Subaru problems by model
Owners have filed 29,974 complaints with NHTSA about the 10 Subaru models with enough data to profile here, covering 98 model years from 1990 through 2025. The Outback draws the most at 12,271, 40.9% of the make's total.
Complaint volume tracks how many cars a make sold as much as how they held up, and NHTSA complaints are unverified owner reports rather than confirmed defects. Nothing on this page compares Subaru against another manufacturer. Use it to find the model, then the model year, then read what owners of that year actually filed.
Every Subaru model
| Model | Model years | Complaints | Most-reported year | Top system that year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outback | 28 1998–2025 | 12,271 | 2019 1,293 | Electrical system (28.4%) |
| Forester | 23 1998–2025 | 8,360 | 2019 1,089 | Visibility/wiper (34.0%) |
| Legacy | 19 1990–2020 | 3,164 | 2005 250 | Engine and engine cooling (12.0%) |
| Impreza | 12 2002–2020 | 2,469 | 2013 345 | Air bags (27.8%) |
| Crosstrek | 6 2016–2024 | 1,233 | 2019 365 | Visibility/wiper (31.0%) |
| Ascent | 3 2019–2021 | 1,115 | 2019 563 | Electrical system (28.4%) |
| WRX | 2 2002–2008 | 580 | 2002 461 | Fuel system, gasoline (59.7%) |
| XV Crosstrek | 3 2013–2015 | 361 | 2013 142 | Engine (24.6%) |
| SVX | 1 1992–1992 | 303 | 1992 303 | Power train (73.9%) |
| B9 Tribeca | 1 2006–2006 | 118 | 2006 118 | Structure (23.7%) |
Model years shown are those with at least 100 complaints on file, the gate every page on this site has to clear.
Reading the numbers
Across every Subaru model year on the site, electrical system is the system named most often: 4,079 complaints, 18.8% of those filed under a named system. Individual model years diverge from that sharply, which is the reason to read the year rather than the badge.
The three most-reported Subaru models (Outback, Forester and Legacy) account for 79.4% of the make's complaint volume. That is a concentrated picture: most of what gets reported about Subaru here comes from three nameplates. Bear in mind that a nameplate selling in the millions will out-file a niche one whatever its record.
Of the 29,974 complaints, 2,143 describe a crash, 448 describe a fire and 24 report a death.
Most-reported Subaru model years
The single heaviest model year of each Subaru nameplate, 1990–2025. Heaviest is not worst. Read it alongside the model page.