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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2023 | STEERING | While driving under normal conditions, (no hazardous weather or speeding), the steering will suddenly pull to the right, for only a moment, feeling as though a strong gust of wind had blown it, but there is no wind, it just does it on its on. A warning light comes on, and makes a pinging sound, then it turns off; it does not stay on long enough to be able to see which symbol lights up. This happens approximately once every 10 miles or so, more often when driving above 45 mph; occurring most often on the highway. It happens on every type of rode and in every lane. We've bought the car to be examined buy a Subaru dealership twice and was told both times that the wheels were out of alignment and we paid to have the alignment corrected, but this does not actually solve the problem. There has not been any incidents yet, but we fear that if the car pulls on its own in slick or icy weather, it may cause an accident. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | This vehicle has a malfunctioning Infotainment system that causes it to continuously select menu options while driving. It is a safety issue as it is very distracting, and the entire unit is unable to be used even when parked. The Subaru dealership in Huntington Beach and Santa Ana CA informed me that it is a manufacturing issue, an I am on a waitlist for the part. It is worth flagging here because of the safety issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while his wife was starting the vehicle, she noticed that there were cracks on the passenger's side of the windshield. The contact stated that upon inspecting the vehicle, he determined that there was no external cause to the failure. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 50,000 |
| Apr 2023 | POWER TRAIN,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | About 8 months ago I was turning into a space in the parking lot of a large store (Kohls) the car lunged forward on it's own when I took my foot off the accelerator. I was able to stop the car with the brake pedal before ramming a lamp post. I did not report it to a dealership. Nothing like it has happened in the 8 months/3000 miles of driving since. It took me completely by surprise without any indication of system failure. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Starlink Infotainment system, moves between sound system functions on its own, like you have touched the touchscreen repeatedly. Sirius Radio will no longer stay attached to a station and play. Reset failed to correct. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The touchscreen on the Starlink head unit is delaminated and there is a “ghost touch” whenever the screen is on. You can visibly see bubbles under the screen. While I was driving my kids to daycare the other day, the navigation system activated and said that “you cannot change the volume at this time” repeatedly for no reason. It also changes driving directions mid-trip. It’s very distracting while driving and makes the car information system and radio unusable. My dealer said that this is a known problem and that they would fix it; however, the part is back for months. They said they could not turn the screen off without disabling other safety features such as the back-up camera. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Car stalled in a busy intersection. No warning lights occurred when this happened Diagnosed as a faulty fuel pump | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | My 2018 Subaru Outback's windshield has cracked overnight parked on the driveway. There's no visible rock strike point. This will be the 4th windshield replacement in the 5 year ownership. The first time was on 07/20/20. The last two were on 10/31/22, and 12/03/22. This means 3 new windshields in 5 months. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES | Drove my wife car noticed more brake pedal travel. Replacing pads on front wheels found corrosion on inside outer upper edge of driver side rotor, pad has irregular wear reducing effective braking. I found same on passenger side rotor, but to a lesser extent. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES | Please cancel case #115123365, which I reported earlier today. This does not appear to be a Suburu manufacturing and/or safety defect. My report was regarding what appeared to be a problem with sudden braking without either the cruise control or the brake pedal being engaged. The tow truck driver experienced the same problem while trying to drive the car onto the tow truck platform to take it to the dealer for assessment. Upon inspection, we found a piece of the hard rubber floor mat occasionally covered both the brake pedal and the accelerator at the same time. When this happened, pressing the accelerator occasionally resulted in inadvertently pressing the brake pedal under the same mat, causing the braking problem. Should you have any questions or need additional information. My contact information is below: Owner: Lawrence A Kreh 2018 Suburu Outback Vin #4S4 BSANC6 J332 3864 My Text and Phone number: (925) 765-1237 Address: 1260 Grove Way, Concord, CA 94518 Email: Lrkreh@gmail.com Regards, Lawrence Kreh | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES | The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the brakes were inadvertently engaging. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle had not yet been taken to an independent mechanic or local dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 32,100. The contact noted that they made this complaint in error. | Crash: No Fire: No | 32,100 |
| Mar 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | In the past 6 months, the electrical system of my 2018 Outback has completely shut down on at least 4 occasions. I required several jump starts with the car parked in the garage, no doors left open, and no lights left on. I took it to the dealership where I was basically accused of lying because I “must have left something on”. I tried to assure the staff that I did not. They gave me a new battery and 4 weeks later I walked out to a dead car again today. I started searching online and found that Subaru is well aware that this problem has been a frequent occurrence with Outbacks dated 2016-2020, and there is a class action lawsuit against the company because they have failed to issue a recall. After my husband figured out that something must be pulling on the battery, we turned off all the safety features of the car. Within 7 days of turning them back on, the battery was dead. I specifically bought this car for safety reasons. What good is it if I can’t use the safety features? | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Battery died prematurely and failed to hold a charge had to be replaced 4 DEC 22, for 194.63 from Advance Auto parts, Battery had failed to hold a charge in the past and Subaru roadside assistance had to be called on a previous occasion to issue a jump start. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | My 2018 Subaru Outback battery is draining practically every day now. There must be something in the car that drains the battery constantly so in the morning I am unable to start. I needed to jump start the battery on multiple occasions now. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that there was a crack on the front windshield. There was no impact on the front windshield that could have caused the crack. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 37,887. | Crash: No Fire: No | 37,887 |
| Feb 2023 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that a small rock struck the front windshield, causing a 2-foot crack. The front windshield was previously replaced twice within the last month for the recurring failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was determined that the front windshield needed to be replaced. The dealer referred the contact to the manufacturer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 66,450. | Crash: No Fire: No | 66,450 |
| Feb 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The windshield on our 2018 Subaru Outback is now on its third cracked windshield in the last 12 months. Each time, a crack has formed on the edges of the windshield after a small pebble or other debris from the road is kicked up. Across this same timespan, I've had similar frequency of debris striking the windshield of my 2015 VW Golf, and have only had a small chip in the windshield that was repairable easily. Yes, different vehicles. However, in each incident both vehicles were travelling at similar rates of speeds, similar following distances, neither time behind any large vehicles (dump trucks, semi trailers, concrete mixers, etc). This is simply something being thrown up from the road. This is full on unacceptable. There are other lawsuits and class action suits against Subaru for slightly older models and I highly doubt that any meaningful changes to the design were introduced between the 2015-2016 Outback and the 2017-2019 Outback models. Reasoning being that the class action lawsuit was filed in 2017. By that point, the new models are already rolling off the production line. No way that anything substantial could have changed at that point. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Battery drainage Have had to have vehicle jumped twice now. Battery totally dead when I tried to start car and return home after appointments. Afraid this may happen while driving which happened to a friend of mine! Very dangerous situation!! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | SEATS | Driver seat is loose. Noise when travelling or even stopped. Bolts to the floor are tight but the seat is loose above them. Excess movement. Brought it in after 2 weeks of new purchase and they repaired bushings according to service. Noise recurs 2022. Dealer refuses to repair under any warranty. Suggests bottom seat replacement at owners expense. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The head unit touch screen is delaminating making it difficult to see the backup camera view while backing the vehicle up. The unit is also constantly switching through radio stations and makes phone calls when I have my phone hooked up to the vehicle to charge it. I cannot turn the unit off. This is vary distracting while I drive. It is unsafe to drive while while the unit in use, due to the constant radio and screen switching as well as the delaminated screen causing visibility issues while trying to use the backup camera. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | STEERING | Began hearing a clunking/rattling noise in the front end of the car. We took it to the dealer for routine maintenance and asked them to look into it. Front Steering rack was found to have excessive play. Entire steering rack was replaced. No warning lamps or messages involved. Safety was put at risk by possible loss of control of vehicle if steering rack completely failed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Crack in the windshield with no apparent evidence of an object hitting the windshield. It started below the windshield wiper on the passenger side. Within days it spread several feet toward the middle of the windshield. The glass repair center noted that this is a common occurrence on Subaru Outbacks. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | There is a known issue with certain Subarus where it is phantom draining the battery. I replaced battery in 2021 with AutoZone after being stranded. It too doed in June of 2022. I replaced it again. In Dec 2022 it started to die and found out about the class action lawsuit. I went to Subaru and they said since I already replaced the OEM battery, they couldnt help me. This should be a recall. I called Subaru of America who told me they couldnt help me and there is no fix as of today for the draining of the battery. They know about the issue. Why isnt there a recall? | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, a small rock struck the windshield, and the windshield sustained a significantly large crack. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the windshield was replaced; however, the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, she heard an abnormal popping sound and noticed that the windshield was cracked. The contact stated that there was no external cause for the failure. The contact stated that the windshield was previously replaced 6 months ago. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 44,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 44,000 |
| Jan 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | In early September 2022, my friend, who owned a 2019 Subaru Outback, needed a AAA tow because the battery died. He told me that battery failure is a common problem with Subaru 2016 - 2020 Outbacks. I researched that assertion and found it well documented. Because my Outback was 4 years old and my family was planning a trip, I decided to replace the battery at my mechanic's shop (Sept. 14, 2022). On the night of December 29, 2022, upon exiting a restaurant with my wife, my car would not start. A patron of the restaurant came to my aid, and we jump started my car. My car ran for 30 minutes but would not start the next morning (December 30, 2022). I then jump started my car using my wife's car battery, and let the car run for an hour. It would not start immediately after shutting it off. My wife called Subaru, and the representative she spoke with gave her a case number to use at the Subaru dealership. The dealership gave me a January 2, 2023 appointment, and after jumping my car again, I brought it to the dealer. Later that day, by telephone, I was informed: 1- there is no fix for the problem in the 2018 Outback; 2- I was not due any compensation for the 3 month old dead battery because I did not purchase it at Subaru, and 3- that battery was barely holding a charge after a few hours on Subaru's charger. I was advised to go back to my mechanic to see if the battery is under warranty. It is, but that is not the issue. Whatever is causing the battery drain in the Outback will drain the next battery. I was lucky this time-- I was not stranded. But who knows the next time? Who knows how many people are paying for new batteries only to have them ruined by the Subaru electric system malfunction? Who knows what kind of dangerous predicaments this malfunction might cause? Subaru is aware of this widespread problem, yet they are unwilling to publicly recognize it and issue a recall. There is something unscrupulous about this situation. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |