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2020 Subaru Forester

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Forester years

Owner complaints for the 2020 Subaru Forester are substantially higher than the model-year median of 131.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

272 reports with mileage · 328 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Visibility/wiper. Review the 252 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 101 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 79 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

26 crash reports8 fire reports13 injury reports

Engine complaints

79 reports
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Mileage unknown · Aug 17, 2022
Electrical SystemEngine

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 …

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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.

NHTSA ODI #11479843

1,300 miles · Mar 1, 2022
Electrical SystemEngineService Brakes

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to respond. The vehicle stalled and then went into sleep mode. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts. There were several unknown warning l…

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The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to respond. The vehicle stalled and then went into sleep mode. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after several attempts. There were several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle also experienced failures with the electrical system. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where the contact was informed that the vehicle was operating as designed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 1,300.

NHTSA ODI #11454653

Mileage unknown · Feb 20, 2022
Electrical SystemEnginePower Train

At the time,time, car was not fully 2 years old.. its brand new.This is an addition to a post created a week ago. After the dealership offered to detail the interior of the car to solve the sulferic acid feeling I noticed that the flap above the driving wheel started to feel warm. This happened right in the morning in Februa…

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At the time,time, car was not fully 2 years old.. its brand new.This is an addition to a post created a week ago. After the dealership offered to detail the interior of the car to solve the sulferic acid feeling I noticed that the flap above the driving wheel started to feel warm. This happened right in the morning in February. I'm not sure if I am feeling an electrical voltage, smelling the exhaust or there's still sulferic acid in the car. Every once in awhile I my hair smells like oil.. Whatever it is it makes your head feel heavy. My toddler feels something because during a drive he will say " hot". This puts our safety at risk if we are smelling the exhaust or feeling voltage while driving in the car. Sometimes it smells like fuel I the trunk of the car or acidic

NHTSA ODI #11453105

Mileage unknown · Oct 15, 2021
EnginePower Train

When climbing shallow hills, car will buck and surge. Engine RPM seemed to stay constant. The transmission seemed to be unable to decide on which gear it should be in. No accident occurred, but surging made the car's performance unpredictable in traffic. Reported to dealer, who noted that this has happened to other cars in the…

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When climbing shallow hills, car will buck and surge. Engine RPM seemed to stay constant. The transmission seemed to be unable to decide on which gear it should be in. No accident occurred, but surging made the car's performance unpredictable in traffic. Reported to dealer, who noted that this has happened to other cars in the past.

NHTSA ODI #11436963

Mileage unknown · Oct 3, 2021
EngineFuel/propulsion System

The fuel saving stop/go feature is unsafe. It stops engine at signal lights and during stop and go traffic. When it restarts the engine shakes and hesitates to go when signal lights changes. This model doesn't allow the owner to permanent disable this function as in other models. It will cause lots rear - end related or other…

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The fuel saving stop/go feature is unsafe. It stops engine at signal lights and during stop and go traffic. When it restarts the engine shakes and hesitates to go when signal lights changes. This model doesn't allow the owner to permanent disable this function as in other models. It will cause lots rear - end related or other serious accidents on high speed roadways and freeways as this function continues.

NHTSA ODI #11435276

Mileage unknown · Sep 24, 2021
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemCrashFire

At one year old this vehicle was involved in a frontal collision with a deer and immediately upon impact burst into flames. The fire breached the firewall between the engine compartment and passenger compartment within less then a minute. Within 2 minutes the engine compartment and front seat area was completely engulfed in flam…

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At one year old this vehicle was involved in a frontal collision with a deer and immediately upon impact burst into flames. The fire breached the firewall between the engine compartment and passenger compartment within less then a minute. Within 2 minutes the engine compartment and front seat area was completely engulfed in flames and within 3 minutes the entire vehicle was engulfed. It appears the fire started as the fuel shut-off system that is supposed to stop the fuel from flowing once the airbags are deployed failed. This put the occupants of this vehicle and any others had this been a collision with another vehicle in extreme danger of serious injury if not even death. Had the driver been incapacitated, not been able to open the door or had a child to remove from a car seat there would have been certain death due to the extremely rapid spread of the fire throughout the entire vehicle. This has been reported to Subaru of America. The vehicle is currently being inspected by the insurance carrier. There were no prior warnings that there were any concerns with the safety features of this vehicle. It was just serviced by the dealer one month prior to the accident. In reviewing other complaints on the NHTSA website there is a complaint of a 2019 Subaru Forester that experienced this same complete and total destruction due to a fire erupting upon impact in what should have been a minor frontal collision.

NHTSA ODI #11434211

Mileage unknown · Aug 18, 2021
Electrical SystemEngineCrash

I was in a parking lot at the time driving very slowly to pick a spot. When I went to turn right into the spot my car accelerated at an alarming speed. I had not control over it as it kept turning. It hit the car parked in front of my space pushing it and went on to hit the car parked to the right damaging both the front left an…

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I was in a parking lot at the time driving very slowly to pick a spot. When I went to turn right into the spot my car accelerated at an alarming speed. I had not control over it as it kept turning. It hit the car parked in front of my space pushing it and went on to hit the car parked to the right damaging both the front left and right sides of my vehicle and the 2 parked cars before coming to a stop. Fortunately it was 9am and not very crowded, there were no passengers in both vehicles and no one walking in between or by the cars which could have been tragic. I was wearing a seatbelt. The police were called and completed a report. The Subaru dealership was called and Subaru of America was called. The car was inspected by a Bosch.-EAA representative for Subaru on 8/4/2021. I have not heard back from Subaru so far although I was told it could take several weeks. There were no warning lights prior to the incident but afterwards there were several warning lights on. A few months before I got into my car and the radio was blaring and constantly switching channels and I was not able to turn the radio off. When I got home and turned off the car and turned the ignition back on 30 minutes later it had stopped. We notified the incident to Subaru at the next oil change. I immediately notified USSA car insurance and filed a claim. I have not had the damages assessed for repair because I have to wait for the inspection results from Subaru. I felt it was important to document this incident in case other 2020 Forester owners have experienced the same thing. Frightening.

NHTSA ODI #11429611

Mileage unknown · Jul 13, 2021
Electrical SystemEngineUnknown Or Other

I tried to unlock my car but the remote didnt work- I had to use the blank key inside the remote to get in the car. I couldn't start the car- my husband tried to jump it- that did not work- I called AAA they tried jumping it - that didnt work-- AAA told me the battery was good but totally out of charge 0%-- I called the subaru s…

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I tried to unlock my car but the remote didnt work- I had to use the blank key inside the remote to get in the car. I couldn't start the car- my husband tried to jump it- that did not work- I called AAA they tried jumping it - that didnt work-- AAA told me the battery was good but totally out of charge 0%-- I called the subaru salesman I bought the car from & he walked me thru alot of steps & we couldn't find anything wrong besides the battery!! he told me to have my husband try to give me a jump again & after 4 hours the car turned over! What caused it????? no idea??? the next day (7/5/21) I took it to an auto parts store & they tested it out- alternator-perfect--- battery @ 550 with the max 620--- today I read an article about Subaru batteries failing! well mine did for no apparent reason--- maybe they should all be recalled!! I missed my 1st day of vacation due to this!!

NHTSA ODI #11424693

Mileage unknown · May 17, 2021
Electrical SystemEngine

purchased new vehicle 10/23/19, 1st battery failure 6/15/2 jumped and ok 2nd battery failure 12/4/20 jumped, Subaru replaced battery 3rd battery failure 2/16/21, Subaru said battery was "fine" 4th battery failure 3/31/21 Subaru replaced battery 5th battery failure 5/14/21, appt with Subaru on 5/21/21

NHTSA ODI #11417520

Official recalls

0

No recalls in this snapshot.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.

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