Skip to content

Free public service · Official NHTSA & EPA data

2025 Subaru Crosstrek Complaints

Consumer complaints filed with NHTSA

44

Total

3

Crashes

0

Fires

3

Injuries

0

Deaths

Most Reported Components

VISIBILITY
11
OTHER
11
ADAS
5
ELECTRICAL
5
AIR BAGS
4

Owner Complaint Reports

Showing 25 of 44 reports, crash, fire and injury reports first, then the most recently filed. The full set is on NHTSA.gov.

ODI #11768188Crash

AIR BAGS,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 09/29/2026

My daughter was driving her car and another car pulled right in front of her from behind a wall. The damage to my daughter’s car is all at the front and the automatic braking mechanism did not work, in addition, non of the airbags deployed which caused my daughter to have injuries to her legs. Towing service was puzzled when they saw the damage and the airbags had not deployed.

ODI #11753387

STEERING,LANE DEPARTURE — Filed 07/27/2026

While driving on a road with a round about as I entered into the round about turn the vehicle lane keeping assist pulled the wheels and caused me to slam into the curb damaging the passenger side front and back wheel. It shoved the front wheel back into the inner fender wheel well and made the vehicle unable to be driven. I tried to counter steer to prevent slamming into the curb but there was no response from the vehicle.

ODI #11751846

VISIBILITY — Filed 05/30/2025

I leased. 2025 Subaru Crosstrek Premium last May and after I drove it for a few days I discovered the driver side mirror was shaking and made it impossible to see traffic clearly, especially at night. I took the car back to the dealer several times but they could not fix it. There is a class action lawsuit against Subaru for the defective driver side mirror.

ODI #11749212

POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 01/28/2026

I am reporting a possible power train/drivetrain issue with a 2025 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness. At steady highway speeds, most noticeably around 72–76 mph under light accelerator load, the vehicle produces a persistent high-frequency ringing/whining tone throughout the cabin. The noise stops when I lift off the accelerator and rarely occurs when traveling downhill, which suggests it may be related to drivetrain load rather than ordinary wind, road, or tire noise. The suspected component or system is UNKNOWN, but based on the operating conditions it may involve the CVT, differential, or related drivetrain/power train components. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. The issue has been reproduced and confirmed by a Subaru dealer. The vehicle was previously inspected by the dealer, and the rear differential was replaced during an attempted repair, but the noise persisted. The vehicle was returned for additional diagnosis, and dealership personnel confirmed the same noise. The manufacturer later stated that the condition was considered a normal characteristic after comparison with another like-model Crosstrek Wilderness, but no specific root cause or technical explanation was provided. My safety concern is that a persistent, load-dependent drivetrain noise at highway speeds could indicate abnormal wear, resonance, or mechanical instability in the CVT, differential, or related power train components. If the condition reflects an unresolved defect, it could potentially lead to premature drivetrain failure or loss of power while driving at highway speeds. There have been no warning lamps or dashboard messages associated with the condition. The issue first appeared while the vehicle was still very new and under factory warranty, and it remains unresolved.

ODI #11745558Crash

AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS — Filed 06/20/2026

The contact owns a 2025 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 MPH with his wife inside the vehicle, the contact experienced a medical emergency and blacked out, causing the vehicle to accelerate to approximately 70 MPH. The vehicle crashed into a culvert pipe in a ditch and launched into the air, landing front-first before landing on all four wheels in a patch of grass. The air bags did not deploy, and the driver's side seat belt unlatched, causing the contact to hit the windshield head-first. The contact sustained a blunt force forehead injury, eyebrow cuts, right knee cuts, and small cuts on the left arm. The contact’s wife sustained a fractured back (T4) and injuries across the shoulder and abdomen from the seat belt. Medical attention was needed, and the contact and wife were transported to the hospital. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.

ODI #11744713

STEERING,LANE DEPARTURE — Filed 05/20/2026

Suddenly lost power steering, almost impossible to steer car to shoulder lane and stop. the car was taken to Fitzgerald Subaru, where technician found fault code C2532. Failure in Steering Gearbox assembly. Per Subaru techline case 260518-1300094. Advised to replace assembly. Parts used/replaced: 34110FN03A Need 023212010 x 2 051030300 x2 2 of 023212010. Nut castle 2 of 051030300. Cotter pin 2 of 44616AA291 Gasket - exhau

ODI #11741717

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 06/02/2026

The Sirius XM advertisement creates an unsafe experience. The only way to safe way close it requires the driver to pull over to touch the “X”, or to risk taking eyes off the road in order to use the interface, including the climate control.

ODI #11741737

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 06/02/2026

Sirius XM radio pop up advertisement disables the touch screen and features until the little red x button is hit in the top right corner away from the driver.

ODI #11741751

LANE DEPARTURE — Filed 06/03/2026

The EyeSight system always pulls the car toward highway exits when you’re driving on the right lane of a highway. You have to fight the steering to keep the car centered in the lane.

ODI #11739448

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 05/21/2026

Subaru’s infotainment system and GPS system has advertising pop ups which cover the map while driving. This has happened multiple times and it is incredibly distracting and dangerous. There is no way to opt out.

ODI #11739643

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 05/02/2026

I was driving on a Texas highway on May 2 at the speed limit of 75 mph with the car on cruise control. It was a sunny day and traffic was light. Suddenly, without warning, or apparent cause the car went into a hard brake and the collision avoidance signals were beeping and flashing. The car behind me had to hard brake to avoid collision. I pulled over to the shoulder but as soon as I put my foot on the brake the flashing and beeping stopped. I eased back onto the highway but as soon as I got up some speed, the same thing happened again. I thought it might be related to the cruise control so I turned off the cruise control and it stopped. I drove the rest of the way without cruise control and there were no further incidents. I took the car to dealer. The service department ran diagnostics and test drove it but said they could not duplicate the problem. They said the car was operating "normally." I called Customer Advocacy at Subaru and spoke to woman on a recorded line. She clearly stated that sometimes the EyeSight feature can cause the car to "think there's something in front of you" and activate the collision avoidance hard braking. She claimed this was "normal." Still Subaru refused to do anything about it or buy back my car for more than trade-in value. I got the car from the dealer on May 18. On May 21, I discovered a class action lawsuit (Hall et. al. v. Subaru of America, Inc.) had been filed against Subaru on May 11, for the very same problem. The lawsuit covers most recent Subaru models including mine. I also discovered that "phantom braking" is a frequent complaint here and that Subaru settled a previous class action lawsuit for older models in Nov. 2025 . NHTSA needs to force a recall and warn consumers of this very dangerous defect. I would be surprised if it hasn't resulted in serious injury or death.

ODI #11738991

VISIBILITY — Filed 05/11/2026

When driving under windy conditions and/or at highway speeds (55mph+), the side mirror vibrate excessively. This causes blurring and obscuring of images in the mirror, sometimes to the point where you cannot see anything clearly. This thankfully has not cause any accidents for me, but I have heard many other owners have the same problem. I have heard owners claim Subaru is aware of this problem and their repair is subpar

ODI #11734289

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 04/28/2026

my sunroof exploded. I was on the highway, no trucks around to shed debris, when I heard a pop and then the sound of glass breaking. I was near my home so I got there and then inspected the sunroof. The glass was pushed upward at the center of the sunroof. No rocks inside the interior of the sunroof. This sunroof had only been opened once, when checking operation at the dealership. This car was new and I have had it less than a month. The milage is less than 500 miles.

ODI #11731609

VISIBILITY,LANE DEPARTURE,BACK OVER PREVENTION — Filed 03/02/2026

See attached document for complaint.

ODI #11724288

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 03/04/2026

On two occasions, the vehicle has activated the forward collision warning although there was no nearby vehicle or obstruction. The date of incident is not precise.

ODI #11720394

LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 02/25/2026

This a second report following a visit to the dealer for system check. At that service, we were advised that no issues were identified, we were told that sunlight could cause the Subaru “EyeSight” system to disengage. Today, 25 February, the vehicle EyeSight system continues to disable and enable itself seemingly at random. This morning, we travelled on well marked roadways with overcast skies (no sunlight to cause problems). The system repeatedly disabled and enabled itself. In addition, on a street with vehicles parallel parked along the curb, the vehicle reported an obstacle and began braking for no apparent reason. This has been reported to the dealer. We are awaiting a response. It does seem as if there are some faults within the EyeSight system.

ODI #11719893

LANE DEPARTURE — Filed 02/18/2026

Vehicle lane keeping assistance switches itself off and on while driving. After first occurrence, dealer response was that such behavior is not unusual when sun is in front of the vehicle. Second occurred while driving with sun behind the vehicle and on either side of vehicle. This has been reported to dealer but there has been no response.

ODI #11718546

EXTERIOR LIGHTING,LANE DEPARTURE — Filed 01/26/2026

To Whom It May Concern; Again having ongoing issues and problems with my 2025 crosstrek.  Just got it back from the dealership after it being there for over 3 weeks.  I was returned to me with a nail in the tire. And they even lost my keys at the dealership. I've had my car back not even 24 hours and have 2 maintenance sensors come on. And the driver asst is only working one one side. Of course I contact the Subaru dealership - only to get dumped into a voicemail that doesn't get checked.  I'm yet to hear from anyone from Subaru.  Most likely won't.  At this time it seems like the only way to get anything resolved is to seek legal action.  That's sad because it really shouldn't have to come to that. Starting to wonder honestly if anyone actually works or does their job at Subaru. (or at least there job title on the person's business card) This has really gotten so ugly and out of hand all because Subaru "REFUSES" to follow up and "REFUSES" to follow through.Such an easy fix, Subaru have a service department. just fix my car. Geezzz - I know the mechanics have got to be certified.Just seems to be a never ending laundry list of maintenance issues with this vehicle. Clearly it's a lemon.  It's a 2025 model - just swap it out already!  This is utterly ridiculous! I can no longer make payments on [XXX]   So I guess Subaru wont be getting my money for my lease on a car that seldomly works. Guess that's one way of getting out of payments.  So that better not be getting my credit dinged because of this mess either.I am literally counting the days down to turn this hunk of junk back to Subaru.  This has been the ultimate WORST experience of my entire life!  And your dealership refuses to do anything about it at all!  I even have multiple cases open with Subaru of America - they to REFUSE to do anything to address my issues at all.  Never following up on phone calls or emails.  I can't believe they're still in business!!! [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

ODI #11717698

STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 05/01/2025

I noticed that when I am driving on the freeway/highway for extended periods of time (30+ minutes) the wheel will start locking up. It stiffens enough that I have to force the wheel in a different direction. When it occurs there is no warning lights or messages from the car, it just suddenly stiffens. Other than driving on the freeway for 30+ minutes there does not seem to be any particular trigger for it to happen. This is a 2025 subaru crosstrek sport with 14,000 miles that we bought new. I noticed the first instance of it maybe a month into having the car.

ODI #11707619

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE — Filed 12/29/2025

Automatic Emergency Braking engaged unnecessarily. It was triggered by a plastic trash bag being blown in front of the vehicle. I was driving about 70 mph and was fortunate to avoid being rear-ended by another vehicle.

ODI #11706106

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 12/19/2025

The infotainment system periodically displays full-screen advertisements for SiriusXM during car operation, interrupting navigation and all other functions that occur on the infotainment system. This was a free trial service that I did not sign up for and has caused my safety to be at risk by interrupting my navigation system at a crucial junction where many navigation instructions needed to be followed one after another, causing my ability to successfully navigate the correct direction to my destination to be interrupted and nearly resulting in an accident with other drivers. This is something that other Subaru owners have also experienced, and there are no warnings or messages prior to the advertisement appearing on the screen. This is absolutely unacceptable and ridiculous that unwanted advertisements can be pushed to the car while it is in motion and during navigation.

ODI #11705768

LANE DEPARTURE — Filed 12/08/2025

Right blind spot detection does not work 96% of the time. Almost caused two collisions. Dealership said it either works or it doesn't, no in between. Since it works 4% of the time, they are not going to replace it or figure out what is wrong.

ODI #11703064

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 11/23/2025

I got a pop-up message while attempting to back up using my rear backup camera that almost caused an accident. This blocked view of the camera and locked up the entire infotainment system until I could clear it. The pop up was: "Enjoy SiriusXM FREE thru 12/1." This kind of distraction while operating a vehicle that weighs almost a ton while the vehicle is in motion is dangerous and irresponsible. This advertisement disables and interferes with safety features on this vehicle.

ODI #11703109

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 11/15/2025

Sirius XM advertizing obscures the entire screen making car data and navigation unavailable unless a driver takes their eyes of the road to press a tiny X on a corner. There are some offers when I bought the care where I had to shut the car off to get the ad to disappear. I do not want to have driver distraction from Ads that could lead to an accident or have me pull over in traffic to shut off. Please ask them to stop this behavior

ODI #11668032Crash

AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE — Filed 06/18/2025

My wife was almost killed yesterday in a 2025 Subaru Crosstrek. She was hit by a side impact at over 35 mph through the driver's door, and the airbags didn't work. The side doors locked and buckled from the impact. Firefighters pulled my wife out of the car through the passenger door. What a piece of junk. Don't trust that junk.

About This Data

Complaints are filed by vehicle owners with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). They represent individual consumer experiences and do not necessarily indicate a widespread defect.

View on NHTSA.gov