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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | MMy wife got into the car and as she was removing the sun shield, she lightly bumped the rear view mirror. It imploded covering her and the passenger seat with small sharp glass shards. I was just opening the passenger door to get inside and did not get covered with the glass shards. The windshield shattered in August, 2023. At that time, we checked and there were many other similar instances recorded on line. The inner glass broke and the mirror fell down, however the outter glass did not shatter or crack. I filed a complaint with [XXX] on December 8th, as well. They suggested that I report it to SaferCar.gov Thank you Sincerely [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? After about 1 year of procuring vehicle, the car battery would die about every 4-8 weeks. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? I travel often and could *never* rely on my car to start up properly. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes, and also is in a civil law suit because of it. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Yes, although still not even remotely confident that they have truly identified the issue. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No warnings whatsoever. The battery would be fully charged one day and dead as DEAD can be the next. As noted above, it first started after about a year of having the vehicle, then started trouble shooting w/ the dealer for about the next 2 years over about 6 appointments. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | My sunroof spontaneously combusted while driving, without anything hitting the vehicle or any pre-existing damage. The glass shattered everywhere while going down the highway. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2023 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | On 12/28/2023 my 2018 Subaru Outback without warning suddenly accelerated on its own, causing my vehicle to hit the curb and ran into a building. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Dec 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The new (replaced in Sept of 2023) OEM glass installed by Subaru cracked due to weather change while the vehicle was stopped. There was no prior damage to the windshield nor warning this would happen. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2023 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | On three different occasions after starting the car in the cold weather and putting in drive it accelerated by it self. All three times it lasted about 5 to 7 seconds. Once I stepped on the brake and then the accelerator pedal it was back to normal. It’s been about a month with this issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While pulling into a parking spot with my foot on the brake and preparing to stop, the car continued to move up over the curb and then began to accelerate even after I applied both of my feet pushing down on the brakes until I hit our condo building. The car and building received extensive damage, and although the car was not totaled it will cost over 7,000 dollars to repair. Personally I was not injured. The air bags did not imploy at impact. There were no warning messages or prior failures with the vehicle before this day. The car was taken to a body shop and not the dealer so we have not had the dealer look at the systems that broke down, but our insurance adjuster will be. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The touch screen display, which is used for many vehicle functions, is failing - forming internal "bubbles" causing random ghost touch events. The display is constantly changing and making noises on its own, and not responding to any user entries. There is no way to turn of the display or the sounds. The frequent, unstoppable sounds are a distraction. The loss of features, including reliable backup camera, is also a safety issue. This issue has been well documented in this vehicle, resulting in a class action settlement, but that settlement has ended and this issue continues to occur in this model vehicle. Subaru is refusing to repair the screen under warranty. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The back lift gate is closed according to the dash display, but the computer detects that the lift gate is NOT closed resulting in a battery drain. The computer needs to be adjusted to detect when the lift gate is actually closed. Having the lift gate not closed but no indication for the drive is a safety problem. Items may fall out and the drive would have no indication that the lift gate is open. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2023 | POWER TRAIN | After driving for approximately 10 min from cold start, attempted to pass another car at WOT (wide open throttle) at approx 40-50 mph. The car began to accelerate normally, then abruptly stopped accelerating while the engine revved up to the rev limiter and bounced off it for 3-4 seconds. It seemed as though the CVT had been shifted into neutral (though it was still in drive), and almost caused an accident. I had to quickly move back out of the passing lane. The car operated normally after this singular incident - I was not able to reproduce the issue. The car was immediately brought into the Subaru dealer we originally purchased it from. After performing diagnostics, they told me that since the issue could not be duplicated, there was nothing they could do. I filed a case with Subaru of America, and they had the same response. We have only put about 5,000 miles on the car since purchasing it used in 3/2023 with 69k. We also found out that the CVT had been replaced under warranty just prior to our purchase of the car, though that was not disclosed at the time of purchase. Subaru of America confirmed that this CVT is still covered by the 10yr/100k extended warranty per [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | On 9/28/23 I was driving in a 2-lane construction zone with my daughter. While going through the construction zone, my car lost all power and just shut off completely. No warning signs just went completely dead. I almost got rear ended, thankfully the car behind me went to the left of the center, but almost had a head on collision into oncoming traffic. Thankfully, no wrecks were involved. It did eventually start back up and has yet to happen again. However, back in July/August of 2021, I received a recall notice on my vehicle NHTSA Campaign #21V587000. When I called to check on the recall it was stated that my vehicle did not have a current recall. I believe this is inaccurate to the fullest. When I bought the vehicle, I took my outback in several times to the dealership with what I thought was transmission and some electrical issues. They could find nothing wrong, how convenient for them, they weren't the ones almost killed because the vehicle would stall at intermittent times during acceleration. I took it in on 1/24/19, 4/26/19, 10/24/19, and 7/27/20. The mileage range was from 1K to 55K, now at 111K my car just has a complete system failure. Honestly, they didn't seem enough to care and treated me like I didn't know what I was talking about. I drove it 7 days a week and they drove it for 15 minutes and said there were no issues. That is not a fair assessment. I would like to resolve this matter before someone gets killed because of a defective issue on Subaru's part that was documented several times. I have the receipts and work orders to support the evidence. I have notified my family of the issues in case something does happen because of the vehicle, and I am, or others are injured or killed in an accident. Like I said, I have all the documentation to support any claim henceforth. I bought a Subaru because of its safety ratings. Now, I'm afraid to have passengers or my grandkids ride with me out of fear for their safety and others. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Sunroof drainage blocked causing water to enter dashboard and fuse box area causing electrical damage. Unable To drive vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | This vehicle has less than 65,000 miles and has had 3 genuine Subaru windshields crack as a result of road hazards. We live in Los Angeles County and the windshields have cracked as a result of unseen freeway debris/objects (i.e., not a large object such as a chunk of a truck tire). In 45 years of driving, I have never experienced this many windshield failures. I am not sure if this is a repeated part failure or systemic safety hazard. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | STEERING | The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle briefly lost Electric Power Steering assist before returning to normal functionality. The failure had since become a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 25,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 25,000 |
| Aug 2023 | ENGINE | Vehicle had valve replacement after finding an oil leak in January 2023 at around 135,000 mi. August 2023, around 159,000 mi, mechanic found that valve needed to be replaced again as vehicle was leaking oil. System warning message came on to indicate low oil and upon checking, mechanic found that there was no oil on the dipstick. No dashboard light came on to indicate low/no oil at any point. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while their wife was pulling into a parking space, uphill, when the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The vehicle jumped the curb and crashed into a sign. The vehicle continued accelerating approximately a car length of distance causing it to jump another curb onto grass and eventually come to a stop. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle had damage to the front end and bumper of the vehicle. The contact had no injuries and medical attention was not needed. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was able to be driven away from the scene. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who had not diagnosed the vehicle and it had not been repaired. The contact stated they found an article regarding the year/make/model experiencing the same failure due to a failure of the low-pressure fuel pump. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 41,000. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | 41,000 |
| Aug 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The STARLINK multimedia touchscreen system screen started delaminating July-2022; April-2023 it developed a ghost glitch & changes all settings/info on its own - it doesn’t recognize any true touch on the screen & after multiple hard resets (holding down sound/tuner/cd buttons all at once), it rarely ever actually resets the touchscreen; however, it may pause the glitching for 5-10mins. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | My vehicle just dies and leaves me stranded after turning off the car and leaving it overnight. This has happened many times, and I worry everytime I go camping or to some remote place where I may not have cell signal to get a tow truck to jump me. If I don't carry water and food, medicine, at all times, I fear what will happen to me if I am stranded and cannot get help on time. My car is 5 years old, I am on my 3rd battery. In every case, the battery should have been very well charged because it happens after highway driving for several hours. Suburu and the dealers try to deny that anything is wrong; but one of the rescue mechanics told me that the alternator seems to overcharge. Yes , I took the vehicle in for all inspection while it was under warranty. I reported these events to no avail. NO WARNING LIGHTS COME ON. I need to be able to get this fixed. How do I do that? | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Driver experienced an unexpected uncommanded sudden acceleration upon application of the braking system in the driveway, which caused a collision with the garage/house. The safety of the driver and other were put at risk. Significant damage to the house/garage occurred. This is a first time occurrence. Owner has not yet had the opportunity to have the vehicle inspected by dealer, independent service center, manufacturer, police or insurance rep due to timing of the accident. No warning lights message were displayed. Driver slowed the vehicle in anticipation of putting the vehicle in park when uncommanded brake release occurred, vehicle accelerated and struck the house. Reason for incident is unknown. Vehicle remains parked pending further inspection. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | ENGINE | Burning oil in the engine drastically | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The navigation/radio/app/rear back-up camera/control center malfunctioned Sept. 2022; replacement unit took over two months to arrive. That unit failed in March 2023. We are still (6/23) awaiting a replacement. See attachment for more detailed narrative. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | I was driving at 40 MPH in the left lane approaching the left hand turn lane. Once I tturned into the turn lane my car started to accelerate very hard. I hit the brake and the car kept acelerating, I pushed the gear shift into neutral and with both feet hard on the brake I was able to stop completely without cutting into oncoming traffic. I have been driving over 50 years and never had an incident like this happen. I do not drive carelessly. However, now I am affraid to drive this Subaru Outback and I will not let my wife or family even ride in it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | AIR BAGS | ABSB air bag safety system failed due to wiring harness damage under drivers seat. Wiring damaged by seat moving over harness when adjusting. Subaru dealer claimed that wiring damage was caused by rodent bites. This is an engineering flaw which creates a safety issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Vehical infotainment system constantly beeps and changes formats, including randomly dialing phone numbers while driving. turning volume down does not control the distraction and system cannot be turned off. beeping is so load, it can be heard from 20 feet away from the car (outside of vehicle). the distraction is a safety problem for the driver. problem is in effect over 6 monthes and unit cannot be replaced due to product unavailability. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked on an uncovered driveway, a crack was observed extending from the bottom of the windshield to midway up the windshield. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 78,400. | Crash: No Fire: No | 78,400 |