2017 Subaru Outback
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Electrical system is the leading concern among 917 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 2nd highest complaint count among 26 Outback model years with reports.
Of the 2017 reports, 32 involved a crash and 3 involved a fire. 25 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Air bags, air bag/restraint control moduleDec 19, 2019
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2016-2017 Outback vehicles. A replacement air bag control module may have been installed that is not compatible with the passenger air bag module, possibly affecting air bag deployment.
In the event of a crash necessitating passenger frontal air bag deployment, the air bag may not deploy properly, increasing the risk of injury.
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger air bag module, free of charge. The recall began February 3, 2020. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUX-09.
Campaign 19V910000 on NHTSA.gov
Steering, columnOct 6, 2016
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2017 Legacy and Outback vehicles manufactured September 21, 2016, to September 23, 2016. In the affected vehicles, the knee guard bracket may not be properly attached to the steering beam assembly.
If the knee guard is not properly attached and the driver is not wearing a seatbelt, the knee guard may not be able to properly restrain the driver's lower body in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the knee guard welding on each vehicle's steering beam, replacing the beam as necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 14, 2016. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WTL-72.
Campaign 16V716000 on NHTSA.gov
SuspensionAug 3, 2016
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2017 Outback vehicles manufactured June 20, 2016, to June 23, 2016. The affected vehicles may have improperly tightened attaching bolts for the front left and right brake calipers, wheel hubs, and the right stabilizer clamp.
If any of the front brake caliper, wheel hub or stabilizer clamp attaching bolts loosen or detach, the related components would also become loose and may detach possibly making the vehicle unstable and reducing the braking capability. These conditions would increase the risk of a crash.
Subaru has notified owners, and dealers will inspect the bolts for proper torque, and replace any loose bolts, free of charge. The recall began on August 8, 2016. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WTE-66.
Campaign 16V576000 on NHTSA.gov
Steering, columnDo not drive until repairedMay 11, 2016
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Legacy and Outback vehicles manufactured February 29, 2016, to May 6, 2016. The steering column on the affected vehicles may have been improperly machined, and as a result, turning the steering wheel may have no effect on the direction of the wheels.
The loss of steering ability would increase the risk of a crash.
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the lot number on the steering column, replacing the steering column, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began May 13, 2016. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783 or by visiting http://www.wtd65.service-campaign.com. Subaru's number for this recall is WTD-65. Note: Until the vehicles have been inspected, owners are advised not to drive their vehicles.
Campaign 16V292000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints
917 reports, newest first.
Electrical system, Oct 8, 2021
Battery prematurely dies. I have replaced it 3 times in the short life of the car. It's especially a problem when I'm running errands and make several stops, turning.off vehicle. It struggles to start and maybe by 4th stop, it doesn't start and I'm left stranded. There is something draining the battery and it's not reliable.
Electrical system, Oct 6, 2021
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? - The battery failed and car was inoperable. this happened after 2 years of purchase. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? - Me and family including children were left stranded in cold outdoors until help arrived. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? - Yes the battery problem was reproducible and Dealer confirmed the issue and replaced the battery that was under warranty. The replaced battery also failed after 2 years and they replaced again with similar battery, which is prone to fail at any moment, according to my experience. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? - The dealer inspected the battery and found unusable. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? - Intermittent lock-outs and needing jump starts. Then it failed totally. Second battery was a sudden failure. One morning the car was found inoperable. Upon towing to the service center, they discovered the battery was dead.
Electrical system, Oct 1, 2021
Car has 22,000 miles on it and we are on our third battery. Just replaced second battery last week. Hopped in car to go run errands and car is completely dead. Second battery was bought in June 2019, third September 2021. Taking car to Subaru next week to have it diagnosed. Battery was dead with in three days.
Visibility/wiper, Sep 28, 2021
Windshield just started cracking across from drivers side to center. Windshield would craxk further just sitting in garage overnight. Looks like a river running across Windshield. No apparent rock or chips as cause.
Other or unspecified, Sep 23, 2021
Windshield has cracked for the second time without any specific incident noted. Just started cracking from the bottom up.
Electrical system, Sep 19, 2021
Original battery died while away from home, replaced with new battery which then also died 5 months after installation. I do not feel I can safely use the vehicle with my family for fear of battery drain/dying while we are away from home. No warning lights or other indication anything is wrong. No aftermarket parts installed. Took car to Firestone for diagnosis and they said that alternator is working fine, no other issues identified.
Visibility/wiper, Sep 18, 2021
The windshield cracked while driving on the freeway in the winter. I had been driving for approximately half an hour when the front windshield cracked from the rearview mirror location downward. I didn't notice a rock or other object hitting the windshield that would have initiated the crack. The crack has continued to spread since then and is to the point where I am having to replace my windshield.
Structure, Sep 15, 2021
While driving on 9/14/21 at about 40 mph, we heard a loud crash and the sound of broken glass. I pulled off the road shortly after to inspect my vehicle and found that the sun/moon roof had literally exploded. The shade was closed and no broken glass entered the passenger compartment. Upon closer inspection, the remaining hole in the sun roof (measuring approx. 14 in. wide by 8 inches deep) indicated that the force breaking the glass had come from the inside rather than the outside as the rim around the hole was convex rather than concave. Also there was very little glass resting on the outside surface of the closed shade inside the cavity, with the majority of it on the roof toward the rear of the vehicle. I am now in discussion with both my insurance company and the dealer that I bought the vehicle from. I did take 3 pictures but am unsure how to send them with this report.
Electrical system, Sep 9, 2021
I have to jump-start my vehicle several times a week, sometimes multiple times per day. The battery drains dead in minutes, even after an hour long trip. I have about 42,000 miles on my car and I'm on my third battery - about to purchase a fourth battery. I also had to purchase a jump box to store in my car due to being stranded several times with a car that does not operate. I leave all cabin light switches set to the OFF position, I do not use the trunk lift if the car is not running, I do not leave the headlights on, and I drive roughly 4 days per week. This is unacceptable, and dangerous - Subaru brands these cars as adventurous and outdoorsy, but I have been stranded in dangerous snow storm and I'm sure others have as well. There were never any system or dash warnings - it just fails to start without warning.
Other or unspecified, Sep 1, 2021
My windshield has had a Crack in the lower left side to the lower middle for about 9 months and just recently the right lower side has a Crack about 10 inches. I have not been in any accidents since I have owned my car or have had any thing happen that would make a Crack on it. I cannot afford to replace it.
Other or unspecified, Aug 31, 2021
Driving home from church Sunday when I heard a loud cracking sound. Sounded like something on the roof, so opened up the cover to the sunroof and saw nothing. When I pulled off to look, I found a long crack in the windshield passenger side running from the bottom of the windshield up to the left just shy of the middle of the passenger seat. There was no one in front of me, so no rock got kicked up and no bird strike. Today the crack lengthened to about the half-way point on the windshield.
Visibility/wiper, Aug 31, 2021
Windshield chipped very easily due to small rock. In cold weather, the chip spread across into a whole crack. Safelite has stated that the windshield needs replacing.
Visibility, Aug 27, 2021
The contact owns the 2017 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the front windshield developed a crack starting from the driver’s side to the center of the windshield. The contact stated that neither a rock nor an object hit the windshield for the crack to appear. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 81,192.
Visibility/wiper, Aug 27, 2021
Upon getting in the car parked in the garage, noticed two cracks symmetrically coming from the base of the center of the windshield extending up about 6 inches. These cracks were not there upon parking in the garage the previous night. These cracks within a day kept moving upward and outward in a curvy symmetrical pattern and are slowly moving since. Upon investigation with a flashlight there is a tiny pin size chip under the wiper that should never have caused such dramatic cracking.
Electrical system, Aug 26, 2021
AFTER PURCHASING THIS VEHICHLE IN DECEMBER OF 2019 IT HAS REQUIRED 2 NEW BATTERIES UP TO JANUARY OF 2021. THAT MEANS THIS CAR IS ON IT'S THIRD BATTERY. BOTH INSTANCES ENDED UP STRANDING MY SPOUSE. SUBARU COULD NOT DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM AND JUST REPLACED THE BATTERY IN EACH INSTANCE. EVEN AFTER I COMMUNICATED THAT THE ISSUE IS OUT OF THE ORDINARY AND THERE MAY BE AN ISSUE WITH THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, SO REPLACING A BATTERY IS NOT THE SOLUTION. THEY JUST CLAIMED THE CAR NEEDS TO BE DRIVEN MORE FREQUENTLY. THIS SAME PROBLEM JUST OCCURED AGAIN TODAY, 8/26 AND REQUIRED ME TO JUMP START THE CAR. THERE ARE NO OTHER WARNING LIGHTS OR MESSAGES. I'M CONVINCED THERE IS SOME SORT OF ECLECTRICAL DRAW ON THE CAR'S SYSTEM AFTER IT IS TURNED OFF THAT IS CAUSING THIS, BUT SUBARU REFUSES TO ADDRESS IT.
Visibility/wiper, Aug 26, 2021
Windshield cracked out of the blue. Very large crack.
Visibility/wiper, Aug 20, 2021
The windshield cracked for no reason while sitting in a Novi, Michigan parking lot on 8/14/2021. The temperature was in the low 80s. No precipitation. This is the second time this has happen on this vehicle. This will be our third windshield since buying the car in 2017.
Other or unspecified, Aug 19, 2021
Our windshield has cracked three times in the past nine months, each time with no impact to it from rock or other object. The crack starts spontaneously and spreads across the windshield. After replacing it in November 2020, we just chalked it up to bad luck, then it happened again in June. Each time, we replaced it with Subaru factory glass and had the Eyesight safety technology calibrated by the certified technician. Now it's happened again (August 2021). I've read of MANY other Subaru owners with similar experiences, and the Subaru service manager in Athens, GA admitted he sees more cracked windshields with Subarus than other makes. Please advise on how we can resolve this issue and safely drive our vehicle. Thank you.
Electrical system, Aug 16, 2021
I have had issues with battery drain since purchasing the car. On 6-7 occasions the battery died through no identified cause. Once it was in the mountains where we went skiing for the day and returned to the car and the battery was dead. The other 5-6 occasions, I did not use my car for durations ranging from a few days to 3 weeks and when i went to use it, the battery was dead. It should not lose charge for that short of a duration of non-use. I took it to the dealer for an electrical and battery inspection and they found no issues. They refused to replace the battery since they said it was fine. I decided to replace it on my own dime due to the issues. But even after replacing it with a brand new battery, the issue has persisted. I've had to purchase a portable charger that i carry with me at all times because I am nervous of it dying and being stranded like it did on the mountain especially because I have small children.
Electrical system, Aug 15, 2021
The battery have prematurely drained on me twice in the last two years.
Other or unspecified, Aug 14, 2021
Placing car in park and attempt to remove key. Key remains locked in ignition. Car remains in the ON position with steering wheel NOT locked and radio/lights ON. I must re-start the car, put in drive, rock gear shift and slam back into Park. This procedure eeds to be repeated until the key can be removed. It is occurring with increasing frequency, at least once per day at this point.
Electrical system, Aug 9, 2021
Battery kept on dying. The latest happened after I drove it daily for 3 days, so it's an active car and no unattended light to cause drain. It's a well maintained, low mileage (17,800 miles) car and I'm the original owner. When battery died 2 years ago, Subaru admitted malfunction and replaced the battery. Since then I had multiple jump starts wasting time to call roadside assistance, missed school/ meetings and I'm afraid deadly risk if I'm off road to call for help.
Electrical system, Aug 9, 2021
I am having issues with my 2017 Subaru Outback on battery drain. 37,000 miles. I've had to replace the battery 2x (2019 and again today) and a failed battery right after getting it fixed by Subaru services. The battery drains much quicker than required.
Power train, Aug 8, 2021
As I am slowing down by pushing the brake pedal, the vehicle will attempt to accelerate. It will increase speed by about 2 miles per hour and the RPM increases when this happens.
Electrical system, Aug 3, 2021
The battery frequently goes dead, just a few days after the last drive. We don't believe any lights were left on, etc., but perhaps there is an unknown current drain. This happened at home, so it wasn't dangerous, except for the need to jumper to another vehicle. It could be dangerous if we were stranded away from home. Not reproduced by a dealer or service center. The battery was replaced once, already. No warning lights or symptoms before the failure.