Driving on a rural road with no traffic in front of us, the Windshield cracked about 10 inches right in our line of sight. I am a retired aircraft mechanic and home auto mechanic, so I have some experience with this. I suspect that the black heating strip around the SMART windshield is the malfunctioning component. The windshield is too thin for this design flaw. Drove the 8 month old 8K mile new car to the dealership, who informed us that their mechanic would tell us whether or not a rock chip caused the crack.
2022 Subaru Outback complaints
Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2022 record →
My 2022 Outback Limited with 4000 miles had a large spontaneous crack form in the bottom of the windshield. Without provocation by the impact of any stone or road bump or other apparent cause, the crack abruptly originated under the lower moulding near the center bottom between driver and passenger side, while at a stop light on a residential street near our home. The crack rapidly lengthened vertically about 4 inches then turned 90 degrees toward passenger side and proceeded to further rapidly lengthen by about a foot before diving vertically back down to the bottom moulding on the passenger side. I called Subaru of America and was told it would likely be a watranty repair but that I needed to take the vehicle to my local Subaru dealer for inspection and documentation of the failure. I took the vehicle immediately to the dealer where they took pictures and wrote up a fully detailed report for Subaru of America (SOA). Now it is 3 days later and I am still awaiting a call from SOA, and I am unable (unwilling actually) to drive the car because of my concern for my family’s safety in case of the windshield failing additionally while driving.
Windshield cracked on its own from bottom half edge on passengers side and approximately 14” long. Was in the driveway at my child’s daycare, went up to the door, and in that time, the windshield spontaneously cracked. Daycare checked cameras and no branch or object struck the windshield. The crack is in my line of sight part of the time, is extremely noticeable, and at times is an obstruction of view. Also, if something were to actually impact the windshield, I wouldn’t have much for protection but clearly the windshield was not much for protection to begin with. Dealership says it must’ve been a chip but i had just washed my car including the windows and I notice everything and document everything since this is my first purchase of a brand new car. There was no visible chip. I don’t go off-roading or anything of the sort. I 100% believe this is a defect that has been ongoing for Subaru. Dealer gave me a business card to a repair place. Contacted Subaru and they give me a $500 certificate to use towards a windshield replacement at a dealership BUT the dealership will not replace the windshield, most likely because this has been an ongoing issue with Subaru and if the new windshield is not installed by a Subaru dealer, it’s not covered under warranty. So, essentially I got a useless gift certificate. There should have been some sort of disclosure or better yet, some accountability for the poor quality and safety hazard the windshield presents.
Windshield spontaneously cracked with no impact from foreign object.
In 3 months of owning this vehicle, the Auto Emergency Braking (AEB) system has spontaneously triggered with no cause at least a handful of times (multiple incidents). I am driving with no danger or risk of collision and the vehicle will slam on the brakes and make horrible noises. Not only is this incredibly frustrating, but in an urban driving environment, it is incredibly dangerous.
My 2022 Subaru Outback is 9 month old with only 9432 miles. On 3/31/2022 the windshield suffered the spontaneous windshield breakage problem that Subaru's suffer from. The windshield cracked from the lower left corner of the glass (looking from the front of the car to the windshield). There was nothing that hit the glass. There is no marks on it other than the crack that starts from the lower left edge. The classic Subaru windshield failure issue.
Windshield cracked out of no where. I’ve only had this car 1 day and it’s brand new.
This is on my 2022 Subaru Outback Touring XT around 5500+ miles on my brand car the windshield cracked from the bottom center to the middle straight up. I bought this car in Nov 2021 and this car is always garaged and maintained well. After this incident, we are hesitant to drive hence didn't take the car out for a drive and I see the crack started to expand little by little; which is of more concern for me as this is our family car.
No warning. At about 943 miles on my brand new 2022 Subaru Outback Limited XT the Windshield cracked from bottom center to the middle straight up approximately1 foot. After sitting in the driveway, not being driven at all, it has cracked more, from the center to each side, approximately 2 feet. Now it's a huge "T" crack.
I purchased a brand new 2022 subaru outback. Drove for 2 weeks. Absolutely nothing but raindrops have hit this windshield and a crack began to form at the edge of the windshield and slowly grow across the entire windshield over the course of 2 days. It's right in my eye-line. I went online to see what might be happening and am seeing tons of threads on various sites about this exact problem. I do not feel its fair to pay my full $1000 deductible for damage which I believe is related to a manufacturing or corporate issue. I believe this year needs to be included in the existing recall that I am seeing for similar models.
I bought the car in August and on September 15, the windshield cracked. No flying stones or other debris from the road. No noise aside from the sound of the glass cracking. I had it replaced using my insurance, but thought it should be reported for complaint trending purposes.
Found the windshield cracked starting in the middle of the ream on the passenger side. I did not feel any impact point when running my finger on the crack line. Subaru dealer already replaced the OEM windshield for me. I am filling the complaint because I think this is still a quality issue with Subaru not only on the models before 2020 but also on models in 2022. If it is still the quality issue, it will affect to the safety of the driver.
A tiny rock hit my window within the first 2,000 milesand created a 8in crack, with in 6 hours it head spread to over a foot long. Subaru is known for having windshield issues.
Have had two instances of damaged windshields in a total of eight months of ownership. First incident was a cracked windshield that occurred overnight and required a full replacement that cost over $1000. The second was a minor rock hit that required repair at $155, and is still very visible post-repair by Safelite, most likely require replacement.
Front windshield had to be replaced the same day it was driven off the lot. 2 weeks after replacement the windshield cracked again. Dealership and safe lite both claim it’s not their problem. Insurance stated if I continue getting the windshield replaced after every break then they are going to keep raise my rates because of frequently claiming issues. I paid almost $50,000 for this vehicle which requires 4hrs for replacement and programming because of the front facing cameras it requires for safe driving. 4 hrs …IF …no one else is already scheduled so I’m recommended to leave the car over night but no loaner vehicles will be provided. The additional film required to protect the exterior of the windshield is 300% more expensive than the windshield itself. Now every month I have to replace my windshield due to breaking and the obligatory film I and up paying approximately $500 per instance AND pay an insurance rate increase. How is this fair or legal? My car payment is already $750 per month. Monthly repairs for ONLY the windshield are equaling 80% of my already monthly expenses before any other costs. How is this fair or legal? Is there any open lawsuits I can join or any other options?
Purchased a 2022 Subaru Outback in late October 2021. Have been driving regularly and noticed a crack in the windshield extending from the passenger side windshield edge to the center of the windshield. No impact chip is visible, or by touch. No known rock or debris impact while driving. Have been very careful with my new car and am extremely disappointed.
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that whenever the weather was below 15 degrees, the vehicle would fail to start up as needed. There were several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and the contact was informed that an unknown sensor needed to be replaced however, the part was not available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 9,000.
Cracked windshield causing visibility issues. Does not appear related to damage.
Within approximately 1 month of purchasing my windshield cracked for no apparent reason. Nothing that I am aware of hit it. It was parked in an area with no tree's or rocks for less than 20 minutes and when I went back to it I saw the crack. The crack starts from the bottom of the windshield (deicer) and goes up to almost half the windshield.
Witnessed spontaneous crack in windshield while stationary without being hot or impacted by any object. Found numerous similar reports of the same spontaneous windshield cracking complaints on various Subaru enthusiasts web pages and blogs.
We have a Brand New 2022 Subaru Outback premium We parked it in our indoor garage for 1 week. We left no lights on, etc. We came back and could not start the car. The dashboard lit up, a lot of flashing icons, the radio and lights came on. We called service they charged battery fully, we drove car for over an hour. Parked in garage. Today, next morning, same thing Had it towed to local dealer. They said would replace battery, no charge (of course) I checked on line and saw an article about this issue affecting Many Subaru owners, that Subaru is well aware, and has not solved the issue. So people have to replace battery fairly often. I can not rely on this car. I am going to join the Class Action Lawsuit now.
My front windshield cracked within the first month of ownership. Thankfully I purchased the windshield repair warranty program that includes about five Replacements without extra cost. About a month after I replaced the windshield it cracked again. If this continues regularly I plan on taking this to small claims court
A very short time, only weeks after new purchase, a very small rock impact resulted in large crack across entire windshield. Replaced with very costly genuine branded Subaru Replacement Part. 6 Months into the new windshield, while parked and without any impact, crack formed from the edge to the center of the windshield.
While driving at approximately 55 miles per hour, a crack suddenly occurred in the lower passenger side of the front windshield. The crack extended to approximately 20 inches. There was no vehicle in front of the Subaru - no object struck the windshield. The failure mileage was 1100. When taken to the dealership, Subaru determined that the windshield was broken by "outer influences." When taken in to the Subaru dealership for repair, the new windshield had received "some shipping damage" and the repair had to be rescheduled.
While parked and without any impact a Crack formed from the edge to the center of the windshield. There was no impact While driving previously and to this point there is still no impact damage, just a smooth crack accross half the windshield.
Battery completely died on a nearly brand new car overnight, after being parked for less than 48h at temperatures around 5°F. Took it to a dealer who claims that the LED dome light was left on, draining the battery. However, the dome light is an LED light rated at about 100mA @ 13V, and the battery is rated over 100 Amp-hours (de-rated to 45% at ~0°F, so a single dome light by itself should take around ~450 hours to drain a fully-charged battery. It seems like even brand new Subaru Outback 2022s are affected by major parasitic drain battery issues.
1st windshield crack at 13603 miles 2nd windshield crack less than one month later. THE CONSUMER STATED FORD ESCAPE VEHICLES BETWEN MODEL YEARS 2016-2019 HAVENT COOLANT LEAK ISSUES. THE CONSUMER OWNS A 2018 FORD ESCAPE WITH 80,000 MILES. THE WARRANTY WAS EXPIRED.
In first 5,000 miles two windshields have cracked. The first had NO obvious impact. The second was hit by a VERY SMALL pebble (<1/4”). Seems like Subaru hasn’t resolved their windshield issues.
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, a rock struck and cracked the passenger’s side windshield. The contact was able to continue driving to the residence. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic who replaced the windshield with a factory windshield. However, a few weeks later the contact entered the vehicle and noticed a new crack had formed on the driver’s side of the windshield and had started to expand. The contact stated that there was no impact to the windshield to cause the crack. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 6,000.
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH, a crack suddenly occurred in the lower center of the front windshield. After parking the vehicle, the crack extended to approximately 18 inches in length. The contact described the crack as having a spider web effect. The contact indicated that no object had struck the windshield to cause the crack. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was not yet notified. The failure mileage was 3,000.
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, he noticed there was a crack on the windshield. There was no impact to the windshield that could have caused the crack. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 2,200.
On 9 February 2022 I was driving the vehicle when a Crack appeared on the front driver's side of the windshield. No object hit the windshield before hand that had caused a chip or Crack. The Crack extends from the bottom drivers side up about 1/4 of the height of the windshield and then takes a turn towards the passenger side approximately 9 inches.
Since I drove 1 mile out of the dealers lot I knew there were something wrong with the brakes Brakes don't feel right when I go to start the car I hear a thump sound than a pedal that has play in it before engaging it does the same while coasting and than applying the brake softly you hear that clicking and the play in it before it engages there's definitely something wrong with this cars brakes it stops ok but it just doesn't feel right I should know I owned the same vehicle in a 2020 model and those brakes were perfect I brought it in for service and they said they ran test and found nothing I am schedule for another service appointment I've complained and they turn a deaf ear on it I've even contacted Subaru of America
My windshield has cracked for the second time. I didn’t hear anything and there is no mark of impact, just about a 5 inch crack. It’s coming up from the bottom middle of the windshield. I’m not sure what’s causing this. But this will be the second time I have to replace the windshield on my brand new car. Something needs to be done about this.
Subaru windshields still crack. Owned this car for less than one week and a crack on the passenger side appeared overnight. Cracked windshields reduce ability to see and can worsen over time. The dealer refused to replace the windshield. So, we took the car to a shop and they replaced the windshield at our expense for the insurance deductible.
Spontaneous front windshield break, no rock impact or prior chip contributed to the window breaking. The car was simply turned on and the passenger side of the window cracked - the crack has since grown considerably in size. I have attempted to put a claim down at the dealership (visited on site, they have inspected), but there has been no follow-up in the last 3+ weeks. I have also reached out on multiple occasions to speak to someone (such as a service manager) and have not received any response. I do not feel safe driving around as, apparently, the eye-sight system works in conjunction with the windshields. After searching the Internet, this appears to be a reproduced phenomenon.
A truck ahead/beside me kicked out a small stone that hit my windshield and created a 1" star in the lower left corner of the driver's side. I traveled 2 more miles to get the star repaired, but just before I got to the auto glass shop the star cracked 3 different ways, so I went home to call for repacement bids. Overnight, with the car garaged, the cracks increased in size across the driver's field of vision. It will be $1,700 to replace AND do the required Eyesight forward cameras recalibration. The car has just over 3,100 miles on it. I read abouty Subaru Outbacks having so many problems with this exact issue, that there was a lawsuit and Subaru was forced to cover repairs. I feel this issue is still happening and my windshield should be covered by Subaru.
During night driving, with normal headlights on (not high beams), I am frequently flashed by high beams of oncoming vehicles, sometimes for long time intervals. One truck driver that I was following intentionally shined a bright light at his side view mirror which reflected onto my face, temporarily impairing my vision as I passed the truck. I have taken the car to the Subaru dealership and spoken to a Subaru customer relations representative and they both informed me that other owners of the vehicle have lodged the same complaint but unfortunately the vehicle does not have any mechanism to adjust either the height or brightness of the LED headlights. This is a significant safety issue for both oncoming drivers, whose vision is impaired by my headlights and my vision which is impaired when they shine their high beams at me, making night driving less safe for both.
I purchased a 2022 Subaru Outback in late August 2021. I had been driving regularly under normal driving conditions and no adverse weather. Fall temperatures neither very hot, nor very cold. On 10/10/21 I woke up to a crack in the windshield extending from the passenger side windshield edge to the center of the windshield. No impact chip is visible, or by touch. No known rock or debris impact while I was driving. I have been very careful with my nice new car and this was extremely disappointing.
On 1/3/22, less than 3 months and 3,000 miles since purchase, a “no impact” crack appeared from the lower quadrant of the windshield in a lazy “s” towards the center of the windshield.
2022 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium developed a spontaneous ~ 20 inch crack in the upper passenger quadrant of front windshield from the upper edge downward overnight. The windshield was not chipped or damaged. The vehicle was less than 4 months old and had driven 5732.7 miles and was parked at the the time the crack appeared. The low temperature in the previous 24 hour period was 3° F.
Brand new 2022 Outback XT driven 500 miles. Got hit by the tiniest rock that left a barely visible chi on the lower right passenger side. By the next morning it had cracked and spread across half of the windshield. One week later, the same thing happens but on the driver side and now the cracks have connected forming one massive crack. I am hesitant to replace this since it sounds like windshields continue to crack.
Drove car to and from work in the morning, no visible crack on windshield. Parked in garage 1-2 hours. Came back and found 12+ inch crack starting at base of passenger side windshield in an L shape. Don't remember getting hit with any debris while driving and there is no visible impact point. It was cold outside but can't remember if I used the defrost/deicer. A little research online shows this problem is not new to Subaru on former models. Only 2200 miles on the car and owned for 1.5 months. Not cool.
Started the 2022 outback on very cold Midwest winter day. When the car warmed up, the windshield proceeded to crack. ( It only has 7,500 miles on the odometer.) The crack is about 18 inches long and is across the drivers side making it a visual hazard. The windshield used by Subaru must be of poor quality and surely I cannot be the only person who has had this issue. No reason for this to occur just because it is cold. Magically, this is not covered by warranty and cost out of pocket $ 1100
Front windshield had a spontaneous crack form from some point out of sight under the bottom seal, just right of the center of the windshield. The windshield had no chips, and the car is four months old. This took place in early morning, before sunrise, with an outside temp. of 20 degrees F showing on the car thermometer.
After 2 week of new car ownership--battery dead. Only 359 miles on the car
Vehicle had 2,000 miles on it and a very small rock impact chipped the windshield and the chipped spot cracked across the windshield in minutes. I have never had a windshield fail like that before with such a minor chip in it and such a small impact. I had the windshield replaced with factory glass and I now have 6,000 miles on the car and another chip has happened, but not spread.
The windshield had a 12-inch crack starting at the driver's side midway up in an L shape. There was no visible rock damage and the vehicle was sitting in my garage when it cracked. Obviously, no one was hurt but the windshield had to be replaced right away with only 9000 miles on my car. The damage occurred on December 18th, 2021, and was repaired on Dec. 21., 2021.
Windshield has cracked for no apparent reason (no rock impact, etc.). Crack begins at edge of passenger side windshield. Newly purchased in November.
Car is suffering from "Parasitic Drain". Car is brand new with only a little over 200miles on it. Dealer has had to tow in the car twice already. Battery has been replaced. Car has so far been DOA 3 times in Driveway with a weeks' time.
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NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
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