2018 SUBARU OUTBACK Complaints

The windshield got cracked again from almost the same place as last time in 2019. Again, I found out the incident the morning when I just started driving. The crack originates from bottom of the glass without any chips. The very similar thing happened in 2019. I have not driven much since COVID. Looks like a manufacturing defect.

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while approaching her parked vehicle, she noticed that the driver’s side windshield was cracked. The contact stated that there was no impact to the windshield to cause the crack to occur. The contact stated that the crack occurred overnight. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

2018 SUBARU OUTBACK. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO ENGINE FAILURE. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE HAD VARIOUS SAFETY DEFECT ISSUES INCLUDING A RECALL FOR LOW FUEL PROGRAMMING, LOW GRINDING NOISE AND VIBRATION IN THE BRAKES, AND VIBRATION IN THE STEERING WHEEL. THE VEHICLE ALSO HAD VARIOUS ELECTRONIC ISSUES INCLUDING GLITCHES WITH THE INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM, STEREO WOULD FREEZE, SPEAKERS WERE OUT OF SYNC AND RATTLED, SEAT HEATING TEMPERATURE TOO LOW, AND THE PASSENGER SIDE POWER WINDOWS DID NOT OPERATE PROPERLY.

I was backing out of my driveway very slowly as usual. I checked the road both ways several times. A US mail truck evidently traveling at a high rate of speed came up behind me while I was looking in the opposite direction. The automatic braking did not kick in, the warning system didn't work. After the accident the green, yellow, red lines on the camera and the warning beeping stuff-all were not working for several weeks. All of the sudden, they started working. HISTORY-4 days after purchasing the vehicle we have had lane departure, driver assist problems. The passenger window does what it wants. The electric controls for the heat/ac go blank, or can't change settings. There seems to be a huge electrical issue. Every time we've taken the car in for service, the dealership just insults me that I can't drive and they can't find any problems. They seem to have an answer for everything yet the problems persist. Efforts to go thru Subaru are stalled waiting on their response. They were to look at the BLACK BOX during time of accident. We are still waiting. We are frustrated. I wish the dealership had taken the car back after we first bought it like we demanded. I'm terrified this car is going to cause an accident.

The windshield cracked while driving at 45mph on a normal street. Nothing hit the windshield, it just popped and cracked. This is the second time this has happened to this vehicle. The previous cracks occurred while it was parked.

A crack has developed from the base of the windshield and has grown to about 9 inches so far as it crosses along the windshield. The only thing that has hit the windshield was a small bug as we traveled along the highway. The sound of the bug hitting the windshield was so tiny neither my wife or I could believe that was what caused the crack. This needs to be looked into as it could create a huge problem if the windshield suddenly shatters due to this defect.

While driving our 2018 Subaru Outback 3.6 the engine quit about 15 miles into our trip while driving at about 45 MPH. It had done this once before where after drifting to a stop and putting it in park it restarted and we finished the trip. This time we drifted to a stop and put it in park and tried to restart the engine. It restarted and immediately quit. We did this several times over a 20 minute time frame. We had it towed to the dealer where it took about 3 hours for them to look at it. It restarted and the fault codes showed it had stalled, but no other problem and no fix to be made. I see this problem in several forums with no fix offered. This is a significant safety issue since braking and steering power are lost.

My husband, son, and I got into our parked 2018 Subaru Outback and closed our doors. My husband started the car and we immediately heard a loud “pop” and saw a crack spread in several directions from the driver’s side edge of the windshield across the driver’s line of vision. Upon closer inspection, we were able to see 3 tiny chips in the glass, one of which was incorporated into the crack. As the driver of this vehicle at least 5/7 days a week, these chips in the driver’s side windshield were small enough that I had not noticed them before (see pictures). This crack impairs my ability to operate this vehicle safely because it obstructs my line of vision. Had we been driving when it happened, the cracking may have caused an accident. I am also concerned that the windshield is not appropriately tempered to provide adequate protection and structural integrity in the event of a collision. This is the third spontaneously cracked windshield I have experienced with this vehicle since I purchased it brand new in Nov 2017. The first cracked windshield occurred within months of my purchasing the vehicle. The dealership where I purchased it replaced the windshield with no cost to me at that time. I was given the impression that the original windshield was faulty and the replacement would not be, though no fault was admitted by Subaru. The second incident occurred about one year ago, a little over 3 years after we purchased the Outback. This being the third windshield to spontaneously crack, I would like to try replacing it with an after market windshield. However, I have been informed by both the Subaru dealership and the local windshield replacement business that has worked closely with my dealership the two previous times I needed replacement, that an after market windshield can not be calibrated for my vehicle’s EyeSight system. If I use an after market windshield, I will have to forgo the added safety features provided by the EyeSight system.

The vehicle, a 2018 Subaru Outback Limited 3.6R, was being pulled into the garage at the owner’s home. With brakes applied, and while putting vehicle into park, the vehicle suddenly accelerated forward making contact with a suspended shelf attached to the back wall of the garage. The force of the vehicle was such that the shelf and back wall of the garage were completely separated from the home in one piece and pushed approximately 10 yards away from the home before the shelf broke away from the wall upon impact with the ground, perpendicular to the back of the house. The vehicle then traveled down two hills in the back yard, across a water saturated easement, over a concrete drainage culvert and came to rest at the base of an incline in an adjacent yard approximately 150 ft from the garage. Air bags did not deploy and the owner suffered minor contusions causing pain and stiffness, but no significant injuries are noted as of this report. The vehicle was totaled and significant damage was caused to the residence. No collision warnings were displayed prior to collision and emergency braking did not apply upon acceleration. This was the first incidence of sudden acceleration experienced by the owner so this issue has never been checked out by a service technician and will not be repaired. The vehicle had less than 8000 miles on the odometer. The vehicle is currently located in a repair lot and the owner’s insurance company has been requested to hold the vehicle for inspection prior to disposal. The cause of the sudden acceleration is unknown, but the owner is confident that the brakes were being applied at the time of occurrence, and that they remained cognizant throughout the incident as they were unable to stop the forward progression of the vehicle until it came to rest on the muddy incline.

My windshield has cracked twice already. Both times a fine line started at the bottom of the windshield during the cold weather in March 2020 and March 2022. The incident was dismissed by the local Subaru dealer in 2020 claiming the cracked was caused due to something hitting it. I took it to my insurance for repair. I hae not replaced the windshield foe the 2022 incident. I strongly believe that both incident have been caused due to manufacturing defect.