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Buying a used 2021 Subaru Ascent? Check these 2 recalls first

2 NHTSA recalls · 102 owner complaints on file · 1 park-outside

Compared with 2020, the 2021 Ascent's recall list is short: the critical heater ground bolt that can overheat and melt, which carries a park-outside advisory until it's repaired, plus a low-severity wrong weight-rating label. NHTSA shows 102 unverified owner complaints, including 3 crashes, 3 injuries and one fire, spread fairly evenly across power train (19), electrical system (18), unspecified issues (16) and lane departure (15). No single area dominates the way electrical does on the 2020.

Before you buy

1. Get the 17-character VIN from the seller and run it at nhtsa.gov/recalls. It shows which recalls are still unrepaired on that exact car.
2. Verify by VIN that the heater ground bolt recall repair has been performed
3. Ask whether the weight-rating label was corrected, and check the door-jamb sticker before towing or loading
4. Drive with the lane departure and driver-assist systems on to see if they warn or drop out
5. Open recalls are repaired free at any Subaru dealer, whoever owns the car — an open recall is a to-do item, not a bill.

Recalls covering the 2021 Subaru Ascent

What owners have reported to NHTSA

102 complaints filed for this model year, including 3 mentioning a crash, 1 a fire and 3 injuries. Complaints are unverified owner reports, and popular models collect more of them simply because more are on the road.

Other model years

• 2019
• 2020
• 2022
• 2023
• All Ascent recalls