2018 Subaru Outback Electrical System Problems

This my [XXX] mother's car, she would have panicked had she witnessed this incident. Upon starting vehicle in morning after cleaning off light dusting of snow, the driver's side mirror started to smoke for almost a minute with an electrical and plastic burn smell. I was able to video some of the smoking and took a picture afterwards that seems to show a burn mark at the bottom of the mirror housing. This short caused a 10 amp fuse to blow which also took out interior lights and the ability to lock/unlock the car with the remote. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by anyone other than myself. I found a user on [XXX] with similar experience that a Subaru garage diagnosed as a short in the approach light module [XXX] 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 when driving approximately 30- 40 MPH, veering off the highway, the vehicle suddenly lost power, but had immediately regained power. The failure had occurred 3 - 4 times total. The last time it occurred, the vehicle took a bit longer to regain power. After pulling into the desired parking lot, the contact checked the battery. When touching a wire connecting to the battery, it sparked and caught fire. The contact immediately grabbed some snow nearby and threw it onto the wire to put out the fire. There was no fire report filed. There were no injuries or medical attention needed. The contact had noticed that the instrument panel would flash with several warning lights; however, it would illuminate quickly and intermittently. The vehicle was then scheduled to be towed from the parking lot, but it had not been taken to the dealer after the incident. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Head unit / radio has delamination and causing buttons to randomly press and cycle until it freezes. This is a know. Issue and Subaru has extended the warranty for a but , but if issue occurs after this the owner is on their own. It is a safety issue when electrical systems just randomly start going off. Should be covered.

MY 2018 Outback experienced a driver side smoking mirror a few days ago. While parked at the gas station, a large amount of smoke suddenly began emanating from the driver side mirror. As a result I no longer see my TPMS, the ability to lock/unlock the car with the remote, interior lights no longer work.

The head unit on the vehicle has delaminated. The touchscreen display no longer works, it has false touches. This affects navigational safety of the vehicle, as navigation no longer works. This also affects sounds of the vehicle, not being able to change volume for ADAS alerts. This also affects the backup camera, which is a big safety concern. The problem has been confirmed and inspected by a dealer, it costs $2300.00 to replace. Warning symptoms were bubbles on the screen and the screen stopped working/became jittery.

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the rearview camera became inoperable. The contact stated that the rearview camera image was blank. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the radio system display had failed and needed to be repaired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 20,000.

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that at the time of the purchase, the contact was shown a fraudulent Carfax report that displayed that the vehicle mileage was 35,000 and a fraudulent title that displayed that the vehicle mileage was 30,870 on issued date 04/25/24. The contact stated that upon retrieving the vehicle Carfax report personally later, it was discovered that there was a mileage and title information discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 35,000, and after the contact retrieved the vehicle Carfax report personally, it was discovered that the mileage was 166,000.

My 2018 Subaru Outback has a defective head unit that poses a serious safety hazard. Subaru has already acknowledged this defect in this exact make/model/year and issued an extended warranty, but my vehicle was denied full coverage because the warranty window expired. The defect causes the head unit to: -Power on/off by itself. -Force phone connections even when Bluetooth is disabled. -Place dozens of calls on its own while I am driving (call random number, hang up, call number, hang up, etc). -Randomly connect to nearby devices. -Emit loud, unexpected noises. During a recent 4-hour family trip with my [XXX] son, the head unit repeatedly dialed contacts and hung up on them uncontrollably, forcing me to pull over on the highway. This is a clear safety risk, as it distracts the driver and requires emergency stops. At Subaru Customer Advocacy’s request, I took the vehicle to a Subaru dealership twice and paid nearly $200 for a formal diagnosis, which confirmed the known delamination defect and the need for replacement. Despite this, Subaru refuses full coverage and is offering only partial cost assistance, while other owners with the same defect have received full coverage. This is not normal wear-and-tear. It is an acknowledged manufacturer defect that is creating dangerous driving conditions. I request NHTSA’s investigation into Subaru’s inconsistent response and the safety risks of this defect. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The radio has Cracks or striations on the screen that are Causing the Panel to make calls, Dial a phone, change the radio station...ETC. Complete random beeping and it is distracting when driving, The touch screen has become defunct and the Comp[uter does all random things, It does what it wants, when it wantys! I am afraid it is a danger! And please lookl into this, there are Many subaru owners Complaining of the same thing. They are saying that the screen is :Dellaminating" That is what they are calling it. That I why I am making a formal complaint. Thank you! PS...By the way, I was NOT calling mom, It did it on its own!!

The navigation screen that controls apps, radio, navigation and phone has delamanated and now has a mind of its own. If my phone is connected it will actually start making random calls while driving, radio sound changes, screens will switch on tjeir own while driving. It started a a year ago. I just thought it was a periodic glitch. It has progressly gotten worse. I saw there was a class action suit and didn't inform?

The upper portion of the Information touch screen appears to have delaminated resulting in the Information system to randomly change settings on its own. For example, if an iPhone has been connected to the system, it will randomly initiate a call from the phone’s contact list. If a hands free call has been initiated, if will randomly disconnect and switch the call back to the iPhone. It will change radio stations, increase / decrease the volume. The issues present a distraction to the driver as the Information System failure mode is erratic resulting in the Driver to take intervention to correct the issue. Researching online Subaru forums, Customers have reported similar failure modes. In some cases, it appears Subaru has covered the repair costs via an extended warranty. In many cases, it appears the Owner bore the full cost of replacing the entire Information system. I have reached out to Subaru’s Customer Support about the issue on January 12th, 2025. As of today, have not received a response. The attached photo shows the delamination. The bubbles in the upper third are between the overlay and the touchscreen.

1. Unable to remove key from ignition switch while vehicle is in park. 2. Infotainment system turns itself on when car is started; playback skips on Pandora app. 3. Circular windshield crack appeared spontaneously.

The head unit on my 2018 Subaru Outback is pressing random buttons all over the screen by itself. It would constantly make the button noise as I drive leading me to lose track of the directions that was being provided from my Apple Maps. It would also disconnect me from CarPlay leaving me with no sense of direction as to where I should be going. I have gotten this fixed before at a Subaru dealership and they ended up replacing the head unit for me, however this is the second time it’s happening and there is obviously a serious problem with the all the units.

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the infotainment system was displaying a blank screen. No warning light was illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the infotainment system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 68,000.

DSM drawing too much power from battery when car is parked. DSM drawing 0.151k ohms to 0.017. Have complained to Subaru of Santa Cruz about this 3x. First they said it was the battery under recall and replaced the battery. Second time they thought I was leaving the key fob in the car (The fob is kept with me not in the car ). Third time they said the DSM is pulling too much power from the battery. Subaru has an extended warranty for the DSM for 2016-2018 outbacks but does not include my VIN number. This power draw and dead battery has put me in San Francisco late at night without a functional car. I did not have this independently evaluated before Subaru did a "jump box replacement" for $775.73.

Ghost touches on the radio making radio inoperable. Prevent rear view camera from activating.

When I bought my car I had issues with the Head unit the screen would got out and I would have no backup camera or radio.The dealer had the car for Two months before I called Subaru to see if they could get my me unit.It was taken care of.Now the problem has come back the screen freezes, jumps goes dark (I have video) I can’t use the bluetooth to call anyone. I call Subaru of America about this and they say make an appointment with the dealership and we will go there when they know what’s happening…..

The touchscreen is completely malfunctioning and unusable. It started off as a one off incident during a very hot streak in the summer of 2024. I wrote it off and a fluke because of the temperature. 9 months later and the screen is constantly going haywire with ghost touches. Every feature that is controlled through that screen fails. Even using the controls on the steering wheel fail to work when the touchscreen is nonoperational. This system is so integrated into the systems of the vehicle that it is a safety concern. Subaru is aware of this issue and offered an extended warranty. However, if the system didn’t fail during that extended time, you are out of luck.

Sterio and Navigation screen has formed bubbles and what appears to be a film under the screen and has also started delaminating. The screen is now rarely usable as it appears to have a mind and hands of its own as it makes its own selections on the screen and no longer allows me to control it. This is very dangerous as the Subaru touch screen offers setting adjustments that are being changed while on the road, without my control. It is my understanding that Subaru will not replace this unless you pay $2k+ out of pocket even though SEVERAL incidents are reported. Unfortunately, I am not in good standing to purchase another car right now so I will have to continue driving this car and praying that whatever settings that car adjusts during that drive won't have a negative impact.

My 2018 Subaru Outback has an infotainment display that has a Delaminating Screen issue, where the screen that controls so many aspects of the car's functionality (to include safety) is now becoming increasingly harder to see.