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Body, doors & structure

2021 Subaru Outback Body problems

Owners have filed 7 complaints about the 2021 Subaru Outback's body, doors & structure with NHTSA - 2% of all its complaints, most recently on October 2, 2025. Doors, hoods and latches, frame rust, sunroofs, leaks, trim and structural failures.

Complaints
7
Recalls
0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0

Body complaints

Body, doors & structure

Sunroof exploded driving home in 90 degree sunny and clear weather. It sounded like a gun went off right over my head. It scared me so bad I jerked my steering wheel into the other lane. Thank God no one was in that lane. I had to get it replaced at Mid State Glass company. according to what I found on the internet this happens rather frequently. No notification by Subaru that this was even a possibility. I have the receipt the replaced sunroof and photos of the sunroof after it exploded.

Filed Incident Structure · Unknown or otherNHTSA 11690946
SteeringElectrical systemBody, doors & structure

The car flashed "eye sight off" before flickering and shutting off while I was braking at a stop light. I tried putting my car into park and then turning it off and restarting it but it would not turn back on. I tried this a few more times but I was in the middle lane of a heavily trafficked street. The steering wheel was locked and I was not able to immediately remove it from the road and maybe an hour later it was able to be shifted into neutral and moved out of the street. However, it would still not turn on and...

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when I did open my power gate, the gate would not secure closed. I took it to the dealership that I purchased it at and where it is also regularly serviced (with the last service date only over one week ago,) and they were not able to determine what happened but instead mentioned that my car had no internal data of any errors occurring and that the car was able to be started when they serviced it. I took a picture of the dash as it was flashing with all of the error codes and submitted that to the tech that was working on my car, but they asked me if I'd had someone "clear my codes" which is not something I'm familiar with or even capable of doing- I don't even know anyone that would be capable of doing that for me. The whole ordeal cost me a day of work and now my peace of mind as I am unsure of if this may happen again and now I am worried it may happen while my kids are in the car. I've had similar issues with my center console messing up but nothing as urgent as my whole car shutting down and my steering wheel locking in the middle of traffic.

Filed Incident Steering · Electrical system · StructureNHTSA 11611660
Body, doors & structure

On[[redacted]] while accelerating to travel speed (45 mph) on a rural Maine highway, the little used glass moon roof of our 2021 Subaru Outback Touring with 24,100 miles on the odometer exploded with a huge, shocking BANG!. Weather was clear and bright, wind ~5 mph, temperature about 68ºF, no traffic. We never saw or heard anything strike the car, either from the road or falling down from the trees at or prior to this incident. We had the interior shade closed so no glass fell into passenger compartment...

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thankfully. Upon inspection at the road side and discovery of the problem, the glass panel had a large hole in the middle and the edges of the remaining glass looked like it had been blown upward. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Incident Structure · Unknown or otherNHTSA 11591890
Body, doors & structure

Passenger lower side windshield cracked while driving, it started as a tiny crack but the next morning the crack line was 16 inches long. I contacted Subaru because the car is under warranty but they said they will not cover it. The whole windshield had to be replaced.

Filed Incident Structure · Unknown or otherNHTSA 11445254
Body, doors & structureVisibility & wipers

Windshield developed a large crack for no apparent reason. There is no sign of an impact from an object. Vehicle was parked outside when outside temperature dropped overnight. Crack over 6" long appeared the next morning.

Filed Incident Structure · Visibility / wiperNHTSA 11441207
Body, doors & structureVisibility & wipers

During heavy rains, the vehicles leak water into the driver's side wheel well. Numerous times back to the dealer and the vehicle being piece by piece all seals are being replaced. As per numerous blogs on Subaru forums, an indication of a faulty windshield seal could be the issue, but the dealership refuses to replace or reset the windshield seal. Bought the car on June 28, 2021, and have been to the dealership 3 times for the same issue. The dealership is replacing seals on the skylight and door but as of yet no resolution. At the time of this complaint, the vehicle has been at dealership for 3 weeks with no resolution.

Filed Incident Structure · Unknown or other · Visibility / wiperNHTSA 11429133
Body, doors & structure

A design flaw in the remote (required for both keyless entry and vehicle operation) leads to accidental trunk openings due to "pocket trunk opening". This is a safety hazard as it could lead to humans or animals entering the vehicle, as well as a potential route to water damage. This happens while the vehicle is parked and locked, and the key is in one's pocket and in range (eg in a house near the driveway)

Filed Incident StructureNHTSA 11386116

Subaru Outback body complaints by year

Outback body problems, every year

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Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data

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