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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

Visibility complaints

49 reports
Clear category filter
45,000 miles · Jan 13, 2025
Visibility

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the contact became aware of a 7-inch crack at the bottom of the windshield near the driver’s side pillar running horizontally. The contact stated that there was no impact on the windshield to cause the crack. The vehicle had not been …

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The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the contact became aware of a 7-inch crack at the bottom of the windshield near the driver’s side pillar running horizontally. The contact stated that there was no impact on the windshield to cause the crack. The vehicle had not been taken to a local dealer or independent mechanic to be inspected. The vehicle was not diagnosed and was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.

NHTSA ODI #11635630

46,000 miles · May 15, 2024
Visibility

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving 40–45 MPH in the rain, the lower left corner of the front windshield cracked without impact. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 46,00…

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The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving 40–45 MPH in the rain, the lower left corner of the front windshield cracked without impact. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 46,000.

NHTSA ODI #11588830

21,000 miles · Feb 15, 2024
Visibility

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while at a complete stop, she noticed that there was a crack in the middle of the windshield. The contact stated that there was no external cause for the failure. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Th…

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The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while at a complete stop, she noticed that there was a crack in the middle of the windshield. The contact stated that there was no external cause for the failure. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 21,000.

NHTSA ODI #11572156

29,000 miles · Jan 10, 2024
Visibility

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that upon entering the vehicle, the contact observed a crack on the windshield extending from the passenger’s side trim to the center of the windshield. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer wa…

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The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that upon entering the vehicle, the contact observed a crack on the windshield extending from the passenger’s side trim to the center of the windshield. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 29,000.

NHTSA ODI #11564635

64,000 miles · Oct 20, 2023
Visibility

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at 55 MPH, the front driver's side windshield cracked. The windshield had developed a crack without impact. The contact stated that the windshield had previously been replaced by an auto glass company for the same issue. The vehicle was not diagnosed …

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The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at 55 MPH, the front driver's side windshield cracked. The windshield had developed a crack without impact. The contact stated that the windshield had previously been replaced by an auto glass company for the same issue. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 64,000.

NHTSA ODI #11550991

8,978 miles · Sep 5, 2023
Visibility

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the windshield was cracked. The crack had developed on the passenger’s side of the windshield’s edge where the windshield meets the frame and expanded 6 inches horizontally. The contact had not taken the vehicle to the local dealer or the glass shop. The windshield…

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The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the windshield was cracked. The crack had developed on the passenger’s side of the windshield’s edge where the windshield meets the frame and expanded 6 inches horizontally. The contact had not taken the vehicle to the local dealer or the glass shop. The windshield was not replaced. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 8,978.

NHTSA ODI #11542637

25,000 miles · Jul 18, 2023
Visibility

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that there was a chip on the front windshield that was not caused by an impact. The front windshield was cracked. The contact called the local dealer and was referred to an auto glass shop. The vehicle was taken to the auto glass shop that replaced the front windshield,…

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The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that there was a chip on the front windshield that was not caused by an impact. The front windshield was cracked. The contact called the local dealer and was referred to an auto glass shop. The vehicle was taken to the auto glass shop that replaced the front windshield, but the failure recurred. The contact stated that while her son was occupying the vehicle, he noticed that the front windshield was cracked. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted. The failure mileage was 25,000.

NHTSA ODI #11533021

50,000 miles · Jun 9, 2023
Visibility

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving approximately 2 MPH down her driveway, she heard an abnormal popping sound coming from the dashboard. The contact observed that a crack had appeared in the center of her windshield that formed at the bottom of the windshield. The contact stated that the cr…

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The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving approximately 2 MPH down her driveway, she heard an abnormal popping sound coming from the dashboard. The contact observed that a crack had appeared in the center of her windshield that formed at the bottom of the windshield. The contact stated that the crack extended more to the passenger’s side of the windshield. The contact called the local dealer and was advised by the dealer to contact the insurance provider for assistance. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

NHTSA ODI #11526229

70,000 miles · May 18, 2023
Visibility

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that she observed that a crack had started at the bottom of the passenger’s side windshield. The contact stated that the crack had begun to spread and had gone in an arc upwards and stopped at middle of the windshield. The contact had the windshield replaced. The contac…

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The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that she observed that a crack had started at the bottom of the passenger’s side windshield. The contact stated that the crack had begun to spread and had gone in an arc upwards and stopped at middle of the windshield. The contact had the windshield replaced. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local glass shop and not a dealer to replace the windshield. The vehicle had been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

NHTSA ODI #11522685

48,000 miles · May 16, 2023
Visibility

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that when the vehicle was parked in the garage, the contact became aware of a crack on the windshield. The contact stated that there was no impact to windshield to cause the crack. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failu…

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The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that when the vehicle was parked in the garage, the contact became aware of a crack on the windshield. The contact stated that there was no impact to windshield to cause the crack. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.

NHTSA ODI #11522283

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.

Go deeper into Subaru Forester problems