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2018 Subaru Outback

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Outback years

Owner complaints for the 2018 Subaru Outback are substantially higher than the model-year median of 207.5.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

488 reports with mileage · 323 unknown

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.

  • Electrical System. Review the 265 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Visibility/wiper. Review the 233 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Fuel/propulsion System. Review the 43 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

27 crash reports4 fire reports10 injury reports

Visibility complaints

41 reports
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32,000 miles · Nov 16, 2021
Visibility

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked overnight and as he sat in the vehicle the next morning, he noticed a foot-long crack starting from the top of the windshield going down on the driver’s side. The contact looked around but could not determine the cause of the failure. The vehi…

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The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked overnight and as he sat in the vehicle the next morning, he noticed a foot-long crack starting from the top of the windshield going down on the driver’s side. The contact looked around but could not determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who inspected the vehicle and advised the contact that he would be responsible for the cost of the repair because the warranty only covered minor cracks. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 32,000.

NHTSA ODI #11440712

18,130 miles · Nov 4, 2021
Visibility

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact noticed that the windshield was cracked from the bottom of the passenger’s side going upward. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 18,130.

NHTSA ODI #11439296

29,000 miles · Sep 21, 2021
Visibility

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle, the next morning a large S-shaped crack was present in the middle of the front windshield. The contact indicated that the crack was not present after parking the night before and no object had contacted the windshield to cause the failure.…

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The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle, the next morning a large S-shaped crack was present in the middle of the front windshield. The contact indicated that the crack was not present after parking the night before and no object had contacted the windshield to cause the failure. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The contact stated that the failure had previously occurred and was repaired. The failure mileage was 29,000.

NHTSA ODI #11433849

10,100 miles · Sep 20, 2021
Visibility

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the windshield cracked without impact. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer nor independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The contact researched the failure online and found a class action lawsuit that stated a complaint had to be filed w…

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The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the windshield cracked without impact. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer nor independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The contact researched the failure online and found a class action lawsuit that stated a complaint had to be filed with NHTSA. The contact felt unsafe driving the vehicle and feared that the windshield might shatter while driving. The manufacturer had not been notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 10,100.

NHTSA ODI #11433652

52,390 miles · Sep 7, 2021
Visibility

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, she noticed there was a crack on the windshield. There was no impact to the windshield that could have caused the crack. The contact stated that the Eyesight system of the vehicle later failed when it did not alert the contact that there was another…

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The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, she noticed there was a crack on the windshield. There was no impact to the windshield that could have caused the crack. The contact stated that the Eyesight system of the vehicle later failed when it did not alert the contact that there was another vehicle behind while the contact was reversing out of a parking space. The contact's vehicle was scratched on the rear driver side bumper. The dealer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the Eyesight system would fail if the windshield was damaged. An upcoming appointment was scheduled for the repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 52,390.

NHTSA ODI #11432025

Mileage unknown · Aug 31, 2021
Visibility

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that since purchasing the vehicle, the windshield had to be replaced five times. The contact stated that each failure had occurred either without incident or upon a minor object hitting the windshield. Each time prior to the latest failure, the contact had an independent…

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The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that since purchasing the vehicle, the windshield had to be replaced five times. The contact stated that each failure had occurred either without incident or upon a minor object hitting the windshield. Each time prior to the latest failure, the contact had an independent mechanic replace and recalibrate the windshield as well as apply all windshield safety features to the new windshield. The dealer nor the manufacturer had been notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ODI #11431214

35,800 miles · Aug 24, 2021
Visibility

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact mentioned that his wife was out at the store and went into the store; after exiting the store the contact noticed that the front windshield was cracked from the passenger’s side straight across the middle to the driver side. The contact looked around to see if an object had str…

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The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact mentioned that his wife was out at the store and went into the store; after exiting the store the contact noticed that the front windshield was cracked from the passenger’s side straight across the middle to the driver side. The contact looked around to see if an object had struck the windshield however, no object was found. The windshield was not inspected or repaired. The dealer was contacted however, informed the contact that there was no recall under the VIN. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 35,800

NHTSA ODI #11430367

35,822 miles · Aug 19, 2021
Visibility

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked, when he noticed there was a crack on the windshield. There was no impact to the windshield that could have caused the crack. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The failu…

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The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked, when he noticed there was a crack on the windshield. There was no impact to the windshield that could have caused the crack. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 35,822.

NHTSA ODI #11429771

50,000 miles · Aug 4, 2021
Visibility

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that there was a popping sound coming from the front windshield. The contact stated that one morning it was discovered that the front windshield had several cracks that had extended across the windshield from the top to the bottom of the windshield. The cause of the crac…

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The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that there was a popping sound coming from the front windshield. The contact stated that one morning it was discovered that the front windshield had several cracks that had extended across the windshield from the top to the bottom of the windshield. The cause of the cracks was not determined. The contact stated that no object impacted the windshield to cause the cracks. The local dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000.

NHTSA ODI #11427740

25,182 miles · Jul 6, 2021
Visibility

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving at 70 mph, a rock struck the front windshield. The contact stated at the time there was no cracks on the front windshield. The next day upon entering the vehicle, he noticed a crack going along the passenger’s side of the front windshield. The vehicle was n…

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The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving at 70 mph, a rock struck the front windshield. The contact stated at the time there was no cracks on the front windshield. The next day upon entering the vehicle, he noticed a crack going along the passenger’s side of the front windshield. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer nor independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure and informed the contact that they would call the contact back once an assessment was made. The failure mileage was approximately 25,182.

NHTSA ODI #11423541

Official recalls

3

21V587000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump

Jul 29, 2021

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Ascent, 2018 Forester, 2018-2020 Impreza, Legacy, Outback, 2018-2019 BRZ, WRX, and Toyota 86 vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will replace the low-pressure fuel pump, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 24, 2021. Subaru and Toyota owners may call customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRG-21.

18V935000 · Visibility:rearview Mirrors/devices

Dec 31, 2018

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2018 Legacy, Outback, and BRZ vehicles. In the affected vehicles, a software issue may cause the audio display system to not initialize, resulting in the camera display remaining blank. If this occurs, the rearview image will not display while backing up the vehicle. As a result, the vehicles fail to comply with requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety (FMVSS) number 111, "Rearview Mirrors."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Failure to display the rearview image while backing up increases the risk of crash.

Remedy: Subaru has notified owners, and dealers will reprogram the audio system display software, free of charge. The recall began on February 5, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WTZ-85.

18V773000 · Electrical System:software; Fuel System, Gasoline

Nov 1, 2018

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2018 Subaru Legacy and Outback vehicles. Due to a software error, the low fuel warning light may not illuminate at the intended remaining fuel level and the miles-to-empty display may incorrectly indicate a positive number despite the tank being empty.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: The inaccurate fuel display may cause a driver to unexpectedly run out of fuel and the vehicle to stall, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the combination meter software, free of charge. The recall began February 20, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WTW-82.

Additional source detail variants (2)

Electrical System:software

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2018 Subaru Legacy and Outback vehicles. Due to a software error, the low fuel warning light may not illuminate at the intended remaining fuel level and the miles-to-empty display may incorrectly indicate a positive number despite the tank being empty.

Consequence: The inaccurate fuel display may cause a driver to unexpectedly run out of fuel and the vehicle to stall, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the combination meter software, free of charge. The recall began February 20, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WTW-82.

Fuel System, Gasoline

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2018 Subaru Legacy and Outback vehicles. Due to a software error, the low fuel warning light may not illuminate at the intended remaining fuel level and the miles-to-empty display may incorrectly indicate a positive number despite the tank being empty.

Consequence: The inaccurate fuel display may cause a driver to unexpectedly run out of fuel and the vehicle to stall, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the combination meter software, free of charge. The recall began February 20, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WTW-82.

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.

Go deeper into Subaru Outback problems