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 13, 2023
The windshield cracked without any impact to it after five months of taking delivery on my 2022 Subaru Outback. The crack appears to have originated from the base of the windshield, under the plastic cover. The car was parked outside with the temperature close to 44 Fahrenheit, and was not moving. Based on the amount of the reports for a broken windshields for this model, this is not an anomaly. Subaru should address this issue before they have another lawsuit that covered previous generations. This is my first introduction to the car maker, and it is not going well as one would hope.
Visibility/wiper, Feb 9, 2023
Windshield cracked while driving in low temperatures, forming a foot long crack from the passenger side edge inward. No impact was felt or heard, but the Subaru service department claims to see an 'impact event', so they're not covering it under warranty.
Visibility/wiper, Feb 6, 2023
Went to work one morning and noticed a crack from black piece of windshield under wipers 12 inch up center of windshield with no impact noted temps in upper 30s
Visibility/wiper, Jan 31, 2023
Vehicle windshield shattered without noticeable impact from object, producing a 12 inch crack on center of glass. Dealership refused to warranty the glass, claiming that they did not see the damage occur and cannot verify it was spontaneous. Repair costs were egregiously high given that a camera recalibration is mandatory to ensure safety, quoted at $675 - more than the price of the replacement glass itself.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 30, 2023
Windshield spontaneously cracked on lower right side. Crack spread within minutes across entire windshield. This happened in May 2022 in fairly decent temperatures in the upper 60’s
Visibility, Jan 26, 2023
The windshield cracked during a severe weather incident where outside temperature was -24 degrees. There were no stone chips or any other issues with the windshield. I drove the car for approximately 20 minutes with the defroster on, when I got home I pulled the car into the garage, when I got back into the vehicle the windshield was cracked from the bottom left of the driver’s side across the windshield toward the middle. I took the vehicle to safelite first, they said the sandwich piece of glass between the exterior section and interior section of the windshield had suffered a failure to to extreme temperature differential. They had seen a number of similar failures since from the prior weekend. They said it is a manufacture issue and said to take it to the dealer for a warranty issue. I took it the the Subaru dealer where I purchased the vehicle, they inspected the windshield and took a number of photographs to submit to Subaru. I was told their windshield experts would examine the photos and get back to them with an answer, that will be four weeks ago tomorrow, Friday the 27th. Meanwhile I’m driving a vehicle with a broken windshield which is not safe. I called Subaru customer care and they are trying to contact the dealership about the claim submission but haven’t been successful. I can certainly pay to replace the windshield, however, if it is a manufactured error I believe Subaru should honor the claim and replace it. I searched the Subaru Outback owners portal and found numerous similar incidents where owners claimed the windshield failed under similar circumstances. According to safelite, Subaru windshields are softer than most manufacturers in an effort to save weight and expense.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 26, 2023
I was driving to work, temps in the mid-thirties, and I heard a crack. It was confusing because there was nobody else on the roadway with me. That's when I looked and saw a 12" crack, beginning at the bottom-middle of the windshield and extending upward.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 23, 2023
I woke up in the morning and my windshield crack with no apparent damage by an outside object. It started on the left side where the black meets the clear glass. Please look into this.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 23, 2023
The windshield cracked on its own overnight (temperatures in the low 30s). The crack starts at the bottom of the window at the center and goes upward and towards the passenger side. The crack is roughly 14" long, but has extended another 2" since the initial crack started. It impairs the view for most drivers. The dealer confirmed that there was no impact mark and have submitted photos to Subaru of America. Subaru has come back with stating it was caused by 'external influence' even though there is no evidence of that. The dealer is doing their best to appeal this with Subaru.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 16, 2023
A 6" crack appeared on the front windscreen at the passenger side at the bottom right corner extending towards the center.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 12, 2023
Ive been through 2 windows already. They have cracked randomly and with no damage. It always happens in the winter when I turn my car on to pre heat before I drive it and the heat change cracks it. The OEM glass and the Safelite glass are inferior.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 9, 2023
I woke up one morning to find a few cracks in my windshield that were not there the day/night before. The dealership says it was from impact, but I hadn't driven it yet that day, it was fine the night before, and I have covered parking at my apartment.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 4, 2023
Windshield obtained significant crack for seemingly for no reason (parked in driveway; no trees/debris around). Crack continued to grow to 2-3 feet while remained parked.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 3, 2023
The windshield suddenly cracked at the very edge of the windshield obscuring visibility on the passenger side. As I awaited for my appointment for a windshield replacement, the crack became longer, affecting my right-side visibility.
Visibility/wiper, Dec 30, 2022
We are on our 3rd windshield for a 2022 Subaru Outback that currently has 7300 Miles on it. The first windshield cracked on it's own, completely unprovoked by anything. The second was actually a very small rock that hit us on the road and caused a small crack that just kept running until our field of vision was obstructed. The 3rd was a defect in the glass that caused a stress fracture, so it's possible that's what happened with the 1st one. All 3 incidents happend within a 5 week window. When I go online, there are cases and cases where these Subaru's have cracked windshields and it IS dangerous to have a massive run in the windshield when you are driving down the road. There are 100's of these complaints, it's just that no one is reporting them. Please look into this, it's NOT safe to have glass that cracks that easily.
Visibility/wiper, Dec 22, 2022
3 months after purchase, in December 2021, my windscreen cracked for no apparent reason. I replaced it 4 months later with OEM glass from dealership waiting—due to no extra money. Now, 8 months after that, it cracked again. I woke up in the morning to a long crack coming from the edge of the seal that was not there when I parked for the evening.
Visibility/wiper, Dec 12, 2022
1.) Our windshield has had to be repaired 3 times in the last six months. Anything that comes in contact with the windshield will cause a massive crack that takes up the entire windshield and marks the car unusable to drive 2) The can is unable to be driven during normal conditions as anything can cause the windshield to break. 3) It has happened 3 times in the last 6 months 4.) The first time we had it replaced, it was completed at the dealership. The next 2 were through our insurance company vendor that ensures the windshield is installed properly. 5.) No. Upon the last time, we researched and found that Subaru has outstanding lawsuits for faulty windshields pending and it looks as if nothing has changed.
Visibility/wiper, Nov 29, 2022
My windshield cracked from the driver side to almost half of the whole thing without any impact being seen outside or inside at all. This is scary and can be a safety hazard. It can happen even when driving. I saw a lot of people complaining and experienced the same thing about the Subaru Outback's windshield and other models, which is scary. My car is only seven months old, and this is happening already. Some people have changed their windshield five times already. I bought the car because it's supposed to be safe and reliable, but now I don't feel safe with my windshield.
Visibility/wiper, Nov 25, 2022
Faulty windshield that cracked overnight possibly due to weather. The Subaru McKenna dealer service manager says it is due to impact yet there is no clear indicator of an impact on the windshield, I took photos of the crack before they inspected it. Even some Subaru employees were telling me it’s not a crack made from impact and that they admitted Subaru makes faulty windshields. Yes, my vehicle is available for inspection upon request. I am looking to have it seen by my insurance to see if they agree with the Subaru dealer’s assessment of the damage. The safety issue is the possibility of the windshield spiderwebbing and decreasing all visibility of the road at any moment. No indicator of any windshield failures except the dealer recommending a separate windshield warranty which I wish they pushed more on it and were honest about the tendency of Subaru windshields to be faulty so I could have gotten that warranty. Or I wish too that I found out about Subaru’s class action lawsuit regarding the Outback models 2017-2020 regarding their windshields and how they have to pay $2.5 million because of their manufacturing defects. I have a 2022 Outback model but I feel that they windshield is still being made with poor craftmanship. My car is only a year old. And it literally cracked overnight. Perfectly fine one day and the next morning it split straight across the middle of the windshield.
Visibility/wiper, Nov 22, 2022
Less than a year old. Front Windshield cracked on the passenger side near the defrost vent.
Visibility/wiper, Nov 14, 2022
The windshield started to have a stress crack when we were driving on a highway at a high altitude. There was no impact and no impact noise, the windshield suddenly cracked around 6 inches and then progressed from there. It started around the middle passenger side and progressed to the middle of the windshield.
Visibility/wiper, Oct 31, 2022
Windshield cracked lower left to center while not moving parked in a garage. Went into the garage with no crack and was cracked the following morning. Nothing hit the windshield. Temperatures were neither high nor low.
Other or unspecified, Visibility/wiper, Oct 26, 2022
My outback was parked in my locked garage over night temp got below 40 degrees that night. Got into the outback and noticed a large crack in the center of windshield that started at lower end of windshield. Called dealership and made an appointment saw service manager and took his pen to show me where he thought a stone had chipped windshield but I just saw the crack no chip. I explained there was never any incident of stone hitting windshield. He stated he would notify Subaru manufacturer of my concern of breakage. Since appointment windshield has continued to crack still waiting to hear back from dealership.
Visibility/wiper, Oct 24, 2022
Windshield cracked while parked in garage. No object impacted the windshield. No temperature extremes. Approximately 12 to 14 inches in length starting from passenger side.
Exterior lighting, Visibility/wiper, Oct 17, 2022
While driving the vehicle at night with auto diming feature there is a line across the top of the windshield, and it is exceedingly difficult to see through the windshield above that line. When the lights are automatically dimmed the line is extended downward about a third of the windshield. It is difficult to see thru the windshield above this line. Extremely dangerous.