NHTSA Complaint #11185938 — 2017 SUBARU OUTBACK

I HAD THE ORIGINAL WINDSHIELD IN MY 2017 OUTBACK CRACK WHILE DRIVING ON I-65 BACK IN MARCH OF 2018, WHICH I PRESUMED WAS DUE TO A STONE CHIP EVEN THOUGH THE CHIP DAMAGE I OBSERVED WAS EXTREMELY MINOR. NOT KNOWING ABOUT THE ONGOING WINDSHIELD CRACKING ISSUES THAT SUBARU WAS UNDERGOING WITH THEIR 2015-2016 MODELS, I HAD THE CRACKED WINDSHIELD REPLACED AT MY DEALER WITH OEM PARTS ORDERED THROUGH MY DEALER'S PARTS DEPT. WHICH ENDED UP COSTING ME $500 OUT OF POCKET ON A $788 INSURANCE CLAIM. NOW I HAVE THE SAME KIND OF CRACK APPEARING IN THE REPLACEMENT WINDOW WITH NO APPARENT STONE CHIP OR OTHER CAUSE. I FIRST NOTICED THE CRACK ORIGINATE FROM THE AREA OF THE VIN WINDOW IN THE BOTTOM DRIVER'S SIDE OF THE WINDOW. THIS HAPPENED SOON AFTER I BEGAN DRIVING ON A QUITE COLD DAY WITH THE WINDSHIELD DEFOGGER ENGAGED. SINCE IT HAPPENED LESS THAN 1 YEAR AFTER THE FIRST, I ASKED THE SERVICE REP AT MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP IF THE REPLACEMENT WINDOW WAS COVERED BY ANY MANUFACTURER'S WARRANTY AND HE SAID NO, NOT FOR CRACKING. AFTER SEARCHING THE WINDSHIELD CRACKING PROBLEM ONLINE, I WAS SHOCKED TO READ OF THE NUMBER OF OTHER SUBARU LEGACY/OUTBACK OWNERS OF SIMILAR MODEL YEARS AND LATER WITH IDENTICAL STORIES AND WITH SUBARU APPARENTLY DUCKING THE ISSUE BY CONTENDING THAT THEY ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WARRANTYING REPLACEMENT WINDOWS. NEEDLESS TO SAY I'M NOT HAPPY TO READ OF THEIR DODGING THIS POTENTIALLY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. I GUESS IT WILL TAKE ANOTHER CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT TO GET SUBARU TO STEP UP.