2018 Subaru Outback Complaint Log

Reported to local Subaru Dealer there was a problem with the Parking Brake. While parked at red light, when I attempted to release the parking brake, it would NOT release, and had great difficulty getting to release and proceed. (This is in Traffic). They tested it and claimed it was ok, no problem. Fast forward, several weeks and I started the car, put it in Drive. Car would not move forward. Subaru sent Tow service. At dealership service manager says some debris had filtered down into the parking brake mechanism. I am Not a mechanic. This is what I had told them weeks earlier, [What I suspected]

ABSB air bag safety system failed due to wiring harness damage under drivers seat. Wiring damaged by seat moving over harness when adjusting. Subaru dealer claimed that wiring damage was caused by rodent bites. This is an engineering flaw which creates a safety issue.

2018 Subaru Outback headunit is "delaminated" causing phantom touches on the headunit's touch screen. While driving, the headunit will act as if something is pressing random buttons, changing radio stations, opening/closing maps, going through settings panel and changing car settings, ultimately distracting the driver usually at highway speeds. Many other Subaru owners are reporting the same issue on the forums: [XXX] [XXX] Subaru is reporting the fault as "regular wear and tear" and charging customers $1200+ to replace the headunits. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked on an uncovered driveway, a crack was observed extending from the bottom of the windshield to midway up the windshield. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 78,400.

This vehicle has a malfunctioning Infotainment system that causes it to continuously select menu options while driving. It is a safety issue as it is very distracting, and the entire unit is unable to be used even when parked. The Subaru dealership in Huntington Beach and Santa Ana CA informed me that it is a manufacturing issue, an I am on a waitlist for the part. It is worth flagging here because of the safety issue.

While driving under normal conditions, (no hazardous weather or speeding), the steering will suddenly pull to the right, for only a moment, feeling as though a strong gust of wind had blown it, but there is no wind, it just does it on its on. A warning light comes on, and makes a pinging sound, then it turns off; it does not stay on long enough to be able to see which symbol lights up. This happens approximately once every 10 miles or so, more often when driving above 45 mph; occurring most often on the highway. It happens on every type of rode and in every lane. We've bought the car to be examined buy a Subaru dealership twice and was told both times that the wheels were out of alignment and we paid to have the alignment corrected, but this does not actually solve the problem. There has not been any incidents yet, but we fear that if the car pulls on its own in slick or icy weather, it may cause an accident.

The display screen has spots and fog like symptoms on the screen. Certain angles when the sun hits the screen it is not visible to see what is on the screen like the map or other settings.

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while his wife was starting the vehicle, she noticed that there were cracks on the passenger's side of the windshield. The contact stated that upon inspecting the vehicle, he determined that there was no external cause to the failure. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

Starlink Infotainment system, moves between sound system functions on its own, like you have touched the touchscreen repeatedly. Sirius Radio will no longer stay attached to a station and play. Reset failed to correct.

The touchscreen on the Starlink head unit is delaminated and there is a “ghost touch” whenever the screen is on. You can visibly see bubbles under the screen. While I was driving my kids to daycare the other day, the navigation system activated and said that “you cannot change the volume at this time” repeatedly for no reason. It also changes driving directions mid-trip. It’s very distracting while driving and makes the car information system and radio unusable. My dealer said that this is a known problem and that they would fix it; however, the part is back for months. They said they could not turn the screen off without disabling other safety features such as the back-up camera.

The STARLINK multimedia touchscreen system screen started delaminating July-2022; April-2023 it developed a ghost glitch & changes all settings/info on its own - it doesn’t recognize any true touch on the screen & after multiple hard resets (holding down sound/tuner/cd buttons all at once), it rarely ever actually resets the touchscreen; however, it may pause the glitching for 5-10mins.

Infotainment system is completely delaminated, and the backup camera is slow to start, if starts at all. System will go beserk, make calls, change stations, volume, navigation, and more.

Car stalled in a busy intersection. No warning lights occurred when this happened Diagnosed as a faulty fuel pump

My 2018 Subaru Outback's windshield has cracked overnight parked on the driveway. There's no visible rock strike point. This will be the 4th windshield replacement in the 5 year ownership. The first time was on 07/20/20. The last two were on 10/31/22, and 12/03/22. This means 3 new windshields in 5 months.

The navigation/radio/app/rear back-up camera/control center malfunctioned Sept. 2022; replacement unit took over two months to arrive. That unit failed in March 2023. We are still (6/23) awaiting a replacement. See attachment for more detailed narrative.

Please cancel case #115123365, which I reported earlier today. This does not appear to be a Suburu manufacturing and/or safety defect. My report was regarding what appeared to be a problem with sudden braking without either the cruise control or the brake pedal being engaged. The tow truck driver experienced the same problem while trying to drive the car onto the tow truck platform to take it to the dealer for assessment. Upon inspection, we found a piece of the hard rubber floor mat occasionally covered both the brake pedal and the accelerator at the same time. When this happened, pressing the accelerator occasionally resulted in inadvertently pressing the brake pedal under the same mat, causing the braking problem. Should you have any questions or need additional information. My contact information is below: Owner: Lawrence A Kreh 2018 Suburu Outback Vin #4S4 BSANC6 J332 3864 My Text and Phone number: (925) 765-1237 Address: 1260 Grove Way, Concord, CA 94518 Email: Lrkreh@gmail.com Regards, Lawrence Kreh

In the past 6 months, the electrical system of my 2018 Outback has completely shut down on at least 4 occasions. I required several jump starts with the car parked in the garage, no doors left open, and no lights left on. I took it to the dealership where I was basically accused of lying because I “must have left something on”. I tried to assure the staff that I did not. They gave me a new battery and 4 weeks later I walked out to a dead car again today. I started searching online and found that Subaru is well aware that this problem has been a frequent occurrence with Outbacks dated 2016-2020, and there is a class action lawsuit against the company because they have failed to issue a recall. After my husband figured out that something must be pulling on the battery, we turned off all the safety features of the car. Within 7 days of turning them back on, the battery was dead. I specifically bought this car for safety reasons. What good is it if I can’t use the safety features?

Drove my wife car noticed more brake pedal travel. Replacing pads on front wheels found corrosion on inside outer upper edge of driver side rotor, pad has irregular wear reducing effective braking. I found same on passenger side rotor, but to a lesser extent.

The touchscreen is delaminated. The delamination makes the backup camera useless. This is a possible danger to me and anyone behind me- turning to look reputedly behind and at the sides doesn't help when cars are moving parallel to me. The 'media' switches between radio and CD, FM and AM, and switches into HD mode at random. There's no way to turn it off, so the beeping is a distraction while driving. The Subaru dealership is well aware of this issue. A replacement part was ordered in September 2023 but the part is yet to be replaced.

My 2018 Subaru Outback battery is draining practically every day now. There must be something in the car that drains the battery constantly so in the morning I am unable to start. I needed to jump start the battery on multiple occasions now.

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that a small rock struck the front windshield, causing a 2-foot crack. The front windshield was previously replaced twice within the last month for the recurring failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was determined that the front windshield needed to be replaced. The dealer referred the contact to the manufacturer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 66,450.

The windshield on our 2018 Subaru Outback is now on its third cracked windshield in the last 12 months. Each time, a crack has formed on the edges of the windshield after a small pebble or other debris from the road is kicked up. Across this same timespan, I've had similar frequency of debris striking the windshield of my 2015 VW Golf, and have only had a small chip in the windshield that was repairable easily. Yes, different vehicles. However, in each incident both vehicles were travelling at similar rates of speeds, similar following distances, neither time behind any large vehicles (dump trucks, semi trailers, concrete mixers, etc). This is simply something being thrown up from the road. This is full on unacceptable. There are other lawsuits and class action suits against Subaru for slightly older models and I highly doubt that any meaningful changes to the design were introduced between the 2015-2016 Outback and the 2017-2019 Outback models. Reasoning being that the class action lawsuit was filed in 2017. By that point, the new models are already rolling off the production line. No way that anything substantial could have changed at that point.

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that there was a crack on the front windshield. There was no impact on the front windshield that could have caused the crack. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 37,887.

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the brakes were inadvertently engaging. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle had not yet been taken to an independent mechanic or local dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 32,100. The contact noted that they made this complaint in error.

There is a known issue with certain Subarus where it is phantom draining the battery. I replaced battery in 2021 with AutoZone after being stranded. It too doed in June of 2022. I replaced it again. In Dec 2022 it started to die and found out about the class action lawsuit. I went to Subaru and they said since I already replaced the OEM battery, they couldnt help me. This should be a recall. I called Subaru of America who told me they couldnt help me and there is no fix as of today for the draining of the battery. They know about the issue. Why isnt there a recall?

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, a small rock struck the windshield, and the windshield sustained a significantly large crack. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the windshield was replaced; however, the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, she heard an abnormal popping sound and noticed that the windshield was cracked. The contact stated that there was no external cause for the failure. The contact stated that the windshield was previously replaced 6 months ago. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 44,000.

Began hearing a clunking/rattling noise in the front end of the car. We took it to the dealer for routine maintenance and asked them to look into it. Front Steering rack was found to have excessive play. Entire steering rack was replaced. No warning lamps or messages involved. Safety was put at risk by possible loss of control of vehicle if steering rack completely failed.

In early September 2022, my friend, who owned a 2019 Subaru Outback, needed a AAA tow because the battery died. He told me that battery failure is a common problem with Subaru 2016 - 2020 Outbacks. I researched that assertion and found it well documented. Because my Outback was 4 years old and my family was planning a trip, I decided to replace the battery at my mechanic's shop (Sept. 14, 2022). On the night of December 29, 2022, upon exiting a restaurant with my wife, my car would not start. A patron of the restaurant came to my aid, and we jump started my car. My car ran for 30 minutes but would not start the next morning (December 30, 2022). I then jump started my car using my wife's car battery, and let the car run for an hour. It would not start immediately after shutting it off. My wife called Subaru, and the representative she spoke with gave her a case number to use at the Subaru dealership. The dealership gave me a January 2, 2023 appointment, and after jumping my car again, I brought it to the dealer. Later that day, by telephone, I was informed: 1- there is no fix for the problem in the 2018 Outback; 2- I was not due any compensation for the 3 month old dead battery because I did not purchase it at Subaru, and 3- that battery was barely holding a charge after a few hours on Subaru's charger. I was advised to go back to my mechanic to see if the battery is under warranty. It is, but that is not the issue. Whatever is causing the battery drain in the Outback will drain the next battery. I was lucky this time-- I was not stranded. But who knows the next time? Who knows how many people are paying for new batteries only to have them ruined by the Subaru electric system malfunction? Who knows what kind of dangerous predicaments this malfunction might cause? Subaru is aware of this widespread problem, yet they are unwilling to publicly recognize it and issue a recall. There is something unscrupulous about this situation.

Crack in the windshield with no apparent evidence of an object hitting the windshield. It started below the windshield wiper on the passenger side. Within days it spread several feet toward the middle of the windshield. The glass repair center noted that this is a common occurrence on Subaru Outbacks.

Vehicle was parked with engine idling (waiting for passengers), engine accelerated to very high revs without any operator action. Driver shutdown engine. Driver checked to be sure nothing could have hit the accelerator, nothing found. Restarted the vehicle, could not reproduce the problem. About 2 miles down the road a RED exclamation symbol appeared on dash panel and shut off after 5 to 10 seconds.

