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Subaru · NHTSA safety record

2013 Subaru Crosstrek

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

25

Complaints

1

Crashes

2

Fires

0

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2013 Subaru Crosstrek have filed 25 safety complaints with NHTSA between September 2016 and October 2021. The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 11 of them (44%). The typical failure was reported at 68,050 miles, the median across the 18 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 1 recall covering this vehicle.

Recalls (1)

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS:SWITCH

19V149000 · February 28, 2019

The defect
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2014-2016 Forester, 2008-2016 Impreza sedans, 2012-2016 Impreza station wagons, 2008-2014 WRX sedans (including STI), and 2013-2017 Crosstrek vehicles. Exposure to certain contaminants may cause the brake light switch to malfunction, preventing the brake lights from illuminating and also preventing keyless ignition vehicles from starting and CVT/automatic transmissions from being able to be shifted out of Park.
The risk
Brake lights that do not illuminate properly will not alert other drivers that the vehicle is slowing or stopping, increasing the risk of crash.
The remedy
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the brake light switch, free of charge. The recall began April 15, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUE-90.

Subaru of America, Inc. · up to 1,303,530 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 25.

ENGINE 11 44%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 20%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 3 12%
POWER TRAIN 3 12%
SERVICE BRAKES 2 8%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 8%
AIR BAGS 1 4%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 4%
SEAT BELTS 1 4%
SEATS 1 4%
STRUCTURE 1 4%
SUSPENSION 1 4%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2019 at 11.

2016 2019 2021
2016 to 2021

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

STRUCTURE:BODY

fire · 70,000 miles

2013 SUBARU CROSSTREK(70K MILES) PASSENGER DOOR CAUGHT ON FIRE. WITHIN 3 MINUTES OF SMELLING SMOKE INSIDE DOOR PANEL WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES. WENT TO THE SHOULDER OF THE FREEWAY, TURNED ENGINE OFF, PUT OUT THE FLAMES, WAITED FOR THE SMOKE TO CLEAR AND THE PLASTIC TO COOL OFF. UPON RESTARTING VEHICLE SPARKS AND SMOKE VISIBLE SO TURNED VEHICLE OFF. CUT THE RED(+) WIRES, RESTARTED VEHICLE(NO SMOKE), DROVE TO DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIRS. OBVIOUSLY A SHORT IN THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, NONE OF THE FUSES POPPED. HAD A PASSENGER BEEN IN THE PASSENGER SEAT I'M SURE THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN HURT. PICKED UP THE VEHICLE YESTERDAY AND PAID 2K OVER INSURANCE ESTIMATE. NOW HAVING TO SQUEEZE THE INSURANCE FOR THE

NHTSA complaint 11111350, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

fire · 210,000 miles

CAR PARKED AND SOME ELECTRICAL WIRE? CAUSED CAR TO CATCH FIRE? THE BACK DRIVERS SIDE OF THE HATCHBACK/TRUNK AREA WAS BURNT/ MELTED THROUGH TO THE METAL AND THE WIRES AROUND THE BACK WINDOW ON INSIDE WERE HANGING DOWN AND HOT PLASTIC DRIPPED DOWN ONTO A BOX OF PAPERS THAT WERE IN THE HATCHBACK. THE PAPERS HAD BLACK BURNT SPOT ON THEM BUT FORTUNATELY DID NOT ALL BURN. THERE WAS A DARK BLACK BROWN SPOT ON THE BACK WINDOW DRIVERS SIDE ON THE INSIDE AND THERE WAS SOOT ALL OVER THE INSIDE OF THE ENTIRE VEHICLE AND INSIDES OF THE WINDOWS. IT GOT SO HOT THAT THE TRUNK COULD NOT BE OPENED. NOT SURE WHAT CAUSED IT. I WAS PARKED IN MY WORK PARKING LOT. I GOT TO WORK AT 7 PM AND GOT OUT OF WORK AROUND

NHTSA complaint 11235188, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

crash · 42,000 miles

PULLING INTO PARKING SPACE AT WORK, GOING NO MORE THAN 5 MPH. VEHICLES LUNGED FORWARD AND HIT TREE. THE ENGINE SEEMED TO SLOW DOWN AND THEN REVVED SUDDENLY. ALTHOUGH I HIT THE BRAKES, VEHICLE DID NOT STOP.

NHTSA complaint 11074526. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:INSTRUMENT PANEL:FUEL GAUGE:FUEL LEVEL FLOAT/SENSOR/SENDING UNIT

1,000 miles

The contact owns a 2013 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that after refueling with the fuel tank at 3/4 tank full, the fuel gauge failed to provide the correct fuel level. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced the fuel sending tank, but the failure continued to occur. The contact indicated that the failure had caused fuel leakage and spillage while adding fuel to the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 1,000.

NHTSA complaint 11436584. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

10 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 SUBARU CROSSTREK. WHILE DRIVING 20 MPH, THE CONTACT PUMPED THE BRAKE PEDAL SEVERAL TIMES, BUT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT BRAKE OR STOP. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE EVENTUALLY CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP AFTER MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO AN UNKNOWN DEALER TO BE DIAGNOSED AND REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE CONTINUED. THE UNKNOWN DEALER IS NO LONGER IN BUSINESS AND THE REPAIR SPECIFICS WERE NOT DISCLOSED. THE VEHICLE WAS THEN TAKEN TO STAR SUBARU (206-26 NORTHERN BLVD, BAYSIDE, NY 11361, (833) 271-0487) WHERE THE BRAKE PADS WERE REPLACED. AFTERWARDS, ALL THE WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL WHILE DRIVING

NHTSA complaint 11232902, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
MY VEHICLE WAS RECALLED. I CONTACTED THE LOCAL SUBARU DEALERSHIP AND SUBARU DIRECTLY AND THEY BOTH STATED THAT DUE THE THE VOLUME OF CARS AFFECTED THEY WERE NOT TAKING ANY NEW APPOINTMENTS UNTIL 2020 AND TO CALL THEM BACK IN 2020. THE ISSUE IS WITH THE VALVE SPRINGS IN THE ENGINE. A FRACTURE IN THE SPRING COULD CAUSE ENGINE FAILURE. I WANT SUBARU TO REPLACE IT NOW, PAY ME TO HAVE IT FIXED SOMEWHERE ELSE OR REPLACE MY CURRENT SUBARU WITH A FAIR VALUE TRADE-IN. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE AND AVOID BE ILLEGAL. ON TOP OF THAT, THE RESPONSES FROM BOTH THE LOCAL AND CORPORATE OFFICES IS ALSO UNACCEPTABLE. THEY SHOULD BE EMBARRASSED.

NHTSA complaint 11223061. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 SUBARU CROSSTREK. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBERS: 19V149000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING) AND 18V772000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR RECALL REPAIRS. DUFF SUBARU (1028 S ROANE ST, HARRIMAN, TN 37748, (865) 882-0113) WAS CONTACTED AND CONFIRMED THAT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE RECALL. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND WAS NOT ABLE TO CONFIRM WHEN THE PARTS WERE TO BECOME AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT. *BF CONSUMER STATED SUBARU SAID CAR UNSAFE TO DRIVE - NO HELP DEALER BACKED UP FOR

NHTSA complaint 11220044, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
DEALER NOT ABLE TO FIX RECALL PROBLEM UNTIL AUG. 28 2019 DUE TO BACKLOG CAN NOT RENEW REGISTRATION UNTIL FIXED

NHTSA complaint 11218325. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Subaru Crosstrek

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 43 0 —
2024 110 2 —
2023 32 0 —
2021 112 1 —
2020 68 0 —
2019 284 7 —
2018 194 5 —
2017 94 1 —
2016 131 1 —
2015 17 1 —
2014 16 1 —

Other 2013 Subaru models

Outback 296 Impreza 249 XV Crosstrek 96 Forester 77 Legacy 66 BRZ 64

Every Subaru on this site — 97 vehicles, 147 recall campaigns and 1 open investigation .

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst