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What 295 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Subaru Outback Wilderness

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (295)Crash / fire / injury (24)Engine (67)Transmission & drivetrain (58)Airbags (42)Steering (34)Speed control (26)Brakes (25)Electrical system (23)Fuel system (15)Suspension (15)Visibility & wipers (14)

1 of 295 complaints match · Visibility & wipers · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

May 23, 2016Visibility & wipersFire

2013 SUBARU OUTBACK FRONT WIPER MOTOR CAUGHT FIRE WHILE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION. JUST PRIOR TO FIRE, WIPERS HAD BEEN ACTIVATED BUT WOULD NOT RETURN TO HOME OR STOP WHEN TURNED TO OFF POSITION. VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED NEW IN OCTOBER 2012. ROOT CAUSE OF WIPER MOTOR AS DETERMINED BY SUBARU DEALER SHOP. SUBARU CLAIMS THIS IS UNRELATED TO PRIOR RECALL FOR WIPER MOTORS WVW32 WHICH HAD BEEN EXTENDED TO 2012 MODELS.

NHTSA ODI 10870295

Working with the data? Download all 295 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 19, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2013 Subaru Outback Wilderness verdict →