What are the common problems with the 2025 Subaru Outback?
Owners of the 2025 Subaru Outback have filed 84 complaints with NHTSA, most often about forward collision avoidance (22) and lane-departure systems (15). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 10 of them list a mileage; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
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See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 84 owner complaints on the 2025 Subaru Outback. Owners named forward collision avoidance most often: 22 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 84 complaints, 5 report a crash, 2 report a fire and 1 reports an injury (1 person reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
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Common problems with the 2025 Outback
NHTSA's file holds 84 owner complaints on the 2025 Subaru Outback. Owners named forward collision avoidance most often: 22 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 22 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
| Lane Departure | 15 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
| Electrical System | 13 | 2 | Under 5 mileages |
| Service Brakes | 6 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
| Steering | 6 | 2 | Under 5 mileages |
Of the 84 complaints, 5 report a crash, 2 report a fire and 1 reports an injury (1 person reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 2025 Outback
The 10 mileages owners gave run from 44 to 16,000 miles, and half are at or under 1,999. With fewer than 20 mileages this page gives the median only: the other percentiles are too few to say. None came after 100,000 miles, none after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2025 Outback wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Most of these reports came early in the vehicle's life: all 10 came at or under 100,000 miles, so they say nothing about how many miles a 2025 Outback can cover.
Complaint mileage also follows a model year's age: the 2025 has had less time to cover miles than older years, so its figures will rise as it ages.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 44 miles |
| 25th percentile | Too few to say |
| Median (50th percentile) | 1,999 miles |
| 75th percentile | Too few to say |
| 90th percentile | Too few to say |
| Highest mileage listed | 16,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | none |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | none |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | none |
Every model year together: Half of the 5,366 NHTSA owner complaints on the Subaru Outback that list mileage came after 33,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Subaru Outback last? →
Is the 2025 Outback a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2025 is a good or a bad Outback: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2025 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 84 complaints, the 2025 ranks 28th of the 31 Subaru Outback model years from 1996 to 2026 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2019 (1,036). The fewest: the 2026 (21).
The 2025 is a recent model year: it has had less time than older years to collect complaints, so its count is still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 Outback | 46 | 14 | 115,000 |
| 1997 Outback | 79 | 24 | 100,000 |
| 1998 Outback | 127 | 59 | 91,486 |
| 1999 Outback | 111 | 58 | 88,000 |
| 2000 Outback | 207 | 104 | 68,000 |
| 2001 Outback | 171 | 100 | 70,000 |
| 2002 Outback | 143 | 88 | 70,000 |
| 2003 Outback | 93 | 64 | 73,523 |
| 2004 Outback | 90 | 62 | 67,380 |
| 2005 Outback | 273 | 208 | 81,000 |
| 2006 Outback | 277 | 222 | 95,300 |
| 2007 Outback | 131 | 93 | 81,147 |
| 2008 Outback | 226 | 160 | 78,700 |
| 2009 Outback | 106 | 78 | 70,198 |
| 2010 Outback | 360 | 277 | 68,000 |
| 2011 Outback | 653 | 462 | 85,000 |
| 2012 Outback | 295 | 199 | 90,000 |
| 2013 Outback | 297 | 204 | 43,199 |
| 2014 Outback | 208 | 150 | 34,000 |
| 2015 Outback | 510 | 343 | 20,000 |
| 2016 Outback | 644 | 349 | 35,000 |
| 2017 Outback | 921 | 516 | 30,000 |
| 2018 Outback | 816 | 487 | 16,927 |
| 2019 Outback | 1,036 | 470 | 10,188 |
| 2020 Outback | 906 | 444 | 5,700 |
| 2021 Outback | 300 | 61 | 3,600 |
| 2022 Outback | 467 | 39 | 13,947 |
| 2023 Outback | 89 | 12 | 6,000 |
| 2024 Outback | 106 | 9 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2025 (this page) | 84 | 10 | 1,999 |
| 2026 Outback | 21 | 0 | Under 10 mileages |
The linked 2015–2022 pages show NHTSA's September 15, 2026 collection, so their counts can differ from this table's.
Every Outback year compared on NHTSA’s complaints and recalls: Subaru Outback years to avoid →
2025 Subaru Outback recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list no campaign for the 2025 model year under the name OUTBACK. Recalls can be filed under another name (a trim, a body or a series name), so a recall may still exist for the 2025 Subaru Outback: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2025 Outback lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2025 Outback.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 74 of the 84 complaints on the 2025 Subaru Outback give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: OUTBACK. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: OUTBACK.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2025 Subaru Outback questions
What are the most common 2025 Subaru Outback problems?
NHTSA's file holds 84 owner complaints on the 2025 Subaru Outback. Owners named forward collision avoidance most often: 22 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 84 complaints, 5 report a crash, 2 report a fire and 1 reports an injury (1 person reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 2025 Subaru Outback?
Of the 10 complaints on the 2025 Subaru Outback that list mileage, half came after 1,900 miles; none came after 100,000 miles, none after 150,000 and none after 200,000. With fewer than 20 mileages, the median is the only percentile given. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 2025 Outback can cover.
Is the 2025 Subaru Outback a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2025 is a good or a bad Outback: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2025 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 84 complaints, the 2025 ranks 28th of the 31 Subaru Outback model years from 1996 to 2026 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2019 (1,036). The fewest: the 2026 (21).
How many recalls does the 2025 Subaru Outback have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list no campaign for the 2025 model year under the name OUTBACK. Recalls can be filed under another name (a trim, a body or a series name), so a recall may still exist for the 2025 Subaru Outback: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2025 Subaru Outback before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2025 Subaru Outback.