2018 Subaru Outback: owner complaints and recalls
Analysis of 805 owner complaints filed with NHTSA and 3 recall campaigns. Updated 2026-07-25.
805
Complaints
3
Recalls
27
Crash reports
4
Fire reports
19
Injuries
35.3
Severity index
Severity index 35.3 - Medium. This weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints; see methodology.
Among the 121 2018 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2018 Subaru Outback ranks 83 of 121 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 31% of its model-year peers. See the full 2018 ranking.
What actually fails
| Component | Complaints | Share of complaints citing it |
|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 265 | 32.9% |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | 233 | 28.9% |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 157 | 19.5% |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 43 | 5.3% |
| VISIBILITY | 41 | 5.1% |
| ENGINE | 36 | 4.5% |
| STEERING | 35 | 4.3% |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 21 | 2.6% |
The single most-reported system is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, cited in 265 of 805 complaints (32.9%). One complaint can name several systems, so these shares overlap and do not total 100%.
Complaints filed per year
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 6 |
| 2018 | 80 |
| 2019 | 156 |
| 2020 | 164 |
| 2021 | 174 |
| 2022 | 66 |
| 2023 | 48 |
| 2024 | 47 |
| 2025 | 36 |
| 2026 (year to date) | 28 |
Complaint volume is declining, consistent with a defect that was addressed by recall or that affected early builds.
Recall campaigns
| Campaign | Reported | Component | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18V935000 | 31/12/2018 | VISIBILITY:REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES | Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2018 Legacy, Outback, and BRZ vehicles. In the affected vehicles, a software issue may cause the audio display system to not initialize, resulting in the camera display remaining blank. If this occurs, the rearview image wil |
| 18V773000 | 01/11/2018 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE | Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2018 Subaru Legacy and Outback vehicles. Due to a software error, the low fuel warning light may not illuminate at the intended remaining fuel level and the miles-to-empty display may incorrectly indicate a positive number de |
| 21V587000 | 29/07/2021 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP | Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Ascent, 2018 Forester, 2018-2020 Impreza, Legacy, Outback, 2018-2019 BRZ, WRX, and Toyota 86 vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may 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.