Reliability & cost of ownership
Subaru Ascent Reliability & Common Problems
How reliable is the Subaru Ascent? Compare every model year side by side — NHTSA recalls, owner complaints, and crash-test stars — then open the year you're shopping for a full reliability and repair-cost forecast.
Subaru Ascent problems by model year
25 recall entries and 1029 owner complaints on file across 8 model years, sourced from the federal NHTSA database.
| Year | Recalls | Complaints | NCAP stars | Full report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Ascent | 1 | 1 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2025 Ascent | 1 | 14 | 5.0 | Full reliability report → |
| 2024 Ascent | 1 | 50 | 5.0 | Full reliability report → |
| 2023 Ascent | 4 | 44 | 5.0 | Reliability forecast → |
| 2022 Ascent | 2 | 55 | 5.0 | Full reliability report → |
| 2021 Ascent | 2 | 102 | 5.0 | Reliability forecast → |
| 2020 Ascent | 5 | 322 | 5.0 | Reliability forecast → |
| 2019 Ascent | 9 | 441 | 5.0 | Reliability forecast → |
Most-complained-about components
Owner complaints filed with NHTSA against the Subaru Ascent, grouped by the component each complaint names — the fastest read on where this model gives trouble.
- electrical system292 complaints
- power train185 complaints
- unknown or other152 complaints
- visibility/wiper152 complaints
- engine104 complaints
- service brakes86 complaints
- visibility54 complaints
- forward collision avoidance47 complaints