Subaru Ascent Years to Avoid — and the Years to Buy
Every Subaru Ascent model year from 2019 to 2026, benchmarked against each other with 1,327 federal complaints, 13 recall campaigns, and the odometer readings owners put in their reports.
Avoid: 2019–2020. These years top the Ascent's complaint rankings by volume and severity.
The method in one line: every NHTSA complaint for this model is counted, weighted for crashes, fires, injuries, and deaths, and each year is measured against the Ascent's own worst year — full methodology.
The trouble strip
One cell per model year. The whole answer in one glance — click any year for the full report.
The defining problem
Electrical tops the Subaru Ascent file with 297 complaints, concentrated in the 2019–2020 model years, most often reported around 11,569 miles. The year pages break down what fails and when.
Every year, ranked
| Year | Verdict | Complaints | Recalls | Top problem | Trouble index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Few reports | 2 | 1 | — | 0 |
| 2025 | Few reports | 19 | 1 | — | 4 |
| 2024 | Too early to call | 64 | 1 | Visibility & wipers | 12 |
| 2023 | Typical | 63 | 4 | Driver assistance | 15 |
| 2022 | Typical | 79 | 2 | Transmission & drivetrain | 22 |
| 2021 | Typical | 141 | 2 | Driver assistance | 26 |
| 2020 | Avoid | 403 | 5 | Electrical | 71 |
| 2019 | Avoid | 556 | 9 | Electrical | 100 |
Technical service bulletins
Beyond complaints and recalls, 2,390 manufacturer communications — service bulletins, service campaigns, warranty extensions — are on file for the Subaru Ascent. A TSB is factory repair guidance, not a recall — the repair is not automatically free.
Browse the Subaru Ascent TSB list by year →
Questions buyers ask
What Subaru Ascent years should I avoid?
Federal complaint records point to 2019–2020 as the Subaru Ascent years to avoid — they drew the highest volume of serious complaints relative to the model's other years.
What is the most common Subaru Ascent problem?
Electrical tops the Subaru Ascent file with 297 complaints, concentrated in the 2019–2020 model years, most often reported around 11,569 miles.
Every number on this page is a count of records in the federal complaint, recall, and investigation files published by NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation. Counts cover the Subaru Ascent only, scored against this model's own worst year — not against other models. Check any specific vehicle's open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.