Best tires for the Subaru Outback
Top picks across four categories for the Subaru Outback, anchored to the current-generation OEM size 225/65R17. Every recommendation is selected from our 22,000-tire catalog by ranking on UTQG treadwear, mileage warranty, cabin-noise rating, and season class; no commission-weighted reordering.
Daily driver
Best all-season touring
Long warranty, low noise, balanced ride. The one-tire compromise that works for 80% of owners.
BFGoodrich
All-Terrain T/A KO2
Reinforced sidewall all-season compound; balanced ride, grip, and tread life for everyday driving.
Pirelli
Scorpion all terrain plus
UTQG 600 with a 50,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Subaru Outback owners.
Nitto
Nt421q
Reinforced sidewall all-season compound; balanced ride, grip, and tread life for everyday driving.
Bridgestone
Turanza QuietTrack
UTQG 800 with a 80,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Subaru Outback owners.
Lowest cost per mile
Best budget
Best price-per-warranty-mile in this size. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options, not safety.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
820 UTQG with a 85,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Bridgestone
Turanza QuietTrack
800 UTQG with a 80,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Continental
TrueContact tour
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
Hankook
Kinergy PT
800 UTQG with a 90,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Lowest cabin noise
Best quiet
Tread patterns engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning. Pick this if you commute long highway distances daily.
Bridgestone
Turanza QuietTrack
68 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Michelin
Defender 2
68 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Hankook
Kinergy PT
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Cold-weather grip
Best winter
Dedicated winter or all-weather compounds that stay pliable below 7 °C. Necessary for >5 snow days a year.
Bridgestone
Blizzak WS90
Dedicated winter tire compound; stays pliable below 7 °C where summer/all-season rubber hardens. Recommended for Subaru Outback drivers in cold or snowy regions.
Michelin
X-Ice snow
Dedicated winter tire compound; stays pliable below 7 °C where summer/all-season rubber hardens. Recommended for Subaru Outback drivers in cold or snowy regions.
Side-by-side
Pick the trade-off that matches your driving
| All-season BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 | Best budget Goodyear Assurance MaxLife | Best quiet Bridgestone Turanza QuietTrack | Best winter Bridgestone Blizzak WS90 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTQG treadwear | - | 820 | 800 | - |
| Mileage warranty | 50,000 mi | 85,000 mi | 80,000 mi | - |
| Cabin noise | 75 dB | 70 dB | 68 dB | 71 dB |
| Season class | all-season | all-season | all-season | winter |
| Type | truck-suv | touring | touring | passenger |
OEM tire sizes by year
What size does the subaru outback use?
Recommendations on this page are anchored to the latest model-year's OEM size. Confirm yours against the driver-door placard before purchase.
| Year | OEM size | |
|---|---|---|
| 1995–1996 | 205/70R15 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1997–2000 | 205/60R15 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2001–2004 | 225/60R16 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2005–2007 | 225/55R17 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2008 | 225/60R16 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2009 | 225/55R17 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2010–2014 | 225/60R17 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2015–2021 | 225/60R18 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2022–2026 | 225/65R17 | Year-specific fitment → |
How we ranked these tires for the subaru outback
We started with the latest model-year's OEM tire size; 225/65R17; and filtered our catalog of 22,000+ tires to those offered in that exact size. From there, four parallel rankings:
- Best all-season ranks on a weighted score: tire type matches SUV segment, season is "all-season", premium brand bonus (Michelin / Continental / Bridgestone / Pirelli / Goodyear / Nokian).
- Best budget ranks on cost-per-warranty-mile; the lower the better. Premium brands get no bonus here.
- Best quiet ranks on the EU tire-label dB rating; lower is quieter.
- Best winter filters to tires marked 3PMSF severe-snow rated or all-weather class, with a small premium-brand bonus because winter-compound R&D is capital-intensive.
SUV-specific tire models (CrossClimate, CrossContact, Defender LTX) have reinforced sidewalls designed for the chassis mass and often a wider tread for better wet traction at higher curb weight. Use the side-by-side comparison above to weigh the trade-offs against your specific driving; highway-heavy, winter-state, performance-oriented, or budget-constrained.
NHTSA-reported issues for subaru outback
Top issue category: Tires (General)
Reported across: 2026 – 2026 (1 year)
What owners described
Sidewall failure appears in 23% of these reports; about 1.5× as often as across all tire complaints. Percentages are shares of the 87 reports covering every model year of the Subaru Outback that include a written account; a single report can describe more than one problem, so they do not total 100%.
| Reported problem | This subject | All tire complaints | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sidewall failure | 23% | 15% | 1.5× |
| Blowout or sudden deflation | 20% | 20% | 1.0× |
| Loss of control, rollover or collision | 8% | 8% | 1.0× |
| Bubble or bulge in the tire | 5% | 6% | 0.8× |
| Tread or belt separation | 3% | 13% | 0.3× |
| Cracking or dry rot | 3% | 9% | 0.4× |
Mileage at failure
38 of these reports state an odometer reading. The middle report is at 12,000 miles, with 8 in 10 falling between 1,500 and 65,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA about Subaru Outback. Reports are published by NHTSA as filed and are lightly cleaned here only to remove intake codes.
YOUR MANDATE FOR THE USE OF TPMS IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF GOVERNMENT GOOD INTENTIONS RESULTING IN LITTLE BENEFIT AND UNNECESSARY COST TO CONSUMERS. I WANT TO RUN WINTER TIRES ON OUR SUBARU AND PLANNED TO PURCHASE THE TIRES ON WHEELS EQUIPPED WITH TPMS SENSORS. HOWEVER, THE ONLY WAY TO RE-SET THE SENSORS IS TO TAKE THE CAR TO THE SUBARU DEALER AND PAY $90 IN THE FALL WHEN THE WINTER SET GOES ON AND TO PAY ANOTHER $90 IN THE SPRING WHEN THE ALL-SEASON TIRE GO BACK ON THE CAR. THE WINTER TIRES ARE EXPECTED TO ADD A SIGNIFICANT MARGIN OF SAFETY IN SNOW/ICE CONDITIONS. THE ANNUAL COST OF RE-SETTING THE TPMS SENSOR WILL LIKELY KEEP ME FROM RUNNING WINTER TIRES. WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF HAVING A TPMS SYSTEM THAT CANNOT BE EASILY RE-SET BY THE VEHICLE OWNER?
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 SUBARU OUTBACK EQUIPPED WITH FOUR BRIDGESTONE DUELER HP SPORT AS TIRES, SIZE: 225/60/R18 (NA). WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THE VEHICLE VIBRATED AND THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL POPPING NOISE. THE CONTACT DISCOVERED THAT THE FRONT DRIVER'S SIDE TIRE BLEW OUT. ADDITIONALLY, THERE WERE LINES FROM THE BEAD TO THE THREAD. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE POLICE ARRIVED ON THE SCENE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO STATED THAT THE TIRE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE TIRE WAS REPLACED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 16,927 AND THE TIRE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.
Continental Pro Contact P 225/ 60 R 17 Driver side tire sidewall formed large bubble. Purchased in November 2021 and had dealer install 4 tires. Noticed large sidewall bubble on sidewall in January 2022. Only three thousand miles on tire. Worried that this is a lifethreatening safety issue. We brought the car back to the dealer. We were told they have not seen anything like it on a Subaru Outback before. But other complaints on this site and others show that sidewall bubbles on the Continental Pro Contact series of tires is a known issue and should be addressed before someone is seriously injured.
Tires worn to wear bar 2/32 to 4/32 in in 28,000 miles. At severe risk for hydroplaning and possible accident related to all tires with premature wear. This is second full set of Michelin tires that have worn prematurely. The tires have been inspected by Costco tires which is the purchasing dealer. I have called the manufacture also Aug 18, 2022. They have started a warranty but was told it would be toward purchase of new set of Michelin. I do not wish to purchase their tires in the near future. I have been a customer with Michelin for many years and have always been very satisfied but recently the tires are very poor quality.
Complaints are voluntarily submitted to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation and are not verified by NHTSA; they represent owner-reported problems, not proven defects. Counts can be useful as a relative quality signal across comparable tires or vehicles.
Tire recalls & safety complaints for the Subaru Outback →
FAQ
What's the best all-season tire for the Subaru Outback?
Should I get a cheaper tire for my Subaru Outback?
Does the Subaru Outback need winter tires?
Can I run a different tire size on my Subaru Outback?
Where can I buy these tires?
Last verified 2026-10-07.