Often the brakes are squishy. They require me to push almost all the way down on the brake pedal to engage. This has happened several times of the last year.
- NHTSA ID
- 11761205
- Incident
- Sep 1, 2026
Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data
Data refreshed
Our database contains 34 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2023 Subaru Crosstrek, most frequently naming the visibility, driver assistance and electrical categories. 198 manufacturer communications are on file.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
When owners filed reports about this model year
| Month | Complaints filed | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2022 | 1 | 1 |
| Jan 2023 | 1 | 2 |
| Apr 2023 | 1 | 3 |
| May 2023 | 1 | 4 |
| Jun 2023 | 1 | 5 |
| Oct 2023 | 1 | 6 |
| Nov 2023 | 1 | 7 |
| Jan 2024 | 4 | 11 |
| Mar 2024 | 1 | 12 |
| Jul 2024 | 2 | 14 |
| Aug 2024 | 2 | 16 |
| Nov 2024 | 1 | 17 |
| Dec 2024 | 1 | 18 |
| Jan 2025 | 2 | 20 |
| Apr 2025 | 1 | 21 |
| Jul 2025 | 1 | 22 |
| Aug 2025 | 1 | 23 |
| Sep 2025 | 1 | 24 |
| Oct 2025 | 1 | 25 |
| Nov 2025 | 1 | 26 |
| Dec 2025 | 1 | 27 |
| Jan 2026 | 1 | 28 |
| Mar 2026 | 1 | 29 |
| May 2026 | 3 | 32 |
| Aug 2026 | 1 | 33 |
| Sep 2026 | 1 | 34 |
Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
No recalls in our database for this model year
That does not guarantee a specific vehicle is unaffected — recalls are issued against VINs, and new campaigns are announced regularly. Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov.
Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words
Often the brakes are squishy. They require me to push almost all the way down on the brake pedal to engage. This has happened several times of the last year.
The battery and electrical system died while I was at a red light in traffic on my way to work. I was stuck on a major road with trucks and traffic behind me while I was stuck in the middle lane. I had to wait for help to be pushed out of traffic to the sidewalk and wait for a jump. The Subaru dealership confirmed this was an issue with their battery and auto stop/start system and charged me $600 to replace the battery. When it died, every light on my dashboard lit up but there was no prior warning. I no longer have this vehicle as I did not feel safe driving it anymore and I traded it in for something completely different.
Purchased vehicle 8/27/2025 within 1 day and 1 month of 2 separate class action lawsuits. Purchased from CarMax Wilmington. Car produced electrical shock to my hand first time I attempted to pair the vehicle. Parkway stated at that time I was under an additional warranty but the vehicle would require constant “updates”. This was an intentional deception to prevent me from pursuing what is required under the law, which is the replacement of head unit and subsequent by back of the vehicle when those services fail. "I am reporting a severe pre-crash safety module defect and subsequent dealer concealment on a 2023 Subaru Crosstrek. Two weeks prior to being rear-ended, Parkway Subaru in Wilmington, NC, executed seven failed EyeSight safety recalibration sequences. The service department concealed the component failure, falsely stating the vehicle 'just needed updates,' releasing an unsafe vehicle with non-functional automated braking into commerce. Post-collision, the vehicle was redirected to an uncertified shop to perform unauthorized repairs and cover up the pre-existing safety failure. Service Manager Selena Tighe verbally threatened me to suppress my references to federal class-action safety filings.
Replaced battery 3 times. Believe this car has the parasitic battery issue. Attached on of the bills. Looking for the other 2.
the rear brakes keep engaging while the car is driving. we purchased the car in November 2022. this happened in December 2024 & at the time a dealership in [XXX] area (where my son attended college), said it was an issue and replaced parts in the brake system. yesterday while we were driving back from [XXX] to Houston - the brakes started to make loud squeaking noise as if they were engaged and the brake light keep going on and off. fortunately, this happened very near to Houston and we drove slowly on by roads back home. it feels likes driving with hand brake engaged. fortunately nothing happened to us. but this is a systemic problem with subaru crosstek! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Passenger side valve cover gasket and spark plug seal failure.
I was driving today January 30th 2026 on the road going 35 mph into the sunlight and all of the sudden my vehicle acted like I slammed on my brakes and I jerked forward almost hitting my chin in the steering wheel. Luckily no one was close behind me or I could have easily been hit. There was nothing in front of me so emergency brakes should not have deployed.
I've never taken my 23 crosstrek off the pavement I'm driving down hyw and my rear struts break my crosstrek has 38 thousand miles on it and it's only 3 and 1/2 years old I've owned many cars were if drove hundreds of thousands mile and none of them broke there struts going down the hyw
A bulletin sent by a manufacturer to its dealers. Not a recall, and repairs are not necessarily free.
STRUCTURE:BODY
This bulletin provides a procedure to address customer concerns of surface rust accumulating in the top center retaining nut area of the front strut mounts. This is an revised version of the original bulletin.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; POWER TRAIN
This Announcement provides diagnostic assistance for CVT issues.
POWER TRAIN
This Service Information Bulletin announces the release of a new diagnostic assistance application for TR690 and TR580 CVT-equipped vehicles. This is an revised version of the original bulletin.
POWER TRAIN
This bulletin provides guidance when diagnosing chain slip, judder, shudder, and hesitation concerns on the TR580 model CVT transmissions used in the models listed.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
This Service Information Bulletin outlines a systematic procedure for diagnosing parasitic draw (dark/standby current) in vehicles experiencing battery drain when the ignition is off, leading to no-start conditions or frequent jump-starts.This is an revised version of the original bulletin.
POWER TRAIN
This Bulletin provides updated diagnostic procedures to follow and a brief questionnaire to complete when diagnosing an alleged Chain Slip condition on the TR580 and TR690 model CVT transmissions used in the models listed. This is an revised version of the original bulletin.
Manufacturers file copies of the bulletins they send to dealers with NHTSA. These often describe diagnostic or repair procedures for a known condition. They are not recalls: repairs described in a bulletin are usually only free if the vehicle is still under warranty or the manufacturer has extended coverage.
Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.