The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while reversing, the rearview camera failed to display a rearview image, comprising the back over prevention system. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the rear-view camera. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 39,000.
2018 Subaru Outback driver assistance complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 42, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while reversing, the display screen image was glaring and cloudy. Additionally, the infotainment screen failed to function properly and made beeping sounds, distracting the contact while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the infotainment screen had delaminated and that the head unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000.
The screen that controls everything in the car is delaminating and it prevents the driver from being able to see the back up camera properly and is a distraction to drivers. This is a known issue with this year vehicle. Subaru won’t replace and only offered me 750 to get it fixed which means I would still have to come out of pocket $900 for a known defect. They are aware of the issue and have replaced some vehicles at no charge.
The infotainment screen has delaminated rendering it unusable and will intermittantly interrupt the backup camera while moving. This is the second screen already with this issue in my vehicle
The radio headunit which houses the backup camera freezes. When this happens, the backup camera does not work. Vehicle was brought to a Subaru dealership, and confirmed that radio unit freezes, and diagnostic did not improve system. Radio unit requires re-manufacturing. I have contacted Subaru and they refuse to address the problem. There is also documentation that talks about a recall on the Harmon Kardon unit we have.
The head unit on my 2018 Subaru Outback is pressing random buttons all over the screen by itself. It would constantly make the button noise as I drive leading me to lose track of the directions that was being provided from my Apple Maps. It would also disconnect me from CarPlay leaving me with no sense of direction as to where I should be going. I have gotten this fixed before at a Subaru dealership and they ended up replacing the head unit for me, however this is the second time it’s happening and there is obviously a serious problem with the all the units.
When traveling on hwy at hwy speeds with cruise control on set for 70 mph and car in front is traveling 60 mph as am I. The road curves the car no longer identifies a car in front of me and accelerates to 70 mph, when the road becomes straight again and I am getting close the system slams on the brakes. When I'm going 70 mph and approach a car going 60 mph the car slows to keep a safe distance. As I change lanes the car begins to accelerate. As I am passing the slower car, if on a curve and the car identifies a car in another lane and slams on the brakes. This has caused road rage from drivers approaching from the rear in the passing lane thinking I'm braking to slow them down for no reason. The Dealership told me to turn my cruise control off on roads nort straight! This has happened since the car was new. This occurred on a recent trip across country on hwy US 40.
2018 Subaru Outback headunit is "delaminated" causing phantom touches on the headunit's touch screen. While driving, the headunit will act as if something is pressing random buttons, changing radio stations, opening/closing maps, going through settings panel and changing car settings, ultimately distracting the driver usually at highway speeds. Many other Subaru owners are reporting the same issue on the forums: [XXX] [XXX] Subaru is reporting the fault as "regular wear and tear" and charging customers $1200+ to replace the headunits. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that the Eyesight system had become inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the system was recalibrated. The vehicle was repaired. Additionally, the contact stated that the infotainment system screen was delaminated, causing the touchpad function to become inoperable. The contact was concerned because the Eyesight system could only be configured through the infotainment screen. Additionally, the contact stated that the infotainment system screen delamination had caused the infotainment system to activate vehicle functions independently. The contact stated that the rearview camera was still operable. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that it was a common failure. The dealer related the failure to an Extended Warranty. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000.
On 12/28/2023 my 2018 Subaru Outback without warning suddenly accelerated on its own, causing my vehicle to hit the curb and ran into a building.
While pulling into a parking spot with my foot on the brake and preparing to stop, the car continued to move up over the curb and then began to accelerate even after I applied both of my feet pushing down on the brakes until I hit our condo building. The car and building received extensive damage, and although the car was not totaled it will cost over 7,000 dollars to repair. Personally I was not injured. The air bags did not imploy at impact. There were no warning messages or prior failures with the vehicle before this day. The car was taken to a body shop and not the dealer so we have not had the dealer look at the systems that broke down, but our insurance adjuster will be.
Driver experienced an unexpected uncommanded sudden acceleration upon application of the braking system in the driveway, which caused a collision with the garage/house. The safety of the driver and other were put at risk. Significant damage to the house/garage occurred. This is a first time occurrence. Owner has not yet had the opportunity to have the vehicle inspected by dealer, independent service center, manufacturer, police or insurance rep due to timing of the accident. No warning lights message were displayed. Driver slowed the vehicle in anticipation of putting the vehicle in park when uncommanded brake release occurred, vehicle accelerated and struck the house. Reason for incident is unknown. Vehicle remains parked pending further inspection.
About 8 months ago I was turning into a space in the parking lot of a large store (Kohls) the car lunged forward on it's own when I took my foot off the accelerator. I was able to stop the car with the brake pedal before ramming a lamp post. I did not report it to a dealership. Nothing like it has happened in the 8 months/3000 miles of driving since. It took me completely by surprise without any indication of system failure.
The battery in my 2018 Subaru Outback has been replaced three times since I purchased it. I am the sole owner. The original battery was replaced within seven months of purchase due to continual battery drainage. The dealership replaced it with the same type of battery and I was not charged. When I went into the dealership expressing concern with the second battery also having to be jump started frequently when the battery was barely two years old, I was told that is the typical life of a battery for the newer electronic vehicles and because the area I live in has excessive heat, that also lowers the battery life. I have had to jump start my vehicle so many times, I stopped taking my vehicle on long trips for fear of being stuck somewhere. In August of 2021, during a cross- states road trip, the battery died mid-trip. I jumped it and had it replaced at my own cost, but not at a dealership. They gave me a 5-year warrenty on the battery. When I took the car into the dealership and had them run diagnostics, they told me that, "Yes, there was some kind of power draw, but then it couldn't be duplicated, so we don't know what the problem is. That will be $117.00." I think Subaru makes great products and my dealership has wonderful employees, but there is currently a Class Action Suit going on, and I wanted to support those who are filing. Subaru needs to acknowledge and fix the issue. And reimburse me the $117.00 plus the $169.56 for my third battery.
Car jerked back and suddenly accelerated without warning as driver had foot on brake and was slowly pulling into parking spot. Car hit wall of parking garage causing front end damage. Parking collision warning did not sound at any point. Car was going 1-2 MPH and was 5 feet from end of parking spot when incident occurred. Sudden acceleration when driver has foot on brake can cause injury to driver, passengers or others in the path of the car. No hazards in parking garage were present that could have caused accident, which was witnessed by driver's work colleague. No police report filed. Incident was reported to Subaru, which ran diagnostic and could not replicate issue. No warning messages were present prior to the incident. It appears there are 2 current class action lawsuits filed against Subaru reporting similar issues with 2018 Outback. I am unsure what component failed to cause this issue; car is available for inspection on request.
Eye Sight Blind Spot Warning indicator on each side view mirror does not function intermittently: blind spot warning indicator light does not light up when cars are in blind spot. Eye Sight Rear Cross Traffic Warning camera does not function intermittently in Reverse gear: screen turns black OR camera shows cross traffic AND sound alert does not sound.
I was backing out of my driveway very slowly as usual. I checked the road both ways several times. A US mail truck evidently traveling at a high rate of speed came up behind me while I was looking in the opposite direction. The automatic braking did not kick in, the warning system didn't work. After the accident the green, yellow, red lines on the camera and the warning beeping stuff-all were not working for several weeks. All of the sudden, they started working. HISTORY-4 days after purchasing the vehicle we have had lane departure, driver assist problems. The passenger window does what it wants. The electric controls for the heat/ac go blank, or can't change settings. There seems to be a huge electrical issue. Every time we've taken the car in for service, the dealership just insults me that I can't drive and they can't find any problems. They seem to have an answer for everything yet the problems persist. Efforts to go thru Subaru are stalled waiting on their response. They were to look at the BLACK BOX during time of accident. We are still waiting. We are frustrated. I wish the dealership had taken the car back after we first bought it like we demanded. I'm terrified this car is going to cause an accident.
Battery spontaneously drains, disengaging all safety features with no warning.
The vehicle, a 2018 Subaru Outback Limited 3.6R, was being pulled into the garage at the owner’s home. With brakes applied, and while putting vehicle into park, the vehicle suddenly accelerated forward making contact with a suspended shelf attached to the back wall of the garage. The force of the vehicle was such that the shelf and back wall of the garage were completely separated from the home in one piece and pushed approximately 10 yards away from the home before the shelf broke away from the wall upon impact with the ground, perpendicular to the back of the house. The vehicle then traveled down two hills in the back yard, across a water saturated easement, over a concrete drainage culvert and came to rest at the base of an incline in an adjacent yard approximately 150 ft from the garage. Air bags did not deploy and the owner suffered minor contusions causing pain and stiffness, but no significant injuries are noted as of this report. The vehicle was totaled and significant damage was caused to the residence. No collision warnings were displayed prior to collision and emergency braking did not apply upon acceleration. This was the first incidence of sudden acceleration experienced by the owner so this issue has never been checked out by a service technician and will not be repaired. The vehicle had less than 8000 miles on the odometer. The vehicle is currently located in a repair lot and the owner’s insurance company has been requested to hold the vehicle for inspection prior to disposal. The cause of the sudden acceleration is unknown, but the owner is confident that the brakes were being applied at the time of occurrence, and that they remained cognizant throughout the incident as they were unable to stop the forward progression of the vehicle until it came to rest on the muddy incline.
The windshield on my Subaru developed a crack across the length of windshield after a minor rock impact. A few weeks later a second crack developed randomly. The new crack crosses infront of the eyesight system. I am concerned the cracks interfere with the vehicles eye sight system. I believe the windshield is defective and creates safety hazard as the cracks blocks visibility and also affect the eyesight system. I contacted Subaru and the dealer advised the defect was not covered under my warranty and would cost more than $1000 to repair.
I was parking my 2018 subaru outback premium next to my house on my parking spot, my foot was on a brake pedal, it left around 50'' to complete a parking, like suddenly my car start moving forward even that I was strongly pressing brake pedal, car went over curb and hit a palm tree that is next to my parking spot. Car suddenly accelerated and I was not able to control the car. Car front bumper, grill, radiator was damaged. Today, my car is in body shop. It was very scare experience. From my background I am driving 12 years without any car accident.
Didn't have any cracks in the windshield when I arrived at work, parked, and went inside for 8 for my shift. At the end of the day when I came out to the car and got in to go there was a single long curving crack that was over 12 inches long. Didn't see any impact marks or other reason that it may have cracked.
Within the first year of owning the outback I had to have the infotainment head unit replaced twice. I am still having issues where the radio will come on but there is no sound, the radio will turn on full blast after a hanging up from a call, back up camera will be black upon backing up, screen will freeze, steering will lock up when backing out of my driveway, and after my 36k mile maintenance now my car is making a strange humming noise. There are so many complaints about this car and nothing is being done about it. Subaru needs to provide more than a puny extended warrenty. This car is a lemon and they know it.
Windshield cracked and within 3 days ran across most of the entire width of the front windshield.
Windshield spontaneously cracked near middle top of windshield, from edge about 6-8inches and within the field of view of the eyesight cameras
The windshield cracked and crack spread across line of sight. My car was only two months old. I drove my previous car on same route for 10 years without broken windshield
My 2018 subaru outback has brake fade stopped in traffic, brake loss (petal goes to floor) after being parked or driving, and brake loss in x-mode ( x mode feature controls braking/speed on steep slippery roads.subaru dealer made 4 unsuccessful repair attempts. Subaru of america flew in a field engineer, tied up my car 3 weeks but was unsuccessful also. Mathew in a recorded message soa's service rep.confirmed the brake issues & claimed soa was testing all brake components. On 01/07/2020 my 2018 subaru ,still under new car warrant, failed to pass a ny state motor vehicle inspection. I can not legally drive my vehicle on ny roads. Soa offered me $ 2,500.00 to go away. I have made videos of my brake loss it occurs so frequently. The federal safety agency has several brake failure complaints with roll over, injuries & 5 car pile ups. I believe soa refuses to help me in order to circumvent a recall. The 2017 outback had a brake fade issue that soa did a secret repair according to online info. Please share this information.
I found a crack in the upper right hand corner of my windshield (subaru outback 2018). The vehicle was stationary at the time. There was no cause for the crack (hail storm, rock/gravel hitting car). At this time, the crack has spread and the subaru eyesight program (sensor program) does not work.
Diving 55 MPH on highway when car started to hard shudder, lose acceleration. Engine light and all other warning lights came on. Difficult to steer and brake. Able to barely pull off road safely and avoid guard rail. No previous problems noted.
Subaru lane assist steering issue. When you have lane assist on the car will try and steer from one lane to another on its own. This happens when you are on the freeway and started after 10,000 miles was on the car.
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