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Subaru · NHTSA safety record

2025 Subaru Ascent

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

Owners have filed 15 safety complaints about the 2025 Subaru Ascent with the US government. Of those, 2 describe a crash, 1 mentions a fire, 1 person was injured and no death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering equipment.

The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 2 complaints, 13% of the total.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers March 2025 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

15 complaints on file

15

Complaints

2

Describe a crash

1

Mention fire

1

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
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 · 13%
ENGINE 2 · 13%
STEERING 2 · 13%
STRUCTURE 2 · 13%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 · 13%
VISIBILITY 2 · 13%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 2 · 13%
AIR BAGS 1 · 7%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 · 7%
LANE DEPARTURE 1 · 7%
SERVICE BRAKES 1 · 7%
TIRES 1 · 7%
0 4 8

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 15.

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 2026 at 8.

12 9 6 3
25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2025 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 2025 Subaru ASCENT, 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 17.0%
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

EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS

26V436000 · July 7, 2026

The defect
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2026 Crosstrek Hybrid, 2025-2026 Forester Hybrid, Forester, and 2019-2026 Ascent vehicles. These vehicles were manufactured with an incorrect Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) on the certification label. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 110, "Tire selection and rims."
The risk
An incorrect GAWR label may lead to an overloaded vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Subaru will mail a new certification label to owners, free of charge. Owners may also choose to have a dealer install the new label, free of charge. Letters informing owners of the safety risk are expected to be mailed August 25, 2026. Additional letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRH-26.

Subaru of America, Inc. · up to 541,237 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.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL

1 injured · crash · towed · 22,000 miles

The contact owned a 2025 Subaru Ascent. The contact stated that while pulling into a parking spot with a foot on the brake pedal, the engine suddenly revved loudly and unintendedly accelerated. The vehicle crashed into a pole head-on and came to a stop. The vehicle was towed from the scene and was deemed a total loss. The contact sustained cuts on the hands, a sore back, a brain bleed, and body soreness. Medical attention was sought. The dealer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 22,000.

NHTSA complaint 11765912. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

fire · crash · towed

I hit a deer on CA 395 north, my braking system worked and my air bags deployed, and then my engine immediately caught fire. I’m lucky i was able to get out of the car through a back door. Every police and fire who responded said they have never seen a car catch fire after hitting a deer and i should report a vehicle malfunction

NHTSA complaint 11706345. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
Was getting out the car the door shut car door and side curtain on drivers side and drivers seats airbag deployed. My children were in the car no injuries during event. But, could have depending on when the airbags would have deployed if not then. Please inspect. Had manufacturer come inspect and was denied repair. No lamps or messaged reported. (Nothing was in the door way when door was shut)

NHTSA complaint 11757402. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STEERING
2025 Subaru Ascent has a popping noise randomly usually when turning left. Dealership services can not find the source.

NHTSA complaint 11752548. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
The car will spontaneously brake for no reason while driving forward and reverse. The steering wheel will spontaneously steer you out of the lane. The doors will lock while you are in the car and you can't get out for about 30 seconds. The deck door will come down on you unexpectedly while loading items. It has hit us in the head or makes us twist our back to lift it up. The stereo system has a mind if it's own. The eye site goes on and off for no reason. These safety issues concern us. We have had it in the service department three times and they can't duplicate the problem. They have had it since June 6th and drove it 30 miles in 20 days. I don't think they drove it long enough to

NHTSA complaint 11746812, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Traveling in my 2025 Subaru Ascent with cruise control set at 50mph. Bright sunny day, no shadows on the road and no vehicles in front of me. My vehicle slammed on the brakes out of nowhere. Held deceleration about 5-7 seconds and then resumed cruising speed. The road I was on is generally busy. I got very lucky there was no one behind me or I would have been rear ended.

NHTSA complaint 11746540. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
31 May 2026 (AM) Operating vehicle north on MD Rte 147 traveling appr. 45 MPH when vehicle started experiencing uncontrolled electrical activation of features e.g., heat, air, radio, main display. This proceed a shuddering in the drive train like one would experience with a transmission issue. Then, without warning, while at full speed, there was a complete loss of engine power i.e., it turned off, which also resulted in loss of steering and breaking resulting in a complete loss of control of the vehicle. As the vehicle drifted to a rolling stop, the main display indicated to turn off the vehicle and it was forced into park to stop it and then the ignition control button was pushed. The car

NHTSA complaint 11741773, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Subaru Ascent

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2024 50 1 —
2023 45 4 —
2022 55 2 —
2021 102 2 —
2020 322 5 —
2019 441 9 —

Other 2025 Subaru models

Forester 95 Outback 81 Crosstrek 44

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