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What 805 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 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 (805)Crash / fire / injury (34)Visibility & wipers (272)Electrical system (265)Fuel system (45)Engine (36)Steering (35)Speed control (21)Backup camera & sensors (19)Brakes (18)Driver assistance (18)Transmission & drivetrain (14)

3 of 805 complaints match · Fuel system · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Apr 29, 2026BrakesFuel systemCrash1 injury

Driving slowly in a parking lot, I applied the brakes as I approached a parking space. Instead of slowing down, the car inexplicably accelerated quickly and did not respond to increased pressure on the brakes. The car was propelled into a metal post, resulting in my glasses flying off and a seat belt bruise, although the airbag did not deploy. I was examined by ambulance personnel at the scene. The car was towed, inspected by an insurance adjuster and eventually declared a total loss. There were no warning lamps prior to the incident and no reproduction of the incident was possible due to damage. The car has been relinquished to the insurance company. This was the first such incident occurring during 8 years of driving this vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11734591

Dec 29, 2023Fuel systemDriver assistanceCrash

On 12/28/2023 my 2018 Subaru Outback without warning suddenly accelerated on its own, causing my vehicle to hit the curb and ran into a building.

NHTSA ODI 11562501

Nov 6, 2023BrakesFuel systemDriver assistanceCrash

While pulling into a parking spot with my foot on the brake and preparing to stop, the car continued to move up over the curb and then began to accelerate even after I applied both of my feet pushing down on the brakes until I hit our condo building. The car and building received extensive damage, and although the car was not totaled it will cost over 7,000 dollars to repair. Personally I was not injured. The air bags did not imploy at impact. There were no warning messages or prior failures with the vehicle before this day. The car was taken to a body shop and not the dealer so we have not had the dealer look at the systems that broke down, but our insurance adjuster will be.

NHTSA ODI 11553716

Working with the data? Download all 805 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 2018 Subaru Outback Wilderness verdict →