MODELYEARINDEX

Subaru Outback

6,316 complaints across 12 scored model years and 49 recall campaigns.

Which years to avoid

Ownership label · Subaru Outback Full report
F
Grade 2010–2021
2020 vs model median 3.0×
Model median3× median
Lights & Visibility 394
Electrical 252
Driver Assist 95
Avoid

2019 · 2020

Best

2012 · 2014

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
2010
0.68× 181 C
2011
0.76× 238 C
2012
0.25× 72 B
2013
0.56× 164 B
2014
0.51× 146 B
2015
1.04× 347 C
2016
0.96× 326 C
2017
2.05× 743 F
2018
2.23× 764 F
2019
2.73× 984 F
2020
3.02× 1,059 F
2021
1.08× 378 C
2022 P
1.60× 546 D
2023 P
0.42× 124 B
2024 P
0.41× 131 A
2025 P
0.37× 113 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 MPG26.5
City / Highway24 / 30.5
Engine2.45L, 4 cyl
DriveAll-Wheel Drive
Annual fuel cost$2,325

Recalls

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

Campaign Component Model years Units affected
12V602000 EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2010, 2011 633,842
16V694000 VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER:MOTOR 2010–2014 592,647
19V009000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE 2010–2014 452,630
19V008000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE 2010–2014 330,120
16V358000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE 2010, 2011 302,127
20V001000 AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE 2010–2014 258,813
18V773000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE 2018 228,648
21V955000 POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM) 2020 198,255

+ 41 further campaigns

Others in Compact 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 RDX
20192020
C
Audi Q5
20182021
C
Audi SQ5
none flagged
C
BMW X3
20132019
C
Buick Envision
2017
C
Cadillac SRX
2013
C
Cadillac XT5
2017
C
Chevrolet Blazer
none flagged
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 2020 Outback
Complaints in window
1,059
Severity-weighted
1,315
Model median (weighted)
435
vs model median
3.02×
Recall campaigns (weighted)
6
Open investigations
0
Score 10 F