2015 SUBARU OUTBACK Complaints

NOTICED A CRACK IN THE WINDSHIELD ON 8/27/15. IT EXTENDED FROM UNDER THE RIGHT WINDSHIELD WIPER TOWARDS THE CENTER OF THE WINDSHIELD ABOUT 18 INCHES LONG. I COULD NOT THINK OF AN OBJECT HAVING HIT THE WINDSHIELD, THEN RECALLED DRIVING DOWN THE STREET EARLIER AT ABOUT 30 MPH. I HAD HEARD A LOUD POP SOUND, BUT THOUGHT IT WAS COMING FROM UNDER THE CHASIS, LIKE THE SOUND OF A ROCK FLYING UP FROM A TIRE AND HITTING UNDERNEATH. IN RETROSPECT THIS WAS PROBABLY WHEN THE WINDSHIELD CRACKED. ONLINE RESEARCH I DID EARLIER SHOWED HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE WINDSHIELDS ON THE 2015 OUTBACKS CRACKING EASILY, MANY OF WHICH DID NOT INVOLVE OBJECTS HITTING THE CAR. I FOUND SEVERAL SITES OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS, WITH THE LINKS OF 1 BELOW. I BROUGHT THE CAR INTO THE DEALER THE NEXT DAY AND EXPLAINED THAT THE WINDSHIELD HAD SPONTANEOUSLY CRACKED. THEY INITIALLY TOLD ME THAT MY CRACK APPEARED TO HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY AN OBJECT AND NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. I ASKED THEM TO EXPLAIN HOW AN OBJECT COULD POSSIBLY HAVE HIT THE GLASS AND NOT DAMAGED THE WIPER, WHICH WAS FULLY INTACT. THEY SAID: "THE WIPER BLADE MUST HAVE BEEN MOVING WHEN A ROCK STRUCK WINDSHIELD". I SAID NO, THE WIPER BLADES HAVE NOT BEEN USED IN SEVERAL DAYS SINCE IT HAD NOT BEEN RAINING. ALSO, AN INSURANCE APPRAISER LOOKED AT THE DAMAGED GLASS AND SAID THIS WAS NOT CAUSED BY AN OBJECT HITTING IT FROM THE OUTSIDE, SINCE THE CRACK HE SAID WAS AN "INSIDE-OUT" CRACK BASED ON THE FEEL OF THE CRACK. A WARRANTY CLAIM WAS SUBMITTED BY THE DEALER TO SUBARU OF AMERICA. WITHIN 2-3 DAYS THE DECISION WAS MADE BY SOA TO COVER THE GLASS UNDER WARRANTY. FORTUNATELY THE DEALER HAD A NEW WINDSHIELD IN STOCK, HOWEVER, THERE ARE MANY REPORTS OF THE WINDSHIELD HAVING BEEN BACK ORDERED FOR WEEKS AT A TIME, WHICH IS A SAFETY ISSUE. HTTP://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/SUBARU/OUTBACK/2015/ACCESSORIES-EXTERIOR/VISIBILITY_WIPER.SHTML

FOR UNKNOWN REASONS, MY WINDSHIELD CRACKED ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE WHILE IT WAS PARKED IN THE DRIVEWAY. THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF ANY IMPACT DAMAGE.

THE WINDSHIELD CRACKED HORIZONTALLY ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE. NOTHING HIT THE WINDSHIELD TO CAUSE THE CRACK. IT WAS FINE WHEN I GOT HOME FROM WORK AND PARKED THE VEHICLE IN THE GARAGE; THE FOLLOWING MORNING THE CRACK WAS THERE.

INTERIOR REAR VIEW MIRROR BROKE OFF THE MOUNTING WITH GLASS ATTACHED TO THE MOUNTING. THEIR WAS NO FORCEFUL MOVEMENT OR ADJUSTMENT BEING APPLIED TO THE MIRROR AT THE TIME, IT JUST CAME DOWN. DISTRACTING MY DRIVING.

TRAVELING FROM KANSAS CITY MO TO PHOENIX WINDSHIELD DEVELOPED CRACK WHILE DRIVING. WE WERE TRAVELING IN A LIGHT RAIN AND THERE WAS SOME VERY SMALL PEA GRAVEL BEING THROWN UP BY PASSING CARS ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF CAR. THE CRACK CENTERED OVER THE PASSENGER WIPER ABOUT 4 INCHES UPWARD. THERE WAS NO STAR FORMATION. I TOOK IT TO THE SUBARU DEALERSHIP IN CHANDLER AZ. I WAS TOLD BY THE GENERAL MANAGER THAT THERE WAS A BACK ORDER ON THE GLASS BUT TO WAIT UNTIL I RETURNED TO KANSAS CITY FOR REPAIR. DURING OUR DRIVE HOME I CALLED OUR INSURANCE, SUBARU (WHERE PURCHASED) AND GLASS COMPANY. I FOUND THAT GLASS ON MY OUTBACK WAS AT LEAST 6 WEEKS OUT. AFTER 6 WEEKS I WAS AGAIN TOLD THE GLASS REMAINS ON BACKORDER. IT WAS FINALLY REPLACED BY SAFELITE ON AUGUST 25TH. PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS. IS THERE SOME KIND OF DEFECT IN THE WINDSHIELD, INSTALLATION, OR FIT? THANKS

I WAS AT WORK TODAY AND WHEN I LEFT I SAT IN THE OUTBACK FOR ABOUT 10 MIN WITH THE AIR CONDITIONING ON AND MADE PHONE CALLS. WHEN I GOT READY TO TAKE OFF I HEARD A CRACK. I LOOKED AROUND AND DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING. ABOUT 30 MINUTES AGO, MY HUSBAND AND I WENT TO PICK UP THE GRANDKIDS AND MY HUSBAND SAID, "HOW DID THE WINDSHIELD GET CRACKED? HE WAS RIGHT IT WAS CRACKED RIGHT AT THE REARVIEW MIRROR. I CALL THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT OF THE SALES COMPANY AND THEY SAID I WILL HAVE TO COME WHEN A SUBARU REP IS IN THE STORE AND HE WILL TELL WHETHER IT WAS DEFECTIVE MATERIAL. IT HAS TO BE A DEFECT, I WAS SITTING STILL AND IT JUST CRACKED. IT WAS NOT HIT BY ANYTHING, AND THERE ARE NO INDENTS WHERE IT WAS HIT.

THREE DAYS AGO, OUR NEW SUBARU OUTBACK (PURCHASED IN LATE FEBRUARY 2015) DEVELOPED A CRACK IN THE WINDSHIELD OVERNIGHT THAT IS NOW OVER TWO FEET IN LENGTH. THE CRACK RUNS FROM THE TOP EDGE, MID-WINDSHIELD ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE, AND CIRCLES AROUND THE REAR VIEW MIRROR BEFORE TAILING OFF A FOOT OR SO ABOVE THE BOTTOM EDGE, IN FRONT OF THE PASSENGER'S SIDE. NO OBJECT STRUCK THE WINDSHIELD, IT SIMPLY CRACKED. WE CONTACTED THE DEALERSHIP, WHO TOLD US THAT THIS WOULD NOT BE COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY, THAT NO AFTERMARKET WINDSHIELDS ARE AVAILABLE FOR THIS MODEL, AND QUOTED A PRICE OF $625 (BEFORE TAXES) FOR REPLACEMENT WITH SUBARU GLASS. THE DEALERSHIP ALSO INDICATED THAT THERE ARE ONLY A FEW SUBARU WINDSHIELDS AVAILABLE IN THE US. AFTER HEARING THIS, WE WENT ONLINE AND DISCOVERED THAT MANY OTHERS HAVE HAD SIMILAR EXPERIENCES WITH THIS MODEL. NO WONDER THERE ARE SO FEW WINDSHIELDS AVAILABLE! SINCE WE BOUGHT THE CAR, WE HAVE NOTICED SIGNIFICANT ROAD NOISE INSIDE THE CABIN, EVEN WITH ALL WINDOWS TIGHTLY CLOSED. THIS, COUPLED WITH THE NUMBER OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS WE'VE SEEN ABOUT CRACKED WINDSHIELDS ON 2015 SUBARU OUTBACKS, LEADS US TO BELIEVE THAT SUBARU SHOULD RECALL THE MODEL, IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THE DESIGN FLAW BEFORE SOMEONE IS KILLED OR INJURED.

WE HAVE 7,100 MILES ON OUR NEW & VERY FIRST SUBARU OUTBACK. THIS PAST WEEK WE DEVELOPED A CRACK THAT BEGAN ON THE LOWER 4 INCHES / CENTER PORTION ON THE PASSENGER SIDE OF WINDSHIELD. YES, THERE IS A "VERY SMALL NICK" FROM WHERE IT BEGAN. BELIEVE ME, IT'S SMALLER THAN THE TOP OF A STRAIGHT PIN. THE CRACK STARTED OUT IN 2 DIRECTIONS AND OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS HAS GROWN TO 20 INCHES AND 11 INCHES RESPECTFULLY, AS OF TODAY. IF YOU LOOK AT THE DATA ON THE NHTSA WEB SITE FOR COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE 2015 SUBARU OUTBACK (104 TOTAL 8/20/15 ) 65 OF THEM ARE ABOUT WINDSHIELDS CRACKING AT A VERY HIGH FREQUENCY RATE. PLUS, THE SUBARUOUTBACK.ORG WEB SITE HAS A LITANY OF THE SAME COMPLAINTS . IT'S TO THE POINT, THAT THERE IS A SERIOUS BACKORDER OF WINDSHIELDS FOR THE OUTBACK. THERE HAVE EVEN BEEN CASES, WERE AFTER REPLACEMENT, THE PROBLEM HAPPENS AGAIN, SHORTLY THEREAFTER. I HAVE TRIED TO FIND THIS TYPE OF PROBLEM WITH OTHER VEHICLES / BRANDS FOR 2015. THERE ARE NONE TO BE FOUND! EXCEPT THE 2015 SUBARU LEGACY, 10 CURRENTLY , SAME TYPE OF WINDSHIELD. THAT WOULD MAKE IT AROUND 75 WINDSHIELD CRACKING COMPLAINTS TOTAL. SOMETHING OTHER THAN "BAD LUCK" IS CAUSING THIS ISSUE. SUBARU NEEDS TO SERIOUSLY TAKE THIS ISSUE TO THEIR ENGINEERING PEOPLE AND FIND IT'S ROOT CAUSE AND COVER A PROPER REPLACEMENT . I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND ANYONE RUNNING OUT AND GETTING A REPLACEMENT UNTIL THIS WHOLE PROBLEM IS ADDRESSED. AGAIN, THE REPLACEMENT WINDSHIELDS ARE CRACKING ALSO. SUBARU "PLEASE STEP UP" AND DO THE RIGHT THING FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR REPUTATION AND THE SATISFACTION OF YOUR MANY CUSTOMERS, BOTH OLD AND NEW.

WITHIN 9 DAYS OF RECEIVING A REPLACEMENT WINDSHIELD FOR MY SUBARU OUTBACK, MY WINDSHIELD WAS DAMAGED AGAIN. THE DEALER NOTED IT ON 8/8/15 AND THE WINDSHIELD WAS REPLACED ON 7/31/15. I DO NOT RECALL ANY ROCK HITTING THE WINDSHIELD. THE TOP CORNER OF THE PASSENGER SIDE WINDSHIELD HAD A CRACK. I DID CONTACT SUBARU OF AMERICA WHO AGREED TO REPLACE THE WINDSHIELD FREE OF CHARGE.

WINDSHIELD WAS HIT BY A ROCK. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PASSENGER SIDE. APPROXIMATELY THE SIZE OF A DIME. WITHIN 4 HOURS, LEAVING THE CAR PARKED, THE CRACK SPREAD A FEW INCHES TO THE LEFT TOWARDS THE DRIVER SIDE. IT STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE. OVER THE COURSE OF A FEW DAYS, THE CRACK SPREAD UNTIL IT WAS ALMOST WITHIN VIEW OF THE DRIVER.