2018 Subaru Crosstrek
Complaints about this year name called far more often than the other years of this generation — 8% of them, about 3× the usual rate of 3.1%.
First year of a new generation. The Subaru Crosstrek was redesigned for 2018. A first year carries problems nobody has found yet, and they are found by the people who buy it — which is worth knowing before you become one of them.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 194 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 68 |
| Involving a crash | 10 |
| Involving a fire | 1 |
| Recalls | 5 |
| NHTSA crash rating | 5/5 |
| EPA combined | 27 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- radio — 6.7% of this year's complaints, against 0.9% across the other years of this generation (7.5×). Owners wrote it as: radio, volume, car dead, dead again.
- across — 8.2% of this year's complaints, against 2.9% across the other years of this generation (2.8×). Owners wrote it as: across, years ago, cross.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- our — 7% of complaints, 3× usual
What owners wrote
WHEN PHONE IS CONNECTED VIA USB TO PHONE IT DOESN'T ALWAYS PULL UP APPLE PLAY. ALSO IF PHONE IS LEFT PLUGGED IN AND TURN CAR OFF GO INTO STORE COME BACK IT SAYS ERROR CONNECTING AND WONT CONNECT BACK TO APPLE PLAY FOR HOURS.
THE WINDSHIELD SPONTANEOUSLY CRACKED WHILE STATIONARY IN OUR DRIVEWAY. THE CRACK IS VERTICAL LOCATED IN THE CENTER OF THE WINDOW FROM THE ROOFLINE TO ALMOST THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS. THE LOCAL SUBARU SERVICE DEPARTMENT STATED THIS IS A PROBLEM THEY SEE OFTEN AND…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 19V744000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING Fixed free of charge.
- 21V263000 SUSPENSION Fixed free of charge.
- 21V264000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 19V743000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 17V701000 SERVICE BRAKES Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Subaru Crosstrek was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2018 Subaru Crosstrek? What happened to yours?
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