Owners have filed 259 complaints on the Subaru XV CrossTrek, covering 2013–2017. The system named most often is Power Train (48 reports). Worst years by volume: 2013, 2014, 2015; cleanest: 2017, 2015, 2014. 20 reports describe a crash, 4 a fire. On average the car was 5.5 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Subaru XV CrossTrek
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 259 XV CrossTrek complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Power Train 48 Read
The contact owns a 2015 subaru xv crosstrek. The contact stated that while driving at 5 mph to make a three point turn, the vehicle would not shift out of reverse. The contact called a tow truck and he was able to get the vehicle out of reverse after a lot of maneuvering. The contact proceeded to drive the vehicle to…
While on a very slight downslope, with the transmission in park, the vehicel rolled down the hill with no one in it. Had I been standing in front of it, I would have been run over
I have a 2015 crosstrek that has 31,000 miles on it and I have been having an issue when putting the car in park that you can not turn the key to the off position to shut the car down. I have had to play with the shifter putting the car in reverse and then in park again hoping this time I can turn the car off. Taking…
Electrical System 45 Read
The contact owns a 2014 subaru xv crosstrek. While driving the vehicle, the heating system became inoperable. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact stated that the electrical wires in the air conditioning/heating system control unit were melted. The contact was informed that the…
I was driving down a road at 45 mph when my car turned off suddenly. All the lights on the dashboard lit on. I was able to coast to the side of the road, slowly. I turned off the car and it turned back on with no problems. I drove home, and drove it to matt slap subaru in newark, delaware the next morning (today). I…
Battery failure at 4000 miles
Engine 30 Read
On October 31 2020, The AC compressor on my vehicle caught fire while I was driving. This caused a foul odorous smoke to fill the cabin of my vehicle which was cough inducing and limited my vision. The air conditioner was not on at this time because of pleasant ambient temperatures outside. I no longer have this part…
Engine burst into flames during normal highway driving. Vehicle was well-maintained with all scheduled maintenance performed during the life of the vehicle. CEL was lit approximately 1 week before fire but driveability was normal
I was driving my car on I-405 north bount when the engine faltered . I kept accelerateing but the car lost speed and made a hi raving sound . I was really scared as the cars behind had to reduce speed fast to prevent rear ending me . I exited the 405 freeway on burbank - I contuned home to north hollywood at a very…
Air Bags 17 Read
As driver was parking in front of her home, vehicle accelerated in response to braking and rammed into front porch, about 60 feet away. Despite force of collision, no airbags deployed
The contact owned a 2015 Subaru XV Crosstrek. The contact stated while driving 15 mph, they pulled up to a red light and stopped, when the light turned green the contact was making a right turn when a 26-foot truck ran thru the light and crashed into the front driver side of the vehicle. The air bags did not deploy.…
The contact owns a 2014 subaru xv crosstrek. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed and suddenly the vehicle accelerated independently. As a result, the contact crashed into a median and two parked vehicles. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The driver sustained unknown injuries…
Steering 17 Read
The contact owned a 2014 subaru xv crosstrek. While driving approximately 40 mph, the steering wheel seized and caused the contact to lose control and crash the vehicle. The contact and the passenger sustained lacerations and bruises that did not require medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was…
Involved in a collision, possibly related to the stall issues mentioned in the collision. Reported to the insurance. They are pending repair on the matter due to recall and entire engine was required, which is more than the car is valued for
The stall led to a collision, bent cam shaft and need for total engine repair
Vehicle Speed Control 12 Read
I was slowly pulling into the garage and when I went to apply the brakes, the car uncontrollably lunged forward and hit the car in front of me. The floor mat was not an issue and was secure. Although the brakes were being applied, the car suddenly lunged forward
The contact owned a 2015 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while driving 20-25 MPH and making a left in the roundabout of a residential road, she felt a rear impact and all the air bags deployed. The vehicle then accelerated unintendedly, veered to the right, jumped the curb, and crashed into a tree. The brake…
I was in a circular driveway of a large apartment complex getting ready to park and wait for an individual. There was a car in front of me so I was preparing to park when all of a sudden my car went full throttle. It did not respond to pressing on the brake. I had the choice of either hitting the person in front of me…
Service Brakes 9 Read
Caliper seized and caught on fire, front passenger side. Was told by mechanic second Crosstreck this week with same problem
I backed out of the garage and was in reverse with my foot on the brake pedal on the driveway waiting for the garage door to close. For some reason I changed the transmission from reverse to drive and started going forward. I hit the brakes and the car eventually stopped, but not before hitting the the garage door. I…
I own a Subaru Crosstrek XV Limited which I purchased new in November 2014. I was in a line of vehicles on a street waiting to enter a business parking lot and drive-thru. There was an incline from the street into the parking lot. The vehicle in front of me reached the top of the incline and turned right into the…
Structure 7 Read
I was driving down the highway, and all of the sudden I heard a loud pop. I pulled to the side of the road and got out to see that me sunroof had exploded
While in motion at approximately 65mph on the highway hood latch failed and hood flew up and smashed into windshield, shattering glass all over and pushing windshield in towards driver. Front windshield view was completely obstructed and driver was unable to safely pull to shoulder. Vehicle sustained significant…
Sunroof spontaneously exploded while driving 65mph on highway
XV CrossTrek 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Electrical System,engine | 1 | — | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 5 | 1 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 9 | 1 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 5 | 2 |
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 | 173 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.5 |
| Worst single series | 5 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.5 years |
A model average of 1.5 hides a worst series at 5. 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 XV CrossTrek?
By complaint volume, 2013, 2014, 2015 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 XV CrossTrek years are the cleanest?
2017, 2015, 2014 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Subaru XV CrossTrek have?
259 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2013–2017. Of those, 20 describe a crash and 4 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.