2023 Subaru Crosstrek Owner Complaints

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.

NHTSA ID

11737874

Incident

Apr 15, 2026

Replaced battery 3 times. Believe this car has the parasitic battery issue. Attached on of the bills. Looking for the other 2.

NHTSA ID

11736353

Incident

Dec 24, 2024

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)

NHTSA ID

11735448

Incident

May 3, 2026

Passenger side valve cover gasket and spark plug seal failure.

NHTSA ID

11721593

Incident

Feb 14, 2026

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.

NHTSA ID

11714624

Incident

Jan 30, 2026

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

NHTSA ID

11704596

Incident

Dec 10, 2025

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that while her grandson was driving at an undisclosed speed, the front driver's side windshield cracked unexpectedly. The windshield had developed a crack without impact. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the front windshield needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 29,000.

NHTSA ID

11697914

Incident

Aug 31, 2025

Mileage

29,000 mi

Oct 7 2025 when me and my 6 year old daughter. Was leaving after picking her up at mom i drove off then came to stop sign so i slowly hit breaks and car accelerated very dangerous im very concerned

NHTSA ID

11692207

Incident

Oct 7, 2025

When driving after let of throttle it some time floors it 4 times

NHTSA ID

11688559

Incident

Jan 1, 2024

THE BRAKE PEDAL SOME TIME GOES DOWN TO THE FLOOR. I BROUGHT VEHICLE IN SUBARU DEALER FOR CHECK UP. THEY STATED THAT THE POWER BRAKE BOOSTER IS DEFECTIVE, NEED TO BE REPLACE. THIS IS 2023 VEHICLE AND THE MILEAGE IS ONLY 46,000 MILES. For safety to me and other drivers please investigate this safety concern.

NHTSA ID

11681261

Incident

Aug 1, 2025

Driving down highway in center lane, at or under speed limit, rainy conditions. Unexpectedly hydroplaned when transitioning from asphalt to bridge. Collided head-on with guardrail on right-hand side of road. Car then rotated and driver side rear collided with guardrail again. Airbags did not deploy, and during initial head on collision with barrier, driver seatbelt came unlatched from locking mechanism. No inspections at this time. No warning lights prior to crash. Potential for significant harm. Vehicle has been towed to IAA by insurance and will be temporarily available for inspection if requested. Presumed totaled, which will be confirmed within the week, after which the vehicle will most likely no longer be available to inspect.

NHTSA ID

11672042

Incident

Jul 4, 2025

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that while turning into a parking spot at 20 MPH and upon depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle continued to accelerate, causing the contact to crash the front of the vehicle into the concrete wall. The vehicle came to a stop upon impact. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed to a local autobody center. No warning lights were illuminated. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not destroyed. The contact seated in the driver's seat was injured. No body outside of the vehicle reported an injury; however, a bystander nearby the crash site was taken to the hospital as a precaution in spite of her refusal to seek medical attention. The contact sustained internal bruising to her abdomen and chest, and medical treatment was needed for her injuries. The local dealer was not contacted, and the vehicle was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 4,000.

NHTSA ID

11655198

Incident

Apr 2, 2025

Mileage

4,000 mi

The component that is compromised on my '23 Subaru Crosstrek Sport is the windshield. My vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Monday, Jan 13, 2025, a crack formed on my windshield. The crack happened on the inside of the vehicle. It was positioned above the defroster vent on the driver's side, and I saw it happen right before my eyes. I immediately inspected the windshield from the exterior of the car. The crack cannot be felt by touch on the exterior of the windshield. There was no evidence of any damage that the vehicle could have sustained that would have caused the crack. I continued to use the defroster without further incident during my morning commute drive throughout the work week of Jan 13. Monday, Jan 20, the crack expanded to the full length of the defroster vent. It now stretches across both the driver's side and passenger side of the car. Because of the crack, I no longer use the defroster vent in fear of further damage to the windshield. Without use of the defroster, my vision is compromised due to condensation build up between the temperature difference in the interior cabin of the vehicle in contrast to the outside weather temperature. The problem was confirmed by my local Subaru dealership. On Jan 13, I took my vehicle to my local Subaru dealership where I purchased the car. A service manager took pictures of the windshield crack on site and submitted a claim to the dealership’s district manager for review. On Tuesday Jan 21, I received an update from my dealership. The district manager offered a 35% rebate to go towards the repair and/or replacement of the windshield. However, the cost to replace the windshield is quoted at $1600, in which I would be responsible for covering the remainder of the expense. I feel this is an unacceptable attempt of resolve on behalf of my dealership due to the issue at hand is and was completely out of my control. There was no warning lamp, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure.

NHTSA ID

11638103

Incident

Jan 13, 2025

Windshield began to crack in the lower right corner (sitting in drivers seat) over a year ago, was replaced and just noticed a crack again recently starting in the same spot.

NHTSA ID

11634292

Incident

Mar 21, 2023

On the morning of 12/26/24 - I stepped inside my 2023 Subaru Crosstrek and turned on the engine. The vehicle was parked in a commuter parking lot near my home to begin with. When I turned on the vehicle - I noticed a loud roaring sound when the engine turned on which i thought was very strange. Additionally I did NOT have my foot on the gas pedal at all during this time. I proceeded to place the car in drive and all of sudden the car experienced a unintended acceleration straight forward with a sudden burst that i never experienced before. I proceeded to press the brake pedal and tried to turn the steering wheel - but both functions were non-responsive which was incredibly frightening. My car then went straight into a tree with great impact and the vehicle was damaged beyond repair. Also - the vehicle's windshield mounted motion detection camera system (Subaru Eyesight) along with motion detector auto breaking system did not engage before i hit the tree which was very troubling. Thankfully the airbag deployed and other then some medium knee pain i was not injured nor was anyone else injured. A local paramedic truck happen to be onsite at the same time and called local authorities. Overall the malfunctioning of the vehicle is of great concern to me.

NHTSA ID

11632612

Incident

Dec 26, 2024

rear tire mostly but all 4 - need to add air 2-3 times daily. even adjusting the air pressure when tires are cold we still need to add air daily. Driving an hour at highway speed, parking car for a couple of hours and still the tire pressure is never sufficient. Brought to dealer 2 or 3 times and they cannot find a reason, me niece and others have also expressed this issue to me.

NHTSA ID

11623374

Incident

Nov 1, 2024

The windshield keeps chipping easily. I have not had it inspected. I am not sure who inspects them. It is obviously a safety risk.

NHTSA ID

11609398

Incident

Aug 19, 2024

A/C drain clogged and let water into car drenching all carpets below all seats- (2) electronic devices below driver and passenger seats malfunctioned and caused all Eyesight and safety systems to fail along with check engine light turning ON, all safety systems failed, all wheel drive offline and power steering went manual.

NHTSA ID

11608807

Incident

Aug 5, 2024

On July 12, 2024 I was driving down the highway when my sunroof suddenly shattered. It sounded like an explosion or a gun went off. I nearly crashed my vehicle. There were no vehicles in front of me however there were vehicles behind me. I looked back into my rear view mirror and saw vehicles veering out of the way as parts of sunroof glass flew. Thankfully I was able to pull over safely. No injuries or accidents occurred. That same day I notified my dealership and they asked me to bring the vehicle in the following day. The following day on July 13, 2024 I took my car into the dealership to be seen and we were told it has happened before to several customers. No explanation was given as to how or why this occured. That same day I contacted Subaru of America and a case was assigned. We are still trying to sort out the issue and get the sunroof repaired.

NHTSA ID

11603557

Incident

Jul 12, 2024

All the advanced driver assistance system items listed on the website list all Shutdown. The emergency brake lamp also was lighted. Subaru service has not found a solution as of yet. This issue clears then coms back within a single day. I find the system that I purchased not working is most alarming.

NHTSA ID

11602997

Incident

Jul 16, 2024

Potential safety hazard ? Engine Auto start/stop feature for gas savings and emmisons control works by applying brakes and Engine shuts off, it restarts when brakes released. Normal operation, BUT I have noticed that unbuckeling the seatbelt or OPENING the DOOR will cause it to RESTART even though brakes are applied..this could cause an accident as it's an unexpected RESTART of the Engine in drive. Recommend this feature be disabled until door/seatbelt closed or seatbelt buckled or car in park before restart. Someone thinking car is OFF but actually in a pause restart could accidentally open door and upon getting out the car would start and move potential loss of control. My 2013 VW PASSAT would alarm to place in park if door open or seatbelt not worn.. Subaru starts ! I consider this a potential dangerous condition as it's not expect restart.

NHTSA ID

11578317

Incident

Mar 19, 2024

Windshield cracked two times in the first year. I feel these windshields are more susceptible to cracking when a rock hits them. Very expensive to replace the windshields.

NHTSA ID

11568074

Incident

Aug 2, 2023

Spontaneous windshield cracking, no apparent reason. No impacts.

NHTSA ID

11567112

Incident

Jan 22, 2024

head unit/infotainment works intermittently meaning all the safety features, car play works intermittently the hands free safety features work intermittently also maps and radio all malfunctions intermittently. At 800 miles I have a paint chip on the back of the cars bumper paint bubbling on the rear tail gate I felt this to be a defect in the paint but Subaru disagreed. Subaru sent me an email for an update to correct infotainment problems that I am suppose to do myself didn't say to take it to the dealership. this car only has 2700 miles on it and is still under warranty

NHTSA ID

11567105

Incident

Jan 22, 2023

Dealer installed OEM trailer hitch and wiring harness as part of the new vehicle purchase agreement. Installed prior to my taking delivery at the selling Subaru Dealership. During a service visit today at a local RV/Trailer Retail/Service Center, the technician inspected my hitch and found loose/untightened trailer hitch attachment bolts. Luckly I have never pulled a trailer since purchasing the vehicle. No damage or accidents have occurred because of this. Service Tech (not by Subaru) tightened all the bolts to make sure my Subaru was safe and roadworthy. Thank you in advance for your attention to this.

NHTSA ID

11563930

Incident

Jan 6, 2024