2020 Subaru Forester
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Visibility/wiper is the leading concern among 600 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 3rd highest complaint count among 26 Forester model years with reports.
Of the 2020 reports, 26 involved a crash and 9 involved a fire. 16 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
No safety recalls on file.
Representative owner complaints
600 reports, newest first.
Other or unspecified, Aug 30, 2021
On August 28, 2021, while driving on a one-way private road that leads to my home, I heard a loud pop and a foot-long crack instantly appeared on my driver's side windshield. I saw no rocks, no projectiles, nothing. This was a spontaneous crack on the windshield. This car is only a year and a half old with very little mileage. My 10 year-old granddaughter was in the car with me. I bought this car because of Subaru's safety record. Now I find out that Subaru knew they had defective windshields and did not issue recalls and/or inform their customers of this problem. My granddaughter's safety is my top priority. Subaru needs to live up to their ideals and fix this problem immediately and without charging any of their customers.
Visibility, Aug 20, 2021
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the windshield cracked without impact. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.
Electrical system, Engine, Aug 18, 2021, crash
I was in a parking lot at the time driving very slowly to pick a spot. When I went to turn right into the spot my car accelerated at an alarming speed. I had not control over it as it kept turning. It hit the car parked in front of my space pushing it and went on to hit the car parked to the right damaging both the front left and right sides of my vehicle and the 2 parked cars before coming to a stop. Fortunately it was 9am and not very crowded, there were no passengers in both vehicles and no one walking in between or by the cars which could have been tragic. I was wearing a seatbelt. The police were called and completed a report. The Subaru dealership was called and Subaru of America was called. The car was inspected by a Bosch.-EAA representative for Subaru on 8/4/2021. I have not heard back from Subaru so far although I was told it could take several weeks. There were no warning lights prior to the incident but afterwards there were several warning lights on. A few months before I got into my car and the radio was blaring and constantly switching channels and I was not able to turn the radio off. When I got home and turned off the car and turned the ignition back on 30 minutes later it had stopped. We notified the incident to Subaru at the next oil change. I immediately notified USSA car insurance and filed a claim. I have not had the damages assessed for repair because I have to wait for the inspection results from Subaru. I felt it was important to document this incident in case other 2020 Forester owners have experienced the same thing. Frightening.
Visibility/wiper, Aug 16, 2021
for no reason my windshield randomly cracked inside my garage, prior to the discovery the car had not been driven in several days.
Visibility/wiper, Aug 13, 2021
We were driving about 50 mph on a paved road in the suburbs of a city when suddenly we heard a "pop" and saw a chip in the passenger side of our windshield. No other cars were around us at the time and it was an open road (e.g., we did not drive under an overpass). We don't know how the chip occurred. We continued driving and then parked the car in our garage. Four days later, with the car still in the garage, we discovered the chip had grown into a more than 20-inch crack horizontally on the passenger side of the car. We have been in touch with our insurance company and they have recommended a specific auto glass company to repair it. But we've been told it'll take 4 weeks or more to receive the replacement windshield and recalibrate it. We have since learned from searching the Internet that cracking windshields on Subaru models is a common complaint among Subaru owners.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Aug 10, 2021
Purchased new on 5/22/2020. On Aug 8th after not driving the car for 3 days, attempted to start vehicle. Would not start. Battery dead. Charged battery with a jump. Drove car home. Next am. Car would not start. Battery dead. Currently trying to get car in for service. This is very dangerous stranding people randomly.
Steering, Lane departure, Aug 10, 2021
Lane Keep Assist Feature The lane keep assist feature seems, in general, to over steer causing sway back and forth across the lane. While I find this bothersome, Most recently, at highway speed, the lane keep assist pulled the car (suddenly and somewhat violently) onto an exit ramp rather than holding the right lane. No one was hurt. No damage occurred. I was able to yank the wheel back to the lane with the entire incident over in less and a second. Safety at risk? highway speed with unanticipated veer of intended path. It was good that traffic was quite light. I have not reported this to the dealer. No special warnings other than that the system "worked".
Visibility, Aug 10, 2021
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that a crack had formed in the middle upper part of the windshield without impact. The contact stated that the crack obstructed her vision while driving. The dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The windshield was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 12,500.
Electrical system, Aug 8, 2021
The battery on my 2020 Subaru Forester Premium /LFF14 drains within a week if not driven. There appears to be a parasitic battery drain problem. The car will not start. I replaced the original factory battery with a larger, after-market battery having been told by several sources that this problem is common to Foresters and is caused by defective batteries being supplied to Subaru. However, the new battery did not solve the problem. I regularly test the battery with a battery tester that indicates that the battery is OK, but is discharged and requires charging. I now keep a trickle charger on the car continuously. This seems to keep the battery charge up to 98%. I have retained the original battery which holds a charge indefinitely out of the vehicle. I am aware that driving the car to recharge the battery is extremely hard on the alternator and will cause it to prematurely fail. The car was purchased in August of 2020 and currently has less than 500 miles. This is a recurrent problem.
