2026 Subaru Ascent
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
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Vehicles › Subaru › Ascent › 2026
These records cover every 2026 Subaru Ascent. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
Recalls
1 recall names the 2026 Subaru Ascent. Newest first.
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2026 Crosstrek Hybrid, 2025-2026 Forester Hybrid, Forester, and 2019-2026 Ascent vehicles. These vehicles were manufactured with an incorrect Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) on the certification label. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard…
Risk and remedy
Risk
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 were mailed August 27, 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.
Owner complaints
4 complaints
What owners report most
Latest complaints
- Forward collision avoidance › Automatic emergency braking
This happened three individual times, all traveling at highway speed under similar conditions. The panel began flashing in red claiming that no driver was responsive and threw on the ABS breaks. I was able to regain control after disengaging the adaptive cruise control system. At the time the…
This happened three individual times, all traveling at highway speed under similar conditions. The panel began flashing in red claiming that no driver was responsive and threw on the ABS breaks. I was able to regain control after disengaging the adaptive cruise control system. At the time the the daytime road conditions were clear, I was clearly visible to the driver monitoring system infrared camera, and both hands were at 10 and 2 on the steering wheel. The dealer has been made aware of this but have been reluctant to address it, claiming that this happens to everyone. This could easily have resulted in a rear-end collision had there been more traffic on the highway.
- Unknown or other
My company FANCY S owns this 2026 Subaru Ascent, purchased new on XXX from Subaru of Glendale. The vehicle is under Safety Recall 26V-436 (Subaru WRH-26) for an incorrect Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) on the certification label, a non-compliance with FMVSS No. 110. Subaru's interim letter in XXX…
My company FANCY S owns this 2026 Subaru Ascent, purchased new on XXX from Subaru of Glendale. The vehicle is under Safety Recall 26V-436 (Subaru WRH-26) for an incorrect Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) on the certification label, a non-compliance with FMVSS No. 110. Subaru's interim letter in XXX said the corrective label is "not yet available," and Subaru does not plan to mail remedy labels to owners until January 2027. Nearly three months have passed and there is still no remedy for our vehicle. This is a company vehicle that cannot be placed in commercial service while this safety recall remains open: our commercial insurer has flagged the open safety recall, and Subaru itself warns that loading based on the incorrect GAWR could overload the vehicle and increase crash risk. We continue to pay financing and insurance on a vehicle we cannot use. The remedy is a simple corrective label overlay. Subaru's own bulletin WRH-26R already publishes the procedure and the exact part for this vehicle: Part No. 99095XC000 (ID "H"). Furthermore, Subaru's official recall lookup shows the second 2026 Ascent our company purchased in October 2026 (VIN [XXX]) under the very same WRH-26 recall with the status COMPLETED - the corrective label was obtained and installed for that vehicle - while our XXX vehicle remains "Open - Remedy not yet available." On XXX we wrote to Subaru of America and to three Subaru retailers requesting expedited release of the label for this VIN. No remedy has been provided yet. I am asking NHTSA to press Subaru of America to provide a timely remedy for this vehicle instead of making owners wait until January 2027 for a paper label that already exists. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
- Forward collision avoidance › Automatic emergency braking
The contact owns a 2026 Subaru Ascent. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at highway speeds, the vehicle experienced phantom braking and independently came to an abrupt stop. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed; however, the failure was not duplicated. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 2,000.
- Service brakes, hydraulic › Pedals and linkages · Vehicle speed control › Accelerator pedal
The contact owns a 2026 Subaru Accent. The contact stated that there was a failure related to the brake pedal design. The contact stated that there was an approximate one-inch difference in spacing between the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal in previous model vehicles. The contact stated that…
The contact owns a 2026 Subaru Accent. The contact stated that there was a failure related to the brake pedal design. The contact stated that there was an approximate one-inch difference in spacing between the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal in previous model vehicles. The contact stated that there was an approximate four-inch gap between the brake and accelerator pedals, while previous models had an approximate three-inch space. The contact stated that the difference created a hazardous driving condition and increased the risk of unintended pedal application. Additionally, there were several instances where a crash could have occurred due to the pedal spacing. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, it was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer informed the contact that several complaints were received with the same issue and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 1,040.
Every Subaru Ascent model year
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.