2020 Subaru Ascent

For the past month, the engine revs up higher than normal at slow and highway speeds. It had the feeling of the engine skipping gears and staying at to high of an RPM even with the accelerator being eased off. Initially it was brought to Subaru service dealer in November and they could not replicate the issue. On 12/13/23, it began to constantly go into very high RPMS, much more frequently then it had been, and the check engine light came on as well as a warning light for the automatic transmission oil temperature light. We brought it into the dealer and the evaluated and said the transmission is failing and said it is not safe to drive. We were given a loaner and they are in the process of submitting paperwork for a new transmission under their powertrain warranty.

CVT transmission skips in high gear and shudders randomly while driving down the road. Randy Marion in Hickory NC is where we purchased and replaced the rear transfer clutch and insists the problem has been corrected. It is not. Our regular mechanic and Moderna Subaru of Boone NC both agree the transmission is bad. It has been sitting at the dealership for 2 months while all parties argue over who is responsible for repair. (Original selling dealership, Subaru of America, 3rd party warranty) meanwhile I have no car but am expected to make payments. There are no warning lights or indicatator lamps to show an issue which is even more scary. I do not feel safe driving the vehicle without repair as the stutter and slipping between gears can cause hesitation that could cause an accident or worse. We did not test drive the vehicle at high gear and that was our mistake, but I drove it on a trip 2 days after purchasing and it had transmission issues the entire time. Dropped back off at dealership Monday morning and have been dealing with headaches since then.

CVT jerks the vehicle and stutters when at certain rpms, making long car rides very uncomfortable. Feels like whiplash every so often. Very dangerous when trying to speed up to pass another vehicle because the vehicle doesn't respond and accelerate as it should. The dealer said its normal because of the CVT technology. They said they tried to reproduce it, but were only gone 5 minutes. The highway is 5 minutes away from dealership, one-way. I explained it happens after about 20 minutes of continously driving at speeds over 50 mph. The vehicle had only been inspected once for this issue. The dealer refuses to look at it again because they, "already explained it to [me]". There are no warnings or indicators prior to it happening.

Reporting a serious incident with my 2020 Subaru Ascent at 21k miles. On October 16th, a burning plastic smell and white smoke from the floorboard forced an immediate stop; I had to call the fire department for safety. The vehicle's battery has been replaced thrice, and the radio system frequently resets. Despite a Subaru recall fix in February meant to prevent such issues, the problem persists, raising major safety concerns. With 20+ years in electrical engineering, I've noted consistent electrical issues with this car. I urgently request NHTSA intervention for an immediate and thorough investigation, holding Subaru accountable for ensuring vehicle safety.

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Ascent. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed, and the vehicle had started jerking. The RPMs became elevated however, the vehicle failed to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Ascent. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, there was a delay while shifting gears. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V955000 (Power Train). The recall repair was performed; however, the failure occurred several times. The vehicle was repaired several times. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was filed but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 30,000.

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Ascent. The contact stated that he parked the vehicle in the parking garage overnight and when he went to get into the vehicle the next morning, he noticed that the windshield was cracked. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

Both front struts have failed within 55000 miles, the passenger one had a failure at 43,000 miles and the driver side has failed at 54000 miles. The dealership stated that the struts had "corrosion" and were not damaged. The strut failures cause the car to shake when hitting even a small bump. There were no warning lamps or messages.

My car had a CVT drivetrain recall which has been labeled as "repaired" because I brought it to the dealer, however, the issue still exists and my car has been to the dealer 5 times already concerning this recall. The symptoms of the CVT drive train that I am experiencing are: shuddering (dealership vocabulary) at approximately 20 mph (approximately 1500-2000 rpm). The issue has gotten worse because now I experience the occasional shuddering at 40 mph and about 60 mph. In addition, occasionally at about 20 mph after slowing down and then accelerating there is a heavy vibration from the engine (which was heard over the phone by someone). Some things that the dealership have done included updating the computer, reflashing, reprogramming it, etc. However, as I mentioned the issue still exists and has gotten worse. I also personally contacted corporate Subaru to let them know that the issue has not been resolved. I wanted to report this issue to you because they have labeled my car as "repaired" based on the fact that I brought it in for the recall, however, the issue was not fixed and it has gotten worse.