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
Other or unspecified, Visibility/wiper, May 23, 2023
Car was parked in garage. 14 inch crack appeared in windshield with no impact. Crack just appeared while car was parked.
Other or unspecified, Visibility/wiper, May 22, 2023
Bought 2022 Subaru with eyesight system October 2022. We have replaced this windshield 4 times. Once was 1 month old after backing out of garage in cold weather and it cracked spontaneously. Since then we replaced entire windshield in December 2022, Feb 2023, March 2023 and May 2023 Subaru reports windshield is now made from acoustic glass but are not holding up against normal use.
Visibility/wiper, May 9, 2023
Small crack appeared and then became huge
Visibility/wiper, May 8, 2023
Never had a windshield so sensitive in the many many cars I've owned over the years. We haver had several chips filled that just randomly appear on the glass and never heard or saw anything hit. Finally one morning went out to the car to find a 12" long crack on the passenger side of the windshield. Paid my deductible and had it replaced and the NEXT DAY, less than 24 hours later sitting in a parking lot and it randomly cracked again. Took it back to the repair shop and they said it wasn't a problem with their install and I need to pay AGAIN for another windshield? These things shouldn't be cracking and chipping this easily.
Visibility/wiper, Apr 30, 2023
I was parked on my family’s driveway in Southern California. The car had been stations for about 3hrs and was parked outside. 10-30seconds after unlocking and starting the car I had a loud crunch/crack sound at which point I saw a 2-4” dual crack that appeared in the centre of the windshield. This happened while stationary without any impact. The crack size increased with vechicle movement. I’d like to report this as a concern give the sudden and unexpected nature of this crack to the front windshield
Visibility/wiper, Apr 24, 2023
Horizontal stress crack middle of windshield from driver side to almost center of windshield. Stress crack keeps extending towards passenger side. Car was parked outside, sunny day @ 78DEG. Are clostest to edge I can get my fingernail in maybe the thickness of 3-4 sheets of paper. Line of site obscured due to crack.
Visibility/wiper, Apr 24, 2023
Windshield crack formed despite no outside cause. In morning it was there. I went to Schlossman Subaru and they documented situation and said they would contact Subaru. I have tried to contact them several times for follow-up but they have not responded.
Visibility/wiper, Apr 21, 2023
Large crack developed in the lower/middle driver’s side windshield, spreading to the middle of the windshield. There is no obvious/apparent damage that caused this, with the crack starting at the edge of the windshield, and spreading inward.
Visibility/wiper, Apr 21, 2023
The windshield developed a large crack while sitting in the driveway. It started about midway up on the passanger side and extended about a foot and a half.
Other or unspecified, Visibility/wiper, Apr 13, 2023
I drove my vehicle on Saturday April 1, 2023 without incident. There was no occurrence anything hitting the windshield. I returned home and did not drive the vehicle again until Monday April 3, 2023. I went to the garage to leave for work when I noticed a 15 inch crack in the windshield. The crack originates from the leading vertical edge on the driver side. There is no visible chip or other damage that would indicate debris struck the windshield. The vehicle has less than 18k miles on it and is parked in a garage 95% of the time it is not in use. The crack has continued to spread since the first day and now covers half of the windshields length.
Visibility/wiper, Apr 6, 2023
Early morning after sitting in the parking garage overnight, a crack randomly appeared from top middle portion of the front windshield and propagated vertically down the center of the windshield. The crack later spread through the center of the windshield after a few days. There appeared to be no other damage around the origin of the crack (center windshield area) nor was it due to negligence - the cause is unknown.
Visibility, Apr 6, 2023
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the front windshield cracked without impact. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the front windshield to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but experienced the failure for a second time. The contact took the vehicle back to the local dealer and had the front windshield replaced a second time. The vehicle was repaired but experienced the failure for a third time. The contact took the vehicle back to the local dealer and had the front windshield replaced for a third time. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.
Visibility/wiper, Apr 3, 2023
2022 Subaru Outback has has windshield replaced 3 times. And awaiting a new windshield AGAIN for 2 cracks. Current windshield was hit by rocks, within a day of each other. Very small impact site and both immediately cracked to about 6 inches on impact. Continue to spread in heather garage. First windshield hit by rock- cracked on impact, spread like wildfire. 2nd windshield cracked in garage less than a week after installation. Was told it was another rock and not covered under warranty. Not possible. Third windshield was installed, because, after the second windshield was installed, the windshield had a long, scratch in it. Glass company covered that. Now awaiting my fourth windshield to be installed. I have honestly never had this problem before. I have maybe gotten a chip in a window, that could be filled. But this is ridiculous. And expensive.
Other or unspecified, Visibility/wiper, Mar 29, 2023
Windshield is stress cracking. I am on my 3rd windshield in about 1 year.
Visibility/wiper, Mar 24, 2023
My car was parked in the driveway and I noticed the windshield was cracked when I was leaving my house for the day. The crack started at the bottom of the windshield, under the plastic trim. There’s no visible impact zone to cause this. I called SOA and I’m getting the run around. They told me to get an assessment done to determine if it was an outside force or manufactured defect. The dealership said they are unable to do so. They are not trained to determine that. Because of the runaround I am having to drive with a broken windshield. I do not feel safe doing so. Especially with the windshield cracked with no impact zone.
Visibility/wiper, Mar 21, 2023
I started my car via the mysubaru app so it could warm up. The outside temperature was around 25 and I had full heat via the app..which the front defroster was on. I get to leave and before I pulled away, the windshield cracked, without any cause. It cracked mid-way left side and spread halfway across over the following few days. It is apparent this is a known issue as there appears to be a defect with this generation of windshields and the amount of reported issues. Additionally, I filed a complaint with the BBB and encourage others to report this safety issue to BBB.
Visibility/wiper, Mar 20, 2023
The car was parked in my driveway overnight and developed a cracked windshield without any viable impact from an outside object. The crack is midway up.
Visibility/wiper, Mar 16, 2023
Windshield cracks from a very small pebble. The whole driver side. Windshield is defective. Has not been inspected yet.
Visibility/wiper, Mar 13, 2023
Windshield started spontaneously cracking from bottom of glass without any sign of rock or glass strike. Dealers will not replace due to manufacturer defects. Vehicle only has 14K miles, less than one year from purchase. After researching outback social forum, this is a problem many other owners with exact model experienced glass spontaneously cracks. Also there was a class action lawsuit against subaru for previous subaru outback model year 2015-2019 for the same exact problem/
Visibility/wiper, Mar 9, 2023
While sitting stationary on our driveway over the weekend, the windshield of our relatively brand new 2022 Subaru Outback developed a large crack starting from the center bottom and is slowly creeping up. There are no rock chips or any damage that would have caused this crack. Looking online and this is an incredibly common issue and frustration. I'm attempting to have Subaru replace it themselves but I worry the next one will crack in the same amount of time. In all my years of driving and owning cars, I have never experienced a cracked windshield before.
Visibility/wiper, Mar 5, 2023
The problem is with the windshield. On 12/26/22 a crack about 8" long appeared spontaneously on the passenger side running from the edge straight towards the middle. I drove the car that day and noticed at dusk that another crack appeared, starting at the bottom edge in front of the driver and running upward towards the middle. Both of these occurred with no noticeable impacts from stones. Both cracks have continued to grow over time. I contacted the dealer on 12/31/22 , where they took pictures and notified Subaru. Three weeks later Subaru wanted more, better pictures so the dealer took more. After receiving no response, three weeks later I contacted Subaru through their website. Their response to contact me still has not been fulfilled. Given the nature of these cracks, the expense and safety issues of having extensive cracks, I decided to contact NHSTA.
Visibility/wiper, Mar 5, 2023
Needing to replace windshield again due to smallest rock hitting windshield and cracking it. Wind shield has been replaced 3 separate occurrences due to the same issue.
Visibility/wiper, Feb 27, 2023
We had some cold weather in Minneapolis but we were told that Suburu had worked out its cracked windshield issues when we purchased the outback. Not true. A crack developed from the center of the base of windshield and continues a third of the way up
Visibility/wiper, Feb 26, 2023
I was driving, approximately 50 miles per hour, when my windshield cracked from top center down and across the driver's side obscuring my view and startling me. Nothing struck my windshield and there are no divets or marks other than a clean crack that looks like a stress fracture. There were no other vehicles near me and I was on a paved road. My car is 6 months old with 3300 miles on it.
Visibility/wiper, Feb 23, 2023
The windshield cracked without provocation of a rock or any impact, just cold weather. I don’t feel that the windshield of my “ski car” should just crack if the weather gets cold. I was up skiing at our local mountain before this occurred and heard concerning sounds from the windshield. Lo and behold a few weeks later it cracked on its own.