Complaint volume
805 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2018 Subaru Outback Complaints
805 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2018 Subaru Outback, grouped by component category.
805 Total complaints
27 Crash reports
4 Fire reports
10 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are visibility/wiper, electrical system, unknown or other. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 27 crash reports, 4 fire reports, 10 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 488 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 21,422 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to visibility/wiper, electrical system, unknown or other?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2018 Subaru Outback?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2018 Subaru Outback
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2018 Subaru Outback complaints?
27 Crash
4 Fire
10 Injury
0 Fatality
19 Towed
7 Medical attention
What are the most common 2018 Subaru Outback complaint categories?
VISIBILITY/WIPER 210
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 197
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 97
VISIBILITY 37
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 23
STEERING 22
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 19
ENGINE 15
STRUCTURE 12
BACK OVER PREVENTION 10
805 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | IT HAPPENED IN AUGUST OF 2020. VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY IN A GROCERY STORE PARKING LOT ON A CLEAR SUNNY DAY. IT WAS FAIRLY HOT OUTSIDE (A/C WAS RUNNING) AND I WAS SITTING IN THE CAR EATING WHEN I HEARD A POPPING/CRACKING SOUND. AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT WAS THE PLASTIC SUSHI CONTAINER I WAS EATING OUT OF BREAKING, BUT THEN I SAW A CRACK HAD FORMED AT THE TOP OF THE PASSENGER SIDE WINDSHIELD. IT CONTINUED RADIATE AND NOW IS A LONG CRACK RUNNING THE LENGTH OF THE WINDSHIELD AND IS PARALLEL TO THE ROOF LINE. | Crash: No Fire: No | 34,000 |
| Mar 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | BATTERY FAILED AT 9,000 MILES | Crash: No Fire: No | 9,000 |
| Mar 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | WINDSHIELD CRACKED AND WITHIN 3 DAYS RAN ACROSS MOST OF THE ENTIRE WIDTH OF THE FRONT WINDSHIELD. | Crash: No Fire: No | 55,000 |
| Mar 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | WINDSHIELD SPONTANEOUSLY CRACKED DURING THE NIGHT. VEHICLE WAS PARKED AT RESIDENCE WHEN IT CRACKED. THE LOW TEMPERATURE WAS AT OR JUST BELOW ZERO DEGREES FARENHEIT. | Crash: No Fire: No | 20,100 |
| Mar 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | BATTERY FAILING TO START CAR, RECEIVED NEW BATTERY FROM SCHOMP SUBARU SUMMER 2019 AFTER REPEATED JUMP STARTS, TOWED TO DEALERSHIP TWICE, CONTINUING WITH SAME PROBLEM AND TODAY I AM STUCK AT HOME WAITING FOR MY SCHUMACHER PORTABLE CHARGER TO RECHARGE.I AM ARAID TO DRIVE THE CAR BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHEN IT WILL STOP WORKING.I WAS TOLD IT WAS BECAUSE I DIDN'T DRIVE IT ENOUGH. I LEAVE THE CAR IDLING | Crash: No Fire: No | 6,000 |
| Mar 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | BATTERY DOES NOT HOLD A CHARGE. HAVE TO JUMP BATTERY AFTER SHORT PERIODS OF NON-USE | Crash: No Fire: No | 3,600 |
| Mar 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | THE BATTERY SEEMS TO DRAIN VERY QUICKLY AND WITHOUT APPARENT REASON. THE DEALER RECENTLY REPLACED THE BATTERY UNDER WARRANTY BUT DID NOT EXPLAIN WHY IT HAS GONE BAD SO QUICKLY. I WAS STUCK A NUMBER OF TIMES WITH A SUDDENLY DEAD BATTERY. I AM CONCERNED THAT THE ACTUAL CAUSE OF THE DRAINING HAS NOT BEEN ADDRESSED AND I GO OFF THE WARRANTY IN ANOTHER MONTH. I HAVE READ THAT THIS PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED WITH OTHER OWNERS OF THIS YEAR OUTBACK. THIS OCCURS AFTER THE CAR HAS BEEN SITTING FOR A WHILE. | Crash: No Fire: No | 30,000 |
| Mar 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | PURCHASED A 2018 SUBARU OUTBACK 5/03/18. AT 19,860 MILES ON 12/21/19 THE BATTERY DIED. I JUMPED IT, GOT IT TO THE DEALERSHIP. THEY DID WHATEVER DIAGNOSTICS ON IT, RECHARGED IT AND HAD ME PICK IT UP. WHEN I WENT TO GET IT, IT WAS DEAD IN THE DEALERSHIP PARKING LOT. THEY THEN PUT IN NEW BATTERY. I WENT BACK DOWN TO PICK IT UP. ON 3/15/21, ONLY 13 MONTHS LATER, MY NEW BATTERY WAS ONCE AGAIN DEAD. I HAD BEEN IN MY DRIVEWAY PARKED FOR A WEEK OR POSSIBLY LESS. I PICKED IT UP 3/17/21 AFTER SUBARU HAD TO AGAIN REPLACE THE BATTERY. BOTTOM LINE I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALERSHIP TO CARRY JUMP CABLES BECAUSE IT WILL KEEP HAPPENING DUE TO THE ELECTRONICS! IT SEEMS I CAN ONLY UPLOAD 1 REPAIR INVOICE SO I UPLOADED THE MOST RECENT BATTERY REPLACEMENT INVOICE. I HAVE 2 OTHERS. | Crash: No Fire: No | 33,113 |
| Mar 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | THE BATTERY IS DRAINING AND HAS LEFT US STRANDED ONCE. THE DEALER SHIP REPLACED THE BATTERY ONCE WITH THE SAME SUBARU OEM BATTERY, BUT THE DRAINING PERSISTS. | Crash: No Fire: No | 14,000 |
| Mar 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | AT 27K MILES, MY CAR WAS GETTING SLOW TO START. I TOOK MY CAR IN TO THE DEALERSHIP AT ALMOST 30K AND THEY HAD TO CHARGE MY BATTERY FOR 1.5 HOURS. TWO WEEKS LATER, MY CAR WAS BEEPING AND I HAD TO PULL INTO A SHOP WHO SAID THE CHARGE OF MY BATTERY WAS TOO LOW TO DETECT. I HAD TO REPLACE MY BATTERY. | Crash: No Fire: No | 29,000 |
| Mar 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 02/26/2021: CAR WOULDN'T START AFTER BEING STATIONARY. HAD TO GET ASSISTANCE TO HAVE BATTERY JUMPSTARTED SO I COULD GET HOME. 03/01/2021- CAR WOULDN'T START IN DRIVEWAY. ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE CONTACTED AND THEY WERE UNABLE TO GET BATTERY TO CHARGE. HUSBAND PURCHASED A JUMP BOX AND GOT THE CAR TO START. HE DROVE IT TO LOCAL SUBARU AGENCY AND BATTERY WAS TESTED AND THEY SAID IT WAS FINE. DEALERSHIP REPLACED BATTERY WAS REPLACED AS IT WAS UNDER WARRANTY FROM ORIGINAL BATTERY BEING REPLACED IN 12/2019. THERE HAVE BEEN OTHER ELECTRICAL ISSUES WITH THIS VEHICLE PRIOR TO THIS DATE (12/2019 AND 02/03/2020). | Crash: No Fire: No | 31,190 |
| Mar 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | BATTERY CONTINUES TO DIE. BATTERY WILL NOT HOLD CHARGE. CAR HAS LESS THAN 11000 MILES ON IT. | Crash: No Fire: No | 10,771 |
| Mar 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | MY WINDSHIELD SPIDERWEBBED WHEN IT WAS HIT WITH ROCK. AT FIRST IT CHIPPED AND THEN A COUPLE MINUTES LATER IT SPIDERWEBBED INTO A CRACK THAT IS ALMOST A FOOT LONG. THIS ALSO HAPPENED TO ME WHEN I WAS COMING HOME FROM THANKSGIVING. I HAD TO REPLACE MY WINDSHIELD ON DECEMBER 5TH, 2020, WHICH WAS AROUND $1500 AND NOW I WILL HAVE TO REPLACE THE WHOLE THING AGAIN. BOTH INSTANCES I WAS DRIVING ON HWY 49 IN ARKANSAS. I DON'T KNOW WHY, BUT I FEEL LIKE THE WINDSHIELD SHOULD BE STRONG ENOUGH TO JUST GET CHIPPED AND NOT IMMEDIATELY SPIDERWEB INTO SOMETHING BIGGER AND MORE EXPENSIVE TO FIX. IN THE 3 YEARS OF HAVING MY CAR THIS WILL HAVE TO BE THE SECOND WINDSHIELD I NEED TO REPLACE DUE TO THE WINDSHIELD CRACKING AFTER IT GETS CHIPPED. I JUST DON'T THINK THE WINDSHIELD IS AS HIGH OF A QUALITY AS THE REST OF THE CAR. | Crash: No Fire: No | 59,350 |
| Mar 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | THE WINDSHIELD HAS DEVELOPED A CRACK STARTING AT THE VERY BOTTOM BELOW THE PLASTIC EDGE, WITH NOT APPARENT IMPACT SITE. | Crash: No Fire: No | 29,000 |
| Mar 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | HELLO! SO I JUST GOT THIS SUBARU A FEW WEEKS AGO AND TODAY IN THE RIGHT SIDE LOOK LIKE THE TINNIEST ROCK IN THE WORLD HIT IT AND CRACKED MY WINDSHIELD. I'VE TALKED TO A FEW A MY BUDDY'S WHO OWN SUBARU'S AS WELL AND WAS TOLD TO CONTACT Y'ALL BECAUSE THE NEW MODELS HAVE A VERY THIN WINDSHIELD AND Y'ALL WILL HAVE IT TAKEN CARE OF. THANKS FOR YOUR TIME. CODY. | Crash: No Fire: No | 15,000 |
| Mar 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | WINDSHIELD SPONTANEOUSLY CRACKED NEAR MIDDLE TOP OF WINDSHIELD, FROM EDGE ABOUT 6-8INCHES AND WITHIN THE FIELD OF VIEW OF THE EYESIGHT CAMERAS | Crash: No Fire: No | 12,000 |
| Feb 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | THE WINDSHIELD OF THIS 2018 SUBARU OUTBACK HAS FRACTURED THREE TIMES IN LESS THAN THREE YEARS OF OWNERSHIP. IN ALL THREE INSTANCES, THERE WAS NO KNOWN PROJECTILE THAT CAUSED IMPACTED THE VEHICLE TO CAUSE THE HAIRLINE CRACKS. THE WINDSHIELD APPEARS TO HAVE CRACKED ON ITS OWN. THE VEHICLE WAS ONLY DRIVEN ON PAVED ROADS AND HIGHWAYS, WITH NO UNUSUAL OR OFF-ROAD DRIVING PRECEDING THE INCIDENTS. THIS VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED NEW IN 2018 AND BOTH REPLACEMENT WINDSHIELDS WERE PURCHASED AT A LOCAL SUBARU DEALERSHIP WITH SUBARU OEM GLASS. EACH REPLACEMENT HAS COST ROUGHLY $500 USD PLUS THE EYESIGHT RECALIBRATION COSTS. TOTAL REPLACEMENT COSTS HAVE TOTALED ROUGHLY $3,000 USD. | Crash: No Fire: No | 29,000 |
| Feb 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | C | Crash: No Fire: No | 31,800 |
| Feb 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | REAR GATE MALFUNCTIONS SOMETIMES DOESN'T OPEN SOMETIMES DOESN'T CLOSE PROPERLY (THIS ALLOWS EXHAUST GASES TO BE DRAWN INTO THE VEHICLE) WHEN YOU DRIVE WITH THE GATE NOT COMPLETELY CLOSED. DEALER HAS NO SOLUTION FOR THE PROBLEM. THIS HAPPENS ON A REGULAR BASES. | Crash: No Fire: No | 24,000 |
| Feb 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | WINDSHIELD CRACKED TWICE IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS AFTER GETTING HIT BY SMALL PEBBLE WHILE DRIVING WITHIN SPEED LIMIT ON HIGHWAY. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | VEHICLE PARKED IN THE GARAGE OVERNIGHT. BATTERY KEEPS DYING WITHOUT KNOWN CAUSE. NOTHING LEFT ON. I'VE HAD 2 NEW BATTERIES INSTALLED IN THE LAST 4 MONTHS AND THEY KEEP DYING WITHOUT EXPLANATION. SOMETIMES FINE FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS, THEN IT DIES EVERY 2-3 DAYS. NOTHING IS LEFT ON. CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT NEEDED!!! | Crash: No Fire: No | 30,000 |
| Feb 2021 | ENGINE | DURING FISH-TAILING ON A SLICK ROAD THE ENGINE ACCELERATED WITHOUT PUSHING ON THE GAS PEDAL. | Crash: No Fire: No | 380 |
| Feb 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | THE FRONT WINDSHIELD DEVELOPS CRACKS AND STAR CHIPS FOR NO APPARENT REASON. HAD IT REPAIRED WITH HANSON AUTO GLASS 3 DIFFERENT OCCASIONS IN THE 2 YEARS OF OWNERSHIP. ONLY ABLE TO FIND 2 OF 3 PICTURES OF REPAIR PAPERWORK. | Crash: No Fire: No | 5,000 |
| Feb 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | WELL IT WAS 25BELOW HERE AND MY WINDSHIELD CRACKED ON ITS OWN WHILE IN THE SCHOOLTEACHERS PARKING LOT. | Crash: No Fire: No | 33,363 |
| Feb 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | CAR WAS PURCHASED IN JUNE 2018. PERIDICALLY OVER THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF OWNERSHIP THE BATTERY WOULD DIE AND THE CAR WOULD REQUIRE A JUMP TO START. SINCE THE ONSET OF THE COVID PANDEMIC - WITH THE CAR LEFT UNUSED (IN A GARAGE) FOR MORE EXTENDED PERIODS - THE BATTERY DIES FREQUENTLY, EACH TIME REQUIRING A JUMP TO START. NOW, IF THE CAR IS NOT STARTED AT LEAST ONCE EVERY 1-2 DAYS THE BATTERY WILL BE DEAD. | Crash: No Fire: No | 12,000 |