2024 Subaru Outback

Was doing 55-60 mph in left lane of highway. Suddenly and without warning the car is decelerating, cannot accelerate any more, all warning lights suddenly flashing on dashboard. I was able to get over to the far right emergency lane, turn car off and put on hazards and started calling Subaru roadside assistance. While doing so I suddenly saw smoke coming out from under the hood. I got out of the car and continued my talk when the smoke suddenly turned to flames from under the hood and I called 911. Within 3 minutes of dialing for assistance, my car was completely engulfed in flames and it was burned to a crisp by the time the fire trucks put it out. My insurance company retrieved the car from wherever it was towed and has assigned it to someone to investigate.

All of my safety systems malfunctioned. On a Subaru vehicle it is called “eyesight.” in order to make all of them work again, the dealership had to perform an ECM update. They did not have to replace anything or repair anything. They had to update software. This is on a two-year-old car with 38,000 miles. Because it was 2000 miles out of the base warranty I was charged $400 for them to do an update on my vehicle to make all of the safety features function again.

My vehicle currently has only 27,500 miles, yet it has been producing a loud and disturbing thud or clunk whenever the vehicle encounters bumps in the road. This problem began earlier this year and the ride quality has progressively deteriorated. I brought the vehicle to Subaru dealer for diagnosis and was informed that the rear stabilizer bushings required replacement and was provided with part number 20464AN000. I was told they are back-ordered. It's been almost two months with no part in sight. This is the same part being allocated to new 2026 Outback production while existing customers are left driving defective vehicles. That priority is indefensible and unacceptable. Aside from being unpleasant, the noise raises legitimate concerns about the safety and durability of a relatively new vehicle.

My 2024 Subaru Outback has twice become inoperable while stopped at a traffic signal. In both incidents, the engine was off while stopped, but the vehicle remained powered on and would not restart. The vehicle also would not properly power down. The car could not be safely driven or moved and required towing both times. This created a serious safety hazard because the vehicle became disabled in active traffic and could not be restarted or properly shut down. After the first incident (on [XXX]), the Subaru dealership replaced the battery. Approximately 4 weeks ([XXX]) later, the exact same failure occurred again. The dealership has now had the vehicle for approximately three weeks and states they cannot replicate the issue. No cause has been identified and no repair has been made. During one of these incidents, my [XXX] child was in the vehicle while we were stranded in traffic. This appears to be a repeat electrical / ignition / operability failure affecting the vehicle’s ability to restart or properly shut down after stopping in traffic. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Sirus XM advertisements, whilst driving, taking over display, despite opting out of all possible options, disablement and NEVER purchasing the satellite radio service or wanting it in vehicle. I paid for the car, now I have to be subject to distracting advertising that requires user input even though I already have carplay open with driving directions. Advertising should be optional and there MUST be a way to opt out and it should not be forced or require interaction while car is operational (assuming it is opt in, which it most certainly was not in my case). Everywhere else in the world you can buy a car free of in-vehicle advertising, without being pushed to get satellite radio from a monopoly.. why is USA different?

Sirius XM Ad popping up on my Infotainment Screen while vehicle is in motion causing a distraction.

The infotainment screen pushes ads for Sirius XM even while the car is in motion. This is where the GPS is located and it gets blocked from the ads. It causes me to drive distracted in order to clear away the ad to allow the GPS to work again making me more likely to get into an accident. There is no way to disable the ad feature either.

12/4/2025 Over the past two weeks, two uncommanded pop-up ads from SiriusXM have appeared in the middle of my infotainment screen. The ads pop up in front of anything else that might be on the screen. The ad blocks are bright white and eye-catching (distracting), particularly at night. SiriusXM has never been active in this car, nor do I even have a SiriusXM account.

While driving, a pop-up advertisement for SiriusXM appeared on my vehicle’s head-unit screen. The ad covered important display areas and required visual attention to dismiss, creating an unnecessary distraction. This unexpected interruption diverted my focus from the road and posed a potential safety hazard by encouraging interaction with the screen while the vehicle was in motion.

Sirius XM Ads are popping up on infotainment screen caused me to become distracted while operating my vehicle. I had to remove my eyes from the road to find the button to close the ad, then click on the ad to remove it from my screen. It has popped up twice in the last two weeks.

The windshield on the 2024 Subaru Outback obtains cracks easier and more often than my 2017 outback. Is there a possibility that Subaru did not fix the issue with 2020-2022 outback windshield?

Continued issue with phantom reverse automatic emergency braking occurring while backing up from my driveway causing the car to fully brake without me touching the brake pedal at all once the vehicle is into the street. The only time it doesn’t occur is when continuous brake pressure is applied while backing out. This has caused the car to come to complete harsh jerking stop, whipping my head and neck forward and back several times. Each time, there are NO people, cars, or anything around that could be seen as a potential hazard.

The windshield of vehicle has become completely covered with small dots, making the view from inside at certain times ( early morning & late afternoon - due to angle of sun) difficult to the point of the vehicle being a hazard to drive. These dots, or pinpoints, cover the windshield from top to bottom and from side to side - literally thousands of glaring defects. This 'pixelation' is NOT caused by damage to the glass; it is perfectly smooth to the touch inside & out. The Subaru dealer will not admit this is a defect, and claims I have damaged the windshield somehow. My attempts with Subaru corporate have been unsuccessful, and they have thus far declined to inspect this. I feel my car is a danger to myself and others.

The Map application in my car has very inaccurate speed limit information. In one case the Map App showed the speed limit to be 55 MPH for a residential street. That street is [XXX] . I have reported that and several others to TomTom. Since the App data is loaded not live nothing will change until the next update. This is definitely a Safety Hazard. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

On Sunday, July 13, 2025, I received a warning that my EyeSight was disabled in the middle of driving. This meant that I was unable to utilize cruise control or any driver assistance functions. The weather was clear, sunny, and there was nothing obstructing the EyeSight cameras, nor were there any cracks in the windshield. The following day, Monday, July 14, EyeSight worked normally in the morning, but was disabled in the afternoon. Again, the cameras were clear of any obstructions and no cracks were visible on the windshield. Cruise control and driver assistance features were unavailable. On the morning of Tuesday, July 15, I came out to a 7-8 inch crack in the windshield, on the passenger side. No impact had occurred to cause this crack and it was not present the previous days. EyeSight is still disabled due to this and the windshield needs a full replacement. All driver assistance/collision prevention features are not available until the windshield is replaced and a recalibration is completed. Advantage Auto Glass of Rockford, IL will be inspecting the glass and can make it available for NHTSA evaluation. However, given that I have owned two Subaru Outbacks now, windshield weakness has been an issue with this vehicle, especially in warmer weather.

The malfunction I am concerned with is the battery and the battery charging system (alternator, engine control module). I purchased this car new in July of 2024. However, last month the battery drained to a point where I had to jump it to start it. I drove with the hope that the alternator would charge the battery. Yet, it did not. Within the last four weeks, I proceeded to have to jump the car almost every time I started the car, including every stop when running errands around town. This is a safety concern for me because if I didn't have a jump box for the car I would have been stuck or stranded. This could have been in 110 degree weather with my niece in the back seat. Or if the auto start/stop system was engaged, I could have been stuck with a dead car on the freeway in stop/start traffic in Los Angeles. I have seen multiple Outbacks on the freeway with dead batteries. When I took it to the dealer last week they confirmed the battery had gone bad, but were unable to find a parasitic drain or another reason why a year old battery would go bad. They acknowledged that older model Outbacks have the same battery drain issue and there is a current class action lawsuit for older model Outbacks (2015-2020) with this issue. They did not acknowledge that newer Outbacks had the same issue. No warnings appeared before this issue. There has been electronic issues with the vehicle since I took possession of it last year. After the battery issue presented itself, I did receive warning through my car there were issues with the backup breaking system and the collision control system. The dealer found an update for the Media Center, which they say may have been the cause of the battery drain. The two notifications have been cleared after the update. A simple search online revealed hundreds of complaints about the battery on the Outback, including people stating the manufacturer set the alternator to not charge the battery so they could market better gas mileage for the vehicle.

The driver door opened during the highway, it was raining and my speed wa about 70mph. This never happened before and I’m very scared

While at a stop, exiting a parking lot, driver’s side rear door window spontaneously blew out, inward. Police responded. No indication of foul play. No environmental issues. No temp change. Purely random.

Blind spot warning system fails on occasion to detect/warn of vehicle (most notably, semi truck and trailers) in blind spot on the right side of car when traveling on interstate highways. Also when I'm completing my passing of the said trucks, the left side blind spot monitor will activate to indicate a vehicle to my left when there is no lane for a vehicle to pass by me from the left. (Video evidence is available). The dealer has on two occasions been informed of these incidents, on 12Nov24 @15890 miles and 27May25 @22217 miles. The dealer mechanic/technician has stated that they could not duplicate this phenomenon while test driving, nor could they find any error codes or malfunctions in the system. Dealer has stated the car is operating properly and is "safe" to drive. Dealer has not and refuses to escalate this problem to the Manufacturer. These incidents have occurred since new as of Nov2023 to present May2025

Weather Conditions •Temperature: 40°F •Precipitation: Light rain Road Conditions: •Location: Interstate 79 South, Pittsburgh, PA •Road Type: Interstate highway •Road Quality: Normal, no visible deficiencies Vehicle Speed: •Approximately 65 mph Vehicle Occupants: •Driver (Adult) •2 Child Passengers Description of Damage: •27-inch crack across the windshield, extending into the driver’s primary field of vision Summary: While driving southbound on Interstate 79 near Pittsburgh, PA, at approximately 65 mph in light rain and a temperature of 40°F, defroster on , I heard a sudden, loud cracking noise from the windshield. Upon pulling over to inspect, I observed a crack approximately 27 inches long, originating at the base of the windshield and extending upward into my direct line of sight. I marked the crack to monitor its progression and continued the trip with caution. Damage Details and Observations: •The crack originates from the lower edge (root) of the windshield. •The crack changes direction as it extends and intersects with a small surface chip. •The chip measures approximately 0.039 inches (1mm) in diameter and 0.0018 inches (0.1mm) in depth. •The chip is located below the hood line and directly behind the windshield wiper bracket, in an area not easily visible during standard inspections. Vehicle Information: Subaru Outback Wilderness Edition which is marketed and designed with enhanced off-road capabilities relative to the standard Outback model. Concerns: Based on the location, characteristics, and progression of the crack, I have strong doubts that this damage was caused solely by a foreign object impact (FOD). Furthermore, even if FOD was a contributing factor, the small size and isolated position of the chip — in an area shielded by the wiper bracket — raises serious concerns about the structural integrity of the windshield itself. The extent and propagation of the crack appear disproportionate to the damage