2018 Subaru Outback problems
Owners have filed 991 complaints about the 2018 Subaru Outback with NHTSA. Electrical system accounts for 26.9% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of visibility/wiper at 23.5%. A further 16.0% were filed without a specific system named.
Complaints991
Crashes48
Fires6
Injuries23
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Electrical system 26.9% · 267
Visibility/wiper 23.5% · 233
Unknown or other 16.0% · 159
Fuel/propulsion system 4.3% · 43
Visibility 4.1% · 41
Engine 3.6% · 36
Steering 3.5% · 35
Forward collision avoidance 2.3% · 23
Severity
Of those complaints, 48 describe a crash, 6 describe a fire and 23 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 28 model years of the Subaru Outback in this data, 2018 sits 4th by complaint volume. 2019 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 148 in the last three years against 353 in the three before. The issues here may already have been addressed.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 15,000 miles.
In owners' own words
The battery continually drains due to some electrical leak in the system (particularly when the rear liftgate is left up and the interior lights are on for several hours), requiring jump starting of the vehicle on several occasions. I have had the battery serviced and checked several times, at my expense, with results being the battery was okay. Eventually, I had the battery replaced by a Subaru dealer at my expense. Electrical system
Vehicle has 17,000 miles, battery has died at least 6 times. Battery has been found drained in the am after being parked in garage. Dealer replaced battery at 16,000 miles. Battery problem still exists. Subaru tries to explain problem by stating interior lights are left on or key was left to close to car. Tests show there was no parasitic drain on battery. Subaru does not want to fix or admit the problem. Electrical system · reported at 17,000 miles
The radio touch screen is defective. It does not respond to touches and does things on its own (ghost touches). Subaru and Harman Kardon are aware of the problem and even extended the warranty but unless your unit failed within the warranty window you're out of luck. The problem is this -- these units are now an integral part of vehicle functionality and a malfunctioning unit is a serious safety issue. Electrical system
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…