Owners have filed 994 complaints on the Subaru Ascent, covering 2019–2026. The system named most often is Electrical System (275 reports). Worst years by volume: 2019, 2020, 2021; cleanest: 2026, 2025, 2023. 32 reports describe a crash, 12 a fire. On average the car was 1.6 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Subaru Ascent
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 994 Ascent complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 275 Read
Eye sight freezing when car purchased brand new. I was told that this was a known Issue. Radio freezing and then resuming at blaring volume, I was told that this was a known issue and Subaru was waiting for an update. Burning smell from car when purchased, notified dealer, smell did not go away. I was told that this…
The warning lights on the car flashed and the car shut down. I was on the highway. I called 911 and they told me to quickly and safely exit the car. Less than a minute later, the engine combusted and the car was engulfed in flames
While driving my Subaru Ascent, a check engine warning light appeared on the dashboard. Shortly afterward, I noticed smoke coming from the engine compartment. I immediately pulled over and turned the vehicle off. Within moments, flames began coming from under the hood. The fire spread rapidly, and within 5-10 minutes…
Power Train 163 Read
Car was parked and had foot on brake when car suddenly lurched forward and hit a car in front. At first I thought that my foot had slipped off brake pedal and onto accelerator pedal but after reviewing the incident later in the day, I do not believe that my foot slipped. Subaru issued a recall on my vehicle #21V955000…
2019 subaru ascent. Consumer writes in regard to to NHTSA safety recall 21V-955. The consumer received a recall notice and was informed by the dealer to wait for the 2nd recall notice. While driving 50mph on highway, the car jolted forward, consumer hit her head and was knocked unconcious
On 9-May, 2026, the vehicle was driven during the morning with no warning lights or indication of component failure. Vehicle was parked on the owner's driveway at approximately 13:00. Approximately 15:40 I started the Ascent’s engine, let it idle for about 60 seconds, buckled up and scanned dashboard and rearview…
Visibility/wiper 141 Read
The drivers side mirror glass shakes while driving. Visibility in the mirror is extremely limited making it impossible to see vehicle approaching or to judge distance. After dark the mirror is useless
Driver side mirror has vibration that increases with speed. At highway speeds, it is difficult to safely see the lane next to you, especially if there is a vehicle behind you with their headlights on. The vehicle's mirror glass and housing were replaced and the vibration remains. There is no observable vibration with…
The driver-side mirror vibrates and shakes excessively at highway speeds, making it difficult to use, especially at night. In contrast, the passenger-side mirror is stable at all speeds with minimal to no shaking. The dealer's service department confirmed the problem and worked on finding a solution. Solution still ha…
Service Brakes 57 Read
I am reporting a repeat safety concern involving a 2020 Subaru Ascent. The vehicle was involved in two separate collisions after failing to decelerate as expected following normal brake pedal application. The first incident occurred on January 26, 2026. While approaching a traffic signal, I applied the brakes under…
A couple of months ago, my wife started the car and backed off a parking lot. When she pressed the brake and felt wired - the brake could not be pressed down and felt like it's jammed somehow. The car did not stop even she switched the car to parking! It eventually stopped after hit a parked car behind. Because the…
The contact owns a 2026 Subaru Accent. The contact stated that there was a failure related to the brake pedal design. The contact stated that there was an approximate one-inch difference in spacing between the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal in previous model vehicles. The contact stated that there was an…
Visibility 50 Read
The driver side mirror is unusable. The mirror it self shakes so much while driving you cannot see anything clearly or safely
No particular incident happened, but the driver's side view mirror vibrates when moving especially at high speeds and/or bumpy roads. Worse at night as when you look, headlights in rear are shaking and make me dizzy and not look. The passengers side is nice and stable. Doesn't vibrate and shake
The driver-side mirror vibrates and shakes excessively on rough roads or at highway speeds, making it difficult to use, especially at night. In contrast, the passenger-side mirror is stable at all speeds with minimal to no shaking. The dealer's service department confirmed the problem and replaced the mirror but was…
Engine 40 Read
I hit a deer on CA 395 north, my braking system worked and my air bags deployed, and then my engine immediately caught fire. I’m lucky i was able to get out of the car through a back door. Every police and fire who responded said they have never seen a car catch fire after hitting a deer and i should report a vehicle…
On Friday evening, February 23, 2024 , I pulled onto my driveway and came to a complete stop before driving into the garage . I reached up and hit the garage door remote. When the door began to go up I took my foot off the brake. Instead of creeping up the driveway the car took off like a proverbial "bat out of hell"…
Stopped car turned car off, smoke started to come from under the hood on right side. Turned car on and “low oil” came on, turned car off and exited car. The smell of oil was noted and a light white colored smoke was continuing to rise from under hood. Proceeded to call dealership for advice
Structure 24 Read
Traveling on highway at 70 mph when a deer jumped in front of our car and we hit it with the front end of the vehicle crushing the front end. All air bags immediately deployed and the front end began smoking profusely. Within minutes of getting out of the vehicle it burst into flames and the entire vehicle burned up.…
Driver side mirror vibrates making the view in the mirror blurry. The distorted picture causes confusion and safety hazard as it's very difficult to see in day and almost impossible at night. Vibrations are noticeable in the driver's side B pillar. According to the dealership, this is related to the car's frame, no…
The window pillars on the passenger side deformed on exposure to sunlight reflected from our house windows; in less than 6 months of ownership! We are the original owners and took possession in June 2025. Both the local Subaru dealer and Subaru USA have been involved. Subaru USA Case number is: 251230 - 1500232.…
Steering 21 Read
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Ascent. The contact stated that while the daughter was driving approximately 20 mph and making a slight right turn, the steering wheel did not respond and the vehicle drifted to the left and crashed into the guard rail. Prior to the incident the driver indicated the steering wheel felt…
The car will spontaneously brake for no reason while driving forward and reverse. The steering wheel will spontaneously steer you out of the lane. The doors will lock while you are in the car and you can't get out for about 30 seconds. The deck door will come down on you unexpectedly while loading items. It has hit us…
2025 Subaru Ascent has a popping noise randomly usually when turning left. Dealership services can not find the source
Ascent years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic,vehicle Speed Control | — | — | |
| 2025 | Electrical System,engine | 1 | 1 | |
| 2024 | Back Over Prevention | 2 | — | |
| 2023 | Air Bags | 4 | 1 | |
| 2022 | Air Bags | 6 | 2 | |
| 2021 | Air Bags | 3 | 1 | |
| 2020 | Air Bags | 6 | 1 | |
| 2019 | Air Bags | 10 | 6 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 336 |
| Average complaints per series | 3 |
| Worst single series | 16 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 1.6 years |
A model average of 3 hides a worst series at 16. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Ascent?
By complaint volume, 2019, 2020, 2021 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Ascent years are the cleanest?
2026, 2025, 2023 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Subaru Ascent have?
994 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2019–2026. Of those, 32 describe a crash and 12 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.