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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.

About this comparison →

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

Visibility/wiper complaints

29 reports
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Mileage unknown · Oct 23, 2022
Visibility/wiper

The windshield broke there are no signs of breaking by a rock or any external element, there is a crack coming from the de-icer region, it was a small crack but now it covers all the side from the passenger side.

NHTSA ODI #11490493

Mileage unknown · Oct 4, 2022
Visibility/wiper

Windshield is very fragile. (I think it cracks when a flower petal falls on it...) But seriously, I have about 20 chips in my windshield and have not had any significant boulders or trucks with rocks that have hit my windshield. It appears to be from every day urban commute, which is unusual. I have never had a car that I have h…

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Windshield is very fragile. (I think it cracks when a flower petal falls on it...) But seriously, I have about 20 chips in my windshield and have not had any significant boulders or trucks with rocks that have hit my windshield. It appears to be from every day urban commute, which is unusual. I have never had a car that I have had to replace the windshield in due to fragility. Also, the windshield seal has come completely off at the base near the hood.

NHTSA ODI #11487919

Mileage unknown · Sep 15, 2022
Visibility/wiper

The front window was hit by chips seal pebbles from the car in front of us and chipped the window, twice. It was repaired with standard window chip repair.

NHTSA ODI #11484549

Mileage unknown · Jul 24, 2022
Visibility/wiper

Windshield seems pretty fragile after being hit by a little gravel pebble due to construction work at the highway the crack extended in less than 24 hours to 12 inches. This is very concerning since it’s pretty weird to a chip to develop as bad as this one.

NHTSA ODI #11475566

Mileage unknown · May 4, 2022
Visibility/wiper

Windshield cracked on driver side window for no reason - heard pop and looked at windshield and crack appeared. Contacted Eckbond who is subarus third party warranty for repairs, and they stated they can only reimburse me up to $500. Attempted to contact third party windshield repairs and they states it should be taken to subaru…

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Windshield cracked on driver side window for no reason - heard pop and looked at windshield and crack appeared. Contacted Eckbond who is subarus third party warranty for repairs, and they stated they can only reimburse me up to $500. Attempted to contact third party windshield repairs and they states it should be taken to subaru since there is no cause for crack. Contacted subaru and explained occurence and it will cost me $1800 for replacement even though, there was no reason for crack.

NHTSA ODI #11463368

Mileage unknown · May 3, 2022
Visibility/wiper

Windshield chips easily. I have owned this car from new (approximately 18 months). The windshield has picked up 7 chips in that time: more than the total of chips I've had in my 29 years of driving. Only one of the chips had a notable sound that accompanied it's creation, and that was from the impact of a large insect while driv…

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Windshield chips easily. I have owned this car from new (approximately 18 months). The windshield has picked up 7 chips in that time: more than the total of chips I've had in my 29 years of driving. Only one of the chips had a notable sound that accompanied it's creation, and that was from the impact of a large insect while driving on I-77. This windshield seems to be easily damaged, if not fragile, and gives me concern about the potential for injury if it was faced with any substantial impact. I'm also concerned about the high replacement costs for the windshield and required Eyesight re-calibration. If I had known the windshields where so susceptible to damage, I would not have picked a Subaru.

NHTSA ODI #11463245

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 · Jan 4, 2022
Visibility/wiper

The windshield has cracked on the passenger side. It has not put anyone at risk however, this seems to be an issue with many Subaru owners yet Subaru has not done anything about this issue. The vehicle has yet to be inspected.

NHTSA ODI #11446216

Mileage unknown · Dec 12, 2021
Visibility/wiper

When I bought the car last year I had it for less than 2 months before my windshield cracked from a rock while we were on the highway. I get this happens so I didn’t think anything of it until I saw how many other people have also had their windshield crack shortly after buying the car. Since I’ve gotten it replaced almost a yea…

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When I bought the car last year I had it for less than 2 months before my windshield cracked from a rock while we were on the highway. I get this happens so I didn’t think anything of it until I saw how many other people have also had their windshield crack shortly after buying the car. Since I’ve gotten it replaced almost a year ago I haven’t had any issues.

NHTSA ODI #11443493

Mileage unknown · Sep 17, 2021
Visibility/wiper

Windshield is cracked from a very small pebble. We were driving down the highway and all of the sudden there was a small crack appear, you couldnt even hear the impact. The glass seems very fragile on these cars.

NHTSA ODI #11433386

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.