2019 Subaru Outback

THE WINDSHIELD CRACKED AFTER LESS THAN A MONTH OF OWNERSHIP. IT STARTED FROM THE LOWER PASSENGER SIDE BELOW THE WIPER ON THE HEATING ELEMENT. IT MANIFESTED ONE MORNING BEFORE I LEFT FOR WORK IN LATE MAY. MY DEALERSHIP REFUSES TO REPLACE IT, CLAIMING IT WAS A ROCK, THOUGH THERE ARE NO CHIPS OR SPIDERING. IT'S A SINGLE LONG CRACK THAT WINDS ACROSS THE WINDSHIELD. WHEN I ASKED THEM HOW IT COULD HAVE BEEN A ROCK WITHOUT A POINT OF IMPACT, THE RESPONSE FROM THE SERVICE MANAGER WAS "ROCKS CAN DO FUNNY THINGS." MY 2016 IMPREZA HAD ITS WINDSHIELD REPLACED WITH THIS EXACT TYPE OF CRACK UNDER WARRANTY.

I TOOK DELIVERY OF A 2019 SUBARU OUTBACK IN MID-JANUARY 2019. IN MARCH (03/12/2019) A SMALL ROCK HIT THE DRIVERS EDGE OF THE WINDSHIELD RESULTING IN A LARGE CRACK. I WORKED IT THROUGH MY INSURANCE AND THE WINDSHIELD WAS REPLACED BY A THIRD-PARTY INSTALLER WORKING DIRECTLY WITH THE LOCAL SUBARU DEALERSHIP. AT THE TIME, I HAD ONLY 2K MILES ON THE VEHICLE. IN MAY (05/09/2019), A SMALL ROCK HIT THE REPLACEMENT WINDSHIELD AND THERE IS NOW A LARGE CRACK. THE WINDSHIELD WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE HAD LESS THAN 5K MILES ON IT. I'VE HAD TWO (2) BROKEN WINDSHIELDS BEFORE I HAVE EVEN HAD MY FIRST OIL CHANGE. MY PREVIOUS VEHICLE WAS A 2007 SUBARU OUTBACK. I DROVE IT FOR 12 YEARS AND 235K MILES AND NEVER HAD A CRACKED WINDSHIELD EVEN THOUGH IT HAD BEEN HIT BY COUNTLESS ROCKS AND HAD NUMEROUS CHIPS. TWO WINDSHIELDS IN THREE MONTHS SUGGESTS THE PROBLEM IS WITH THE MODERN GLASS THAT IS DESIGNED TO WORK WITH THE SUBARU EYESIGHT SYSTEM. I WROTE AND ASKED SUBARU TO REPLACE THE SECOND WINDSHIELD AS A WARRANTY ITEM BUT THEY DECLINED. BOTH INCIDENTS OCCURED WHILE DRIVING ON PAVED HIGHWAYS.

WE WERE DRIVING OUR SUBARU OUTBACK WITH 1100 MILES ON IT ON THE HIGHWAY ON SUNDAY MAY 26, 2019 - THERE WAS NOT MUCH TRAFFIC AND NO ONE WAS IN FRONT OF US. WE NOTICED A CRACK IN OUR WINDSHIELD AND AT FIRST DID NOT THINK IT WAS A CRACK. WHEN WE GOT TO OUR DESTINATION WE LOOKED AT THE WINDSHIELD - ONLY TO FIND WHAT WAS A 4 INCH CRACK. NOTHING HIT THE WINDSHIELD IT JUST CRACKED. THE CRACK STARTED ON THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE WINDSHIELD BELOW THE WIPER BLADE (AS OTHERS HAVE STATED ALSO) AT THE PRESENT TIME THE CRACK IS ABOUT 18 INCHES AND HAS GONE FROM THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE WINDSHIELD TO THE DRIVER SIDE AND HAS TAKEN A TURN NOW BACK TO THE PASSENGER SIDE. KNOW THAT OTHERS HAVE VOICED SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH THE SUBARU OUTBACK FROM 2019 AS WELL AS EARLIER YEARS OF THE MODEL. FEEL AS THOUGH SUBARU IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS ISSUE.

I HAD PARKED TRY 2019 OUTBACK FOR WORK ON A PUBLIC STREET. WHEN I GOT IN AFTER WORK AND CLOSED MY DOOR, THE REAR GLASS SHATTERED AND ABOUT 1/4 OF IT FELL INTO THE BACK OF THE CAR. I INSPECTED THE INTERIOR OF THE CAR AND THE OUTSIDE AREA WHERE IT WAS PARKED, LOOKING FOR SOME SIGN THAT MAYBE SOMEONE HAD TRIED TO BREAK IN OR VANDALIZED IT. I FOUND NO SIGN. I THEN PUSHED MORE OF THE SHATTERED GLASS INSIDE MY CAR TO IMPROVE THE REAR VISIBILITY, AND DROVE TO A GLASS REPAIR STORE.

2019 SUBARU OUTBACK PURCHASED 2/20/19; TOOK POSSESSION 2/22/19. ON 4/14/19 TWO VERY LARGE (18-24IN)CRACKS, RAPIDLY SPREADING APPEARED AS I STARTED UP MY VEHICLE. ONE CRACK STARTED ABOUT 2 IN ABOVE THE LOWER CORNER ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE. APPROXIMATELY 2 WEEKS BEFORE THIS CRACK APPEARED, A VERY SMALL PIECE OF GRAVEL STRUCK THE WINDSHIELD IN THIS AREA BUT NO DAMAGE/CRACKS/HOLES WERE VISIBLE ON CLOSE INSPECTION FOLLOWING THIS. THE SECOND CRACK ORIGINATED APPROX. MIDWAY BELOW THE WIPER APPARATUS ON THE DRIVERS SIDE. THERE HAD BEEN NO ROCKS HITTING IN THIS AREA PREVIOUSLY OR OTHER DAMAGE. AGAIN, BOTH CRACKS STARTED AFTER THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN IMMOBILE OVERNIGHT IN MY GARAGE; THE TEMPERATURE THAT MORNING WAS IN THE HIGH 40S (48F) AND IMMEDIATELY OCCURRED ON STARTING THE VEHICLE AND SPREAD WITHIN SECONDS TO 18-24 INCHES ARCHING ACROSS THE DRIVER'S SIDE WINDSHIELD. SINCE, THE CRACKS HAVE CONTINUED TO SPREAD APPROX 1-3 INCHES PER DAY. IN CONTACTING THE DEALERSHIP, THEY DENY ANY ISSUES WITH SUBARU OUTBACK WINDSHIELDS. THIS IS UNLIKE ANY WINDSHIELD CRACKING EXPERIENCE I HAVE HAD AND DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE DUE TO ROCK DAMAGE, OTHER EXTERNAL DAMAGE.

MY CONCERN IS WITH THE QUALITY AND SAFETY OF THE WINDSHIELD ON THE 2019 SUBARU OUTBACK. I PURCHASED A 2019 SUBARU OUTBACK ON 12/31/18. IT NOW HAS 3200 MILES ON IT. ON 04/17/19 I NOTICED AN 8-10 INCH CRACK IN THE WINDSHIELD. THERE WAS A VERY SMALL, BARELY NOTICEABLE, CHIP WITHIN THE CRACK. AT NO TIME DID I HEAR ANYTHING HIT THE WINDSHIELD WHILE DRIVING. THEREFORE, A CRACKED WINDSHIELD WAS SHOCKING AND ENTIRELY UNEXPECTED FROM SUCH MINIMAL CONTACT WITH THE WINDSHIELD. WHEN THE CAR IS NOT IN USE IT IS GARAGE KEPT. MY COMMUTE HAS NOT CHANGED SINCE BUYING THIS CAR AND I HAVE NEVER HAD A CAR WINDSHIELD CRACK IN OVER 30 YEARS OF DRIVING. DUE TO THE SIZE OF THE CRACK, THE ENTIRE WINDSHIELD MUST BE REPLACED AND THE SUBARU "EYESIGHT" SYSTEM RE-CALIBRATED. IT IS MY OPINION THAT THE WINDSHIELD SHOULD NOT HAVE CRACKED IN THIS SITUATION. A SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH INDICATES THAT OTHERS HAVE CONCERNS WITH THE 2019 SUBARU OUTBACK WINDSHIELD.