10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 7,458 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.
This vehicle is a plug-in-hybrid. It should not be able to move while plugged in. Problem is attempting to move the vehicle when the charge cable is still attached and the vehicle is on an incline. Subaru does not display a warning message - instead it displays "check engine" and an ambiguous symbol (a red steering wheel). Subaru disables the power to wheels that would have enabled the driver to close the gap to the charging station. Instead the vehicle rolls away from the charging station, breaking power plug at the vehicle port. Even placing the car in Park does not prevent damage, the car will roll down hill until the Parking gear latches. I have now broken my power plug 3 times. I am a professional electrical engineer. This should not be able to happen Subaru should prevent the car from being able to move if the cable is still attached, and instead display a message that the cable is still attached. With the "check engine" message, I engaged my OBD diagnostics and it could not find a "check engine" flag. At this point, I put the car in gear, and even through Subaru disables power, the car then passively rolls down the driveway, breaking the cable at the power port. Instead of the ambiguous "red steering wheel" icon - Subaru needs to lock the car in Park and display a real message. When you finally turn the ignition off - Subaru displays a huge "Goodbye" message on the auxiliary display. I say finally because if you do restart the ignition with the cable attatched - you will not be able to turn off the ignition - only after exiting the vehicle, disconnecting the plug will you be able to turn off the vehicle. Not being able to turn off the ignition should not be permitted. Numerous errors in the control logic.
- Morgan Hill, CA, USA
Car is a Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid Car was connected to its electrical charge cable The connector is a type SAE J1772 When the connector is connected to the car, the ignition is supposed to be disabled, and the car is not supposed to be able to be removed from Park. Neither safety system was operable. When the car was moved, it broke the connector, exposing the bare pins. Hazard - potential exposure to electrocution or fire There is a small orange indicator on the display when the cable is connected. It should be RED, and it should inhibit the operation of the car.
- Morgan Hill, CA, USA
Battery drains quickly.
- Mcminnville, OR, USA
If car sits unused for 2 or 3 days, the battery will have slowly drained down to the point where the car won't start. It seems that the car's internal electronics drains the battery down, even if the car isn't being operated. Even if the car is being operated, the battery is only charged up to about half of a full charge which contributes to the battery drain problem. The dealer says that the car should be started up every day to keep this problem from occurring, but that doesn't seem reasonable, and is practical if the car needs to be parked a few days at the airport.
- Falls Church, VA, USA
My car wouldn't start after stopping to visit a friend. The friend watched under the hood when I pressed the start button. He saw sparks from under the hood. I had driven over 27 miles that day before this happened. The dealer said it was because I made too many short trips. They offered to install a battery charger which I don't feel should be necessary on a brand new car.
- Pocatello, ID, USA
We had a remote start installed by the dealership prior to accepting delivery of the car. Two days later, the car would not start. The car was completely unable to start. The Subaru dealership (sport Subaru South in orlando fl) sent a technician to repair the car, rather than towing it to a dealership and repairing it there. The technician confirmed the remote start was defective and rerouted the starting procedure. Since then, the car makes a horrible noise on cold starts. The car was taken in to have the rest of the remote start components removed, but they claimed to know nothing about the sound. We feel these remote starers are unsafe and likely damaging the vehicle's starter, and possibly other electrical components. We have video of the car not starting and the engine noise.
- Seffner, FL, USA
- Milton, DE, USA