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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)

1 of 805 complaints match · Steering · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Aug 5, 2021SteeringElectrical systemBrakesCrash

Sunday,August 1, 2021, at 9:05am, I backed out of my garage and when I attempted to turn my car, the steering locked, the car was drifting backwards and I had no brakes. As a result the car kept drifting backwards , off the driveway into the woods, hitting a tree. Once stopped, I was able to start the car and drive it out of the woods. The entire driver’s side was sideswiped and mirror torn off. I was not injured, but could have been. I called insurance that day. On Monday, we contacted the Subaru dealership. The local police were notified and documented the report. The insurance adjuster determined the car unsafe to drive and it was towed to the dealership August 4, 2021. There was no warning or indicated problem prior to the incident.

NHTSA ODI 11427913

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 →