2023 Subaru Outback 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.

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.

Windshield was struck by a small stone. There was no immediate damage but over a period of several weeks 5 cracks appeared traversing the windshield top to bottom.

I have had several times where tiny road pebbles have kicked up hitting the windshield and have caused cracks. There is now also a crack forming where there has not been any impact. This is my second windshield replacement in two years. I have never had a windshield that has been as fragile as this one. It seems to be a manufacturing issue with the windshield. Based on research online, appears this is a known issue.

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.

Recently, in my 2023 Subaru Outback, I have been having pop-up ads for SirusXM take over my infotainment screen. The ad appears in the center, does not allow the user to interact with the screen - including air conditioning control and traction control selection - and will not go away until I acknowledge the ad. It has appeared when I start the vehicle and while I am driving. I contacted Subaru of America; they first told me to contact SiriusXM. I asked why I was being told to contact SiriusXM for a pop-up ad in my Subaru - of course SiriusXM wants to advertise to consumers, but why would Subaru allow them to display ads in my car whenever they chose? I own my car outright; it is neither a lease nor do I owe money on it, so I should control what sort of media is presented to me and when, and I definitely shouldn't have third party ads appearing in my car at random times without my consent. I was persistent with the Subaru of America representative, and then they claimed they would push an over-the-air software update to my car to resolve the issue, but that has not happened. Now I read that other people have been having this same issue, so I am very disappointed that Subaru would first tell me to call SiriusXM and second pretend like it was a software fluke, but I later read that hundreds of other consumers are having similar problems.

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the headlights were very dim while driving at night. Additionally, the contact stated that a black square shadow would appear in the illumination of both headlights which also impaired her vision while driving at night. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who found no defect with the vehicle. The contact was then referred to the manufacturer for further assistance. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

I purchased this Outback and did not test drive at night (assuming I'd never have issues with headlight functionality). Upon driving at night, however, there are safety issues with the low beams. As others have mentioned, there are two shadow artifacts near the top of the field of vision that move from side to side. They are distracting (almost looks like an animal darting across the road) and dangerous. Secondly, the cutoff line with the projector headlights on low-beams severely limits field of vision. I have to slow way down going around curves and down hills, as I can only see about 20 feet in front of the vehicle. I tried adjust the headlights up higher, but that just causes on-coming drivers to constantly flash me. I owned a 2015 Outback before this and had none of these issues. In researching forums, this is a widespread issue: [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

My car had an unintended acceleration that caused me to go in a ditch and hit a tree. I could not get car to stop when I realized it was increasing speed. It all happened very fast. My car was totaled. All airbags deployed. front right side of car was completely destroyed. There were no warnings. My insurance company has the car on their tow lot. I have sprains and bruises on my right side and a slight concussion. so thankful that I was not in a parking lot or in heavy traffic or near any walkers

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.

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while walking around the vehicle attempting to put her husband in the passenger seat, the hatchback opened independently, and they both got pushed independently from the vehicle on the ground from the impact. The contact mentioned by the standers came out of the office to check on them and called 911 immediately. The contact stated that she sustained injuries to the knee and left shoulder, and her husband sustained injuries from the left elbow to the arm. Medical attention was required, and they were transported to the ER by ambulance. The contact stated that a police report was not filed. The contact stated that the failure was not diagnosed by a dealer or independent mechanic. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 23,000.

The back of the passenger seat is shaking uncontrollably at higherspeeds. According to my local subaru dealership all 2023 outback they have with power seats are exhibiting the same issu, while the manual seats do not.

My car had an unintended acceleration that caused me to go in a ditch and hit a tree. I could not get car to stop when I realized it was increasing speed. It all happened very fast. My car was totaled. All airbags deployed. front right side of car was completely destroyed. There were no warnings. My insurance company has the car on their tow lot. I have sprains and bruises on my right side and a slight concussion. so thankful that I was not in a parking lot or in heavy traffic or near any walkers

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")

This incident occurred on January 20, 2023. I was driving alone on I-73 in Greensboro, NC. It was around 5:45 AM and was about 40 degrees outside. I had no vehicles in front of me and a very large separation to the vehicles in the oncoming traffic direction. The car was still new as it only had 4k miles on it. I was driving at 65mph merging onto I-73. Suddenly, I heard what sounded like an explosion followed by what sounded like flapping and "pebbles hitting roof" sound. I knew something had broken so I pulled off the road. My moonroof had shattered. I took pictures while I was trying to determine my next step. There was a hole in the center and part of the right side of the glass. I did not have any way to contain the damage when it was put on the flat bed trailer to take it to the dealership. I dropped by the dealership later that day. The hole had grown significantly while being towed to the dealer (wind damage expanded the hole). The dealership said it was the second Outback they had seen that week for an exploding moonroof. They stated it would not be covered under warranty, but they did replace it as a one-time goodwill gesture. Searching online, this seems to be way more common of an experience than it should be with Subaru Outbacks. If I had had the interior closeout panel open, I would have been covered in glass. I feel this was not damage induced by any impact as there were no cars near me within at least 100 yards in any direction.

The rear driver side door popped open so as to be not fully closed, but not fully open (door not fully secure/ajar) while driving. The vehicle was being driven on a highway with speed no more than 55 mph, exiting an off ramp and approaching a stop light. When the brakes were depressed to ease into the off ramp stop there was a loud pop and the instrument panel displayed the door open warning for the drivers side rear door. It was necessary to fully stop the vehicle and re-secure the door from the outside. There were no passengers in the rear seat during this occurrence. The dealer inspected the door hinges observing no abnormalities and was not able to reproduce the error when test driving the vehicle.

The original equipment Yokohama Avid GT tires experienced rapid, catastrophic structural degradation (extreme inner-edge wear and chunking of the exterior edge over ~7,000 mi.). I have photos of the tires, and Carr Subaru (Beaverton, OR) has one of the tires available for inspection. I am the original owner of this vehicle. It has been regularly serviced at the appropriate intervals by the dealership where it was purchased in November 2022. At ~15,000 mi., the tires were rotated and the alignment was adjusted by the dealership. Between 15,000 and 22,000 mi., the tires completely wore through. When I noticed the wear, I brought the car to the dealership to replace the tires, check the alignment, and check whether there might be other issues contributing to the tire degradation. According to the service department, the alignment was within spec when the car arrived, but the inner tread was completely smooth, the outer tread was coming apart, and the tires "were within 1,000 miles of a blowout." I regularly transport my children in this vehicle on the steep, windy, rainy roads of [XXX]. If the tires had blown out or lost traction due to wear, my family, cyclists, pedestrians, or I could have been badly injured or killed. Additionally, on the morning before I discovered the extreme tire wear, I drove my wife and children 45 mi. on XXX from [XXX] to [XXX]. If the tire had blown out when we were going 65 mph on the heavily-traveled highway, it could have been catastrophic for us and other motorists. On XXX, I reported the incident to Subaru of America (case #XXX). I shared photographs of the tires and service records with Subaru of America. On XXX, Carr Subaru -- a representative of the manufacturer -- inspected the tires, confirmed the extreme wear, and reserved a tire for inspection. There were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. The tires were deemed fit ~7,000 mi. ago. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

225/65r17 102h 535 inside side wall of tire blew out on the freeway was able to stop and change it out. when i got home i checked the other ones and they are almost the same way they have 30000

My car had an unintended acceleration that caused me to go in a ditch and hit a tree. I could not get car to stop when I realized it was increasing speed. It all happened very fast. My car was totaled. All airbags deployed. front right side of car was completely destroyed. There were no warnings. My insurance company has the car on their tow lot. I have sprains and bruises on my right side and a slight concussion. so thankful that I was not in a parking lot or in heavy traffic or near any walkers

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.

Passenger side a-pillar trim has come loose exposing airbag mechanism. Dealer unable to repair and indicates part was installed incorrectly at the factory. Awaiting new part to see if this can be corrected.

I get passenger air bag OFF indication although the passenger is an adult. Dealer claims that there is no issue, the car is less than one week old. I asked if they would escalate the problem to Subaru corporate so that they will address this issue but they refused.

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

My car's battery died when I was on vacation. A friend of mine tried to jump start with his car and he couldn't. Then a roadside service jump started the car. After the jump start I was told to drive the car around so that it can charge the battery. The car did two unexpected things: 1- The steering was jittery and sometimes moving to the opposite direction that I was turning. This issue has been confirmed by the dealership. 2- When I was at a traffic light, my foot was on the brake, both traction control and brake warning lights came on and the car moved couple of inches forwards while my foot was firmly on the brake. This happened more than once to me but did not happen at the dealership. And the car didn't hold the charge at all after driving for more than 30 minutes. Meanwhile the car got towed to Subaru dealership (EastSide Subaru in Seattle) and they replaced the battery as a fix. But they did not provide any information about why all those issues happened and how to avoid them in the future. My concern is this, a brand-new car shouldn't have lost all its power in the first place. If it did, it should have charged itself with driving after jump-start and it should have been safe to drive even on low battery. Subaru advertises heavily to be the 'adventure' vehicle, image all what I explained happened to you on top of a mountain or remote places.

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.

Problem occurred after several months of use. The chest straps will not consistently lock into position, despite the release button not being engaged. They can easily be pulled to loosen again. This does not secure the child into the seat. We have ensured that the strap mechanism is not clogged with debris. We have submitted a claim to the Nuna company. Videos of problem are available if needed.