What Subaru Crosstrek owners have reported to NHTSA, the service bulletins the manufacturer sent dealers, and any federal defect investigations, by model year. See Subaru Crosstrek safety recalls or check your VIN.
Complaints owners filed with NHTSA, by the model year of the vehicle. A high count can also mean a popular year, so compare it with how many were sold.
| Year | Complaints | Crashes | Fires | Injured | Deaths | TSBs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 52 |
| 2025 | 44 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 108 |
| 2024 | 119 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 213 |
| 2023 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 198 |
| 2022 | 31 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 248 |
| 2021 | 116 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 326 |
| 2020 | 69 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 398 |
| 2019 | 284 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 530 |
| 2018 | 194 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 516 |
| 2017 | 94 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 331 |
| 2016 | 132 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 348 |
| 2015 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 291 |
| 2014 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 234 |
| 2013 | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 272 |
| 2012 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 138 |
The vehicle systems named most often in Subaru Crosstrek complaints (one complaint can name several).
In the owners’ own words, as filed with NHTSA. Unverified reports; NHTSA removes personal details before publishing.
My 2024 Subaru Crosstrek with 56k miles on it was driven the day before and operated completely normally with no apparent issues. When I started the car to pull out of a parallel parking spot on a downhill grade with 2 to 3 feet of clearance on either side, several warning lights immediately illuminated on the dashboard. With my foot on the brake pedal as it always is when shifting out of park, normal brake pedal pressure did nothing to keep the car from rolling forward. It was only when I slammed my foot down hard that I was barely able to stop the vehicle, narrowly avoiding a collision with the car parked directly in front of me downhill due to a catastrophic failure of the braking system.…
My daughter was driving her car and another car pulled right in front of her from behind a wall. The damage to my daughterâs car is all at the front and the automatic braking mechanism did not work, in addition, non of the airbags deployed which caused my daughter to have injuries to her legs. Towing service was puzzled when they saw the damage and the airbags had not deployed.
While driving my 2016 Subaru Crosstrek (VIN: [XXX]) at approximately 70,000 miles, the vehicle experienced a sudden, catastrophic cooling system rupture on the roadway without any prior dashboard warning light. A radiator hose burst, resulting in rapid, complete loss of engine coolant and steam, creating an immediate safety hazard and forcing an emergency roadside stop. A subsequent diagnostic teardown by an independent specialist confirmed the root cause was premature degradation of internal engine seals (the upper oil pan and internal coolant crossover O-rings inside the FB20 engine block). These internal seals failed prematurely, allowing pressurized engine oil and coolant to cross-conta…
The contact owns a 2024 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to slow down during a turn, the brakes failed to function properly and caused a delay while braking. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, but the technicians were unable to duplicate the failure or determine the cause of the failure. The contact stated that on another occasion while slowing down, the brakes failed to stop the vehicle, causing the contact to crash into the rear of another car. The vehicle was taken to a collision center to be repaired. The failure mileage was 21,353.
I was backing out of my driveway at 630 am this morning, September 21, 2026 when I heard what sounded like a loud crash. However, if anything had been in my carâs line of vision a beep would go off to alert me and that didnât happen. I pulled back into my driveway to check if anything had somehow been behind me and then discovered I had no brakes! My driveway goes down a steep incline and I kept trying to apply my brakes to no avail and I crashed into some trees at the bottom of the driveway. I was not hurt and ran back up the driveway to make sure my car had not hit anyone or anything and there was nothing at all at the top of the driveway. I went back down and saw all the damage o…
Driver side mirror vibrates/shakes (not the housing just the mirror) I am still under warranty and Subaru service techs said they could see the issue but looked for a cause and said nothing was found and therefore couldnât be a faulty part. There are plenty of like situation posts online. They really need to issue a recall to replace affected mirrors. It is hard to see at highway speeds(50+) with the vibrations occurring
I own a 2020 Subaru Crosstrek. While driving on the freeway in heavy traffic, I had to make a hard stop due to traffic ahead. When the vehicle came to a complete stop, the engine automatically shut off as part of the vehicleâs auto start-stop system. When I released the brake to proceed with traffic, the vehicle attempted to restart, but displayed a âDisabledâ message and the auto start-stop system became disabled. I had to turn the vehicle completely off and restart it manually while stopped in active freeway traffic. This created a significant safety concern because the malfunction occurred on the freeway while surrounded by moving traffic. If the engine had failed to restart, the v…
While driving down the interstate just before reaching the causeway tunnel, my moonroof exploded. I thought my car had been shot. I checked and did not see any damage to my car until I slid open the cover to the moonroof. It was shattered. Nothing was surrounding my car that could have hit or damaged the moonroof when it exploded.
Repair instructions and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about known issues. A TSB is not a recall, and the repair is usually free only while the car is under warranty; ask your dealer for the bulletin number.
This bulletin provides a procedure to address customer concerns of surface rust accumulating in the top center retaining nut area of the front strut mounts. This is an revised version of the original bulletin.
This bulletin announces design changes to the front seat bottom heat unit.
This bulletin announces the availability of new front fender garnishes fitted with new clips to provide a more secure and streamlined fit.
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) has initiated a non-compliance recall for certain 2026 model year Crosstrek Hybrid vehicles, 2025-2026 model year Forester & Forester Hybrid vehicles, and 2019- 2026 Ascent vehicles due to incorrect information listed on the certification label. This is an revised version of the original bulletin.
This Subaru announcement provides an update to the non-compliance recall WRH-26 Certification label.
This Announcement provides diagnostic assistance for CVT issues.
This bulletin provides guidance when diagnosing chain slip, judder, shudder, and hesitation concerns on the TR580 model CVT transmissions used in the models listed.
This bulletin announces a design change to the cord assembly that connects the Center Infotainment Display (CID) to the CCU, addressing reports of CID screen flickering.
This bulletin announces a design change made to the CVT Control Valve Body. The updated valve body incorporates an enhanced valve sleeve to improve durability. This is an revised version of the original bulletin.
This Service Information Bulletin announces the release of a new diagnostic assistance application for TR690 and TR580 CVT-equipped vehicles. This is an revised version of the original bulletin.
This Service Information Bulletin outlines a systematic procedure for diagnosing parasitic draw (dark/standby current) in vehicles experiencing battery drain when the ignition is off, leading to no-start conditions or frequent jump-starts.This is an revised version of the original bulletin.
This Bulletin provides updated diagnostic procedures to follow and a brief questionnaire to complete when diagnosing an alleged Chain Slip condition on the TR580 and TR690 model CVT transmissions used in the models listed. This is an revised version of the original bulletin.
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opens these when complaints point to a possible safety defect. Many end in a recall.
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-spe
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation public data (complaints, manufacturer communications, investigations), model years 2010 and later. Had a safety problem? Report it to NHTSA.
In complaints filed with NHTSA for model years 2012–2026, owners most often name: visibility/wiper, unknown or other, electrical system. 1,186 complaints are on record.
No. A complaint is an unverified report from an owner. A technical service bulletin (TSB) is the manufacturer telling dealers how to fix a known issue; it is not a safety recall and is usually covered only under warranty. A recall is a formal safety action, and its repair is free.
File a vehicle safety complaint at NHTSA.gov. NHTSA reads every report, and patterns of complaints are what open defect investigations and, eventually, recalls.
