Home · 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness · Complaints

What 107 owners told NHTSA about the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek 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 (107)Crash / fire / injury (9)Visibility & wipers (20)Lights (13)Driver assistance (10)Steering (9)Brakes (8)Electrical system (7)Tires (6)Speed control (5)Airbags (4)Engine (4)

7 of 107 complaints match · Electrical system · clear filters

Nov 24, 2025Electrical system

Advertisement for XM radio service popped up on console screen of the car, and would not go away unless manually dismissed (touch) - while driving, covering the entire screen. This is entirely unnecessary and distracting, all to serve an advertisement for a service I don't want or use.

NHTSA ODI 11701137

May 17, 2025Electrical system

Phone charger does not work. Power was out and I could not charge phone. Best I've ever got was 1% on a 1 hour drive. The phone however gets extremely hot. Anecdotally, my usb port also didn't work leaving me with no way to have a charged phone during a prolonged power outage. The wireless charger is a widespread common problem. Below, I have included links to multiple threads and videos where even more multiple comments are posted of people having the same issue. For background, I use wireless charging on my nightstand, my motorcycle, my work desk, all for this phone, all different chargers in this case. It's the charger not working. It is a 100% real issue and here are all the other countless people having the same problem: [XXX] Same problem from this dealer employee. [XXX] Same problem posted on subaru forum. [XXX] Multiple people complaining about similar issue in this forum. [XXX] Mutiple people reporting a similar issue in this forum as well. [XXX] Guy removing the charger, comment section full of people having the same problem as me. This should be a recall. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11661629

Feb 20, 2025Electrical system

I had purchased my car over a weekend and in less than 2 days, on my way to work, I noticed that the horn volume and reliability was severely diminished to the point where you can't hear it if you have the windows rolled up inside the vehicle, and/or doesnt work at all. I used my warranty to replace the horn and have the dealership take a look at it. they recognized that it was a problem but even after replacing the horn, the issue still persisted.

NHTSA ODI 11643825

May 17, 2024SteeringElectrical systemSpeed control

I was driving with cruise control enabled right around 40mph. All of the sudden, while I was moving, my speedometer dropped to 0 and all of my dashboard lights turned on. I pulled over to the side of the road and tried to put the car in park to figure out what was going on. I was not able to shift the car into park, only remain in D or shift to N. I forced the car shutoff while in D with the press-button ignition, then turned the car back on. I was then able to shift the car into P. However, all of my dashboard lights were still on. I will attach an image to this description as I was able to take a photo of all the dashboard lights. After putting the car in park, I then shifted it back into D. However, my steering wheel was very stiff. Eventually, it loosened up back to normal. I then turned around and headed home for about a 2.5 hour drive. For the first 1.5 hours of the drive, most of the dashboard lights remained on and I could not initiate cruise control at all. After stopping for gas and turning the car back on, I was then able to drive as normal (putting the car in cruise control) and most of the dashboard lights also turned off. This was a Sunday evening. I then brought my car to the Subaru dealer in which I bought the Crosstrek from the very next morning. I told them exactly what happened. They said this was highly unusual and this wasn't something they've dealt with before, especially on a brand new car (I purchased this vehicle with 0 miles just 6 months prior). After sitting in the shop for 30+ days, the dealer eventually replaced the VDC Module and gave the car back to me. I did submit this issue to Subaru of America, but they denied this to be a Lemon case. They would not tell me why, even though a car sitting in a shop for 30+ days achieves Lemon status in the State of Utah. Since the dealer replaced the VDC Module and returning the car to me, I have not yet had another issue, but am nervous this could occur again.

NHTSA ODI 11589243

May 9, 2024Electrical system

The infotainment system and Apple CarPlay connectivity is posing a safety hazard. When I’m on a phone call my audio will randomly cut out and suddenly the person on the other side of the call can no longer hear me. In order to fix the issue I must pick up my phone while I’m driving to disconnect from Apple CarPlay and reconnect. I have tried countless troubleshooting methods and reported the problem to the dealership. They don’t seem to have a solution for it. This is a serious safety hazard because I can end up getting into an accident from having to pick up my phone to correct this issue. It happens randomly and sometimes multiple times during a single call.

NHTSA ODI 11587897

Jan 20, 2024Electrical system

went in for the WRL-23 recall in sept 2023 a very short time after getting notice, the servicing dealer. found the work needed to replace the dash wire harness as per the instructions, we were told the harness had to be ordered, days later we got a phone call advising the harness was being back ordered, as of 01/19/2024 we again were advised it was still on back order, a call to subaru of america asking why the part for a recall could be back ordered for FOUR months did not give much help other than being told it would take a week to investigate the issue. being a retired service manger for another brand auto i felt being lead around how can a recall be made and zero parts available in a reasonable time to make a repair ,which in this case could cause a fire

NHTSA ODI 11566705

Sep 22, 2023Electrical system

The contact owns a 2024 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V551000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ODI 11546036

Working with the data? Download all 107 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 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness verdict →