Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full
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Our database holds 34 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2026 Subaru Uncharted. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Showing 1–25 of 34 · page 1 of 2
The headlights in the car shake while driving. Especially noticeable at night, and if the ground is not perfectly smooth, the light beams vibrate/shake in a distracting way that is unlike any other car I've driven.
The 12V battery of my brand new 2026 Subaru Uncharted (under 300m) was fully drained after being parked for 2.5 days while traveling. I was unable to use my car to leave the location and needed to have a jump pack brought to the car. The car has been back at the dealer to be inspected for 19 days and counting. The battery has failed a number of times while at the dealer, with no diagnosis from Subaru and no offer to replace.
The headlight jiggle at night producing an inconsistent and distracting beam.
Purchased and took possession of car, a brand new 2026 Subaru Uncharted electric, on May 22, 2026. On July 2, 2026 the car was completely inoperable as the 12 volt battery had died for no reason - the car had not been driven for 3 days. Took to the dealership they ran tests and said the battery was "fine". Reported to Subaru of America. On July 16, 2026 the car was inoperable as the 12 volt battery had died for no reason - the car had not been driven for 2 days. Had it jump started by another vehicle. Reported to Subaru of America. On July 29, 2026, the car was completely inoperable as the 12 volt battery had died for no reason - the car had not been driven for 2.5 days. Towed to dealership who are not finding any issues. I am terrified to now drive this car as I am concerned that this car is going to leave me stranded somewhere unsafe or even worse the battery is going to die while I'm driving it and cause a serious accident.
Headlights vibrate/jiggle (as if they are loose within the housing) when going over normal road surfaces at night. This is distracting for the driver and probably for oncoming traffic as well. This is a known issue with this model.
12 v battery has drained 3 times now
Headlights seem to shake while driving down the road.
When driving in the dark the headlight housing bounces a lot causing the headlight beams to bounce and dance like crazy over any and all little bumps on the road and is very distracting to me the driver and more than likely cars driving towards me and I feel that this could be a safety concern and a manufacturing defect The headlight housing is not rigid on the vehicle you can manually move the housing very easily and I feel they did not secure it to the vehicle properly
On three separate incidents, my 12V battery drained leaving me stranded. The car was purchased [XXX]. I called road service for a jump, then jumped car myself for next two battery drain issues. Took to dealer(subaru chandler superstore) in chandler AZ. The dealer could not reproduce problem, stated battery was good. Also did parasitic draw test which was ok. I have since had to disconnect DCM services which stopped battery drain. There were no warnings to indicate battery was dead/dying. Problem first happened early in July, around [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Just bought brand new 2026 Subaru Uncharted GT, noticed the headlights flicker or shake a lot while driving especially when going over slightly bumpy roads. It’s very distracting to me as a driver and I would think to other drivers in front of me or opposing drivers. No specific lights or warnings come on when this happens. I have read online that many drivers have the same issue with their Subaru.
Since 2023 starting with the Subaru Solterra and Toyota Bz4 and now in 2026 both companies have 3 models each. Toyota builds all of them for themselves and Subaru. If you do not drive these cars daily the 12 volt batteries go dead. Subaru and Toyota has continuously denied a problem and advises owners to jump it themselves or connect a battery maintainer hoping to sweep this dangerous problem under a rug. It is dangerous that can leave you stranded or if you need to go somewhere right away you can't. If you do a google search or Reddit search about 12 volt dead batteries on Subaru Solterra, Uncharted and Trailseeker you will see hundreds of complaints and with Toyota the Bz4, Bz, CH-R. Both companies deny there is a problem. My own 2 month old Subaru Uncharted was parked and not driven for 3 days and the 12 volt battery was dead and I called Subaru Roadside Assistance and he jumped it and stated it was at 3 volts, he said he has jumped a lot of Toyota EV's I thenI drove the 35 miles to the dealer and it charged while driving and it passed the test, if it was towed it would have failed but I had no way to get to the dealer. On the invoice the tech wrote "Tested 12v battery. Battery passed. Use of trickle charger if vehicle won't be driven for days is recommended". That is not an answer, it needs to be fixed with ALL Subaru and Toyota EV's. If you park outside then how to connect a trickle charger, you go on a vacation and park in a public lot and come back to a dead battery after a week. Please investigate this. There are classaction lawsuits for the 2023-2025 now and am sure the 2026's will be added. Owners are documenting everything and doing lemon law buybacks. Subaru and Toyota needs to be held accountable. In my opinion the problem is with the Battery Management System,ALL other EV's monitor the 12 volt battery voltage and when it falls to a set level the high voltage battery charges it but not Subaru or Toyota it does not monitor the voltage.
Headlights (high & low beams) bounce as if loose when hitting any sort of uneven road surface. Edges of light almost appear to flicker when this is occurring which is anytime headlights are on and car is moving. Extremely distracting and creates uncertainty when driving in rural areas.
It is an EV, the 12 volt battery went dead after sitting 3 days. Problem is all other EV's charge the 12 volt when the voltage goes below a certain level, while the Subaru only charges the 12 volt while driving and if parked then it is on a timer and only every 20 days. I have attached a copy of the service manual someone posted. This is unsafe. Only have the car purchased new May 24, 2026. Complaints all over the internet especially on its Toyota twin the BZ as more of those sold.
The uncharted and its related models (subaru solterra and trailseeker, Toyota bZ, bZ Woodland, and C-HR, and Lexus RZ) have an issue that bricks the car. It drains the 12V battery. Our car needed a jump because the Toyota app/subaru connect app and connected services kept waking the car up, draining the 12V battery and preventing it from turning on. This car appears to have a DCM issue and exceptionally bad software that causes parasitic drain on the 12V battery. It shares the same connected services, infotainment, and other software with every Toyota and Lexus model except the GR86, and the other two Subaru EVs, the Trailseeker and Solterra. We’ve taken the car to the dealer (Timmons Subaru) who told us to bring it back if it ever happens again. Their check resulted in a good health for the 12V battery, we think that was due to the car being jumped and driven.
Headlights visibley shake when the car encounters a bump in the road, during braking, and anything else that can create an impulse on the car. The vehicle is available upon request for inspection. It creates a distint and distracting event that is distracting to the operator when and potentially on-coming traffic when driving at night. I have heard that others have also verified this with dealers, but I have not personally had the opportunity to bring it to mine. The problem in my personal vehicle has not been inspected by any authority, I have just purchased it. There are no warning lights or symptoms as this appears to be a mechanical mounting issue that is unmonitored by the computer.
Headlight beams shake while driving causing strobe effect and causes me to feel ill and dizzy.
When going over a bump or anything that makes the car bounce (however slight) causes the light beam to oscillate which is not only distracting but makes it hard to see things at night consistently.
When driving over bumps in the road, the headlights visibly shake/vibrate, which is distracting to the driver - and potentially to drivers of other vehicles - while driving at night. I've seen others on forums that have discussed the same problem with their Uncharted cars.
When I drive at night, the headlights wobble whenever I hit a bump or go over an uneven surface, which I find disruptive. From the drivers perspective, the lighting bounces up and down on the street. The issue was noticeable the first night I drove the vehicle and does not represent a damage or something that can be repaired by service.
The light from the headlights on this brand new car flicker when driving over the slightest bump. On dirt roads or uneven pavement, the shake and flicker of the headlights is very prominent, even with the high beams turned on. This is a major safety hazard as the light from the headlights is not consistent and the flicker gives intermittent lighting outages of the road ahead - literally leaving the driver to drive blind. The flicker/bounce of the lighting is also highly distracting for a driver and creates an ongoing safety hazard due to this design flaw in the vehicle. Please force a recall for the Subaru Uncharted headlights. This is a widespread issue with this model.
The headlamp assembly on my Subaru Uncharted appears loose and can be manually pushed to reproduce the shaking and jittering headlights at night. This creates unstable illumination, distracts the driver, and may cause glare or confusion for oncoming traffic. The issue suggests a potential mounting defect affecting headlight stability and safe nighttime driving.
The head light assembly is loose and vibrates. At night it is distracting to the driver and drivers of other vehicles to see the head lights flash off other cars and signs. I have had multiple cars flash me because the lights look like they are flickering when approaching on the road. The dealership told me that they are aware of all the complaints for the Uncharted having vibrating headlights and to report it as a safety concern. There have been no inspections done on the headlights. The headlights have been this way since the first day I purchased it.
Headlights vibrate causing loss of visibility at night as they bounce over uneven terrain or potholes.
Headlights bounce up and down a lot over rough road. This causes a noticeable "flicker" off signs and cars in front of you and can be very distracting.
While driving at night the headlight bounces on the road and not only distracting but limits what you see as while bouncing the beam of light is partly blocked by moving past the opening for it in the bumper. You can push down on the top of the daytime driving lights as they are one assembly with the headlights and the whole assembly moves. This assembly needs to be secured. I also filed a report on this with you previously for my 2026 Subaru Solterra vin#[XXX]. On the forums all owners of both cars are complaining of this safety hazard and they have said they also filed a safety complaint withthe NHTSA. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
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