2021 Subaru Outback Driver assistance Problems

The contact owned 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at 5 MPH turning a right hand corner into a shopping center, the vehicle began to accelerate without the contacts consent. and the contact proceeded to frantically apply the brakes. The vehicle came to a stop upon impact with a brick wall impacting the front drivers side of the vehicle. All of the airbags were deployed. The vehicle was going 43 mph at the time of the crash. The was towed to a junk yard. No warning lights or strange sounds were emitted prior to the crash. A police report was filed. The contact was injured while seated in the drivers seat. No one outside of the vehicle was injured. The contact sustained whip lash and bruising from the seat belt. Medical treatment was needed for the injuries. The local dealer was contacted, and the black box was inspected. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000.

NHTSA ID

11755558

Incident

Dec 26, 2025

Mileage

70,000 mi

I was already parked in a spot in a public parking lot. I tapped the accelerator pedal to move the car a few inches. The vehicle responded by violently accelerating, hitting a vehicle directly in front of me in another parking space. I applied my brake but the car would not stop. The force of the acceleration pushed the car out of the it's spot and it hit a curb and tree appox 30 ft away. In defensive move I turned my wheels to the right and continue to try and brake. This caused my car to hit the car on the right side of me. Property Damage occured. No injuries. Vehicle defect.

NHTSA ID

11748480

Incident

Jul 3, 2026

The failure involves the engine (powertrain), which was under warranty. The vehicle has experienced four catastrophic engine failures resulting in sudden loss of power, including at highway speeds (65–75 mph). The most recent failure also involved an oil-saturated catalytic converter. These failures occurred between 06/25/2024 and 03/16/2026. During this ~629-day period, the vehicle was only in my possession for about 184 days, as it remained at the dealership for diagnosis, repairs, and repeated engine replacements. The issue remains unresolved. The vehicle is currently in my possession, available for inspection, and is not being driven due to safety concerns. All failures occurred during normal driving and caused sudden loss of power with no prior warning, leaving the vehicle inoperable and stranded. This created a significant safety risk due to inability to maintain speed or safely merge, increasing the likelihood of rear-end collisions. The failures have been confirmed by an authorized Subaru dealership, with multiple engine replacements performed under warranty and most recently as a goodwill repair. Both the dealership and Subaru of America have acknowledged they cannot determine the root cause. The dealership’s Operations Director stated the vehicle is not safe and he would not allow his family to drive it. The vehicle has been inspected multiple times by the dealership and Subaru of America. However, no inspection reports, diagnostic data, or detailed findings have been provided despite repeated requests. Additional issues (including a broken axle and oil-saturated catalytic converter) were only identified during a third inspection after being missed previously. Requests for explanation were not answered, and further details were withheld as “internal.” There were no warning indicators prior to the first three failures. During the fourth, a temperature warning appeared only seconds before failure.

NHTSA ID

11727143

Incident

Feb 26, 2026

On 10/29/25 the car lost power once it got to 3500rpm. Multiple warning lights came on. On 11/06/2025, the Thermo Control Valve, high pressure fuel line, and gaskets for intake manifold and EGR were replaced. On 11/24/25, when backing up slowly in a small parking lot, the rear camera detection picked up a raised cement walkway with metal railing. The brake was applied by the driver, however the car accelerated quickly and slammed into the railing and cement. The vehicle was placed into drive after the collision and continued normally. The brake was on once the warning light beeped and prior to the collision. The foot was not removed from the brake pedal until it was in drive. It could not have been placed into drive without the brake pedal being pressed. I asked the dealership if they could pull data from the car at the time of the incident, and was told they weren't sure they would get any information. It has not been inspected by a dealership or insurance. There was no damage done to the cement and railing was already bent. Only the car sustained damage.

NHTSA ID

11702874

Incident

Nov 25, 2025

The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while idling at a red traffic light, the vehicle lurched forward twice and struck the rear end of another vehicle twice. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated upon impact. The air bags did not deploy. There was no injury sustained. A Police report was not filed. Both the contact and her husband were able to drive away from the scene. The contact's vehicle sustained damage. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that a field technician would be sent to retrieve information from the EDR. The failure mileage was approximately 30,800.

NHTSA ID

11689975

Incident

Sep 22, 2025

Mileage

30,800 mi

While slowly backing out of a parking space, the vehicle suddenly accelerated on it's own - I do not recall pressing on the accelerator but the engine surged and the vehicle rapidly reversed and struck 4 other parked cars. It felt as if the accelerator became stuck and would not respond to braking. No warning light or dashboard alerts appeared. Subaru eyesight and adaptive cruise control were not engaged at the time. There was no known obstruction under the petals. This felt like a serious malfunction and could have caused serious injury. I am reporting this in case it is part of a wider issue affecting this model and because i see that there are multiple complaints to you about sudden unintended acceleration, especially during low speed maneuvers like backing out a parking space.

NHTSA ID

11679036

Incident

Aug 4, 2025

The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle stalled. During the failure the "Eyesight" message was displayed, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the thermal control valve had failed and needed to be replaced. The thermal control valve was replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure informed of the extended warranty coverage related to the failure. The failure mileage was 18,640.

NHTSA ID

11675847

Incident

Jul 11, 2025

Mileage

18,640 mi

Thermo Control Valve. Check engine light on. Eyesight Adaptive Cruise Control Automatic Emergency Braking Blind Spot Warning Forward Collision Warning Lane Departure Warning Lane Keeping Assistance X mode Dealership would not honor repair even though there is recall it does not cover vin 63400 miles Vehicle inspected by manufacturer code P2682 Check engine light is on and eyesight warning

NHTSA ID

11652303

Incident

Mar 28, 2025

The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving 60-75 MPH, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving downhill with adaptive cruise mode activated. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times while driving. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 25.

NHTSA ID

11632599

Incident

Apr 27, 2020

Mileage

25 mi

The speed control (adaptive) doesn't work. The interior heater doesn't work. Several lights including the 'check engine' light come on the dash. The lane departure system doesn't work. (It appears the thermo control value subassembly may be at fault.) The car has approximately 25K miles on it.

NHTSA ID

11630726

Incident

Dec 13, 2024

ON thursday night at about [XXX] i was driving in the carpool lane going north.in the [XXX] , with full tank of gas ; suddenly i felt and here a noise, and the vehicle (2021outback base) start losing power, at the point that totally stop. call 911, and few minutes after the hway patrol came and push us out of the freeway, there was not any shoulder to be safe out. when the police officer try to turn it on the vehicle star but no power was available even when the vehicle was on.. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11611738

Incident

Aug 30, 2024

While doing a casual drive, engine made a noise after work at night. Woke up in the morning and check engine light as well as the EyeSight light was on. Checked everything and noticed the coolant was low; but upon filling it, did not resolve the issue. Took it to a Subaru service center and was told that it the Temp Valve had been stuck and that they had replace not only one for my year model the same day, but also a ‘20 and ‘19 in the past week. Have looked online and noticed others have been unfortunate around the same mile range 60k.

NHTSA ID

11573060

Incident

Feb 19, 2024

My vehicle is equipped with EYESIGHT. I was driving to my home after work at night and suddenly the infotainment system screen went blank; including Braking Assist, Adaptive Cruise control, Lane assist, Emergency Braking etc including Navigation, also the HVAC shut off and EYESIGHT that controls these as well, shut off. It was suffocating in the car due to no A/C and thusf I tried to pull over at a remote text-stop place and tried restarting the car but in vain. All screens were dark, no warm air, I couldn’t see what direction I was driving to, as well as I solely relied on navigation. I brought this car for it’s safety features and warmth in this cold temperature in UPSTATE NY and this happened. I waited for 20 mins, charged my phone for only 4-5% with a fellow citizen who was waiting there as well and checked online just to see a lot of people reported the same issue with 2021 Subarus with EYESIGHT. And there is NO way one can fix it. I tried contacting the dealer but in vain. I am afraid that if this would happen again, I wouldn’t be in a situation to face this scary experience.

NHTSA ID

11557970

Incident

Nov 29, 2023

Received error code P2682, a faulty Thermo Control Valve. This happened on 11/17/2023. Car potentially could have quit running in traffic. Subaru has identified the issue with TSB 09-80-21R. They have changed the design of the valve due to the many failures. My car has 74,000 miles. My brother in law has the same vehicle with 57,000, and his car is in the shop today for the same issue. The service tech working on his vehicle stated that he does a couple of these repairs a week, and that Subaru knows this part will fail and should issue a recall

NHTSA ID

11556403

Incident

Nov 22, 2023

while i am driving my cruise control will just stop working causing the auto braking feature to stop also

NHTSA ID

11551807

Incident

Sep 1, 2023

Eyesight driver assist went out rendering safety features inoperable. Touch screen also blanked out so unable to adjust a/c, navigation,radio etc. Car had been on long distance all hiway drive and at 7 hours systems failed. Weather was in the 60s, overcast and it was in the afternoon. Pulled into rest stop and turned engine off then restarted but still failed. Drove 2 more hours and next rest stop systems came back after letting car sit off for 10+ minutes.

NHTSA ID

11546909

Incident

Sep 23, 2023

I was driving and suddenly 13 flashing lights and codes from check engine to loss of cruise control and RAB -dealer says it needs a new thermo control valve (thermostat). This failed part has been common on Subarus for 3 years-reported on internet and even to the point where a guy sitting next to me today with same car and year and same $1800 bill and diagnosis. Should be a recall. Part was redesigned in 2022 I read.

NHTSA ID

11543033

Incident

Aug 30, 2023

The windshield has spontaneously cracked on 4 separate occasions. Subaru denies this is a defect and claims all have been caused by rock chips. This is not true. The cracked windshield has caused the vehicle on numerous occasions to slam on its breaks while traveling at 55 mph or greater as it “senses” a collision. This has nearly caused 3 accidents so far.

NHTSA ID

11538618

Incident

Aug 15, 2023

Yet to be diagnosed but possibly the cockpit control computer. Dealer service department has not been able to diagnose. No components have been replaced yet except for a software update that did not correct the issue. Safety systems all report as not functioning, These include all "eyesight systems";the air bags, automatic emergency braking, lane departure and lane keeping. Additionally all center console functions are not functional, including HVAC and radio. The vehicle has been to the dealer twice where the problem could not be reproduced. No other inspection has been performed. No warnings or other messages appear prior to the failure. The failure persists for approximately 10 minutes, after which normal operation resumes. I write this following the fourth occurrence of the failure.

NHTSA ID

11528573

Incident

Jun 23, 2023

Car experienced unintended acceleration and the pre-collision safety system failed to engage. Car accelerated into a building and the driver stopped car's attempt to continue forward progress by taking the car out of drive mode. The pre-collision system failed completely. The Electronic Control Units seemed to fail entirely. This happened while pulling into a parking space at a very low rate to speed (until the car "took off").

NHTSA ID

11517076

Incident

Apr 13, 2023

The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving approximately 68 MPH with the cruise control activated, the vehicle suddenly lost motive power. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that it was difficult while attempting to shift the gear lever out of drive(D). The contact stated that once she was able to shift the gear shifter, she shifted into park(P) to turn off the vehicle. The vehicle was restarted after multiple attempts. The contact then noticed that the parking brake had engaged independently. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 14,000. The contact stated while driving on Mass Pike the Adaptive Cruise control was engaged, in the middle lane and no problems the vehicle lost power. After five minutes and traffic moving, the vehicle was trying to reboot but the emergency brake was on without anyone applying it. And the contact had a difficult time putting the vehicle into to park to restart the engine.

NHTSA ID

11505358

Incident

Nov 26, 2022

Mileage

14,000 mi

I purchased the car new in January 2021. During the first several months there were no issues. After that, the "Infotainment" system which controls the sound, nav, hvac, etc. systems would suddenly go black and those functions would stop working. It would seem to reboot as a computer does when you restart it. That was distracting but mostly just annoying, lasting less than 30 seconds. I will call that a "soft reboot." That happened many times over the next few months. On two occasions, the screen would black out and not only those systems would cease to function, it would shut down cruise control and Eyesight. Call that a "hard reboot." This was very dangerous. In traffic at 70-75 mph when the cruise control suddenly stops working, the car decelerates immediately and quickly. There are no warning signs or messages; it just goes black and shuts down those systems. Cars following would quickly be within a dangerous proximity. Not a safety issue but a hard reboot also wipes clear some settings including the nav destinations. During that period I spoke with service managers at two Subaru dealerships who said that it was a common problem and Subaru had issued a "patch" that was supposed to fix it. I live approximately an hour from the nearest dealership and had some difficulty finding a time to take it in for the upload. Finally I took it in to Scenic Subaru in Mt. Airy, NC on September 9, 2022 to get the update, with around 22,500 miles into a 36,000 mile warranty. I left the dealership at approximately 4 p.m. headed for Winston Salem, NC, approximately an hour drive. Within 5 miles from the dealership it did a soft reboot. That happened two more times. I called the dealership to advise them but it was too late to return. Then, still within an hour from the dealership, it did a hard reboot, shutting down everything as I described above. It functioned properly until it did a soft reboot today, 220 miles after the update.

NHTSA ID

11484762

Incident

Sep 9, 2022

The infotainment system is so buggy and slow it's dangerously distracting. It crashes all the time and takes a few minutes to reboot which is not good when you're using navigation. The volume randomly will go to 100% and the only way to fix it is to restart the car. I've had it happen maybe 10 times. It's very startling and it's painful to the ears. The most dangerous problem with the infotainment system, however, is how inconsistently slow it is. When you tap to open the HVAC menu, for example, it can take 1-45 seconds to open. That means you have to keep your eyes off the road waiting for a response. If you don't, the menu disappears right away. Then when you're waiting for a response, the driver monitor starts beeping loudly and flashes "Stay Alert". Even Subaru's own safety systems think the response time is unacceptable. I called Subaru about the issue but their primary purpose just seems to be deflecting complaints and and gaslighting. We've been expecting fixes for years and it never comes. Either Subaru doesn't know how to fix it or they don't want to. The system falls under the 3/36 warranty which means that by the time the find a fix, most of the cars won't be covered.

NHTSA ID

11482923

Incident

Feb 1, 2021

The Navigation system will randomly go blank and then restart while driving. This not only affects any navigation which is currently in progress, but also disables the Cruise Control, Eye Sight, Lane Departure and other Safety devices. This has occurred numerous times while driving on an interstate highway and is dangerous and life threatening.

NHTSA ID

11467274

Incident

Jun 3, 2022

We bought this vehicle new and since we have had issues with the infotainment shutting down multiple times while driving. The infotainment screen along with all safety features associated with the electronic panel turn off. We have taken it to the dealership multiple times and keep getting told that they can't replicate the problem. We have recorded the issue and sent proof but Subaru manufacturing keeps delaying any inquiries in hopes to bypass lemon law.

NHTSA ID

11462460

Incident

Jul 5, 2021