"How reliable is the 2018 Subaru Outback?"

"Based on 962 NHTSA complaints, the 2018 Subaru Outback has a median complaint mileage of 15000 miles. The most common issue is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM."

"What are common problems with the 2018 Subaru Outback?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2018 Subaru Outback is ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, accounting for a significant portion of the 962 total complaints filed."

2018 Subaru Outback: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 962 complaints

962

Total Complaints

15,000mi

Median Mileage

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

6,100 25th Percentile

15,000 Median Mileage

30,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

253

VISIBILITY/WIPER

233

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

150

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD

ENGINE

STEERING

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

SERVICE BRAKES

POWER TRAIN

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"DRIVERS SIDE VIEW MIRROR DOES NOT ADJUST FAIR ENOUGH TO SEE MY BLIND SPOT WELL. THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM. I'VE READ COUNTLESS FORUMS ON POPULAR SUBARU FORUM WEBSITES. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE."

"THE CAR IS PARKED. THE FLASHERS ARE ACTIVATED. THE CAR IS THEN LOCKED FROM THE OUTSIDE WITH THE KEY FOB. AFTER RETURNING TO THE CAR A SHORT TIME LATER (MAYBE 5 MINUTES OR SO) THE KEY FOB IS TOTALLY UNUSABLE. LOCK, UNLOCK, REAR HATCH OR PANIC DO NOT WORK. MUST THEN USE THE KEY IN THE DOOR LOCK, TO U..."

"AFTER PUTTING ON HAZARD SWITCH AND LEAVING VEHICLE, I CAME BACK TO VEHICLE AND THE KEYLESS ENTRY WOULD NOT FUNCTION. SYSTEM DID NOT SEEM TO RECOGNIZE MY SMARTKEY AS THE DOOR HANDLE SENSOR DID NOT OPERATE. I TRIED THE BUTTONS ON THE SMARTLY FOB AND THEY TOO DID NOT FUNCTION. ALSO TRIED THE MOBILE R..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28