Problems · NHTSA complaints

2023 Subaru Outback Wilderness problems

Owners filed 5 complaints about the 2023 Subaru Outback Wilderness with NHTSA between Jul 2026 and Sep 2026. The most-cited component is forward collision avoidance (2).

Complaints
5
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Forward collision avoidance2
  2. Lane departure1
  3. Power train1
  4. Service brakes1
  5. Tires1
  6. Electrical system1

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 11, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Forward collision avoidance

2 reports
“Phantom Braking of Pre-Collision Braking 2023 Subaru Outback Turbo Wednesday, July 29, 2026. 9:30 am, sunny day Driving south on local city street. Brakes slammed on, car stopped, flashing yellow lights on left Combination Meter stating that Pre-Collision Braking was activated. There was no vehicle/obstacle/animal in the road. No parked cars, no cars backing out of a driveway. Road was completely clear. No strange shadows, no cracks in street. Pre-collision braking system hallucinated an obstacle and activated, throwing me forward into steering wheel, and dog in the back seat thrown forward into back of driver’s seat. Restarted car and drove off. Turned off system every time I drove the car until I took it to the dealer 2 days later. Problem was not reproduced by dealer . No messages or warning lights prior to incident. The repair order stated that there was a "sticky" substance on the windshield, but I had just had the car washed. I didn't notice anything on the windshield.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 3, 2026Forward collision avoidanceODI 11754558

Lane departure

1 report
“While driving on the highway I had my cruise control on with my driving assist turned on. My car tried to veer to the left, hard, almost into the guardrail. It had happened before but not as severe as this time. Going highway speed, I was lucky enough no one was next to me. Someone could have got seriously injured!”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 2, 2026Lane departureODI 11761486

Power train

1 report
“Driving at speeds around 40 and when braking to turn, the brakes jerk and feel like they are not engaging properly. It has happened to a different driver, twice both times on a 90 degree day, a few minutes after the vehicle had been started and the air conditioner was running on high. After this happened we Googled the issue to see what the problem could be. The Google search shows a Subaru Service Bulletin #16-150-24R, 09/13/24, revised 12/03/24, showing our year and model of vehicle and a VIN # for all those models as TBD. The service bulletin list the exact problem that we had, and listed the AC running. The service bulletin list a fix of replacing the Transmission Control Module. This would be covered under 5 year 60K miles warranty for the Powertrain. Local Subaru dealer doesn't want to fix it because they can't replicate it by driving it. Subaru Customer Advocacy doesn't want to do anything because my VIN is not listed and they say the TSB are not for the customers to see. They refuse to let me talk with anyone further who would determine which VINs are going to be covered in this TSB.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 20, 2026Power train, Service brakesODI 11758281

Service brakes

1 report

Tires

1 report
“The original equipment Yokohama Avid GT tires experienced rapid, catastrophic structural degradation (extreme inner-edge wear and chunking of the exterior edge over ~7,000 mi.). I have photos of the tires, and Carr Subaru (Beaverton, OR) has one of the tires available for inspection. I am the original owner of this vehicle. It has been regularly serviced at the appropriate intervals by the dealership where it was purchased in November 2022. At ~15,000 mi., the tires were rotated and the alignment was adjusted by the dealership. Between 15,000 and 22,000 mi., the tires completely wore through. When I noticed the wear, I brought the car to the dealership to replace the tires, check the alignment, and check whether there might be other issues contributing to the tire degradation. According to the service department, the alignment was within spec when the car arrived, but the inner tread was completely smooth, the outer tread was coming apart, and the tires "were within 1,000 miles of a blowout." I regularly transport my children in this vehicle on the steep, windy, rainy roads of [XXX]. If the tires had blown out or lost traction due to wear, my family, cyclists,…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 30, 2026TiresODI 11753730

Electrical system

1 report
“The Advanced Driver Assistance System (EyeSight/Automatic Emergency Braking), the Service Brakes, and the Central Electrical System malfunctioned. The vehicle is currently held at an authorized dealership and is available for inspection.On Monday, June 22, 2026, at approximately 4:47 PM, while traveling at highway speeds on I-295 South under clear weather conditions, the vehicle suffered a catastrophic, unprompted automatic emergency braking event. While my right turn signal was active and I was initiating a lane change to pass a truck, the autonomous braking system engaged with maximum force, pulling the brake pedal completely to the floorboards with zero obstacles present. A consumer mobile telematics application (Life360) officially registered the extreme hard-braking event at 4:47 PM. This unprompted stop caused the vehicle to violently lose traction, fishtail across highway lanes, and nearly roll over in high-speed traffic, placing my life and the safety of surrounding motorists at extreme risk.Symptoms of systemic electrical network instability occurred prior to this failure, including a dashboard GPS clock that precisely jumps four hours ahead in…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jul 8, 2026Electrical system, Forward collision avoidanceODI 11749144
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 11, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.