Complaint volume
106 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
2021 Subaru Crosstrek Complaints
106 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Subaru Crosstrek, grouped by component category.
106 Total complaints
8 Crash reports
2 Fire reports
4 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, unknown or other, engine. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 8 crash reports, 2 fire reports, 4 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 16 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 18,554 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to visibility/wiper, unknown or other, engine?
- 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 2021 Subaru Crosstrek?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2021 Subaru Crosstrek
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2021 Subaru Crosstrek complaints?
8 Crash
2 Fire
4 Injury
0 Fatality
9 Towed
4 Medical attention
What are the most common 2021 Subaru Crosstrek complaint categories?
VISIBILITY/WIPER 26
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 13
ENGINE 9
POWER TRAIN 7
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 5
VISIBILITY 3
SERVICE BRAKES 2
STRUCTURE 2
SUSPENSION 2
106 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2024 | ENGINE | While driving down the freeway, all the warning lights came on and the engine sputtered and cut out. As we were in the left lane on a busy freeway, it put us at considerable risk. We were able to get to the left shoulder and get towed off the highway. This was caused, I later learned, by a faulty electronic thermostat which caused the system to fail. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Suddenly warning light "Check Engine" came on along with Eye Sight malfunction warning. "i RAB off" "Check Engine" Automatic Emergency Braking not working. Yes, available for inspection. Not confirmed yet by dealer. It is the weekend. There were no unusual symptoms prior to ADAS malfunction. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2024 | STRUCTURE | While the vehicle is moving. There is a loud pop noise from under the car. Subaru of America said it is a weld that is cracked. This pop noise is also felt in the steering wheel. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2024 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Subaru Eyesight system engaged randomly with no forward obstacles. Dashboard lit up, signaled alarm, and brakes engaged causing the car's nose to bottom-out. This has happened twice, thankfully at low speeds and thankfully without another car rear ending me. I'm worried this will happen on the highway. Eyesight system is generally unreliable. Random lane departure warnings and obstacles detected where there are none. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | This is not specific to the Crosstrek. Subaru's remote connect app "mysubaru" has a dangerous flaw. When buying a vehicle pre-owned, the previous owner may still have access to the car. Subaru's call center says it takes at least 5 business days for a "transfer of ownership" process to occur. More often, customers never gain access to their pre-owned Subaru. The main cause of concern is that the previous owner may still have access to remote start the vehicle! Imagine you park your Subaru in your garage overnight, just for someone to start it remotely. Carbon Monoxide is borderless and colorless! This problem will eventually KILL someone! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2024 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Turned on defroster to clear window fog, window cracked along bottom of windshield about 3-4 inches from bottom along 2/3 the length of the windshield. No prior chips or scratches existed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,STRUCTURE | The windshield cowl is greatly separating at the bottom where it meets the wipers. The windshield and cowl are factory and no replacement or alterations done during the life of the car. I am the only owner | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2024 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | This is my 3rd Subaru. This one has now has 3 windshield cracks. 2 spontaneous, one by a tiny pebble. The photos are all from this one vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | In early November 2023, NHTSA Recall Number23V755000 was issued for my 2021 Subaru Crosstrek. I was not notified by NHTSA or Subaru even though none of my contact info has changed since buying this new vehicle. I believe that this creates a potential safety issue if owners are not made aware. I found out through Carfax in early January 2024. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | Check engine light came on while driving. All Advanced Driver Assistance Systems were disabled. Code is P26A3: Thermo Control Valve is faulty. This is a known problem and Subaru has addressed it by redesigning the Thermo Control Valve in 2021. Unfortunately there is no recall on the models fitted with the prior design that have a high rate of failure. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | ENGINE | The contact owned a 2021 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that while parking and the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle accelerated unexpectedly and collided with a wall. The collision was at the front of the vehicle. The air bags deployed. The driver sustained arm, leg, thumb, back, and nose injuries. Medical attention was needed. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,300. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed Medical attention | 1,300 |
| Sep 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | There are occasional times (perhaps once or twice a month) where the vehicle does not respond with the expected acceleration of a depression of the accelerator pedal. Specifically, the vehicle "lags" when I depress the accelerator pedal. While I have not experienced a dire situation or collision because of it, I believe it might cause other drivers to experience a safety incident: a driver might want to perform a fast maneuver with elevated risk but not receive the expected acceleration. For example, I was once making a U-Turn with traffic oncoming about 2,000 feet away. I needed to make the maneuver swiftly but my vehicle lagged. I would like to report this issue in case other owners of the Subaru Crosstrek Plug-In Hybrid are also experiencing. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | ENGINE | Was driving on highway at approximately 65 mph. Check engine light came on. Engine started to stop responding to gas being given to car. Pulled off to exit highway approximately 1 minute after check engine light came on. At bottom of exit, car completely lost power. Attempted to put vehicle into park and wouldn't shift. Started to see smoke coming from engine and then shortly after started to see flames coming from engine. Immediately exited vehicle and called 911. No one was injured. Subaru indicated fire started as result of external influences. Insurance company's 3rd party auditors were not able to determine cause of fire. | Crash: No Fire: Yes | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | ENGINE | The issue is the Engine Coolant Bypass Valve. This causes the Engine to not take in as much coolant resulting in the engine getting much hotter than it should, thus putting those in the car’s safety at risk. This could ultimately lead to a fire and/or cause the car to suddenly lose power. My car already refuses to go above 3000 rpm’s and is very laggy when driving. The car itself shows a code that the bypass valve needs replaced & the check engine has come on. However, Subaru has failed to acknowledge that this is an issue amongst most of their vehicles since 2020. This issue also disables the Subaru Eyesight which is in control of adaptive cruise control, pre collision breaking, and sway warning. With those features now disabled, the car has lost the Safety Package that Subaru boasts. I have read on many online forums that this has been an ongoing issue now for many customers, a bulk of which experienced total engine failure. This lack of responsibly is putting many lives at risk on the road every day. I hope this helps shed light to this issue to Subaru & that this part is recalled so that Subaru must pay for the repairs instead of the car owners. Also, the repair part is around $500 & maintenance must be done by Subaru which is another $400-500 for labor. My opinion is they are using this defect as a way to make easy money on many customers since 2021. Here’s a link to the Service Bulletin that has been created about this issue: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2022/MC-10208664-0001.pdf?fbclid=IwAR355WNLzftp3Qhmj7GnfmPFL9VODbDEbiT9X5Admr7n90YI4rTa4J5HSIk_aem_Aex4JIYKdhZ3n6Xh90f9w4zKu4TxFSO6LxpMIwO79FtzP1E3Y5TygVIAq_Ih4KxM6nc | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | ******* DELETE VOQ ******* THIS COMPLAINT IS BEING MARKED FOR DELETION BECAUSE IT IS REQUESTED BY THE CONSUMER THAT THEY WISH TO HAVE IT REMOVED. DJR ******* DELETE VOQ ******* | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While driving on the highway in the slow lane (furthest to the right), traveling at approximately 50 mph, I came to be behind a tractor trailer. Before I had a chance to pass the tractor trailer, it switched lanes abruptly. My vision past/beyond (in front of) the tractor trailer was heavily obstructed by the massive vehicle itself, so I could not see that in front of the 18-wheeler there was a mid-size sedan traveling at approximately 5-10 mph in the same active highway lane I was in. I had almost no time to react, and neither the Automatic Emergency Braking system nor the Forward Collision Warning system engaged. Both of these systems should have activated to prevent the collision and/or minimize injuries and damage. I subsequently collided (harshly) with the aforementioned sedan. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 2 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | When I make a forward sharp right or left turn, the tires "shudder". It feels like they are skipping or I'm hitting little bumps in the road. Crown Subaru in Chattanooga, TN, told me the center differential was bad, so I would need to replace the transmission for $11,000. I took it to a mechanic for a second opinion who specializes in Subaru repair. They scoped it, fully checked the transmission, bearings...anything they thought it could be and could not find anything wrong with the transmission or bearings. Nothing that could be causing the shuddering. After visiting a few discussion sites, many Subaru owners have this problem and they are told many different things from their dealerships; all ranging from "it's normal on these models" to an exorbitant repair like a new transmission. Note: when Subaru told me I needed to change out the transmission, they did not say for sure that would fix the issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Windshield developed large crack starting on lower passenger side and moving along to lower center of windshield. No incident of a rock or other object hitting windshield. A cracked windshield is a safety concern. Car is going in to dealership to have glass replaced this week. Crack appeared June 2023. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | POWER TRAIN | When slowing down the vehicle almost down shifts causing it to lurch forward. Notified Subaru and took to 2 dealers which were all no help. Subaru of America did NOTHING to assist | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The windshield was hit by a rock and within 12 hours, a 6" crack developed near the lower part of the windshield. Over the course of the next two weeks, the crack has continued across the entire lower area of the windshield. The windshield is due to be repaired within the next couple of days. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | POWER TRAIN | Check engine light. Code showing P2682 and P26a3. There is an issue with the Thermo Control Valve for the MY21 Crosstrek. This is also affecting the Forester and Outback. See this thread: https://www.subaruforester.org/threads/2019-thermo-control-valve-assembly-and-warranty-merged-thread.823510/ Subaru should replace and install the new part regardless if the vehicle is no longer under warranty if a customer TCV has issues. There are customers who have had to pay anywhere between $1500-$2000+ to have this fixed/replace by the Subaru dealer. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The sunroof exploded while driving causing glass to fall into the cabin onto the driver and passenger seats (while driving at highway speeds) and glass shards flew off the back of the car. The car has not been repaired as of yet. The Subaru dealership told me this has happened 4 times this year in my small town alone. I am currently working with insurance to get the glass replaced. The Subaru dealership put plastic over part of the sunroof to keep it from leaking water when it snows and rains. There were no warning lights, symptoms or messages prior to the incident. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Stone chip 2 within a week! 1st repaired next day. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The windshield cracked while the car was parked overnight in my attached, residential garage. The crack formed in front of the passenger seat, starting at the bottom edge of the windshield and running up about 6 inches. There were no chips or recent (as in several weeks) impacts to the windshield. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | ENGINE | Engine shut off at a stop sign and the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree with alarms sounding. Couldn’t get car restarted. Towed to Subaru dealer and they said there was a connector cable to the starter that was defective. Replaced at no cost. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |