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2021 Subaru Crosstrek

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Crosstrek years

Owner complaints for the 2021 Subaru Crosstrek are substantially higher than the model-year median of 43.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 17 of 115 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Visibility/wiper. Review the 29 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 16 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 16 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

8 crash reports2 fire reports4 injury reports

Unknown Or Other complaints

25 reports
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Mileage unknown · Feb 13, 2024
StructureUnknown Or Other

The windshield cowl is greatly separating at the bottom where it meets the wipers. The windshield and cowl are factory and no replacement or alterations done during the life of the car. I am the only owner

NHTSA ODI #11571581

Mileage unknown · Jul 8, 2023
Unknown Or Other

When I make a forward sharp right or left turn, the tires "shudder". It feels like they are skipping or I'm hitting little bumps in the road. Crown Subaru in Chattanooga, TN, told me the center differential was bad, so I would need to replace the transmission for $11,000. I took it to a mechanic for a second opinion who speciali…

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When I make a forward sharp right or left turn, the tires "shudder". It feels like they are skipping or I'm hitting little bumps in the road. Crown Subaru in Chattanooga, TN, told me the center differential was bad, so I would need to replace the transmission for $11,000. I took it to a mechanic for a second opinion who specializes in Subaru repair. They scoped it, fully checked the transmission, bearings...anything they thought it could be and could not find anything wrong with the transmission or bearings. Nothing that could be causing the shuddering. After visiting a few discussion sites, many Subaru owners have this problem and they are told many different things from their dealerships; all ranging from "it's normal on these models" to an exorbitant repair like a new transmission. Note: when Subaru told me I needed to change out the transmission, they did not say for sure that would fix the issue.

NHTSA ODI #11531040

Mileage unknown · May 3, 2023
Unknown Or Other

The sunroof exploded while driving causing glass to fall into the cabin onto the driver and passenger seats (while driving at highway speeds) and glass shards flew off the back of the car. The car has not been repaired as of yet. The Subaru dealership told me this has happened 4 times this year in my small town alone. I am curre…

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The sunroof exploded while driving causing glass to fall into the cabin onto the driver and passenger seats (while driving at highway speeds) and glass shards flew off the back of the car. The car has not been repaired as of yet. The Subaru dealership told me this has happened 4 times this year in my small town alone. I am currently working with insurance to get the glass replaced. The Subaru dealership put plastic over part of the sunroof to keep it from leaking water when it snows and rains. There were no warning lights, symptoms or messages prior to the incident.

NHTSA ODI #11520169

Mileage unknown · Feb 20, 2023
Unknown Or Other

We were driving on a major highway today and the sunroof of my Subaru Crosstrek randomly exploded with a loud bang. Glass shattered everywhere in the car, covering us passengers with shards. Thankfully no one was hurt and we were able to pull off safely and remove the shards from our clothing and seats, but I could easily see th…

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We were driving on a major highway today and the sunroof of my Subaru Crosstrek randomly exploded with a loud bang. Glass shattered everywhere in the car, covering us passengers with shards. Thankfully no one was hurt and we were able to pull off safely and remove the shards from our clothing and seats, but I could easily see this situation causing significant harm if it were to happen again. I have photos and my vehicle is available for inspection. A simple google search reveals that there are tons of people with Subarus who have had the same experience with a randomly exploding sun roof. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the dealer or manufacturer but I am bringing it in ASAP. The car is 1 year old and there were no symptoms of the problem prior to failure.

NHTSA ODI #11508225

Mileage unknown · Oct 14, 2022
Unknown Or OtherVisibility

Sunroof exploded outward, the majority of the glass was blown away. The sunshade was open. The temperature was 56 degrees. I was traveling north on I 15 in Davis Couty, Utah. I was not injured, there were no other occupants. I drove to Subaru dealer, they said they have seen this before, only one case. It was inspected by servic…

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Sunroof exploded outward, the majority of the glass was blown away. The sunshade was open. The temperature was 56 degrees. I was traveling north on I 15 in Davis Couty, Utah. I was not injured, there were no other occupants. I drove to Subaru dealer, they said they have seen this before, only one case. It was inspected by service dealer and deemed safe to drive with sunshade closed. There were no warnings, the sunroof is used infrequently. There were no other objects on the roof.

NHTSA ODI #11489284

Mileage unknown · Jul 26, 2022
Unknown Or Other

The bluetooth system is not functioning properly. When a call is in progress, the bluetooth will indicate that no phone is connected and prompt the driver to connect the phone. In the meantime, the call is still active and the person on the other end hears the radio playing but the driver cannot hear the other person. The call w…

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The bluetooth system is not functioning properly. When a call is in progress, the bluetooth will indicate that no phone is connected and prompt the driver to connect the phone. In the meantime, the call is still active and the person on the other end hears the radio playing but the driver cannot hear the other person. The call will then reconnect for a few seconds before repeating this process. It will continue until the call is ended. While this might be considered an inconvenience, I believe it is a genuine safety issue as this problem takes the drivers eyes off the road and has them answering prompts on a visual screen and is a general distraction. Subaru is aware of the problem and has refused to take action to correct it. The incident is ongoing. As a result the hands-free phone option is unavailable.

NHTSA ODI #11475908

Mileage unknown · Mar 29, 2022
Unknown Or OtherVisibility/wiper

I bought this car January 2021. In June 2021, the smallest pebble cracked my windshield while I was driving on the freeway. Yesterday, 3/28/22, I was driving home from work like usual and my sunroof spontaneously exploded and completely shattered. Yep, you read that right. Don’t believe me? Search up: Subaru exploded sunroof o…

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I bought this car January 2021. In June 2021, the smallest pebble cracked my windshield while I was driving on the freeway. Yesterday, 3/28/22, I was driving home from work like usual and my sunroof spontaneously exploded and completely shattered. Yep, you read that right. Don’t believe me? Search up: Subaru exploded sunroof on Google. Thank god I had the sunroof shade closed or else the glass would’ve fallen all over me. I suffer from trauma caused by a past car accident where I was in the passenger and do not take broken glass lightly which is why I chose Subaru to be my first car that I bought. I came home shaking and found out that other subaru owners experienced the same phenomenon after doing some research. However, Subaru does not want to take responsibility for this. You’re telling me that I don’t have to be in an actual accident in order to be harmed by my car that I was promised was not just one but THE TOP reliable and safest car in the industry?

NHTSA ODI #11458866

Mileage unknown · Mar 15, 2022
Unknown Or Other

I bought a 2021 Subaru Crosstrek in August 2021 and noticed that the hood has been very difficult to get open and closed. I brought it to the dealership and they did not do a thing about it. When I would try to pop the hood it wouldn't pop up at all and when I would get on the road it would come undone on it's own. It never cam…

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I bought a 2021 Subaru Crosstrek in August 2021 and noticed that the hood has been very difficult to get open and closed. I brought it to the dealership and they did not do a thing about it. When I would try to pop the hood it wouldn't pop up at all and when I would get on the road it would come undone on it's own. It never came flying up over the windshield impairing my vision so the secondary safety latch was working properly but the fact that the Subaru dealership said nothing was wrong with it was concerning. A separate mechanic not related to Subaru looked at it and adjusted something under the hood so that it is easier to get open and doesn't do this anymore but I still want to report it because I believe that it is a safety issue others could be facing with this vehicle. Closing the hood without slamming it down and getting it to lock down into place is still difficult. No Police were involved in looking into this issue. The only warning light that I had was when the hood opened while I drove on a high speed roadway and it was to notify me that the hood has opened, but as I stated previously the secondary latch worked properly but if it hadn't it would have definitely impaired my vision and could have caused an accident. Thank you for your time.

NHTSA ODI #11456853

Mileage unknown · Nov 30, 2021
Back Over PreventionPower TrainUnknown Or Other

Problem 1)Had my '21 Sport for 7 days. Started stalling few times when shifting from P to R while on a slight incline (dash lights up like in Acc mode) after driving it for about 30 min before and then turning it off to go inside of the store, etc. after about 2-5 minutes of idling, the car engine stopped like I was in auto stop…

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Problem 1)Had my '21 Sport for 7 days. Started stalling few times when shifting from P to R while on a slight incline (dash lights up like in Acc mode) after driving it for about 30 min before and then turning it off to go inside of the store, etc. after about 2-5 minutes of idling, the car engine stopped like I was in auto stop, but didn’t kick back on when I shift gears to reverse or when I applied gas. But then I hit the on/off button and engine turns over just fine. Problem 2) But today it started making a whirring sound with difficulty accelerating & quick decelerating/speed drop off upon release of gas, even when going down a big hill. It felt like resistance and pulling feeling almost? Like how a car feels when It doesn’t want to shift. Also felt a little jittery the longer I drove & loud clunk shifting gears. Got louder when I would press on the gas more. It continued even after starting the car again when leaving my location. It wasn’t doing it before yesterday, and then while positioning the car for the tow truck. But the back up cam started going crazy at me like I was about to hit something??? But nothing was there. Then eyesight was “disabled, check manual” a couple times today upon starting it. But no codes thrown thrown outside of the eyesight thing. I’ve seen a transmission issues and stalling and ECU issues with the 2018 & 2019 but quite a few people on Facebook and Reddit similar issues in '21. Dealer found no codes and couldn't recreate it so they told me to come get it.

NHTSA ODI #11442196

Mileage unknown · Nov 14, 2021
Unknown Or Other

Front windshield spontaneously cracked, originating from the frame.

NHTSA ODI #11440399

Official recalls

1

23V755000 · Power Train:automatic Transmission:park/neutral Start Interlock Switch

Nov 9, 2023

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.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An inoperative inhibitor switch may prevent the reverse lights from illuminating and the rearview camera image from displaying, increasing the risk of a crash.

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.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.