2021 Subaru Crosstrek complaints

When I make a forward sharp right or left turn, the tires "shudder". It feels like they are skipping or I'm hitting little bumps in the road. Crown Subaru in Chattanooga, TN, told me the center differential was bad, so I would need to replace the transmission for $11,000. I took it to a mechanic for a second opinion who specializes in Subaru repair. They scoped it, fully checked the transmission, bearings...anything they thought it could be and could not find anything wrong with the transmission or bearings. Nothing that could be causing the shuddering. After visiting a few discussion sites, many Subaru owners have this problem and they are told many different things from their dealerships; all ranging from "it's normal on these models" to an exorbitant repair like a new transmission. Note: when Subaru told me I needed to change out the transmission, they did not say for sure that would fix the issue.

Windshield developed large crack starting on lower passenger side and moving along to lower center of windshield. No incident of a rock or other object hitting windshield. A cracked windshield is a safety concern. Car is going in to dealership to have glass replaced this week. Crack appeared June 2023.

When slowing down the vehicle almost down shifts causing it to lurch forward. Notified Subaru and took to 2 dealers which were all no help. Subaru of America did NOTHING to assist

The windshield was hit by a rock and within 12 hours, a 6" crack developed near the lower part of the windshield. Over the course of the next two weeks, the crack has continued across the entire lower area of the windshield. The windshield is due to be repaired within the next couple of days.

Check engine light. Code showing P2682 and P26a3. There is an issue with the Thermo Control Valve for the MY21 Crosstrek. This is also affecting the Forester and Outback. See this thread: https://www.subaruforester.org/threads/2019-thermo-control-valve-assembly-and-warranty-merged-thread.823510/ Subaru should replace and install the new part regardless if the vehicle is no longer under warranty if a customer TCV has issues. There are customers who have had to pay anywhere between $1500-$2000+ to have this fixed/replace by the Subaru dealer.

The sunroof exploded while driving causing glass to fall into the cabin onto the driver and passenger seats (while driving at highway speeds) and glass shards flew off the back of the car. The car has not been repaired as of yet. The Subaru dealership told me this has happened 4 times this year in my small town alone. I am currently working with insurance to get the glass replaced. The Subaru dealership put plastic over part of the sunroof to keep it from leaking water when it snows and rains. There were no warning lights, symptoms or messages prior to the incident.

Stone chip 2 within a week! 1st repaired next day.

The windshield cracked while the car was parked overnight in my attached, residential garage. The crack formed in front of the passenger seat, starting at the bottom edge of the windshield and running up about 6 inches. There were no chips or recent (as in several weeks) impacts to the windshield.

The engine part that seems to be the issue is the starter. The car has an auto cut off when stopped at lights and other times you stop the car. The car's engine is supposed to restart as soon as you take your foot off the brake. As the car's engine heats up, the car's engine does not start immediately after removing your foot from the brake. The issue becomes greater the longer the engine has been running. On longer drive times, the engine hesitates enough that it seems like it might not start. The dealer has replaced the original starter due to the same issue. The new starter is less than 3 months old and the problem is again happening. No warning lights or indications that the engine will not start immediately upon removing your foot from the brake. The greater amount of time for the engine to restart has made pulling out into traffic when there is a clearing to pull out has become a safety concern as the pause is enough at times to now make the gap no longer large enough to pull out safely.

Engine shut off at a stop sign and the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree with alarms sounding. Couldn’t get car restarted. Towed to Subaru dealer and they said there was a connector cable to the starter that was defective. Replaced at no cost.

We were driving on a major highway today and the sunroof of my Subaru Crosstrek randomly exploded with a loud bang. Glass shattered everywhere in the car, covering us passengers with shards. Thankfully no one was hurt and we were able to pull off safely and remove the shards from our clothing and seats, but I could easily see this situation causing significant harm if it were to happen again. I have photos and my vehicle is available for inspection. A simple google search reveals that there are tons of people with Subarus who have had the same experience with a randomly exploding sun roof. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the dealer or manufacturer but I am bringing it in ASAP. The car is 1 year old and there were no symptoms of the problem prior to failure.

