There are 29 owner-reported body & structure complaints for the 2015 Subaru Outbackin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
My sunroof glass just shattered spontaneously while I was driving. Thankfully the door was closed or me and my daughter would have been showered by glass while in the road. Nothing hit the car , I just heard a loud bang over my heard and when I stopped to see what happened my sunroof was in pieces!
2015 Subaru Outback Premium. Took in to a very helpful local Subaru Dealer and they discovered that the front subframe has rusted out seemingly prematurely. The vehicle just turned 10 years old with and upon doing research it seems to be a widely known commonly occurring problem. Would be handy if Subaru of America could do a recall on the front subframe as it is a very high cost repair to have it done correctly with the safest outcome.
The dealer found significant rusting on the front subframe and some on the rear subframe. The front was enough there's a hole in it. I was told it was not safe to drive as it would not hold in an accident.
Driver door interior, de-bonding of the horizontal crash protection from the outer door panel. Online research indicates this is a common issue.
See attached document for complaint
While driving on 55mph road, sunroof suddenly shattered for no apparent reason (no sudden impact from rock or other debris), producing a loud bang, startling driver. Driver momentarily swerved due to being startled by noise from next to head before correcting. No other cars were around on the road at the time and driver is sure no rocks or other objects fell onto sunroof (covered by rooftop cargo box, no trees near street to drop debris). Pieces of glass went upwards and ended up on roof of vehicle.
2015 OUTBACK WITH 43,300 MILES. TOTAL BRAKE FAILURE WHILE DRIVING DOWN A HILL. I WAS ABLE TO STOP THE CAR WITH THE TRANSMISSION BEFORE IT REACHED THE RAILROAD TRACKS. DEALER SAID THIS WAS DUE TO EXCESSIVE CORROSION OF THE UNDERBODY OF THE CAR. BRAKE LINES CORRODED AND RUPTURED. DEALER SAID THIS WAS NORMAL AMOUNT OF CORROSION. (THEY DID NOT WANT TO PUT THIS IN WRITING) CONTACTED SUBARU OF AMERICA. (CASE # 1-58312860198) THEY SAID THAT SINCE DEALER SAID IT WAS NO BIG DEAL THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. CASE CLOSED. I AM CONCERNED THAT SINCE THE CORROSION IS SO SEVERE THAT THIS COULD HAPPEN AGAIN. (THIS CAR HAS A LONG HISTORY OF OTHER THINGS NOT WORKING)
PASSENGER SIDE "CHILD LOCK" WILL NOT DISENGAGE. DOOR IS PERMANENTLY LOCKED FROM THE INSIDE BECAUSE OF A FAULTY CHILD LOCK. WE SET THE CHILD LOCK OUR CHILD WAS A TODDLER BUT NOW IT'S STUCK IN THE ON POSITION.
THE REAR DOORS FOR OUR 2015 OUTBACK ARE STUCK IN THE CHILD SAFETY LOCK POSITION. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED. WE PAID OVER $300+ TO HAVE THE MECHANIC ACCIDENTALLY BREAK THE SWITCH AND THEN REPAIR IT. THE SWITCH ON THE OTHER DOOR IS ALSO STUCK WITH THE CHILD SAFETY LOCK ENGAGED.
2015 SUBARU OUTBACK. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO DAMAGE TO HOSES IN VEHICLE DUE TO RODENTS. *LD *JS
WE WERE DRIVING OUR 2015 SUBARU OUTBACK AT ABOUT 55MPH ON US20, THE TEMPERATURE WAS IN THE MID 30'S, IN EAST OREGON WHEN OUR SUNROOF SPONTANEOUSLY EXPLODED. THERE WERE NO OTHER VEHICLES AROUND AND THERE WAS NO IMPACT FROM FOREIGN OBJECTS. THERE WAS A LOUD, DISTRACTING, BANG FOLLOWED BY A CLOUD OF SHATTERED GLASS COMING FROM THE BACK OF THE CAR. THE SUNROOF COVER WAS CLOSED AND THE TEMPERED GLASS FRAGMENTS COLLECTED IN THE WELL AND RATTLED AROUND FOR THE REMAINING 3 1/2 HOURS OF OUR JOURNEY.
FUEL DOOR DOES NOT OPEN TO ALLOW ACCESS TO GAS CAP. I WAS LOW ON GAS AND COULD NOT FILL THE TANK BECAUSE I COULD NOT ACCESS THE GAS CAP.
REAR HATCH DOES NOT RELIABLY OPEN - CANNOT CLOSE AFTER MANUAL OVERRIDE. VEHICLE HAS HAD ISSUE FOR OVER 15000 MILES AND 5 TIMES AT THE DEALER BUT HAS NOT BEEN RESOLVED. REAR HATCH DOES NOT OPEN RELIABLY AND WHEN A MANUAL OVERRIDE IS NECESSARY TO REMOVE CARGO OR PETS, THE HATCH DOES NOT CLOSE EASILY AND DOOR LIGHT REMAINS ON EVEN WHILE DRIVING. THIS CAUSES AND OBVIOUS SAFETY ISSUE BOTH FOR CARGO ESCAPING THE VEHICLE AND ALSO FOR EXHAUST ENTERING THE VEHICLE. THIS OCCURS WITH ALL DOORS UNLOCKED, VEHICLE IS STOPPED, KEY FOB IS ATTEMPTED AS WELL AS DOOR TRIGGER TO OPEN THE HATCH. NO MEMORY SET WHEN ATTEMPTING TO OPEN. NO USER ERROR.
LETTER FROM SENATOR BROWN ON BEHALF OF CONSTITUENT RE 2015 SUBARU OUTBACK STRUCTURAL FAILURE. *LD THE CONSUMER STATED THE WAS A LEAK AT THE DRIVER'S SIDE ROOF. *JS
REAR ELECTRIC LIFTGATE SPORADICALLY FAILS TO OPEN. THIS CONDITION PERSISTS WHETHER I PRESS THE BUTTON ON THE LIFTGATE, THE DASHBOARD LIFTGATE BUTTON, OR THE KEY FOB BUTTON. I CAN HEAR THE LIFTGATE UNLATCH, HOWEVER IT FAILS TO OPEN MORE THAN A COUPLE INCHES. LITHIA SUBARU (OREGON CITY) HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO REPAIR. WE PURCHASED OUR VEHICLE NEW FROM THE DEALER. IT HAS EXHIBITED THIS PROBLEM FROM THE FIRST DAY WE OWNED IT. SUBARU SHOULD RECALL AND FIX ALL VEHICLES WITH THIS PROBLEM. I FEEL STRONGLY THIS IS AN DESIGN DEFECT OF THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. THIS SPORADIC CONDITION PRESENTS ITSELF WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STATIONARY, BOTH WHEN THE ENGINE IS RUNNING AND WHEN IT IS NOT. THERE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ANY SET OF CONDITIONS UPON WHICH I CAN CAUSE OR PREDICT THE FAILURE.
THE FRONT PASSENGER DOOR HAS DELAMINATED. THIS IS CONFIRMED BY A THE DOOR SOUNDING LIKE A DRUM WHEN CLOSED, THE LOWER PORTION OF THE DOOR VIBRATING WHEN CLOSED AND A MECHANIC AT THE DARYL WALTRIP DEALERSHIP WHO INSPECTED THE INSIDE OF THE DOOR. THE DEALER ONLY WANTS TO PUT A BAND AID ON THE PROBLEM BY PLACING PADS INSIDE THE DOOR TO DEADEN THE SOUND. THE CONCERN IS FOR THE FRONT SEAT PASSENGER WHO COULD BE SERIOUSLY INJURED IN A SIDE IMPACT COLLISION BECAUSE OF THE REDUCED STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF THE DOOR.
THE SUBARU OUTBACK 2015 WAS PARKED IN A LOT AFTER A 12 MINUTE DRIVE AND BURST INTO FLAMES. IT WAS PURCHASED IN FEBRUARY 2015 AND WAS NOT YET DUE FOR SERVICING WHEN THE EVENT HAPPENED. THE SUBARU OUTBACK MANUFACTURED FROM JULY 3RD-27TH 2015 HAS BEEN RECALLED DUE TO "POSSIBILITY OF FIRE DUE TO A TRANSMISSION FLUID LEAK". I BELIEVE THE SAME THING OCCURRED WITH MY CAR AND I AM CONCERNED THAT IF THE MODEL IS NOT RECALLED SOMEONE WILL GET BADLY INJURED OR KILLED DUE TO FIRE.
WINDSHIELD CRACKED IN PARKING LOT. VERY LONG BREAK STARTING AT BASE AND CONTINUED HALFWAY UP THROUGH THE CENTER.
FOR THE SECOND TIME, AFTER BEING PINGED BY A SMALL STONE, THE WINDSHIELD DEVELOPED A CRACK CIRCA 3000 MILES SIMILAR EXPERIENCE W/ 2014 SUBARU OUTBACK ALSO W/ LOW MILEAGE NEVER HAD TO REPLACE WINDSHIELD IN SOME 56 YEARS OF DRIVING THREE TIMES IN 7 MONTHS SEEMS TO INDICATE SOME SORT OF SYSTEMIC OR WINDSHIELD CONFIGURATION PROBLEM?
MY CAR WAS PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY AND DEVELOPED A CRACK IN THE FRONT WINDSHIELD. NO IMPACT MARK OR ANYTHING. CRACKED IN THE LOWER PASSENGER SIDE WINDSHIELD LIKE ALL 2015 AND NEWER SUBARU OUTBACKS APPARENTLY DO. THERE ARE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ONLINE WITH PEOPLE DETAILING THE EXACT SAME ISSUE YET NO RECALL YET.
Showing 1–20 of 29 complaints
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