NHTSA Complaint #11287488 — 2019 SUBARU OUTBACK

WE SUSTAINED A CRACKED WINDSHIELD FROM A SMALL STONE IMPACT WHILE TRAVELING AT 60MPH ON A MULTI-LANE HIGHWAY. THE ROAD AND WEATHER CONDITIONS WERE GOOD, WITH NO OBVIOUS DEBRIS ON ROAD, AND ONLY PASSENGER CARS IN FRONT AND NEXT TO US SUGGESTING STONE MAY HAVE COME FROM ANOTHER CARS TIRE TREAD. THE IMPACT LEFT A SMALL (~1MM) CRATER ON PASSENGER SIDE ABOUT MID-WAY UP AND ~2 INCHES FROM EDGE, BUT GENERATED A CURVED CRACK NEARLY A FOOT IN LENGTH (AND STILL EXPANDING) AND REACHING ALL THE WAY TO THE EDGE OF WINDSHIELD. I OWNED A 2007 SUBURU FOR OVER TEN YEARS PRIOR TO THIS VEHICLE AND SUSTAINED MANY MINOR GRAVEL IMPACTS ESPECIALLY POST-WINTER STORM AND NEVER SUSTAINED DAMAGE REQUIRING WINDSHIELD REPLACEMENT. LIKEWISE WITH OVER 40-YEARS EXPERIENCE WITH NUMEROUS CARS I HAVE NEVER SEEN A WINDSHIELD FAIL GIVEN IMPACT BY SMALL STONE. THIS IS CLEARLY A DEFECTIVE COMPONENT AND PRESENTS SIGNIFICANT SAFETY ISSUE. THE COST FOR REPLACEMENT IS HIGH BECAUSE SENSORS REQUIRE ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT FROM SUBURU AND CHANCE OF SUBSEQUENT FAILURE IS ALSO HIGH GIVEN REPLACEMENT WOULD LIKELY ALSO BE DEFECTIVE.