2018 Subaru Outback Visibility Problems

This is the third time my windshield has cracked in the last three years.

NHTSA ID

11672695

Incident

Jul 11, 2025

Sunroof's glass panel exploded/shattered unexpectedly due to unknown cause(s)/reason(s) while driving vehicle. No external item(s) contacted sunroof glass panel.

NHTSA ID

11666941

Incident

Jun 14, 2025

Replaced windshield at dealer using factory glass on 8/7/24. Daughter came out of apartment on approximately the 18th of December and the windshield had a horizontal crack from side to side. She did not have anything hit the windshield and there were not dings or stars in it. It appears to be a stress crack from either a defective install or glass.

NHTSA ID

11647023

Incident

Dec 18, 2024

Spontaneous sunroof glass explosion

NHTSA ID

11643200

Incident

Feb 14, 2025

The touchscreen is delaminated. The delamination makes the backup camera useless. This is a possible danger to me and anyone behind me- turning to look reputedly behind and at the sides doesn't help when cars are moving parallel to me. The 'media' switches between radio and CD, FM and AM, and switches into HD mode at random. There's no way to turn it off, so the beeping is a distraction while driving. The Subaru dealership is well aware of this issue. A replacement part was ordered in September 2023 but the part is yet to be replaced.

NHTSA ID

11612613

Incident

Mar 1, 2023

We have experienced 3 cracked windshields within 4 months due to small rock debris kicked-up from passing vehicles. Each crack originated at the edge of the glass; 2 from outside edge passenger side and 1 from center bottom edge passenger side. Driving conditions were different for each incident, as each incident occurred during highway driving during light, medium, and heavy traffic flow. Passenger safety was not compromised. The dates for each incident were 15 February 2024, 28 April 2024, and 21 May 2024.

NHTSA ID

11593480

Incident

Feb 15, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the windshield cracked without impact. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer to have the windshield replaced; however, the failure recurred soon after the replacement. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.

NHTSA ID

11592438

Incident

Jun 3, 2024

Mileage

75,000 mi

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked in the garage unattended, the contact noticed that the front windshield was cracked without impact. The vehicle was taken to a glass center, where the glass was replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 52,470.

NHTSA ID

11585375

Incident

Apr 4, 2024

Mileage

52,470 mi

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that upon entering the vehicle, she observed that the front windshield had a crack from the bottom leading upwards. The contact stated that the windshield had been replaced the week before. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the windshield needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 44,000.

NHTSA ID

11584093

Incident

Apr 19, 2024

Mileage

44,000 mi

My car’s windshield is cracked for the fifth time since I purchased it new in December. This crack was spontaneous, nothing struck the windshield, though it was during a blizzard. Only one if the broken windshields was due to a significant rock strike. The other 3 happened after the most insignificant “click” was heard on the windshield, nothing that would have damaged any other car. Each time I have replace with Subaru glass. I have seen multiple complaints online about the Subaru windshield fragility. The cost of this and safety hazard needs to be addressed. I will be scheduling this 5th windshield glass replacement shortly. My deductible is $250 so this 5th repair will add up to $1250 in just over 6 years. If repair receipts are needed, please contact me so I can obtain all of them from Glass America.

NHTSA ID

11565449

Incident

Jan 12, 2024

The new (replaced in Sept of 2023) OEM glass installed by Subaru cracked due to weather change while the vehicle was stopped. There was no prior damage to the windshield nor warning this would happen.

NHTSA ID

11560365

Incident

Dec 15, 2023

This vehicle has less than 65,000 miles and has had 3 genuine Subaru windshields crack as a result of road hazards. We live in Los Angeles County and the windshields have cracked as a result of unseen freeway debris/objects (i.e., not a large object such as a chunk of a truck tire). In 45 years of driving, I have never experienced this many windshield failures. I am not sure if this is a repeated part failure or systemic safety hazard.

NHTSA ID

11542741

Incident

Aug 31, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked on an uncovered driveway, a crack was observed extending from the bottom of the windshield to midway up the windshield. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 78,400.

NHTSA ID

11523280

Incident

May 21, 2023

Mileage

78,400 mi

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while his wife was starting the vehicle, she noticed that there were cracks on the passenger's side of the windshield. The contact stated that upon inspecting the vehicle, he determined that there was no external cause to the failure. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

NHTSA ID

11519424

Incident

Apr 27, 2023

Mileage

50,000 mi

My 2018 Subaru Outback's windshield has cracked overnight parked on the driveway. There's no visible rock strike point. This will be the 4th windshield replacement in the 5 year ownership. The first time was on 07/20/20. The last two were on 10/31/22, and 12/03/22. This means 3 new windshields in 5 months.

NHTSA ID

11514673

Incident

Mar 30, 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that there was a crack on the front windshield. There was no impact on the front windshield that could have caused the crack. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 37,887.

NHTSA ID

11506676

Incident

Feb 3, 2023

Mileage

37,887 mi

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that a small rock struck the front windshield, causing a 2-foot crack. The front windshield was previously replaced twice within the last month for the recurring failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was determined that the front windshield needed to be replaced. The dealer referred the contact to the manufacturer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 66,450.

NHTSA ID

11506017

Incident

Feb 6, 2023

Mileage

66,450 mi

The windshield on our 2018 Subaru Outback is now on its third cracked windshield in the last 12 months. Each time, a crack has formed on the edges of the windshield after a small pebble or other debris from the road is kicked up. Across this same timespan, I've had similar frequency of debris striking the windshield of my 2015 VW Golf, and have only had a small chip in the windshield that was repairable easily. Yes, different vehicles. However, in each incident both vehicles were travelling at similar rates of speeds, similar following distances, neither time behind any large vehicles (dump trucks, semi trailers, concrete mixers, etc). This is simply something being thrown up from the road. This is full on unacceptable. There are other lawsuits and class action suits against Subaru for slightly older models and I highly doubt that any meaningful changes to the design were introduced between the 2015-2016 Outback and the 2017-2019 Outback models. Reasoning being that the class action lawsuit was filed in 2017. By that point, the new models are already rolling off the production line. No way that anything substantial could have changed at that point.

NHTSA ID

11505739

Incident

Feb 3, 2023

Crack in the windshield with no apparent evidence of an object hitting the windshield. It started below the windshield wiper on the passenger side. Within days it spread several feet toward the middle of the windshield. The glass repair center noted that this is a common occurrence on Subaru Outbacks.

NHTSA ID

11500253

Incident

Dec 15, 2022

The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, a small rock struck the windshield, and the windshield sustained a significantly large crack. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the windshield was replaced; however, the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, she heard an abnormal popping sound and noticed that the windshield was cracked. The contact stated that there was no external cause for the failure. The contact stated that the windshield was previously replaced 6 months ago. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 44,000.

NHTSA ID

11500022

Incident

Jan 3, 2023

Mileage

44,000 mi

I was driving my vehicle in the dark through an unpopulated area of a highway. No other cars were near mine, as traffic was light. I was listening to music, but still heard a single “pop” sound. A few minutes later I heard another one. The next morning ( day) I noticed a crack (almost straight across horizontal ) in my windshield that looks as if it originated at the edge of the passenger’s side. It makes about a 90 degree curved turn about 1/2 way in the crack then goes up at a slight angle then makes another about 90 degree turn and then goes horizontal agsin.

NHTSA ID

11495204

Incident

Nov 27, 2022

I was changing the passenger side wiper blade, and when the wiper was lowered to the windshield, the windshield cracked. The crack is now moving up towards the forward eyesight detection system.

NHTSA ID

11485639

Incident

Sep 19, 2022

MESSAGE TO SUBARU OF AMERICA BEFORE REPAIR Hi there, our 2018 Subaru Outback 3.6R was parked in a covered parking garage for the last week. When we entered the vehicle, we noticed the windshield was cracked all the way from the passenger edge to near the rear view mirror. The windshield was not cracked after prior use of the vehicle. No object has struck the windshield during the time it was parked in the garage. There are no marks on the windshield to indicate any impacts. We have requested Earl Duff Subaru to order an OEM replacement and will make an appointment with them within two weeks. VIN = [XXX]. We would like to discuss the matter with you before / after the dealer inspection and replacement of windshield. AFTER DEALER REPAIR Earl Duff Subaru inspected the windshield and indicated to Subaru of America that there was no impact mark. The windshield was replaced at the owner's cost. Subaru of America provided $500 to Earl Duff Subaru on behalf of the owner. This covered approximately 50% of the repair. The owners insurance policy did not cover any of the repair costs. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ID

11471339

Incident

Jun 16, 2022

Windshield sustained 7 in crack and needed to be replaced. No determination on if anything hit the windshield.

NHTSA ID

11469621

Incident

Apr 17, 2021

Windshield chipped with small pebble on highway. Chip was approximately the size of a penny.

NHTSA ID

11469619

Incident

Apr 7, 2022