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, Oct 14, 2022
Our 2020 Outback XT Onyx Edition with 24,000 miles was parked for 9 days at an airport. Union return, the battery was completely dead. We received a jump and drove the car for an hour on the highway, but noticed the electrical systems acting up at parking lot speeds - EyeSight system would disable briefly, power steering would get stiff, and ABS would trigger randomly when turning at low RPM. Upon shutting the car off, everything went dark and the battery was still completely dead, leaving us stranded. It needed to get towed back to the dealership, awaiting further diagnostics.
Visibility/wiper, Oct 10, 2022
My windshield cracked for no apparent reason. I parked my car in my garage and left for a 6-week long vacation. When I returned, I noticed a small crack at the passenger side of the windshield which grew and has moved almost past midway horizontally. There are no impact sites or something else to suggest that something has happened to the windshield. I have contacted my insurance company which has suggested to change the windshield and is not covered. I came to the Subaru Dealership to fix a recall that is currently ongoing. I have been told by the dealer's customer rep that it's over $1000 to fix. As I tried to shop around, I have come across multiple complaints online that other people are experiencing similar issues with cars similar to mine. Hence, I am filing this complaint.
Visibility/wiper, Oct 7, 2022
My outback has 22500 miles on it. The wind shield had not visible cracks or chips. I got to work on 10/06 and when I cam back to my car there was a large 2-3 foot crack starting in the black area around the glass. the crack there was large enough to fit a piece of paper into it. It appears to have just cracked and spread apart from strain or stress on the glass. The crack runs directly across my view as the driver. The windshield had always been loud and you could hear wind moving around it.
Structure, Visibility/wiper, Oct 5, 2022
Windshield continously cracks. The windshield is prone to cracking. Within two years I've had two windshield cracks
Engine, Oct 2, 2022
Vehicle just quit running going down the road called roadside assistance after approximately two plus hours no help policeman comes along and said need to move car so he called a tow service and within minutes tow truck comes and tows my vehicle to Subaru dealership in Des Moines Ia. This happened last Sunday come Monday morning I get a call about my car they look into the problem told me I had a bad thermal control valve and parts would not be here until December. I asked if I could have it towed to dealership in Bellevue Nebraska where I live they said call Subaru of America and I did I explained the situation to them and they gave me a case number then said they would call the next day it didn’t happen called them back and they say working on it we’ll it’s been a week and still no call back and I don’t know where the car is I feel I’m being blown off
Electrical system, Sep 27, 2022
Car was purchased in 9/2020. Battery died in March 2021 (needed jump start) and again in October 2021 (battery replaced)
Electrical system, Sep 27, 2022
Battery is poorly charged , as indicated by idle battery voltage below 12.1 volts, and in one case the car would not strat and I had to call road service to get the battery jumped/boosted.
Visibility/wiper, Sep 26, 2022
The windshield was pitted by something no larger than a grain of sand. Needed to use a magnifying glass to see it. Within 24 hours of no driving a 6" long crack developed.
Electrical system, Sep 24, 2022
I have had to replace my battery already, i have only 19,464 miles on the car. I replaced the battery on 09/07/2022. I have replaced batteries before and there is usually a warning that it is starting to go dead, this time it was just dead and would not hold a charge.
Electrical system, Sep 24, 2022
The electrical system cause me to buy a new battery prematurely. 2020 Subaru Outback, needs new battery in less than 2 years.
Electrical system, Sep 16, 2022
BATTERY DRAINED WITHOUT REASON
Electrical system, Sep 15, 2022
I purchased an Subaru Outback touring edition, with a turbo 4 cylinder engine, on February 8, 2020. My battery failed in 3/20, on 4/15/20 Diablo Subaru of Walnut Creek replaced the dead battery. In March of 2022 my battery died again. I was told the rear cargo light had been left on and that drained the battery. They recharged the battery and said the battery was good. After this event I bought a small battery operated jump starter to keep in my car. We went on vacation for 2 weeks, August 24, through September 7, 2022. The first time I tried to start my car it would not start. I turned of the climate control the radio and the infotainment screen and verified that none of the interior lights were on before turning the engine off. When I returned to the car it started reluctantly. Before exiting my car at home I again made sure that the climate control, radio, and infotainment screen and all lights were off, before turning the engine off. The next day it didn't start. I jumped it again then ran one errand and it reluctantly started, at home I left the car running before my next appt.. I returned to the car after the appt. and the car would not start. I jumped it again and drove home. I left it running for one hour at home, and went through my routine insuring everything was off. The next day it didn't start. Other electrical problems happen intermittently since buying the car. Periodically the infotainment system touchscreen will not respond to touch. or the screen goes blank and unresponsive. It may come back on in a few minutes, or I may need to leave the car off for one or more hours for the screen to come on. I complained to the dealer in 2/21. The dealer reprogrammed the "CPI". This didn't resolve the problem. I took it back 5/11/21 with no resolution. Since 3/16/22 there have been random electrical problems; warnings that ABS is off; Airbags are off; warning to watch the road that won't turn off while driving; seatbelt bell on, with belts fastened.
Electrical system, Sep 15, 2022
Battery died a month after purchasing the car used. Now the new Subaru OEM battery, that replaced the original, is also failing on a regular basis. I have to charge the battery about every other time I try to start the car.
Visibility/wiper, Sep 12, 2022
The windshield cracked without anything hitting the windshield. This is the fourth (4th) time this has happened to this vehicle. 3/6/21, 7/13/21, 12/6/21. And now, today, 9/12/22. The dealer has all the records. We need the support of your organization to help us deal with this. We can't fight this by ourselves. Please help us!
Electrical system, Sep 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that on multiple occasions, the vehicle failed to start-up after multiple attempts. The contact had the vehicle jumpstarted and the engine resumed normal operation. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer where she was informed that the failure was caused due to the vehicle not being driven enough. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Sep 8, 2022
I have had the battery be completely drained overnight for no apparent reason. Last year I took the car in 3 or more times for the dealer to diagnose. They gave me a new batter and said it was the parking break draining the battery. This year (almost a year later) the battery is again being drained. When the roadside assistance came to jump it he said the battery (after the jump) was only 3.9 volts which is much lower than anything like interior lights being left on would do. i'm worried that they haven't fixed this mysterious drain on the battery. And I see that there has already been a class action suit against Subaru of America (SOA) has been battling an issue with drained batteries on the Outback and Ascent SUVs. The original lawsuit from 2020 against SOA alleged the SUVs had defective electrical systems causing premature battery failure. A second lawsuit in 2021 against Subaru claimed defective electrical components in the Subaru Forester, Outback, Ascent, Legacy, and WRX vehicles.
Electrical system, Sep 4, 2022
The screen has gone out on several occasions since we purchased the car new. Most recent while using navigation the entire screen went blank and there was no voice or direction diagram. The screen did not return until the next day. Most recent the battery went dead for no reason while parked in line for a funeral. Embarrassed we had to abandon the car and ride with others. We returned later and had to jump start the car to get it home. (This incident was September 1, 2022.) we had to charge the battery for five hours before the charger showed it was charged sufficient to use. I took the car to Battery Wholesale and they advised they could not determine the batteries worthiness because the electrolytes were too low and the battery needed a hard charge to bring it up for testing.
Electrical system, Sep 3, 2022
We bought the car new in October 2020. In Nov 2021, the battery died while we we were stopped at a busy intersection. The auto start-stop system was on. We were lucky with a near miss accident with a driver than came up behind us. We had it towed to the nearest Subaru dealership who couldn’t find anything wrong. However, when we picked up the car the next day, the battery was dead again. They replaced with a new and better battery according the service center manager. Now August 2022, we find ourselves having to jump the battery 3 times in the last week when the car wouldn’t start. We have gone to another Subaru dealership who is telling us nothing is wrong. I’m fearful of finding myself in the same situation as last year.
Engine, Engine and engine cooling, Sep 2, 2022
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle began to jerk and then stalled. The check engine warning light and several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact was unable to veer to the side of the road. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and continued driving; however, the failure reoccurred that same day. The contact veered to the side of the road and restarted the vehicle. The contact was able to drive to her residence; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the Engine Control Module (ECM) was malfunctioning. The dealer reset the warning lights; however, the failure had recurred more increasingly. The vehicle was then towed to a second dealer, Subaru of Pembroke Pines (16100 Pines Blvd, Pembroke Pines, FL 33027) where the fuel pump and high-pressure fuel pump were replaced; however, the failure persisted. The dealer then replaced the Engine Control Module (ECM). The vehicle was not fixed and remained at the dealer since July 12, 2022. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and followed up with the dealer. The contact was awaiting a call back from the manufacturer. A case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 9,846.
Other or unspecified, Aug 31, 2022
Winshield cracked spontaneously & readily spread out as I was driving.
Electrical system, Aug 31, 2022
Battery ran down too quick. Replaced battery in 5/2021. Supposedly did some adjustments to the electrical system. Worked okay until recently when the dead battery problem has begun again.
Visibility/wiper, Lane departure, Forward collision avoidance, Aug 31, 2022
Blind spot warning does not turn on when there is actually a vehicle truly in the blind spot. Visibility in new cars via windows is blocked and insufficient, and the blind spot warning does not activate at the right time. Drivers could easily cut someone off with less than a foot in front of the car in the blind spot, because there is no proper warning. Warning only turns on when vehicle could hit another car when switching lanes. Not before when visibility is limited by vehicle structure and mirrors. Also, touch screens are a huge hazard in cars. Having to look at a touch screen in order to control air or other items is a huge safety hazard. Tactile controls and buttons are much safer. Not to mention touch screens and screens do not work during heatwaves. Car sitting in temperatures above 80 degrees, have major issues with computer screens working. Forward collision and driver monitor warning is also a hazard. Forward collision warning occasionally turns on when there is fog or smoke. Additional warnings distract drivers from actually looking at the road. Driver monitor warning turns on when looking through turns, causing drivers to be distracted and look at why the vehicle is beeping at them instead of paying attention to where they are driving.
Electrical system, Aug 27, 2022
On multiple occasions, the center console has gone black and I have no control over any of the car's functions (e.g. climate control, navigation, radio, ability to turn on/off safety features, etc). This had been happening for several weeks before the more concerning incident. The auto-stop/start at a red light failed to work. The car shut off, but wouldn't restart for several seconds. Eventually it restarted and I was able to get it home Because I was afraid to drive it, the car sat in my driveway for aprox. 2 weeks before I could take it to the dealership. By then, the battery was completely dead and I had to get a jump start from AAA. I drove the car straight to the dealership. For at least 45 minutes after that jump, the center console wouldn't come back on. Because I had no means to turn off the auto start/stop feature, I had to put my car into park at every red light to avoid it shutting off. I don't know when it actually came back on, as that happened at some point after I dropped off my car at the dealership for service. Although the dealer did see that the center console wasn't working, they couldn't tell me why it happened. In addition, they were not able to reproduce the problem with the auto start not working. They indicated the battery checked out fine. (This is also the 2nd battery I've had in this car as the first died for unknown reasons - they indicated they thought a rear light was on, but that light is never turned on) Because almost everything happens via that center console, that is a major failure if that just randomly goes out. Failure of the auto start/stop could strand me in traffic. My car is available for inspection.
Electrical system, Aug 25, 2022
Under warranty had to jump battery 3 times to start vehicle one time 300 miles from home Subaru put in new battery last week battery volts always below 12 volts. Put vote meter on battery after 30 minute trip read 11.9 volts had my wife step on gas volts drop to 11.5 volts . Repeated experiment again same result . Concern this winter will get stranded in cold wearher.at same time as this test I pulled my 1999 Subaru out of garage put meter on at idle read 13 volts upon acceleration read 13.5 volts dealer tells me he got 14 volts don't believe he is honest.many people on line having same prolem.
Power train, Aug 23, 2022
I received notice of this recall in February 2022 and nothing has been done. Meanwhile I fear that my car is experiencing the problem that it addresses. What good is a safety recall as serious as this one may be if the manufacturer is not going to promptly address the problem?