2021 Subaru Outback
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Visibility/wiper is the leading concern among 296 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 11th highest complaint count among 26 Outback model years with reports.
Of the 2021 reports, 9 involved a crash and 1 involved a fire. 4 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Air bags, sensor, occupant classification, front passengerMar 22, 2024
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Outback and Legacy vehicles. A capacitor in the sensors for the Occupant Detection System (ODS) may crack and short circuit, which can prevent the front passenger air bag from deploying in a crash.
An air bag that does not deploy during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
Dealers will replace the ODS sensors on the front passenger seat, free of charge. Owner notifications were mailed February 3, 2025. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRA-24.
Campaign 24V227000 on NHTSA.gov
Power train, automatic transmission, park/neutral start interlock switchNov 9, 2023
Subaru of America, Inc. is recalling certain model year 2021 Crosstrek, 2022 Forester, 2021-2023 Legacy, and Outback vehicles. An insufficient weld may allow water to enter the inhibitor switch, causing it to fail.
An inoperative inhibitor switch may prevent the reverse lights from illuminating and the rearview camera image from displaying, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will replace the inhibitor switch, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 8, 2024. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WRQ-23.
Campaign 23V755000 on NHTSA.gov
Power train, automatic transmission, control module (tcm/pcm/tecm)Jul 8, 2022
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Outback and Legacy vehicles. A programming error in the Transmission Control Unit (TCU) may allow the clutch to engage before the drive chain is completely clamped.
An improperly secured drive chain may slip and break, causing a loss of drive power and increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will reprogram the TCU, inspect TCU data for chain slip, and visually inspect the chain guide. If evidence of chain slippage or damage is found, the transmission will be replaced. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed August 24, 2022. Owners may contact Subaru's customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRK-22. This recall is an expansion of previous recall number 21V-955.
Campaign 22V485000 on NHTSA.gov
Power train, shift linkage/cable/rodJan 26, 2021
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2021 Outback and Impreza vehicles. The continuously variable transmission (CVT) select lever cable nut may not have been tightened properly, allowing the nut to loosen.
A loose nut can lead to a lost of retention in the CVT select lever cable and the gear selector not functioning properly, increasing risk of crash.
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect, and, if necessary, tighten the nut, free of charge. The recall began February 12, 2021. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRA-21.
Campaign 21V024000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints
296 reports, newest first.
Air bags, May 28, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V227000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Other or unspecified, May 23, 2025
The rear driver side window shattered while I was driving. There was no outside influence, and I was driving around 35-40 miles/hour. I am reporting this because Subaru had the same incident happen multiple times on another model of their vehicles. If there was anyone sitting in the back, they would have most likely been injured.
Power train, Other or unspecified, Apr 12, 2025
Purchased used with just over 60k miles & have had less than a year. Vehicle still under 80k miles. Told transmission needs replaced but found service records from previous owner which shows fuel pump replaced twice at about 20k mile intervals & I am just under 20k miles past previous pump replacement. Vehicle does not run at the moment & warranty company refusing to help.
Electrical system, Engine, Forward collision avoidance, Apr 2, 2025
Thermo Control Valve. Check engine light on. Eyesight Adaptive Cruise Control Automatic Emergency Braking Blind Spot Warning Forward Collision Warning Lane Departure Warning Lane Keeping Assistance X mode Dealership would not honor repair even though there is recall it does not cover vin 63400 miles Vehicle inspected by manufacturer code P2682 Check engine light is on and eyesight warning
Air bags, Mar 26, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V227000 (AIR BAGS); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Air bags, Feb 28, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V227000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Air bags, Jan 27, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light illuminated. The contact stated that there was an audible chime while a passenger was seated in the front passenger’s seat. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V227000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer informed the contact that the part was not yet available for the recall repair. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 17,800. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Air bags, Jan 22, 2025
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V227000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Power train, Jan 2, 2025
I have had this happen several times on my 2021 Outback and my 2013 Outback. The dealership has never been able to recreate this issue. I will be driving (gear in D) and it randomly shifts to 1st or 2nd gear. I have been in a parking lot when it has happened or entering the interstate. I notice it because I hear the engine roar and look down to see it shifted gears. I only use D so this should never happen.
Vehicle speed control, Dec 27, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving 60-75 MPH, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure recurred while driving downhill with adaptive cruise mode activated. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times while driving. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 25.
Vehicle speed control, Engine, Forward collision avoidance, Dec 14, 2024
The speed control (adaptive) doesn't work. The interior heater doesn't work. Several lights including the 'check engine' light come on the dash. The lane departure system doesn't work. (It appears the thermo control value subassembly may be at fault.) The car has approximately 25K miles on it.
Air bags, Dec 11, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V227000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Air bags, Dec 3, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V227000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Visibility/wiper, Nov 26, 2024
I was driving when I heard a loud explosion sound. I first thought a rock or gunshot hit my car and pulled over to examine my car. I checked all around the car and didn't notice any damage on the side of my car but then I noticed that my sunroof was shattered. The glass was pushed outward which meant that it was not hit by an object. Luckily, my interior cover to my sunroof was closed at the time so I was not harmed.
Parking brake, Power train, Engine, Nov 4, 2024
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the check engine, ABS, and brake warning lights illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road. The contact turned off the vehicle and waited for several minutes before restarting the vehicle; however, upon restart the transmission failed to shift into the desired gear. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not covered under warranty due to a third-party damage to the rear brake cable. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 24,000.
Engine, Oct 16, 2024
Thermo control valve failure. Would not cover it
Visibility/wiper, Oct 14, 2024
Since owning this vehicle, we have replaced the windshield at least once a year. The first due to a 1/16th inch chip that evolved into a 10 inch crack over the course of a day. The second was a crack from driver side pillar that appeared overnight, no chips prior. Third was a 8" crack from passenger pillar that appeared overnight while garage parked, after a day, it grew to reach the center of the windshield. I think it's unacceptable that windshields can just crack overnight less than a year after install. It's beyond concerning knowing that our windshield could crack at anytime, or that superficial chips must be taken care of IMMEDIATELY or we run the risk of replacing the entire windshield.
Electrical system, Sep 16, 2024
Battery keeps draining if car isn't driven for a few days battery is drained to point of it being dead, cannot get into car, will not start, leaves you stranded. This is the fourth time this year, dealer checks it out tells me nothing is wrong. I have read many problems with parasitic battery drain with subaru's even that the alternator is programed not to fully charge the battery to save gas. getting tired of the issue to the point where I am thinking of selling the car and finding something that will not leave me stranded. This time when I checked the battery voltage it was 5.80 volts and .29 amps.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, Sep 12, 2024
The auto restart does not work and requires a car restart to fix. The latest software update caused this is to happen.
Electrical system, Aug 31, 2024
Parasitic Draw on battery: Original battery was dead after sitting 5 days; Bought new AMG and it has also died after 4 days sitting.
Electrical system, Vehicle speed control, Fuel/propulsion system, Aug 30, 2024
ON thursday night at about [XXX] i was driving in the carpool lane going north.in the [XXX] , with full tank of gas ; suddenly i felt and here a noise, and the vehicle (2021outback base) start losing power, at the point that totally stop. call 911, and few minutes after the hway patrol came and push us out of the freeway, there was not any shoulder to be safe out. when the police officer try to turn it on the vehicle star but no power was available even when the vehicle was on.. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Steering, Electrical system, Structure, Aug 29, 2024
The car flashed “eye sight off” before flickering and shutting off while I was braking at a stop light. I tried putting my car into park and then turning it off and restarting it but it would not turn back on. I tried this a few more times but I was in the middle lane of a heavily trafficked street. The steering wheel was locked and I was not able to immediately remove it from the road and maybe an hour later it was able to be shifted into neutral and moved out of the street. However, it would still not turn on and when I did open my power gate, the gate would not secure closed. I took it to the dealership that I purchased it at and where it is also regularly serviced (with the last service date only over one week ago,) and they were not able to determine what happened but instead mentioned that my car had no internal data of any errors occurring and that the car was able to be started when they serviced it. I took a picture of the dash as it was flashing with all of the error codes and submitted that to the tech that was working on my car, but they asked me if I’d had someone “clear my codes” which is not something I’m familiar with or even capable of doing- I don’t even know anyone that would be capable of doing that for me. The whole ordeal cost me a day of work and now my peace of mind as I am unsure of if this may happen again and now I am worried it may happen while my kids are in the car. I’ve had similar issues with my center console messing up but nothing as urgent as my whole car shutting down and my steering wheel locking in the middle of traffic.
Electrical system, Aug 29, 2024
Battery drains quickly and renders the car inoperable. Possibly due to Controller Area Network (CAN) not entering sleep mode when vehicle is not being used resulting in a parasitic battery drain.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Aug 16, 2024
Today while waiting at a stop light the auto start stop engaged. When the light went green I put my foot on the gas and the vehicle stalled. The car was on but not running, several alarms were on the dashboard. I had to put the car in park, turn it off and then restart the car. This is a repeated issue and has been going on at least once a month since we purchased the car in 2021. We've brought it to the dealer and they said there was nothing wrong because there was no OBD code. I have checked myself and I have not found any code. This is extremely unsafe
Other or unspecified, Aug 12, 2024
2021 Subaru Outback Limited | ~13000 miles | Component: Battery | Car suddenly stopped and ALL warning lights started flashing at a busy traffic signal, while I was waiting to take a left turn (lucky to have escaped safely from that situation). I had to turn the car off and restart it. 2 days later, the car would not start at all. Tried jumping it multiple time in vain. Had to tow the car to the nearest Subaru service center. Technician ran a diagnostic and concluded that the battery was not holding any charge at all and it was deemed faulty. Reading many posts on reddit and other forums of many Subaru owners facing the same issue from older (2015) to newer models. Many of them also complained of Parasitic drain on the battery due to faulty DCM on Starlink. Note: there was no warning lights/messages or any other symptom before this. This was a Subaru certified pre-owned car that went through a 152 point inspection in 2023.