2025 Subaru Outback
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Forward collision avoidance is the leading concern among 81 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 25th highest complaint count among 26 Outback model years with reports.
Of the 2025 reports, 5 involved a crash and 2 involved a fire. 1 person was injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
No safety recalls on file.
Representative owner complaints
81 reports, newest first.
Other or unspecified, Mar 10, 2025
We bought the car in January . When going through our regular car wash, we heard a boom on the roof. We looked and saw no damage. Went through again last week and heard it again. We expressed our concern to the manager who sat in the back as we went through again. She held her hand on the roof as it went through the drying cycle and felt it cave in and pop out. She said this has happened before with certain Chevy models and a recall was put in. (GM Has A Fix For Colorado And Canyon Roofs Dented By Car Washes). We contacted the Subaru customer service ( as told by our dealership). They said it is under warranty, if something happens. Even after I said it could be a safety concern if the car flipped or something fell on the roof, they said there is nothing they could do. The dealership said we could contact NHTSA. I am hoping that you could determine if this is a safety concern , Thank you, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Exterior lighting, Mar 7, 2025
Headlights produce a distracting shadow. It looks like something is crossing the road in front of you. In addition, as a driver, it focuses your attention on the shadow instead of the road. It's a common complaint online and definitely a real safety concern for motorists.
Air bags, Feb 25, 2025
Shortly after purchasing my vehicle I noticed that the passenger airbag illuminated “off” indicator did not switch from “off” to “on” when an individual weighing under 100 pounds occupies the front passenger set in the vehicle. I could find nothing in the owner’s literature accompanying my car’s purchase addressing the threshold weight set by the manufacturer or dealer for passenger airbag activation/deactivation but was told informally by a dealer representative that the weight threshold for the vehicle is set at 100 pounds and cannot be adjusted to activate for front passenger seat occupants weighing any less—a potential safety issue for my wife who weighs less than 100 pounds and often occupies the front passenger seat position.
Lane departure, Forward collision avoidance, Feb 2, 2025
There are a couple of issues. 1. The car keeps applying the brakes at lower and higher speeds even though there is literally nothing in front. This is both annoying and risky, especially at higher speeds happening at the interstates. When I asked at the dealership, they said the car is not equipped to do something like this. But that does not mean this is not happening. At lower speeds, it feels like massive pressure forced on the stomach. 2. The lane departure warning system is subpar at best. It cannot comprehend the real-world lane markers- if modified, and is constantly forcing to go through the work areas and seemingly trying to make a collision. If I were not aware and attentive, I would have crashed to the barriers on the highway. 3. The Rear Cross Traffic Warning system does not seem to capture the presence of cross traffic unless it is directly behind in most cases, specifically if the vehicle is coming from the right side of the vehicle. It is not helpful at all.
Visibility/wiper, Dec 31, 2024
small chip / crack in windshield on driver side view
Other or unspecified, Lane departure, Forward collision avoidance, Nov 14, 2024
Three primary issues of major concern on this vehicle: 1. Phantom emergency - braking at random, both low and high speeds. The most dangerous of the three. 2. Lane keep assist - unaware or unable to compensate for real driving conditions, construction areas, pedestrians walking a dog, heavy machinery on a semi-truck as examples. 3. Infotainment blinding - A large, HIGH GLOSS screen at a 45-degree angle, placing it in the direct reflective angle of three windows: Sunroof, passenger front, passenger rear. Absolutely blinding even with sunglasses on during the right time of day. The Sunroof can be pulled closed with a shade but the other two will still cause complete blinding. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? 1. Emergency braking at slow speeds is annoying for sure, but it has also occurred at 65MPH and almost caused an accident had the nice lady behind not forced herself off the road to compensate. It braked for no reason (Rain? Splash? Not sure) and nearly caused an entire row of cars to crash into me. 2. Lane keep is highly problematic because it simply doesn’t know really what it’s doing or aware of surroundings. Per the above, examples had I NOT intervened: it would have happily crashed me into concrete following the wrong lines in construction areas, run a woman’s dog over as we tried to cross the lines to give passing space. 3. The screen is set up so that it is directly in line to reflect the sun at different points in the day. When I say blinding, I mean REALLY blinding (It’s the SUN after all). You lose visibility on the road and become a danger to yourself and others. We carry a towel to toss over it during certain points in the day, it’s that bad. I have more detailed information, but the character limit is low on this form. Contact me if you want more.