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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2020 Subaru Outback — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 899 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

899
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
19
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
7
Involved Fire
owner-reported
4
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.

2013 Subaru Outback

297 complaints

2014 Subaru Outback

208 complaints

2015 Subaru Outback

509 complaints

2016 Subaru Outback

642 complaints

2017 Subaru Outback

917 complaints

2018 Subaru Outback

813 complaints

2019 Subaru Outback AVOID

1,035 complaints

2020 Subaru Outback

899 complaints

2021 Subaru Outback

296 complaints

2022 Subaru Outback

464 complaints

2023 Subaru Outback

89 complaints

2024 Subaru Outback

2 complaints

2025 Subaru Outback

81 complaints

2026 Subaru Outback

0 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Visibility/wiper 313 reports
Electrical System 259 reports
Unknown Or Other 152 reports
Visibility 70 reports
Forward Collision Avoidance 49 reports
Engine 48 reports
Power Train 47 reports
Structure 21 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Exterior Lighting ODI 11445579 12/30/2021

The TomTom navigation system quits unexpectedly while driving and if the Adaptive Cruise Control is on it will stop working and the car will begin to slow down. The computer screen will go black and then a message will come on saying the Navigation System is starting. The system will then reboot. This has been reported to Subaru and Subaru tried to replicate the problem at …

Unknown Or Other ODI 11385553 12/30/2020

WINDSHIELD SPONTANEOUSLY CRACKED FOR NO APPARENT REASON. NO IMPACT, JUST CRACKED AS I WAS DRIVING OUT OF MY NEIGHBORHOOD (ABOUT 10MPH).

Visibility/wiper ODI 11385571 12/30/2020

THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED A ~12" CRACK VERTICAL CRACK IN THE WINDSHIELD. THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED AND STATIONARY WHEN THE WINDSHIELD CRACKED. NO KNOWN PEBBLE, ROCK, OR DEBRIS WAS KNOWN TO HAVE STUCK THE WINDSHIELD. THERE WAS A RELATIVELY LOUD "POP" SOUND AND THE CRACK APPEARED IN THE WINDSHIELD. THE CRACK EXTENDS FROM ABOUT HALFWAY UP THE WINDSHIELD DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE BLACK…

Visibility/wiper ODI 11385641 12/30/2020

WINDSHIELD CRACKED IN A RELATIVELY NEW (1-YEAR-OLD) VEHICLE. I DISCOVERED THE CRACK IN THE MORNING WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY. I BELIEVE IT WASN'T THERE YESTERDAY WHEN I LAST PARKED THE CAR.

Visibility/wiper ODI 11385686 12/30/2020

WINDSHIELD SPONTANEOUSLY CRACKED OVERNIGHT. NO MARKING OF ROCK OR ANY DAMAGE.

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2020 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 2020 Subaru Outback reliable?
Owners have filed 899 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2020 Subaru Outback, most often about visibility/wiper. 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.