2020 Subaru Outback
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Visibility/wiper is the leading concern among 899 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 3rd highest complaint count among 26 Outback model years with reports.
Of the 2020 reports, 19 involved a crash and 7 involved a fire. 4 people were injured.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Air bags, sensor, occupant classification, front passengerMar 22, 2024
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Outback and Legacy vehicles. A capacitor in the sensors for the Occupant Detection System (ODS) may crack and short circuit, which can prevent the front passenger air bag from deploying in a crash.
An air bag that does not deploy during a crash can increase the risk of injury.
Dealers will replace the ODS sensors on the front passenger seat, free of charge. Owner notifications were mailed February 3, 2025. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRA-24.
Campaign 24V227000 on NHTSA.gov
Power train, automatic transmission, control module (tcm/pcm/tecm)Jul 8, 2022
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Outback and Legacy vehicles. A programming error in the Transmission Control Unit (TCU) may allow the clutch to engage before the drive chain is completely clamped.
An improperly secured drive chain may slip and break, causing a loss of drive power and increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will reprogram the TCU, inspect TCU data for chain slip, and visually inspect the chain guide. If evidence of chain slippage or damage is found, the transmission will be replaced. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed August 24, 2022. Owners may contact Subaru's customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRK-22. This recall is an expansion of previous recall number 21V-955.
Campaign 22V485000 on NHTSA.gov
Power train, automatic transmission, control module (tcm/pcm/tecm)Dec 9, 2021
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Ascent, 2020 Legacy and Outback vehicles. A programming error in the Transmission Control Unit (TCU) may allow the clutch to engage before the drive chain is completely clamped.
An improperly secured drive chain may slip and break, causing a loss of drive power and increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will reprogram the TCU, inspect TCU data for chain slip, and visually inspect the chain guide. If evidence of chain slippage or damage is found, the transmission will be replaced. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 19, 2022. This recall includes all vehicles previously recalled under 19V-855. Vehicles previously recalled under 19V-855 will need to have the new remedy performed for this recall once available. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRK-21.
Campaign 21V955000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, fuel pumpJul 29, 2021
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Ascent, 2018 Forester, 2018-2020 Impreza, Legacy, Outback, 2018-2019 BRZ, WRX, and Toyota 86 vehicles. The low-pressure fuel pump inside the fuel tank may fail.
Fuel pump failure can cause an engine stall while driving, increasing the risk of a crash.
Dealers will replace the low-pressure fuel pump, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 24, 2021. Subaru and Toyota owners may call customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRG-21.
Campaign 21V587000 on NHTSA.gov
Back over prevention, display functionDec 10, 2020
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2020 Legacy and Outback vehicles equipped with "high" grade and "mid" grade multimedia navigation. The August 2020 over-the-air software update may have timed out without completing the installation, corrupting the data, and causing the rearview display to shutoff intermittently. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
The intermittent loss of the rearview image reduces the driver's visibility and increases the risk of crash.
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the software and, if necessary, replace the Cockpit Control Module, free of charge. The recall began January 22, 2021. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRH-20.
Campaign 20V766000 on NHTSA.gov
Service brakes, hydraulic, pedals and linkagesSep 18, 2019
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2020 Outback and Legacy vehicles. The brake pedal mounting bracket may have a missing or insufficiently tightened bolt.
A missing or loose bolt may cause the brake pedal mounting area to deform over time, which can reduce braking performance and increase the risk of a crash.
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the brake pedal mounting bracket hardware and replace the hardware or brake pedal assembly, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began October 1, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUL-97.
Campaign 19V664000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints
899 reports, newest first.
Electrical system, Jan 11, 2022
The car fails to start in cold conditions (~20 degrees F). This behavior started less than 18 months after taking possession of the vehicle and ~6000 miles.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 5, 2022
Purchased my outback in January of 2020, Sometime in that same month I noticed a small crack in the windshield, down at the bottom on the passenger side. No idea how it cracked. by the next day the crack had grown to over 8 inches. I called subaru dealership and they stated that wasnt covered under warrantee and that they didnt deal with insurance companies directly so I would have to get it fixed by them, pay up front and get my insurance company to reimburse me directly. Called my insurance company and they said to just go to safelight. I explained it was a brand new car and I wanted original factory glass and they said ok. work was done, safety eyesight recalibrated and car was brand new again. Fast forward to today (jan 5 2022), about exactly 2 years from the first time. Driving down the road, heard a pop, didnt see a rock or debris hit me, look at the windshield and see a small crack in the uper driverside windshield. Knowing how fast the last crack grew I immediately headed to safelight. By the time I arrived there, the small crack (about 1/4 inch) had grown to over 12".
