2025 Outback Roof Bow failure and damage from repairs.
I have a 2025 outback I bought new with a full wrap. Have been experiencing an overhead rattle that started 4 or so months into purchase (purchased oct 2024). After over a year of trying to have the dealership find it off and on, I spent a morning looking at it. Ended up finding the roof support bow(s) unglued from the roof skin and free in the cavity above the headliner.
I took my car and left it at the dealership for just shy of a month. I explicitly warned the guy that he could damage the roof if he isn't careful.... Foreshadowing....
When I got my car back it was royally messed up. Rear seat back concave/bent from too much weight on it. Puncture on center console leather. Damaged headliner. Black handprints on headliner. Damaged visor plastic parts. Hole in visor material. Car was filthy inside. And of course the roof is damaged. I can see ripples and oil canning on both sides of a particular beam that was reglued. The roofline is no longer true and one continuous curve, its many.
I called Subaru of America but its now going on 4th business day no call from a case handler.
Dealership wants to just pdr the roof and be done. I'm not so sure its just an easy fix, and furthermore, the vehicle was pristine at the start.
To add insult to injury the rattle still lives on and is actually worse. In addition, there is now a torsion noise that I assume to be the roof oil canning as the body flexes to the road.
What do I do? Its going to be a massive uphill battle on this because the dealership already is downplaying and trying to not sound liable.
Posted Aug 12, 2026, 10:57 AM UTC