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, Oct 8, 2022
I walked into my garage and found that I have a massive crack across my windshield. It never got hit by a rock or anything, there haven’t been extreme temperature changes, it just doesn’t make sense. It has seemingly cracked for no reason.
Visibility, Oct 3, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated the vehicle was parked outside his driveway for four days; however, while approaching the vehicle, he noticed that the front windshield was cracked. The contact stated that no object had struck the windshield to cause the crack. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and photos were taken and sent to the manufacturer. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the complaint was reviewed and the replacement might not be covered under warranty. The failure mileage was 7,000. The contact stated that both the glass shop and the Subaru dealer said that there was a microscopic chip that may have caused the crack.
Visibility/wiper, Oct 1, 2022
Unknown. A large Crack appeared on the front windshield starting from the bottom to the middle and then branching off to the left and right of the windshield. There is no evidence of any impact to the windshield. Crack is much to large for me to continue to drive safely. The Subaru car dealership inspected the windshield and submitted a claim to the car manufacturer for possible replacement.
Visibility/wiper, Sep 28, 2022
Windshield cracked in the lower middle about 6 inches from bottom . The defrost had been on because the window was fogging up. Went in to store and when I restated car noticed the crack. I am concerned about the crack getting larger and also that it is illegal to drive with a vehicle in that condition in my state. This just happened and I have not looked into how it will be fixed and at what cost to me. there was no warning before or after it happened. Crack is dead center about 2 feet horizontally.
Visibility/wiper, Sep 27, 2022
Windshield cracks from pressure from initial installation.
Visibility, Sep 21, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while reversing out of his residence garage at approximately 2 MPH, he had noticed a long crack in the front windshield which had started on the passenger’s side of the windshield and extended across, moving upwards and stopped underneath the rearview mirror. The contact had not noticed any strike marks on the windshield that could have caused the failure. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer where it was determined that the windshield needed to be replaced. The contact was directed to a third-party windshield repair shop. The vehicle had been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 3,000.
Visibility/wiper, Sep 15, 2022
Cracked windshield from no impact
Visibility/wiper, Sep 15, 2022
The windshield cracked without any noticeable impact. I noticed a crack 12-15 inches when I got into the vehicle the next day. The day prior I had not noticed the crack, not noticed any impact sound, no incident happened. I’d not been driving on the highway and I maintained more than 3 car lengths of following distance. I was driving under 40mph the day prior to noticing the crack. The vehicle is just over a month old and has 3000 miles on the odometer when the incident happened. Dealership inspected and found a impact point which is invisible to the naked eye. Such small debris cracking the windshield suggests the windshield is too weak and is a possible safety hazard. Manufacturer and dealer are not able to replace it under warranty. They are offering a one time good will replacement, but if such small specks of debris(not noticeable to the naked eye) can crack the windshield It’s very likely the windshield will st the minimum crack again or worse could lead to a safety hazard if the debris was a noticeable and more substantial. I’ve been finding a number of complaints of the exact same issue and similar response from the dealerships/customer service on online forums and youtube.
Visibility/wiper, Sep 14, 2022
18" crack in the windshield was noted originating from passenger side pillar extending toward the middle of window. Crack occurred while car was parked in an insulated and locked garage. No crack when parked and large crack the following morning. No known trauma or known rocks striking the windshield. On close inspection there was no star pattern, bubble pattern or palpable concave defect that would suggest a previous rock chip.
Visibility/wiper, Sep 13, 2022
The windshield cracked during normal operation of the car. This is the 4th windshield since purchasing the 2022 Subaru OBW. The first crack, with no visible impact to the windshield, occurred at 13K, the second, with no visible impact, occurred at 20K, and this third occurred at 41K. They have occurred in different areas of the windshield (from each side and the bottom). Each replacement has been OEM and the 3rd windshield (which lasted the longest) had an additional ceramic coating. I reported the 3rd windshield to the nhtsa and when I reviewed nhtsa's assessment, it was incorrect. I emailed nhtsa requesting the assessment be corrected, but never received a reply and believe the report is still incorrect.
Visibility, Sep 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, she heard an abnormal noise and noticed a crack on the front passenger’s side bottom corner of the windshield. The contact stated that no object had struck the windshield to cause the crack. The contact stated that she was awaiting an appointment for the replacement. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 6,000.
Visibility/wiper, Visibility, Sep 11, 2022
My first complaint was filed on 8/2/2022 @2,807 miles. Here we are again, not even 6 weeks later and it happened again. The dealer did replace my windshield. It took me driving there three different times to finally catch the manager so he could take pictures and file a claim with Subaru. Subaru did accept the claim and replaced the windshield. I was without my car for three days while this repair was done. Driving home last night, My 19 year old so was in the passenger seat. He says look mom, the windshield is cracking. Sure enough, no impact was heard or seen, it just started cracking in the same spot as the first time. It was such a hassle to get the first repair done and now I have to do it again!!! Ugh...I now wish I had never bought this car.
Visibility/wiper, Sep 11, 2022
Windshield cracked without any cars near me, only dragonflies and butterflies. Happened with less than 2k miles in car.
Visibility/wiper, Sep 6, 2022
Within 2000 miles the windshield stressed fractured from the passenger side edge and then progressed inwards in multiple directions. There was no impact. The dealer (Balise Subaru-Warwick RI) called me a liar about an impact and gave me nothing but lip service about Subaru of America possibly performing a "good will" replacement. The crack is large enough to place a credit card into. Never before have I seen a crack that wide. Safety glass usually hairline cracks. A glass replacement company told me Subaru is using unreasonable thin glass to lighten the cars to make the MPG numbers. But at the risk of safety to drivers?? I think windshields are pretty important to not mess around with. Minimum thickness should be a standard.
Visibility/wiper, Sep 2, 2022
Windshield developed a fracture while driving on the freeway w/ no impact by any foreign objects. Location of fracture is on bottom end of windshield next to windshield wipers.
Visibility/wiper, Aug 31, 2022
I just brought this new 2022 Subaru Outback one day before this happened. I made a right turn on a local road at a speed near 30 mph. Suddenly, I heard a big sound from the windshield. Then I found there was a hole in the windshield. There was one SUV in front of my car when this happened, and its speed was similar with my car. I just brought this car and total mileage was around 50 miles. I can't image this happened at low speed. I think maybe one small stone caused this problem and I was lucky that it didn't hit me. We let our dealership to repair it and prevent it cracking. I hope I don't need to replace this windshield in the near future.
Visibility/wiper, Aug 22, 2022
I purchased this vehicle brand new in August 2021 (so 1 year ago exactly). There is an issue with their windshields and cracking immediately the second you even get the smallest rock impact. Just today I got another one cracked across my entire windshield within seconds and the impact point is smaller than 1cm. This is my FIFTH windshield crack and replacement in ONE year. I am in insurance and in 12 years of being in the industry and also driving multiple vehicles myself... I have NEVER myself or my clients had this many cracked windshields within 1 year of a brand new vehicle. There was already a class action lawsuit on the windshields from 2014 to 2018 Outback models... clearly 2022 model is doing the same thing. Also, funny enough, in financing they offer glass coverage you can purchase which is something i have never seen financing offer and I didnt choose because I had glass insurance through my auto insurance BUT NOW I realize why they actually offer it because they are WELL AWARE that Subaru has glass issues. Of course, they don't tell you that. This is not a location issue, or a where I am driving and what types of roads issue. This is a city car used to go to and from my office. I am not on dirt roads etc. this is NOT normal. 5 massive cracks from things that are less than 1cm is a car issue not a driver/user issue.
Visibility/wiper, Aug 22, 2022
Crack appeared on lower passenger section of windshield for no apparent reason. Windshield was replaced by certified repair center due to same issue a month ago with less than 2000 miles of driving.
Visibility/wiper, Aug 22, 2022
On August 19, 2022, approximately 11:30 a.m., after parking my 2022 Subaru Outback Limited in a private driveway, the windshield began cracking from the bottom edge and has grown 25 inches toward the center of the windshield. There was no impact to the windshield. The weather was moderately cool--74 degrees, slight mist precipitation (wiper use minimal), and no wind. And, my previous drive (as with my history with this vehicle, 2,831 miles) was a gentle and uneventful four miles. I've spent fourty years entering and exiting the driveway and driving in that area, with other cars, and never once had a problem. I spent twenty years investigating traffic accidents and vehicle related problems in metro-Atlanta (Cobb County Police 1992-2012), and never saw a problem like this. But, since buying the car (my first Subaru), I've read countless Internet posts of similar events, from folks who have purchased a Subaru in the past five or so years. Subaru of America hasn't responded to my concern; and, my dealership (Subaru of Kennesaw (Georgia)) is dodging the burden of replacement costs. Not only is Subaru of America being irresponsible in the manufacturing and promotion of their cars, when they know there's a serious design flaw, but they show little interest in working to resolve a simple and important problem that affects everyone on roadways throughout the world.
Visibility/wiper, Aug 22, 2022
Crack formed in windshield. Did not notice any chips or impact points. Crack formed on front right corner through the heated wiper blade rest. This seems to be an ongoing issue with Subaru.
Visibility/wiper, Aug 22, 2022
Spontaneous 18" windshield crack on the driver's side with no impact point noted. Completely unprovoked.
Visibility/wiper, Aug 17, 2022
I was driving down the highway with no other vehicles around me. Suddenly, the middle of the windshield cracked from the bottom edge up and toward the passenger side. The car was parked overnight, and the crack spread further toward the driver side, directly in my sight line. There are 4,300 miles on the car.
Visibility, Aug 9, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that there was a crack on the windshield. There was no impact on the windshield that could have caused the crack. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 2,800.
Visibility/wiper, Aug 5, 2022
Cracked windshield, brittle thin glass causes visibility issues!
Visibility/wiper, Aug 2, 2022
I walked out to my car on Monday morning June 27th and the windshield on my 2022 Outback Wilderness was cracked on passenger side. No prior Rock Impact and only 2,807 miles . Submitted a claim with the dealer. Have not heard back yet. Manager said to call him back on Friday.