NHTSA Complaint #11163033 — 2018 SUBARU OUTBACK

2 WINDSHIELD CRACKS IN LOWER PORTION OF WINDSHIELD DURING 1ST YEAR OF OWNERSHIP. BOTH CRACKS OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING AROUND TOWN ~35 MPH, ONCE DURING A 100 DEGF SUMMER DAY, AND THE OTHER DURING A 40 DEGF RAINY WINTER MORNING. INSPECTION OF CRACK AFTER STOPPING SHOWED POSSIBLE ORIGINATION FROM ~1MM CHIPS. DURING THE SUMMER, THE FIRST CHIP, LOCATED IN THE DE-ICER AREA, GREW RAPIDLY TO A CRACK ACROSS THE WINDSHIELD WITH A LOUD 'POP' SOUND AFTER THE AIR CONDITIONER WAS TURNED ON HIGH USING DEFROSTER AIR MODE. SUBARU OF AMERICA (NOT THE DEALER) REPLACED THE WINDSHIELD AND RECALIBRATED THE EYESIGHT SYSTEM AS A 'GOODWILL' REPAIR. DURING THE WINTER, ANOTHER CHIP BETWEEN THE VIN# DISPLAY WINDOW AND THE PERIMETER OF THE LOWER WINDSHIELD EXPLOSIVELY GREW TO A CRACK WHEN HEATED DEFROSTER AIR WAS ACTIVATED. REPAIR PENDING. MAIN CONCERN IS THE FRAGILE NATURE AND TEMPERATURE DEPENDANCE OF THIS GLASS TEMPER, ESPECIALLY NEAR WINDOW BOUNDARY CONDITIONS AND WHERE DEFROSTER AIR IS THE STRONGEST. OVER 20 YEARS OF DRIVING OTHER VEHICLES ON THE SAME ROUTE HAVE CAUSED LITTLE CHIPS ON OTHER WINDSHIELDS, BUT NEVER HAS A CHIP GROWN INTO A CRACK, WITH OR WITHOUT HOT OR COLD DEFROSTER AIR HITTING IT. I SUSPECT THAT THE THICKNESS AND TEMPER OF THE LATEST GENERATION OF OUTBACK CARLEX WINDSHIELDS WILL CONTINUE TO CAUSE ISSUES SIMILAR TO TSB# 12-192-15R.