2020 Subaru Forester complaints

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the contact became aware of a crack on the windshield on the far-left driver's side about three inches above where the VIN was located. The contact had taken the vehicle to a glass shop where it was diagnosed that there were several cracks and determined that the windshield needed to be replaced. The vehicle had been repaired. The contact stated that the new windshield had developed a crack and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 34,500.

Windshield suddenly cracked from lower passenger side almost 2-feet long. No obvious cause, driving around 50 mph in 62 degrees, clear sky.

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while her friend was driving 70 MPH, the windshield started to crack at the center base of the windshield. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 16,000.

I haven’t driven my 2020 Subaru Forester since 11/06/22 I come out this morning to a cracked windshield on the driver side obstructing my view. No form of impact what so ever - what needs to be done about this ?

I have had to replace the tire valve stems on ALL 4 tires. In addition, 1 of the replacement valve stems also had to replaced within 1 year when it was first replaced. All this within the first 3 years of owning the vehicle.

Engine shuts off when coasting into a turn when car is moving at less than 5mph. Causes loss of steering. Will restart if gas pedal is pumped. Dealer can find no problem. Does not happen predictably and can not always be replicated. Very dangerous.

Rock chip on windshield spread across whole windshield in 2 days. Had to pay $1200 to have it replaced with a third party windshield.

Windshield cracked for no apparent reason. It is cracked from the passenger side to the middle of the vehicle. The car was parked when this occurred. There isn’t an object near the crack.

The other day, the check engine light came on & Eyesight was disabled. I take it to the nearest mechanic who tells me that the cooling fans are running too long at idle & this could drain the battery. He also tells me to watch for the engine overheating. The recently checked coolant level had dropped lower than the minimum. I take it to dealer who keeps it for day. Similar to the 2 other complaints, the fault is related to TSB-09-80-21R calling for replacement parts to be installed. Subaru did not do any recall but instead waited for the parts to fail. I have minimal heat & the engine runs cool a lot of the time which affects emissions. My gas mileage is getting worse. The part is on backorder with no estimated time of arrival. I was told to just keep driving it & to let them know if it starts to run rough. The dealer said there are a lot of other cars & drivers in this situation at the dealer’s service department.

1. Fragile windshield, easily get cracks on it. It is available for inspection upon request. 2. Could cause serious problem if the crakes are bigger and on the diver's side. 3. Not yet. But a lot other Subaru Forester owners have experienced the same problem. 4. Not yet. 5. No.

On October 26th 2022 I was in a accident with a deer. It was a head on collision where my airbags deployed but the main windshield airbag didn't go off.

This is about a problem of which your agency is already aware. Subaru of America has been aware of a defective Thermo Control Valve for almost a year (Part 21319AA010). The part was redesigned since the initial part was subject to extreme corrosion. The redesigned part has the same part number as the original part. Subaru did not do any recall but instead waited for the parts to fail. When it fails on a car with safety features (called "eyesight"), each and every safety feature is permanently disabled until the redesigned part is installed. In addition, the engine runs too cool and there is little or no cabin heat. My car has been on the lot of my local dealership for 2 months with no end in sight. My car is covered by the original warranty and an extended warranty. Managers at the dealership have told me that they have no idea when the part will arrive, that it may be many months and that there are many people already waiting for the part. A 6-page letter by me to the General Counsel of Subaru of America did not result in any direct response. By information and belief, this involves thousands of cars nationwide. By information and belief, dealerships are initially telling people the cars are still drivable despite the loss of all safety features since this what was initially told to me. I refused to accept the car in a defective unsafe condition. There may be thousands of cars being driven in which said safety features are fully disabled. Subaru claims the part has been on "

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the check engine warning light remained illuminated after starting the vehicle and shifting to drive(D) or reverse(R). The contact stated that the engine temperature gauge indicated that the engine was “COLD” even after she had driven the vehicle approximately 30 minutes. The contact stated that the heater no longer worked as intended and only blew out cold air. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the thermostat coolant valve needed to be replaced. The contact was advised that the part needed for the repair was on a national back order. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.

Repeated experiences of battery going dead after simply opening and closing doors a few times a day for four days. Engine was not started in this time. All interior light were off and rear hatch remained closed. Safety risk is being stranded in rural locations, at times with no cell service. Local Subaru dealer indicated I needed an authorization code from a battery lawsuit settlement to look into it. Lawsuit doesn’t include my vehicle VIN and only reimburses cost for battery replacement and possibly towing, not a repair. Research into the problem has indicated that this “parasitic drain “ can be remedied by replacing the defective older PRG Module with the effective newer one. This should be covered by the warranty on a two year old car. Local dealer would only refer to the lawsuit for direction. Suspect they are “buying time” until warranty expires to avoid doing the appropriate repair. See attached file for example of correct repair from another Subaru owner.

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while pulling into a parking space and pressing the parking brake, the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration and accelerated forward. During the incident, the vehicle drove over a curb, hit a lamp post, and crashed into a parked vehicle. No injuries were reported. A police report was taken at the scene. The vehicle was not towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 26,000.

Vehicle was parked in a parking lot for approx 30 mins. Upon returning to the vehicle, the windscreen was found to have been cracked. Visibility is now obscured. This problem is known to Subaru, however they refuse to do anything about it. A class action lawsuit was filed in 2020 over the problem.

Windshield cracked for no apparent reason from edge. Started to spread.

In less than 2 years of owning this car the battery failed putting me in a very dangerous situation. While standing in the middle of the road to make a turn into incoming traffic the car was off because of the auto stop-start system. As I released the brake and tried to accelerate to cross the intersection the car failed to restart automatically and stalled as if the battery did not have enough power. I had to place the car in parking and restart it again in the middle of the road. This happened multiple times. I took the car to the dealer and it was confirmed that the battery was bad and it was replaced. The new battery was good for sometime but lately it feels that it lacks power again, specially to restart when off from the auto start-stop system. This problem is very concerning as it can cause a major accident if unable to restart when expected.

Battery will not hold a charge. Battery frequently needs to be recharged. Bought a portable jumper, to ensure vehicle will start away from home where the battery would otherwise be charged in the garage.

I've owned this car for less than a week and already have to replace a battery that was said to be completely fine. It does not retain charge or replenish when parked.

Windshield cracked rapidly (seconds) from left bottom to center of windshield beyond repair. Windshield did not have previous damage or was hit by foreign object, appears to be a stress crack. Local Subaru Dealer referred that this situation should be discussed with Subaru USA.

I have a 2020 subaru forester with low mileage. A few weeks ago, I started to move forward when the traffic light turned green. There is a car in front of me that started to move forward. There was another car perpendicular to my right. I started to apply the gas, and the car fought me and was appying the brakes. I saw no reason for the car to brake. This concerns me. I was on dry pavement in daylight. I fear if this had happened when the roads were covered with ice or snow, it could have caused me to spin out.

Corrupted Driver Assist Software. Dashboard icons for hands on steering wheel, dynamic vehicle control, lane change control were flashing that systems were off, controls were turned off randomly. Vehicle was not tracking appropriately in its lane, steering was not acting correctly. Car at times acted as if it were being blown by a strong crosswind. Steering between lanes was not consistent. Icon warning that my hands were not on steering wheel when both my hands were on the steering wheel.

Windshield keeps cracking as if unable to withstand regular road conditions that other vehicles/windshields for vehicles with the same capabilities and from the same brand (but different models) can. Windshield for my vehicle has been replaced once but will need to be replaced again, each time with an oem part

Car window cracked while parked at work. Heard there was recalls from the internet was wondering if my car is in the classification of defective windshield

My windshield cracked without any damage. While driving down the road one giant crack appeared out of nowhere.

2nd event - SOY based transmission wiring chewed. TWICE in two years. Car garaged, traps in garage. Our cost: about $1500. Time in shop - 3 months, due to "no parts".

The SUV developed the long crack across its windshield (see attachment) while parked in garage. There was no impact to cause the disintegration. There was a minor "star" damage at the bottom of the windshield, approx. 3/4 - 1 inch wide, no ding, that had occurred some two weeks prior, that I was about to get repaired. The concern here is quality of the glass that is easily damaged and disintegrates without impact.

My 3rd windshield needs to be replaced for cracking clear across. The first one shattered after a pine one fell from a tree and completely shattered the glass. Employer paid 1,000 (see pic)The next was hit by small pebbles and it instantly cracked one half of windshield. Insurance paid with 500 deductible. This time I heard a pop and a crack appeared from the bottom and continued to crack all the way across with several cracks starting from the original crack. An estimate of 1,000to fix it.

Subaru has a known issue with a Thermo Control Valve in Foresters. Apparently the part is failing all over the place and they redesigned the part and are replacing it. The problem is the part is backordered and the dealerships are telling people it is safe to drive the car. Our car completely shut off at highway speed. I have since learned this is happening to a number of other owners who were also told it was safe to drive it while the part is back ordered. This vehicle has a lot of advanced driver features and some or all of them are shut off when this happens. Very dangerous for them to tell people to keep driving it and the vehicle should be recalled to replace the defective part that is failing.

We discovered a crack in the windshield this morning across the lower half of the passenger side. There was no sign of any impact, just the crack. The crack was not there when the vehicle was parked yesterday afternoon.

BATTERY DRAINS constantly and car will not start. This has happened several times the past month. I understand that it is an ongoing issue with other Subaru's. This is dangerous and must be fixed. This issue has happened 3 times in 2 weeks. 8/1, 8/13, 8/15/2022

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while attempting to park her vehicle, the vehicle independently accelerated without warning. The vehicle ran through both the parking lot fence and a fence located on private property. The contact made multiple attempts to stop the vehicle by depressing the brake pedal; however, the vehicle failed to stop. The vehicle continued accelerating down a driveway as she attempted to avoid hitting a house, a tree, and another parked vehicle. The contact was able to shift the vehicle into park which stopped the acceleration. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. The contact suffered a headache but did not seek any medical assistance. A police report was filed. Both the parking lot and private property fences were damaged. The contact was able to drive the vehicle back to the parking lot where she called the dealer and was instructed to leave the vehicle at the scene until the vehicle was inspected. The contact was informed that the dealer filed a claim with the manufacturer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 14,865.

There are various lights on on the dash of the vehicle when nothing is seemingly inherently wrong with the vehicle. I notified the dealership about this issue, the dealership claimed that special parts were ordered but I still have not been notifed of their arrival. This puts my safety at risk due to the fact that I am not sure wether the car actually has an issue, or if it is a mere malfunction. The vechicle is now shaking.

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 45 MPH, a small rock hit the bottom, driver side of the windshield. The next day, the contact stated that the crack had formed and spread vertically along the driver-side windshield. The crack had obstructed the contact's vision while driving at various speeds. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed her that approval for the repair under warranty would come from the manufacturer. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.

Windshield cracked, what appears to be originated from the inside near the heating coil. Has spread horizontal about two-thirds of the windshield. Available for inspection upon request. Has not had any inspections yet. Can inhibit the eyesight if continues to spread.

I drive this V little, but the steering wheel has repeatedly tried to jerk me into the left lane when tuning right and right when turning left! I stopped using cruise, but it still does it. I am an advanced driver, but don't low, if I could overcome this if it acted like some other 2020 Foresters I've read owners state have gone off the road and rolled over! Also the auto stop - start often shuts engine off when power is needed - is totally unpredictable! This is my wife's car, but she got it as the seat works with my V bad back! Had I known the Eyesight system would malfunction (I did not trust it, but hoped it would be ok!), I'd have insisted on getting a good older car without unproven so called driver aids! We really don't have the $ to replace the car!

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated as she pulled into a parking space, the vehicle inadvertently accelerated forward causing the vehicle to drive into the bank building. The contact stated she depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle would not stop. The air bags did not deploy. One of the employees suffered minor injuries and a police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a collision center. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The dealer was contacted, and they stated that the vehicle did not have any recalls. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 29,000.

Windshield cracked with minor strikes. There are two cracks, one small crack, one large crack in windshield and some chips. The windshield seems to be prone to cracking and when I discussed this with the Subaru dealer on 08/05/2022 about the 2020 Forester, he stated that the windshields are thinner to reduce weight for improved fuel efficiency and are not as durable as older windshields. The representative said it would cost $1415.80 plus tax to replace with original windshield. Why would I want an original windshield if it not durable and prone to breaking? This is a defective product and I would think it would be replaced by the dealer at no charge with a more durable product.

The windshield on the 2020 Subaru Forester, as reported by many other owners, is extremely brittle and prone to frequent chips/rapidly spreading cracks. Since purchasing new, I have had two chips that resulted in small cracks and one that resulted in a larger spiderweb crack. None of these were caused by stone/pebble impacts I would have expected to cause windshield damage. (I have lived in the same area with a Ford Ranger, Jeep Wrangler, Ford Escape, VW Sportwagen, and 2016 Forester, and never experienced any windshield chips needing repair with any of the others.) While getting my third crack repaired today, the technician stated that a disproportionate amount of his work in the last two years has been on late-model Subarus. The technician who completed the second chip repair around four months ago stayed the same — a high number of late-model Subarus with chips and cracks. My experience seems reflective of a high number of other Subaru owners, and is reflected in an ongoing class action case involving the increased fragility of recent Subaru’s windshields.

Battery drained, towed to dealership twice within a month battery replaced then failed within 2 weeks everything checked out ok but battery still drained very frustrating

I believe the SUBARU FORESTER 2020 WINDSHIELD is dangerous and is a system failure. In April, 2022 a piece of gravel hit the windshield--smaller than the size of a quarter. Within hours, the windshield had fractured so much that there was no way that I could continue to drive safely as the windshield flowered and split the driver's eye view. I reported the claim to insurance (USAA) and took the car on May 12, 2022 to Safelight to be repaired. After working on it for three hours, they couldn't get the EYESIGHT to calibrate. I drove for two weeks without those safety features until I could get to Safelight again. After 3 more hrs I was finally told to take it to the dealership to finalize repairs and again the EYESIGHT was not calibrated. Those safety features were not available until on June 6, 2022 the delearship calibrated EYESIGHT. Driving on July 20, 2022 a small piece of gravel hit the passenger corner and within 2 hrs, split the windshield again. I have NEVER had a windshield perform like this--it is very dangerous and I believe in a crash, the windshield would INJURE me rather than prevent impact. I am worried about my safety. I cannot afford to repair the windshield when it may happen again. In 44 years of driving, I have NEVER had a windshield that was so weak.

I was driving down the highway & noticed a crack was growing insanely large due to the heat & while I had other cracks on my windshield that were little dings it looked like a grain of sand/very small pebble hit the side of my windshield and nearly cracked in down the middle. I have heard of other people with Subaru foresters complaining about this issue & it makes the safety of the driver at risk when just about anything can crack your windhshield making it unsafe to drive/hard to see.

DTC P26A3 thermo control valve ? All my safety features are disabled until the part becomes available- it is apparently on back order and/ or not part of an active recall or both ? Having difficulty getting information from my dealer/service dept

My windshield cracked overnight, in my driveway, with no possibility of a person or animal being the cause. The nearest neighbor is 2 miles away. Subaru warranty denied my claim and said they saw a rock chip in the pics. The glass repair shop that submitted the claim said their was no sign of force (rock) to the windshield being the cause of the crack.

UNKNOWN - the windshield seems to have spontaneously cracked. It was parked overnight in an uncovered driveway, and now there is a large crack down the middle. There is no particular pattern to suggest impact (and regardless the driveway is not underneath any nearby trees or other structures).

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the battery was continually being drained and needed to be recharged frequently. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer however, a cause for the failure was not determined. The dealer recharged the battery. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure with electrical system defects which consistently drained the battery. The contact recharged the battery after each time the vehicle was driven. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 2,000.

The vehicle has 27000 miles and the windshield shows multiple small chips and voids. The windshield is really thin and can’t take any wear and tear.

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that there was a crack the size of a quarter at the lower center bottom of the windshield The contact had the windshield repaired by a glass specialist. The failure recurred close to the location of the repair. The windshield was repaired a second time. The failure recurred a third time however, on the top passenger’s side of the windshield. The dealer was notified of the failure by voicemail however, the contact had not received a call back. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 500.

While driving one day on the road I heard a pop noise and noticed a huge thin line crack in my windshield. This was directly in front of my line of vision while driving. It made it extremely difficult and dangerous to see while driving and light would reflect off the crack causing a glare. Yes, the problem has been confirmed by an independent service center and has been inspected by an independent party. There was no warning prior to this incident.