Subaru Crosstrek reliability by year
14 recall campaigns and 1,124 owner complaints across 11 model years. Best year to buy: 2022. 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 11 model years · newest first
Per-year recall counts add up to 18, more than the 14 campaigns above, because a single NHTSA campaign often covers several model years and is counted once in each.
Common trouble spots across the Crosstrek aggregated across 11 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a Subaru Crosstrek?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2022 Subaru Crosstrek scores 8.4/10 — the strongest in the 2016–2026 range. 31 complaints on file, 0 active recalls. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which Subaru Crosstrek year should I avoid?
The 2019 Subaru Crosstrek scores 5.8/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 285 owner complaints with NHTSA, 7 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 Crosstrek should I avoid?
No Subaru Crosstrek 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 Crosstrek are tracked?
11 model years (2016 through 2026) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 14 distinct recall campaigns and 1,124 owner complaints. Those campaigns land on 18 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 Crosstrek?
visibility is the most-reported category — 317 complaints across 10 model years. Average shop repair runs about $350.