Subaru Outback Windshield Cracks (2017-2021): What Owners Report

Details in the 1,480 reports. One report can match several rows. The last column shows how often the tag was right when we read a random sample of 60 reports by hand.

Source: NHTSA complaints stored by CarTold, queried October 29, 2026. Rows are keyword matches on the complaint text, not NHTSA classifications.

This is not a normal amount of broken glass. Any car can lose a windshield to a rock on the highway, and owners do report that to NHTSA. What stands out here is the scale. Across the other 17 popular models in CarTold's database, including the Explorer, CR-V, RAV4 and F-150, cracked windshields show up in under 0.5% of complaints. The Ford Explorer comes second, with 49 reports among 6,901 complaints. For the Outback, cracked glass accounts for more than a third of everything owners filed for these years. Complaint counts are not failure rates, because owners of some cars are more likely to file than others. Still, a gap this large is hard to explain by reporting habits alone.

Both generations are affected. The 2017-2019 Outback belongs to the fifth generation. Subaru launched an all-new sixth generation for 2020. The crack share went up with the new car, from 40.5% for 2019 to 45.0% for 2020, so choosing the newer body does not avoid the issue. The 2021 count is lower mainly because that model year has fewer complaints of any kind.

Most reports were filed in 2020 and 2021. Owners filed 494 of these complaints in 2020 and 400 in 2021. That fell to 190 in 2022 and kept falling, with six so far in 2026. The drop probably reflects when the cars were new and owners most likely to complain, not better glass. It also means many windshields on cars for sale today are already replacements.

What owners describe. At least a third of the reports say the crack appeared with no impact or no visible cause, often overnight, in a garage or in a parking lot. Others describe a small rock chip that spread far further than expected. These are owners' own accounts. NHTSA does not verify them, and an owner may miss a tiny chip that later spread. We removed reports about rear or hatch glass from the count.

The cost goes beyond the glass. The Outback's EyeSight driver-assist cameras are mounted at the top of the windshield. 73 reports mention having the system recalibrated after a replacement. The prices owners quote vary widely with the shop, the region, the glass and whether calibration was included. Some of the dollar amounts may be deductibles or partial bills, so read the $900 median as a rough guide to what owners reported, not a quote.

No recall, but a settlement for 2020-2022. CarTold's copy of NHTSA's recall and investigation records has nothing on Outback windshield cracking for 2017-2021. The class action Powell v. Subaru of America (D.N.J., No. 1:19-cv-19114) ended in a settlement that covers 2020-2022 Outbacks along with certain Ascent, Forester and Legacy models. The court gave final approval in April 2025, and Subaru denied wrongdoing. According to the dealer notice Subaru filed with NHTSA, the extended coverage started on February 5, 2025. It lasts 8 years or 100,000 miles from the in-service date, whichever comes first, and covers one replacement of the original windshield with an updated part. After that replacement, the extended coverage ends. Claims for reimbursement of past repairs closed on January 31, 2025. Salvage or total-loss titles, non-Subaru windshields and non-qualifying cracks are excluded.

What counts as a qualifying crack matters. Under the settlement's definition, as reported by CarComplaints.com, a qualifying crack is a single line that runs from a small impact point (under 5 mm) toward the edge of the glass. Cracks that begin at the edge where the glass meets the pillar do not qualify, and neither do multiple cracks from one point or damage from a larger impact. If the dealer cannot find an impact point but the crack otherwise fits the definition, it can still be covered. Many owners describe cracks with no impact at all, so not every reported crack would qualify.

Three short owner reports, quoted as submitted (unverified reports to NHTSA):

A windshield check takes about ten minutes:

1. Look at the glass in daylight, from inside and out. Run your eye along all four edges, along the bottom under the wipers, around the mirror and camera housing, and across the driver's view. Note any chip, star or line, and photograph it with a coin for scale.
2. Read the small print in a corner of the glass. The brand and markings show whether the windshield is a Subaru part or aftermarket glass. That matters on 2020-2022 cars, because the settlement coverage excludes non-Subaru windshields.
3. Ask how many windshields the car has had, and for the invoices. A replacement is not a bad sign in itself. You want to know who did it, what glass was used and whether EyeSight was recalibrated.
4. Check EyeSight on the test drive. There should be no EyeSight warning on the dash. On a safe road, adaptive cruise and lane alerts should work normally. If the glass has been replaced and there is no calibration record, have a Subaru dealer or qualified shop check it before you buy.
5. For a 2020 or 2021 car, ask a Subaru dealer about the VIN. Ask whether the settlement coverage has already been used, and whether the car is still within 8 years or 100,000 miles of its in-service date.
6. Price in a cracked windshield. Get a local quote that includes calibration and use it in negotiation, rather than relying on the median owners reported.
7. Check your insurance before you buy. Ask whether glass is covered under comprehensive, what the deductible is and whether calibration is included.
8. Run the VIN for recalls anyway. Use NHTSA's recall lookup, and read the other problem areas on the model-year pages linked below.

These are owner reports, not inspections. A keyword match cannot tell a stress crack from a chip the owner didn't notice. The detail tags in the second table are less reliable than the main count. Their accuracy in our sample is shown next to each one, and the repeat-windshield tag in particular should be read as rough. We dropped tags we could not check reliably, such as edge cracks, cold weather and insurance claims. Outback owners may be more likely than other owners to report glass problems to NHTSA, especially after news coverage or a lawsuit, so the comparison with other models shows how unusual the pattern is, not how many Outbacks will crack. Repair prices come from the reports that state one and are not a market survey. Settlement eligibility is decided by Subaru dealers under the settlement's terms, not by this page.

Queried from CarTold's copy of NHTSA's complaint, recall, investigation and manufacturer-communication records on October 29, 2026. A complaint is counted when its text mentions "windshield" or "windscreen" within 120 characters of "crack", "chip", "split" or "shatter", in either order. We excluded reports where the only glass mentioned is the rear, back or hatch window. Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA ODI number, under the model year it was filed for. The share is that count divided by all complaints for the same model year. The cross-model figure applies the same pattern to the other 17 models CarTold covers.

Accuracy check. We read a random sample of 60 matched reports by hand. All 60 described damage to the front windshield, with one borderline report about wipers after a replacement. A separate check of the full set found four reports about rear or hatch glass, and we removed them. The tags in the second table were checked against the same sample, and their accuracy is listed there.

Repair prices are dollar amounts between $200 and $5,000 found in the report text. The settlement facts come from Subaru's dealer notice published by NHTSA and from reporting on the court's final approval. The queries and scripts are kept with the article's data pack.

• Subaru Outback: all model years
• 2019 Subaru Outback report
• 2020 Subaru Outback report
• What NHTSA complaint counts tell a used-car buyer
• Used-car inspection checklist
• How to check a VIN for open recalls
• Warranty extension vs. recall