Seat Belt complaints by model year
| Year | Complaints | Share of year's complaints | Typical mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 | 5% | — |
| 2025 | 2 | 2% | — |
| 2022 | 3 | 1% | — |
| 2020 | 1 | 0% | 1,000 miles |
| 2019 | 2 | 0% | — |
| 2018 | 2 | 0% | — |
| 2017 | 5 | 1% | 3,000 miles |
| 2016 | 5 | 1% | 20,000 miles |
| 2015 | 2 | 0% | 37,000 miles |
| 2014 | 6 | 3% | 34,000 miles |
| 2013 | 4 | 1% | 40,000 miles |
| 2012 | 3 | 1% | 130,000 miles |
| 2011 | 4 | 1% | 85,000 miles |
| 2010 | 2 | 1% | 82,000 miles |
| 2009 | 2 | 2% | 70,000 miles |
| 2008 | 3 | 1% | 13,000 miles |
| 2007 | 2 | 2% | 66,000 miles |
| 2006 | 1 | 0% | — |
| 2005 | 2 | 1% | — |
| 2002 | 5 | 3% | 138,000 miles |
| 2001 | 1 | 1% | 165,000 miles |
| 2000 | 8 | 4% | 79,000 miles |
| 1999 | 3 | 3% | 92,000 miles |
| 1998 | 4 | 3% | 10,000 miles |
| 1996 | 2 | 4% | — |
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (buckles, retractors, anchors and pretensioners).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
No component failed or malfunction. It is working as designed but it is a serious safety concern that can not be addressed except by purposely bypassing the safety system or systems. For whatever reason Subaru added rear seat belt chime alarms to the rear seats. Three in total it appears. Driver, passenger, and center. The chimes will continue to grow louder until it blocks all radio and becomes a distraction. In theory this is not a bad idea. In practice it is a safety concern. Subaru markets their vehicles as being pet friendly. The issue is when I have my dog in the back seat the seat beat alarm continues to go of sporadically and she is not done growing yet. I don't use harness/restraints but even if I did there would be no way to keep her in the correct position to not make the adjacent seat chime. …
I discovered substantial seat belt fraying on the rear center seatbelt on my Outback Wilderness, mileage less than 3,600, on May 12, 2022. Photos will be attached. One fray is 1/4" x 1/4", is 30" from the tip end of the connector tongue, and has separated the belt. The second fray is 1/4" x 11/4" and is 34" from the tip end of the connector tongue. Both frays are on the same side or edge of the belt. Other than the frays, the belt was in new condition. I believe the belt to have been furnished in a defective condition or there is a defect in the retracting apparatus. There is no external cause of the fraying that I could determine. The belt has been replaced by the dealer, Adventure Subaru, of Fayetteville, Arkansas. A separate complaint will be submitted related to a 2019 Ascent we own that had three belts replaced with nearly identical fraying patterns.
September 9th 2017, our Outback was involved in an accident on a mixed residential/commercial street intersection, when it was hit on the left front wheel, hard enough to spin the car so that the left rear corner made contact with the other vehicle. The impact resulted in serious injuries requiring hospitalization and weeks of recovery. The airbags & seatbelt pre-tensioners did not activate. After the collision, the "sos" button was pressed, but there was no response from starlink. Several days later the starlink concierge called to advise us that the lights were "on" and checking on our wellbeing. They were unaware that the vehicle had been in an accident several days prior, nor did they have any record that the "sos" button had been activated. The cause of the non-activation is still under investigation by our insurance and Subaru
I hit a large deer on ih 10 at 75 MPH. All airbags deployed safely but conpletely blocked my vision and prevented me from exiting the vehicle as the bags blocked door handles, window control switches and my seat belt release. Another motorist cut air bag strips and helped me to exit the car. Fortunately, no fire.
Incident occurred on Interstate 25 Northbound at approximately mm 190. My speed was approximately 70 mph. Weather was dry and about 70 degrees. I was in the next to left lane in 4 lanes of traffic. The moonroof on my 2016 Subaru Outback exploded violently sending glass outward into traffic. I had never heard of this phenomena so when I saw black material from the top of my car going into traffic I thought it was pieces of my roof rack. I pulled over to the shoulder to examine my car and saw a massive hole in the moonroof. Knowing that if I continued shards of glass would continue to be expelled onto the interstate I pulled the remaining pieces of glass into the interior of the car. Not that it mattered, that's where they fell anyway when I opened the moonroof. The pieces of the moonroof fell into the slots for the seatbelts, rendering the drivers side inoperable. …
My Outback lost AC/Heat and even after repair at an Outback dealership, it still goes out intermittently. My car battery seems to drain for no reason at all, without any consistency to the drainage of power either. I have it looked at, and the dealership said there isn't a cause and there isn't anything that can be done. Back rear door doesn't lock and unlock with the key fob designation; sets off the alarm when we don't pay attention to it. Hatch door only lifts about 14 inches upon designation. Has to be manually lifted the rest of the way. Has been fixed once at a dealership, but since returned to the aforementioned diagnosis.
my air bags didn't deploy when I hit a tree, and the seat belt gave loose. A police report was filed, and the car was evaluated by a collision center. The insurance company has not yet evaluated the vehicle. The air bag indicator light indicated the air bags were in good working order. I slid off the road in snow and hit a tree dead on and my entire front end crumpled, but my air bags didn't deploy and my seat belt was fully extended when I exited the vehicle to get into the ambulance.
I was hit by a 1979 Dodge pickup that ran a red light on 6th street while I was driving 30 MPH headed north on jackson street in topeka, kansas. It impacted my Subaru on the passenger side in the area of the front fender and front door. Upon impact, none of my airbags deployed nor did my seat belt restrain me. I hit the steering wheel with my chest....updated 12/03/15 updated 04/25/18
Frequently asked questions
Which Subaru Outback years have seat belt problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 2000 (8), 2014 (6), 2002 (5), 2016 (5) and 2017 (5) model years. Seat Belt complaints make up 4% of all complaints for the 2000.
Is there a recall for Subaru Outback seat belt problems?
No. NHTSA lists no seat belts recall for any Subaru Outback model year. A widespread problem may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin, so ask a dealer.
At what mileage do Subaru Outback seat belt problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 56,000 miles; 54% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the front › retractor (8 mentions), followed by the front › buckle assembly (7).
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.