AutoUtility currently tracks 55 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2022 Subaru Ascent. Powertrain & Transmission issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 14 complaints (25.5% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 6 filings cite a crash, 2 cite a fire, 4 report one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • Total NHTSA Complaints: 55 reports
  • #1 Reported Problem Area: Powertrain & Transmission (14 reports • 25.5% of submitted complaints)
  • Secondary Problem Areas: Brakes & Traction Control (11), Engine & Cooling (7)
  • Crash-Citing Complaints: 6 filings
  • Fire-Citing Complaints: 2 filings
  • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 4 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
55
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
6
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
2
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
4
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2022 Subaru Ascent

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 25.5% of complaints

Powertrain & Transmission

14 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
#2 Problem Area 20% of complaints

Brakes & Traction Control

11 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
#3 Problem Area 12.7% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

7 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
#4 Problem Area 12.7% of complaints

Visibility, Wipers & Glass

7 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
#5 Problem Area 10.9% of complaints

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech

6 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 2 crash reports 🩹 3 injury report entries
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2022 Subaru Ascent

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11746584
Filed: 06/25/2026

"The front exhaust pipe on my 2022 Subaru Ascent cracked at approximately 77,800 miles. The component is available for inspection. Prior to diagnosis, I noticed a rattle/fluttering noise coming from the undercarriage during acceleration. The problem was confirmed by an authorized Subaru dealership...."

Incident Date: 05/10/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE
Steering System NHTSA ODI ID: #11746149
Filed: 06/24/2026

"The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Ascent. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist, the speedometer was inoperable, and the transmission failed to shift into gear. The vehicle was..."

Incident Date: 04/21/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE
Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11738890
Filed: 05/19/2026

"Exhaust "Nut" mysteriously went missing, causing noises, and Subaru technician stated to replace exhaust if issues persist. Vehicle was under warranty, only been serviced by certified Subaru technicians, and multi-point inspections were allegedly performed during every service, however, the exhaust..."

Incident Date: 05/07/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ENGINE
Seats & Interior NHTSA ODI ID: #11733857
Filed: 04/26/2026

"The front driver seat cushion/seat cover is deteriorating and ripping at the front portion of the seat. While driving, I can feel road vibration and impacts through the driver seat much more than normal, and the seat no longer feels properly cushioned or supported. I am concerned this affects the..."

Incident Date: 12/02/2024 • Raw NHTSA Component: SEATS
Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11731928
Filed: 04/17/2026

"The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Ascent. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was a whining sound coming from the transmission, and the vehicle failed to properly accelerate. The vehicle was slowly driven to the local mechanic, who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the..."

Incident Date: 04/01/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Subaru Ascent

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2019–2026)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2019 Subaru Ascent 439 10 9 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Subaru Ascent 319 6 5 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Subaru Ascent 100 3 2 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Subaru Ascent Current Page 55 6 2 Current
2023 Subaru Ascent 43 4 4 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Subaru Ascent 48 2 1 View 2024 Problems →
2025 Subaru Ascent 14 1 1 View 2025 Problems →
2026 Subaru Ascent 0 0 1 View 2026 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2022 Subaru Ascent

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 27 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 9 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 8 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 7 0 0 0 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 5 0 0 0 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 2 1 0 1 0
POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 1 1 0 0
AIR BAGS,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 1 1 0 0
AIR BAGS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 1 0 2 0
BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 1 0 1 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
Lane Departure Warning NHTSA category: LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 1 0 0 0 0
OTHER/I AM NOT SURE 1 1 0 2 0
POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Tires NHTSA category: TIRES 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 1 0 0 0 0
WHEELS,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (55). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.