2017 Subaru Outback — Known Issues & Recalls

Driving on a flat dry road with cloudy conditions we heard what sounded like a shotgun. Pulled over and found our Moonroof exploded. I have dashcam video with audio of the explosion as well as photos and video of the damage immediately after

While driving, the car suddenly shut off while in motion. It came to a stop at the bottom of hill where we were able to put it in neutral, and push it into a parking lot. After that we attempted to start it 4 or 5 times, and the engine would turn over and shut off after a couple of seconds. After leaving it off for about 5 minutes, it was able to start. Additionally, it occasionally feels jerky while driving, usually at lower speeds.

The key gets stuck in the ignition when turning off the ignition.

The design of the dashboard along with the dashboard screen has a very poor design that makes it nearly impossible to see when the sun is out. When the sun is out and especially when driving towards the sun during sunset and sunrise, the dashboard reflects back the light onto the windshield making it essentially impossible to see objects that may be on the side of the road. Even with polarized sunglasses, I often find myself having to reduce my speed on 50 mph zones by as much as 30 mph under the speed limit in order to give myself enough time to potentially see hazards that would be unseen at higher speeds do to the severe glare. Without sunglasses, even driving during the middle of the day, the dashboard reflects light off the windshield that can make it nearly impossible to see objects, especially objects that are only visible on the lower third of the windshield. This faulty design has almost caused me to hit cyclist and or joggers on the road even going substantially below the speed limit due to being blinded by the sun. The second issue I have is with the backup screen on the dashboard. Whenever any sun hits the dashboard screen, it is essentially useless as the sun almost completely makes it impossible to see where I'm backing into. The vehicle has not been inspected by anyone or any law enforcement, but I do feel this is a serious safety hazard and the design of the dashboard in that it reflects light right back into the windshield makes for an undue stressful experience and a very huge liability.

We have a Subaru 2017 and have had to replace the windshield TWICE. In each instance a small rock flew up and cracked the windshield. I have owned different models of cars for years and have NEVER had to replace a windshield twice? Is there a manufacturing defect in these windhshields? Both times we have taken it to a Subaru dealer to have the windshield replaced and we ordered Subaru windshields NOT an after market product. I will upload the documents from the two dealers when I can but I just wanted to see if this is a common issue? Looking online it seems to be.

battery drains consistently after a few days of not driving/

Since purchasing this Subaru in 2017 there has been multiple incidents where the car battery drains overnight. Causing the car not to start due to a dead battery.

I'm the original owner, purchased May 2017, and have had to replace the battery five times. Online research indicates that the root cause is phantom draining caused by the DCM apparently searching for a no longer existent 3G signal. Subaru has not addressed the issue directly and has instead issued a technical service bulletin to AAA affiliates to advise their customers to go to dealerships for larger batteries, group 47, with higher cold cranking amps which will also require new battery trays, hold downs and an adjustment to the car's computer. My dealership in Carlsbad, CA informed me the cost might exceed $650 and would not be covered by Subaru. I strongly believe this is an issue that Subaru must address on their dime.

If the car engine does not run for more than 4-5 days, the battery is drained completely dead and the car needs to be jump started to get the engine to run and have the alternator recharge the battery. Ongoing issue.

While driving slowly, your car accelerated even though you pressed the brake pedal. You lifted your foot off the brake, pressed it again firmly, and the car finally stopped. Before this happened, your car had stalled while driving. Neither the independent mechanic nor the Subaru dealer could reproduce the problem, so it wasn't repaired. The issue may involve the throttle control system or brake sensor needing diagnostic inspection and possible replacement.

The contact owns a 2017 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that after driving onto the driveway and pressing the brake pedal to park, the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration, drove forward, and crashed into the garage door. The contact shifted to the reverse position and the vehicle drove in reverse but would not stop while pressing the brake pedal. Eventually, the contact was able to shift to the park position, and the vehicle was stopped. During the incident garage door was severely damaged along with the rear end of a classic vehicle parked inside the garage. No injuries were reported, and no police report was filed. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer was notified of the incident. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 41,000.

While in a parking lot moving at very slow rate speed the car suddenly accelerated on its own. I had just slowly turned within a parking lot in preparation to backing into a parking space. I had just removed my foot from the accelerator and the car was almost at a stop and I was about to brake and put the car into reverse when it suddenly and rapidly accelerated on its own. My foot was not touching the accelerator at the time (it was over, but not yet touching, the brake). The car felt as if someone had suddenly slammed on the accelerator, but my foot was not on the accelerator at the time. Luckily my foot was over the brake when the rapid unexpected acceleration occurred and also luckily there were no cars in front of me. I was able to immediately slam on the brake so that the car did not hit anything. Before I was able to brake, the car quickly lurched forward at a surprisingly rapid rate of speed for a short distance. Quick application of the brakes stopped the sudden and rapid forward movement of the car. I did not notice any warning lights or messages on the car. This could have been a very dangerous situation. If someone had been walking in front of the car, they would have been hit and potentially seriously injured. If there had been cars parked in front of the space I was about to back into, the car would have hit them and caused damage. This happened earlier today and I have not yet reported it to the dealer. No police or insurance personnel were involved as I managed to avoid an accident. The event occurred today, Wednesday December 3rd at about 11 am. There were no other witnesses. To my knowledge this is the first occurrence of this rapid unexpected acceleration for this car.

Your car has stalled and lost power three times while driving up hills on the interstate, each time when the fuel tank was between 1/8 and 1/4 full. The engine slows down and won't accelerate, forcing you to pull over until it starts running again — creating a dangerous situation with traffic behind you. This is a new problem that started in November 2025. The issue may be related to fuel delivery or engine performance when the tank is low.

The contact's sister owns a 2017 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at 35 MPH, the hood unlatched, flew open, and struck the windshield, causing the windshield to shatter. The driver was able to pull over to the side of the road. It was unknown whether the driver was able to close the hood. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the driver was provided a loaner vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. It was unknown if the manufacturer was contacted or notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

My Outback has been through 5 genuine Subaru windshields this year, and 7 since 2019. Only one was impact damage, the rest developed cracks after installation. One only lasted 3 days after being replaced. Others have lasted 3 months. There is something defective with the current Subaru replacement windshields and the dealers can't help. These are $1,300 insurance claims each. Subaru needs to figure out what is happening with the poor quality before someone gets hurt from shattered glass or impaired visibility from cracks.

I been hearing a loud humming sound like a sports car and smell of fumes inside the cabin.

AT ABOUT 112,000 MILES, MY 2017 SUBARU OUTBACK'S TRANSMISSION SHOWED SIGNS OF FAILURE. THE "MANUAL SHIFT" GEAR LEVER POSITION WOULD NO LONGER INCREASE OR DECREASE THE TRANSMISSION RPM AND A WHIRRING AND CLICKING NOISE BECAME APPARENT AND INCREASED OR DECREASED WITH SPEED. THE SUBARU DEALER IN SALISBURY, MD DIAGNOSED A FAILING TRANSMISSION AND QUOTED $9,916 TO REPLACE IT.

Subaru was not willing to cover the cost to replace their faulty gear shifter. My key gets stuck in the ignition. This problem has been confirmed by a dealership.

Car was being driven on the highway in cruise control, when the cruise control turned off and the car began to decelerate. When the gas pedal was pressed, the RPMs shot up but there was no acceleration. The car was pulled over, turned off, and we were not able to turn it on again. The car was towed to a shop, where they were able to identify the engine wasn’t working but not the root cause, and also mentioned the possibility of there being a transmission problem. We then brought it to a Subaru dealer, and they said a similar thing without being able to diagnose anything more specific. This car is 8 years old and has had routine, consistent maintenance the entire time. The surprise of an engine failure with no warning is very alarming and dangerous.

My windshield (which has had multiple class action lawsuits) cracked spontaneously sitting in my driveway. I contacted Subaru of America and they denied any responsibility and claimed there is no assistance they can provide. This crack has gone from about half of my windshield to nearly the entire windshield horizontally. This is clearly a defective product as numerous complaints have been made by owners of multiple Subaru models including the Outback. This is indeed a huge safety concern along with a very unfortunate lack of accountability by Subaru of America.