Owners have filed 4 complaints on the Subaru XT6, covering 1988–1988. The system named most often is Steering (4 reports). Worst years by volume: 1988; cleanest: 1988. On average the car was 10.3 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Subaru XT6
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 4 XT6 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Steering 4 Read
Power steering pump failed prior to/after recall repairs (91V-193)
While operating vehicle at any speed, the power steering will cease operating causing loss of control. Vehicle was previously included in recall 91V193000, which the remedy corrected the problem only briefly
When traveling the power steering goes out and then it comes back on. Electronic steering system signal controller has been replaced under service recall #wzm48 on 3/30/92 at 60,000 miles. Needs to be replaced again at 90,000 and on 7/89
XT6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Steering | — | — |
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 | 4 |
| Average complaints per series | 1 |
| Worst single series | 1 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 10.3 years |
A model average of 1 hides a worst series at 1. 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 XT6?
By complaint volume, 1988 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 XT6 years are the cleanest?
1988 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Subaru XT6 have?
4 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1988–1988. Of those, 0 describe a crash and 0 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.