MODELYEARINDEX

Subaru Ascent

1,176 complaints across 3 scored model years and 13 recall campaigns.

Which years to avoid

Ownership label · Subaru Ascent Full report
D
Grade 2019–2021
2019 vs model median 1.4×
Model median3× median
Electrical 151
Lights & Visibility 83
Drivetrain 68
Avoid

2019

Best

2020 · 2021

Year by year

Severity-weighted complaints filed in each model year’s first 60 months on the road, so every year is measured over an identical window.

Year Complaint volume vs median Reports Grade
2019
1.45× 489 D
2020
1.00× 349 C
2021
0.32× 114 B
2022 P
0.30× 79 B
2023 P
0.25× 63 B
2024 P
0.22× 64 A
2025 P
0.05× 18 A

P — provisional. These years have not completed 60 months on the road, so their totals are incomplete and they are excluded from the verdict.

What it costs to run

EPA figures for the most recent model year on record.

Combined MPG22
City / Highway20 / 26
Engine2.4L, 4 cyl
DriveAll-Wheel Drive
Annual fuel cost$2,800

Recalls

13 campaigns on record, 1 carrying a Park It or Park Outside warning.

Campaign Component Model years Units affected
26V436000 EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS 2019–2025 541,237
22V907000 Park it ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:INTERIOR/UNDER DASH 2019–2022 271,694
21V955000 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM) 2019, 2020 198,255
20V218000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP 2019 188,207
21V587000 FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP 2019, 2020 175,968
19V855000 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM) 2019 76,842
19V856000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:CRANKCASE (PCV) 2019 51,613
23V258000 TIRES 2023 4,409

+ 5 further campaigns

Others in Midsize SUVs

Same body and size class. Each grade describes that model against its own history — these are not ranked against each other.

Model Years to avoid Grade
Acura MDX
20162020
C
Audi Q7
20172021
C
Audi Q8
2019
C
BMW X5
20112021
D
BMW X6
none flagged
C
Chevrolet Traverse
20102011
C
Dodge Durango
20112012
C
Dodge Journey
20142015
C

How this was calculated

Every model year is scored over an identical window: complaints filed with NHTSA during the first 60 months after that model year went on sale. Without this, older cars look worse purely because they have had longer to accumulate reports.

Limitations. Complaints are unverified reports submitted voluntarily by owners; they are allegations, not findings, and reporting rates vary between models. Model years with fewer than 60 months on the road are marked provisional and excluded from verdicts. Cross-model comparison is withheld pending production-volume data.

Full methodology · Sources · Data vintage August 9, 2026

Working 2019 Ascent
Complaints in window
489
Severity-weighted
621
Model median (weighted)
429
vs model median
1.45×
Recall campaigns (weighted)
11
Open investigations
0
Score 48.8 D