Visibility, Jan 4, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle, the next morning it was discovered that the front windshield had cracked on the passenger’s side. The contact indicated that no object had struck the vehicle to cause the failure to occur. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The local dealer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 15,000. It was determined by the dealer that something very small caused an extremely tiny impact not an internal issue.
Other or unspecified, Jan 3, 2022
Battery issue: 2020 Subaru Outback When I purchased the vehicle in April 2020 I drove it for 3 Months then the battery died. The Dealer told me it was a faulty battery and then replaced it. (Battery #2) For the last year and a half I've been experiencing Problems starting/Navigation & Display Screen not working correctly. Three days ago guess what happened? My Battery died again....Called the Dealer and they told me to bring it right down and they'll look at it. They charged the battery and said you're good to go! I told them that is not the answer because as soon as I leave the battery is going to die again! They looked at me and said OK we'll put it on the big diagnostic machine and sure enough it came back with a need a new battery report! So they replaced it! (Battery #3). On the way home from the dealership I turned to my wife and said this car is not safe. It's like driving a moving time bomb. You'll never know when it's going to die again. That's when I decided to look it up and there it was "Subaru Battery law suit". Could you please help me? [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Visibility/wiper, Jan 3, 2022
The windshield cracked with no apparent impact from an object. While driving, a loud pop sound was heard and a 10" long curving crack appeared on the left side of the windshield.
Exterior lighting, Electrical system, Dec 30, 2021
The TomTom navigation system quits unexpectedly while driving and if the Adaptive Cruise Control is on it will stop working and the car will begin to slow down. The computer screen will go black and then a message will come on saying the Navigation System is starting. The system will then reboot. This has been reported to Subaru and Subaru tried to replicate the problem at the dealership, but they were unsuccessful. Subaru Corporate has acknowledged the problem, but offers no solution. Safety was impacted because you suddenly start to slow down and any car following you may not know you are slowing down because the brake lights do not come on.
Exterior lighting, Visibility/wiper, Dec 29, 2021
1.) Headlights. They are extremely bright to oncoming traffic and oncoming traffic is always flashing or beaming you with their high beams as they think your brights are on when they are not. This is dangerous. Also LED lights do not put off enough heat and the headlamp body itself freezes over in cold rain or snowy conditions severely reducing your ability to see during low light situations. Wipers. The windshield wipers do not last. They should be silicone and they are rubber which is terrible for longevity.
Visibility, Structure, Dec 29, 2021
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated on multiple occasions both the front passenger’s and driver’s side window had become stuck and would not close or open. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who diagnosed that the window regulators and window tracks were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 28,000.
Engine, Forward collision avoidance, Dec 26, 2021
The EyeSight system will randomly not load at times and need to be reset for Rear Automatic Braking and other EyeSight safety features to become available. This usually only occurs within 30 seconds of engine startup but always occurs when plugging in a phone with Android Auto (a phone with Apple Car Play has never been used for verification). Warning message is displayed on driver's side message center stating EyeSight, RAB, and other safety features are not available. Reproduction of problem is difficult as it seems random.
Visibility/wiper, Dec 25, 2021
Windshield developed spontaneous crack on bottom edge of driver side extending 12-18” in line of sight of driver. There was no impact or stone hitting the windshield. Drove car for 30 minutes and parked car to go shopping. 5 minutes later the crack developed while still parked. Vehicle to be inspected by local dealer on December 29, 2021.
Electrical system, Dec 25, 2021
Battery inexplicably drains overnight. 1st occurrence was on 21 December 2021 and second occurrence on 25 December 2021. Car is stored in garage, located in Ponte Vedra, FL and is used daily. Mileage is 31,000 miles.
Electrical system, Dec 21, 2021
The left and the right front windows won't roll up when you push the button to roll up the driver side, it goes up and goes down and doesn't shut at all you have to turn off the car to stop it, super dangerous, and the right passenger window doesn't go down or up at all with the driver control on the door. You know what else is INCREDABLY DANGEROUS? THE LED LIGHTS THAT ARE ACTUALLY RETINA BLINDING! THEY BLIND ME AND I'M IN MY OWN CAR, THE OTHER SUBARU LIGHTS ARE BLINDINGLY HIGH AND SHOULD BE A SAFETY RECALL!
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Dec 18, 2021
Battery drains when car sits idle for more than a week. No lights were accidentally left on. Had to jump start the car four times in less than a week. Subaru dealership attempted to tell me the battery was fine but the service advisor noted it was starting up sluggishly. Service did a full charge. Subaru's own website recommends driving the car at least a couple times a month, which is what I've done, but the battery still drains within two weeks. The Subaru dealership further told me that the battery has a memory and "learned" my driving habits (I purchased the car prior to the pandemic) and that is why the battery is not keeping a charge since I'm not driving it as often as they think I should. They also told me that I should disconnect the battery if I have to leave the car at an airport, for example if I go on vacation. That is absurd. The service advisor further told me that the warranty would likely not cover the battery replacement because they believe I'm not driving the car enough. I am concerned that the battery not holding a strong and sufficient charge will cause the car to not be able to restart at a traffic stop if I have not remembered to disengage the fuel-saving feature. While I carry a jump starting kit, I would need to get out in the road and try to hurriedly jump the car. There are several reports online with a parasitic drain where the computer does not go into a sleep mode when the car is off.
Engine, Dec 18, 2021
My car stalled at a stop light when I attempted to go when the light turned green. The car was in auto shut off mode so the engine was not running at the time. When I took my foot off the brake to go, the car didn’t restart and started shaking and all the lights on the dash came on. There was also a piercing warning sound and the infotainment screen showed that the “eyesight “ and all other driver assistance program were off but my audiobook continued to play. I tried restarting the car but it would not restart. I put the car in park and tried to get it to turn off but it wouldn’t. Since I was at a light and cars were behind me, I put on my hazards and waited a few minutes and got the car to restart and to get that noise to stop, sounded like a siren. My fuel warning had just come on but it indicated that I had 50 miles so not sure if it has anything to do with it?
Electrical system, Dec 15, 2021
The car battery is draining faster than it should. The battery had to be jumped this morning to get me to work. I work 10 miles away from my house and I drive the car around 200 miles a week. I do not use the start stop feature so the battery only starts the car at the beginning of a trip.
Electrical system, Dec 14, 2021
My Suburu Outback's battery has gone dead 4 times in a year and a half, the first time at 6 months. I took it to the dealer at a year and a half and they said it didn't show a drain on the battery, the battery was good, and was told I should be sure to start it daily to keep the charge up. After driving 180 miles, the car battery was dead 2 days later. I have never had a car that needed to be turned on daiuly just to keep running. At close to $30,000 purchase price, I would expect dependability. The car is not dependable and is defective.
Equipment, Dec 13, 2021
The touch screen control panel randomly crashes and reboots, disables safety features while being rebooted. Happening every other day.
Visibility, Dec 10, 2021
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, he noticed a crack in the windshield coming from the lower driver’s side up to the center of the windshield. The contact stated that he was unaware of what caused the crack in the windshield. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.
Electrical system, Dec 9, 2021
Parked car, engine fan stated (very fast) and did not stop running until battery died. Could not start the car. One other Outback 2020 owner told me she had the same problem. Jumped battery. Subraru could not find any reason for the fan to go on and drain the battery. Car had under 9,000 miles, under 15 months old.
Other or unspecified, Dec 8, 2021
Windshield cracked. No reason for the issue
Electrical system, Dec 7, 2021
My wife purchased this car last Dec. It was a demo with only 2811 miles (but the odometer showed 3411 when delivered). As we have 2 other autos, the Subaru is used sparingly and mostly on longer trips. The car now has 7100 miles. Since we owned it we noticed that it was often difficult to start and my wife claims that when cornering, it hesitates like it is going to stall. This week she was visiting a client and the car was TOTALLY dead...no electrical activity at all. No door locks, no lights, no seat adjustment, no driver identification....I thought it was a dead FOB so when I went to pick her up I brought the spare FOB. It did not work either. We live in a rural community and if the car is not able to be operated, there is very little in the way of support at night. The car is now at the dealer. BUT I did some research and realized that this is a frequent occurrence and there are 2 law suits in progress. The remedy that Subaru is telling its dealers is to replace the battery...but it is likely that the battery is the cause of the electrical faults. And there are no recalls even though my wife claims a problem when cornering. Please add my wife's name to your investigation. The car is registered in my wife's name, Caroline Schorr. 205 Foxgrape Hollow Road, Beech Mountain, NC 28604. Thank you...
Other or unspecified, Visibility/wiper, Dec 6, 2021
windshield cracks for no reason
Visibility, Dec 6, 2021
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that after coming outside to start the vehicle it was discovered that the front glass windshield had cracked. The crack was located on the passenger side of the front windshield and extended between 18 to 30 inches long. The cause of crack was not determined. The contact indicated that no object had made contact with the windshield to cause the failure. The contact also indicated that the windshield had previously been replaced for the same failure in February. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 42,000.
Visibility, Dec 6, 2021
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the front windshield cracked without impact. The crack was approximately one foot long on the passenger’s side of the windshield. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The windshield was previously repaired twice at the same dealer. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.
Other or unspecified, Dec 4, 2021
Windshield has cracked in same area as those Subaru windscreens in the class action suit just settled.