What 805 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Subaru Outback Wilderness

Report on Accident [XXX] 4TH DISTRICT wHEATON MARYLAND [XXX] [XXX] I was driving west on [XXX] at approximately [XXX]. As I approached the intersection at [XXX] the TRAFIC light cars were stopped . I was in the left hand lane because I was going to turn on to [XXX] . As approached the intersection I applied the brakes the pedal went close to the floor but the car did not slow down. I tried pumping the brake pedal with no effect. No collosion avoidance alert To try and slow the vehicle ran the wheel against the curb of the median which slowed the car down a little . I pressed the parking brake button with no effect. The collision avoidance system did not engage. I clipped the rear of the Toyota Corolla as I jumped the curb to avoid cars using the friction against the curb and move further left when oncoming cars were clear and was able to stop the car. (The car may have stopped because the front control arm bent which made the car drag. ) I am unsure whether the master cylinder failure or ABS overrode braking, but the car would not stop. I do not know if the black box captured the data as the there was no airbag deployment. The collision avoidance system did not engage to slow the car any time. I did not see any lights light on the dashboard did not check specifically as I was busy avoiding a collision other cars . Basically, pedal went down not all the way to the floor but car was not slowing down. I checked the master cylinder reservoir, and it still had fluid. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11742069

The infotainment system in the car has suffered from screen delamination, which is apparently common with these models. This has left the touchscreen both non-responsive to touch as well as randomly selecting items on the screen, rendering it unusable. This is a safety issue because the only way to deactivate Reverse Automatic Braking and the rear parking sensors is through the touchscreen. Being able to do this is essential when connecting a trailer or attempting to reverse with one attached. Subaru is aware of the problem and was subject to class action litigation related to it, ultimately being required to extend the warranty on the units as a result. However, the warranty extension was inadequate and left several thousand units in the field which would eventually require replacement. Note that a similar issue on the 2019 models resulted in an 8-year / 150,000-mile warranty extension on the units, yet prior models were only required to have a 4-year / 80,000-mile extension.

NHTSA ODI 11673897

Arriving at my childhood home, I followed the driveway to the left to park in front of the garage door. With my foot on the brake and slowly rolling to a stop, the car suddenly accelerated and jolted forward making contact with the garage door and the frame of the garage. This caused damage to the house, garage door and the front of the car. Thankfully there was no other car in the way or a pedestrian! Only the house and car were damaged. This was sudden and there was no warning or prior occurrence to make me aware of the problem. We spoke to the dealer service manager and at first he said he never heard of anything like that. After further conversation he admitted that another car had a similar issue. They kept the car for two weeks and couldn't repeat the issue. We then went on line and found there are several class action lawsuits against Subaru for the same thing - unexpected and sudden forward acceleration! But when contacting Subaru corporate for assistance in resolving this, they claimed they never heard of any class action lawsuits or problems such as this. We need help dealing with Subaru. They are playing with us.

NHTSA ODI 11673767

When traveling on hwy at hwy speeds with cruise control on set for 70 mph and car in front is traveling 60 mph as am I. The road curves the car no longer identifies a car in front of me and accelerates to 70 mph, when the road becomes straight again and I am getting close the system slams on the brakes. When I'm going 70 mph and approach a car going 60 mph the car slows to keep a safe distance. As I change lanes the car begins to accelerate. As I am passing the slower car, if on a curve and the car identifies a car in another lane and slams on the brakes. This has caused road rage from drivers approaching from the rear in the passing lane thinking I'm braking to slow them down for no reason. The Dealership told me to turn my cruise control off on roads nort straight! This has happened since the car was new. This occurred on a recent trip across country on hwy US 40.

NHTSA ODI 11607713

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

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

Driver experienced an unexpected uncommanded sudden acceleration upon application of the braking system in the driveway, which caused a collision with the garage/house. The safety of the driver and other were put at risk. Significant damage to the house/garage occurred. This is a first time occurrence. Owner has not yet had the opportunity to have the vehicle inspected by dealer, independent service center, manufacturer, police or insurance rep due to timing of the accident. No warning lights message were displayed. Driver slowed the vehicle in anticipation of putting the vehicle in park when uncommanded brake release occurred, vehicle accelerated and struck the house. Reason for incident is unknown. Vehicle remains parked pending further inspection.

NHTSA ODI 11535251

About 8 months ago I was turning into a space in the parking lot of a large store (Kohls) the car lunged forward on it's own when I took my foot off the accelerator. I was able to stop the car with the brake pedal before ramming a lamp post. I did not report it to a dealership. Nothing like it has happened in the 8 months/3000 miles of driving since. It took me completely by surprise without any indication of system failure.

NHTSA ODI 11518391

I was backing out of my driveway very slowly as usual. I checked the road both ways several times. A US mail truck evidently traveling at a high rate of speed came up behind me while I was looking in the opposite direction. The automatic braking did not kick in, the warning system didn't work. After the accident the green, yellow, red lines on the camera and the warning beeping stuff-all were not working for several weeks. All of the sudden, they started working. HISTORY-4 days after purchasing the vehicle we have had lane departure, driver assist problems. The passenger window does what it wants. The electric controls for the heat/ac go blank, or can't change settings. There seems to be a huge electrical issue. Every time we've taken the car in for service, the dealership just insults me that I can't drive and they can't find any problems. They seem to have an answer for everything yet the problems persist. Efforts to go thru Subaru are stalled waiting on their response. They were to look at the BLACK BOX during time of accident. We are still waiting. We are frustrated. I wish the dealership had taken the car back after we first bought it like we demanded. I'm terrified this car is going to cause an accident.

NHTSA ODI 11459985

Battery spontaneously drains, disengaging all safety features with no warning.

NHTSA ODI 11459930

The vehicle, a 2018 Subaru Outback Limited 3.6R, was being pulled into the garage at the owner’s home. With brakes applied, and while putting vehicle into park, the vehicle suddenly accelerated forward making contact with a suspended shelf attached to the back wall of the garage. The force of the vehicle was such that the shelf and back wall of the garage were completely separated from the home in one piece and pushed approximately 10 yards away from the home before the shelf broke away from the wall upon impact with the ground, perpendicular to the back of the house. The vehicle then traveled down two hills in the back yard, across a water saturated easement, over a concrete drainage culvert and came to rest at the base of an incline in an adjacent yard approximately 150 ft from the garage. Air bags did not deploy and the owner suffered minor contusions causing pain and stiffness, but no significant injuries are noted as of this report. The vehicle was totaled and significant damage was caused to the residence. No collision warnings were displayed prior to collision and emergency braking did not apply upon acceleration. This was the first incidence of sudden acceleration experienced by the owner so this issue has never been checked out by a service technician and will not be repaired. The vehicle had less than 8000 miles on the odometer. The vehicle is currently located in a repair lot and the owner’s insurance company has been requested to hold the vehicle for inspection prior to disposal. The cause of the sudden acceleration is unknown, but the owner is confident that the brakes were being applied at the time of occurrence, and that they remained cognizant throughout the incident as they were unable to stop the forward progression of the vehicle until it came to rest on the muddy incline.

NHTSA ODI 11456491

The windshield on my Subaru developed a crack across the length of windshield after a minor rock impact. A few weeks later a second crack developed randomly. The new crack crosses infront of the eyesight system. I am concerned the cracks interfere with the vehicles eye sight system. I believe the windshield is defective and creates safety hazard as the cracks blocks visibility and also affect the eyesight system. I contacted Subaru and the dealer advised the defect was not covered under my warranty and would cost more than $1000 to repair.

NHTSA ODI 11432674

I WAS PARKING MY 2018 SUBARU OUTBACK PREMIUM NEXT TO MY HOUSE ON MY PARKING SPOT, MY FOOT WAS ON A BRAKE PEDAL, IT LEFT AROUND 50'' TO COMPLETE A PARKING, LIKE SUDDENLY MY CAR START MOVING FORWARD EVEN THAT I WAS STRONGLY PRESSING BRAKE PEDAL, CAR WENT OVER CURB AND HIT A PALM TREE THAT IS NEXT TO MY PARKING SPOT. CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED AND I WAS NOT ABLE TO CONTROL THE CAR. CAR FRONT BUMPER, GRILL, RADIATOR WAS DAMAGED. TODAY, MY CAR IS IN BODY SHOP. IT WAS VERY SCARE EXPERIENCE. FROM MY BACKGROUND I AM DRIVING 12 YEARS WITHOUT ANY CAR ACCIDENT.

NHTSA ODI 11414800

DIDN'T HAVE ANY CRACKS IN THE WINDSHIELD WHEN I ARRIVED AT WORK, PARKED, AND WENT INSIDE FOR 8 FOR MY SHIFT. AT THE END OF THE DAY WHEN I CAME OUT TO THE CAR AND GOT IN TO GO THERE WAS A SINGLE LONG CURVING CRACK THAT WAS OVER 12 INCHES LONG. DIDN'T SEE ANY IMPACT MARKS OR OTHER REASON THAT IT MAY HAVE CRACKED.

NHTSA ODI 11408303

WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR OF OWNING THE OUTBACK I HAD TO HAVE THE INFOTAINMENT HEAD UNIT REPLACED TWICE. I AM STILL HAVING ISSUES WHERE THE RADIO WILL COME ON BUT THERE IS NO SOUND, THE RADIO WILL TURN ON FULL BLAST AFTER A HANGING UP FROM A CALL, BACK UP CAMERA WILL BE BLACK UPON BACKING UP, SCREEN WILL FREEZE, STEERING WILL LOCK UP WHEN BACKING OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY, AND AFTER MY 36K MILE MAINTENANCE NOW MY CAR IS MAKING A STRANGE HUMMING NOISE. THERE ARE SO MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS CAR AND NOTHING IS BEING DONE ABOUT IT. SUBARU NEEDS TO PROVIDE MORE THAN A PUNY EXTENDED WARRENTY. THIS CAR IS A LEMON AND THEY KNOW IT.

NHTSA ODI 11405830

WINDSHIELD CRACKED AND WITHIN 3 DAYS RAN ACROSS MOST OF THE ENTIRE WIDTH OF THE FRONT WINDSHIELD.

NHTSA ODI 11404696

WINDSHIELD SPONTANEOUSLY CRACKED NEAR MIDDLE TOP OF WINDSHIELD, FROM EDGE ABOUT 6-8INCHES AND WITHIN THE FIELD OF VIEW OF THE EYESIGHT CAMERAS

NHTSA ODI 11399443

THE WINDSHIELD CRACKED AND CRACK SPREAD ACROSS LINE OF SIGHT. MY CAR WAS ONLY TWO MONTHS OLD. I DROVE MY PREVIOUS CAR ON SAME ROUTE FOR 10 YEARS WITHOUT BROKEN WINDSHIELD

NHTSA ODI 11383839