Visibility/wiper, Aug 7, 2021
Windshield cracked out of nowhere. It was parked and just showed up to a cracked windshield
Visibility, Aug 6, 2021
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph, the front windshield developed a crack at the center of the windshield by the rear-view mirror mount. During the incident no object had contacted the windshield to cause the damage. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 11,000.
Visibility/wiper, Aug 4, 2021
Windshield cracked without cause overnight while car was not being driven. Stress crack emanating from the bottom edge where the defroster element for the windshield wipers is located ending in about the center of the windshield. Dealer inspected and could not find an impact point.
Visibility, Aug 2, 2021
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked and unattended, the contact became aware that the front windshield had cracked from the top without impact. The contact called the local dealer however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 14,000. The VIN was not available.
Visibility, Jul 30, 2021
2020 SUBARU FORESTER. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO SEMI OPAGUE WINDSHIELD CAUSING ISSUES WITH VISIBILTY ON DARK ROADS. THE CONSUMER STATED THE DEALER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE BUT, DID NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE.
Visibility/wiper, Jul 28, 2021
Was just sitting in my car and the windshield just started cracking very quickly. Nothing hit it.
Visibility, Jul 27, 2021
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the windshield cracked without impact. The contact had the vehicle repaired however, shortly afterward the issue recurred. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 23,195.
Visibility/wiper, Jul 27, 2021
While driving back home from Sacramento to San Diego, my windshield cracked for no reason and with time it increased. I am 100% sure that no pebble from road hit the windshield. I went to the dealership and they didn’t report me that windshield had defect but issued me a quote of approx $1900.
Electrical system, Jul 24, 2021
My car shut down while stopped at a traffic light. Several dashboard lights flashed or lit up, including the battery indicator, the EyeSight indicator said it was turned off, and many others I don’t know. It felt as if the battery had died. The car was in standby mode while stopped and the air conditioning was running. The car stalled and died when I took my foot off the brake to drive. The battery has died 6 times in the past year. If the door was ajar, the hatch left open, or the engine turned off while parked in drive, the battery was dead the next day. If it’s left overnight with the emergency flashers on, the battery is dead the next day. This is too many for a brand new car. I’ve already bought a brand new battery after the first one died. What do I have to do to keep the battery alive? I’m a Lyft driver, and thankful this issue didn’t leave a rider and me stranded many miles from home.
Visibility/wiper, Jul 21, 2021
A small rock hit my windshield and seemed to crack it WAY more easily than it should have. I Was researching cost to replace it and found the information about the lawsuit and the fact that it applies to my year of Subaru. So I decided to file a complaint to be included in the lawsuit.
Vehicle speed control, Jul 16, 2021, crash
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while attempting to park at a rest stop, the vehicle independently accelerated while the brake pedal was depressed. As a result, the vehicle ran into a stone wall. The front end of the vehicle was severely damaged. The air bags deployed. A police report was filed. The contact sustained a sore neck as a result of the crash but medical attention was not required. The vehicle was not drivable and was towed to a body shop. The vehicle was not diagnosed but was in the process of being repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 65,000.
Other or unspecified, Jul 15, 2021
Windshield Repeated problem - windshield gets hit by a small rock and immediately cracks the whole windshield. It's becoming a regular replacement. I can't imagine if getting hit by something larger or being in an accident. Researching the problem, I found many others with the same experience.
Other or unspecified, Jul 14, 2021
Have a few chips in windshield. They happen very easily so I googled and found that it's a known issue with a lawsuit. I just bought the car on July 2.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, Jul 13, 2021
I tried to unlock my car but the remote didnt work- I had to use the blank key inside the remote to get in the car. I couldn't start the car- my husband tried to jump it- that did not work- I called AAA they tried jumping it - that didnt work-- AAA told me the battery was good but totally out of charge 0%-- I called the subaru salesman I bought the car from & he walked me thru alot of steps & we couldn't find anything wrong besides the battery!! he told me to have my husband try to give me a jump again & after 4 hours the car turned over! What caused it????? no idea??? the next day (7/5/21) I took it to an auto parts store & they tested it out- alternator-perfect--- battery @ 550 with the max 620--- today I read an article about Subaru batteries failing! well mine did for no apparent reason--- maybe they should all be recalled!! I missed my 1st day of vacation due to this!!
Visibility/wiper, Jul 9, 2021
Windshield got broken after 9k miles.
Other or unspecified, Jul 9, 2021
The vehicle was parked for about 30 minutes. When returning to the vehicle, the windshield had a large crack. We contacted our insurance company and a repair was set up for 07/06/2021. Our deductible for the repair was $250. I have since read that the 2020 Forester is included in a recall for windshields on this model. My Subaru dealer customer service stated it is not included in this recall. Can you please give some guidance in this matter?