2023 SUBARU ASCENT — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 39 complaints · 4 recalls
Most-reported system: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE (6 complaints · 15.4%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 4
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 4
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2022 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE appears in 6 of 39 owner complaints (15.4%) in this vehicle snapshot. FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: 6 complaints, 15.4% of reports FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 6 · 15.4% · 1 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 6 complaints, 15.4% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 6 · 15.4% VISIBILITY: 6 complaints, 15.4% of reports VISIBILITY 6 · 15.4% ENGINE: 2 complaints, 5.1% of reports ENGINE 2 · 5.1% LANE DEPARTURE: 2 complaints, 5.1% of reports LANE DEPARTURE 2 · 5.1% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 2 complaints, 5.1% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 · 5.1% · 2 crash reports WHEELS: 2 complaints, 5.1% of reports WHEELS 2 · 5.1% AIR BAGS: 1 complaints, 2.6% of reports AIR BAGS 1 · 2.6% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 1 complaints, 2.6% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 · 2.6% · 1 fire reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 17 complaints, 43.6% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 17 · 43.6% · 2 crash reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 6 15.4% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 6 15.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 6 15.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 2 5.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
LANE DEPARTURE 2 5.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 5.1% 2 crashes · 0 fires
WHEELS 2 5.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 1 2.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 2.6% 0 crashes · 1 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 17 43.6% 2 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Oct 2022; the first recall shown was reported in Apr 2023. 2022-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2023-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2023-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2023-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2024-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2024-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2025-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2025-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2026-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2026-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 Owner reports Oct 2022 Jul 2026 Recall campaign 23V258000 ◆ Recall campaign 23V258000 Recall campaign 23V392000 ◆ Recall campaign 23V392000 Recall campaign 23V647000 ◆ Recall campaign 23V647000 Recall campaign 26V436000 ◆ Recall campaign 26V436000
  • Campaign 26V436000 was reported 1,275 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2022-Q4 Owner reports 1
2023-Q1 Owner reports 2
2023-Q2 Owner reports 5
2023-Q3 Owner reports 4
2023-Q4 Owner reports 2
2024-Q1 Owner reports 4
2024-Q2 Owner reports 1
2024-Q3 Owner reports 5
2024-Q4 Owner reports 1
2025-Q1 Owner reports 1
2025-Q2 Owner reports 3
2025-Q3 Owner reports 3
2025-Q4 Owner reports 1
2026-Q2 Owner reports 3
2026-Q3 Owner reports 3
Recall campaign 1 23V258000
Recall campaign 1 23V392000
Recall campaign 1 23V647000
Recall campaign 1 26V436000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (4)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 23V258000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    A damaged tire may experience a sudden loss of air pressure, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    Dealers will replace all four tires, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed June 6, 2023. Owners may contact Subaru's customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRH-23.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 23V392000

    Report date
    Component:
    SUSPENSION
    Consequence:
    Ball joint separation while the vehicle is in motion can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the lower control arm, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed June 30, 2023. Owners may contact Subaru's customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRJ-23.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 23V647000

    Report date
    Component:
    POWER TRAIN
    Consequence:
    Separation of the front end of the driveshaft increases the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    Dealers will clean the bolt mounting surfaces of the center support brace and install new bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 20, 2023. Owners may contact Subaru's customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRN-23.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 26V436000

    Report date
    Component:
    EQUIPMENT
    Consequence:
    An incorrect GAWR label may lead to an overloaded vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    Subaru will mail a new certification label to owners, free of charge. Owners may also choose to have a dealer install the new label, free of charge. Letters informing owners of the safety risk are expected to be mailed August 25, 2026. Additional letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRH-26.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 39 complaints · page 1 of 2

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources