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Subaru · NHTSA safety record

2023 Subaru Crosstrek

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

32

Complaints

4

Crashes

0

Fires

4

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2023 Subaru Crosstrek have filed 32 safety complaints with NHTSA between November 2022 and May 2026. The most complained-about system is visibility and the wipers, named in 6 of them (19%). The typical failure was reported at 16,500 miles, the median across the 2 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

No recall campaign was matched to this year, make and model. That is not the same as a clean vehicle: recalls are issued against production ranges, and the only reliable check is your own VIN.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 32.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 11 34%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 6 19%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 16%
ENGINE 5 16%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 5 16%
LANE DEPARTURE 3 9%
SERVICE BRAKES 3 9%
AIR BAGS 2 6%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 3%
SEAT BELTS 1 3%
SEATS 1 3%
STRUCTURE 1 3%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2024 at 11.

2022 2024 2026
2022 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

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

AIR BAGS

2 injured · crash · towed

Driving down highway in center lane, at or under speed limit, rainy conditions. Unexpectedly hydroplaned when transitioning from asphalt to bridge. Collided head-on with guardrail on right-hand side of road. Car then rotated and driver side rear collided with guardrail again. Airbags did not deploy, and during initial head on collision with barrier, driver seatbelt came unlatched from locking mechanism. No inspections at this time. No warning lights prior to crash. Potential for significant harm. Vehicle has been towed to IAA by insurance and will be temporarily available for inspection if requested. Presumed totaled, which will be confirmed within the week, after which the vehicle will

NHTSA complaint 11672042, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

1 injured · crash · towed · 4,000 miles

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that while turning into a parking spot at 20 MPH and upon depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle continued to accelerate, causing the contact to crash the front of the vehicle into the concrete wall. The vehicle came to a stop upon impact. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed to a local autobody center. No warning lights were illuminated. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not destroyed. The contact seated in the driver's seat was injured. No body outside of the vehicle reported an injury; however, a bystander nearby the crash site was taken to the hospital as a precaution in spite of her refusal to seek

NHTSA complaint 11655198, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

1 injured · crash · towed

Purchased vehicle 8/27/2025 within 1 day and 1 month of 2 separate class action lawsuits. Purchased from CarMax Wilmington. Car produced electrical shock to my hand first time I attempted to pair the vehicle. Parkway stated at that time I was under an additional warranty but the vehicle would require constant “updates”. This was an intentional deception to prevent me from pursuing what is required under the law, which is the replacement of head unit and subsequent by back of the vehicle when those services fail. "I am reporting a severe pre-crash safety module defect and subsequent dealer concealment on a 2023 Subaru Crosstrek. Two weeks prior to being rear-ended, Parkway Subaru in

NHTSA complaint 11737874, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

crash · towed

On the morning of 12/26/24 - I stepped inside my 2023 Subaru Crosstrek and turned on the engine. The vehicle was parked in a commuter parking lot near my home to begin with. When I turned on the vehicle - I noticed a loud roaring sound when the engine turned on which i thought was very strange. Additionally I did NOT have my foot on the gas pedal at all during this time. I proceeded to place the car in drive and all of sudden the car experienced a unintended acceleration straight forward with a sudden burst that i never experienced before. I proceeded to press the brake pedal and tried to turn the steering wheel - but both functions were non-responsive which was incredibly frightening. My

NHTSA complaint 11632612, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Replaced battery 3 times. Believe this car has the parasitic battery issue. Attached on of the bills. Looking for the other 2.

NHTSA complaint 11736353. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
the rear brakes keep engaging while the car is driving. we purchased the car in November 2022. this happened in December 2024 & at the time a dealership in [XXX] area (where my son attended college), said it was an issue and replaced parts in the brake system. yesterday while we were driving back from [XXX] to Houston - the brakes started to make loud squeaking noise as if they were engaged and the brake light keep going on and off. fortunately, this happened very near to Houston and we drove slowly on by roads back home. it feels likes driving with hand brake engaged. fortunately nothing happened to us. but this is a systemic problem with subaru crosstek! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO

NHTSA complaint 11735448, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
Passenger side valve cover gasket and spark plug seal failure.

NHTSA complaint 11721593. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
I was driving today January 30th 2026 on the road going 35 mph into the sunlight and all of the sudden my vehicle acted like I slammed on my brakes and I jerked forward almost hitting my chin in the steering wheel. Luckily no one was close behind me or I could have easily been hit. There was nothing in front of me so emergency brakes should not have deployed.

NHTSA complaint 11714624. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SUSPENSION
I've never taken my 23 crosstrek off the pavement I'm driving down hyw and my rear struts break my crosstrek has 38 thousand miles on it and it's only 3 and 1/2 years old I've owned many cars were if drove hundreds of thousands mile and none of them broke there struts going down the hyw

NHTSA complaint 11704596. 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 —
2021 112 1 —
2020 68 0 —
2019 284 7 —
2018 194 5 —
2017 94 1 —
2016 131 1 —
2015 17 1 —
2014 16 1 —
2013 25 1 —

Other 2023 Subaru models

Outback 87 Forester 73 Ascent 42 Solterra 41 Legacy 10

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