2019 Subaru Crosstrek
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Visibility/wiper is the leading concern among 284 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the highest complaint count among 14 Crosstrek model years with reports.
Of the 2019 reports, 6 involved a crash and 3 involved a fire. 5 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Electrical system, softwareApr 15, 2021
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Subaru Impreza and 2018-2019 Crosstrek vehicles. The Engine Control Module (ECM) may continue to power the ignition coil after the engine is shut off, causing a short circuit.
A short circuit in the ignition coils may cause a stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will update the ECM software, replace the ignition coils and, if necessary, the front exhaust pipe, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed beginning June 1, 2021. Owners can contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRE-21. Note: This recall includes all vehicles previously repaired under Recall 19V743.
Campaign 21V264000 on NHTSA.gov
Suspension, rearApr 15, 2021
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Subaru Crosstrek, 2019 Crosstrek Hybrid, and 2019 Forester vehicles. The rear stabilizer bracket bolts may loosen and detach.
Missing bolts may allow the rear stabilizer bracket to shift, increasing the risk of a crash.
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will retorque and replace any missing bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 17, 2021. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRD-21.
Campaign 21V263000 on NHTSA.gov
Seat belts, rear/otherMar 31, 2020
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019 Crosstrek vehicles with rear seat belt assemblies with a dual-mode locking mechanism. The seat belt webbing sensor locking mechanism may not lock as intended.
In the event of a crash involving multiple impacts, the seat belt may not properly restrain the occupant, increasing the risk of injury.
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace rear seat belt assemblies, free of charge. The began April 15, 2020. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRC-20.
Campaign 20V189000 on NHTSA.gov
Engine and engine cooling, exhaust system, emission control, crankcase (pcv)Dec 2, 2019
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019 Crosstrek, Forester, and Ascent vehicles. The aluminum Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) valve can separate, allowing the separated components to enter the engine, resulting in a loss of power while driving.
An unexpected loss of power while driving can increase the risk of a crash.
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the PCV valve, free of charge. If the PCV valve has separated and the components cannot be found, the short block engine will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began January 31, 2020. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUW-08.
Campaign 19V856000 on NHTSA.gov
Electrical system, softwareOct 18, 2019
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Impreza and 2018-2019 Crosstrek vehicles. The Engine Control Module (ECM) may continue to power the ignition coil after the engine is shut off, which could result in a short circuit and blown fuse.
If a short circuit occurs while driving, the vehicle may stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will update the ECM software and inspect and replace the ignition coil, as necessary, free of charge. In addition, on vehicles with confirmed ignition coil damage and a certain stored diagnostic trouble code (DTC), Subaru will replace the front exhaust pipe, free of charge. The recall began December 4, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUQ-02.
Campaign 19V743000 on NHTSA.gov
Visibility, glass, side/rearMay 30, 2019
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019 Crosstrek vehicles. The driver's side rear-door window glass may be improperly tempered. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 205, "Glazing Materials."
Improperly tempered glass can shatter into large pieces, increasing the risk of injury.
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's side rear-door window glass, free of charge. The recall began June 11, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUG-92.
Campaign 19V404000 on NHTSA.gov
Steering, electric power assist systemFeb 6, 2019
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019 Forester and Crosstrek vehicles. A connector inside the Electronic Power Steering (EPS) unit may short circuit resulting in a loss of electric power steering assistance.
Loss of power steering assist would require higher steering effort, increasing the risk of a crash.
None of the affected vehicles have been sold yet. Subaru has notified dealers and they will inspect the steering gearbox, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began February 7, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUC-88.
Campaign 19V065000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints
284 reports, newest first.
Visibility/wiper, Mar 29, 2022
Within a month of owning this vehicle new, the windshield formed a crack in it randomly. A few weeks later It formed another in the center near the driver's side making it harder to focus on the road. Now we have 2 cracks next to each other obstructing the driver's view.
Visibility/wiper, Mar 28, 2022
This vehicle has a crack across the lower part of windshield. Apparently this is a notorious subaru problem I'm told.
Structure, Visibility/wiper, Mar 23, 2022
Unknown Windshield Cracked, No apparent reason, and can be inspected. Nothing has been reported or inspected as of yet.
Visibility/wiper, Mar 8, 2022
TWO incidents: 1) Within a month of buying a brand new car, the windshield chipped. A small pebble hit the windshield while driving it. I've been hit by hundreds of small pebbles in other cars over the years and never had a chip. Got it repaired the next day with Safelite, they did a repair and it seemed to work fine. No further issues with the chip. They were shocked at how easily it chipped. 2) Feb 2022, I had my car at the dealer for about a week, and then drove it home and parked it in the driveway. Came back to it a day or two later, and there was a large crack originating by the heating elements/where the wipers are. It had 4 or 5 branches out, 3 were small, one was medium, and one large crack went all the way to the middle of the windshield. No damage, didn't hit anything, the crack is nowhere near the chip. Spontaneous crack.
Electrical system, Feb 21, 2022
Battery won't hold a charge. Car is not reliable, danger of not starting and being stranded. Car has been inspected by dealership twice and new batteries were installed but the problem persists. No warning of low battery.
Seats, Feb 15, 2022, fire
I've owned cars for 40 years. And not once in 40 years, has the ash from a cigarette caused a seat to immediately burn. And I mean burn. Not just a burn on the outside of the fabric, but deep down into the padded material within seconds. Thankfully, I was able to put it out in the heavy smoke phase, before it turned into a full blown burning flame, burning the entire car seat and car. After my experience, it floored me that wasn't discovered during any type of testing that might be done on a vehicle. A major safety issue in my mind. I decided to report it now, because I'm surprised nobody else has. Considering there aren't a lot of cigarette smokers it's not surprising I guess.
Other or unspecified, Feb 5, 2022
Windshield cracked while driving for no reason
Visibility/wiper, Feb 3, 2022
Windshield cracked at in the center at the base while car was sitting inside garage.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 5, 2022
While driving at a slow speed (<15mph) I had to stop quickly at an intersection. A small board inside the car (<1 lb, 2'x12") connected with the windshield causing a substantial crack approximately 10 inches in diameter. The windshield is absolutely unsafe and will need to be replaced(although has not yet been seen by the dealer.)
Visibility/wiper, Dec 21, 2021
After having cowl replaced under warranty, at the dealership, I drove vehicle home (3 miles) and placed in garage. Next day, noticed 10 inch crack on lower passenger side of windshield. Took car to have looked at by dealership who stated crack had to come from rock and refused to replace. On my way home, I did not take a rock to my windshield. The Service Manager stated he would call Subaru regarding my issue. He has never called to provide any update.
Electrical system, Dec 20, 2021
Today, 12/19/2021, marks the sixth (6th) time my car’s battery has failed and forced me to call Star Link to schedule and wait for a battery jump. Subaru refused to replace my battery after the 3rd and also refused to check the grounding wire upon a service inspection. This battery is faulty and Subaru knows it. My child has been with me in three of th de ridiculous occasions of waiting for jumper cables and has been frightened each time. This is totally unacceptable and is costing my family time, money, and emotional distress.
Other or unspecified, Dec 1, 2021
I was driving on an open road today and it was cold outside about 50 degree. There were no other cars around and I heard a loud boom noise on the roof of my car. I looked at my sunroof in the car and it was shattered. The Bubble from the explosion in the glass was sticking out from the car verses towards the car so I am aware it was not impacted by anything.
Visibility, Nov 22, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the front windshield cracked without impact. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 24,200.
Other or unspecified, Nov 9, 2021
The windshield on my Subaru Crosstrek is incredibly weak and cracks upon the smallest impact. I have owned my vehicle for 2.5 years, and have driven it about 25,000 miles. In the vehicle that I owned prior (Lincoln LS), I never experienced any windshield cracking, and I was driving in the same region. I now have 6 cracks on my windshield, two of which have grown to be larger cracks (one going all the way across my dash, and the other stretching about 12 inches). The cracks and nicks are causing an issue with visibility in colder weather. My vehicle windshield does not defrost as quickly, and my windshield becomes foggy more often while driving.
Engine and engine cooling, Nov 3, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the accelerator pedal was not depressed but the vehicle slightly accelerated independently. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact also stated that while accelerating from a complete stop and making a turn, the vehicle inadvertently stalled, almost causing another vehicle to crash into her vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed an engine failure and that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V264000 (Electrical System, Engine and Engine Cooling). The dealer updated the ECM software. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to NHTSA. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 7,990.
Other or unspecified, Nov 1, 2021
After driving for a few when I come to a stop or slow down to a lower gear and accelerate it starts to stall out and the lights dim a bit slightly. It does not do it on the highway or at higher rates of speed. I’ve checked battery, watched allot of the parameters on a diagnostic tool and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary or any codes even when almost stalling out in a intersection. It would have left me to oncoming traffic. It didn’t die but it was rattling rumbling and stalling. It’s like the transmission is trying to keep it at a super low gear to save gas? I checked for recalls and it states none. I just got this car and it has 40k miles and is still new. I love this car and feel super safe driving it . I traded my abarth for it and it was really hard to part but this car makes up for it. I’m calling the Subaru dealership and dealership I got it from. I’ve owned it less than a month.
Engine, Oct 27, 2021
Battery continually does not hold charge over any time longer than a few days parked. Even after long drive from Wisconsin to Ohio, car sitting for 6 days in cool weather (never under 40 degrees) caused dead battery. Battery has been replaced by Subaru dealer 3 times previously, each time dealer said they could not detect a problem. In winter, battery is dead each night, even with normal daily use each day.
Visibility/wiper, Oct 20, 2021
UNKNOWN. My windshield has a crack in the lower section on the passenger side coming up from the bottom of the windshield. There is no indication that it was hit by anything, there is just a crack. In fact, it was parked in the garage and next time we got in it we noticed the crack.
Electrical system, Oct 1, 2021
2 battery failures in 2 years of purchasing vehicle. I am on my third battery in less than two years. Incidents occurred 15, 19, 23 and 24 months into car ownership. 4 battery / electrical related dealer service visits in 2 years. 2 times the car was immobilized due to battery failure, would not start and required a tow to dealership service. On 3 occasions lost car audio - no audio map directions, no hands free phone calling, no radio. On 1 occasion lost all internal lighting on entire instrument panel and all switches during night driving on one occasion creating a serious driving hazard and safety issue. All issues occurred with no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms. Only Subaru Dealer service has inspected and replaced/ recharged the batteries. Dealer service claimed they could not reproduce the problem once they replaced or recharged the batteries.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Service brakes, Sep 2, 2021
The vehicle of concern is a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV). In the past 2 to 3 months, we have had multiple warning lights come on when the vehicle is started. In some cases, we were able to clear the warning lights by turning the vehicle off and back on several times over the course of 30-40 minutes. The two most recent occurrences involved the vehicle having to be towed to the dealership as either the car would not shift out of Park or upon shifting out of Park, the parking brake would not release. The car was driven to the Burlington Subaru dealership in Burlington, VT about 5-6 weeks ago where they were unable to reproduce the problem or find any information logged in the vehicle's logs. Two weeks ago (8/19/21), the vehicle was towed to the dealership. The service department was able to log/see the errors (ABS, Check Engine, Eyesight System and Vehicle Dynamic Control) which were also logged in the MySubaru app. The dealership drove the vehicle almost 250 miles in attempts to diagnose the problem further. They upgraded the ECM software and they did not see the problem after that. I picked the vehicle up the morning of 8/30/21 and the problem recurred the evening of 8/30/21 resulting in the 2nd tow back to the dealership. The same errors as before were reported and seen by the dealership. On 9/1/21, I was informed by the service dept rep the problem was root caused to be a faulty electronic parking switch resulting in a drained battery. They are awaiting the new part which is in short supply in the US currently so no reliable ETA. The dealer would like to keep the car an additional couple of days after they receive the part to see if the problem is resolved. The car has approximately 23,000 miles on it currently.
Visibility/wiper, Sep 1, 2021
I was driving on the highway and a tiny rock my windshield which shouldn’t have caused the 12 inch crack in my windshield like it did, i have to have it replaced now.
Visibility, Aug 26, 2021
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while entering the vehicle, he heard a popping noise and saw there was a crack on the windshield. There was no impact to the windshield that could have caused the crack. The vehicle was repaired by an auto glass company. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 19,500.
Power train, Service brakes, Engine, Aug 25, 2021, crash
My daughter was in process of pulling her car into the garage when it experienced sudden acceleration and crashed into the garage. My daughter was unable to stop the car as the brake system failed during the incident. She is now too terrified to drive the car. Subaru claims that the car is and has been operating as intended. The Subaru Eyesight, Anti-Lock Braking, Vehicle Dynamic Control systems all failed during the sudden acceleration event. It's fortunate that this incident did not happen at a stoplight (intersection).
Electrical system, Aug 4, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that the vehicle would not start which resulted in the battery needing to be replaced. The contact stated that the check battery message was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was diagnosed and repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.
Visibility, Jul 29, 2021
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that a horizontal crack had formed on the bottom passenger side windshield without incident or impact. The contact stated that the crack obstructed his vision while driving. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who informed him that the failure may have been caused by the excessive summer heat. The contact then spoke to the dealer and was informed that the vehicle was not under recall or warranty. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and referred him back to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.