Complaint volume
594 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2020 Subaru Forester Complaints
594 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2020 Subaru Forester, grouped by component category.
594 Total complaints
25 Crash reports
7 Fire reports
13 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are visibility/wiper, unknown or other, visibility. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 25 crash reports, 7 fire reports, 13 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 272 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 10,312 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to visibility/wiper, unknown or other, visibility?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2020 Subaru Forester?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2020 Subaru Forester
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2020 Subaru Forester complaints?
25 Crash
7 Fire
13 Injury
0 Fatality
23 Towed
10 Medical attention
What are the most common 2020 Subaru Forester complaint categories?
VISIBILITY/WIPER 234
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 68
VISIBILITY 49
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 44
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 16
ENGINE 16
POWER TRAIN 9
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 8
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER 8
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 6
594 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,LANE DEPARTURE | 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! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | PARKING BRAKE,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 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. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed | 29,000 |
| Aug 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 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 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 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 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | 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). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | 2,000 |
| Jul 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | VISIBILITY | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | 500 |
| Jun 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | FRONT WINDSHIELD CRACKED STARTING AT PASSENGER SIDE TO MIDDLE OF WINDSHIELD. CAR WAS SITTING IN A PARKING LOT WHEN THIS HAPPENED. SUBARU SAID THEY WONT PAY FOR IT EVEN THOUGH THE ORIGINAL WARRANTY IS STILL CURRENT. HAD TO REPLACE WINDSHIELD, $1750.00. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Windshield Glass Cracked. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | While driving, a small pebble was believed to strike the front windshield (lower passenger side) because we heard a loud pop then noticed the windshield cracked immediately spanning the lower center of the windshield at least 18 inches from end to end. This crack negatively impacts driver visibility, distorting the view during both day and night driving. Insurance has not yet inspected the windshield. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The Windshield broke for no apparent reason. It’s a big crack that affects visibility. I know there is an ongoing problem with other similar suburu vehicles and is currently under a lawsuit process. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Front windshield seems very susceptible to chips and cracks. Since I purchased the vehicle new on 4/16/2020, the following repaired have happened: 3/15/21- chip repaired $19 8/30/21- two chips repaired $19 9/8/21- front window replaced after the formation of a large crack $410.28 5/30/22- crack spread from a chip that occurred yesterday (not repaired yet) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Windshield has cracked in 2 different spots, one on the driver side and the other on the passenger side. The passenger side is a crack from the edge to the center of the windshield. I didn't see the item, it was so small it may have been a pebble, and barely heard the noise. I don't feel safe to drive it because I am worried the crack will go across the entire windshield making it unsafe to drive. I haven't filed a claim with my insurance company yet, but understand it is expensive to replace and get calibrated for the EyeSight camera. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | 2 small cracks on windshield, unknown cause, possible small pebble. Now extended to a large crack on my winshield effecting eyesite. Through research appears this year and model has been shown to have a defective windshield and previous lawsuits filed. Would like to know if this lawsuit can be used in my case or if I can file. Cost to replace is ~ $3,000 out of pocket. This is ridiculous. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Windshield cracked for no reason. Has continued to worsen. Has to be repaired for and paid for by customer. This seems to be a known Subaru problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Battery constantly dying. Significant safety concern. Never no when the car is going to not start. Unreliable | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The windshield cracked without any known trauma. The car was parked in a lot and when I came out the windshield had a large crack in it. The dealer where the car is serviced refused to see it stating they do not replace windshields. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |