10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
6,928 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2019 Subaru Crosstrek:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

Get free help with your lemon!
close ad
problem #44

Dec 232023

Crosstrek

  • miles
Not sure yet what component or system failed as the car is being towed to dealer. On 12/23/24, The engine made a grinding noise and then the car completelyshut down and froze on the Highway. No Power, All the Dashboard lights flashed on - and I could not put the car in Park. Since I was on the highway - my safety and safety of drivers behind me were at great risk until a help truck was able to block the road. Car will be inspected by Subaru on 12/26. Subaru was closed 12/23 PM, 12/24, 12/25 There were NO warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of a problem prior to the failure.

- White Plains, NY, USA

problem #43

Sep 162023

Crosstrek

  • miles
Sunroof exploded while driving. No temperature extremes, no warning lights prior to event. It sounded like my car was shot and tempered glass fell into vehicle. Insurance claim was filed and approved for replacement of the sunroof; dealership replaced the part.

- Chesterfield, VA, USA

problem #42

Feb 012023

Crosstrek

  • miles
The main information panel which displays navigation information under Carplay goes blank for approximately 5 seconds every time the user adjusts the car volume. This appears to be by design. The "feature" creates an unsafe driving situation by forcing the driver's attention to linger on the main panel waiting for navigational or other information, creating an unsafe situation which could cause an accident. In addition, though less threatening, the vehicle's audio volume turns on when the car is started, regardless of whether it was last left off or on. The unexpected volume sound interferes with a driver's initial planning and focus in the vehicle unnecessarily. This unfortunate "feature" is less threatening than the screen blanking resulting from volume adjustment because it occurs before the car begins moving. The volume control screen blanking creates a hazard because it interferes with the driver's access to important information while the vehicle is in motion, tempting the driver to take their eyes off the road waiting for the main screen to once again resume normal operation.

- Adelphi, MD, USA

problem #41

Jan 072023

Crosstrek

  • miles
The screen display with the oil temp gauge and water temp gauge will randomly turn off while driving as well as sometimes it will not turn on immediately when the car turns on. I have brought this to the dealers attention and nothing has been done, there has been no warning lights on the dash illuminated. This has been going on randomly for the last 6 months. Another issue is that when the bluetooth or carplay is inuse and there is a call in progress the digital speed display is blocked by a screen that says call in progress. This is very dangerous that the digital speed display is blocked when bluetooth or car play is used to make calls. This has many times resulted in me speeding as the speedometer on the car is marked well with tick marks for how big the arm is that tells you how fast you-€™re going. There is no reason subaru should block the digital speed display. The infotainment system powers off randomly, changes the radio station on its own, and changes the volume on its own. This started in 2019 when I got the car and the issue was observed by the dealer and the radio was replaced. However now that the radio was replaced in 2019 or 2020 the radio has been recently not turning on when the car is started, shutting off in the middle of the drive, and sometimes not even connecting to carplay to use navigation. Subaru won't help me anymore or even look at the car now for this concern without charging an insane diagnostic fee (which is wrong to charge for safety concerns)

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

problem #40

Dec 032022

Crosstrek

  • miles
Back rear window shattered on its own, but it shattered completely instead of like the windshield with it didn-€™t stay together it was shattered into 1 million pieces. All I did was close my front door.

- Berlin, MD, USA

problem #39

Jul 132022

Crosstrek

  • miles
On July 13,2022, while easing into a parking slot with foot on the pedal brake, with final stop and reaching to shift gear into parking mode, my 2019 Crosstrek engine suddenly accelerated and made the car surge forward. My brake pedal was on the floor with no response and the car continued to shoot pass the curb and sidewalk onto a vegetation embankment, heading towards the building and its glass door. I was terrified as the car did not respond to braking and tried to shift into neutral but the shift gear was struggling, until the car got stopped by the vegetation bank and continued to rev loudly, but then allowed me to shift into neutral. There was no warning of any sort when the phenomenon took place. When the tow truck arrived, tow personnel turned on the engine and tried the brakes pedal which went straight to the floor, with no pressure response. What was terrifying was the car engine suddenly accelerated forward and would not stop until the car was stopped by the dirt and vegetation. Without the vegetation, my car would have plowed into the building and the tall glass windows. The front of my car was damaged. It is now in a body shop. My car was bought brand new, has been serviced regularly by the dealership that I ordered it from. The last maintenance was March 2022, for a 24k service, with all in good operation. It currently has 25K miles. In the aftermath, I researched the web for info, and I found out that there is a current class action suit against Subaru for this type of sudden acceleration on several models of Subaru. This sudden acceleration is when cars are ready to park, with brake pedal applied, yet cars just accelerate. This is a life endangering car malfunction for drivers and other nearby drivers. Please help keep us all safe. Thank you for reviewing my report.

