2020 Subaru Outback Reliability Report

Windshields crack without impact, often while the car is parked, sitting in a garage, or just pulling out of a driveway. Owners hear a loud pop and see cracks run from the rearview mirror area or one side toward the center. These reports skew toward higher mileage than other glass complaints, with failures reported from about 29,000 to 90,000 miles. Repeat replacements are common. Dealers frequently say it is not a defect and send owners to insurance. A few reports cite side mirrors detaching or the rearview mirror pulling glass off the windshield.

The CVT transmission slips, drops into neutral at highway speed, loses all gears, or binds and grinds in slow turns. A chain slippage recall added a software update and clutch kit, but several owners say the problem returned and later coverage was denied. One owner was quoted $12000 just past 100k miles. Separate reports describe the thermo control valve leaking coolant, cutting cabin heat and EyeSight features. Two crash reports involve sudden acceleration into a house and a rollover after the driveshaft came loose.

Power liftgates open, close, or fail to latch unpredictably. One owner was injured when trapped between the liftgate and a garage door, and repeat dealer repairs often fail, with an out-of-warranty quote of $991. Windshields also crack without impact here, sometimes twice within days of replacement. Other reports describe sunroof glass shattering at highway speed, door trim peeling off on both front doors around 14,000 miles, and roof reinforcements coming loose with a metallic ping.

Most complaints concern recall 24V227000 and missing parts. Owners report dealers with no parts and no arrival date, some waiting a year. The other pattern is passenger occupant detection faults: the airbag light stays on, the seat reads as occupied when empty, or "Air Bag Off" flashes with a passenger aboard. One SRS module replacement was quoted at $1415.16. Two crash-related reports say no airbags deployed, one in a side impact and one in a collision at 50 mph.

The thermo control valve cracks and leaks coolant onto the engine, triggering code P26A5, cutting cabin heat, and disabling EyeSight safety features. Repairs run close to $1900, and parts can take weeks. Other reports describe stalling while driving or when auto stop-start fails to restart, with a burst of warning lights and, in one case, a faulty engine control module. On the XT turbo, an oil leak at the rear of the oil pan is reported. One crash with injury involves sudden acceleration and unresponsive brakes in a parking lot.

Lane centering jerks the steering wheel hard at highway speed, pushing cars toward the median, the breakdown lane, or a semi. Lane departure assist also switches itself on and off and pulls to one side. Other reports describe an electric power steering failure warning followed by loss of control and a curb strike, a locked steering wheel after the engine died during stop-start, and lost power steering after a battery jump. Two complaints are crash-related, and dealers often find no fault in the lane centering system.

The car accelerates on its own at low speed, usually while pulling into a driveway or garage, and keeps going despite firm braking. Three of the five complaints are crashes, into garage doors, a garage wall, and a boulder. Other reports say infotainment reboots shut off EyeSight and cruise control until the car is restarted. Auto stop-start sometimes fails to restart the engine, then lurches forward once it fires, and the off setting resets at every start.