Chevrolet Cruze vs Subaru Outback

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure	Chevrolet Cruze	Subaru Outback
Complaints on file	5,786	12,410
Model years covered	2010–2019	1995–2026
Worst model year	2014	2017
Best model year	2017	1997
Crashes reported	479	686
Fires reported	137	149
Injuries reported	226	308
Deaths reported	3	8
Most complained-about part	Engine & Cooling	Electrical System
Share of complaints involving harm	14.6%	9.3%

Chevrolet Cruze by year

2 1,116 1,354 936 1,106 383 395 295 166 33

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 1,401 24.2%

Electrical System 761 13.2%

Transmission & Drivetrain 677 11.7%

Other & Unspecified 468 8.1%

Brakes 383 6.6%

Stability & Traction Control 382 6.6%

Steering 377 6.5%

Fuel & Propulsion 273 4.7%

Subaru Outback by year

3 57 94 165 150 247 207 172 116 108 354 404 182 281 143 469 857 369 408 276 650 775 1,106 995 1,290 1,135 416 559 127 149 124 22

95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Electrical System 2,292 18.5%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 2,092 16.9%

Other & Unspecified 1,326 10.7%

Engine & Cooling 1,024 8.3%

Transmission & Drivetrain 991 8.0%

Airbags 701 5.6%

Brakes 614 4.9%

Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance 551 4.4%