2018 Subaru CROSSTREK

Problems, Recalls & Reliability Report

Avoid This Year

Quick Summary

The 2018 Subaru CROSSTREK has 253 owner complaints filed with NHTSA — that's 3.2x the segment average of 80. The most common issue is visibility problems (29% of all complaints), specifically: crack appeared in lower driver's side portion of windshield. car was parked when crack appeared. no known significant damage to windshield. crack appears to have started underneath windshield wiper at the de-icer area and then spread upwards.. ⚠️ 1 fire report filed.

1 fire report 13 crash reports 1 injury

253

Total Complaints

Recalls Issued

—/5

Safety Stars

3.2x

vs Segment Avg

Known Problems

VISIBILITY

73 complaints

29%

• CRACK APPEARED IN LOWER DRIVER'S SIDE PORTION OF WINDSHIELD. CAR WAS PARKED WHEN CRACK APPEARED. NO KNOWN SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO WINDSHIELD. CRACK APPEARS TO HAVE STARTED UNDERNEATH WINDSHIELD WIPER AT THE DE-ICER AREA AND THEN SPREAD UPWARDS.
• SUNROOF EXPLODED AND SHATTERED WITHOUT ANY CONTACT
• AT HIGHWAY SPEED THE WIPER BLADES DO NOT PROPERLY CLEAR AND WILL LEAVE AREA OF PUDDLED WATER ON THE WINDSHIELD CAUSING VISIBILITY FOR THE DRIVER TO BE MADE. AT STANDSTILL THE WIPER BLADES WILL VIBRATE WHEN YOU CLEAN THE WINDSHIELD WITH THE WASHER FLUID. BUT A VERY NOTICEABLE VIBRATING WIPER BLADE IS

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500

“CRACK APPEARED IN LOWER DRIVER'S SIDE PORTION OF WINDSHIELD. CAR WAS PARKED WHEN CRACK APPEARED. NO KNOWN SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO WINDSHIELD. CRACK APPEARS TO HAVE STARTED UNDERNEATH WINDSHIELD WIPER AT THE DE-ICER AREA AND THEN SPREAD UPWARDS.”

— NHTSA complaint filing

OTHER

42 complaints

17%

• THE CAR BATTERY WAS DEAD AND RECHARGED BY SUBARU ROADSIDE ASSIST. WE RAN THECARFOR 40 MINUTES. THE FOLLOWING DAY THE CAR BATTERY WAS DEAD AGAIN. WE CALLED THE RYE DEALERSHIP WHERE WE PURCHASED THE CAR AND HAD IT TOWED THERE. THE PERSON WHO CHARGED THE BATTERY THE FIRST TIME TOLD US THAT SUBARU'
• JUNE 2, 2018. PURCHASED A NEW 2018 SUBARU CROSSTREK FROM MY LOCAL SUBARU DEALERSHIP AND DROVE THE CAR HOME. THE NEXT DAY (JUNE 3, 2018), ON MY FIRST TRIP OUT TO RUN ERRANDS THE CAR STALLED AFTER GOING FROM REVERSE TO DRIVE AT SLOW SPEED IN A PARKING LOT. THE NEXT DAY (JUNE 4, 2018), THE CAR STALLED
• MY SUNROOF EXPLODED YESTERDAY, 7/13/18, WHILE I WAS DRIVING ON RT. 95. IT MADE A HOLE THROUGH BOTH LAYERS OF GLASS. FORTUNATELY I HAD THE SUNSHADE PULLED OR THE GLASS WOULD HAVE COME INTO THE CAR. NO ONE WAS HURT BUT MY ROOF CAN'T BE REPLACED UNTIL AUGUST BECAUSE OF THE HIGH DEMAND FOR REPLACEMEN

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 1 fire reports💥 2 crashes

“THE CAR BATTERY WAS DEAD AND RECHARGED BY SUBARU ROADSIDE ASSIST. WE RAN THECARFOR 40 MINUTES. THE FOLLOWING DAY THE CAR BATTERY WAS DEAD AGAIN. WE CALLED THE RYE DEALERSHIP WHERE WE PURCHASED THE CAR AND HAD IT TOWED THERE. THE PERSON WHO CHARGED THE BATTERY THE FIRST TIME TOLD US THAT SUBARU'”

— NHTSA complaint filing

ENGINE

32 complaints

13%

• MY SAFETY CONCERN WITH THE 2018 SUBARU CROSSTREK RESULTS FROM A HUGE AMOUNT OF ENGINE REV HANG ( REV HANG - A HIGH (OR 'HANGING') ENGINE RPM AFTER DEPRESSING THE CLUTCH PEDAL. REFERENCE - SUBARU OUTBACK SB# 11-174-17R DATED 6 23 17 ) WHEN SHIFTING UP THROUGH THE LOWER GEARS. AS A RESULT OF REV H
• AFTER BEING PURCHASED ON APRIL 4TH, 2018, WITH 125 MILES ON THE VEHICLE, I RAN THE VEHICLE ROUGHLY 2000 MILES, AT WHICH TIME MY VEHICLE BEGAN HAVING MAJOR ISSUES. THE FIRST OCCASION, I WAS DRIVING IN BUMPER TO BUMPER STOP AND GO TRAFFIC ON I25 IN DOWNTOWN DENVER, I STOPPED THE VEHICLE WITH TRAFFIC,
• VEHICLE TURNED OFF WHILE DRIVING TWO TIMES IN TRAFFIC CAUSING NEAR COLLISIONS. ITS BEEN AT DEALER FOR MORE THAN A WEEK. THE DEALER SAYS THEY COULDN'T REPAIR IT SO SUBARU SENT OUT ENGINEERS AND DETERMINED THEIR WAS A FAULT WITH NO REPAIR PROTOCOL AVAILABLE. THEY SAY THEY WILL HAVE TO KEEP MY CAR UNTI

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500💥 1 crashes

“MY SAFETY CONCERN WITH THE 2018 SUBARU CROSSTREK RESULTS FROM A HUGE AMOUNT OF ENGINE REV HANG ( REV HANG - A HIGH (OR 'HANGING') ENGINE RPM AFTER DEPRESSING THE CLUTCH PEDAL. REFERENCE - SUBARU OUTBACK SB# 11-174-17R DATED 6 23 17 ) WHEN SHIFTING UP THROUGH THE LOWER GEARS. AS A RESULT OF REV H”

— NHTSA complaint filing

ELECTRICAL

31 complaints

12%

• PURCHASED NEW 2018 CROSSTREK WITH HARMAN KARDON PREMIUM AUDIO SYSTEM. AFTER ONE WEEK THERE WAS A CONSTANT STATIC BUZZ COMING FROM THE DOOR SPEAKER ON THE PASSENGER-SIDE, EVEN WHEN THE AUDIO SYSTEM WAS TURNED OFF. DEALER SAYS THAT THEY NEED TO REPLACE THE AMPLIFIER.
• UPON STARTING THE CAR, THE RADIO BLARES AFTER A FEW SECONDS, WHEN BACKING UP, FOR INSTANCE, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER IT HAS BEEN TURNED OFF. ACCORDING TO SUBARU, THAT'S THE WAY IT'S DESIGNED. I THINK ITS A SAFETY HAZARD, AS THE FIRST MOMENTS WHEN DRIVING CAN REQUIRE SPECIAL ATTENTION (WHEN BACKING UP
• HEAD UNIT FREEZES. CANNOT ADJUST RADIO VOLUME OR CHANGE STATIONS. MUST SHUTDOWN VEHICLE FOR A FEW MINUTES TO ALLOW COMPUTER TO REBOOT. VEHICLE IS IN MOTION WHEN THIS SITUATION OCCURS.

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500

“PURCHASED NEW 2018 CROSSTREK WITH HARMAN KARDON PREMIUM AUDIO SYSTEM. AFTER ONE WEEK THERE WAS A CONSTANT STATIC BUZZ COMING FROM THE DOOR SPEAKER ON THE PASSENGER-SIDE, EVEN WHEN THE AUDIO SYSTEM WAS TURNED OFF. DEALER SAYS THAT THEY NEED TO REPLACE THE AMPLIFIER.”

— NHTSA complaint filing

TRANSMISSION

14 complaints

• AFTER BEING PURCHASED ON APRIL 4TH, 2018, WITH 125 MILES ON THE VEHICLE, I RAN THE VEHICLE ROUGHLY 2000 MILES, AT WHICH TIME MY VEHICLE BEGAN HAVING MAJOR ISSUES. THE FIRST OCCASION, I WAS DRIVING IN BUMPER TO BUMPER STOP AND GO TRAFFIC ON I25 IN DOWNTOWN DENVER, I STOPPED THE VEHICLE WITH TRAFFIC,
• VEHICLE TURNED OFF WHILE DRIVING TWO TIMES IN TRAFFIC CAUSING NEAR COLLISIONS. ITS BEEN AT DEALER FOR MORE THAN A WEEK. THE DEALER SAYS THEY COULDN'T REPAIR IT SO SUBARU SENT OUT ENGINEERS AND DETERMINED THEIR WAS A FAULT WITH NO REPAIR PROTOCOL AVAILABLE. THEY SAY THEY WILL HAVE TO KEEP MY CAR UNTI
• THIS CAR IS A LEMON!! I ORDERED MY 2018 CROSSTREK JUNE 2017, TOOK DELIVERY AUG. 7TH. CAR RAN GREAT, LOVED IT! NOV. 2017, 5600 MILES ON IT, IT STARTS INTERMITTENTLY BUCKING/SHUDDERING UNDER ACCELERATION. TOOK IT TO MY LOCAL SUBARU DEALER, THEY HAD IT 3 DAY, COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG. SOME TIM

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500💥 3 crashes

“AFTER BEING PURCHASED ON APRIL 4TH, 2018, WITH 125 MILES ON THE VEHICLE, I RAN THE VEHICLE ROUGHLY 2000 MILES, AT WHICH TIME MY VEHICLE BEGAN HAVING MAJOR ISSUES. THE FIRST OCCASION, I WAS DRIVING IN BUMPER TO BUMPER STOP AND GO TRAFFIC ON I25 IN DOWNTOWN DENVER, I STOPPED THE VEHICLE WITH TRAFFIC, ”

— NHTSA complaint filing

Estimated Repair Costs

VISIBILITY(~50K mi)

$500

OTHER(~50K mi)

$500

ENGINE(~50K mi)

$500

ELECTRICAL(~50K mi)

$500

TRANSMISSION(~50K mi)

$500

Estimates based on average reported repair costs. Actual costs vary by location, shop, and severity.

🔍 Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist

Based on 253 owner complaints for this specific year, here's what to check or ask about:

☐
VISIBILITY: CRACK APPEARED IN LOWER DRIVER'S SIDE PORTION OF WINDSHIELD. CAR WAS PARKED WHEN CRACK APPEARED. NO KNOWN SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO WINDSHIELD. CRACK APPEARS TO HAVE STARTED UNDERNEATH WINDSHIELD WIPER AT THE DE-ICER AREA AND THEN SPREAD UPWARDS.
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
OTHER: THE CAR BATTERY WAS DEAD AND RECHARGED BY SUBARU ROADSIDE ASSIST. WE RAN THECARFOR 40 MINUTES. THE FOLLOWING DAY THE CAR BATTERY WAS DEAD AGAIN. WE CALLED THE RYE DEALERSHIP WHERE WE PURCHASED THE CAR AND HAD IT TOWED THERE. THE PERSON WHO CHARGED THE BATTERY THE FIRST TIME TOLD US THAT SUBARU'
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
ENGINE: MY SAFETY CONCERN WITH THE 2018 SUBARU CROSSTREK RESULTS FROM A HUGE AMOUNT OF ENGINE REV HANG ( REV HANG - A HIGH (OR 'HANGING') ENGINE RPM AFTER DEPRESSING THE CLUTCH PEDAL. REFERENCE - SUBARU OUTBACK SB# 11-174-17R DATED 6 23 17 ) WHEN SHIFTING UP THROUGH THE LOWER GEARS. AS A RESULT OF REV H
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
ELECTRICAL: PURCHASED NEW 2018 CROSSTREK WITH HARMAN KARDON PREMIUM AUDIO SYSTEM. AFTER ONE WEEK THERE WAS A CONSTANT STATIC BUZZ COMING FROM THE DOOR SPEAKER ON THE PASSENGER-SIDE, EVEN WHEN THE AUDIO SYSTEM WAS TURNED OFF. DEALER SAYS THAT THEY NEED TO REPLACE THE AMPLIFIER.
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
General: Get a pre-purchase inspection from an independent mechanic ($100-$200)