Subaru’s 1.4M Vehicle Cracked Windshield Lawsuit Preliminary Settlement Details

Is the Subaru cracked windshield lawsuit finally settled?

A New Jersey judge granted preliminary approval to a class action settlement in the Subaru cracked windshield lawsuit that would benefit 1.4 million Subaru owners and lessees.

A report from Top Class Actions says, "On October 3, U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew J. Skahill filed an order preliminarily green-lighting the settlement, which comes after four years of litigation, 13 depositions and tens of thousands of pages of discovery documents and subpoenas."

The class action against Subaru of America started in 2019 when Subaru owners said their windshields were cracking for no apparent reason. Subaru moved to dismiss the case in 2020, the judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, and the lawsuit moved forward. 

Reportedly, multiple windshield class action lawsuits had been filed separately and were then compiled into one lawsuit because of their comparable claims.

The report says the settlement would end class action claims that the windshields in some Subaru vehicles crack during normal use.

The settlement includes the following models:

• 2020-2022 Subaru Outback
• 2019-2022 Subaru Forester
• 2019-2022 Subaru Ascent
• 2020-2022 Subaru Legacy

CarComplaints says, "Subaru denies the windshields are defective and denies all allegations in the class action lawsuit. But having spent five years in court already, Subaru says it decided to settle to end the ongoing and expensive litigation."

The preliminary settlement agreement.

1. Subaru agreed to an extended warranty of eight years or 100,000 miles and a one-time windshield replacement as part of a class action settlement submitted for preliminary approval in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

2. The agreement says, "The Subaru cracked windshield extended warranty is limited to a one-time replacement of the windshield. Once replacement occurs, this will end the extended warranty as it expires once the windshield has been replaced."

3. The settlement also calls for reimbursement of documented prior windshield replacements with proof of a qualifying windshield crack. Subaru customers will only be reimbursed if damage was caused by residual windshield stress, not any other cause.

4. The cracked windshield settlement says there is a process Forester, Outback, Ascent, and Legacy owners must go through to "prove that their loss was caused by the alleged defect as opposed to impact damage that would have caused a cracked windshield regardless of any alleged defect."

5. The settlement agreement says, "The new windshield will be manufactured with a revised process that substantially reduces the likelihood of a crack/damage occurring to a windshield from a minor impact and residual stress."

A report from CarComplaints says, according to the windshield lawsuit settlement, there are two groups of Subaru customers:

1." Those who can produce proof that they incurred a qualifying repair cost prior to the close of the claims period and contemporaneous photographs confirming the damage (Tier 1). 

2. "For those who can produce proof of costs prior to the notice date but do not have contemporaneous photographs of the damage (Tier 2)."

Those who can satisfy the requirements of Tier 1 claims are eligible to recover at least 125% of their costs. And those who fall under Tier 2 will recover up to 100% of their expenses, "subject to a conditional $2 million limit, upon completion of a photo questionnaire designed to verify their claim."

The windshield lawsuit settlement says the sum of Tier 2 claims is not expected to exceed $2 million, but in the event it does, each claim will be reduced according to the number of qualifying claims that were filed.

"Absent clear evidence of fraud, no successful Tier 2 claimant will receive less than 25% of their approved claim."

It's important to note that the windshield settlement terms and conditions exist. Nothing is official and complete until the federal judge grants final approval to the settlement agreement.

The final fairness hearing of the Subaru cracked and chipped windshield lawsuit is scheduled for April 21, 2025. Stay tuned to my reports for final approval on the Subaru defective windshield lawsuit.

Do you drive a Subaru Forester, Outback, Ascent, or Legacy model and experienced windshield cracking? If so, click the red Add New Comment link below and let us know.

I am Denis Flierl, a Senior Torque News Writer since 2012. I’ve invested over 13 years in the automotive industry in a consulting role, working with every major car brand. I am an experienced Rocky Mountain Automotive Press member. You'll find my expert Subaru analysis here. Follow me on my X SubaruReport, All Subaru, WRXSTI, @DenisFlierl, Facebook, and Instagram.

Photo credit: Subaru