Subaru bulletin 12-266-25
What it saysThis bulletin announces the design change made to the Washer Tank. NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Subaru filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated May 14, 2025, received Jun 3, 2025, about the visibility/wiper. It names 10 model years (2020–2024). A service bulletin is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
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What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationThis bulletin announces the design change made to the Washer Tank.
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12-266-25 | Service bulletin | May 14, 2025 | 11018906 | PDF, 1,451 KB |
The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themA vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
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What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 10 model years this bulletin names have filed 2,070 complaints with NHTSA since 2015. 909 of them name Visibility/Wiper — the same broad component group this bulletin is filed under. NHTSA groups complaints coarsely, so that means the same area of the vehicle, not necessarily the same fault.
On the 2020 Subaru Outback, the 233 owners who gave an odometer reading for Visibility/Wiper reported it at a median of 6,000 miles. That figure is one model year’s, not the whole range this bulletin covers — medians from different model years are not averaged.
Sunroof spontaneously exploded. Temperatures were around 50 degrees, no cars around me at the time and as far as I can tell, nothing could have hit the window at least at that moment. I had been driving for about 1 hour and no sudden changes in temperature or pressure. It sounded very much like an explosion when it happened.
2023 Subaru Outback · Visibility/Wiper · filed with NHTSA Jun 4, 2023 · ODI 11525244
I purchased a 2022 Subaru Outback in late August 2021. I had been driving regularly under normal driving conditions and no adverse weather. Fall temperatures neither very hot, nor very cold. On 10/10/21 I woke up to a crack in the windshield extending from the passenger side windshield edge to the center of the windshield.
2022 Subaru Outback · Visibility/Wiper · filed with NHTSA Jan 26, 2022 · ODI 11449053
Three times within a 1 year period, the windshield cracked without an object hitting it. First time in July, 2021, second time in September, 2021, and third time in June, 2022. After the first time, I had the windshield replaced at my own expense. The second time, Subaru completed the replacement at no cost.
2021 Subaru Legacy · Visibility/Wiper · filed with NHTSA Jul 15, 2022 · ODI 11474196
In depth: 2022 Subaru Outback visibility and wiper problems →
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
More bulletins about the visibility/wiper
Source: same model, same component group4 other manufacturer communications filed against these Subaru models under the same component group (visibility/wiper), newest first.
| Number | Kind | Dated | NHTSA’s summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12-268-25R | Service bulletin | Sep 15, 2026 | This bulletin announces a repair procedure developed to address cases of the driver side mirror glass vibrating at highway speeds. This is a… |
| 12-281-26 | Service bulletin | Jul 13, 2026 | This Service Information Bulletin was developed to provide a diagnostic and repair procedure for customers who report that rear washer press… |
| 07-189-21R | Service bulletin | Apr 29, 2025 | This bulletin announces availability of new door window regulator assemblies and door glass run channel seals in response to limited concern… |
| 12-257-25R | Service bulletin | Mar 24, 2025 | In the interest of customer satisfaction, Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is extending the New Car Limited Warranty coverage for the Front Win… |
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Subaru, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Subaru 12-266-25 a recall?
No. A service bulletin is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the 12-266-25 repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way. Every Subaru warranty extension on file lists the ones Subaru has filed.
Which vehicles does 12-266-25 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 10 model years: 2024 Subaru Legacy, 2023 Subaru Legacy, 2022 Subaru Legacy, 2021 Subaru Legacy, 2020 Subaru Legacy, 2024 Subaru Outback and more. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone.