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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2021 Subaru Outback — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 296 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

296
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
9
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
1
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.

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

0 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Visibility/wiper 97 reports
Electrical System 75 reports
Unknown Or Other 65 reports
Forward Collision Avoidance 29 reports
Engine 21 reports
Vehicle Speed Control 19 reports
Air Bags 16 reports
Power Train 12 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Unknown Or Other ODI 11562714 12/30/2023

I have had 3 windshields crack spontaneously during normal use in the past year. Each incident was repaired by a certified repair shop and at time the damage was noticed, no chips, signs of damage, or impacts were noted. The crack appeared to be internal and was not able to be felt from outside or within. In each incident the crack began near the edge of the glass and spread a…

Visibility/wiper ODI 11562467 12/28/2023

Windshield randomly developed a crack for no apparent reason. No rocks flying in, no extreme conditions, we were in 40-60 degrees temperatures in California on normal freeways and streets, not in any off-road conditions.

Structure ODI 11445254 12/28/2021

Passenger lower side windshield cracked while driving, it started as a tiny crack but the next morning the crack line was 16 inches long. I contacted Subaru because the car is under warranty but they said they will not cover it. The whole windshield had to be replaced.

Vehicle Speed Control ODI 11632599 12/27/2024

The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving 60-75 MPH, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving downhill with adaptive cruise mode activated. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times while driving. The dealer and the man…

Visibility/wiper ODI 11444988 12/26/2021

Fragile windshield. I’m just under a year of ownership and I replaced the windshield twice so far so I’m on my third one. First time was about a month in, no visible strike mark. Started on the Driver side halfway up and spread daily horizontally towards the passenger side and within a day or two was half the windshield. Second one was nine or 10 months out. Tiny strike basica…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2021 Subaru Outback, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

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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 2021 Subaru Outback reliable?
Owners have filed 296 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2021 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.