2017 Subaru Outback UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
While driving, the car suddenly shut off while in motion. It came to a stop at the bottom of hill where we were able to put it in neutral, and push it into a parking lot. After that we attempted to start it 4 or 5 times, and the engine would turn over and shut off after a couple of seconds. After leaving it off for about 5 minutes, it was able to start. Additionally, it occasionally feels jerky while driving, usually at lower speeds.
Driving on a flat dry road with cloudy conditions we heard what sounded like a shotgun. Pulled over and found our Moonroof exploded. I have dashcam video with audio of the explosion as well as photos and video of the damage immediately after
The design of the dashboard along with the dashboard screen has a very poor design that makes it nearly impossible to see when the sun is out. When the sun is out and especially when driving towards the sun during sunset and sunrise, the dashboard reflects back the light onto the windshield making it essentially impossible to see objects that may be on the side of the road. Even with polarized sunglasses, I often find myself having to reduce my speed on 50 mph zones by as much as 30 mph under the speed limit in order to give myself enough time to potentially see hazards that would be unseen at higher speeds do to the severe glare. Without sunglasses, even driving during the middle of the day, the dashboard reflects light off the windshield that can make it nearly impossible to see objects, especially objects that are only visible on the lower third of the windshield. This faulty design has almost caused me to hit cyclist and or joggers on the road even going substantially below the speed limit due to being blinded by the sun. The second issue I have is with the backup screen on the dashboard. Whenever any sun hits the dashboard screen, it is essentially useless as the sun almost completely makes it impossible to see where I'm backing into. The vehicle has not been inspected by anyone or any law enforcement, but I do feel this is a serious safety hazard and the design of the dashboard in that it reflects light right back into the windshield makes for an undue stressful experience and a very huge liability.
We have a Subaru 2017 and have had to replace the windshield TWICE. In each instance a small rock flew up and cracked the windshield. I have owned different models of cars for years and have NEVER had to replace a windshield twice? Is there a manufacturing defect in these windhshields? Both times we have taken it to a Subaru dealer to have the windshield replaced and we ordered Subaru windshields NOT an after market product. I will upload the documents from the two dealers when I can but I just wanted to see if this is a common issue? Looking online it seems to be.
The key gets stuck in the ignition when turning off the ignition.
Horn stopped working. When I lock the car the horn makes noise notifying it is locked. I took it into the dealership they think it’s is the clock spring. Then I looked online and found this information. “The 2017 Subaru Outback was subject to a recall related to the steering column, specifically the clockspring. This recall (NHTSA Campaign #10V-283 / WVR-28) addressed potential issues with the electrical wiring in the steering column that could lead to steering wheel component malfunctions.” Why is my vehicle not included in the recall?
The key gets stuck in alt position, can’t turn completely off. Can’t get unstuck until I repeatedly turn the engine on, shift into drive, shift back into park and turn off again.
While driving on main road sunroof spontaneously exploded! Speed 55 mph, temp mid 60s. This occurred 11-2-24 about 6pm. Clear weather, open road. I purchased the car new in 2017 and have never even opened the sunroof as I don't like them and car is always garaged when not in use. It has only 27,773 miles on it. No one was hurt but very scary. Will take it to dealership tomorrow, 11-4-24, as the entire center of sunroof is gone with only edges of glass remaining around the perimeter. I will have mechanic report tomorrow (today is Sunday
headlights large amount of water condensation. decreases amount of light and could cause to fail
I was in a parking lot. I stopped in order to pull into a spot. The vehicle suddenly accelerated and jumped forward. I pushed hard on the brake and put car into neutral. This could have resulted in a crash. Don't understand how this could occur. My foot was not on the gas pedal.
Yesterday the windshield began to spontaneously crack. This is the THIRD windshield in this vehicle to do this. All three windshields cracked starting in an area below the hood line, so stone chips are highly improbable. We bought this vehicle new. That windshield we replaced in 2018. Then we put another new windshield in in 2020. I believe, as I did when I filed a previous complaint in 2020, that there's a structural issue with the car that causes this undue stress.
Head unit fails to respond to commands, freezes up, and/or shuts off.
Secondary hood lock lever not functioning, spring is missing.
Ignition switch fails to revert to last forward position, so unable to remove key. So far have been able to start, stop, and generally go forward, reverse, keep manipulating key and ignition position until it works again.
Can not remove ignition key at times. Have tried all suggestions on line. It can take up to five minutes of various things to ge it out. It is never the same . Mary
Windshield cracked for no reason. Started at the bottom beneath hood and continued to grow. This will be the 4th windshield replacement on this car.
front windshield cracked spontaneously during extreme cold while front defroster was running set on high. no overhead objects. no other cars or vehicles on the roadway. 15 mph. crack is in the windshield wiper resting area extending from the black edge to the center, in a horizontal crack, bilaterally.
We have replaced the battery every 2 years.
1st battery failure within 3 years of purchase of vehicle. Jumped 3 times in 2 mths. Purchased new battery (interstate)10/7/2020 Today 09/12/2022 same issue began. Car shows no issues with battery failure. Drove on Sun. to church and around for a little drive, no issues. Left home Monday afternoon, gone couple of hours, not stop and go traffic. Turned off ignition. After about 30 min went to start car and nothing. Just complete nothing. 8:36 p.m. AAA .comes to jump battery - drove home. AAA man said the battery was totally dead and that I needed a new one
2017 Subaru Outback -- have nearly 50K miles on it. Suddenly the key is not removing from the ignition key slot. I looked this up and see this is a recurring problem in Subarus. I anticipated it can't cost a huge amount to take care of this problem. See people have quoted $500 / $600, or more, and that was a few years ago! Are you kidding? That's ridiculous and not in a cost range I can afford! It's obviously a Subaru flawed design.
My windshield cracked for no apparent reason (no impact) - in the bottom quarter of the passenger side. The crack spread, requiring replacement of the windshield. I had Subaru replace the windshield. Exactly one week later, the new windshield cracked in exactly the same place. It, too will require replacement.
2017 Subaru Outback windshield breaks when a small rock hits it. This is the 4th times happen to our Vehicle and a very expensive cost to replace it about $1000. We are very upset about it.
My parked Car, engine off, has not started six times in the last 9 months. Battery is dead. Parasitic battery drain with this model car. Battery and Alternator has been checked by mechanics 4 times, both are good. Also checked by Interstate battery. They took the battery out and checked it overnight. The battery is less than 18 months old, all say it is good, not the problem. Six times I have had to have my car jumped to start. Dangerous for a older person to be stranded. Nothing was left on, no lights or utilities . Car also will not start if not driven for several days. This model 2017 Subaru has a mechanical problem, it has a parasitic power drain.
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-t68632_ds1061822 I figured that out after reading all the previous threads on this site. Not happy! I will be getting back to them, and Subaru America as well. What doesn't seem to be clear from this thread is whether replacing the battery with a heftier one will make a difference if there is this parasitic draining going on. The dealer did the required software updates but that didn't make a difference. I understand that there may be some class action suits in progress.
Subaru Outback 2018 windshield cracked & spread in one day. Lower left corner, spreads like a large “S”. Approximately 10” high & 10” in the curve of “S”. At driver’s eyesight.
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Quick Summary
The 2017 Subaru Outback has 120 UNKNOWN OR OTHER complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.