2023 Subaru Outback: What to check before buying

Windshields crack from small pebbles. Several cracks spread across the glass over days or weeks, and others appear with no impact at all. Many owners report repeat repairs or a second replacement within the first year, and each replacement requires EyeSight recalibration. Some dealers deny warranty coverage and blame road debris. A second pattern is a sunroof that shatters suddenly with a loud bang while driving, showering glass over the roof. A closed inner shade kept glass out of the cabin. One owner also describes a pitted windshield that glares badly in low sun.

The windshield cracks unexpectedly while driving. A separate report describes hundreds of tiny air bubbles forming across the windshield and parts of the front side windows by about 2,500 miles. The dealer blames sandblasting, the owner disputes it, and the glass goes unrepaired. These two complaints echo the much larger set of windshield reports filed under other categories.

The Starlink infotainment system freezes, lags, registers ghost inputs, and restarts on its own. When the screens reboot, the backup camera, adaptive cruise control, EyeSight warnings, and digital odometer can drop out with them, and the camera image sometimes freezes in reverse. Connected services such as SOS and automatic crash notification fail, sometimes from delivery, and dealers describe a known fault without a fix. Other reports cover batteries drained by the radio, no-starts near 51,930 miles, and long waits for backordered parts. One report involves both a crash and a fire.

Automatic emergency braking slams on the brakes with nothing ahead. It happens at highway speed on cruise control, approaching green lights, and while pulling into parking spaces or driveways. Seat belts lock, and drivers report nearly being rear-ended. EyeSight also disables itself, sometimes within weeks of purchase, and dealers often find no codes and blame weather or a dirty windshield. Reverse automatic braking shuts off repeatedly after a software update in one report. One crash report describes the car accelerating while parking despite the driver pressing the brake.

Low beams cast rectangular shadows near the top of the beam that move as the car travels and look like animals crossing the road. A sharp cutoff line also limits how far drivers can see on dark rural roads, with reports of roughly 15 to 20 feet of usable light. Dealers either find no defect or aim the lights higher, which draws flashes from oncoming drivers. Automatic high beams refuse to switch on when streetlights or snow are present.

The car jolts, shakes, or seems to stall when coming to a stop. One dealer traced this to the torque converter around 10,000 miles, while others call the behavior normal. Another report describes a sudden loss of power on a steep mountain grade that limited speed to about 25 mph until the engine was restarted. The most serious complaint involves unintended acceleration ending in a crash that totaled the car and injured the driver.

Brakes fail to stop the car in two crash reports. In one, the pedal goes to the floor at 50 mph with no ABS or emergency braking response. In the other, the car lunges forward from a stop with the brake pressed and strikes a storefront. The remaining complaint concerns the pre-collision system braking almost daily for parked cars or nothing at all, causing near rear-end collisions, with the dealer unable to reduce its sensitivity.

The power liftgate opens on its own, both while parked and while driving, with one case reported at about 1,700 miles. In the most serious report, the opening hatch knocks two people to the ground and both need emergency room care. A separate complaint describes the hood release letting go at 75 mph. Only the secondary catch kept the hood from lifting fully.

The passenger airbag OFF light comes on with an adult in the seat, and the dealer finds no problem on a car less than one week old. In a separate report, the passenger A-pillar trim works loose and exposes the airbag. The dealer blames incorrect factory installation and has to order a replacement part. Only two complaints are on file here.