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Subaru · NHTSA safety record

2023 Subaru Outback

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

87

Complaints

8

Crashes

1

Fires

3

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2023 Subaru Outback have filed 87 safety complaints with NHTSA between October 2022 and August 2026. The most complained-about system is forward collision avoidance, named in 22 of them (25%). The typical failure was reported at 7,500 miles, the median across the 12 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 2 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (2)

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:PARK/NEUTRAL START INTERLOCK SWITCH

23V755000 · November 9, 2023

The defect
Subaru of America, Inc. is recalling certain model year 2021 Crosstrek, 2022 Forester, 2021-2023 Legacy, and Outback vehicles. An insufficient weld may allow water to enter the inhibitor switch, causing it to fail.
The risk
An inoperative inhibitor switch may prevent the reverse lights from illuminating and the rearview camera image from displaying, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the inhibitor switch, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 8, 2024. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WRQ-23.

Subaru of America, Inc. · up to 95,830 vehicles across all model years covered

POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT

23V647000 · September 21, 2023

The defect
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2023 Outback, Legacy, Ascent, and Impreza vehicles. The center support bolts for the driveshaft may loosen, resulting in the disconnection of the front end of the driveshaft.
The risk
Separation of the front end of the driveshaft increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will clean the bolt mounting surfaces of the center support brace and install new bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 20, 2023. Owners may contact Subaru's customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRN-23.

Subaru of America, Inc. · up to 4,311 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 87.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 22 25%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 17 20%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 16 18%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 15 17%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 6 7%
SERVICE BRAKES 6 7%
POWER TRAIN 4 5%
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 3 3%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 3%
VISIBILITY 3 3%
AIR BAGS 2 2%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 2%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2023 at 47.

2022 2023 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.

LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE:LOCK

2 injured · 23,000 miles

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while walking around the vehicle attempting to put her husband in the passenger seat, the hatchback opened independently, and they both got pushed independently from the vehicle on the ground from the impact. The contact mentioned by the standers came out of the office to check on them and called 911 immediately. The contact stated that she sustained injuries to the knee and left shoulder, and her husband sustained injuries from the left elbow to the arm. Medical attention was required, and they were transported to the ER by ambulance. The contact stated that a police report was not filed. The contact stated that the failure

NHTSA complaint 11700576, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN

1 injured · crash · towed

My car had an unintended acceleration that caused me to go in a ditch and hit a tree. I could not get car to stop when I realized it was increasing speed. It all happened very fast. My car was totaled. All airbags deployed. front right side of car was completely destroyed. There were no warnings. My insurance company has the car on their tow lot. I have sprains and bruises on my right side and a slight concussion. so thankful that I was not in a parking lot or in heavy traffic or near any walkers

NHTSA complaint 11639451. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

fire · crash · towed

My son was traveling at an appropriate highway speed when the truck in front of him stopped suddenly. He braked immediately and was able to slow down significantly, but not enough to avoid colliding with the back of the truck in front of him. He was going approximately 20 mph, still braking, when the collision occurred. His best recollection is that the vehicle's pre-collision system did not engage until after he collided with the truck. There was damage to the front end of the vehicle but it was not severe. My son moved the vehicle onto the shoulder of the highway and put it in park. The driver of the truck called the police. My sons got out of the vehicle. While they were talking with the

NHTSA complaint 11574953, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

crash · towed · 268,000 miles

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while parked with the brake pedal depressed when the vehicle suddenly lunged forward and jumped the curb onto the sidewalk. The vehicle ended up in the glass of the store in front of the parking space. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. There were no warning lights. A police report was filed. The front end, bumper, hood, side panels, and fog lights were all damaged. The storefront, a nearby pillar, and decorative stone were also damaged. There were no injuries. No medical attention was needed. The dealer had not been diagnosed and or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure.

NHTSA complaint 11508765, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Phantom Braking of Pre-Collision Braking 2023 Subaru Outback Turbo Wednesday, July 29, 2026. 9:30 am, sunny day Driving south on local city street. Brakes slammed on, car stopped, flashing yellow lights on left Combination Meter stating that Pre-Collision Braking was activated. There was no vehicle/obstacle/animal in the road. No parked cars, no cars backing out of a driveway. Road was completely clear. No strange shadows, no cracks in street. Pre-collision braking system hallucinated an obstacle and activated, throwing me forward into steering wheel, and dog in the back seat thrown forward into back of driver’s seat. Restarted car and drove off. Turned off system every time I drove the car

NHTSA complaint 11754558, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

TIRES
The original equipment Yokohama Avid GT tires experienced rapid, catastrophic structural degradation (extreme inner-edge wear and chunking of the exterior edge over ~7,000 mi.). I have photos of the tires, and Carr Subaru (Beaverton, OR) has one of the tires available for inspection. I am the original owner of this vehicle. It has been regularly serviced at the appropriate intervals by the dealership where it was purchased in November 2022. At ~15,000 mi., the tires were rotated and the alignment was adjusted by the dealership. Between 15,000 and 22,000 mi., the tires completely wore through. When I noticed the wear, I brought the car to the dealership to replace the tires, check the

NHTSA complaint 11753730, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The Advanced Driver Assistance System (EyeSight/Automatic Emergency Braking), the Service Brakes, and the Central Electrical System malfunctioned. The vehicle is currently held at an authorized dealership and is available for inspection.On Monday, June 22, 2026, at approximately 4:47 PM, while traveling at highway speeds on I-295 South under clear weather conditions, the vehicle suffered a catastrophic, unprompted automatic emergency braking event. While my right turn signal was active and I was initiating a lane change to pass a truck, the autonomous braking system engaged with maximum force, pulling the brake pedal completely to the floorboards with zero obstacles present. A consumer

NHTSA complaint 11749144, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL

crash · 20,300 miles

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Outback. While turning into a parking spot, the accelerator pedal was slightly depressed, and the vehicle unintendedly accelerated, crashing into a parked vehicle on the driver's side. The contact stated that the vehicle continued to move forward after the crash into the next parking spot. No warning lights illuminated. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 20,300.

NHTSA complaint 11731476. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Recently, in my 2023 Subaru Outback, I have been having pop-up ads for SirusXM take over my infotainment screen. The ad appears in the center, does not allow the user to interact with the screen - including air conditioning control and traction control selection - and will not go away until I acknowledge the ad. It has appeared when I start the vehicle and while I am driving. I contacted Subaru of America; they first told me to contact SiriusXM. I asked why I was being told to contact SiriusXM for a pop-up ad in my Subaru - of course SiriusXM wants to advertise to consumers, but why would Subaru allow them to display ads in my car whenever they chose? I own my car outright; it is neither a

NHTSA complaint 11702638, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Subaru Outback

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 74 0 —
2024 96 0 —
2022 460 4 —
2021 294 4 —
2020 895 6 —
2019 1,032 3 —
2018 807 3 —
2017 917 4 —
2016 641 4 —
2015 508 5 —
2014 208 10 —
2013 296 12 1
2012 292 16 —
2011 651 16 —
2010 360 18 —

Other 2023 Subaru models

Forester 73 Ascent 42 Solterra 41 Crosstrek 32 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