Complaint volume
796 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
796 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2018 Subaru Outback, grouped by component category.
796 Total complaints
26 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 26 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?
26 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 196
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 93
VISIBILITY 37
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 22
STEERING 22
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 19
ENGINE 13
STRUCTURE 12
BACK OVER PREVENTION 10
796 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2019 | ENGINE | SINCE THE CAR HAS BEEN BRAND NEW, A HALF GALLON OF COOLANT HAS NEEDED TO BE ADDED TO THE CAR ON A MONTHLY BASIS. NO LEAKS HAVE BEEN DETECTED. THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A VERY STRONG ODOR OF BURNING COOLANT. DEALER STATES THIS IS NORMAL FOR THE 2.5L ENGINE, SO THERE IS NOTHING TO REPAIR, JUST KEEP AN EYE ON THE COOLANT LEVEL. I FILED A COMPLAINT WITH SUBARU OF NORTH AMERICA, AND RECEIVED A SIMILAR RESPONSE. BOTH THE DEALER AND SUBARU STATE IT IS UNKNOWN HOW TO REPAIR THIS ISSUE AS THEY CAN NOT IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM CAUSING THE LOSS OF COOLANT. DEALER JUST KEEPS TOPPING OFF THE SYSTEM, AND STATING THAT THEY STILL HAVE NO SOLUTION. | Crash: No Fire: No | 30,000 |
| Dec 2019 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | SMALL ROCK HIT WINDSHIELD AND IT CAUSED A HUGE CRACK IN MARCH 2019 AND THEN AGAIN IN NOVEMBER 2019. WE WERE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY WHEN IT HAPPENED. IT SHOULD HAVE CAUSE NO DAMAGE OR JUST A LITTLE CHIP, NOT HUGE CRACKS. THE WINDSHIELD APPEARS TO BE WEAK. | Crash: No Fire: No | 13,500 |
| Nov 2019 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | I BOUGHT MY CAR BRAND NEW IN MARCH OF 2018. AFTER ONLY 1 YEAR THE WINDSHIELD CRACKED. I DID NOT SEE WHERE THE INITIAL CHIP WAS AND CAME OUT TO MY CAR ONE MORNING AND SAW THE WINDSHIELD COMPLETELY CRACKED. I WAS SHOCKED AT HOW EXPENSIVE THE RECALIBRATION WAS SO I FILED AN INSURANCE CLAIM. I STILL HAD TO PAY AROUND $300 TO GET IT FIXED BECAUSE AGAIN, RECALIBRATION COSTS AN EXORBITANT AMOUNT FOR SOME REASON. AFTER FURTHER REVIEW I GOT OFF LIGHT AS HAVING IT DONE BY THE DEALERSHIP WAS QUOTED TO ME AS COSTING $850. IT IS NOW ONLY 7 MONTHS LATER AND MY WINDSHIELD IS CRACKED ALL THE WAY ACROSS AGAIN. I DIDN'T SEE THE CHIP AT FIRST UNTIL IT HAD BEGUN TO CRACK A TINY AMOUNT. AS I WAS DRIVING IN THE CITY IT SPREAD ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE WINDSHIELD. BECAUSE I SAW IT EARLY I PLANNED TO GET IT FIXED THE NEXT DAY TO HOPEFULLY AVOID ANOTHER FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS OF EXPENSE. UNFORTUNATELY, IT SPREAD ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE WINDSHIELD MAKING IT IRREPARABLE WITHIN 30 MINUTES OF MY FINDING IT. AGAIN, THIS WAS WITH ME DRIVING LESS THAN 30 MPH WITH NO HEAT ON BECAUSE IT'S COLD OUTSIDE AND I KNOW HOT AND COLD MAKE IT WORSE. I HAVE NEVER HAD A WINDSHIELD CRACK LIKE THIS AND MORE THAN ONCE WITHIN A 1 YEAR TIME FRAME. THESE WINDSHIELDS SEEM TO BE MADE VERY CHEAPLY AT THE EXPENSE OF SAFETY. I CAN'T AFFORD TO MAKE ANOTHER INSURANCE CLAIM OR PAY THIS OUT OF POCKET. I TOOK EVERY PRECAUTION AS A DRIVER AND THIS STILL HAPPENED. I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER SUBARU AND MAY SELL THIS ONE IF THIS KEEPS HAPPENING BECAUSE I SIMPLY CANNOT AFFORD TO FIX THIS ALL OF THE TIME AND MORE IMPORTANTLY I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO. | Crash: No Fire: No | 10,650 |
| Nov 2019 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | I HAVE REPLACED THE WINDSHIELD 3 TIMES ALREADY. TINY ROCKS ARE CAUSING LARGE CRACKS LIKE I'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE IN OTHER VEHICLES. THIS SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING. | Crash: No Fire: No | 24,000 |
| Nov 2019 | VISIBILITY | TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 SUBARU OUTBACK. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN THE DRIVEWAY, THE CONTACT NOTICED A CRACK ON THE WINDSHIELD FROM THE CENTER ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 25,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 25,000 |
| Nov 2019 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | WINDSCREEN IS EASILY CRACKED BY ANY PEBBLES THAT KNICK THR SHIELD. FIRST TIME THE SCREEN WAS HIT BY A PEBBLE FROM A MOVING VEHICLE AND THE CRACK SPREAD ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE SCREEN. HAD TO REPLACE IT WITH ANOTHER SUBARU GLASS. NOT EVEN 2 WEEKS IN ANOTHER PEBBLE HITS AND CHIPS..THEN A COUPLE WEEKS LATER AGAIN, ANOTHER PEBBLE CRACKS THE SCREEN. ANYTHING THAT HITS THE GLASS SEEMS TO PUT KNICKS AND CRACKS. OTHER CARS WE'VE OWNED HAVE BEEN HIT HARDER AND NOT HAD ANY DAMAGE. NOT SURE WHAT THESE SUBARU GLASS SCREENS ARE MADE OF, BUT I ASSUME THE MOST DELICATE OF MATERIALS NOT SUITED FOR WINDSHIELD USE. ALL TIMES HIT WITH ROCKS FROM MOVING VEHICLES WHILE MY CAR WAS ALSO IN MOTION ON A HIGHWAY. | Crash: No Fire: No | 23,000 |
| Nov 2019 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | CAR PARKED IN DRIVEWAY IN MORNING AND WINDSHIELD WAS FINE. FEW HOURS LATER THERE WAS A TWO FOOT CRACK FROM THE DRIVERS SIDE TO THE MID POINT OF THE WINDSHIELD. | Crash: No Fire: No | 40,000 |
| Nov 2019 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | THE WINDSHIELD CRACKED, STARTING AT THE BOTTOM MIDDLE, AND SPREADING UP AND THEN IN ALL DIRECTIONS. THERE IS NO POINT OF IMPACT AND THE CRACK STARTED WHILE PARKED INT THE DRIVEWAY, AWAY FROM THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE. | Crash: No Fire: No | 14,000 |
| Nov 2019 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I HAD OWNED MY 2018 SUBARU OUTBACK FOR ABOUT 6 MONTHS. I WAS DRIVING ON A STATE HIGHWAY WHEN MY WINDSHIELD WAS HIT WITH A SMALL ROCK. IT CAUSED A SMALL CRACK IN THE WINDSHIELD. I USUALLY CAN GET TO TOWN AND HAVE THESE FILLED WHEN THIS HAS HAPPENED IN MY OTHER VEHICLE. BY THE TIME I DROVE THE 20 MILES TO TOWN TO GET IT FILLED IT HAD RAN AND CRACKED THE WHOLE MIDDLE SECTION OF MY WINDSHIELD. I WAS SHOCKED THAT IT HAD COMPLETELY RUINED THE WINDSHIELD. I CALLED MY DEALER WHO INFORMED ME IT WOULD COST ABOUT $600 TO $700 TO REPLACE THE WINDSHIELD. AND ABOUT 500 TO CALIBRATE THE EYESIGHT ON THE CAR. AGAIN I WAS SHOCKED. HE THEN REFERRED ME TO A WINDSHIELD COMPANY IN MY AREA TO REPLACE IT AT A $350 COST TO ME. I DID NOT TAKE ANY PICTURES AS I DID NOT REALIZE THIS WAS GOING TO BE A THING WITH THE VEHICLE. SINCE THEN I HAVE HAD OVER 8 CHIPS FIXED IN THE WINDSHIELD. IT SEEMS LIKE EVERY TIME I TRAVEL IT GETS HIT. WHICH IS STRANGE BECAUSE MY OTHER VEHICLE VERY SELDOM GETS HIT. I TRY NOT TO DRIVE BEHIND VEHICLES AS IT SEEMS MY WINDSHIELD IS IN AN ANGLE THAT IS HIT IF ANYTHING COMES UP OFF THE ROAD. THIS IS FRUSTRATING AND EXPENSIVE AND MESSES WITH MY EYESIGHT ON THE CAR. | Crash: No Fire: No | 20,000 |
| Nov 2019 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | RADIO AND MAPS WENT TO A BLACK SCREEN SEVERAL TIMES AT 5K MILES. IT WAS SENT TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR UPDATE. STILL HAD ISSUES, BUT NOT AS MANY. THEN THE LIGHTING WENT OUT ON THE RADIO BUTTONS. REPLACED MAIN HEAD WHICH WAS COVERED UNDER WARRANTY W/A 100 DOLLAR DEDUCTIBLE. AUTOMATIC DOOR LOCKS WORK INTERMITTENTLY WHEN PUT IN GEAR, DRIVERS WINDOW CONTROL PANEL DOES NOT WORK FOR ANY WINDOWS IN THE CAR OTHER THAN THE DRIVERS WINDOW. HAD TRANSMISSION ISSUES AFTER 2 MONTHS OF PURCHASE. IT IDLES HIGH AND DOES NOT SMOOTHLY GLIDE INTO GEAR. WINDSHIELD WAS CRACKED BY A SMALL ROCK. IT WAS REPLACED AND TWO WEEKS LATER IT CRACKED AGAIN. | Crash: No Fire: No | 5 |
| Nov 2019 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | BATTERY ACID HAS LEAKED FROM BATTERY AND ALL OVER BRACKETS AND BOLTS. BATTERY HAS LOW CHARGE VOLTAGE. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2019 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | I HEARD THE NOISE OF A PEBBLE HITTING THE WINDSHIELD ON THE HIGHWAY TRAVELING BETWEEN 60 AND 70 MPH. LESS THAN A MINUTE LATER, A CRACK APPEARED VERTICALLY FROM THE BOTTOM CENTER OF THE WINDSHIELD. LATER, THE CRACK BECAME A "T" AND GREW HORIZONTALLY. THE NEXT DAY WHEN THE WINDSHIELD DEFROSTER WAS ON, THE CRACK CONTINUED TO GROW TO ABOUT A FOOT AND A HALF. THE WINDSHIELD HAD TO BE REPLACED AT THIS POINT. | Crash: No Fire: No | 18,000 |
| Oct 2019 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | I HAVE EXPERIENCE CASE OF MULTIPLE SPONTANEOUS CRACKED WINDSHIELDS. | Crash: No Fire: No | 30,000 |
| Oct 2019 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | THE WINDSHIELD ON MY 2018 OUTBACK CRACKED WITHIN THE FIRST 150 MILES OF OWNERSHIP.THE SUBARU SERVICE DEPARTMENT SAID IT WAS CAUSED BY SOMETHING HITTING THE WINDSHIELD WHICH IS A POSSIBILITY BUT WAS NOT THE CASE. I HAD THE WINDSHIELD REPLACED BY MY INSURANCE COMPANY AND I PAID THE DEDUCTIBLE AMOUNT. I DROVE THE OUTBACK BACK TO MY HOUSE AND PARKED IT FOR A WEEK WHILE I DROVE MY OTHER CAR. WHEN I WENT TO DRIVE MY OUTBACK AFTER A WEEK OF IT JUST SITTING STILL I NOTICED THAT THE WINDSHIELD HAD A BIG CRACK IN IT. I HAD THE WINDSHIELD REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. IN THE YEAR AND A SIX MONTHS THAT I HAVE OWNED THE CAR I AM ON THE 4TH WINDSHIELD INCLUDING THE ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT ONE. | Crash: No Fire: No | 150 |
| Oct 2019 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | THE WINDSHIELD CRACKS AND SHATTERS FOR NO REASON. I HAVE NOW REPLACED TWO WINDSHIELDS AND THEY CONTINUE TO BREAK, EVEN THOUGH NO IMPACTS WITH FLYING DEBRIS OCCURRED. MANY OUTBACK OWNERS REPORT SIMILAR THINGS HAPPENING. THERE IS SOMETHING DEFECTIVE WITH THE WINDSHIELD THAT CAUSE THEM TO BE FRAGILE. | Crash: No Fire: No | 35,000 |
| Oct 2019 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | WINDSHIELD ON MY 2018 SUBARU OUTBACK CRACKED WHILE VEHICLE WAS PARKED OVERNIGHT IN MY GARAGE. | Crash: No Fire: No | 9,350 |
| Oct 2019 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY, A SMALL PEBBLE WAS KICKED UP FROM THE CAR IN FRONT OF US AND BOUNCED OFF OUR WINDSHIELD. IT LEFT A TINY CHIP THE SIZE OF A PINHEAD. WE REPORTED IT IMMEDIATELY AND TOOK IT FOR REPAIR WITHIN TWO HOURS OF THE INCIDENT AT SAFE LITE. TWO DAYS LATER, THERE WAS A GIANT CRACK IN THE WINDSHIELD. WE BROUGHT IT TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR REPLACEMENT AT A COST OF NEARLY $1000, $500 OUT OF POCKET. | Crash: No Fire: No | 20,000 |
| Oct 2019 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | THE HEAD UNIT IN THE SOUND SYSTEM/ELECTRICAL SYSTEM BROKE RESULTING IN NO BACKUP CAMERA/ MUSIC/ APPLE CAR PLAY/ ETC. FOR OVER 2 MONTHS. THE CAR WAS LESS THAN 6 MONTHS OLD AND THE UNIT WAS BACKORDERED AT THE TIME RESULTING NO USE OF THE HEAD UNIT FOR 2 MONTHS. | Crash: No Fire: No | 4,200 |
| Oct 2019 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | I HAVE OWNED MY 2018 SUBARU OUTBACK FOR 8 MONTHS. THE WINDSHIELD HAS CRACKED IN THE SAME SPOT TWICE ALREADY. IT STARTS FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE PASSENGER SIDE AND EXTENDS ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE WINDSHIELD. I NEVER HEARD A ROCK HITTING, NOR WAS THERE A DING IN THE WINDSHIELD. I GOT IT FIXED THE FIRST TIME AND WITHIN A WEEK IT CRACKED IN THE EXACT SAME SPOT. IT WAS PARKED BOTH TIMES WE NOTICED THE CRACK. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2019 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | A SMALL CRACK APPEARED ON THE WINDSHIELD WHILE DRIVING AND RAPIDLY EVOLVED INTO A VERY LARGE CRACK THAT COULD NOT BE REPAIRED. | Crash: No Fire: No | 10,000 |
| Oct 2019 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | MY WINDSHIELD CRACKED FOR SEEMINGLY NO REASON, WHILE DRIVING ON CLEAN AND CLEAR HIGHWAY. I DIDN'T NOTICE ANYTHING HIT THE WINDSHIELD, BUT A HUGE CRACK APPEARED. I'M REPORTING THIS BECAUSE I'VE READ THAT THIS IS A COMMON OCCURRENCE ON 2017 - 2019 SUBARU OUTBACKS, AND I WANTED YOU TO BE AWARE OF MINE. | Crash: No Fire: No | 40,000 |
| Oct 2019 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | DRIVING ON HIGHWAY ONE DAY HEARD A CRACK. PARKED THE CAR AND AFTER A FEW HOURS NOTICED A SMALL HAIRLINE CRACK. THAT STARTED FROM THE MIDDLE PASSENGER SIDE. THERE WAS NO SIGN OF OF ROCK HITTING THE WINDSHIELD. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2019 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | ON SEPTEMBER 23, 2019 AT ABOUT 1 PM MST I WAS DRIVING NORTH ON ARIZONA ROUTE 89, JUST NORTH OF THE RT 64 INTERSECTION. I WAS ON A DIVIDED SECTION OF PAVED HIGHWAY TRAVELING AT NO MORE THAN 40 MILES PER HOUR. THERE WERE NO OTHER CARS AHEAD OF ME AND NONE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY WHEN I HEARD A POP IN MY FRONT WINDSHIELD AND A CRACK APPEARED ABOUT A THIRD OF THE WAY UP ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE. WHEN I STOPPED LATER TO EXAMINE THE WINDSHIELD I COULD SEE NO EVIDENCE OF ANYTHING STRIKING THE GLASS. THERE WAS NO DEBRIS ON THE HIGHWAY. THE PAVEMENT WAS IN GOOD CONDITION. THE CRACK EXPANDED HORIZONTALLY ACROSS THE WINDOW. I HAD THE WINDOW REPLACED AT THE GREELEY SUBARU DEALER ON FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27. | Crash: No Fire: No | 27,100 |
| Oct 2019 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | WINDSHIELD BROKE WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY GOING ROUGHLY 30 MPH. THE CAR WAS PASSING KICKED UP A SMALL ROCK WHICH HIT MY WINDSHIELD CAUSING THE OUTER LAYER OF GLASS TO GET CHIPPED AND CRACK. THE ORIGINAL CRACK WAS 7 INCHES LONG BUT THE AFTERNOON IN THE SUN CAUSED THE CRACK TO PROPAGATED ACROSS THE WINDSHIELD SPANNING 3/4 OF THE WINDSHIELD. THE GLASS ENDED UP COSTING 1200 TO BE REPLACED AND HAVE THE EYESIGHT RE CALIBRATED. THE CAR WAS LESS THAN A YEAR OLD AND HAD LESS THAN 12000 MILES ON IT WHEN THE WINDSHIELD BROKE. | Crash: No Fire: No | 11,000 |
| Oct 2019 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | WINDSHIELD CRACKED LESS THEN 2 MONTHS FROM PURCHASE.. FOR NO REASON ..ASSISTED DRIVING DEACTIVATED... STEREO AND GPS SYSTEM ALSO NEED ED TO BE REPLACED... REAR DOOR MOTOR NEEDED TO BE REPLACED... STEREO AND GPS SOFTWARE NEEDED TO BE UPDATED... STILL HAD PROBLEMS.. FINALLY REPLACED SYSTEM... | Crash: No Fire: No | 1,500 |