2013 Subaru Xv crosstrek
The Verdict
The 2013 Subaru Xv crosstrek has 96 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are engine (36 complaints) and body (26 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 74/100, it earns a "Solid Pick" rating.
This is the cleanest year on record. Nice pick.
Klunk Score: Solid Pick
Fewer complaints than most vehicles. Generally dependable, but check the top problems below.
How is this calculated?
The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.
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Under the Hood
Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.
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Worst Problems
Complaints
I have been working with Subaru of America and Capital Subaru service in San Jose, CA for a 2013 Subaru Crosstrek XV 2.0 CVT automatic engine shortly after we bought it used for multiple faulty known engine problems with this specific make and model. Since we have owned the vehicle, we have not been able to drive it for more than 2 months short distance at a time due to engine, Valve body, major low oil pressure problems, and multiple sensor issues. This vehicle has been very dangerous for us to drive and has left us stranded not to mention paying the bank we financed payments to for a car we have been unable to use since purchasing. Subaru of America and Capital Subaru in San Jose have been awful, insensitive, and unhuman to our concerns and needs. We had to call them several times and were repeatedly ignore both parties for several days without any answers or any solutions. We have spent many sleepless nights worrying about not having a vehicle to get to work and my daughter who drove the car when she could in Nursing school with the burden of having no transportation and all the stress and worrying. There is a long history of defected engines because of the poor way these were built for our specific year, and we were told repeatedly that it was the lack of maintenance from the previous owner being the cause of the issues when that in fact is a lie as we have several maintenance records routinely. I will never buy or recommend these defected and lemon cars again especially when it involves the safety of your life! Having to tow to and from our home to the dealership service parts was a big waste of time and a joke just to hear, "We are sorry but nothing is covered and your liable for the diagnostic and fixing for your car that will be $5,800 which our car was only worth $5,600 through Kelly blue book and we still owe a remainder of $9,000 to the financing bank.
When the car is put in park the key will not come out of the ignition. Sometimes to be removed from ignition. Therefore the key will get stuck. The transmission has to be put back in drive and then back into park for the ignition system to recycle and release the key.sometimes it takes about 2 or 3 times to get the key out. I have had to turn the car on put it in drive then park push the lock switch then turn the car off. I have been told that Subaru knows the problem exists. No recalls have been made.
Within 10 days of purchasing this vehicle a certified Subaru dealership documented the following safety defects. Both front CV axles failing and clicking on turns creating loss of vehicle control risk. EPS electronic power steering fault codes creating safety critical steering concern. CAN bus communication fault U0073 affecting multiple vehicle safety systems simultaneously. CVT transmission fluid critically low at 1 to 2 quarts. These defects were professionally documented by Subaru of Portland certified technicians on [XXX] at 113,494 miles. Repair quote for safety related defects totals $7,516.51. Vehicle was sold by Overland Automotive LLC 2900 SE Cornelius Pass Rd Ste 105 Hillsboro OR 97123 with these defects undisclosed. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I was t-boned on 11/7 on the driver side door of the car. My car is totaled and the airbags, knee and curtain did not deploy and I was hit almost dead on on the B pillar. Unknown if the problem has been reproduced by the dealer.My knee is still hurting from the accident and my head smacked the frame.The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, but has by police, insurance, and others. All said the airbags should have deployed. There were no warning lights or otherwise to notify me that the airbags would not work.
The engine stalled unexpectedly during operation. I noticed a sudden loss of power, and the vehicle shut off without warning. This has happened more than once, posing a safety concern.
THE ENGIN MALFUNCTIONED. MY SAFETY AND THE SAFETY OF OTHERS WAS AT RISK BECAUSE WHEN AN ENGIN FAILS WHILE DRIVING IT CAN CAUSE A SERIOUS CRASH. THE VALVE SPRING WHICH IS LOCATED INSIDE THE ENGIN OF THE VEHICLE DID FRACTURE WHICH RESULTED IN THE ENGIN STALLING WHILE DRIVING AND WAS NOT ABLE TO BE RESTARTED. AN ENGIN STALL WHILE DRIVING WILL INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH AND SERIOUS INJURY. THERE WERE NO WARNINGS, THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN CONFIRMED BY A SUBARU DEALER SERVICE MANAGER.
The dashboard light says that the airbag is OFF, while it is occupied by a large teenager (over 100lbs) in the Right Front passenger seat. Teenager was buckled into moving vehicle when this concern was observed. Front Right passenger airbag has never been deactivated by owner/driver. Took car to be inspected at a Subaru dealer on 13Aug24, but Subaru techs unable to replicate problem at time of visit and reported no known recall notice for this problem. Since inspection, problem has reoccurred randomly.
The fan in my car, that controls the heat/air-conditioning, went out causing my windows to fog up since it was raining & I couldn't use the dehumidifier. I couldn't see & had to manually wipe my windshield several times & drive with my hazard lights on in order to get the car home. There were no warning lights on the dashboard. I took the car to a mechanic shop on another day, when they could not find the problem through a diagnostic the mechanic took apart the dashboard & that's when he found the wires connected to the control panel were melting/overheating. He said it was very dangerous because it could cause the car to catch fire. He said he had to leave the wires disconnected to prevent the car catching fire until the wires and control panel could be replaced. When I looked up if others were having the same problem, I found other Subaru Crosstrek owners with the same issue and many of them stated it happened again after replacing the affected parts. The control panel is not a wear-and-tear part so I was told I would have to get it from a Subaru dealership. I have not been able to take it to a Subaru dealership yet due to the weather but the car is available for inspection upon request. It has not been inspected yet by anyone besides my mechanic.
At various times of day or night, the brake lights turn on, while there is no one in the vehicle. The vehicle sits parked and is locked with the security on, and the lights just randomly turn on by themselves. The only way to turn the lights off is to go into the vehicle and step on the brake and then the lights are off after releasing the brake pedal. If the lights stay on, because it’s not noticed, then the battery drains and then needs to be jumped. It is concerning for vehicles traveling behind, because one wouldn’t know if there is an issue happening while traveling and could cause someone to be rear ended.
A piece of the sunroof assembly punctured through the headliner into the passenger seat area of the vehicle. The piece is a sharp 10 inch spike with a spring wrapped around it. Had the piece come into the driver side or if there had been a passenger. It would have gone into there head, either causing an accident or severe injury to the driver or passenger.
The recall Type: Safety Service Campaign:WTY84 NHTSA Campaign: 18V772000 FB20 Valve Spring Replacement was reported completed by the manufacturer Subaru has no record of it being done. My car is now experiencing symptoms of this recall when I had no issues prior and want me to pay to look into the problem further. Now my vehicle has a check engine light for a recall that was potentially not done as I have no proof that it was completed.
The key will not come out of the ignition when turned off and in park. The battery runs with no way to turn it off. This is a known issue with a defective part. Subaru will not cover the repair.
2.0L Engine Valve Spring Fracture may Cause Engine stall and excessive oil leaks that migrates in the catalytic converter causing fumes that linger inside the car with a very strong smell.
The electrical harness to the variable fan speed switch overheated melting the harness and switch.
For the record I'm going to list the items here I'd rather them go down in writing then for my words to not have a witness. 1- safety : the Bluetooth connection is busted and crackling for both me and the caller 2- Automation: nothing happens automatic in this car the locks do not go down when I get in motion . the sunroof and the windows do not roll up in auxiliary power after the key is off. 3- Oil: every thousand Miles the oil light to show up I cannot live like that carrying oil in my car when I run a thousand miles every 3 weeks. 4- DENT REPAIR : have asked you to schedule the date guy to pull this dent out of the front driver wheel well and that hasn't happened yet 5- locking mechanism: the trunk has to be slammed closed every time. The passenger side seat belt noise comes on even if I put a bag of to go food in the seat. 6- sanitation: these seats are infected with something I have cleaned them multiple times and my passengers are complaining of itching and feeling a bite when they ride. 7- the front passenger seat has obviously some strong stain that resembles body fluid because it will not come up even when i clean up in the seat of the cushion it keeps reappearing to the surface. 8- overhead: when it rains above my head you can hear sounds of rain as though it's literally trickling in at the driver door. More than I have noticed that sound I'm not sure what's going on in the overhead but it shouldn't sound like that. PLEASE AND THANKS
While slowing to turn into a turn lane, my care unexpectedly accelerated to a very high speed, causing me to crash straight into a signal light post. The light post was knocked over by the force of impact. The car ended up around the corner, facing the opposite direction and having hit another car. Police responded to the scene and inspected the vehicle, which was towed away. An insurance claim has been filed, though I am unaware if they have inspected the vehicle yet. The passenger airbag deployed but driver airbag did not. I had no warning before the sudden acceleration and this is the only time something like this happened.
MY 2013 SUBARU CROSSTREK stalled on the highway in March 2023 while I was driving home from work. I brought it to Hassett Subaru in Wantagh because a friend told me that there was a recall on the spring valve (from 5 years ago, which I was never notified of). Vlad Oriol wanted to charge me a few thousand dollars to breakdown the engine, even though that was a requirement of the recall. I checked the VIN and found out my car was covered by the spring valve recall. Since the car was unsafe to drive, I then called Subaru headquarters who sent a tech supervisor to investigate the situation. The tech supervisor said the problem was due to the recall so the engine breakdown was covered. The tech supervisor said the "rocker arm had come loose from excessive lash, but was tied to the recall issue," and also added that there was no other damage. Hassett Subaru was forced by Subaru headquarters to preform the recall fix. I picked up my car (we live 2 miles from Hassett) and the very next day the car wouldn't accelerate and was constantly misfiring. I brought the car back to Hassett. The tech supervisor came out again to investigate, this time there was additional damage to the cam shaft (which was not there before Hassett worked on the car). Hassett told Subaru headquarters that there was a preexisting issue with the car (which was totally false). As a result Subaru headquarters would not cover the cost to fix the problem that Hassett caused by attempting to fix the recall issue. Thanks to Hassett's misrepresentations to Subaru headquarters we have a car that doesn't run and can't afford a new one.
Driving on the freeway my car lost power i pulled off to the side and tried to restart it. As I have the ignition turned over for 30 to 40 seconds the starter sounded erratic and the oil temperature light was flashing. I sat there for about ten minutes and tried again and it did the same thing but it started. This power loss has happened twice. The erratic noise coming from the ignition, and the hesitation of starting is a regular ongoing issue along with the oil temperature light. Since the first stall at about 117000 miles on the odometer the car has been burning oil at a rate of a full quart about every 3000 miles. #2 Around 120000 miles my key wouldn't come out of the ignition. This happened first on a late night in a high crime area. I actually had to leave my keys in my ignition while going into a gas station to pay for fuel. Since then this happens every time I turn off my vehicle and put it into the park position. Usually I have to wait around ten minutes to be able to remove the keys. Both of these issues cause a great deal of anxiety on the freeway or having to leave the key in the ignition.
Unable to turn off vehicle and remove key from ignition when vehicle is in park.
Engine burst into flames during normal highway driving. Vehicle was well-maintained with all scheduled maintenance performed during the life of the vehicle. CEL was lit approximately 1 week before fire but driveability was normal.
96 total