2019 SUBARU OUTBACK Structurebody Problems
27 NHTSA complaints on file
Structurebody Issues in the 2019 SUBARU OUTBACK
27 structurebody complaints have been filed with NHTSA for the 2019 SUBARU OUTBACK. Of these, 1 involved a crash, 0 involved a fire, and 3 resulted in injury.
27
Complaints
1
Crashes
0
Fires
3
Injuries
0
Deaths
All Structurebody Complaints
We were driving down an interstate highway going 70 mph on a foggy Christmas Eve 2025 approximately 7 a.m. No cars were close around us. We had been on the road for 30 minutes or so, and it was in the 50-60 degree temperature range. Suddenly we heard what sounded like a gunshot right above our heads. We opened the sunshade under the sunroof, and saw that our sunroof had exploded and left a hole. Before this, we heard nothing strike the sunroof or the car. It seemed like a spontaneous explosion. The explosion noise is recorded on our dash cam video. I was unable to upload the video because it must not be in the correct format.
Parasitic battery drain when vehicle is turned off. The DCM module in these vehicles will not shut off properly and continue to drain the battery. Subaru has firmware on the vehicle that will not fully charge the battery when driving to save fuel. The vehicle has had 6 or more instances over the past two weeks where the car was undriveable unless jumped from another vehicle or a boost device is used.
continues issue with windshield cracks, cracks will spread over night across the windshield. car windshield will be replaced for a fourth time on [XXX]. I initially replaced it with in a year of purchase in North Carolina and will replace for a third time here in San Diego at the dealer Kearny Mesa Subaru address 4797 Convoy St. San Diego, CA 92111 phone number 858-278-7100. Kearny Mesa has replaced my windshield for the last two times, first time was in spring of 2022, second time was in February 2024 and now again for a third time tomorrow [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Windshield just cracked on its own. My vehicle was just sitting in my backyard nothing around my vehicle. A day latter i went outside i noticed the windshield was cracked nothing touched the windshield it just cracked on its own.
The hood popped open at 35 mph causing loss of sight. I was in traffic and luckily was able to pull the car off the road. I am taking it to the dealer as soon as I can get an appointment. There were no warning lights or messages prior. I will secure the hood with something before I drive it to the dealer. If I had been driving on the Interstate I am sure the hood would have smashed into windshield. I consider this a very dangerous problem.
Pressed the button on the electronic liftgate to have it raise. Half way through raising, it beeped 3 times and started closing. Had 3 dogs in the back of the vehicle and the lift gate started to close on one of them. I put my left arm underneath to stop it from closing where the lift gate put a lot of pressure on my forearm. The lift gate stopped and I was able to push it back up. Injury seems to be minor but will have it checked. Feels like it impacted the nerves going to the thumb and pointing finger. This is not the first time we had lift gate issues and have multiple videos demonstrating the problems at hand. This is the first time it actually caused injury.
The automatic liftgate fails to latch and requires extra steps that most car owner would not know to temporarily resolve the issue. My situation has been difficult to replicate. The liftgate will open but not close. It will also close but not open. It will also latch but not securely. This evening, the hatch opened but failed to close. It also latched but found out at 55mph that it was not properly secured when my dog leaned against it. It did not open but the light turned on like a door was opened. This has been a known issue with many other Subaru owners as well. The answer always seems to hold the button for 10 seconds to reset but this does not work every time.
Rear tailgate fails to open consistently making it impossible to enter or exit the vehicle from the rear, through the rear tail gate door (the 5th door). Nine times we have brought vehicle back to authorized Subaru dealerships over the last two years of ownership in Hanover Ma-Planet Subaru; San Francisco -Serramonte Subaru and lastly in San Diego- Kearny Mesa. The rear tail gate does not open consistently while pressing the open button on either of the key fobs or from trying the driver's side interior release button or while attempting to use the hatch release button at the exterior rear of the vehicle. Many times we have tried all three standard methods to open the rear tail gate but with no success making this rear tail gate feature on this mid size SUV useless. This problem has been verified at Planet Subaru, Hanover, Ma and at Serramonte Subaru S.F....
Windshield cracked spontaneously without impact. Upon further investigation, this is a common issue observed with Subaru on multiple models from previous and current years. There has been a couple of class action lawsuits against Subaru in other states for the same issue, and both cases were ruled in favor of the plaintiff and the court deemed these windshield defective. My concern and question is, why is Subaru still using parts/models that aren’t safe and getting away with this?
I purchased this car in July 2019. Three times the windshield has cracked without any explanation or cause. Three weeks ago, I replaced the second cracked windshield at my own expense. Three weeks later -- just yesterday, Feb. 17, 2022 -- the brand new windshield simply cracked. All three times the crack has appeared in roughly the same place. There was no road debris or anything else that came into contact with the windshield.
We bought the car from the Ford dealership. after nearly owning it. the windshield crack in a place where no rock or vandalism could have happened. It started underneath the windshield wiper and has scaled across the whole windshield within a week. I contacted my bumper to bumper warranty and they don’t cover replacements. I looked up and their is a current lawsuit on suburu for this exact reason.
Three windshields have now cracked beyond repair and needed to be replaced with barely 33,000 miles on the vehicle. The first replacement was done in July 2019 when the car was barely six months old. The second replacement was done in April 2021, barely two months ago. That third windshield cracked the second week of June 2021. It is currently scheduled for replacement.
Windshield seemingly cracked without any provocation/collision. Crack occurred while vehicle was parked away from traffic, and requires windshield replacement.
CAR BATTERY OFTEN DIES - ESPECIALLY IF I OPEN THE DOOR EVEN FOR 5 MINUTES. IT OFTEN WON'T START AND THE REAR GATE OFTEN DOES NOT OPEN OR CLOSE. IT HAS EVEN OPENED ON ITS OWN. THE DEALERSHIP MECHANIC SAYS THE FACTORY BATTERY IS NOT ADEQUATE TO POWER THE CAR WITH ALL ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS. THEY REPLACED ORIGINAL BATTERY BECAUSE IT WAS LEAKING. THE BATTERY TESTED WELL BELOW WHAT THE SUBARU MANUAL SAYS IT SHOULD. I AM THE FIRST OWNER (CAR WAS A DEALERSHIP LOANER) AND THIS HAS HAPPENED SINCE I GOT IT IN 2020.
MANY OF THE SPOT WELDS ARE FAULTY . I HAVE TRIED TO WORK WITH BRANDON TOMES SUBARU, THE DEALER THAT WE LEASED THE CAR FROM. I HAVE ALSO REQUESTED HELP FOR SUBARU. NEITHER HAVE RESPONDED .
THE SPOT WELDS UNDER THE DASH DO NOT APPEAR TO BE CORRECT AND SAFE.*DT
TAILGATE HAS OPENED, ON ITS OWN, ON 4 SEPARATE OCCASIONS. IN 2 INSTANCES IT HAD REMAINED OPEN AND UNNOTICED LONG ENOUGH TO KILL THE BATTERY AND REQUIRED TOW SERVICE TO CHARGE IT. I FIRST REPORTED THIS TO MY SUBARU DEALER IN SPRING 2020. IN ALL 4 CASES THE CAR WAS PARKED IN THE GARAGE WHEN IT HAPPENED, MOST RECENTLY ON CHRISTMAS EVE TO CHRISTMAS MORNING, AND AGAIN JUST 5 DAYS LATER.
THE FIRST WINDSHIELD FROM MANUFACTURER WAS REPLACED BECAUSE OF A CHIP WHICH DEVELOPED INTO A FOOT OF CRACK OVERNIGHT. WITHIN A WEEK, THE CRACKS WENT IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. EVEN THE CAR WAS STATIONED FOR DAYS (QUARANTINE), THE CRACKS WERE STILL DEVELOPING. THE WINDSHIELD WAS REPLACED AND INSTALLED A NEW ONE BY SUBARU ON JULY 16TH. IT WAS CHIPPED A WEEK LATER DRIVING UNDER 45 MPH. AGAIN, THE CHIP BECAME A 5-INCH CURVY CRACK OVERNIGHT. THE NEXT DAY, THE NEW CRACK DEVELOPED AND DIFFERENT CRACKS APPEARED WITHIN 3 DAYS. THE SLIGHTEST IMPACT WITH ANY OBJECT CAUSES THE WINDSHIELD TO CRACK EASILY AND IMMEDIATELY. IT HAS BECOME A SEVERE SAFETY CONCERN.
