2023 Subaru Ascent Owner Complaints

I own a Subaru 2023 Ascent ([XXX]) that I purchased in December 2022. Since I got the car, the car has been nothing but a headache and has been full of issues. The car was making a squeaking noise from the break from the day we got it. I took it to the dealer (within a month, 600 miles), and after a few times going to them, they suggested it had poor brake pads. As per their recommendation, the dealer changed the brake pads. After driving another 1000 miles, the bolt of calipers came off in the middle of the road, and the car started making stuttering noise. Luckily the breaks were still functioning, so I could drive back to the dealer. I took it back to the dealer, and they told me they could fix the car once and for all. After another 2000 miles today, the car brakes failed again when I dropped the kids. I almost hit the tree in front of me, but luckily no one got hurt. I called the roadside assistance as the car was undrivable. The dealer told us that a bolt of brakes came off on the driver's side. They are currently working on fixing the breaks. This incident has made us scared and questions the car's unreliability. This car is supposed to be the safest, and that was the reason we bought this in the first place. This incident has shocked us so much that we are scared of driving it, and it's prudent for us to return the car. We are looking for an immediate solution related to returning the car and giving us our full money back. Appreciate you looking into our issue. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

5/2/2023

The brake pedal is too high for people of average height, especially women, to use properly. Our feet slip underneath the brake when using it. When our heels are on the floor, our toes barely touch the brake pedal, and going from the gas to brake pedals smoothly is impossible with our heels on the car floor. Holding our right legs up above the floor causes extreme hip pain, as well as inaccuracy when transferring between the gas and brake pedals. The fact that the brake pedal is so far forward of the gas pedal also causes inaccuracy when switching from gas to brake. My shoes have gotten caught on the brake pedal many times in the transition, costing me valuable time in depressing the brake. I contacted the Subaru dealership and they said the entire brake pedal and arm would have to be replaced and they didn’t know how to do that. I would have paid for it. I contact Subaru Corporate and they left me a voicemail but then didn’t answer any of the times I called back. I am having to get hand controls installed in order to drive safely. It’s costing thousands. Subaru needs to acknowledge this is a huge problem and change the design of its brake pedal going forward, as well as offer replacement brake pedals for those of us who already own Ascents. Please see the Subaru Ascent Forum for others’ complaints. Thank you.

6/13/2023

Windshield cracked more than 2 inches above the front windshield A/C vent while vehicle is in warm up process around outside temperature 30F. This car is only 3 weeks old with mileage w 240 at the cracked occurred.

12/14/2022

Just bought my Ascent last 12/31/22. With less than 600 miles, while driving with my heater on, I noticed there was a crack on windshield lower center portion, about 5" in length. There was no object that hit the windshield that I saw or heard.

2/10/2023

Side passenger window spontaneously developed a crack about 10 inches long while sitting parked. The crack is located the direct line of sight of the side view mirror.

1/9/2023

I attempted to make a U-turn with the steering wheel fully turned to the left. When I accelerated, the car took off and went straight into the curb. It did so by “plowing” or what is referred to as severely undesteering - which forced the front right face of the wheel into the curb, breaking the wheel off. The vehicle continued accelerating for another 50 feet (as can be seen in the photographs) when the engine gradually and audibly died down and came to a stop. The brakes were no longer functioning properly at that time while sinking to the floor as they did immediately after the first impact. In the four months and 2300 miles that I’ve been driving that car, I’ve noticed surging a number of times during warm up and also while the CVT is “shifting.” I also constantly have to modulate the gas pedal to keep the vehicle at a consistent speed. RPMs drop and surge in an inconsistent manner. Also, when the wheel is turned completely to the left lock, (which is how my crash occurred) and upon acceleration, there is a bang/grinding sound from the front left axle. Lastly, I noticed at least one other incident where it seemed like the turbo would not disengage when lifting off the throttle. In other words, it lagged in response to the throttle by about two full seconds before the engine began decelerating.

5/15/2023

Subaru Eyesight will turn off randomly while driving or while parked (turn the vehicle off, unlock the door, sit for a minute or two and when restarting the vehicle, eyesight indicator is orange - off. Example - getting fuel at a full service gas station. Yes the vehicle is available for inspection. Our safety is put at risk. Once Eyesight is off it will not reset/restart, so you are driving without the number one Subaru safety feature. We can reproduce the error. The Dealer just looked at the codes and said it was normal operation. We reported the error to Subaru Customer care and we have a case number. Subaru Customer care is going to contact the Dealer. There is a small red "i" indicator light in the dash that will light up after Eyesight fails. There are no warnings of the failure. We understand rain, snow and fog will impact Eyesight. We had a 2020 Subaru that Eyesight only shutdown when expected (heavy rain, snow, fog) and would restart once we were in the clear, but now we are told that sunlight and windshield condensation affects Eyesight's functionality. We were also told by Customer care that the cameras where changed on the 2023 Ascent model.

11/29/2023

The auto brakes are not accurate because it triggers them in unsafe situations.

1/28/2024

Falken ZIEX ZE001 A/S rear right tire. We were driving on the 14 freeway when suddenly the car began shaking and warning lights started going off. My husband kept the wheel steady and I saw our tire come off in a solid piece onto the freeway! We had not hit anything. We made it four lanes over to the right shoulder safely to see that we had no tire left! We waited for assistance and got the spare put on thank God as we had our child in car with us. We called our mechanic at Subaru and returned an hour to him to replace the tire. After several hours we drove past the same spot and the tire that had come Off was laying completely intact on the shoulder of freeway. No obvious cuts in it except it was off the wheel/rim. This is a brand new vehicle with just 2500 miles on it.

2/16/2023

On 7/16/2023 I was driving my 2023 Subaru Ascent on I-95 when the tire PSI warning alerted me to low tire pressure on my rear driver side tire (Falken 245/50/R20 - tires were on the vehicle when purchased in April 2023). I immediately turned on my hazard lights, lessened my speed, and carefully made my way to the shoulder hoping to exit the highway for assistance. The tire pressure dropped from 34 to 0 in a matter of seconds (I watched the PSI monitor in the dash display). I barely made it to the shoulder. A AAA technician [XXX] A-Z Towing) changed my tire and noted that the tire may be defective after inspecting the tire, given the sidewall damage and no other obvious tire damage to cause the flat and that I had less than 4k miles on the vehicle. Internet searches yielded a recall for my exact vehicle and tires, my exact experience with sudden loss of tire pressure; yet my VIN was not included in the recall. I am concerned that the recall is not expansive enough and there may be other vehicles with defective tires driving unaware because their VIN was not identified. The recall may need to be more expansive and inclusive. I have an appointment with Subaru Hunt Valley today and have been in contact with Subaru of America - case #[XXX] s far, Subaru is not acknowledging my experience as part of the recall. I am fearful to drive my new car in that I worry the other three tires will rupture spontaneously. This is not the safety I expected when purchasing a new Subaru. I was on I-95 traveling at 55mph in the rain in the second from left lane when the tire PSI alert sounded. Thankfully, I acted immediately out of an abundance of caution and concern, since there was no reason for my tire to suddenly lose pressure it was alarming. I could have caused an accident and have been severely injured. I do not feel safe driving my vehicle knowing it has three other tires susceptible to the same issue. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

7/22/2023

(1) PASSENGER seat airbag status light has been and still is intermittent. This fact is documented with dated pics attached. (4/4/23 and 8/6/23) (2) When the passenger airbag light is off, the airbag will not deploy putting my wife at serious risk. (She is the usual occupant at 98 lbs and 5ft 3inch) (3) Problem/issue has been observed and confirmed by local dealer. (4) Manufacturer has been advised of the issue and three attempts at resolution. (calibrating, seat bottom replacement, and software updating), see attached last service report. Note comment: "V E H I C L E I S PERFORMING AS DESIGNED" (5) There are no other warnings, messages, or symptoms other than the light intermittency. (6) Additionally, we drove a loaner car from dealer while problem resolution was attempted. See pic dated June 5. This vehicle showed similar behavior with airbag light. Draw your own conclusions.

6/10/2023

unknown defects in some vehicles that could cause sudden and unintended acceleration without driver input Yes, our safety was at risk. The vehicle was clearly not in our control. A police report was generated. The car plowed through the garage no control to brake The damages are being inspected by insurance. There were no waring lights that I could see

8/22/2024

Subaru Eyesight will turn off randomly while driving or while parked (turn the vehicle off, unlock the door, sit for a minute or two and when restarting the vehicle, eyesight indicator is orange - off. Example - getting fuel at a full service gas station. Yes the vehicle is available for inspection. Our safety is put at risk. Once Eyesight is off it will not reset/restart, so you are driving without the number one Subaru safety feature. We can reproduce the error. The Dealer just looked at the codes and said it was normal operation. We reported the error to Subaru Customer care and we have a case number. Subaru Customer care is going to contact the Dealer. There is a small red "i" indicator light in the dash that will light up after Eyesight fails. There are no warnings of the failure. We understand rain, snow and fog will impact Eyesight. We had a 2020 Subaru that Eyesight only shutdown when expected (heavy rain, snow, fog) and would restart once we were in the clear, but now we are told that sunlight and windshield condensation affects Eyesight's functionality. We were also told by Customer care that the cameras where changed on the 2023 Ascent model.

11/29/2023

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Ascent. The contact stated that the Eyesight system was intermittently inoperable. A message indicating that the Eyesight function was disabled was displayed. Additionally, the contact stated that the Eyesight icon turned from green to white with a line across. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the failure could not be replicated. The dealer advised the contact to keep records of occurrences of the failure. The contact followed the dealer's instructions. The contact stated that upon following up with the dealer, the dealer informed the contact that the regional field engineer had been notified of the failure and advised that there was no remedy to correct the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 3,000.

11/4/2024

Only 3500 miles on new 2023 Subaru ASCENT and it won"t start. I have had to give it a boost four times already, anytime I need to use it. I check to make sure there are no lights left on. Just staying parked from one day to the next and it won"t start. I have an appointment at the dealer service dept. at 1:45 pm o June 5th, 2023, for them to hopefully resolve the problem. I'll have to give it boost to start the car and drive 125 miles to the dealer. Hope the car makes it there. On your website, the 2019, 2020and 2021 models had a recall for the battery draining because of faulty wiring. We would think the manufacture Sabaru would have taken care of this problem on the newer models.

6/3/2023

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.

3/19/2025

Only 3500 miles on new 2023 Subaru ASCENT and it won"t start. I have had to give it a boost four times already, anytime I need to use it. I check to make sure there are no lights left on. Just staying parked from one day to the next and it won"t start. I have an appointment at the dealer service dept. at 1:45 pm o June 5th, 2023, for them to hopefully resolve the problem. I'll have to give it boost to start the car and drive 125 miles to the dealer. Hope the car makes it there. On your website, the 2019, 2020and 2021 models had a recall for the battery draining because of faulty wiring. We would think the manufacture Sabaru would have taken care of this problem on the newer models.

6/3/2023

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.

3/19/2025

Front passenger seat in Subaru Ascents do not have means of raising and lowering seat height. Consequently, shorter passengers are faced with either sitting very low in front passenger seat or having to use a pillow or cushion to raise them up on seat. Not sure how this can affect front passenger safety, but it is certainly something worthy of investigating. Subaru said that this feature is not available on their Ascents, but is available on their smaller and less expensive Outbacks.

