Subaru Ascent reliability by year
13 recall campaigns and 1,023 owner complaints across 8 model years. Best year to buy: 2024. Year to avoid: 2019.
Worst model years to avoid → — the single year to avoid for every model line we track, ranked side by side.
At-a-glance: every year color-coded
Each cell shows the last two digits of the model year and its 0–10 reliability score from NHTSA data. Click any year to see the full record. ★ best year · ✕ year to avoid.
Year-by-year reliability 8 model years · newest first
Per-year recall counts add up to 25, more than the 13 campaigns above, because a single NHTSA campaign often covers several model years and is counted once in each.
Common trouble spots across the Ascent aggregated across 8 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a Subaru Ascent?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2024 Subaru Ascent scores 8.0/10 — the strongest in the 2019–2026 range. 50 complaints on file, 1 active recall. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which Subaru Ascent year should I avoid?
The 2019 Subaru Ascent scores 5.2/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 439 owner complaints with NHTSA, 9 active recalls. That doesn't mean every 2019 is a problem — it means failure rates run higher than peer model years on the same platform.
Which years of the Subaru Ascent should I avoid?
No Subaru Ascent model year currently rises to an "avoid" or "high-risk" verdict on the NHTSA data — either the record is clean or sample sizes are still too thin for a confident call. The year-by-year breakdown below shows what's on file regardless.
How many years of the Subaru Ascent are tracked?
8 model years (2019 through 2026) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 13 distinct recall campaigns and 1,023 owner complaints. Those campaigns land on 25 model-year entries in total, because one campaign often covers several years at once — which is why per-year recall counts add up to more than the campaign count.
What's the most-reported problem on the Subaru Ascent?
electrical is the most-reported category — 277 complaints across 6 model years. Average shop repair runs about $850.