- Safety
- 5
- of 5 stars
- Recalls
- 5
- on record
- MPG
- —
- combined
Do not drive until repaired
1 active "park it" recall — NHTSA advises against driving this vehicle until the remedy is complete.
Vehicle Summary
2015 Subaru Outback
Before You Buy
Safety record at a glance
- Recall campaigns
- 5
- Owner complaints
- 506
- Complaints citing a crash
- 19
These are raw counts from NHTSA records. They are not normalized by how many of these vehicles are on the road, so a model that sold in large numbers will tend to show more of everything. We do not publish a composite safety or reliability score.
5 Recalls on Record
1 of these is high-severity. Some may require you to stop driving the vehicle until repaired.
Safety recalls
5 NHTSA campaigns affecting this model year.
- 16V251000high
Electronic stability control (esc)
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2015 Legacy and Outback vehicles manufactured on July 20, 2015. The brake fluid used in these vehicles may contain excess moisture which may adversely affect the performance of the electronic stability control system. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 126, "Electronic Stability Control Systems."
Consequence
Poor performance of the electronic stability control system when it is activated may result in a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Full campaign recordRemedy
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will perform an ABS activation, then flush and replace the brake fluid, free of charge. The recall began on May 20, 2016. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WTC-64.
- 14V577000high
Trailer hitches
TRAILER HITCHES
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2015 Outback vehicles manufactured January 22, 2014, to August 18, 2014, and equipped with a Subaru accessory trailer hitch assembly. During installation, the trailer hitch mounting nuts may have been overtightened, potentially resulting in failure of the trailer hitch mounting studs.
Consequence
The mounting nut(s) may not provide sufficient force to remain attached to the studs or the studs themselves might break. If this were to happen while a trailer is being towed, the driver might not be able to operate the vehicle as desired or the trailer may detach from the vehicle. Either situation could increase the risk of a crash.
Full campaign recordRemedy
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace all eight mounting nuts for the trailer hitch assembly, and will inspect all eight mounting studs for damage, free of charge. The recall began on October 7, 2014. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WQN-50.
- 15V502000high
Driveshaft bolt issue
POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2015 and 2016 model year Subaru Legacy 4-Door and Outback vehicles manufactured July 3, 2015, to July 27, 2015. Transmission oil may leak from a deformed seal cap on the propeller shaft yoke.
Consequence
If the transmission oil leaks onto the exhaust pipe, there is a possible risk of fire.
Full campaign recordRemedy
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the propeller shaft, free of charge. The recall began on August 28, 2015. Owners may contact 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WQU-56.
- 16V292000critical Do not drive
Steering issue
STEERING:COLUMN
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Legacy and Outback vehicles manufactured February 29, 2016, to May 6, 2016. The steering column on the affected vehicles may have been improperly machined, and as a result, turning the steering wheel may have no effect on the direction of the wheels.
Consequence
The loss of steering ability would increase the risk of a crash.
Full campaign recordRemedy
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the lot number on the steering column, replacing the steering column, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began May 13, 2016. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783 or by visiting http://www.wtd65.service-campaign.com. Subaru's number for this recall is WTD-65. Note: Until the vehicles have been inspected, owners are advised not to drive their vehicles.
- 15V366000high
Forward collision avoidance · crash imminent braking
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: CRASH IMMINENT BRAKING
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2015 Legacy vehicles manufactured March 10, 2014, to April 16, 2015, Outback vehicles manufactured February 24, 2014, to April 16, 2015, Impreza vehicles manufactured September 9, 2014, to April 14, 2015, XV Crosstrek vehicles manufactured October 16, 2014, to April 15, 2015, and 2016 WRX vehicles manufactured March 23, 2015, and equipped with the Eyesight Driver Assist System. If the switch that activates the brake lights fails, the automatic pre-collision braking component of the driver assist system will not function.
Consequence
If the automatic pre-collision braking system does not function as intended, the vehicle will not react to an obstacle in its path, increasing the risk of a crash.
Full campaign recordRemedy
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the driver assist system, free of charge. The recall began on July 20, 2015. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WQS-54.
NHTSA crash-test ratings
NCAP star ratings and the underlying test breakdown for the 2015 Subaru Outback.
Frontal crash
- Driver
- 5 / 5
- Passenger
- 5 / 5
Side crash
- Driver
- 5 / 5
- Passenger
- 5 / 5
- Side pole
- 5 / 5
Rollover
- Rollover risk
- 17.5%
- Dynamic tip
Driver-assistance technologies
- Electronic stability control
- Standard
- Forward collision warning
- Optional
- Lane departure warning
- Optional
What the ratings mean
NHTSA gives the 2015 Subaru Outback 5 out of 5 stars overall. NHTSA does not publish enough comparable results for this class and year to rank it against peers.
NHTSA published results for every NCAP test in this program, so the overall star rating rests on a complete set of crash and rollover results.
NHTSA's dynamic test put this vehicle's rollover probability at 17.5% in a single-vehicle crash — the figure behind the rollover star rating, published here because the star alone hides how wide each band is.
Fuel economy & emissions
The EPA holds no fuel-economy record for this model year.
The EPA does not publish a record for every model year.
Consumer complaints
506 owner reports filed with NHTSA.
- 506
- Total
- 19
- Crashes
- 5
- Fires
- 16
- Injuries
Most reported components
- VISIBILITY131
- ELECTRICAL110
- OTHER86
- ENGINE74
- STRUCTURE28
Notable Issues
506 consumer complaints filed with NHTSA. 16 reports involve injuries. 19 reports involve a crash.
Most reported problems
Safety timeline
Every dated recall and NHTSA investigation for the 2015 Subaru Outback, newest first.
- Investigation opened
NHTSA opened investigation EA21002
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
- Do not drive
The loss of steering ability would increase the risk of a crash.
- Recall
Poor performance of the electronic stability control system when it is activated may result in a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Recall
If the transmission oil leaks onto the exhaust pipe, there is a possible risk of fire.
- Recall
If the automatic pre-collision braking system does not function as intended, the vehicle will not react to an obstacle in its path, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Recall
The mounting nut(s) may not provide sufficient force to remain attached to the studs or the studs themselves might break. If this were to happen while a trailer is being towed, the driver might not be able to operate the vehicle as desired or the trailer may detach from the vehicle. Either situation could increase the risk of a crash.
Dates are the NHTSA report-received date for recalls and the ODI open/close date for investigations. Crash-test ratings are not shown here because the source does not provide a reliable publication date for them.
Specifications & ratings
Specifications
- Body class
- Unknown
- Drive type
- Unknown
- Engine
- 0L 0-cyl
- Fuel type
- Unknown
- Transmission
- Unknown
- Seats
- 0
NHTSA crash ratings
- Overall
- Frontal
- Side
- Rollover
Explore related
Safety timeline
Full timeline- Investigation opened
NHTSA opened investigation EA21002
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
- Do not drive
The loss of steering ability would increase the risk of a crash.
- Recall
Poor performance of the electronic stability control system when it is activated may result in a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Recall
If the transmission oil leaks onto the exhaust pipe, there is a possible risk of fire.
- Recall
If the automatic pre-collision braking system does not function as intended, the vehicle will not react to an obstacle in its path, increasing the risk of a crash.