Battery keeps draining. I replaced the original battery 6 months ago and it just drained again

[XXX] at [XXX] We were sitting at a complete stop with our turn signal on, waiting for traffic to clear enough to turn left. It was dark/cold but otherwise good road conditions, no rain/snow/wind. We were suddenly slammed from behind in the rear/R passenger rear by the Black Dodge Journey. This impact then pushed us into the oncoming lane causing another vehicle to hit us in the front driver side of the vehicle. 911 was called at 1811 and the call lasted 3 minutes. SBPD was dispatched along with traffic control. The impact caused the visor on the passenger side to fall which caused broken facial bones. The headrest on the passenger side was completely dislodged and out of the seat upon inspection after the scene was secured. Drivers headrest was nearly out at the end of impact. Driver hit his head on the steering wheel. Entire back end of Subaru was smashed and a trail of what appeared to be gas from the tank made a visible line (~15 ft) of how far the car had been pushed on the road and across traffic. The man driving the journey reported that his “power steering went out while trying to pass on the shoulder.” Passenger had to forcibly push open the front passenger door to get out; the back passenger door was not usable and the gas cover popped out. The entire back end of the vehicle was smashed including the glass. The airbags on the Dodge Journey deployed, as well as the airbags in the vehicle that hit the Subaru in the front. NO airbags in the Subaru deployed. Medics were dispatched to the scene. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Battery drainage Have had to have vehicle jumped twice now. Battery totally dead when I tried to start car and return home after appointments. Afraid this may happen while driving which happened to a friend of mine! Very dangerous situation!!

The head unit touch screen is delaminating making it difficult to see the backup camera view while backing the vehicle up. The unit is also constantly switching through radio stations and makes phone calls when I have my phone hooked up to the vehicle to charge it. I cannot turn the unit off. This is vary distracting while I drive. It is unsafe to drive while while the unit in use, due to the constant radio and screen switching as well as the delaminated screen causing visibility issues while trying to use the backup camera.

Battery died prematurely and failed to hold a charge had to be replaced 4 DEC 22, for 194.63 from Advance Auto parts, Battery had failed to hold a charge in the past and Subaru roadside assistance had to be called on a previous occasion to issue a jump start.

Driver seat is loose. Noise when travelling or even stopped. Bolts to the floor are tight but the seat is loose above them. Excess movement. Brought it in after 2 weeks of new purchase and they repaired bushings according to service. Noise recurs 2022. Dealer refuses to repair under any warranty. Suggests bottom seat replacement at owners expense.

I was driving my vehicle in the dark through an unpopulated area of a highway. No other cars were near mine, as traffic was light. I was listening to music, but still heard a single “pop” sound. A few minutes later I heard another one. The next morning ( day) I noticed a crack (almost straight across horizontal ) in my windshield that looks as if it originated at the edge of the passenger’s side. It makes about a 90 degree curved turn about 1/2 way in the crack then goes up at a slight angle then makes another about 90 degree turn and then goes horizontal agsin.

Premature battery drainage. This problem is well documented in existing class action lawsuits. My original battery was replaced under warranty on 9/10/19, Invoice #19682 from Van Bortel Subaru of Rochester NY. 17264 miles on odometer. MY wife and I were recently stranded with this replacement battery failing with less than 10k miles on it. There was no pre-warning of the problem. According to the internet, battery drainage is a problem with 2017-2019 Outbacks and Ascents.

About 8 months ago I was turning into a space in the parking lot of a large store (Kohls) the car lunged forward on it's own when I took my foot off the accelerator. I was able to stop the car with the brake pedal before ramming a lamp post. I did not report it to a dealership. Nothing like it has happened in the 8 months/3000 miles of driving since. It took me completely by surprise without any indication of system failure.

Vehical infotainment system constantly beeps and changes formats, including randomly dialing phone numbers while driving. turning volume down does not control the distraction and system cannot be turned off. beeping is so load, it can be heard from 20 feet away from the car (outside of vehicle). the distraction is a safety problem for the driver. problem is in effect over 6 monthes and unit cannot be replaced due to product unavailability.

After purchasing my 2018 Subaru Outback, I experienced 2 instances where my battery died in the first 2 yrs of ownership. After the second instance, where it had died while I was eating at a restaurant, I contacted the dealership right away. They replaced the battery with a new manufacturer battery saying the previous battery failed the testing. I paid $176 for a new one. This was in March 2021. While preparing to return from my summer home in the mtns to my permanent home on the coast, I spent at least an hour packing my car and trying to keep the door and hatch openings at a minimum. Well, my car battery was dead while trying to start my car for my trip home. I had previously purchased a portable battery pack at the cost of $100 with me, and was able to get it started. One should not have to go such lengths when traveling as doors and the hatch are almost always being used. My car is going in for service at the dealership for this particular issue, but they are only going to replace the battery of which I have been informed. My car has 35,000+ miles and is only 4 yrs old. I traded in my previous car because it had over 100,000 miles on it. But I never had these kinds of issues with it. Now I am hesitant to travel anywhere unless I have that battery pack as it is deemed not reliable! This is ridiculous!!

The infotainment system freezes randomly causing screen to freeze including while backing up. This causes it to appear as though the back up camera is working when in reality it is not. Serious safety concern if cross traffic or children are not seen.

Entertainment Unit Defects Car Battery Fast Drainage

2 incidences where the car accelerated on its own. 1st time pulling into a parking Space, Slammed on brakes barely got it to stop otherwise I would have gone through a store front. 2nd time same night in heavy traffic going to the George Washington bridge crawling in traffic while keeping at least a car length Between me and the car in front of me it did it again and I had to pull up on the parking brake and again I hit the brakes as hard as I could otherwise I would have slammed into the back end of a tractor trailer. I have owned this car for about a year and nothing like this has ever happened. Absolutely terrifying To the point where I don't Even want to keep the car. Called Subaru told them what was happening and they said they never heard of this before but they Don't have any appointments with loaner car until October 10th.

Battery draining issue. Jump starts required

I was changing the passenger side wiper blade, and when the wiper was lowered to the windshield, the windshield cracked. The crack is now moving up towards the forward eyesight detection system.

In past 3 years after not being driven for 3 days the car would not start. We had the battery charged and replaced twice . When I spoke to another Subaru owner I was informed of a lawsuit against Subaru concerning parasitic battery draw by the Starlink system. I contacted Subaru of America and was told there was no recall but I am entitled to extended warranty on the T 16 DCM unit (a fuse for Starlink). They said I would be responsible for any charges to fix the issue. When I called my local Subaru dealer they said I may have to pay for diagnostics even if it was the DCM fuse as the problem. I feel Subaru knew about this problem and should fix it without charge.

Car jerked back and suddenly accelerated without warning as driver had foot on brake and was slowly pulling into parking spot. Car hit wall of parking garage causing front end damage. Parking collision warning did not sound at any point. Car was going 1-2 MPH and was 5 feet from end of parking spot when incident occurred. Sudden acceleration when driver has foot on brake can cause injury to driver, passengers or others in the path of the car. No hazards in parking garage were present that could have caused accident, which was witnessed by driver's work colleague. No police report filed. Incident was reported to Subaru, which ran diagnostic and could not replicate issue. No warning messages were present prior to the incident. It appears there are 2 current class action lawsuits filed against Subaru reporting similar issues with 2018 Outback. I am unsure what component failed to cause this issue; car is available for inspection on request.

Battery is dying pre-emptively. Have gone through 2 batteries in one month.

Persistent battery drain. Car was jumped a week ago because it wouldn't start at all. It has been sluggish to start (turns over a couple times before catching) since and had a major error with the rear hatch today despite starting up. Power rear hatch will alarm as open but then cannot be opened with key fob, button in car, or button on hatch. The rear alarm will ring consistently until car has been running for 10 min/reached 60 mph but restarts again at stop lights. It is currently scheduled to be looked at in 4 days, if it is able to be safely driven to the dealership.