Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government
holds on this vehicle.
Owners have filed 34 safety complaints
about the 2023 Subaru Crosstrek with the US government. Of those, 4 describe a crash, 4 people were injured and no death is recorded. No recall campaign has been matched to this year, make and model.
The most complained-about system is the electrical system,
named in 6 complaints, 18% of the total.
Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files
· Covers November 2022 to September 2026 · How this is counted
What is on file
34 complaints on file
34
Complaints
4
Describe a crash
0
Mention fire
4
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.
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.
Which system owners named
Complaints naming each system
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 11 · 32%
11 32%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6 · 18%
6 18%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 6 · 18%
6 18%
ENGINE 5 · 15%
5 15%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 5 · 15%
5 15%
SERVICE BRAKES 4 · 12%
4 12%
LANE DEPARTURE 3 · 9%
3 9%
AIR BAGS 2 · 6%
2 6%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 · 3%
1 3%
SEAT BELTS 1 · 3%
1 3%
SEATS 1 · 3%
1 3%
STRUCTURE 1 · 3%
1 3%
0815
One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 34.
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 2024 at 11.
12 9 6 3
222022232023242024252025262026
This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure
happened. The range runs from 2022 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 2023 Subaru CROSSTREK, and it is a separate
question from what owners report going wrong later.
Test
SW AWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover
15.6%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard
A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.
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
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.
SERVICE BRAKES
Often the brakes are squishy. They require me to push almost all the way down on the brake pedal to engage. This has happened several times of the last year.
NHTSA complaint 11761205. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The battery and electrical system died while I was at a red light in traffic on my way to work. I was stuck on a major road with trucks and traffic behind me while I was stuck in the middle lane. I had to wait for help to be pushed out of traffic to the sidewalk and wait for a jump. The Subaru dealership confirmed this was an issue with their battery and auto stop/start system and charged me $600 to replace the battery. When it died, every light on my dashboard lit up but there was no prior warning. I no longer have this vehicle as I did not feel safe driving it anymore and I traded it in for something completely different.
NHTSA complaint 11758851. 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.
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.
Complaints: NHTSA's ODI
complaint file, published October 2, 2026. One
complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.
Recalls: NHTSA's recall
campaign API, no campaign on file for this vehicle.
Investigations: NHTSA's ODI
investigation file, published October 2, 2026.
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.
G
Compiled and maintained by guarledes Independent developer and analyst