2020 Subaru Outback

0N03/31/22 2 CRACKS WERE DISCOVERED IN THE WINDSHIELD ON THE DRIVERS DIES OF THE VEHICLE. ONE WAS 9 INCHES IN LENGTH THE OTHER WAS 12 INCHES IN LENGTH. BOTH STARTED AT THE BASE OF THE WINDSHIELD AND WENT UPWARD. ON 0330/22 THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN AT THE DEALER FOR AN IL CHANGE AND OVERALL INSPECTION. NO DEFECTS WERE FOUND. VEHICLE WAS HOUSED IN GARAGE OVERNIGHT. CRACKS WERE FOUND THE NEXT MORNING. NO EVIDENCE ANYTHING HAD IMPACTED THE WINDSHIELD OVERNIGHT. CONTACTED INSURANCE COMPANY FOR CLAIM FOR REPLACEMENT AND RECALIBRATION OF EYE VISION SAFETY FEATURE. THERE IS A CURRENT LAWSUIT PENDING AGAINST SUBARU FOR WINDSHIELD CRACKS THE COVERS THIS MAKE,MODEL AND YEAR

The front lights are extremely bright for other drivers on the road. It is so bad that I took it into the dealership/service department to get them checked out. I was told that there is no issue with the lights and other drivers are not use to the led lights being installed into newer vehicles. I can see three blocks in front of me as far up into the trees. I rarely drive at night, because I am constantly getting hi beamed by other drivers. I noticed on other public forums that it is an issue with the lights and other models as well.

Headlights do not have a true low beam. When low beam is selected it partially blocks the top of the high beam. OK if on a dead flat road. On one that undulates at all at some point cars coming the other way are blinded by the full brightness of the headlight. Often because of this oncoming cars are flashing their high beams at me thinking that I haven't dimmed mine. If a driver is blinded by the high beam brightness it could cause an accident. Or it could cause a road rage incident by someone offended by my high beam. In my state the Police have fined drivers for not dimming their lights. Selecting low beam creates a very obvious horizontal cut off of the high beam. But a bounce or by meeting another vehicle while I going up a grade will shine the full high beam in their face.

Date: March 25, 2022 - While driving to work, the car shut off. The RAB and eye technology features were disabled. The car indicted the battery was drained. The same day I got the car towed to the dealer. I stayed with the vehicle to find out what was wrong. After a two hour inspection, the Bay Ridge Dealer/Mechanics in Brooklyn, New York indicated that I left something on that drained the battery. I said sir "I did not." He said well the battery is ok and there is no indication that anything is wrong. The next day (March 26,2022) when I was about to start the car - the car couldn't start. I had to get it towed to the dealer and am left without a car.

Head unit shuts off while driving with no warning, and no clear cause. All safety features shut off including Eyesight and rear brake assist (shows as off in instrumental panel). It has happened multiple times in the past several months ( at least seven times) Head unit then appears to restart while underway, as if I had just entered and started the vehicle. Contacted dealer who said “the radio sometimes shuts off”. I explained that it was the entire head unit and safety features. It was simply left with them saying they have know of it happening, but no action or follow up was recommended. Time of incident is an estimate. Electronics seem to be slow to start when vehicle is first started. Was not able to get photos while driving.

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the battery would drain with the engine off. The contact had to jump start the vehicle to resume normal operation. The contact also stated that the tailgate would independently open while driving due to a defective latch. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer where they could not determine the cause of the battery failure; however, the tailgate latch was replaced. Despite the visit to the dealer, the failures persisted. The manufacturer had been notified of the failure and offered to provide a cash incentive towards another vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

While driving on the highway, there must have been some road debris that hit the windshield and caused a long crack to form on the right lower quadrant of the windshield. Due to the development of the crack, the integrity of the windshield is lowered in the event another foreign object strikes it. Searching Outback windshield crack on Google or any other search engine will produce many reports in which other owners are experiencing the same issue. There is a subreddit titled subaruoutback in which there are over 50 reports from other Outback owners experiencing crack development for the first time in all their years of driving. I will be getting my windshield replaced by Safelite as to not place my passengers at risk. There have been previous lawsuits regarding Outback and Legacy models regarding defective windshield, which have since settled, although the year models are from 2015-2016, it would be interesting if they continue to persist for newer models such as 2020, 2021, 2022 since there are still many complaints and cracked windshields being reported. In the event that investigation proves that there are still windshield defective issues, hopefully Subaru can be encouraged to further research and provide safe windshield replacements for all parties involved.