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, Feb 15, 2024
Windshield spontaneously cracked while parked overnight in garage. Crack originated on passenger side in the middle of windshield starting at the end of the panel and running to middle of windshield horizontally. No chip, damage, impact happened. It literally cracked on its own overnight. Husband is a window engineer and said either the glass is not sustainable for the span of the windshield or the seal is faulty and it dislodged/shifted the glass causing a pressure crack. Subaru has no recalls but this is a common problem according to this website and hopefully someone can address this because it’s a safety issue and happens without impact or damage.
Visibility, Feb 5, 2024
See attached document for complaint
Visibility, Feb 2, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed with the defroster activated, within two hours, the contact observed that the front windshield had cracked just above the defroster vents. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the temperature difference between the interior and exterior of the vehicle resulted in thermal shock. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 14,000.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 24, 2024
Windshield cracked without impact. It is available for inspection upon request. The vehicle was inspected by dealer but said nothing could be done.
Electrical system, Visibility, Jan 23, 2024
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 50 MPH, he observed a noise coming from the front window. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that an unknown component in the A/C needed to be replaced. Additionally, the contact observed a crack in the middle of the windshield. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure six times and a case was filed. The failure mileage was 25,000.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 23, 2024
Windshield cracked spontaneously while parked in the garage. Started at the base near the driver's side wiper and goes mid-way up the windshield.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 21, 2024
The vehicle's front windshield has cracked twice in nearly the exact same manner, location, and type of damage. In both cases, a presumably very small piece of debris that I couldn't see and could barely hear hit the windshield and instantly cracked the windshield. The windshield cracked in the same manner (one large lateral crack about 8" towards the center and 6" all the way through the right side edge of the windshield). Both instances left a very small pock mark where the crack originated. The first instance occurred in May 2022 (I had owned the car for one week); the second instance occurred December 2023. The incidents were not inspected by manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives. I have photos of both windshields. I still have the second cracked windshield installed, but plan to replace it soon since it is unsafe to drive with.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 2, 2024
Windshield crack originating from under wiper area after a cold day. No known rock impact. Found a super small spot around the size of a period under the wiper blade. Second broken windshield in 18 months. These windshields do not seem very durable
Visibility/wiper, Dec 26, 2023
Large crack in windshield extending to lower edge of passenger side without any inciting event with a rock chip or otherwise. Temp was 64 degrees and occurred while parked in the driveway. This is second occurrence. This same event also occurred in May of this year and Subaru covered under warranty as there was no damage. Safelight now is advertising to fix these Subaru windshields with eyesight as it is so common to crack without damage. Need a recall and thicker windshield.
Visibility/wiper, Dec 23, 2023
Purchased the 2022 outback in April and very shortly after, had a cracked windshield right in the middle of the driver's line of sight. There was no noticeable sign of impact on the windshield. Replaced with a "deal" from the dealer at $1000. Not even 4k miles later, another Crack that's spread on the passenger side, in the middle of the windshield. Dealer says $1500 to replace (insurance is a $1000 deductible). Again. No noticeable sign of impact causing the Crack. Looking to now replace this new vehicle as our household cannot afford to replace these windshields every few thousand miles.
Visibility/wiper, Dec 20, 2023
While driving small pebble fell on windshield causing approx. 1mm chipp. Within minutes that chipp turned into 9-10" crack from bottom center into passenger side. Never had a windshield so sensitive. I have 2014 Forester with few similar windshield chipps but they stay the same, do not cause cracks. It looks to me that Outback windshield does not hold up against normal use.
Other or unspecified, Visibility/wiper, Dec 18, 2023
The windshield on my 2022 Subaru Outback has cracked twice with a year's time without impact! The first crack in February 2023 was detected after the car was parked overnight. The crack extended from the edge of the windshield on the drivers side and into the field of vision by approx. 24". The dealer said it was an impact however no impact of any kind occurred. I reported it to Corproate Subaru offices (Case#230120-1800472), who agreed to replace the windshield and the associated eyesight camera equipment, most likely because there are many incidences of this happening with their vehicles. The most recent re-occurrence of the windshield cracking without impact happened in early Dec. 2023. Again, no impact occurred and the crack was found after the vehicle was parked for about an hour after I attended a gallery opening. This time the dealer once again performed the same test performed in February (by using a pen that notes an indentation the size of a pinhead). Once again the crack starts from the edge of the windshield and extends through the line of vision by about 24" which creates a severe safety issue, especially when driving at night. Although the Subaru Corporate office replaced the first incident of this, they are now saying with the new case I opened (Case 231204-1901299) that they won't replace the most recent incident, even when it is exactly the same as the first! It seems as though Subaru won't own up to the fact that their windshields are faulty and have a propensity for stress fractures which is a serious safety issue.
Other or unspecified, Visibility/wiper, Dec 18, 2023
stayed in Bangor Maine cold night frost on windshield, turned on defrost within several minute my wife noticed two small cracks at the bottom of the windshield ,within several minutes the progress up wards for about 5bin and joined together and continued to about 10 on and started across to the drivers side ,the crack is about b14 in long at this time ,wet to a subaru dealer they tried to convince it was a rock, I pointed out the crack was at the bottom of the window and ,said he could nothing.Went to a nation repair window business they confirmed it was not a rock, their opinion there is a flaw in the glass.There was no prior symptom to this taking place
Visibility/wiper, Dec 14, 2023
This car has only 6030 miles on it and is less than 2 years old. I came out of the grocery store and the windshield was cracked. There was no ding or something that hit it. The crack just was suddenly there and started underneath the rubber lining around the windshield at the bottom. The crack has grown to 1/3rd the entire size of the windsheid...all by itself. This is a $1200 windshield to replace. I understand this is a big problem with Subaru windshield on 2022 model Outbacks and CrossTrek
Visibility/wiper, Dec 2, 2023
Driving 70mph on an interstate and the windshield spontaneously popped, creating a long, large crack on the left side of the windshield.
Visibility/wiper, Nov 28, 2023
Less than 3 months ago I reported 11543521. Now, the very first rock to hit this new OEM replacement windshield caused a 7-8 inch crack to form in the middle and start to propagate. There are still less than 8000 miles on the car.
Visibility/wiper, Nov 12, 2023
In the past 10 months, the windshield on my vehicle spontaneously cracked twice while I was driving (December 2022 and October 2023). In both instances there was no perceptible impact; a crack suddenly appeared on the left (driver's side) edge of the windshield, about 1/3 of the way from the bottom, and spread across my field of vision. This is a safety issue because it affect the driver's ability to see the roadway. It might also affect the strength and integrity of the windshield itself should it actually be hit by road debris or other objects. The vehicle was inspected by the Subaru service center both times when it was repaired. Again, if there was impact in either of the incidents, it was imperceptible, and certainly should not have caused any damage to windshield, let alone the extensive cracking that occurred.
Visibility/wiper, Nov 8, 2023
A month ago I was sitting in my car in a parking lot when the windshield on the passenger side cracked about 1 foot in an "S" shape. There were no other cars, rocks, etc. around and you cannot see or feel an impact point on the crack or anywhere on the windshield. The crack has spread over the last week and formed a "T" split in line with the rearview mirror.
Visibility/wiper, Nov 8, 2023
Small object hit the top of the windshield and created a star 20 minutes later it spread to a 17 inch crack
Visibility/wiper, Oct 31, 2023
Windshield spontaneously cracked while we were starting the car in a parking lot. No movement and no impact points along the crack. Initiated at the bottom of windshield exactly at the center point and worked up toward the middle. Dealers (West Houston Subaru, followed by Gillman Subaru) could not point out an impact point along the crack but indicated this was not a dealer problem.
Visibility/wiper, Oct 9, 2023
While parked for about two hours, the vehicle windshield cracked from the drivers side edge across the middle of the drivers field of view approximately 15-18 inches. There are no signs of any impact to the windshield to cause such a crack.
Visibility/wiper, Oct 2, 2023
2022 Outback with 24,000 miles, was parked in the garage all weekend and found an 18 inch crack in the drivers side windshield starting on the left edge. This windshield was replaced 5 months ago due for the same reason. Nothing hit the windshield while driving. Both cracks appeared while the car was parked in a ramp or garage.
Visibility/wiper, Sep 25, 2023
When in a parking lot the windshield started cracking from bottom up and formed a T. Crack is about 12 inches long in front windshield. There are no signs of a rock or anything else that hit the windshield.
Visibility/wiper, Sep 9, 2023
The very first rock to ever hit the windshield landed around 9pm (6000 miles total on the car). The next day driving around 10am in the rain a 30" crack formed, that eventually spread from one side of the windshield to the middle.
Visibility/wiper, Aug 24, 2023
I own a 2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness Trim. I had my car parked in my garage on Aug -23 night without any damage and when I checked next day Aug-24 around noon I noticed windshield had a large 1.5 foot crack on the passenger side.