2022 Subaru Ascent — Known Issues & Recalls

Your moonroof's front glass panel cracked on its own without any impact, and your Subaru dealer couldn't find a reason why. This appears to be a known issue possibly caused by temperature changes or body flexing, and may happen again even after repair. The fix would involve replacing the moonroof glass panel.

Your windshield developed a crack after being hit by a small pebble near the bottom center. The crack rapidly doubled in size within 10 minutes and continues to spread. You'll likely need to have the windshield replaced to restore visibility and structural integrity.

Your windshield has cracked easily and required replacement once plus two repairs within just over a year. The windshield seems to be prone to damage from minor impacts or stress. You may want to have a technician inspect the windshield for defects or have it replaced with a higher-quality replacement glass.

Your windshield may be more prone to cracking from small rocks and road debris than expected, even after replacement. You've experienced multiple windshield failures across several Subaru vehicles, and some owners report the issue may be related to a thinner windshield design or the EyeSight camera system. Addressing this may require investigating windshield quality, potential design changes, or exploring coverage options with your insurance.

While driving downhill, your transmission suddenly downshifted aggressively, causing a loss of engine braking that made the vehicle hard to control—you nearly hit a tree. Your car became very hot and started smoking, forcing you to stop and wait over an hour before you could safely drive again. This transmission behavior may indicate an issue with how the transmission manages downshifting during engine braking situations. A transmission specialist will need to diagnose whether the transmission control system or internal transmission components need repair or replacement.

Your transmission slips when the car is cold in the morning, causing it to not move properly even when you press the accelerator. This happened on a busy street and nearly caused a collision. You've been able to recreate the problem multiple times, and you have video evidence, but the dealer hasn't been able to reproduce it during service visits. The transmission may need to be serviced, flushed, or repaired by a transmission specialist.

Your transmission is shuddering while you drive, especially between 45-60 MPH and when accelerating from a stop. The problem started around 10,000 miles and has gotten worse as your car has accumulated over 45,000 miles. The dealer evaluated it but only test-drove the vehicle about 20 miles and couldn't reproduce the issue, though it continues to happen regularly for you. Fixing this will likely require transmission service, fluid replacement, or possibly internal transmission repairs.

While driving at 35 mph under normal conditions, your side airbags deployed suddenly without any collision, impact, or warning signs. This unexpected deployment startled you and created a safety risk, but your vehicle had not struck anything and there were no road hazards present. The cause remains unknown even after inspection by your insurance company and dealership. The repair will likely involve diagnosing the airbag system and sensors to identify why they deployed without a triggering event.

Your car was involved in a front-end collision after hitting another vehicle. Despite significant front-end damage from the impact, your airbags failed to deploy during the crash.

After stopping and turning off your car, white smoke began coming from under the hood on the right side, and you noticed a strong oil smell. When you restarted the engine, a low oil warning appeared on the dashboard. This combination of low oil, smoke, and oil odor suggests an oil leak or oil burning issue that needs immediate attention. A mechanic will need to inspect the engine for leaks, check the oil level, and potentially replace seals, gaskets, or other components causing the oil loss.

Your engine is leaking oil from the camshaft carrier area. The dealer sealed this once under warranty at 36,000 miles, but the same leak has returned at 80,000 miles. The fix will likely involve removing the camshaft carrier cover and resealing it with a new gasket.

Your 2022 Subaru Ascent experienced water intrusion into the cabin after rain, with fluid accumulating in the ceiling, door panels, and carpets on the passenger side. A Subaru dealer identified clogged moonroof drains, a disconnected drain connector, and a detached door vapor barrier as the causes, and warned that extensive mold growth may be difficult to fully remove and could pose health risks. Additionally, your EyeSight collision avoidance system has been intermittently malfunctioning, which may be related to the water damage. Repairs would involve clearing the moonroof drains, reconnecting the drain line, reattaching the vapor barrier, and addressing mold remediation.

While driving at 30-35 MPH and applying the brakes, you heard an abnormal rumbling sound and the vehicle repeatedly stopped and resumed driving on its own. Your brakes didn't respond as expected, which made your stopping distance longer than normal. Your dealer repaired the brakes, but you weren't told what the exact problem was—and this was the second brake repair at that dealership in a relatively short time. The repair may involve inspecting brake fluid pressure, brake line condition, or brake caliper function to prevent this issue from happening again.

Your car was involved in a head-on front collision at 32 mph, but the airbags failed to deploy. This is a serious safety issue that should be inspected immediately to determine why the airbag system and forward collision avoidance system did not function as designed. Diagnosis will require a full inspection of the airbag control module, sensors, and wiring to identify the failure point.

Your car was involved in a front-end collision with a deer. After impact, smoke came from the engine bay, and within minutes the entire vehicle caught fire and was completely destroyed. The airbags did not deploy during the crash, the collision detection system did not trigger, and you received no warning from the vehicle's safety systems until after the fire was already raging. A thorough inspection of the airbag system, fuel system integrity, and collision detection sensors will be needed to determine why these critical safety features failed to activate.

You've repeatedly reported concerns about your tires and brakes to the dealership since the initial 6K service, but they've dismissed your concerns each time. Your car experienced a blowout on the sidewall, and the dealership confirmed your brake pads are undersized for the vehicle and your rotors are warped and pulsing. The dealership is now quoting you $160 for labor, $140 for alignment, and $1200 for tires, and has kept your car since July 17, 2024 while waiting for Subaru of America to respond. Addressing this issue will likely require brake pad replacement, rotor resurfacing or replacement, and new tires, plus a wheel alignment.

Your 2022 Ascent has experienced repeated acceleration failures and jerking while idling starting around 23,000 miles. The engine hesitates or refuses to accelerate, sometimes stopping mid-merge on highways, which has created dangerous traffic situations. Subaru has performed a software update and replaced the transmission, but the problem returns within days each time, and the dealership claims they cannot reproduce the issue during inspections.

Your Ascent randomly hesitates when accelerating into traffic at any speed, creating a dangerous delay where the engine RPM drops to 1000 or below for 3-4 seconds before suddenly revving to 3000-4000 RPM and moving forward — during this delay, you're stuck in traffic unable to proceed. You've also experienced the car slowly drifting 6-8 feet while parked and a rear hatch that only works intermittently despite a motor replacement over a year ago. The hesitation problem worsened after a dealer system update, and multiple service visits have been unable to replicate or fix the issue. A proper diagnosis and repair will likely involve reprogramming the engine control module, fuel injector inspection, and testing the transmission's shift logic.

Your car was involved in a collision at 32 mph. After the accident, you were told that the car seat installed in the vehicle would need to be replaced due to the severity of the impact. This is a standard safety precaution following moderate-speed crashes. The repair will likely involve inspecting the vehicle's frame and structural integrity, and replacing the car seat with a new one.

Your front brakes pulsate and vibrate when braking, especially on long downhill stretches, making the car feel unsafe. A dealer diagnosed this as warped rotors and replaced them, but you've found online reports of widespread front brake issues on your model with inconsistent fixes—some owners had pads replaced, others had rotors resurfaced, and apparently there are multiple brake versions available. The fix typically involves replacing brake rotors, pads, or both, but you're concerned about getting the latest brake version to prevent recurrence.