Complaint volume
593 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
593 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2020 Subaru Forester, grouped by component category.
593 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
593 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Stopped at a stop light for a few minutes and when trying to move forward the car just stopped working. This happened twice. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | Much like the 2018 Outback issue I had, my 2020 Forester is having the same issue with fuel indication inaccuracy and mpg increasing when fuel level gets under a quarter of a tank. My local Suburu dealership said this is not an issue for this model. I have reported this to Suburu as well. Previously, Subaru found that the software that controls the fuel system can cause the fuel gauge to show that there is still fuel left in the tank when there isn’t. More specifically, the low fuel warning light may not actually come on, and the miles to empty display could be inaccurate. The software is causing additional miles to be showing when they are not available. I don't know if this is a similar issue or not, but no one has fixed it. With any vehicle, you need to be able to rely on the fuel gauge. Knowing how full (or empty!) your gas tank is extremely important when driving, particularly if you are driving a long distance. If you do run out of gas, the engine can stall; fortunately, the vehicle can be driven to the side of the road if it stalls when you are in motion. As the issue involves a software bug, it is easily fixed by the dealership. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | ENGINE,LANE DEPARTURE | Car stalls occasionally while stopped in traffic, at a signal, stop sign, and in heavy street or highway traffic. I have read about this, and it is problematic for this make and model, posing a significant safety hazard. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | While merging into a lane, I went to accelerate. I pressed the accelerator pedal to the floor to quickly get up to the speed of traffic. After successfully merging into the lane, I took my foot off of the accelerator pedal and noticed that my vehicle was still accelerating. The floor mat was not interfering with the accelerator pedal. Thankfully, slamming on my brakes while in the middle of a lane caused the accelerator pedal to come off the floor and my vehicle began to decelerate. This was frightening and an absolute hazard to the well-being of myself and other drivers and pedestrians on the road. Without quick thinking and a lack of traffic ahead of me, I and others would have likely been involved in a life-threatening traffic accident. Whether this is a reoccurring incident or a one-time incident, this is not acceptable for any vehicle sold and allowed to be driven by a manufacturer or dealership. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Windshield cracked in J shape starting at the center of the bottom. The crack appeared overnight; there was no crack when the car was parked the night before, and the crack was observed when entering the car the next morning. No impacts observed. Approximately 12k miles. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The headlights produces little to no lighting when driving at night. I almost got into an accident last night because I had extremely low visibility, even with the high beams on. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Driving car in my town to grocery store. As I was driving, I looked in rearview mirror and noticed the windshield had spontaneously developed a 6 inch crack running straight down from the middle of the top edge, directly over the rearview mirror. The crack was not there when I'd started driving approximately 30 minutes prior. No impacts, not using wipers, temperatures have been moderate. There is no glass chip or other indication of impact at the edge of the windshield or on the adjacent edge of the car roof. There is no other visible damage to the windshield. The car is 2 months out of standard warranty. I will be filing an insurance claim. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | The Subaru starlink system has no controls around transfer of ownership. I only discovered this after receiving a $150 charge 2 months after I traded in the car to a Subaru dealer. Even after trading in the car I was able to unlock, lock, start the car, and track the cars location. This represents a significant safety risk to the consumer and must be addressed immediately. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | POWER TRAIN,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Thermo control valve stays open. Needs replacement. Automatic brakes have gone on with no car in front of vehicle. Unsafe. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Windshield cracked while parked during the day. No visible reason for the crack - no chips, divots, or impact marks on windshield. Crack runs from bottom corner of driver's side windshield up to mid windshield right in the line of vision for driver. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The windshield cracked while I was stopped at a light. It creates a visibility issue. The windshield was repaired previously and has cracked again. The vehicle has not been inspected the manufacturer, police, insurance or others. There were no warnings prior to the incidents. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Windshield cracked with out any other related damage. No rock chips or other damage. While sitting still windshield popped and a small 1/2 inch crack started on the edge of the glass and spread all the way across the windshield. Subaru clames there is no coverage even tho there is no damage to the windshield | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | When I was driving this car one night, every dash light was suddenly activated and remained on -- and as a result all safety features were deactivated. When I was able to do so, I touched the battery cables together to reboot the system. I had to do this 3 times over the course of 4 days. Realizing the problem was chronic, I took the car to the dealership (a 2 hour drive), where a service tech explained the problem 'was caused by a low battery.' This car is only 2 years old. A new car battery should last longer than 2 years. It thus seems to me the battery was defective or the car improperly drained it somehow. More important, there is no warning that a 'low battery' -- one which can easily start a car -- could still deactivate safety features while driving. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | I bought this vehicle new. In the past three years, I have needed three windshield repairs. The first two were chips that could be filled and repaired. Most recently, a small chip has begun cracking and will require replacing the entire windshield at substantial cost. This vehicle is more prone to windshield damage from normal interstate use than any other I have driven in four decades. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | VISIBILITY | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | 34,500 |
| Nov 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Windshield suddenly cracked from lower passenger side almost 2-feet long. No obvious cause, driving around 50 mph in 62 degrees, clear sky. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | VISIBILITY | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | 16,000 |
| Nov 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | 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 ? | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | TIRES | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Rock chip on windshield spread across whole windshield in 2 days. Had to pay $1200 to have it replaced with a third party windshield. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | POWER TRAIN | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | 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. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | AIR BAGS | 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. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |