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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/wiper complaints

252 reports
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Mileage unknown · May 18, 2022
Visibility/wiper

Drove the car to my place of work. There were no rocks , chips or other hitting the windshield. Came out to the car in the parking lot at lunch and the was a crack that stretched from the lower passenger side to the middle of the windshield. The local Subaru dealer played "dumb" and acted like they had never seen this problem a…

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Drove the car to my place of work. There were no rocks , chips or other hitting the windshield. Came out to the car in the parking lot at lunch and the was a crack that stretched from the lower passenger side to the middle of the windshield. The local Subaru dealer played "dumb" and acted like they had never seen this problem and then blamed it on a rock chip after learning we knew of the thousands of Subaru's with similar problems.

NHTSA ODI #11465186

Mileage unknown · Apr 28, 2022
Visibility/wiper

The vehicle is about 19 months old and has less than 15,000 miles. We were driving on the highway, passed a large truck, and a small rock got kicked up and hit the windshield near the top, just passenger-side of the eyesight camera. A 5 inch crack formed while we were driving and it grew another 2 inches before we made it to ou…

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The vehicle is about 19 months old and has less than 15,000 miles. We were driving on the highway, passed a large truck, and a small rock got kicked up and hit the windshield near the top, just passenger-side of the eyesight camera. A 5 inch crack formed while we were driving and it grew another 2 inches before we made it to our destination. There is now a 7-in vertical crack in the windshield.

NHTSA ODI #11462571

Mileage unknown · Apr 25, 2022
Visibility/wiper

Since purchasing 2020 Subaru Forester (35K miles) I have now had to replace THREE (3) windshield and have ONE (1) additional suboptimal windshield repair. Three incidents were immediately apparent from road debris from cars/trucks traveling in the opposite direction or passing. One appeared spontaneously. The cracks are all 12-2…

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Since purchasing 2020 Subaru Forester (35K miles) I have now had to replace THREE (3) windshield and have ONE (1) additional suboptimal windshield repair. Three incidents were immediately apparent from road debris from cars/trucks traveling in the opposite direction or passing. One appeared spontaneously. The cracks are all 12-24" long and curiously have only been in the areas directly in front of the driver's forward vision. Prior to this I have been without any auto insurance claims for over 40 years! 1. Windshield unsuitably sensitive to chipping and cracking. 2. Impairs driver vision and impairs use of Eye Sight technology. 3. All defects/damages have been confirmed by Safelite. 4. No other third party inspections have been required. 5. No warning lamps appeared before the incidents.

NHTSA ODI #11462087

Mileage unknown · Apr 12, 2022
Visibility/wiper

I have had four cracked windshields since I took possession of the car in October 2020. August 2021, October 2021, April 2022, April 2022

NHTSA ODI #11460583

Mileage unknown · Apr 11, 2022
Visibility/wiper

For the 2nd time in 5 months, my windshield has cracked (crack in excess of 6 inches) for no apparent reason

NHTSA ODI #11460365

Mileage unknown · Apr 7, 2022
Visibility/wiper

Large crack appeared in windshield. Car was parked at the time and was not hit by anything. Filed claim with insurance company and they are going to replace windshield. Called Evanston Subaru about incident about warranty coverage and they have not returned my call. I have read that this is a problem for Subarus.

NHTSA ODI #11460015

Mileage unknown · Mar 24, 2022
Visibility/wiper

I drove my car at lunchtime to get lunch and returned to work. There was no issue. Then less than 5 hours later when I left work around 5:30 pm and went to my car there was a large crack from the base of my windshield almost in the center. It doesn’t go all the way to the top but curves in a sort of U shape. Obviously I now ne…

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I drove my car at lunchtime to get lunch and returned to work. There was no issue. Then less than 5 hours later when I left work around 5:30 pm and went to my car there was a large crack from the base of my windshield almost in the center. It doesn’t go all the way to the top but curves in a sort of U shape. Obviously I now need a new windshield.

NHTSA ODI #11458265

Mileage unknown · Mar 21, 2022
Visibility/wiper

I got in my car one day and noticed a crack going up through the middle of my windshield - about 10 inches and went all the way to the bottom edge of the glass. After traveling a short distance (15ish min) and leaving it parked for a couple of hours, I came back and it had now turned horizontally across the windshield maybe 4-6 …

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I got in my car one day and noticed a crack going up through the middle of my windshield - about 10 inches and went all the way to the bottom edge of the glass. After traveling a short distance (15ish min) and leaving it parked for a couple of hours, I came back and it had now turned horizontally across the windshield maybe 4-6 inches toward the driver's side. No impact or incident to cause the crack initially or that extended it.

NHTSA ODI #11457750

Mileage unknown · Mar 16, 2022
Visibility/wiper

The forester's windshield cracked over 2 feet. We brought it to the dealer for a warranty claim, and the dealer rejected it. They said the windshield was hit by something and caused the crack. I am not sure how big of an object has to hit the windshield to cause such a crack. Subaru is not taking any responsibility for their pro…

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The forester's windshield cracked over 2 feet. We brought it to the dealer for a warranty claim, and the dealer rejected it. They said the windshield was hit by something and caused the crack. I am not sure how big of an object has to hit the windshield to cause such a crack. Subaru is not taking any responsibility for their product's quality. This is a common problem for Subaru owners and should be addressed via recall.

NHTSA ODI #11457052

Mileage unknown · Mar 14, 2022
Visibility/wiper

Windshield cracked from no apparent damage. I was driving and a hairline fracture spread from the top driver side of the Windshield to the middle.

NHTSA ODI #11456667

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