There are 7 owner-reported driver assist & adas complaints for the 2021 Subaru Crosstrekin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The backup camera on my Subaru Crosstrek started to a stop working a few weeks ago. It first started to intermittently transmit a video feed that was fuzzy and the colors were completely incorrect. That started to follow with the camera not working about half the time at all on my head unit. Now it's completely not showing up at all on my head unit when I go into reverse. I live near a school and when I back out, I'm concerned that I won't be able to see a child behind my car. Same for parking garages and parallel parking. The Subaru dealership is saying they have checked all the wiring and modules and have isolated it to the backup camera. There were no other messages besides the camera starting to malfunction.
Traveling at speed of 30MPH. A tocoma truck in front of me suddenly stopped in road lane. Driver said that his vehicle made an auto assist stop were the brakes lock. My 2021 Crosstrek eyesight/braking system failed. I saw the truck stop but the system failed and I went into the back of a large truck. There is a witness who is happy to talk with you. He saw the truck's sudden stop and my crosstrek failure to stop. My car is totaled. I have the police report and have reported this to my insurance company.
Subaru Eyesight system engaged randomly with no forward obstacles. Dashboard lit up, signaled alarm, and brakes engaged causing the car's nose to bottom-out. This has happened twice, thankfully at low speeds and thankfully without another car rear ending me. I'm worried this will happen on the highway. Eyesight system is generally unreliable. Random lane departure warnings and obstacles detected where there are none.
Check engine light came on while driving. All Advanced Driver Assistance Systems were disabled. Code is P26A3: Thermo Control Valve is faulty. This is a known problem and Subaru has addressed it by redesigning the Thermo Control Valve in 2021. Unfortunately there is no recall on the models fitted with the prior design that have a high rate of failure.
While driving on the highway in the slow lane (furthest to the right), traveling at approximately 50 mph, I came to be behind a tractor trailer. Before I had a chance to pass the tractor trailer, it switched lanes abruptly. My vision past/beyond (in front of) the tractor trailer was heavily obstructed by the massive vehicle itself, so I could not see that in front of the 18-wheeler there was a mid-size sedan traveling at approximately 5-10 mph in the same active highway lane I was in. I had almost no time to react, and neither the Automatic Emergency Braking system nor the Forward Collision Warning system engaged. Both of these systems should have activated to prevent the collision and/or minimize injuries and damage. I subsequently collided (harshly) with the aforementioned sedan.
Subaru Pre-collision braking activates when no danger present. It detects exhaust steam or smoke as an obstacle. Approximately February 25th of 2021: While acceleration from a stop light in winter, Eyesight falsely detected the exhaust of the car in front of me as a danger and slammed on the brakes to a full stop causing the car behind me to bump into me. Thankfully this driver was paying attention and no damage was caused. This function overrode my foot being on the accelerator. Late Spring of 2021: While using cruise control on the highway, 70+mph, a diesel truck accelerated to merge. The eyesight again detected the exhaust as a hazard and slammed on the brakes causing the drivers behind me to take evasive actions and put them at risk for no reason. During both incidents, the collision warning lights fully activated. I spoke to the dealership about these incidents and was told to turn off the pre-collision system on cold days and watch out for diesel exhaust.
The automatic braking system engaged at highway speed while changing lanes with no other vehicle or object in front of the vehicle. I was accelerating to change lanes when the sensor started beeping and the car slammed on the brakes causing a sliding skid. I was able to maintain control and fortunately there was no one behind me. I believe the eyesight control malfunctioned. I do not believe this is a safe feature as it not only puts my safety at risk but also the safety of anyone on the road around me.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026