What 41 owners told NHTSA about the 2025 Subaru Crosstrek

I was driving on a Texas highway on May 2 at the speed limit of 75 mph with the car on cruise control. It was a sunny day and traffic was light. Suddenly, without warning, or apparent cause the car went into a hard brake and the collision avoidance signals were beeping and flashing. The car behind me had to hard brake to avoid collision. I pulled over to the shoulder but as soon as I put my foot on the brake the flashing and beeping stopped. I eased back onto the highway but as soon as I got up some speed, the same thing happened again. I thought it might be related to the cruise control so I turned off the cruise control and it stopped. I drove the rest of the way without cruise control and there were no further incidents. I took the car to dealer. The service department ran diagnostics and test drove it but said they could not duplicate the problem. They said the car was operating "normally." I called Customer Advocacy at Subaru and spoke to woman on a recorded line. She clearly stated that sometimes the EyeSight feature can cause the car to "think there's something in front of you" and activate the collision avoidance hard braking. She claimed this was "normal." Still Subaru refused to do anything about it or buy back my car for more than trade-in value. I got the car from the dealer on May 18. On May 21, I discovered a class action lawsuit (Hall et. al. v. Subaru of America, Inc.) had been filed against Subaru on May 11, for the very same problem. The lawsuit covers most recent Subaru models including mine. I also discovered that "phantom braking" is a frequent complaint here and that Subaru settled a previous class action lawsuit for older models in Nov. 2025 . NHTSA needs to force a recall and warn consumers of this very dangerous defect. I would be surprised if it hasn't resulted in serious injury or death.

NHTSA ODI 11739643

On two occasions, the vehicle has activated the forward collision warning although there was no nearby vehicle or obstruction. The date of incident is not precise.

NHTSA ODI 11724288

This a second report following a visit to the dealer for system check. At that service, we were advised that no issues were identified, we were told that sunlight could cause the Subaru “EyeSight” system to disengage. Today, 25 February, the vehicle EyeSight system continues to disable and enable itself seemingly at random. This morning, we travelled on well marked roadways with overcast skies (no sunlight to cause problems). The system repeatedly disabled and enabled itself. In addition, on a street with vehicles parallel parked along the curb, the vehicle reported an obstacle and began braking for no apparent reason. This has been reported to the dealer. We are awaiting a response. It does seem as if there are some faults within the EyeSight system.

NHTSA ODI 11720394

Automatic Emergency Braking engaged unnecessarily. It was triggered by a plastic trash bag being blown in front of the vehicle. I was driving about 70 mph and was fortunate to avoid being rear-ended by another vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11707619