7/12/2023

The heated seats do not heat. They are luke warm and you can barely feel any heat. I took the vehicle to my local Subaru dealer and they determined there was no issue. Was told the seats are not suppose to get hot. So what is the point of heated seats then? There are several online groups for Subaru where owner discuss issues with their vehicles and give advice. There are many customers who are complaining about the same thing. (Seat being luke warm). Then there are other customers who say their seats get super hot on the same model vehicle. I contacted Subaru of America, told them about the issue and the complaints in the online groups about the issue. They only advised me to go to a different dealer and be retested. Obviously in certain vehicles the heated seats are defective because some people say they are super hot and some say they barely get warm. I just can't get anyone at Subaru to admin there is an issue and take corrective action. I am ok with you inspecting the vehicle. no warming lights on indicating a problem. The vehicle was bought new October 2023 and the seats have always been this way. I feel that the seats are defective in some manner and that alone is a safety risk. All that energy that is suppose to be heating the seats and isn't has to be going somewhere and could lead to a fire or electrical shock.

1/30/2024

On 7/16/2023 I was driving my 2023 Subaru Ascent on I-95 when the tire PSI warning alerted me to low tire pressure on my rear driver side tire (Falken 245/50/R20 - tires were on the vehicle when purchased in April 2023). I immediately turned on my hazard lights, lessened my speed, and carefully made my way to the shoulder hoping to exit the highway for assistance. The tire pressure dropped from 34 to 0 in a matter of seconds (I watched the PSI monitor in the dash display). I barely made it to the shoulder. A AAA technician [XXX] from A-Z Towing) changed my tire and noted that the tire may be defective after inspecting the tire, given the sidewall damage and no other obvious tire damage to cause the flat and that I had less than 4k miles on the vehicle. Internet searches yielded a recall for my exact vehicle and tires, my exact experience with sudden loss of tire pressure; yet my VIN was not included in the recall. I am concerned that the recall is not expansive enough and there may be other vehicles with defective tires driving unaware because their VIN was not identified. The recall may need to be more expansive and inclusive. I have an appointment with Subaru Hunt Valley today and have been in contact with Subaru of America - case [XXX] . Thus far, Subaru is not acknowledging my experience as part of the recall. I am fearful to drive my new car in that I worry the other three tires will rupture spontaneously. This is not the safety I expected when purchasing a new Subaru. I was on I-95 traveling at 55mph in the rain in the second from left lane when the tire PSI alert sounded. Thankfully, I acted immediately out of an abundance of caution and concern, since there was no reason for my tire to suddenly lose pressure it was alarming. I could have caused an accident and have been severely injured. I do not feel safe driving my vehicle knowing it has three other tires susceptible to the same issue. (Also filed complaint as to tires.) INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 5

7/22/2023

I have owned the car new since July 1, 2023. About a month into ownership the TPMS light came on. My wife was close to a tire shop so they checked all the pressures and all were fine. The light started coming on with regularity, any drive over about 25 miles would trigger it 99% of the time and it would reset shortly. Took to dealer they saw the faults in memory but did not know why they were being set. Cleared and reset the modules. The light was back a few days later and then on September 10 and 11 was on full time so I set an appointment. By the time I got the dealer the light had cleared. they found similar codes but they were not useful. The dealer wanted me to agree to pay for diagnostics if the "warranty company" turned down the claim. The warranty company being Subaru of America. I declined to pay for a safety issue being diagnosed on a brand new car. I have notified Subaru of America of my concern and have not received a response at this time. Looking at the Subaru forums on-line it appears that this TPMS issue is quite widespread. It is also apparent that Subaru is not willing to fix its safety issues without my agreeing to pay as well.

9/12/2023

Subaru Eyesight will turn off randomly while driving or while parked (turn the vehicle off, unlock the door, sit for a minute or two and when restarting the vehicle, eyesight indicator is orange - off. Example - getting fuel at a full service gas station. Yes the vehicle is available for inspection. Our safety is put at risk. Once Eyesight is off it will not reset/restart, so you are driving without the number one Subaru safety feature. We can reproduce the error. The Dealer just looked at the codes and said it was normal operation. We reported the error to Subaru Customer care and we have a case number. Subaru Customer care is going to contact the Dealer. There is a small red "i" indicator light in the dash that will light up after Eyesight fails. There are no warnings of the failure. We understand rain, snow and fog will impact Eyesight. We had a 2020 Subaru that Eyesight only shutdown when expected (heavy rain, snow, fog) and would restart once we were in the clear, but now we are told that sunlight and windshield condensation affects Eyesight's functionality. We were also told by Customer care that the cameras where changed on the 2023 Ascent model.

