LIVE Global accident monitoring — updating every 15 minutes
Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2018 Subaru Outback — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 813 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

813
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
27
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
4
Involved Fire
owner-reported
19
Injuries
across all reports
Years to Avoid

Subaru Outback — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

652 complaints

292 complaints

297 complaints

208 complaints

509 complaints

642 complaints

917 complaints

813 complaints

1,035 complaints

899 complaints

296 complaints

464 complaints

89 complaints

2 complaints

81 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Electrical System 267 reports
Visibility/wiper 234 reports
Unknown Or Other 160 reports
Fuel/propulsion System 43 reports
Visibility 41 reports
Engine 37 reports
Steering 35 reports
Vehicle Speed Control 21 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Seat Belts ODI 11708006 12/31/2025

This is a Base model automobile with manual seats. The right front passenger seat unlocked without warning during a quick deceleration. The seat slid forward on mounting rails and caused the front passenger to be squished between forward motion of seat and the seat belt. Lucky this was not a collision, but weight of seat moving forward & smashing passenger against seat …

Tires ODI 11633372 12/31/2024

P225 65/R17 Multiple Sensor leaks, false TPM readings, on/off TPM signals.

Electrical System ODI 11445752 12/31/2021

Battery continues to drain prematurely. It's been an issue since the very beginning of out ownership in June 2018. We replaced the battery after it would not hold a charge for more than two days. The replacement battery still wouldn't last for more than a day or two. Now in the cold weather it won't even last a day. Two days ago, I went in the grocery store for about 45 mi…

Visibility/wiper ODI 11292210 12/31/2019

WIFE WAS DRIVING AND A SMALL STONE HIT THE WINDSHIELD, LEAVING A SMALL CHIP IN THE GLASS. UPON TURNING ON THE DEFROSTER LATER, THE WINDSHIELD CRACKED.

Electrical System ODI 11499569 12/30/2022

The infotainment system freezes randomly causing screen to freeze including while backing up. This causes it to appear as though the back up camera is working when in reality it is not. Serious safety concern if cross traffic or children are not seen.

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2018 Subaru Outback, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

Check Another Car

Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2018 Subaru Outback reliable?
Owners have filed 813 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2018 Subaru Outback, most often about electrical system. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.
Which Subaru Outback years should I avoid?
The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.
Where do these complaints come from?
Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.
Do complaints mean a recall is coming?
Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.