2023 Subaru Outback Driver assistance Problems

Phantom Braking of Pre-Collision Braking 2023 Subaru Outback Turbo Wednesday, July 29, 2026. 9:30 am, sunny day Driving south on local city street. Brakes slammed on, car stopped, flashing yellow lights on left Combination Meter stating that Pre-Collision Braking was activated. There was no vehicle/obstacle/animal in the road. No parked cars, no cars backing out of a driveway. Road was completely clear. No strange shadows, no cracks in street. Pre-collision braking system hallucinated an obstacle and activated, throwing me forward into steering wheel, and dog in the back seat thrown forward into back of driver’s seat. Restarted car and drove off. Turned off system every time I drove the car until I took it to the dealer 2 days later. Problem was not reproduced by dealer . No messages or warning lights prior to incident. The repair order stated that there was a "sticky" substance on the windshield, but I had just had the car washed. I didn't notice anything on the windshield.

NHTSA ID

11754558

Incident

Jul 29, 2026

The Advanced Driver Assistance System (EyeSight/Automatic Emergency Braking), the Service Brakes, and the Central Electrical System malfunctioned. The vehicle is currently held at an authorized dealership and is available for inspection.On Monday, June 22, 2026, at approximately 4:47 PM, while traveling at highway speeds on I-295 South under clear weather conditions, the vehicle suffered a catastrophic, unprompted automatic emergency braking event. While my right turn signal was active and I was initiating a lane change to pass a truck, the autonomous braking system engaged with maximum force, pulling the brake pedal completely to the floorboards with zero obstacles present. A consumer mobile telematics application (Life360) officially registered the extreme hard-braking event at 4:47 PM. This unprompted stop caused the vehicle to violently lose traction, fishtail across highway lanes, and nearly roll over in high-speed traffic, placing my life and the safety of surrounding motorists at extreme risk.Symptoms of systemic electrical network instability occurred prior to this failure, including a dashboard GPS clock that precisely jumps four hours ahead in specific geographic location, and a power rear liftgate/hatch that randomly opens only halfway or reverses direction unprompted. Furthermore, this identical bouncing and jumping brake system behavior was first reported to an authorized dealership service center in November 2023 at 14,435 miles while operating on factory-original wheels and tires, but the dealer was unable to duplicate or resolve the issue at that time. The manufacturer's corporate customer advocacy team has been notified and a formal vehicle inspection is scheduled for next week.

NHTSA ID

11749144

Incident

Jun 22, 2026

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Outback. While turning into a parking spot, the accelerator pedal was slightly depressed, and the vehicle unintendedly accelerated, crashing into a parked vehicle on the driver's side. The contact stated that the vehicle continued to move forward after the crash into the next parking spot. No warning lights illuminated. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 20,300.

NHTSA ID

11731476

Incident

Apr 13, 2026

Mileage

20,300 mi

When going down my driveway, the (RAB) Reverse Automatic Braking system will often times turn itself off and not reset like the manual say's it should. I have to stop the car, shut it off and open the door to ensure everything is off and restart the car to get it to reset. It has been in the dealership, Subaru of Kennesaw, Kennesaw Ga 4 time for this issue. Last time it was in the dealership they had it for over a month. And it is still happening. This started after a software update done on 10-28-2024 and to date has happened 52 times since then. I have photo documentation of these instances. These exceeded the max allowable of your website so did no upload them.

NHTSA ID

11651579

Incident

Oct 28, 2024

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that his wife was driving the vehicle and as she was entering into a parking spot and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle experienced sudden unintended acceleration. The contact's wife reported that the vehicle had made an abnormal revving sound as if she had applied the accelerator. The front end of the vehicle jumped the parking bumper and crashed into the store's glass front. The wife stated that she had not noticed any warning lights or alarm chimes before the abnormal revving noise. The wife was not aware of the speed of the vehicle. The wife stated that the vehicle stopped and she had shifted the vehicle into reverse (R) and was able to reverse out from the storefront. The wife stated that she had not suffered any injuries. The police were called and issued the wife a citation. The vehicle had damage to the front bumper and the hood. The contact stated that there were some broken pieces of plastic missing and there was some deformation of the front edge of the hood. The contact stated that the vehicle was drivable. The contact stated that a similar incident had occurred to him last August as he was pulling into his residence garage. He stated that he heard an abnormal revving sound from the engine and he was able to stop the vehicle before it had crashed into the garage. The vehicle had been taken to a local dealer, however, the vehicle was not yet diagnosed and the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 12,800.

NHTSA ID

11638907

Incident

Jan 23, 2025

Mileage

12,800 mi

The vehicle has received all scheduled and regular maintenance. I was driving right around the speed limit of 50 mph. Traffic was stopped ahead, and I had plenty of time and space to stop. I pressed the brake pedal, but continued to coast. I pressed it harder, all the way to the floor for at least four seconds, and there was no resistance, no feel of the antilock brakes kicking in, no emergency braking to avoid a collision, and no braking or slowing whatsoever. I could not safely swerve out of my lane, as there was no shoulder on my left and traffic on my right, and so there was an accident. The vehicle is currently at the body shop, and I told Stare Farm about the brakes, but they have no intention of investigating it.

NHTSA ID

11628020

Incident

Nov 16, 2024

This complain is specific to the wireless charging pad featured in the Touring 2023 model I leased. The wireless charging pad overheats very quickly, thus overheating the phone it's charging. Even if the device is just plugged into a charging cord, located right next to the charging pad, it will overheat the phone, sometimes to the degree that the phone and the screen console will go blank. This has been incredibly dangerous when using the screen for navigation on the highway and the whole thing goes black/malfunctions, and this has happened quite a few times. The other frustrating issue is that the battery of my phone has overheated many times so it doesn't hold much of a charge anymore. The other issue is that the Eyesight function, which is necessary for cruise control, goes out often and completely malfunctions in head-on strong sunlight, which is often in Southern California.

NHTSA ID

11622339

Incident

Sep 1, 2023

When coming to a stop at a stop sign, the car jerks and the engine appears to stall. I have brought it to 2 dealerships and both have said that it is "normal". I have had dozens of cars and none have ever performed in this manner. The adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking frequently brakes for no reason or does not recognize cars in front of me. It regularly misses large objects directly in front of the car. The system also has a lot of failures and turns itself off randomly for unknown reasons. (again, "working as designed")

NHTSA ID

11620816

Incident

Oct 18, 2024

In the last approximately 8 months my car has deployed the forward collision warning--Slamming on the brakes-red lights flashing on the screen-seat belts locking--for no apparent reason. Nothing was in front of me!! Twice I was in a local construction zone with cars right behind me and was nearly rear-ended!! Very Frightening experience each time! I took it to the Subaru dealer but they found nothing wrong with the eye sight technology. They did a test drive and it did not do that for them.. But what are the chances that it would occur for them when it has only occurred once a month or so. Contacted Subaru Customer line and was basically told unless it could be collaborated by their mechanics -there was nothing they could do.! Unbelieveable!! Ironic if my safety features are going to get me in an accident!! I am fearful about driving the car as there is no rhyme or reason to the device malfunctioning and slamming on the brakes. I hope you have some information on this to help me.

NHTSA ID

11602697

Incident

Nov 2, 2023

The Eyesight system on my 2023 Subaru Outback will suddenly stop working. It will go out in all conditions, mornings, afternoons and evenings. Sometimes it will go out a a minute or two. Other times it will be out for hours. Since the feature is involved with automatic braking, this poses a safety hazard if there is any kind of driver distraction that occurs, even if it is from an external source like another vehicle. This has been brought to the attention of the local Subaru dealer for a fix. It worked for a period of time and is happening much for frequently now. Many of the other driver monitoring systems in the car have similar issues.

NHTSA ID

11587316

Incident

May 6, 2024

My entire infotainment system, including the "EyeSight" sensors regularly shut off, or won't turn on upon vehicle start. Happens to the radio and other parts of the infotainment system too. It's been happening since about September 2023. I purchased the car in March 2023.

NHTSA ID

11577064

Incident

Nov 1, 2023

My son was traveling at an appropriate highway speed when the truck in front of him stopped suddenly. He braked immediately and was able to slow down significantly, but not enough to avoid colliding with the back of the truck in front of him. He was going approximately 20 mph, still braking, when the collision occurred. His best recollection is that the vehicle's pre-collision system did not engage until after he collided with the truck. There was damage to the front end of the vehicle but it was not severe. My son moved the vehicle onto the shoulder of the highway and put it in park. The driver of the truck called the police. My sons got out of the vehicle. While they were talking with the other driver and the police, a fire started under the hood of the vehicle and within several minutes the entire vehicle was consumed. The wreckage was towed to 1022 Shannon Court, Livermore CA 94550. In July 2023 we were involved in an accident that impacted the front bumper, left front quarter panel, and Subaru EyeSight system of the same vehicle involved in this accident. Repairs after the July 2023 accident were performed by Kraft Body Shop in Santa Clara, CA. Repair and calibration of the Subaru EyeSight system were performed by Santa Cruz Subaru after that accident.