MY DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING WITH MY GRANDDAUGHTER AND WAS HIT FROM THE REAR, TOTALING MY 2019 SUBARU OUTBACK. BOTH MY DAUGHTER AND GRANDDAUGHTER REPORTED HITTING THE DASHBOARD OR THE WINDSHIELD. NONE OF THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED AND THE DRIVER'S HEADREST ENDED UP ON THE DRIVER'S LAP. AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, THE FRONT AUTO WAS ABOUT TO START FORWARD OR HAD STARTED FORWARD WHEN THE SIGNAL LIGHT HAD JUST TURNED GREEN.. THE POLICE REPORT IS ATTACHED, WITH A LETTER FROM THE MERIDIAN, IDAHO POLICE DEPARTMENT. MY CONCERNS ARE 1) SHOULD THE AIRBAGS HAVE DEPLOYED AND 2) SHOULD THE DRIVER'S HEADREST HAVE DETACHED FROM THE SEAT? IF THE DRIVER'S CONTACT INFO IS NEEDED, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
HAD MY FIRST OIL CHANGE AT 5,000 MILES AND AT 9,600 MY OIL LIGHT CAME ON. WENT HOME AND PUT 1 QUART OF OIL IN VEHICLE AND WAS STILL DOWN LOW. TOOK TO DEALER AND THEY CHANGED OIL AND NOTED I HAD STILL BEEN LOW 1/2 QUART. FILED CASE WITH SUBURU OF AMERICA. NOWIN PROCESS OF OIL CONSUMPTION TEST, BUT, SAW THAT DEALERSHIP OVERFILLED MY OIL SO I HAD THEM DRAIN IT DOWN TO PROPER LEVEL AND HAVE TO START CALCULATION MILEAGE AGAIN FOR TEST. NEXT PROBLEM. PASSENGER FRONT DOOR, FROZE IN WINTER. WATER INSIDE CAR ON FLOOR. WATER TEST DONE AT DEALERSHIP AFTER MAJOR STORM, AND CAR FLOODED INSIDE. DEALER REPLACED GASKET AROUND THE DOOR. OIL ISSUE WAS WHILE DRIVING. WATER ISSUE WAS WHILE STATIONARY. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 SUBARU OUTBACK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH THE FRONT WINDSHIELD STARTED TO CRACK. THE CRACK STARTED AT THE BOTTOM SECTION OF THE WINDSHIELD UNDER THE WINDSHIELD WIPER AND EXTENDED APPROXIMATELY 30 INCHES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT GLASS REPAIR SHOP AND WAS REPAIRED. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE LOCAL DEALER REEDMAN TOLL SUBARU LOCATED AT (1700 EAST LINCOLN HWY, LANGHORNE PA) WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 22,000.
I GOT INTO MY CAR THAT WAS PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY AND NOTICED A LARGE CRACK IN MY WINDSHIELD ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE. IT WAS NOT THERE THE NIGHT BEFORE AND THERE WAS NO IMPACT TO MY WINDSHIELD. SINCE THEN THE CRACK HAS SPREAD ABOUT 1/3 OF THE WAY ACROSS THE WINDSHIELD. AGAIN, SPONTANEOUSLY WITH NO IMPACT.
WINDSHIELD IN MY VEHICLE CRACKED TWICE WITHIN 11 MONTHS OF OWNING THIS VEHICLE DUE TO LITTLE OR NO CAUSE. I HAD TO PAY FOR THE WINDSHIELD OUT OF MY POCKET.
I PURCHASED A NEW 2019 OUTBACK AT THE END OF MARCH IN 2019. IN MAY 2019, MY WINDSHIELD SPONTANEOUSLY CRACKED, DIAGONALLY ACROSS THE ENTIRE WINDSHIELD. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP IN JULY TO NOTE THE CRACK AND REQUEST THEY REPLACE IT SINCE IT SEEMED TO HAPPEN WITHOUT ANY IMPACT. THE CRACK BEGAN FROM THE TOP EDGE ON THE PASSENGER SIDE. I NEVER RECEIVED A RESPONSE FROM SUBARU OR THE DEALERSHIP.
CRACK APPEARED IN WINDSHIELD WITH NO APPARENT CAUSE AND QUICKLY EXPANDED, REQUIRING REPLACEMENT. FIRST NOTICED CRACK WHILE DRIVING ON CITY STREET. NO VISIBLE NICK, NOTHING APPEARED TO HAVE HIT WINDSHIELD PRIOR TO APPEARANCE OF CRACK.
THE REAR LIFTGATE ONLY HAS THE EXTERIOR ELECTRIC BUTTON TO OPEN LIFTGATE. A PANEL INSIDE THE GATE HAS TO BE REMOVED IN ORDER TO GIVE ANYONE TRAPPED INSIDE A SAFE EXIT. THE PANEL REQUIRES A TOOL TO PRY IT OFF IN ORDER TO GET TO THE LATCH INSIDE. THE KEY REMOTE FOB WILL ONLY UNLOCK THE ELECTRIC SWITCH, NOT RELEASE THE LATCH. ANYONE TRAPPED INSIDE WOULD STILL NOT BE ABLE TO ESCAPE THE BACK OF THE CAR.
PANEL ABOVE DRIVER PEDALS FELL OFF WHILE DRIVING MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO USE THE GAS OR BREAK PEDAL. THE PANEL WAS IMPROPERLY INSTALLED AND MISSING HOLDING CLIPS AND SCREWS.
Other 2019 SUBARU OUTBACK Problem Areas
Electrical System
350 complaints
Visibilitywiper
325 complaints
Unknown Or Other
201 complaints
Visibilitywindshield
59 complaints
Engine
37 complaints
Steering
35 complaints
Vehicle Speed Control
23 complaints
Forward Collision Avoidance Warnings
21 complaints
Fuelpropulsion System
21 complaints
Service Brakes
20 complaints
Power Train
15 complaints
Forward Collision Avoidance Automatic Emergency Braking
14 complaints
Air Bags
12 complaints
Exterior Lighting
11 complaints
Forward Collision Avoidance Adaptive Cruise Control
10 complaints
Lane Departure Warning
10 complaints
Electrical System12v24v48v Battery
9 complaints
Fuel System Gasoline
8 complaints
Suspension
7 complaints
Back Over Prevention Warnings
5 complaints
Lane Departure Blind Spot Detection
5 complaints
Seats
5 complaints
Lane Departure Assist
4 complaints
Electronic Stability Control Esc
3 complaints
Equipmentelectricalnavigational Systemglobal Positioning System
3 complaints
Visibility
3 complaints
Back Over Prevention Rearview System Braking
2 complaints
Equipmentelectricalinfotainmentbluetoothwifi
2 complaints
Tires
2 complaints
Vehicle Speed Controlaccelerator Pedal
2 complaints
Wheels
2 complaints
Back Over Prevention
1 complaint
Back Over Prevention Sensing System Camera
1 complaint
Electrical Systemhorn
1 complaint
Electrical Systemwiringfuses And Circuit Breakers
1 complaint
Engine And Engine Cooling
1 complaint
Equipmentelectricalinfotainment
1 complaint
Equipmentelectricalinfotainmentvideo Touchscreenmonitorunit
1 complaint
Forward Collision Avoidance
1 complaint
Fuel System Gasolinedeliveryfuel Pump
1 complaint
Insert Padding
1 complaint
Lane Departure Lane Keep Steering Assist
1 complaint
Latcheslockslinkagesdoorslock
1 complaint
Latcheslockslinkageshoodlatch
1 complaint
Latcheslockslinkagestrunk Lidlatch
1 complaint
Latcheslockslinkagestrunk Lidlatchemergency Mechanical Release
1 complaint
Seat Belts
1 complaint
Service Brakes Airantilockcontrol Unitmodule
1 complaint
Structurebodyhood
1 complaint
Vehicle Speed Controlcruise Control
1 complaint
Visibilitydefrosterdefoggerhvac Systemwindshieldelectrical Heating Element
1 complaint