2024 Subaru Crosstrek problems: recalls, complaints and whether this is a year to avoid
The 2024 Subaru Crosstrek has 119 owner complaints on record with NHTSA, which ranks it 1 of 3 Subaru Crosstrek model years by complaint volume. That is the highest of any year in the run — the 2023 car has 34. 2 recall entries cover this year.
Is 2024 a good year for the Subaru Crosstrek?
The spread across this nameplate is wide: the 2024 draws 4 times the complaints of the 2023. On a run like that the model year you buy matters more than the badge, and 2024 sits near the top of it.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Recall entries |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 ← this page | 119 | 2 |
| 2023 | 34 | 0 |
| 2017 | 97 | 1 |
| 2014 | not retrieved | 1 |
Older years have been on the road longer and collect more complaints for that reason alone, and a year that sold in higher volume collects more while being no worse.
This retrieval holds 4 of the nameplate’s model years. 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 are absent, which means no records came back for them — not that they were clean. The ranking above is among the years shown.
The 2024 accounts for 48% of every complaint filed against the Subaru Crosstrek in this retrieval, which works out to 59.5 complaints per year on the road across the 2 years since it was sold new — the figure to compare against other years, because it removes the advantage a newer car gets simply from having had less time to accumulate reports.
Complaints rose sharply against the preceding year: the 2024 carries 3.5 times the reports of the 2023. A jump that size between consecutive years usually means something changed in the car rather than in how many were sold, and it is worth asking a seller what was done to this one.
Which recalls cover the 2024?
Electrical System
Due to insufficient clearance, the instrument panel harness may contact the steering beam bracket, damaging the wire insulation and causing a short circuit.
Free remedy: Dealers will inspect the harness and install an additional clamp on the steering beam bracket. If damage is found, dealers will add protective tape or replace the instrument panel harness, as necessary.
Power Train
The front driveshaft assemblies' outer race may develop cracks and break.
Free remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the left and right front driveshafts as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 8, 2024.
Take the campaign number to any franchised Subaru dealer. Recall repairs are free with no mileage or ownership limit, and they follow the car rather than the owner, so a used 2024 with an unrepaired campaign is a free repair you can claim. How recalls work.
Recall text is abridged from the NHTSA record. Search the campaign number at nhtsa.gov/recalls for the full notice and affected VIN ranges.
What do owners report on the Subaru Crosstrek?
Across every Subaru Crosstrek year, not the 2024 alone — NHTSA does not split component totals by model year.
- Unknown or Other — 60 reports
- Visibility/Wiper — 35 reports
- Electrical System — 27 reports
- Exterior Lighting — 16 reports
Which other Subaru Crosstrek years should you compare?
← 2023 Subaru Crosstrek · All Subaru Crosstrek years
If you are deciding between years, the table above is the short answer and the Subaru Crosstrek page carries the full run with the component breakdown. Before money changes hands, run the VIN for open recalls and read the inspection checklist — ten minutes in the seller’s driveway finds most of what matters.
Check a 2024 before you commit
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