NHTSA ID

11574953

Incident

Jan 24, 2024

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the Eyesight feature of the vehicle was no longer operable. The dealer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. Additionally, the contact stated while driving 45-50 MPH uphill, the accelerator pedal was released; however, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated to 63 MPH. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that she continuously pumped the brake pedal until the vehicle responded. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that no issues were found. Additionally, the contact stated while driving 10-15 MPH around a roundabout, the failure recurred, and the front passenger's side tire struck the curb. The vehicle then decelerated and bounced. The contact depressed the brake pedal and stopped the vehicle. The contact was able to continue driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and test driven. The dealer informed the contact that due the vehicle striking the curb, the steering wheel was off center, the front passenger's side wheel was bent and imbalanced, and there was an abnormal wheel bearing sound. Additionally, the dealer informed the contact that the ball joint had detached from the knuckles, the brackets were shifted, and the tie rod and control arm showed marks. A Subaru field inspector inspected the vehicle but could not determine the cause of the unintended acceleration. The manufacturer later informed the contact that there were no abnormalities found. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 6,000.

NHTSA ID

11567364

Incident

Nov 21, 2023

Mileage

6,000 mi

Traveling on I-75 SB just outside Atlanta, was in lane 2 of about 7 lanes. One car in lane 1, bumper was near my driver door, another truck in lane 4 or 5 approx 200' in front of us. We were in the front of a pack of vehicles. I had the cruise control set about 70, weather was clear, about 3 in the afternoon. With nothing in front of us and no warning, the car began flashing the red dash lights, the cluster flashed the red warning about braking, and the brakes were automatically applied with enough force to set the seat belt pretensions and we unweighted the seats. The car drastically slowed, I am unsure the slowest speed, I was attempting to override the braking by pressing the accelerator. The system complied with my command and the car sped back up. We were nearly hit from behind when the following cars attempted to brake and go around us. No physical damage occurred in the incident. The Subaru dealership in Kennesaw attempted to recreate the problem without success. The diagnostic computer found no error codes in the vehicle. We have disabled the advanced safety systems of the Subaru to prevent any further unwanted braking.

NHTSA ID

11549650

Incident

Oct 2, 2023

On my 2023 Outback my Subaru Eyesight is intermittently inoperable, which causes my cruise control and automatic braking to not work.

NHTSA ID

11544611

Incident

Sep 14, 2023

The Eyesight keeps disabling itself. And the infotainment system is not working properly. My car is at the dealership and they are telling me they are waiting for back up camera to come off backorder 10/3/23. This means my vehicle will have been at the dealership for repair a total of 45 days if backorder date is correct. I purchased this vehicle brand new 5/6/23. I have researched online and there is a class action lawsuit for the issue. The braking safety system does not work properly and warns with red lights beeping that collision is ahead which then brakes the car automatically when not needed. I have taken the car to dealer 3 times to have this repaired

NHTSA ID

11541207

Incident

Jun 25, 2023

While driving at a high rate of speed on a remote road, using cruise control, my vehicle suddenly braked/decelerated for no reason. Could have been the automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, or forward collision warning. The first time it happened, a warning bell sounded, red lights flashed, and the vehicle decelerated VERY rapidly. It happened again about 6 weeks later, but the second time there was no audio or visual warning, the vehicle just decelerated rapidly. If there had been a vehicle behind my vehicle I might have been rear-ended because there was nothing on the road in front of me to warrant rapid deceleration. Also, on both occasions, the deceleration was swift enough to cause items in the vehicle to dislodge.

NHTSA ID

11528372

Incident

May 5, 2023

Pulling into our home driveway at a slow rate of speed, the auto emergency braking engaged for no reason and came to an abrupt stop. This system now has be concerned that it will engage at random times while driving and potentially cause an accident. We are taking the car to the dealer for inspection

NHTSA ID

11521520

Incident

May 10, 2023

Automatic Emergency Braking applied violently and unnecessarily when pulling into a parking space on two separate instances in the last week. I was pulling into the parking space this morning as normal. I was applying the brakes, and just before stopping, my car stabbed the brakes. It felt like a car crash, but my car was 3ft from hitting the other car. Immediately after, a message appeared indicating that automatic emergency braking was applied. The same thing happened to my wife last week. In both instances, we both got headaches from the jarring stop. We are taking the car to the dealership tomorrow.