11/29/2023

Incident Description – Event 1 On August 28, 2025, at approximately 4:45 p.m. while driving on Sugar Ridge Road, my 2023 Subaru Ascent suddenly jerked violently into the left lane without warning while the EyeSight Driver Assist system was active. I had to take immediate corrective action to maintain control and avoid a head-on collision. This behavior has occurred on multiple occasions under similar circumstances. My husband has also experienced the same issue while driving, which demonstrates this is not an isolated event. Incident Description – Event 2 On multiple other occasions, while the EyeSight Driver Assist system was engaged, the vehicle veered dangerously close to a semi-truck traveling beside us. I had to react instantly to prevent sideswiping the truck, which could have resulted in a severe accident. We have noticed this behavior occurs nearly every time we are alongside a semi-truck on the highway.

9/15/2025

The auto brakes are not accurate because it triggers them in unsafe situations.

1/28/2024

I was entering an intersection to make a left-hand turn. I was driving at a low speed. My foot was pressing the accelerator and the car entered the intersection. In the middle of the intersection, the car wheels suddenly stopped turning. There was nothing in front of the car. Cars behind me began honking since my car stopped suddenly and unexpectedly while I saw a notice displayed on the car messaging, but I do not know what it said. I am unsure if the car engine turned off or not, but I remember turning on my hazard lights, putting the car in park and pressing the start button. I was able to drive out of the intersection to a safe location and turned off the car engine. I restarted the car and drove immediately to the dealer where I purchased the car from for them to evaluate it. It is currently being submitted for diagnostics at the car dealer. I told them I would make this safety report while I waited.

11/21/2025

unknown defects in some vehicles that could cause sudden and unintended acceleration without driver input Yes, our safety was at risk. The vehicle was clearly not in our control. A police report was generated. The car plowed through the garage no control to brake The damages are being inspected by insurance. There were no waring lights that I could see

8/22/2024

There was a SUDDEN and UNINTENDED acceleration without the driver input while braking to park going approximately 1 - 2 MPH. Our safety was at risk. The vehicle was not in our control. A police report was generated. Rather than stopping we crashed into the apartment building causing significant damage to both the apartment and our vehicle. There were no warnings, no automatic braking to avoid the collision, the air bags did not deploy. The total damages are still being determined by the dealer and insurance company.

9/2/2024

The auto brakes are not accurate because it triggers them in unsafe situations.

1/28/2024

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Ascent. The contact stated that the Eyesight system was intermittently inoperable. A message indicating that the Eyesight function was disabled was displayed. Additionally, the contact stated that the Eyesight icon turned from green to white with a line across. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the failure could not be replicated. The dealer advised the contact to keep records of occurrences of the failure. The contact followed the dealer's instructions. The contact stated that upon following up with the dealer, the dealer informed the contact that the regional field engineer had been notified of the failure and advised that there was no remedy to correct the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 3,000.

11/4/2024

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.

3/19/2025

Incident Description – Event 1 On August 28, 2025, at approximately 4:45 p.m. while driving on Sugar Ridge Road, my 2023 Subaru Ascent suddenly jerked violently into the left lane without warning while the EyeSight Driver Assist system was active. I had to take immediate corrective action to maintain control and avoid a head-on collision. This behavior has occurred on multiple occasions under similar circumstances. My husband has also experienced the same issue while driving, which demonstrates this is not an isolated event. Incident Description – Event 2 On multiple other occasions, while the EyeSight Driver Assist system was engaged, the vehicle veered dangerously close to a semi-truck traveling beside us. I had to react instantly to prevent sideswiping the truck, which could have resulted in a severe accident. We have noticed this behavior occurs nearly every time we are alongside a semi-truck on the highway.

9/15/2025