2022 Subaru Outback

I bought Subaru Outback Jan 2022 brand new. Also, I bought the extended warranty. Last April 18,2022 while I was driving along the parkway I heard a sound hitting my windshield and all of a sudden I saw a cracked on the windshield, about 7inches long. Looking at the windshield, It does not look like a large object hit my windshield. You could tell it's just a small object. I can assume its a small stone. I discovered later on about the lawsuit/complains about Subaru's problems with cracked prone windshield. Subaru dealer did not disclose anything about this problem when I was buying this car otherwise I will not buy this car. I called the dealer and they want ~$1100 for repair. This windshield is defective, poor quality and dangerous! I hope you will investigate this matter seriously. Thanks!

A large crack spontaneously formed on the front windshield, starting from the left wiper motor to the middle -- right in the driver's field-of-view. The crack appeared on a day when my car was not driven for several days prior to the crack forming and security cameras showed no foul play by pedestrians. The crack has since spread into a "spider-like" crack once it reached the center of the windshield. The morphology of this crack appears to be from manufacturing defects and not from a rock chip or property damage.

Front windshield crack, around 10-15 inches of length, located at passenger area. Inspection is not necessary since the glass has been replaced, though pictures of glass crack on first appearance has been provided for reference. It is a safety risk due to obstruction of driver’s visibility also the possibility of glass crack expansion or shutter. The incident has been reported to the dealership and 3rd party insurance. There were no symptoms or warning of the problem prior to failure. There are no visible spots or impact area that proves the damage was caused by a rock chip or any other objects hitting the glass that may have caused the crack. April 1 evening, car was checked after parking to garage and prior to entering the house and there was no cracks or any damage. Next day, April 2 morning the crack has appeared and upon checking there was no impact points or spots. From the time of first appearance until the day of it getting fixed the crack has gotten bigger adding 6-8 inches more, while the car has not been driven since the crack appearance.

Windshield cracked on its own from bottom half edge on passengers side and approximately 14” long. Was in the driveway at my child’s daycare, went up to the door, and in that time, the windshield spontaneously cracked. Daycare checked cameras and no branch or object struck the windshield. The crack is in my line of sight part of the time, is extremely noticeable, and at times is an obstruction of view. Also, if something were to actually impact the windshield, I wouldn’t have much for protection but clearly the windshield was not much for protection to begin with. Dealership says it must’ve been a chip but i had just washed my car including the windows and I notice everything and document everything since this is my first purchase of a brand new car. There was no visible chip. I don’t go off-roading or anything of the sort. I 100% believe this is a defect that has been ongoing for Subaru. Dealer gave me a business card to a repair place. Contacted Subaru and they give me a $500 certificate to use towards a windshield replacement at a dealership BUT the dealership will not replace the windshield, most likely because this has been an ongoing issue with Subaru and if the new windshield is not installed by a Subaru dealer, it’s not covered under warranty. So, essentially I got a useless gift certificate. There should have been some sort of disclosure or better yet, some accountability for the poor quality and safety hazard the windshield presents.

My 2022 Outback Limited with 4000 miles had a large spontaneous crack form in the bottom of the windshield. Without provocation by the impact of any stone or road bump or other apparent cause, the crack abruptly originated under the lower moulding near the center bottom between driver and passenger side, while at a stop light on a residential street near our home. The crack rapidly lengthened vertically about 4 inches then turned 90 degrees toward passenger side and proceeded to further rapidly lengthen by about a foot before diving vertically back down to the bottom moulding on the passenger side. I called Subaru of America and was told it would likely be a watranty repair but that I needed to take the vehicle to my local Subaru dealer for inspection and documentation of the failure. I took the vehicle immediately to the dealer where they took pictures and wrote up a fully detailed report for Subaru of America (SOA). Now it is 3 days later and I am still awaiting a call from SOA, and I am unable (unwilling actually) to drive the car because of my concern for my family’s safety in case of the windshield failing additionally while driving.

Driving on a rural road with no traffic in front of us, the Windshield cracked about 10 inches right in our line of sight. I am a retired aircraft mechanic and home auto mechanic, so I have some experience with this. I suspect that the black heating strip around the SMART windshield is the malfunctioning component. The windshield is too thin for this design flaw. Drove the 8 month old 8K mile new car to the dealership, who informed us that their mechanic would tell us whether or not a rock chip caused the crack.