Subaru Outback Years to Avoid and the Best Years

Years to avoid: 2020 At least twice the 311 complaints of a typical Outback year. Most described: a cracked windshield.
Best years: 2021 and 2023 Under three quarters of the 311 complaints of a typical Outback year since 2016, with no open NHTSA investigation or do-not-drive or park-outside recall. The 2016 and 2017 drew few complaints too, but each has a recall telling owners not to drive or to park outside until it is repaired.

Based on owner complaints filed with NHTSA in each model year's first three years, not adjusted for sales. The 2024 to 2026 models are too new to judge. See every year ranked

Data: US EPA and NHTSAUpdated Nov 12, 2026

Every model year since 2010 in one place: EPA fuel economy, NHTSA recalls, owner complaints and crash test ratings. The best fuel economy rating, 29 mpg combined, arrived in 2020.

Outback problems by year, ranked by owner complaints

How the years are ranked

Model years ranked by owner complaints filed with NHTSA in their first three years (model year Y: filed by the end of Y+2), so every year is measured over the same time on the road. Years without three full years of data, and launch or final years with very few sold, are left out. Counts are not adjusted for how many were sold.

A typical Outback year drew 311 complaints in its first three years: the median of its years since 2016, higher than the median of all its ranked years (168.5). Years to avoid drew at least twice that, and at least 50. Best years are up to three years since 2016 with the fewest complaints, each under three quarters of a typical year since 2016 (311), with no open NHTSA investigation and no do-not-drive or park-outside recall that covers all versions; the 2020 is never picked, as its first three years fell in the pandemic. How the verdict works.

Model year	First 3 years	All complaints	Recalls
2020 Outback Avoid Most described: a cracked or shattered windshield	720	906	6
2019 Outback Most described: a cracked or shattered windshield	553	1,036	3
2018 Outback Most described: a cracked or shattered windshield	406	816	3
2022 Outback Most described: a cracked or shattered windshield	397	467	4
2021 Outback Best Most described: a cracked or shattered windshield	225	300	4
2015 Outback Most described: a cracked or shattered windshield	220	510	5
2017 Outback Most described: a cracked or shattered windshield	192	921	4
2016 Outback Most described: a dead battery or battery drain	145	644	4
2011 Outback Most described: stalling or shutting off	113	653	16
2010 Outback Most described: stalling or shutting off	102	360	18
2013 Outback Most described: transmission failure or replacement	88	297	12
2023 Outback Best Most described: a cracked or shattered windshield	83	89	2
2014 Outback Most described: excessive oil consumption	66	208	10
2012 Outback Most described: stalling or shutting off	40	295	16

Compare other models' worst years in the worst model years guide.

Check your Outback for open recalls

Opens NHTSA's lookup in a new tab; your VIN goes to NHTSA, not to us. The VIN is on the driver's side dashboard, the door jamb and your registration. Safety recall repairs are free at Subaru dealers for vehicles up to 15 years old from first sale.

How to check a car for recalls, step by step

Get a vehicle history report from EpicVIN (opens in a new tab): a paid report with the car's title, odometer and salvage records, from an approved NMVTIS data provider. Affiliate link: we earn a commission if you buy. If you typed a full VIN above, the link sends it to EpicVIN and opens its checkout page for that VIN. Check the price before you pay: EpicVIN's $1 trial lasts 3 days, then becomes a monthly subscription until you cancel ($49.99 to $99.99 a month on its pages as of Oct 2, 2026). Disclosure

Year by year

Model year	Best rating	Recalls	Complaints	Crash test
2026 MPG · Recalls and problems	27 mpg Gas	0	21	Not rated
2025 MPG · Recalls and problems	28 mpg Gas	0	84
2024 MPG · Recalls and problems	28 mpg Gas	0	106
2023 MPG · Recalls and problems	28 mpg Gas	2	89
2022 MPG · Recalls and problems	29 mpg Gas	4	467
2021 MPG · Recalls and problems	29 mpg Gas	4	300
2020 MPG · Recalls and problems	29 mpg Gas	6	906
2019 MPG · Recalls and problems	28 mpg Gas	3	1,036
2018 MPG · Recalls and problems	28 mpg Gas	3	816
2017 MPG · Recalls and problems	28 mpg Gas	4	921
2016 MPG · Recalls and problems	28 mpg Gas	4	644
2015 MPG · Recalls and problems	28 mpg Gas	5	510
2014 MPG · Recalls and problems	26 mpg Gas	10	208
2013 MPG · Recalls and problems	26 mpg Gas	12	297
2012 MPG · Recalls and problems	24 mpg Gas	16	295
2011 MPG · Recalls and problems	24 mpg Gas	16	653
2010 MPG · Recalls and problems	24 mpg Gas	18	360	Not rated

Owner complaints by model year

All complaints filed so far. Counts rise with sales volume and with time on the road, so recent years look better than they may turn out. The highlighted bar is the model year with the most complaints in its first three years.

2020: 906 complaints

Show as a table

Owner complaints by model year, Subaru Outback
Model year	Complaints
2010	360
2011	653
2012	295
2013	297
2014	208
2015	510
2016	644
2017	921
2018	816
2019	1,036
2020	906
2021	300
2022	467
2023	89
2024	106
2025	84
2026	21

Best combined rating by model year

The best-rated version in each model year. Gas: 24 to 29 mpg (every year from 2010 to 2026); highest in 2020.

2026: gas 27 mpg

Show as a table

Subaru Outback best combined mpg by model year
Model year	Best gas version
2010	24
2011	24
2012	24
2013	26
2014	26
2015	28
2016	28
2017	28
2018	28
2019	28
2020	29
2021	29
2022	29
2023	28
2024	28
2025	28
2026	27

Every Outback year's ratings in one table

Questions

Which Subaru Outback years should you avoid?

The 2020 Outback is the year to avoid: it drew at least twice the 311 owner complaints of a typical Outback year in its first three years. Owners of the 2020 most often describe a cracked windshield. Complaints can't tell you whether a particular car is sound, so whatever the year, check its open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before you buy. Safety recall repairs are free at Subaru dealers for vehicles up to 15 years old from first sale.

What are the best Subaru Outback years?

The 2021 and 2023 Outback are the best years: they drew 225 and 83 owner complaints in their first three years, each under three quarters of the 311 complaints of a typical Outback year since 2016, and none has an open NHTSA investigation or recall telling owners not to drive or to park outside. The 2016 and 2017 drew few complaints too, but each has a recall telling owners not to drive or to park outside until it is repaired. Only years since 2016 are considered, since owners filed fewer complaints in the early 2010s. The 2024, 2025, and 2026 are not ranked yet: they have had fewer than three full years on the road.

Which Subaru Outback years have the most problems?

Counting owner complaints filed with NHTSA in each model year's first three years, the 2020 (720) drew the most, then the 2019 (553). Owners of the 2020 most often describe a cracked or shattered windshield.

Which Subaru Outback years have the most recalls?

The 2010 has the most safety recalls in NHTSA's file (18), then the 2012 (16). A recall can cover a problem that affects only a few cars, so open a year's page to see what each one covers. One recall tells owners not to drive the car or to park it outside until it is repaired: NHTSA 16V-292 (2015 to 2017 models).

What are the most common Subaru Outback problems?

In the 7,713 owner complaints NHTSA lists for 2010 to 2026 models, owners most often describe a cracked or shattered windshield (1,929 complaints); a dead battery or battery drain (895 complaints, most of them for the 2016, 2017, and 2019); and stalling or shutting off (539 complaints, most of them for the 2010, 2011, and 2012). One complaint can describe several problems. Each year's recalls and problems page lists what owners describe for that year.

Which Subaru Outback year has the best MPG?

The best EPA fuel economy is 29 mpg combined, first reached by the 2020 gas version.

Sources and method

US EPA fuel economy data (fueleconomy.gov), file dated Nov 4, 2026.
NHTSA recall file dated Nov 12, 2026 and owner complaint file dated Nov 11, 2026; NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings.

Complaint counts are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.