Subaru · NHTSA safety record
Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.
Owners have filed 81 safety complaints about the 2025 Subaru Outback with the US government. Of those, 5 describe a crash, 2 mention a fire, 1 person was injured and no death is recorded. No recall campaign has been matched to this year, make and model.
The most complained-about system is forward collision avoidance, named in 20 complaints, 25% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 1,999 miles, the median across the 9 complaints that gave an odometer reading.
Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers November 2024 to September 2026 · How this is counted
81
Complaints
5
Describe a crash
2
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.
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.
One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 81.
By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2026 at 40.
This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2024 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.
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 OUTBACK, 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 | 18.5% |
A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.
Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.
1 injured
When engine auto-restarts after Auto Start-Stop has started engine, steering wheel jerks violently if it is not completely straight, dislocated my 5th finger.
NHTSA complaint 11757336. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
fire
I just bought my Subaru outback brand new in October 2025. I’ve maintained my oil changes at the dealership. I bought it from in the last one was last may 26. I filled up my tank with a full tank of gas June 1. On June 2 when I was driving home from work on the I 94 Highway in Detroit Michigan I was going about 50 mph when my check engine light went on and within seconds the engine failed. The car was still on, but the gas pedal wouldn’t work and I was in the far left-hand side lane of the highway. I was able to slowly pull over to the fire right hand shoulder, even though it was during peak traffic time. As I pulled over, I started seeing smoke come from under the hood. I then seen a big
NHTSA complaint 11741875, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
fire
NHTSA Complaint Narrative — Draft On July 9, 2026, in the evening, my leased 2026 Subaru Outback Touring caught fire while we were driving home. We were stopped in a left-turn lane waiting on a left-turn signal. When the light turned, the vehicle in front of us moved forward — which, in hindsight, was fortunate, because molten metal was sprayed across that exact spot moments later. The engine effectively exploded, throwing molten metal from the melted hood and engine components into the air around the car. We exited the vehicle immediately, leaving it burning in the left-turn lane. The fire department, based only about half a mile away, arrived within approximately 4 minutes, but it still
NHTSA complaint 11755608, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
crash · towed · 500 miles
The contact owned a 2025 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that after coming from a stop sign, she depressed the accelerator pedal to make a right turn, and the vehicle inadvertently stopped and then experienced unintended acceleration with no warning light illuminated. The contact regained control of the vehicle; however, the failure recurred while her husband was driving. The contact stated that while her husband was driving under 5 MPH and exiting a parking space, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration and crashed into two other vehicles. The contact and her husband did not sustain any injuries, and no medical attention was received. The air bags did not deploy. A police report
NHTSA complaint 11694726, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
July 4, 2025 car had about 4100 miles Severe dangerous phantom braking on highway CA 280 N just prior to foothill expressway exit at about 7:30 pm. Suddenly while traveling 60+ MPH on mid lanes of freeway car auto braking caused car to brake/slow to 1/2 speed with no visible obstacle seen by any of 4 adults in car. Multi[ple Dash lights up with eyesite failure and all red , green and yellow lights. Gas pedal ws unresponsive no power. Eminent crash danger. Driver responded trying to hit gas then brake to steer off freeway. After several seconds the car gas pedal eventually responded and I was able to exit freeway at next exit. Taken to dealer July 23, 2025 Reported to Subaru of Santa Cruz .
NHTSA complaint 11765887, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
crash · towed
The brakes failed and could be inspected upon request. My safety and the safety of two other passengers was put at risk because my vehicle rear ended an another vehicle at a red light. The problem has not yet been confirmed or reproduced by the dealership or inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representative of others. There were no warning messages, or symptoms of the problem prior to the failure.
NHTSA complaint 11764693. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
See attached document for complaint.
NHTSA complaint 11764747. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
While traveling along I-94E outside of Macomb County on September 10th at around 8:30AM, forward collision warning triggered twice while facing the direct sun. It triggered for around 6 seconds. Shortly after getting off the Shook Rd exit at around 8:45M and turning right, I had a full AEB activation while again facing the sun, almost causing the vehicle behind me to rear end me.
NHTSA complaint 11764235. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
The large LCD screen infront the shifter just goes blank. Been to the dealer the reload the operating system to no avail.
NHTSA complaint 11762374. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
Lane-keeping/lane-centering: The system repeatedly pulls the vehicle too far to the right. More seriously, while driving on the freeway, it has randomly and suddenly jerked the vehicle to the right with a rapid steering input. This is not simply a matter of the system being imperfect—it creates a serious safety concern because the vehicle can move abruptly toward the edge of the lane or toward an adjacent lane.
NHTSA complaint 11761969. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
| Model year | Complaints | Recalls | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 102 | 0 | — |
| 2023 | 89 | 2 | — |
| 2022 | 464 | 4 | — |
| 2021 | 296 | 4 | — |
| 2020 | 899 | 6 | — |
| 2019 | 1,034 | 3 | — |
| 2018 | 812 | 3 | — |
| 2017 | 917 | 4 | — |
| 2016 | 643 | 4 | — |
| 2015 | 510 | 5 | — |
| 2014 | 208 | 10 | — |
| 2013 | 297 | 12 | 1 |
| 2012 | 292 | 16 | — |
| 2011 | 652 | 16 | — |
| 2010 | 360 | 18 | — |
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.
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 guarledes
Independent developer and analyst