- San Diego, CA, USA

problem #38

Jan 182020

Crosstrek

  • miles
Windshield cracked while driving for no reason

- Gurnee, IL, USA

problem #37

Dec 012021

Crosstrek

  • miles
I was driving on an open road today and it was cold outside about 50 degree. There were no other cars around and I heard a loud boom noise on the roof of my car. I looked at my sunroof in the car and it was shattered. The Bubble from the explosion in the glass was sticking out from the car verses towards the car so I am aware it was not impacted by anything.

- Brookings , OR, USA

problem #36

Oct 162019

Crosstrek

  • miles
The windshield on my Subaru Crosstrek is incredibly weak and cracks upon the smallest impact. I have owned my vehicle for 2.5 years, and have driven it about 25,000 miles. In the vehicle that I owned prior (Lincoln LS), I never experienced any windshield cracking, and I was driving in the same region. I now have 6 cracks on my windshield, two of which have grown to be larger cracks (one going all the way across my dash, and the other stretching about 12 inches). The cracks and nicks are causing an issue with visibility in colder weather. My vehicle windshield does not defrost as quickly, and my windshield becomes foggy more often while driving.

- Des Moines, WA, USA

problem #35

Nov 012021

Crosstrek

  • miles
After driving for a few when I come to a stop or slow down to a lower gear and accelerate it starts to stall out and the lights dim a bit slightly. It does not do it on the highway or at higher rates of speed. I-€™ve checked battery, watched allot of the parameters on a diagnostic tool and didn-€™t see anything out of the ordinary or any codes even when almost stalling out in a intersection. It would have left me to oncoming traffic. It didn-€™t die but it was rattling rumbling and stalling. It-€™s like the transmission is trying to keep it at a super low gear to save gas? I checked for recalls and it states none. I just got this car and it has 40k miles and is still new. I love this car and feel super safe driving it. I traded my abarth for it and it was really hard to part but this car makes up for it. I-€™m calling the Subaru dealership and dealership I got it from. I-€™ve owned it less than a month.

- Belton, TX, USA

problem #34

Jul 222021

Crosstrek

  • miles
The vehicle of concern is a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV). In the past 2 to 3 months, we have had multiple warning lights come on when the vehicle is started. In some cases, we were able to clear the warning lights by turning the vehicle off and back on several times over the course of 30-40 minutes. The two most recent occurrences involved the vehicle having to be towed to the dealership as either the car would not shift out of Park or upon shifting out of Park, the parking brake would not release. The car was driven to the Burlington Subaru dealership in Burlington, VT about 5-6 weeks ago where they were unable to reproduce the problem or find any information logged in the vehicle's logs. Two weeks ago (8/19/21), the vehicle was towed to the dealership. The service department was able to log/see the errors (ABS, Check Engine, Eyesight System and Vehicle Dynamic Control) which were also logged in the MySubaru app. The dealership drove the vehicle almost 250 miles in attempts to diagnose the problem further. They upgraded the ECM software and they did not see the problem after that. I picked the vehicle up the morning of 8/30/21 and the problem recurred the evening of 8/30/21 resulting in the 2nd tow back to the dealership. The same errors as before were reported and seen by the dealership. On 9/1/21, I was informed by the service dept rep the problem was root caused to be a faulty electronic parking switch resulting in a drained battery. They are awaiting the new part which is in short supply in the US currently so no reliable ETA. The dealer would like to keep the car an additional couple of days after they receive the part to see if the problem is resolved. The car has approximately 23,000 miles on it currently.

- Essex Junction, VT, USA

problem #33

Jun 262021

Crosstrek

  • miles
2019 Subaru Crosstrek Left rear window ( driver-€™s side) window shattered without warning. There was a recall issued for this exact problem - but the time frame for the recall was narrow and my car was not included as it was just shy of the start date for the recall although manufactured in the same month. Subaru-€™s number for this recall is WUG-92. The child car seat was covered in glass and shards of glass were embedded throughout the car. The fact that the car was parked with no one in it does not lessen the reality that this would have been a tragic incident for the child and anyone in the car or near the car especially if we had been driving on a highway. Subaru has been contacted and took all the information. I am documenting this for a warning to other Crosstrek owners to be aware that this is known to happen without warning until Subaru notifies them of this potential danger. Hopefully the recall will be expanded to avoid harm and injury.

- Forest Hills, NY, USA

problem #32

Jun 252021

Crosstrek

  • miles
On June 25, 2021 we had driven from Seattle to Spokane, WA and stopped at the Sprague Lake Rest Stop. When we returned to our car and sat in the car for about 15 minutes our car failed to start. The temperature outside was about 100 degrees. After 3 attempts by fellow travelers Roadside Assist and a Tow Driver our car failed to start so it was towed to the Suburu dealer in Spokane Washington where a battery was replaced. The only reason that was given for the failure was that we sat in the car for a time before we started the car and the batter;y was drained because of the presence of the keys. Our batter has failed on 3 other occasions. Because we do occasional car trips we no longer feel safe in this car

- Seattle, WA, USA

problem #31

Feb 202012

Crosstrek

  • 16,856 miles
Windshield cracking. Was replace and cracked again.

- Chicora, PA, USA

problem #30

Mar 262021

Crosstrek

  • 17,500 miles
Windshield cracked in cold weather while warming up. Driver side sun visor fell off as I was driving as well.

- Port Jefferson, NY, USA

problem #29

Jan 172020

Crosstrek

  • 8,000 miles
After being parked outside in my drive way in Tahoe city during a snowy night, my windshield cracked in several places. I noticed the damage in the morning after removing the snow and turning on my vehicle. I have been reading online that this is a known issue but Subaru has not been recalling windshields. I confirmed with my Subaru service center that this issue is not under waranty.

- Oakland, CA, USA

problem #28

Jun 022020

Crosstrek

  • 7,000 miles
In June of 2020, my brand new 2019 Subaru Crosstrek caught fire while driving on the highway. The morning of the fire, it was confirmed via the app that all car systems were in check and no maintenance was required. While driving about 65mph, we could no longer accelerate. While pulling over, the dashboard lit up with icons. We then noticed smoke, then fire. This was about within a minute and a half times. The car remains burnt on the lot untouched and Subaru has yet to do anything about it 3 months later. If there is a recall, it was very unsafe for Subaru Crosstrek drivers to be on the road.

- South Euclid, OH, USA

problem #27

Jul 142019

Crosstrek 4-cyl

  • 30,000 miles
The auto lock function has mysteriously stopped working. Traditionally, auto lock will work as the car begins to roll right in reverse or drive. After startup in morning on my way to work, the auto locks mysteriously stopped engaging as they always had before. This problem has continued and now the auto-lock function does not work all together. The auto shop has looked at it with my local dealer and they cannot solve this issue.

- Avondale, AZ, USA

problem #26

May 312020

Crosstrek 4-cyl

  • 28,796 miles
I purchased this aftermarket device on amazon in May. Not only does this device not work but I am concern of the inherent dangers of this product. I spent a fair amount of time on the phone with Subaru of America who stated this type of device should not be used for both safety and warranty reasons. Subaru pointed this out to me in my owner's manual. We also discussed how this may be a safety issue for any vehicle as most vehicles warn against spending time near the exhaust. Keep in mind that this product, bestauto air jack exhaust 3 ton inflatable car jack off-road exhaust air jack 4X4' uses a black rubber cone placed over the exhaust of a running car to inflate the balloon/jack device. One would have to continuously hold this black cone over the exhaust to maintain the seal. This means one would have their nose and mouth near the exhaust. Both as a customer and healthcare provider, I have public safety concerns about this product. I made these concerns to both amazon and bestauto in writing, 'dear bestauto, as requested, I have attached a picture of this item. It does not work. I separately emailed you a video showing the same thing, that this product does not work. Additionally, the manufacturer of my vehicle, Subaru, stated nothing should be placed in the path of the exhaust. These are for safety reasons. I have also attached pictures of this. Thank you very much for your consideration.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #25

Oct 192019

Crosstrek 4-cyl

  • 7,600 miles
I purchased my 2019 Subaru Crosstrek hybrid on 5/31/19. I had the first incidence of the "all the warning lights come on" in October 9, 2019. As I was between towns in rural northern NY, and 75 miles from home this was scary. I pulled over, checked the oil and fluids (all were ok), and called the dealer. They said I could continue to drive the car and to bring it in the next day when I got home. So I continued to my next destination and shut off the car for about 2 hours during our haircuts. Then when I restarted the car the problem recurred. I drove part way home that way and we stopped at a restaurant for supper. When we resumed our trip after supper the warning lights were gone. I took the car to the dealer the next day, October 10. They could find no reason for the problem and it was not then occurring. Subsequently the problem recurred on 12/20, 12/21, and 12/22/19. And on 1/16/20 the headlights wouldn"T work! on February 12, 2020 the problem recurred on a trip out of town. I have visited the dealer four more times for this problem ? on 11/19/19, 12 /12/19, 12/20/19, and 1/2/20. During that time the service manager stated that there were multiple reports of similar problems on 2019 Crosstrek hybrids. He asked me, and I agreed, to be one of a dozen Crosstrek owners in the us to have monitoring hardware installed to read the electronic codes which resulted when the problem occurred. On February 12, 2020 the problem recurred. I contacted the dealer to let them know. On May 7th 2020, the problem recurred yet again. Barstow?S service department contacted me to arrange for another appointment scheduled for 6/8/20. The purpose was to update the electronic system with a ?fix" derived from the study in which I participated in Dec 2019-January 2020. The next day, June 9, I started the car and the problem recurred!

- Chase Mills, NY, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »