2015 Subaru Outback: false forward collision warnings

Filed Jul 19, 2026 · Driver assistance, Electrical · NY

Vehicle Component Affected: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM / FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE / BACK OVER PREVENTION Description of the Safety Defect: The factory infotainment touchscreen in my 2015 Subaru Outback Limited (VIN: [XXX]) has suffered a severe manufacturing defect where the internal chemical gel adhesive has melted, creating large, oily liquid bubbles across the display. This physical degradation causes the screen to suffer from continuous "ghost touches," registering non-stop phantom inputs while the vehicle is in motion. This hardware failure creates three active, severe driving safety hazards: DANGEROUS OPERATOR DISTRACTION: The ghost-touching triggers a loud, high-pitched, non-stop audible dinging sound through the speakers that cannot be muted, severely compromising driver focus on the roadway. INOPERABLE NAVIGATION CONTROL: The system recently registered phantom touches that autonomously programmed a random destination into the factory GPS. The system then overrode all driver controls, preventing me from canceling the navigation instructions or turning off the screen audio while driving. OBSCURED BACKUP CAMERA VISIBILITY: The large, oily chemical delamination bubbles create a severe visual distortion on the screen. In direct or bright sunlight, the backup camera image is completely unreadable and obscured, creating an active striking hazard to pedestrians and vehicles behind me. This manufacturing defect began approximately in Jan 2023 and has gotten progressively worse over time, transitioning from minor cosmetic bubbling to severe, non-stop hardware malfunctions. This component failure is an active driving hazard that completely compromises driver attention and vehicle safety systems. Subaru of America is aware of this chemical breakdown across this generation of head units but is refusing to remedy the safety defect out of warranty. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Apr 20, 2021 · Airbags, Driver assistance · 109,000 miles · MT · crash

We built and bought a brand new 2015 subaru outback and we have experienced: - a constant sudden loss of eyesight system while cruising or sometimes just driving with no cruise control on. -gas release lever freezes up and we have to forcefully use a flat screwdriver to unlock the gas lid door. -pre collision warning brake system does not respond properly: we got so many close calls. - on march, 2020 ; the stability control system was not working properly on snowy/icy conditions : the car sled off and almost hit a guard rail, soon after that ; the steering wheel got too loose /wobbly and had a big gap while steering( almost no control over our car. We brought it to the dealership right away and the recalibrated, balanced and aligned the car for corrections. -last wednesday, on april,14,2021: my wife was driving one block away from home, at the traffic light intersection, while the traffic light was green and she was trying to make a right turn to go home; her steering wheel got frozen on her when she was turning and by the time she tried to figure out how to react and control the car, her car already crashed into the pick up truck that was waiting on the other side of the intersection waiting for the light to change into green. The whole front of our subaru was crashed but no pre collision brakes, air bags were deployed at all.luckily, nobody got hurt on both sides. The firefighters, the sheriff , the trooper and the tow truck driver who used to be a cop were all flabbergasted of what they saw. We called subaru of america and opened a case, my car is scheduled for inspection at a subaru dealership on may 6th, 2021.will see what happens next.they seem willing to address the problem and take responsibility for the damages. We found out that most of those issues were on recall but we never got a recall notification about them from subaru of america at all.thank you consumer stated dealer found nothing wrong with the car so consumer filed a complaint with federal trade commission and was given a case number [xxx].

Filed Aug 19, 2020 · Acceleration, Electrical · 35,000 miles · NY

Vehicle is equipped with subaru's "eye sight" system, which provides pre-collision braking and is involved with lane departure warning. The eye sight system in my car is intermittently inoperative while the car is in motion. Sometimes, the system begins working again, then turns off, turns on, etc. If eye sight is inoperative as the car comes to a full stop, the inoperative warning message usually disappears, but the message returns shortly after the car begins moving again. This has been happening every time the car is in motion for three weeks.

Filed Dec 29, 2016 · Brakes · 35,000 miles · VA

Invalid braking incidents with subaru outback's eyesight pre-collision braking system. My car has brake suddenly, without cause on 3 occasions. 1) sunny morning on a crowded residential street going less than 25mph with no cars directly in front of me, car gave warning and immediately braked stopping the car. 2) sunny afternoon on a wide residential street going about 30mph with no cars directly in front of me, car gave warning and immediately braked slowing the car significantly. 3) dark and raining on a major highway going 70mph using adaptive cruise control with no cars around me, car gave warning and immediately applied the brakes hard (no skidding or swerving) slowing the car to about 25mph before releasing control to me. Very fortunate that no cars were behind me. After each incident, I took the car into the dealership. The dealer was unable to recreate the problem and said they could not fix the car if they could not recreate the problem. After realizing the significant safety issue following the third incident, I called subaru corporate customer service. Subaru sent a corporate engineer to look at the car and the data recordings. They were unable to find any issues with the car and again said they are unable to make any repairs without recreating the problem. In the 2+ years and over 30,000 miles I've driven the problem only occurred 3 times, the dealer recreating the problem seems unlikely given their limited time with the car.

Filed Jan 22, 2015 · Electrical · 1,000 miles · WA

In november 2014, I took delivery of a new 2015 subaru outback, 3.6 limited. The vehicle was equipped with the optional premium electronics package, and the eyesight collision avoidance system. After about three weeks of ownership, I started to experience random malfunctions with the key-less ignition, and the key-less entry systems. The ignition problems all involved engine start, and occurred in scenarios where the key-fob wasn't recognized. About the same time, the GPS navigation system started to display erroneous locational data, and the associated 'starlink' touch screen system would freeze-up (become inoperable). As of today, I have posted six different videos to youtube to dramatically illustrate the problem. Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mf_rumicqm . I have had the car back to the dealer five times for this problem, and it can't be fixed. I have also met with subarus, seattle zone service manager. In emails from subaru's corporate service officials, they refuse to acknowledge the problem exists, despite the videos. Unofficially, the zone service manager acknowledged that some other owners are experiencing the same issue, which he believes is a systemic problem in vehicles with this option combination. He does not know of any solution. My concern is that the eyesight system can override driver commands involving braking, and engine throttle. Will the problems with the GPS and starlink touch-screens potentially create a dangerous malfunction of the eyesight system that creates an accident rather than mitigating it?