I was driving my 2021 Subaru Crosstrek slowly in a parking lot when it unexpectedly accelerated on its own without me pressing the gas pedal. I believe the Crosstrek was now going 40mph. I tried to shut off the engine and brake at the same time but neither one had any effect. I thought maybe I had two options. Either hit another vehicle or pedestrian or turn my car into the curb. I decided to turn into the curb which resulted in the breaking of both axels, flattening all the tires, and sustaining damage to the front fender and headlight. The car was then towed to a garage we’re it was declared totaled. I checked the internet to see if this had occurred to any other Crosstrek. It turns out their is a class action suit pending for the same reason. Police records will show I was not drunk, sleeping, and the car mat was off gas pedal.12

Bought the car last week and I got a crack on the windshield from a small rock. I did an insurance claim that I have an appt for next Wednesday and while driving to work another pebble hit the windshield. So the first crack has not even been fix and I got another one. In my years of driving I have never had this issue.

Spontaneous windshield crack. No impact or apparent cause. Available for inspection. Based on online research and your database, this is a common occurrence. Reporting to Subaru dealer has been initiated.

My brand new Subaru ignited in the engine compartment, burst into flames and exploded while I was driving it.

In the winter of 2021-22, while parallel parking, backing up, then pressing the brake, my Crosstrek spontaneously accelerated in reverse and rammed into the truck already parked behind me. The Crosstrek paused, then rammed again, as I pressed harder on the brake. I put the car into “park” and turned off the engine. I was baffled and had no explanation for what happened. Thank goodness a person wasn’t between my Crosstrek and the truck. More recently, on October 4, 2022, I was at the post office mailbox drop-off. My Crosstrek was stopped with my foot on the brake. Some mail had fallen out of the overstuffed mailbox, I opened my door, set my foot outside, leaned over to pick up the mail, and my Crosstrek spontaneously accelerated forward. My car door hit the cement pylon and closed on my leg. The car lurched forward again, then stopped, and I was able to open the door. My leg was broken with a compound fracture and my foot was nearly ripped off. I called for help, 911 was dispatched, and I was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.

The windshield broke there are no signs of breaking by a rock or any external element, there is a crack coming from the de-icer region, it was a small crack but now it covers all the side from the passenger side.

Sunroof exploded outward, the majority of the glass was blown away. The sunshade was open. The temperature was 56 degrees. I was traveling north on I 15 in Davis Couty, Utah. I was not injured, there were no other occupants. I drove to Subaru dealer, they said they have seen this before, only one case. It was inspected by service dealer and deemed safe to drive with sunshade closed. There were no warnings, the sunroof is used infrequently. There were no other objects on the roof.

Windshield is very fragile. (I think it cracks when a flower petal falls on it...) But seriously, I have about 20 chips in my windshield and have not had any significant boulders or trucks with rocks that have hit my windshield. It appears to be from every day urban commute, which is unusual. I have never had a car that I have had to replace the windshield in due to fragility. Also, the windshield seal has come completely off at the base near the hood.

The front window was hit by chips seal pebbles from the car in front of us and chipped the window, twice. It was repaired with standard window chip repair.

Had intermittent total loss of power for about 1/2 of a mile.

The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that the battery was drained quickly, causing the battery to need frequent recharging. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the replacement was not covered under warranty. The failure mileage was 1,300.

The bluetooth system is not functioning properly. When a call is in progress, the bluetooth will indicate that no phone is connected and prompt the driver to connect the phone. In the meantime, the call is still active and the person on the other end hears the radio playing but the driver cannot hear the other person. The call will then reconnect for a few seconds before repeating this process. It will continue until the call is ended. While this might be considered an inconvenience, I believe it is a genuine safety issue as this problem takes the drivers eyes off the road and has them answering prompts on a visual screen and is a general distraction. Subaru is aware of the problem and has refused to take action to correct it. The incident is ongoing. As a result the hands-free phone option is unavailable.

Windshield seems pretty fragile after being hit by a little gravel pebble due to construction work at the highway the crack extended in less than 24 hours to 12 inches. This is very concerning since it’s pretty weird to a chip to develop as bad as this one.

The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving approximately 70 MPH, the sunroof exploded without impact. The contact stated that the majority of the shattered glass blew up and out of the vehicle. The dealer was contacted and informed of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.

Windshield cracked on driver side window for no reason - heard pop and looked at windshield and crack appeared. Contacted Eckbond who is subarus third party warranty for repairs, and they stated they can only reimburse me up to $500. Attempted to contact third party windshield repairs and they states it should be taken to subaru since there is no cause for crack. Contacted subaru and explained occurence and it will cost me $1800 for replacement even though, there was no reason for crack.

Subaru Pre-collision braking activates when no danger present. It detects exhaust steam or smoke as an obstacle. Approximately February 25th of 2021: While acceleration from a stop light in winter, Eyesight falsely detected the exhaust of the car in front of me as a danger and slammed on the brakes to a full stop causing the car behind me to bump into me. Thankfully this driver was paying attention and no damage was caused. This function overrode my foot being on the accelerator. Late Spring of 2021: While using cruise control on the highway, 70+mph, a diesel truck accelerated to merge. The eyesight again detected the exhaust as a hazard and slammed on the brakes causing the drivers behind me to take evasive actions and put them at risk for no reason. During both incidents, the collision warning lights fully activated. I spoke to the dealership about these incidents and was told to turn off the pre-collision system on cold days and watch out for diesel exhaust.

Windshield chips easily. I have owned this car from new (approximately 18 months). The windshield has picked up 7 chips in that time: more than the total of chips I've had in my 29 years of driving. Only one of the chips had a notable sound that accompanied it's creation, and that was from the impact of a large insect while driving on I-77. This windshield seems to be easily damaged, if not fragile, and gives me concern about the potential for injury if it was faced with any substantial impact. I'm also concerned about the high replacement costs for the windshield and required Eyesight re-calibration. If I had known the windshields where so susceptible to damage, I would not have picked a Subaru.

Walmart sent me email that CYBEX Sirona M with SensorSafe 2.0 Infant Car Seat - Pepper Black UPC 72892545336 was recalled

The automatic braking system engaged at highway speed while changing lanes with no other vehicle or object in front of the vehicle. I was accelerating to change lanes when the sensor started beeping and the car slammed on the brakes causing a sliding skid. I was able to maintain control and fortunately there was no one behind me. I believe the eyesight control malfunctioned. I do not believe this is a safe feature as it not only puts my safety at risk but also the safety of anyone on the road around me.

DRIVE TRAIN, TRANSMISSION ISSUE. CAR WAS RUNNING, IN PARK. I GOT OUT TO PICK UP A FLYER FROM YARD. CAR ACCELERATED AND DROVE THROUGH GARAGE DOOR, AND CRASHED INTO THE BACK WALL OF GARAGE. NO ONE HAS INSPECTED THE CAR, AS IT HAPPENED LATE YESTERDAY. WILL CONTACT DEALERSHIP TODAY. NO SYMPTOMS PRIOR.

Transmission was about to fail. Car started making noise at low speeds in drive and reverse about 2-3 weeks ago, so I brought it in and mentioned the noise to the service advisor. There were no warning lights, messages on the dash indicating a problem. Confirmed by a Subaru dealer as needing to be fully replaced.

I bought this car January 2021. In June 2021, the smallest pebble cracked my windshield while I was driving on the freeway. Yesterday, 3/28/22, I was driving home from work like usual and my sunroof spontaneously exploded and completely shattered. Yep, you read that right. Don’t believe me? Search up: Subaru exploded sunroof on Google. Thank god I had the sunroof shade closed or else the glass would’ve fallen all over me. I suffer from trauma caused by a past car accident where I was in the passenger and do not take broken glass lightly which is why I chose Subaru to be my first car that I bought. I came home shaking and found out that other subaru owners experienced the same phenomenon after doing some research. However, Subaru does not want to take responsibility for this. You’re telling me that I don’t have to be in an actual accident in order to be harmed by my car that I was promised was not just one but THE TOP reliable and safest car in the industry?

I bought a 2021 Subaru Crosstrek in August 2021 and noticed that the hood has been very difficult to get open and closed. I brought it to the dealership and they did not do a thing about it. When I would try to pop the hood it wouldn't pop up at all and when I would get on the road it would come undone on it's own. It never came flying up over the windshield impairing my vision so the secondary safety latch was working properly but the fact that the Subaru dealership said nothing was wrong with it was concerning. A separate mechanic not related to Subaru looked at it and adjusted something under the hood so that it is easier to get open and doesn't do this anymore but I still want to report it because I believe that it is a safety issue others could be facing with this vehicle. Closing the hood without slamming it down and getting it to lock down into place is still difficult. No Police were involved in looking into this issue. The only warning light that I had was when the hood opened while I drove on a high speed roadway and it was to notify me that the hood has opened, but as I stated previously the secondary latch worked properly but if it hadn't it would have definitely impaired my vision and could have caused an accident. Thank you for your time.

I just leased a new '21 Crosstrek Limited. With only 90 miles on the car, while driving on the highway using the adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist, the vehicle started aggressively jerking over towards semi trucks (while going 70mph)- I had to give significant input to not be pulled into a semi truck. I turned off the feature then turned back on. Again, it was hard jerking only towards semi trucks. Drove back to the dealership. Their mechanic took for a drive and said the exact same thing, that it was "sketchy" and jerking towards semi trucks. It was suggested I bring back if the "condition persists" which would mean risking a fatal collision with a semi. I contacted the GM of the dealership and explained what was happening and he said to being back again and they'd get a field tech from Subaru to test. Their service manager test drove and noted the same thing, as did the field tech. "Severely pulls to the right as trucks pass. Test drive vehicle and found that when using lane centering, vehicle is quite jerky and pushes towards centerline, especially when larger vehicles like a semi trailer is present. Recommended calibrating eyesight camera and test driving again". They calibrated the Eyesight and I picked back up. Drove back on the highway and turned on LKA, this time the steering was completely taken over and jerking all over the lane and flashing telling me to keep hands on the wheel when both hands were very tight on the wheel. It's continued to jerk all over

The main battery drained completely while parked, once when left overnight, and once while on an errand for 30 minutes only. AAA jump-started car first time and Subaru Roadside Assistance the second. First incident was mid January 2022 when the new car had been in my possession for only 5 weeks (Dec 3 2021). Second incident happened one month later on February 5 2022. Subaru had no explanations other than I might have left doors open. In the second occurrence that was most definitely NOT true as I am now extra careful to turn everything electrical off and check all doors are fully closed. Being stranded alone on the roadside is not something I am in any way comfortable with.

The battery dies completely, seemingly under colder conditions. In the first case it was after 6 days of not turning the car on, however the next time it happened after only a day and a half of not turning on the vehicle. The vehicle is only a few months old so the battery or other cause of the dead battery (eg alternator) are only a few months in use.

The windshield has cracked on the passenger side. It has not put anyone at risk however, this seems to be an issue with many Subaru owners yet Subaru has not done anything about this issue. The vehicle has yet to be inspected.

When I bought the car last year I had it for less than 2 months before my windshield cracked from a rock while we were on the highway. I get this happens so I didn’t think anything of it until I saw how many other people have also had their windshield crack shortly after buying the car. Since I’ve gotten it replaced almost a year ago I haven’t had any issues.

The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, while downshifting gears the vehicle failed to accelerate. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact stated he continued experiencing the failure. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Problem 1)Had my '21 Sport for 7 days. Started stalling few times when shifting from P to R while on a slight incline (dash lights up like in Acc mode) after driving it for about 30 min before and then turning it off to go inside of the store, etc. after about 2-5 minutes of idling, the car engine stopped like I was in auto stop, but didn’t kick back on when I shift gears to reverse or when I applied gas. But then I hit the on/off button and engine turns over just fine. Problem 2) But today it started making a whirring sound with difficulty accelerating & quick decelerating/speed drop off upon release of gas, even when going down a big hill. It felt like resistance and pulling feeling almost? Like how a car feels when It doesn’t want to shift. Also felt a little jittery the longer I drove & loud clunk shifting gears. Got louder when I would press on the gas more. It continued even after starting the car again when leaving my location. It wasn’t doing it before yesterday, and then while positioning the car for the tow truck. But the back up cam started going crazy at me like I was about to hit something??? But nothing was there. Then eyesight was “disabled, check manual” a couple times today upon starting it. But no codes thrown thrown outside of the eyesight thing. I’ve seen a transmission issues and stalling and ECU issues with the 2018 & 2019 but quite a few people on Facebook and Reddit similar issues in '21. Dealer found no codes and couldn't recreate it so they told me t

Front windshield spontaneously cracked, originating from the frame.

I have been experiencing shuddering/jerking/hesitation in my vehicle since July. The dealership has had it in their service department several times and cannot diagnose the issue. Subaru of America was contacted and gave no resolution to repairing the vehicle. They did not inspect the vehicle, rather gathered the "data" from the dealership. The shuddering/jerking/hesitation happens from a start to stop position and is incredibly dangerous when pulling out into traffic or crossing over lanes in a left hand turn. This malfunction can cause a collision and is a huge safety concern of mine. I do not feel comfortable putting my life at risk driving this vehicle. The dealership has only tested the CVT transmission and ran "data" and cannot seem to tell me what is wrong with the vehicle, though there is clearly an issue, whether it is the CVT transmission or another component of the vehicle. I see several similar complaints on the NHTSA website for the Crosstrek dating back to 2015. I am confused as to why the manufacturer is not being held responsible for a defect that is so dangerous. Is it going to take someone getting seriously injured or a death before this is investigated? I encourage other Crosstrek owners to come forward and report similar issues you are having to NHTSA.

Windshield is cracked from a very small pebble. We were driving down the highway and all of the sudden there was a small crack appear, you couldnt even hear the impact. The glass seems very fragile on these cars.

I’ve owned the vehicle for three weeks and have had three separate incidents with chips in the windshield. Had it repaired today. First chip the first week I had it and one Sept 12 another September 14th.

Among a few other headaches, the windshield cracked on the highway with only 2300 miles on the odometer. This 7 inch crack appeared after a 300 mile road trip. I recall hearing a small thud on the windshield with no immediate cause for concern. After driving another 10 miles, the crack has grown an additional 2 inches.

In the first 200 miles of ownership, the paint began chipping off of the hood, fenders and front bumper. After 2000 highway miles, there are more chips down to bare metal/plastic than I can count.

Under NORMAL driving conditions, a speckle piece of rock, smaller than the size of a pebble lightly blew upon the driver-side windshield. As a result of this, a chip windshield glass developed that began to grow rapidly. I immediately had to park the vehicle and call Safelite to do the chip repair. Never in my 51 years of driving have I ever seen anything like this!!!! Subaru has a DEFLECTIVE WINDSHIELD being used on their 2021 Crosstrek and possibly other models!!! Immediate ACTION is needed for the PUBLIC SAFETY of this defect. This should not be allowed to be sold with this manufacture deflect.

I was crossing two lanes of a very busy ocean front street when the engine “bogged down” . I let off on the gas pedal and then depressed it again, which then caused the engine to go off. I the quickly restarted the engine and was able to get out of the way of oncoming traffic. This was the only time the engine failed, but on about three or four previous times, the engine “bogged down” when I depressed the gas pedal, but recovered after I quickly depressed the pedal again.

The windshield cracked while going over railroad tracks. Spiderweb cracks that are small to see unless driving into the sun and then they are visible all over the windshield.