2021 Subaru Crosstrek: owner complaints and recalls

Owners have filed 111 complaints about the 2021 Subaru Crosstrek and NHTSA has issued 1 recall campaign. The most-reported system is visibility/wiper, named in 29 of them.

111
Complaints
1
Recalls
8
Crash reports
2
Fire reports
6
Injuries
82.9
Severity index

Severity index 82.9 - Medium. It weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints, so a vehicle attracting serious reports scores above one attracting many trivial ones (how this is calculated).

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 82.9p25 35p75 96cleanestworst
Where the 2021 Subaru Crosstrek sits against the quartiles of every vehicle we track.

Among the 90 2021 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2021 Subaru Crosstrek ranks 23 of 90 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 74% of its model-year peers. See the full 2021 ranking.

What actually fails

Visibility/WiperVisibility/Wiper: 29 complaints (26.1%)29 26%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 24 complaints (21.6%)24 22%EngineEngine: 16 complaints (14.4%)16 14%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 14 complaints (12.6%)14 13%Power TrainPower Train: 13 complaints (11.7%)13 12%Forward Collision Avoid…Forward Collision Avoidance: 13 complaints (11.7%)13 12%Lane DepartureLane Departure: 5 complaints (4.5%)5 5%Fuel/Propulsion SystemFuel/Propulsion System: 4 complaints (3.6%)4 4%
Systems named in complaints. One complaint can name several, so shares overlap.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
VISIBILITY/WIPER2926.1%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER2421.6%
ENGINE1614.4%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1412.6%
POWER TRAIN1311.7%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE1311.7%
LANE DEPARTURE54.5%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM43.6%

Complaints filed per year

012252020: 22021: 252022: 252023: 202024: 152025: 102026: 14 (partial year)2021252223242526
Complaints filed per calendar year, not model year. The hatched bar is the current year and is still incomplete.
YearComplaints
20202
202125
202225
202320
202415
202510
2026 (year to date)14
Complaint volume is broadly steady year over year.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
23V75500009/11/2023POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:PARK/NEUTRAL START INTERLOCK SWITCHSubaru of America, Inc. is recalling certain model year 2021 Crosstrek, 2022 Forester, 2021-2023 Legacy, and Outback vehicles. An insufficient weld may allow water to enter the inhibitor switch, causing it to fail.
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.