but I really am not pleased - and feel the design of the windshield makes these vehicles prone to this type of issue. I know the manufacture has to be aware due to the number of complaints they receive but have yet to improve the design to correct for it.
I own a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek Premium. Today, I noticed a crack in my windshield as I got in my car in my garage. There was no impact to the windshield that could have caused the crack in the windshield, and the night before there was no crack visible. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired yet, and is pending review from the dealer. The crack began at the bottom right edge, the crack is roughly 2" long.
Today my vehicle make a single click sound and the car rattle a little while driving on the highway and suddenly everything shut off. All my guages, lights, and I lost power on the vehicle. Within seconds I had power again and my guages came back on and I was able to continue on the highway safely. About 5 minutes later it did the same thing; click, shook and lost all power. Except this time the radio stayed on. Luckily I was driving downhill and was able to coast to the next offramp. I pulled over only being able to use the brakes and hazards. I had no turn signals or power. I was able to stop safety on the offramp and turn the engnition off. I started the car and everything started just fine. I drove on the main streets to my destination. At my destination, I checked the battery terminals and air filter, everything looked fine. Subaru has reported of a recall on my year of vehicle that is a new recall from this month for the Ignition Coil but the recall does not come up using my Vin. The description sounds like these incidents. The vehicle is my family's only vehicle but is available for inspection. I am hoping to get Subaru to check my Ignition Coil as a part of their recall to ensure this issue is fixed. My daughter who is currently learning to drive was driving the vehicle 10 minutes prior. I cannot imagine her driving when it does that again.
I parked my vehicle in my garage last evening no Crack in my windshield. Today I went to go out to eat and I had a 3" Crack starting at the edge middle of the driver's side. I drove 4 miles to the restaurant and now it's 8" long. No rock impacts I'm aware of and no chips in the Crack area. From what I'm reading subaru seems to have a windshield issue, and I think these should be replaced at no cost to the consumer.
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that there was a crack on the windshield. The contact stated that there was no impact to the windshield that could have caused the crack in the windshield. The dealer and manufacturer were made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 36,000.
Unknown Windshield Cracked, No apparent reason, and can be inspected. Nothing has been reported or inspected as of yet.
This 2019 Crosstrek dangerously malfunctioned. When driving at 75 MPH on the highway it went into in neutral, then it would not go in reverse, and in park it revved to 75 MPH, ultimately it would not start. Based on many codes the car was indicating, the Subaru mechanic tried to replace a cable that communicates the computer to the transmission (turbine?), it did not solve the problem. It has been waiting on a new transmission for four weeks with no ETA. Subaru dealer indicates the new transmission will have a 100,000-mile warranty. It appears that rather than fix this known dangerous defective transmission issue for good, there are many reports when you research online, they simply up the warranty. Someone is going to get hurt if they haven't already. Thank you for your time.
Vehicle had a parasitic draw, was in the shop for an extended amount of time, I believe wiring issues were caused from this as well, I had to replace my driver side window switch, buy an optima battery, and drive 3.5hrs to a Subaru dealership in the middle of the winter hoping I’d make it safely and without stalling, the DCM was found to be at fault similarly to other vehicle owners included in another recall that somehow excluded 2019 Crosstrek drivers and included other MY variants such as the Outback and Forester of which also had a bulletin posted about this parasitic draw and how to go about warrantying the costs associated with the repair. I incurred many costs travelling, horrible gas mileage during this time, and a battery replacement. Additionally I lost My workstudy position the following semester due to the unstable vehicle issues and attendance concerns when shuttling the car to the dealer for these warranty repairs (if even covered at all)
This vehicle has a crack across the lower part of windshield. Apparently this is a notorious subaru problem I'm told.
TWO incidents: 1) Within a month of buying a brand new car, the windshield chipped. A small pebble hit the windshield while driving it. I've been hit by hundreds of small pebbles in other cars over the years and never had a chip. Got it repaired the next day with Safelite, they did a repair and it seemed to work fine. No further issues with the chip. They were shocked at how easily it chipped. 2) Feb 2022, I had my car at the dealer for about a week, and then drove it home and parked it in the driveway. Came back to it a day or two later, and there was a large crack originating by the heating elements/where the wipers are. It had 4 or 5 branches out, 3 were small, one was medium, and one large crack went all the way to the middle of the windshield. No damage, didn't hit anything, the crack is nowhere near the chip. Spontaneous crack.
I purchased my 2019 Subaru Crosstrek in 2019 brand new and as of March 29th, 2022 I have had two windshield replacements due to cracks. I have never had this issue before with my other vehicles and I have also owned a 2016 Subaru Impreza so I am assuming it might have something to do with the year and model of my current Subaru. I recently replaced my cracked windshield last month and today I have discovered another chip in my windshield. This will be the third time that my windshield has cracked. When brought to the attention of my Subaru dealer, they said it was not an issue and I am just unlucky. Upon further research online, I have discovered that I am not the only one who has had windshield cracking issues with a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek.
Battery won't hold a charge. Car is not reliable, danger of not starting and being stranded. Car has been inspected by dealership twice and new batteries were installed but the problem persists. No warning of low battery.
Battery Drain problem. Subaru had to replace the battery in January of 2022. That did not resolve the issue. My battery started dying again in June of 2022 & I have to constantly jump start my car. I complained to Subaru & brought my car in for servicing but all they did was test the battery immediately after it was driven on the highway for approximately 20 miles. The issue is not the battery, it is the electrical system that drains the battery.
Windshield cracked at in the center at the base while car was sitting inside garage.
While driving at a slow speed (<15mph) I had to stop quickly at an intersection. A small board inside the car (<1 lb, 2'x12") connected with the windshield causing a substantial crack approximately 10 inches in diameter. The windshield is absolutely unsafe and will need to be replaced(although has not yet been seen by the dealer.)
Today, 12/19/2021, marks the sixth (6th) time my car’s battery has failed and forced me to call Star Link to schedule and wait for a battery jump. Subaru refused to replace my battery after the 3rd and also refused to check the grounding wire upon a service inspection. This battery is faulty and Subaru knows it. My child has been with me in three of th de ridiculous occasions of waiting for jumper cables and has been frightened each time. This is totally unacceptable and is costing my family time, money, and emotional distress.
I was driving on an open road today and it was cold outside about 50 degree. There were no other cars around and I heard a loud boom noise on the roof of my car. I looked at my sunroof in the car and it was shattered. The Bubble from the explosion in the glass was sticking out from the car verses towards the car so I am aware it was not impacted by anything.
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the front windshield cracked without impact. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 24,200.
After driving for a few when I come to a stop or slow down to a lower gear and accelerate it starts to stall out and the lights dim a bit slightly. It does not do it on the highway or at higher rates of speed. I’ve checked battery, watched allot of the parameters on a diagnostic tool and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary or any codes even when almost stalling out in a intersection. It would have left me to oncoming traffic. It didn’t die but it was rattling rumbling and stalling. It’s like the transmission is trying to keep it at a super low gear to save gas? I checked for recalls and it states none. I just got this car and it has 40k miles and is still new. I love this car and feel super safe driving it . I traded my abarth for it and it was really hard to part but this car makes up for it. I’m calling the Subaru dealership and dealership I got it from. I’ve owned it less than a month.
Battery continually does not hold charge over any time longer than a few days parked. Even after long drive from Wisconsin to Ohio, car sitting for 6 days in cool weather (never under 40 degrees) caused dead battery. Battery has been replaced by Subaru dealer 3 times previously, each time dealer said they could not detect a problem. In winter, battery is dead each night, even with normal daily use each day.
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the accelerator pedal was not depressed but the vehicle slightly accelerated independently. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact also stated that while accelerating from a complete stop and making a turn, the vehicle inadvertently stalled, almost causing another vehicle to crash into her vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed an engine failure and that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V264000 (Electrical System, Engine and Engine Cooling). The dealer updated the ECM software. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to NHTSA. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 7,990.
UNKNOWN. My windshield has a crack in the lower section on the passenger side coming up from the bottom of the windshield. There is no indication that it was hit by anything, there is just a crack. In fact, it was parked in the garage and next time we got in it we noticed the crack.
I was driving on the highway and a tiny rock my windshield which shouldn’t have caused the 12 inch crack in my windshield like it did, i have to have it replaced now.
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that the vehicle would not start which resulted in the battery needing to be replaced. The contact stated that the check battery message was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was diagnosed and repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while entering the vehicle, he heard a popping noise and saw there was a crack on the windshield. There was no impact to the windshield that could have caused the crack. The vehicle was repaired by an auto glass company. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 19,500.
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that a horizontal crack had formed on the bottom passenger side windshield without incident or impact. The contact stated that the crack obstructed his vision while driving. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who informed him that the failure may have been caused by the excessive summer heat. The contact then spoke to the dealer and was informed that the vehicle was not under recall or warranty. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and referred him back to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.
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.
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the front windshield cracked without impact. The contact called the local dealer however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 37,000. The VIN was not available
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).
I have had to have my windshield replaced four times since purchasing the vehicle in June of 2021. Small chips and cracks have formed from the smallest debris on the road, and even a small rock can cause a foot-long crack.
2019 Subaru Crosstrek Left rear window ( driver’s side) window shattered without warning. There was a recall issued for this exact problem - but the time frame for the recall was narrow and my car was not included as it was just shy of the start date for the recall although manufactured in the same month. Subaru’s number for this recall is WUG-92. The child car seat was covered in glass and shards of glass were embedded throughout the car. The fact that the car was parked with no one in it does not lessen the reality that this would have been a tragic incident for the child and anyone in the car or near the car especially if we had been driving on a highway. Subaru has been contacted and took all the information. I am documenting this for a warning to other Crosstrek owners to be aware that this is known to happen without warning until Subaru notifies them of this potential danger. Hopefully the recall will be expanded to avoid harm and injury.
On June 25, 2021 we had driven from Seattle to Spokane, WA and stopped at the Sprague Lake Rest Stop. When we returned to our car and sat in the car for about 15 minutes our car failed to start. The temperature outside was about 100 degrees. After 3 attempts by fellow travelers Roadside Assist and a Tow Driver our car failed to start so it was towed to the Suburu dealer in Spokane Washington where a battery was replaced. The only reason that was given for the failure was that we sat in the car for a time before we started the car and the batter;y was drained because of the presence of the keys. Our batter has failed on 3 other occasions. Because we do occasional car trips we no longer feel safe in this car
I’m having continuous problems with my car not starting or a dead battery. It has been in for for service 3x for this issue abc one of those times they replaced the battery. On 6/24/21 I picked up my car from the service department after leaving it there for several days only for them to tell me nothing is wrong with my car. 20 minutes later and my car won’t start which I captured on video. This car seems to have an electrical issue that no one wants to admit to.
I received 2 recall notices in the mail from Subaru 0n 6/16/2021. I immediately contacted the selling dealer, Dunning Subaru, Ann Arbor Michigan and was advised that they could not even give me a date in July when the vehicle could be repaired, but they would add my name to a waiting list for appointments. I contacted Subaru customer service for assistance and was told I would have to find a local retailer on my own and that though they said the vehicle was not safe to drive, they refused to offer and substitute transportation until the vehicle could be repaired. I contacted LaFontaine Subaru, Commerce Twsp, Mi and was advised that they have been unable to order sufficient parts for this recall and while the earliest available appointment was for July 7th (3 weeks from today) they could not guarantee that they would have the parts on that date to actually perform the repair. In short, Subaru produced a defective vehicle; advised me it was not safe to drive the vehicle; is unable to repair the vehicle in a reasonable timeframe; and refuses to provide substitute transportation. What is the good of a recall program if repairs can't be made and the customer is stuck without transportation; and the company response is essentially - "it's the customers problem to deal with - have a nice day!"
After having cowl replaced under warranty, at the dealership, I drove vehicle home (3 miles) and placed in garage. Next day, noticed 10 inch crack on lower passenger side of windshield. Took car to have looked at by dealership who stated crack had to come from rock and refused to replace. On my way home, I did not take a rock to my windshield. The Service Manager stated he would call Subaru regarding my issue. He has never called to provide any update.
Windshield accumulated a small crack in the lower passenger side, about 6in long and a quarter up from the bottom of windshield. It's now continued to grow and is now half of the windshield.
The EyeSight turned off and would not turn back on. Then the airbag symbol lit up on the dashboard. My cruise control and lane assistance were not working as well. If I had been involved in an accident, the airbags would not have deployed. The warning messages appeared about 3 weeks ago.
THE WINDSHIELD ON MY SUBARU CROSSTREK WHICH WAS PURCHASED NEW FROM A DEALER IN JULY 2019 HAS ALREADY SUFFERED 2 RANDOM CHIPS IN THE WINDSHIELD & TODAY AS I WAS DRIVING THE WINDSHIELD SPLIT SPONTANEOUSLY WITH A 7 INCH CRACK IN A TOTALLY DIFFERENT AREA FROM PREVIOUS REPAIRED CHIPS. THIS IS RIDICULOUS.
I BOUGHT MY CAR IN MEXICO AND HAVE MOVED TO NORTH LAS VEGAS NEVADA. THE DEALER WILL NOT MAKE THE NECESSARY SAFETY REPAIRS UNDER THE RECALLS. WHAT DO I DO? DO I HAVE AN UNSAFE CAR?
STARTER FAILED AT 50 K MILES LEFT ME STRANDED
MY SUBARU CROSSTREK IS A 2019 - LESS THAN 2 YEARS OLD AND STILL COVERED BY WARRANTY. IT HAS BEEN METICULOUSLY CARED FOR AND ONLY DEALER SERVICED. 3 DAYS AGO THE CAR'S ENGINE SHUT OFF WHILE WE WERE DRIVING IT. THERE WAS A COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER TO THE BRAKES AND STEERING. WE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED. I BROUGHT THE CAR IN IMMEDIATELY TO THE DEALER SERVICE I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN GOING TO, AND THEY CANNOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR. IN HIS OWN WORDS, THE SERVICE MANAGER SAID "I WOULD NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE LETTING MY FAMILY OR LOVED ONES USING YOUR CAR" - BUT HE OFFERED NO HELP. HE SAID THAT THEY CAN'T FIND A PROBLEM, THEY CAN'T FIND AN ERROR CODE, AND THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO. I DON'T FEEL SAFE DRIVING THIS VEHICLE GIVEN THAT A SERIOUS, DANGEROUS, HAZARDS, AND POTENTIALLY LIFE-THREATENING ENGINE FAILURE OCCURED WITH NO APPARENT CAUSE IN A BRAND NEW CAR. THE FACT THAT THE SERVICE MANAGER HIMSELF SAID THAT IT'S NOT SAFE TO DRIVE BUT COULDN'T OFFER ANY EXPLANATION OF WHY THE INFORMATION OCCURED IS VERY FRUSTRATING. THE DEALERSHIP IS GIVING ME A DANGEROUS CAR BACK WITH NO KNOWLEDGE OF HOW TO FIX IT OR WHEN IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN. IF THE ENGINE DIES ON THE HIGHWAY OR ON A CROWDED STREET, IT COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT IN WHICH MYSELF AND OTHERS ARE SERIOUSLY INJURED OR KILLED.
I WAS DRIVING DOWN HIGHWAY 1 AND MY DRIVER'S RIGHT SIDE WINDOW SUDDENLY EXPLODED AND SHATTERED INTO A THOUSAND PIECES, RAINING GLASS DOWN ALL OVER ME. I DIDN'T HAVE A CRACK PREVIOUSLY AND A ROCK DIDN'T HIT IT SO THERE WAS NOTHING TO CAUSE THIS. THERE WERE NO OTHER CARS ON THE HIGHWAY AT THE TIME. THE CAR ONLY HAS 13K MILES SO THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN, BUT I'VE SINCE FOUND OUT THIS IS A KNOWN DEFECT WITH NEWER SUBARUS SO THEY SHOULD FIX THIS ISSUE BEFORE SOMEONE GETS REALLY HURT.
WHILE DRIVING TO WORK IN THE MORNING, MY WINDSHIELD ALL OF A SUDDEN CRAKED. THERE WERE NO VEHICLES AROUND ME SO IT WASN'T A ROCK THAT HIT MY WINDOW, THE CRACK ON THE WINDOW ITS ABOUT AND ONE INCH. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE SUBARU DEALER AND THEY SAID THAT CRACK WAS TOO BIG TO BE FIX, WE PAID EXTRA AT THE TIME OF PURCHASED FOR A PACKAGE THAT WOULD COVER DINGS AND WINDOW REPLACEMENTS AND THEY ARE NOT FOLLOWING THE PROMISE.
WINDSHIELD CRACKED IN COLD WEATHER WHILE WARMING UP. DRIVER SIDE SUN VISOR FELL OFF AS I WAS DRIVING AS WELL.
THE FRONT WINDSHIELD CRACKED FOR NO APPARENT REASON; THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY WHEN NOTICED AND IT APPEARS THIS DID NOT OCCUR DURING TRAVEL.
THE WINDSHIELD HAS CRACKED WITHOUT CAUSE. THANKFULLY THE WINDSHIELD CRACKED WHILE IT WAS PARKED. CRACKING ALL ON ITS OWN WITHOUT BEING HIT OR DAMAGED IS INCREDIBLY FRIGHTENING AND DANGEROUS.
ROCK HIT MY WINDSHIELD ON A HIGHWAY. 2 HOURS LATER AND LONG CRACK APPEARED- 8 INCHES
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026