2022 Subaru Outback
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Visibility/wiper is the leading concern among 463 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 8th highest complaint count among 26 Outback model years with reports.
Of the 2022 reports, 10 involved a crash and 4 involved a fire. 6 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
Visibility, windshieldSep 22, 2022
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2022 Impreza and Outback vehicles. The incorrect paint clearcoat may have been applied, which can cause the windshield to be insufficiently bonded to the vehicle. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 212, "Windshield Mounting."
An insufficiently bonded windshield can detach during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Subaru will offer owners a vehicle exchange or repurchase, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed November 21, 2022. Owners may contact Subaru's customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRH-22.
Campaign 22V712000 on NHTSA.gov
Engine and engine cooling, engine, engine control module (ecu/ecm)Jul 1, 2022
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2022 Outback vehicles. The engine wiring harness may have been damaged, resulting in a loose electrical connection to the engine control unit (ECU).
A loose electrical connection to the ECU may cause an engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will replace the engine wiring harness and ECU, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed August 30, 2022. Owners may contact Subaru's customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRC-22.
Campaign 22V473000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: visibility
280 reports, newest first. Show all
Visibility/wiper, Apr 23, 2022
I have had my car exactly a week. I have 200 miles on it and the windshield cracked for no known reason.
Visibility/wiper, Apr 22, 2022
Windshield cracked with very little sign of impact.
Visibility/wiper, Apr 22, 2022
Driving down the road for work, coworker noticed i had a crack in my windshield. At no time did there ever seem to be a strike to the windshield that would cause it to crack. Now a few days later this crack has grown to the length of roughly 16". The windshield seems to be very thin and brittle, which seems unsafe. They are also very expensive to fix, due to the safety system installed in the car, which seems counterintuitive since the windshields break so easy, which then causes the safety system to not work correctly.
Visibility/wiper, Apr 21, 2022
I bought Subaru Outback Jan 2022 brand new. Also, I bought the extended warranty. Last April 18,2022 while I was driving along the parkway I heard a sound hitting my windshield and all of a sudden I saw a cracked on the windshield, about 7inches long. Looking at the windshield, It does not look like a large object hit my windshield. You could tell it's just a small object. I can assume its a small stone. I discovered later on about the lawsuit/complains about Subaru's problems with cracked prone windshield. Subaru dealer did not disclose anything about this problem when I was buying this car otherwise I will not buy this car. I called the dealer and they want ~$1100 for repair. This windshield is defective, poor quality and dangerous! I hope you will investigate this matter seriously. Thanks!
Visibility/wiper, Apr 14, 2022
A large crack spontaneously formed on the front windshield, starting from the left wiper motor to the middle -- right in the driver's field-of-view. The crack appeared on a day when my car was not driven for several days prior to the crack forming and security cameras showed no foul play by pedestrians. The crack has since spread into a "spider-like" crack once it reached the center of the windshield. The morphology of this crack appears to be from manufacturing defects and not from a rock chip or property damage.
Visibility, Apr 13, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle overnight, the next morning it was discovered that the front windshield had developed a ten-inch-long crack. The contact indicated that no object had struck the windshield to cause the windshield to crack. The local dealer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 6,500. THE CONSUMER STATED THAT THE VEHICLE REPAIRED UNDER WARRANTY AND THE CONSUMER WOULD LIKE TO WITHDRAW THE COMPLAINT.
Visibility/wiper, Apr 12, 2022
Two days after purchasing my 2022 Subaru Outback, the windshield cracked after a tractor trailer kicked up a small pebble on the interstate. The crack spread half way across the windshield within a few days.
Visibility/wiper, Apr 11, 2022
Windshield cracked while parked overnight.
Visibility/wiper, Apr 9, 2022
Front windshield crack, around 10-15 inches of length, located at passenger area. Inspection is not necessary since the glass has been replaced, though pictures of glass crack on first appearance has been provided for reference. It is a safety risk due to obstruction of driver’s visibility also the possibility of glass crack expansion or shutter. The incident has been reported to the dealership and 3rd party insurance. There were no symptoms or warning of the problem prior to failure. There are no visible spots or impact area that proves the damage was caused by a rock chip or any other objects hitting the glass that may have caused the crack. April 1 evening, car was checked after parking to garage and prior to entering the house and there was no cracks or any damage. Next day, April 2 morning the crack has appeared and upon checking there was no impact points or spots. From the time of first appearance until the day of it getting fixed the crack has gotten bigger adding 6-8 inches more, while the car has not been driven since the crack appearance.
Visibility/wiper, Apr 9, 2022
The windshield cracked 8+ inches due to a small rock that wouldn’t have cracked most other vehicle’s windshields. This happened the day after I bought it.
Visibility/wiper, Apr 4, 2022
Windshield cracked on its own from bottom half edge on passengers side and approximately 14” long. Was in the driveway at my child’s daycare, went up to the door, and in that time, the windshield spontaneously cracked. Daycare checked cameras and no branch or object struck the windshield. The crack is in my line of sight part of the time, is extremely noticeable, and at times is an obstruction of view. Also, if something were to actually impact the windshield, I wouldn’t have much for protection but clearly the windshield was not much for protection to begin with. Dealership says it must’ve been a chip but i had just washed my car including the windows and I notice everything and document everything since this is my first purchase of a brand new car. There was no visible chip. I don’t go off-roading or anything of the sort. I 100% believe this is a defect that has been ongoing for Subaru. Dealer gave me a business card to a repair place. Contacted Subaru and they give me a $500 certificate to use towards a windshield replacement at a dealership BUT the dealership will not replace the windshield, most likely because this has been an ongoing issue with Subaru and if the new windshield is not installed by a Subaru dealer, it’s not covered under warranty. So, essentially I got a useless gift certificate. There should have been some sort of disclosure or better yet, some accountability for the poor quality and safety hazard the windshield presents.
Visibility/wiper, Apr 4, 2022
My 2022 Outback Limited with 4000 miles had a large spontaneous crack form in the bottom of the windshield. Without provocation by the impact of any stone or road bump or other apparent cause, the crack abruptly originated under the lower moulding near the center bottom between driver and passenger side, while at a stop light on a residential street near our home. The crack rapidly lengthened vertically about 4 inches then turned 90 degrees toward passenger side and proceeded to further rapidly lengthen by about a foot before diving vertically back down to the bottom moulding on the passenger side. I called Subaru of America and was told it would likely be a watranty repair but that I needed to take the vehicle to my local Subaru dealer for inspection and documentation of the failure. I took the vehicle immediately to the dealer where they took pictures and wrote up a fully detailed report for Subaru of America (SOA). Now it is 3 days later and I am still awaiting a call from SOA, and I am unable (unwilling actually) to drive the car because of my concern for my family’s safety in case of the windshield failing additionally while driving.
Visibility/wiper, Apr 4, 2022
Driving on a rural road with no traffic in front of us, the Windshield cracked about 10 inches right in our line of sight. I am a retired aircraft mechanic and home auto mechanic, so I have some experience with this. I suspect that the black heating strip around the SMART windshield is the malfunctioning component. The windshield is too thin for this design flaw. Drove the 8 month old 8K mile new car to the dealership, who informed us that their mechanic would tell us whether or not a rock chip caused the crack.
Visibility/wiper, Apr 4, 2022
My windshield on my car cracked randomly overnight from the edge of the windshield coming outward. No chips or any road debris seems to have caused the problem. It just cracked at random about 2 weeks ago now my passenger side window just had the same thing happen overnight
Visibility/wiper, Apr 2, 2022
Windshield spontaneously cracked with no impact from foreign object.
Visibility/wiper, Apr 1, 2022
My 2022 Subaru Outback is 9 month old with only 9432 miles. On 3/31/2022 the windshield suffered the spontaneous windshield breakage problem that Subaru's suffer from. The windshield cracked from the lower left corner of the glass (looking from the front of the car to the windshield). There was nothing that hit the glass. There is no marks on it other than the crack that starts from the lower left edge. The classic Subaru windshield failure issue.
Visibility/wiper, Mar 30, 2022
Windshield cracked out of no where. I’ve only had this car 1 day and it’s brand new.
Visibility/wiper, Mar 27, 2022
This is on my 2022 Subaru Outback Touring XT around 5500+ miles on my brand car the windshield cracked from the bottom center to the middle straight up. I bought this car in Nov 2021 and this car is always garaged and maintained well. After this incident, we are hesitant to drive hence didn't take the car out for a drive and I see the crack started to expand little by little; which is of more concern for me as this is our family car.
Visibility/wiper, Mar 21, 2022
I purchased a brand new 2022 subaru outback. Drove for 2 weeks. Absolutely nothing but raindrops have hit this windshield and a crack began to form at the edge of the windshield and slowly grow across the entire windshield over the course of 2 days. It's right in my eye-line. I went online to see what might be happening and am seeing tons of threads on various sites about this exact problem. I do not feel its fair to pay my full $1000 deductible for damage which I believe is related to a manufacturing or corporate issue. I believe this year needs to be included in the existing recall that I am seeing for similar models.
Visibility/wiper, Mar 20, 2022
Found the windshield cracked starting in the middle of the ream on the passenger side. I did not feel any impact point when running my finger on the crack line. Subaru dealer already replaced the OEM windshield for me. I am filling the complaint because I think this is still a quality issue with Subaru not only on the models before 2020 but also on models in 2022. If it is still the quality issue, it will affect to the safety of the driver.
Visibility/wiper, Mar 20, 2022
I bought the car in August and on September 15, the windshield cracked. No flying stones or other debris from the road. No noise aside from the sound of the glass cracking. I had it replaced using my insurance, but thought it should be reported for complaint trending purposes.
Visibility, Mar 19, 2022
a tiny rock hit my window within the first 2,000 milesand created a 8in crack, with in 6 hours it head spread to over a foot long. Subaru is known for having windshield issues.
Visibility, Mar 18, 2022
Purchased a 2022 Subaru Outback in late October 2021. Have been driving regularly and noticed a crack in the windshield extending from the passenger side windshield edge to the center of the windshield. No impact chip is visible, or by touch. No known rock or debris impact while driving. Have been very careful with my new car and am extremely disappointed.
Visibility/wiper, Mar 18, 2022
Front windshield had to be replaced the same day it was driven off the lot. 2 weeks after replacement the windshield cracked again. Dealership and safe lite both claim it’s not their problem. Insurance stated if I continue getting the windshield replaced after every break then they are going to keep raise my rates because of frequently claiming issues. I paid almost $50,000 for this vehicle which requires 4hrs for replacement and programming because of the front facing cameras it requires for safe driving. 4 hrs …IF …no one else is already scheduled so I’m recommended to leave the car over night but no loaner vehicles will be provided. The additional film required to protect the exterior of the windshield is 300% more expensive than the windshield itself. Now every month I have to replace my windshield due to breaking and the obligatory film I and up paying approximately $500 per instance AND pay an insurance rate increase. How is this fair or legal? My car payment is already $750 per month. Monthly repairs for ONLY the windshield are equaling 80% of my already monthly expenses before any other costs. How is this fair or legal? Is there any open lawsuits I can join or any other options?
Visibility/wiper, Mar 14, 2022
Cracked windshield causing visibility issues. Does not appear related to damage.