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Subaru · NHTSA safety record

2015 Subaru XV Crosstrek

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

Owners have filed 78 safety complaints about the 2015 Subaru XV Crosstrek with the US government. Of those, 5 describe a crash, 1 mentions a fire, 3 people were injured and no death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering forward collision avoidance.

The most complained-about system is the power train, named in 18 complaints, 23% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 37,801 miles, the median across the 45 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers July 2015 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

78 complaints on file

78

Complaints

5

Describe a crash

1

Mention fire

3

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 20 · 26%
POWER TRAIN 18 · 23%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 15 · 19%
ENGINE 13 · 17%
SERVICE BRAKES 6 · 8%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 6 · 8%
STRUCTURE 5 · 6%
AIR BAGS 4 · 5%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 3 · 4%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 2 · 3%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 · 3%
STEERING 2 · 3%
0 12 23

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 78.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2019 at 19.

20 15 10 5
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2015 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2015 Subaru XV CROSSTREK, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test SUV AWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover 15.1%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

1 on file

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: CRASH IMMINENT BRAKING

15V366000 · June 12, 2015

The defect
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2015 Legacy vehicles manufactured March 10, 2014, to April 16, 2015, Outback vehicles manufactured February 24, 2014, to April 16, 2015, Impreza vehicles manufactured September 9, 2014, to April 14, 2015, XV Crosstrek vehicles manufactured October 16, 2014, to April 15, 2015, and 2016 WRX vehicles manufactured March 23, 2015, and equipped with the Eyesight Driver Assist System. If the switch that activates the brake lights fails, the automatic pre-collision braking component of the driver assist system will not function.
The risk
If the automatic pre-collision braking system does not function as intended, the vehicle will not react to an obstacle in its path, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the driver assist system, free of charge. The recall began on July 20, 2015. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WQS-54.

Subaru of America, Inc. · up to 71,710 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

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

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed · 55,000 miles

The contact owned a 2015 Subaru XV Crosstrek. The contact stated while driving 15 mph, they pulled up to a red light and stopped, when the light turned green the contact was making a right turn when a 26-foot truck ran thru the light and crashed into the front driver side of the vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. There were no warning lights illuminated on the vehicle. The contact sustained an injured neck, bruises, and a muscle tear in the left side of their chest. There was medical treatment at the scene where the ambulance took the contact to the hospital by ambulance. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard where the contact insurance company inspected the

NHTSA complaint 11428527, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL

1 injured · crash · towed · 28,000 miles

The contact owned a 2015 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while driving 20-25 MPH and making a left in the roundabout of a residential road, she felt a rear impact and all the air bags deployed. The vehicle then accelerated unintendedly, veered to the right, jumped the curb, and crashed into a tree. The brake pedal was depressed but failed to respond. The contact stated that she sustained significant Hematomas on her left and right calves from the knee air bags deployment. The contact sought medical assistance, A police report was filed. Bystanders informed the contact that the vehicle was not rear-ended; however, the cause of the failure was undetermined. The vehicle was towed to an

NHTSA complaint 11505163, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 injured · crash

Car involved in accident 10/2020( remember this was DURING the COVID “shut down”) Was rear ended … tried to get car fixed. Insurance only wanted to do “cosmetics” nothing underlying ( mechanical… the car started to show signs of the damage …running lights stopped working on rear end ONLY. Breaks started to cease up…. I was afraid to drive this way… The “eyesight” prevented my vehicle from hitting truck in front of me ( during the accident on 10/2020). I have since had breaks worked on, I have replace light bulbs, I have had turn signal arm replaced, according to Subaru can will not start now. They keep coming up with more for me to pay for and my vehicle is still not running?!? It had

NHTSA complaint 11514775, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

fire

caliper seized and caught on fire, front passenger side. Was told by mechanic second Crosstreck this week with same problem.

NHTSA complaint 11436785. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN

towed · 59,900 miles

The contact owns a 2015 Subaru XV Crosstrek. The contact stated that while driving 72 MPH, the vehicle stalled and bucked, with a grinding sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road. Additionally, there was a burning odor coming from the vehicle, and there was fluid leaking from the front of the vehicle. The vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that the transmission could be replaced with a rebuilt transmission with approximately 50,000 miles or

NHTSA complaint 11761654, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
I am filing a complaint regarding a major CVT transmission failure in my 2015 Subaru Crosstrek at approximately 117,318 miles. Prior to failure, there were no warning lights, dashboard messages, or significant indications of impending transmission failure. The only noticeable symptom was a slight whistling noise coming from the vehicle shortly before the transmission issue became severe. The sudden nature of the failure created a safety concern because the vehicle’s ability to accelerate and respond reliably while driving was compromised without meaningful warning. A sudden loss of reliable transmission function creates potential risk when merging, accelerating, or operating in traffic. The

NHTSA complaint 11737827, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
While driving at normal operating speed, the vehicle experienced a sudden and complete loss of engine power with no prior warning. There were no dashboard alerts, warning lights, or check engine indicators before the failure occurred. The vehicle became immediately unsafe to operate and had to be pulled over in a main highway center lane divide. After inspection by a licensed mechanic, it was determined that the engine suffered catastrophic internal failure due to oil and engine coolant mixing. This resulted in complete engine failure and rendered the vehicle inoperable. The vehicle has been properly maintained with all routine oil changes and inspections completed on schedule. There was no

NHTSA complaint 11706903, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SUSPENSION
UNKNOWN exact cause. Rear end of vehicle suddenly appears lower than normal. Suspension seems to be issue. Feels as though vehicle lost suspension in rear with no obvious outward cause. Awaiting inspection at dealership. Does not seem safe to drive in current condition with unknown cause of issue at this time. having vehicle towed to dealership for further diagnostics today.

NHTSA complaint 11698505. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY
Sunroof exploded for no reason Comments: My son was driving on freeway in Durham North Carolina last night, our 2015 Subaru Crosstrek XV Touring’s sunroof just exploded for no reason at [XXX] in [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint 11679610. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Pressing the horn button on the steering wheel does not sound the horn. However, pushing the “lock” or “panic” button on the key fob still makes the horn beep. So the horn itself works, but pressing on the steering wheel does absolutely nothing. Other buttons on the steering column still work (cruise control, radio controls, etc). Only pressing the horn button doesn’t work thus making me unable to alert other drivers of my presence if they are drifting toward me. This has not been evaluated by a mechanic or dealer yet as I do not have the money to do so. However, a simple search on Reddit will show you that many others are experiencing this with their Subaru Crosstreks. There were no

NHTSA complaint 11653762, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Subaru XV Crosstrek

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2014 81 0 —
2013 97 2 —

Other 2015 Subaru models

Forester 614 Outback 510 Legacy 159 Impreza 77 WRX 52 Crosstrek 17

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Subaru on this site — 99 vehicles.

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. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

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