NHTSA ID

11519135

Incident

Apr 26, 2023

I purchased the vehicle about a month ago and almost on a daily basis the precollision breaking system would cause the car to break when there was nothing there. It has picked up parked cars on the side of the road as well as breaked for no apparent reason. I have been almost rear ended a number of times. The precollision breaking system takes several steps to turn off and needs to be turned off every time the car is started. I spoke to the dealership and brought the car in to be looked at. I thought maybe the cameras were too sensitive. I requested for the precollision breaking system to be disconnected since I felt like it was a safety concern. They were unable to reduce the sensitivity or disable the system. They said they could disable it but in doing so I would lose several other features on the car. They could not tell me which ones.

NHTSA ID

11517305

Incident

Apr 14, 2023

As I was pulling in to park my vehicle, the car accelerated and after running over three small trees, finally stopped. Both my feet were on the brakes; I could not stop the car. Luckily, no one was hurt. The car was towed and Subaru had the car for close to 7 weeks for inspection; they reported no abnormalities with the car. I know that the car accelerated on its own- I had no control as I avoided hitting the cabin and plowing through the woods. I had my new car for 32 days and did not see any warning signs. It was towed on December 12, 2022, the day after the incident. Then Subaru had my car for inspection and repairs and it was picked up on March 22, 2023. I will not drive this car and Subaru has denied my request for a buyback. I will be trading it in for a loss.

NHTSA ID

11514540

Incident

Dec 11, 2022

I purchased a new 2023 Subaru Outback in December 2022. The two displays on my 2023 Subaru Outback (both the main entertainment one and the tiny dash one) randomly restart without notice and/or freeze and are unresponsive. This disables adaptive cruise control, EyeSight warnings, lane departure warnings, front collision warnings, rear back up camera, navigation, Apple Car Play, phone capabilities, and electrical display odometer. Even in reverse, the backup camera will appear at times and then freeze, so the image I am looking at on the display is not true. I noticed this the other day when I was in reverse and saw a mother and child walking outside of my review mirrors that never appeared on the camera. I have taken it to my Subaru dealer where they had trouble twice uploading new software onto the car. They finally uploaded the "new" software and the issue persists. This last issued occurred today 3/22/2023 - I was on a 10 minute drive and the software restarted at least 11 times in the short 10 minutes. I am unsure what else this electrical/software issue impacts but it seems to be a safety one if I cannot trust the rear camera, departure or collision warnings, or cruise control. Luckily, I have never been in cruise control when the system malfunctions, as I'm not sure what the result would be. This has occurred at random speeds, as slow as 12mph, as fast as 60mph. It has happened when I have been on phone calls and when I have not been on phone calls. I have photos and videos of the unresponsiveness, and have attached the invoice for when I got it serviced on 3/20/2023. This is a serious issue and it seems Subaru does not have a fix at this time. Since this is a new car, I was also told that if this happens after my warranty, it will be MY responsibility to pay for the updated software and to fix this glitch, and that they will charge me for service and the update.

NHTSA ID

11513176

Incident

Mar 1, 2023

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH and coming to a green light with no vehicles nearby, the Eyesight Driver Assist camera malfunctioned and the vehicle came to an abrupt stop. The Collision Prevention braking system activated with the warning light displayed on the instrument panel. The contact immediately deactivated the fuel saving button and depressed the accelerator pedal for the vehicle to respond. The contact stated that the message displayed that the Eyesight camera had unintendedly become disabled. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer however, the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 9,000.

NHTSA ID

11511921

Incident

Mar 9, 2023

Mileage

9,000 mi

They EyeSight continuously disables. Dealership cannot find any codes or issues with it. They say it is the weather, dirty windshield, clouds. It has been happening since week 3 of ownership. I clean the windshield all the time, there is no clouds. I have another Subaru with EyeSight and it doesn’t disable like this one. 90% of the time the system disables itself as soon as I turn it on.

NHTSA ID

11511110

Incident

Mar 9, 2023

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH with the cruise control activated, the vehicle made a sudden stop without warning. The contact stated that several minutes later the vehicle operated normally. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 800.

NHTSA ID

11500283

Incident

Dec 31, 2022

Mileage

800 mi