10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
29,760 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 2017 Subaru Outback:

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

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #180

May 162018

Outback

  • miles
My battery has died seven times. I have received three battery replacements. Never a full solution. Windshield wipers never work properly either, despite changing brands.

- Henderson, NV, USA

problem #179

Sep 242021

Outback

  • miles
Windshield just started cracking across from drivers side to center. Windshield would craxk further just sitting in garage overnight. Looks like a river running across Windshield. No apparent rock or chips as cause.

- Beech Mountain , NC, USA

problem #178

Jan 142020

Outback

  • miles
The windshield cracked while driving on the freeway in the winter. I had been driving for approximately half an hour when the front windshield cracked from the rearview mirror location downward. I didn't notice a rock or other object hitting the windshield that would have initiated the crack. The crack has continued to spread since then and is to the point where I am having to replace my windshield.

- Boise, ID, USA

problem #177

Mar 012021

Outback

  • miles
Windshield chipped very easily due to small rock. In cold weather, the chip spread across into a whole crack. Safelite has stated that the windshield needs replacing.

- Hopkins, MN, USA

problem #176

Aug 182021

Outback

  • miles
Upon getting in the car parked in the garage, noticed two cracks symmetrically coming from the base of the center of the windshield extending up about 6 inches. These cracks were not there upon parking in the garage the previous night. These cracks within a day kept moving upward and outward in a curvy symmetrical pattern and are slowly moving since. Upon investigation with a flashlight there is a tiny pin size chip under the wiper that should never have caused such dramatic cracking.

- Hudson Oaks, TX, USA

problem #175

Aug 262021

Outback

  • miles
Windshield cracked out of the blue. Very large crack.

- Collegeville, PA, USA

problem #174

Aug 142021

Outback

  • miles
The windshield cracked for no reason while sitting in a Novi, Michigan parking lot on 8/14/2021. The temperature was in the low 80s. No precipitation. This is the second time this has happen on this vehicle. This will be our third windshield since buying the car in 2017.

- Saline, MI, USA

problem #173

Jul 182021

Outback

  • miles
In October of 2020, I awoke to find that my 2017 Subaru Outback's windshield had cracked during the night. I assumed it might have been struck while I was driving the previous day and then it subsequently cracked as temperatures dropped. A Subaru-recommended company replaced the windshield with an OEM windshield. However, on July 18 of 2021, the windshield cracked again. Thus, not even a year passed before the windshield cracked a second time. Once again, I assumed the windshield might have been struck while driving. After getting a quote on replacing the windshield a second time, the crack spread an additional 12" after the vehicle was parked outside for 4 hours. This time, I photographed the crack. The windshield is scheduled to be replaced on 7/27 so it will not be available for inspection after that date. My concern is that the windshields on this vehicle crack VERY easily in response to impacts that I didn't even notice. The cracks then spread very easily. These cracks obstruct drivers' visibility, which presents a safety risk. Replacing the windshields is very expensive because of the safety features require calibration.

- Columbia, MO, USA

problem #172

Jul 192021

Outback

  • miles
My wife contacted me thru text this morning (Monday the 19th, 2021) asking if I remember seeing the windshield cracked (starting on the passanger side) on Saturday, as thats the last time the vehicle was driven. She had just got in the vehicle to go to work, when she saw it. I told her no and couldn't figure out how it even happened as there is no damage of any sort that would of caused it. Where it started to crack, its not just cracked but deeply separated about half the length of the damage. To the point your fingernail can fit in easily. It craked a bit further later in the day.

- Puyallup, WA, USA

problem #171

Jul 142021

Outback

  • miles
The windshield randomly cracked while parked in a parking lot. The crack propagated over half of the windshield over the course of the day. From the pictures you can see there are no starbursts or evidence of road debris initiating a crack. There are active lawsuits over the weakness of the OEM windshield on Subaru Outback-??s. I have not had this inspected by a Subaru dealership.

- New Orleans , LA, USA

problem #170

Jul 082021

Outback

  • miles
I have noticed a crack on the lower corner of the windshield on the driver side. The crack goes from one side to across the bottom of the window, with no evidence of an impact point.

- Rochester , MN, USA

problem #169

May 142021

Outback

  • 92,300 miles
Safety risk: Windshield- 05/14/21 exited my home and went to my vehicle that had not moved at all that day or the night prior. I noticed a large crack on my windshield that I had never noticed before. No sign of this crack prior to 5/14/21.

- Puyallup, WA, USA

problem #168

May 112021

Outback

  • 45,500 miles
Walked out of staters bros and the windshield cracked from the very bottom center and traveled up 10 inches and over to drivers side 16 inches.up on its own while I was in the store. No crack prior to leaving my vehicle 25 minutes earlier.

- Post Falls, ID, USA

problem #167

May 012021

Outback

  • 40,000 miles
Windshield cracked spontaneously. Am aware there have been numerous complaints if similar problems on year and model, 2017 Subaru Outback. Vehicle is garaged and I've noted crack is "growing." Local dealer claims to be unaware of a broader issue involving many other vehicle owners describing same problem.

- Montclair, NJ, USA

problem #166

May 072021

Outback

  • 23,100 miles
This Subaru Outback windshield cracked for almost no reason. We bought the vehicle 2/28/21 with 19700 miles. While driving from 4-5pm on 5/7 I did not notice any audible rock hits or impacts on the windshield. We were receiving rain in Michigan and the temperature was dropping quickly. I parked the vehicle at 5pm, and there were no cracks in the windshield at that point. When I went to drive the vehicle at 11pm that night, I noticed what I thought was debris on the windshield (I parked under a tree), but I didn't realize this was a crack developing. I drove it from 11-11:45. When I parked the vehicle at almost midnight on 5/7 I didn't realize this crack was getting larger. On 5/8, I went to use the vehicle at about noon, and the crack was now 10-12" long and within the drivers line of sight. I called Subaru since the vehicle only has 23,000 miles, and they said to call my insurance. Now I have to pay for a windshield on a nearly new vehicle from a crack that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Most of the driving was on a clean and new freeway, no dirt roads. In the second photo you can see what is maybe a very small rock chip, but I have numerous similar chips on two other vehicles that have not developed into a crack, especially so quickly. I think this is a defective windshield on this new Subaru. I believe this should be replaced under warranty.

- Warren, MI, USA

problem #165

May 012021

Outback

  • 73,000 miles
I have had three sizable cracks in my windshield since 2017, with the most recent fairly large which will probably cause me to have to replace the entire windshield. The other two cracks have been repaired at my expense. The vehicle was in motion in all cases, but there was no discernible danger ( ie. Following a truck). They all occurred on two lane roads traveling at or under the speed limit.

- Rockwell, NC, USA

problem #164

Apr 052021

Outback

  • miles
My windshield cracked on the inside of the window without any force applied on a moderate temperature day without ac or heat blowing. I was driving down a straight well-maintained road when it happened and heard the pop of the windshield. Approx speed was 20mph with no street bumps and again on a very calm day as far as temperature. Also, no equipment or people around who could have seemed to 'tossed' anything at the windshield. The crack is on the interior layer of the windsheild and not the outter. Also, I have had 2 instances now where my car has completely died without any items being left on to drain the battery. First time was after the car had been off only a hour or so and completely dead. I repleaced the battery and at that point the car was only 2 years old. The second time the battery and systems tested all fine but it was so dead, power locks wouldnt work with the key fob.

- Oregon City, OR, USA

problem #163

Oct 292020

Outback

  • 26,000 miles
The first time, I was driving and heard a rock hit the windshield, I watched the crack spread across the windshield just as fast as it happened. After that incident, it seemed each rock that hit my windshield turned into a full-length crack.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #162

Sep 082020

Outback

  • 39,380 miles
I bought the car 25 June 2020 and 3 days into it I got a chip going theu an automated car wash I called safelite and the ins company and they replaced the windshield and out of nowhere I get a crack coming up from bottom of windshield on drivers side going up to wiper area the car sat for 2 days in my driveway while I drove my other vehicle prior to this Florida heat is brutal I believe this is a faulty windshield you cant see it well unless your in driver seat or cleaning windshield ad I am ocd

- Spring Hill, FL, USA

problem #161

Mar 182021

Outback

  • 36,000 miles
A minor rock hit on highway causes windshield crack from from bottom near wipers all the way to the middle of screen.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »