What 280 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness

Battery won't hold a charge. Car is not reliable, danger of not starting and being stranded. Car has been inspected by dealership twice and new batteries were installed but the problem persists. No warning of low battery.

NHTSA ODI 11453205

I've owned cars for 40 years. And not once in 40 years, has the ash from a cigarette caused a seat to immediately burn. And I mean burn. Not just a burn on the outside of the fabric, but deep down into the padded material within seconds. Thankfully, I was able to put it out in the heavy smoke phase, before it turned into a full blown burning flame, burning the entire car seat and car. After my experience, it floored me that wasn't discovered during any type of testing that might be done on a vehicle. A major safety issue in my mind. I decided to report it now, because I'm surprised nobody else has. Considering there aren't a lot of cigarette smokers it's not surprising I guess.

NHTSA ODI 11452072

Windshield cracked while driving for no reason

NHTSA ODI 11450547

Windshield cracked at in the center at the base while car was sitting inside garage.

NHTSA ODI 11450120

While driving at a slow speed (<15mph) I had to stop quickly at an intersection. A small board inside the car (<1 lb, 2'x12") connected with the windshield causing a substantial crack approximately 10 inches in diameter. The windshield is absolutely unsafe and will need to be replaced(although has not yet been seen by the dealer.)

NHTSA ODI 11446267

After having cowl replaced under warranty, at the dealership, I drove vehicle home (3 miles) and placed in garage. Next day, noticed 10 inch crack on lower passenger side of windshield. Took car to have looked at by dealership who stated crack had to come from rock and refused to replace. On my way home, I did not take a rock to my windshield. The Service Manager stated he would call Subaru regarding my issue. He has never called to provide any update.

NHTSA ODI 11444550

Today, 12/19/2021, marks the sixth (6th) time my car’s battery has failed and forced me to call Star Link to schedule and wait for a battery jump. Subaru refused to replace my battery after the 3rd and also refused to check the grounding wire upon a service inspection. This battery is faulty and Subaru knows it. My child has been with me in three of th de ridiculous occasions of waiting for jumper cables and has been frightened each time. This is totally unacceptable and is costing my family time, money, and emotional distress.

NHTSA ODI 11444366

I was driving on an open road today and it was cold outside about 50 degree. There were no other cars around and I heard a loud boom noise on the roof of my car. I looked at my sunroof in the car and it was shattered. The Bubble from the explosion in the glass was sticking out from the car verses towards the car so I am aware it was not impacted by anything.

NHTSA ODI 11442258

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the front windshield cracked without impact. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 24,200.

NHTSA ODI 11441383

The windshield on my Subaru Crosstrek is incredibly weak and cracks upon the smallest impact. I have owned my vehicle for 2.5 years, and have driven it about 25,000 miles. In the vehicle that I owned prior (Lincoln LS), I never experienced any windshield cracking, and I was driving in the same region. I now have 6 cracks on my windshield, two of which have grown to be larger cracks (one going all the way across my dash, and the other stretching about 12 inches). The cracks and nicks are causing an issue with visibility in colder weather. My vehicle windshield does not defrost as quickly, and my windshield becomes foggy more often while driving.

NHTSA ODI 11439949

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the accelerator pedal was not depressed but the vehicle slightly accelerated independently. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact also stated that while accelerating from a complete stop and making a turn, the vehicle inadvertently stalled, almost causing another vehicle to crash into her vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed an engine failure and that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V264000 (Electrical System, Engine and Engine Cooling). The dealer updated the ECM software. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to NHTSA. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 7,990.

NHTSA ODI 11439201

After driving for a few when I come to a stop or slow down to a lower gear and accelerate it starts to stall out and the lights dim a bit slightly. It does not do it on the highway or at higher rates of speed. I’ve checked battery, watched allot of the parameters on a diagnostic tool and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary or any codes even when almost stalling out in a intersection. It would have left me to oncoming traffic. It didn’t die but it was rattling rumbling and stalling. It’s like the transmission is trying to keep it at a super low gear to save gas? I checked for recalls and it states none. I just got this car and it has 40k miles and is still new. I love this car and feel super safe driving it . I traded my abarth for it and it was really hard to part but this car makes up for it. I’m calling the Subaru dealership and dealership I got it from. I’ve owned it less than a month.

NHTSA ODI 11438833

Battery continually does not hold charge over any time longer than a few days parked. Even after long drive from Wisconsin to Ohio, car sitting for 6 days in cool weather (never under 40 degrees) caused dead battery. Battery has been replaced by Subaru dealer 3 times previously, each time dealer said they could not detect a problem. In winter, battery is dead each night, even with normal daily use each day.

NHTSA ODI 11438312

UNKNOWN. My windshield has a crack in the lower section on the passenger side coming up from the bottom of the windshield. There is no indication that it was hit by anything, there is just a crack. In fact, it was parked in the garage and next time we got in it we noticed the crack.

NHTSA ODI 11437489

2 battery failures in 2 years of purchasing vehicle. I am on my third battery in less than two years. Incidents occurred 15, 19, 23 and 24 months into car ownership. 4 battery / electrical related dealer service visits in 2 years. 2 times the car was immobilized due to battery failure, would not start and required a tow to dealership service. On 3 occasions lost car audio - no audio map directions, no hands free phone calling, no radio. On 1 occasion lost all internal lighting on entire instrument panel and all switches during night driving on one occasion creating a serious driving hazard and safety issue. All issues occurred with no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms. Only Subaru Dealer service has inspected and replaced/ recharged the batteries. Dealer service claimed they could not reproduce the problem once they replaced or recharged the batteries.

NHTSA ODI 11435156

The vehicle of concern is a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV). In the past 2 to 3 months, we have had multiple warning lights come on when the vehicle is started. In some cases, we were able to clear the warning lights by turning the vehicle off and back on several times over the course of 30-40 minutes. The two most recent occurrences involved the vehicle having to be towed to the dealership as either the car would not shift out of Park or upon shifting out of Park, the parking brake would not release. The car was driven to the Burlington Subaru dealership in Burlington, VT about 5-6 weeks ago where they were unable to reproduce the problem or find any information logged in the vehicle's logs. Two weeks ago (8/19/21), the vehicle was towed to the dealership. The service department was able to log/see the errors (ABS, Check Engine, Eyesight System and Vehicle Dynamic Control) which were also logged in the MySubaru app. The dealership drove the vehicle almost 250 miles in attempts to diagnose the problem further. They upgraded the ECM software and they did not see the problem after that. I picked the vehicle up the morning of 8/30/21 and the problem recurred the evening of 8/30/21 resulting in the 2nd tow back to the dealership. The same errors as before were reported and seen by the dealership. On 9/1/21, I was informed by the service dept rep the problem was root caused to be a faulty electronic parking switch resulting in a drained battery. They are awaiting the new part which is in short supply in the US currently so no reliable ETA. The dealer would like to keep the car an additional couple of days after they receive the part to see if the problem is resolved. The car has approximately 23,000 miles on it currently.

NHTSA ODI 11431464

I was driving on the highway and a tiny rock my windshield which shouldn’t have caused the 12 inch crack in my windshield like it did, i have to have it replaced now.

NHTSA ODI 11431428

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while entering the vehicle, he heard a popping noise and saw there was a crack on the windshield. There was no impact to the windshield that could have caused the crack. The vehicle was repaired by an auto glass company. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 19,500.

NHTSA ODI 11430667

My daughter was in process of pulling her car into the garage when it experienced sudden acceleration and crashed into the garage. My daughter was unable to stop the car as the brake system failed during the incident. She is now too terrified to drive the car. Subaru claims that the car is and has been operating as intended. The Subaru Eyesight, Anti-Lock Braking, Vehicle Dynamic Control systems all failed during the sudden acceleration event. It's fortunate that this incident did not happen at a stoplight (intersection).

NHTSA ODI 11430534

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that the vehicle would not start which resulted in the battery needing to be replaced. The contact stated that the check battery message was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was diagnosed and repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.

NHTSA ODI 11427748

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that a horizontal crack had formed on the bottom passenger side windshield without incident or impact. The contact stated that the crack obstructed his vision while driving. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who informed him that the failure may have been caused by the excessive summer heat. The contact then spoke to the dealer and was informed that the vehicle was not under recall or warranty. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and referred him back to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.

NHTSA ODI 11427006

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the front windshield cracked without impact. The contact called the local dealer however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 37,000. The VIN was not available

NHTSA ODI 11425765

CAR HESITATES ON ACCELERATION PERSISTS AFTER RECALL (REPLACEMENT OF IGNITION COILS). CONDITION PERSISTS SINCE PURCHASE (NOV, 2019). NUMEROUS REPAIR ORDERS DID NOT CORRECT PROBLEM.

NHTSA ODI 11425427

2019 Subaru Crosstrek Left rear window ( driver’s side) window shattered without warning. There was a recall issued for this exact problem - but the time frame for the recall was narrow and my car was not included as it was just shy of the start date for the recall although manufactured in the same month. Subaru’s number for this recall is WUG-92. The child car seat was covered in glass and shards of glass were embedded throughout the car. The fact that the car was parked with no one in it does not lessen the reality that this would have been a tragic incident for the child and anyone in the car or near the car especially if we had been driving on a highway. Subaru has been contacted and took all the information. I am documenting this for a warning to other Crosstrek owners to be aware that this is known to happen without warning until Subaru notifies them of this potential danger. Hopefully the recall will be expanded to avoid harm and injury.

NHTSA ODI 11423059

The windshield cracked seemingly at random during the winter. It was approximately 15 degrees on I-70 in CO on December 11, 2020. The windshield suddenly cracked with no indication of impact. It was a 6 inch crack. The windshield appears prone to cracking as evidenced by 1000s of other consumer complaints.

NHTSA ODI 11422942