Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (doors, hood, frame, rust, paint and trim).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2015 Subaru Outback owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while the vehicle was at the dealer for an oil change and snow tire replacement, the contact was informed that the sub frame and the brake lines were severely corroded and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to a second dealer, 802 Toyota (30 Berlin Mall Rd, Berlin, VT 05602) for a Trade-In, and it was confirmed that the sub frame was corroded during the appraisal inspection. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the failure was caused by salt damage; however, the contact stated that the vehicle was used for leisure rather than commute since the contact was retired. The failure mileage was 86,801.
The front subframe on my 2015 subaru 3.6r has rapidly rusted in a few years to the point of a safety concern. The vehicle is lightly driven, with 91,000 miles on it after almost 10 years. We live in the Northeast. I take this car in for regular inspections and service every six months and the service center I work with has not alerted me of any issues until this past march when they found the subframe almost completely rotted in the middle. Subaru has had similar issues subject to recalls for the rear subframe. Notably, my rear subframe does not have this issue. Evidence is available that this is exact issue is happening to many cars in this generation, found upon scanning forums such as reddit [redacted] and the subaruoutback.org owners forum [redacted]
While driving on 55mph road, sunroof suddenly shattered for no apparent reason (no sudden impact from rock or other debris), producing a loud bang, startling driver. Driver momentarily swerved due to being startled by noise from next to head before correcting. No other cars were around on the road at the time and driver is sure no rocks or other objects fell onto sunroof (covered by rooftop cargo box, no trees near street to drop debris). Pieces of glass went upwards and ended up on roof of vehicle.
2015 Subaru Outback Premium. Took in to a very helpful local Subaru Dealer and they discovered that the front subframe has rusted out seemingly prematurely. The vehicle just turned 10 years old with and upon doing research it seems to be a widely known commonly occurring problem. Would be handy if Subaru of America could do a recall on the front subframe as it is a very high cost repair to have it done correctly with the safest outcome.
My sunroof glass just shattered spontaneously while I was driving. Thankfully the door was closed or me and my daughter would have been showered by glass while in the road. Nothing hit the car , I just heard a loud bang over my heard and when I stopped to see what happened my sunroof was in pieces!
The dealer found significant rusting on the front subframe and some on the rear subframe. The front was enough there's a hole in it. I was told it was not safe to drive as it would not hold in an accident.
The Subaru Outback 2015 was parked in a lot after a 12 minute drive and burst into flames. It was purchased in February 2015 and was not yet due for servicing when the event happened. The Subaru Outback manufactured from July 3rd-27th 2015 has been recalled due to "possibility of fire due to a transmission fluid leak". I believe the same thing occurred with my car and I am concerned that if the model is not recalled someone will get badly injured or killed due to fire.
Rear electric liftgate sporadically fails to open. This condition persists whether I press the button on the liftgate, the dashboard liftgate button, or the key fob button. I can hear the liftgate unlatch, however it fails to open more than a couple inches. Lithia Subaru (oregon city) has not been able to repair. We purchased our vehicle new from the dealer. It has exhibited this problem from the first day we owned it. Subaru should recall and fix all vehicles with this problem. I feel strongly this is an design defect of the electrical system. This sporadic condition presents itself when the vehicle is stationary, both when the engine is running and when it is not. There doesn't seem to be any set of conditions upon which I can cause or predict the failure.
2015 Outback with 43,300 miles. Total brake failure while driving down a hill. I was able to stop the car with the transmission before it reached the railroad tracks. Dealer said this was due to excessive corrosion of the underbody of the car. Brake lines corroded and ruptured. Dealer said this was normal amount of corrosion. (they did not want to put this in writing) contacted Subaru of America. (case # 1-58312860198) they said that since dealer said it was no big deal there was nothing they could do. Case closed. I am concerned that since the corrosion is so severe that this could happen again. (this car has a long history of other things not working)
Vehicle was parked outside overnight. In the morning a 12" s shaped crack had appeared in the passenger side of the windshield. There was no detectable prior damage and no known impact to cause the crack. The crack has continued to grow and branch. Dealer states the windshield fails the "pen test," I.e. There is a tiny nick at one point of the crack which, they say, proves the crack is due to impact damage. I believe the chip appeared after the crack formed, but cannot prove this (nor can the dealer prove the opposite). Online research suggests there is a design defect in 2015 Subaru Outback windshields, which fail at remarkable rate.
Body complaints in other Outback years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 2015 Subaru Outback?
NHTSA has 33 complaints about the body & structure of the 2015 Subaru Outback, 6% of the model year's 510 complaints. The component named most often is body (22 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2015 Subaru Outback body problems?
No. NHTSA lists no body & structure recall for the 2015 Subaru Outback, though it has 5 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2015 Subaru Outback body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 18,000 miles, and 58% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 1 fire and 0 injuries to body & structure problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.