← New search

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.

About this comparison →

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

What owners actually said

600 reports
26,000 miles · Oct 6, 2022
Vehicle Speed ControlCrash

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while pulling into a parking space and pressing the parking brake, the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration and accelerated forward. During the incident, the vehicle drove over a curb, hit a lamp post, and crashed into a parked vehicle. No injuries …

Read full complaint

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while pulling into a parking space and pressing the parking brake, the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration and accelerated forward. During the incident, the vehicle drove over a curb, hit a lamp post, and crashed into a parked vehicle. No injuries were reported. A police report was taken at the scene. The vehicle was not towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 26,000.

NHTSA ODI #11488248

Mileage unknown · Oct 3, 2022
Visibility/wiper

Vehicle was parked in a parking lot for approx 30 mins. Upon returning to the vehicle, the windscreen was found to have been cracked. Visibility is now obscured. This problem is known to Subaru, however they refuse to do anything about it. A class action lawsuit was filed in 2020 over the problem.

NHTSA ODI #11487606

Mileage unknown · Oct 2, 2022
Visibility/wiper

Windshield cracked for no apparent reason from edge. Started to spread.

NHTSA ODI #11487476

Mileage unknown · Sep 29, 2022
Electrical System

In less than 2 years of owning this car the battery failed putting me in a very dangerous situation. While standing in the middle of the road to make a turn into incoming traffic the car was off because of the auto stop-start system. As I released the brake and tried to accelerate to cross the intersection the car failed to rest…

Read full complaint

In less than 2 years of owning this car the battery failed putting me in a very dangerous situation. While standing in the middle of the road to make a turn into incoming traffic the car was off because of the auto stop-start system. As I released the brake and tried to accelerate to cross the intersection the car failed to restart automatically and stalled as if the battery did not have enough power. I had to place the car in parking and restart it again in the middle of the road. This happened multiple times. I took the car to the dealer and it was confirmed that the battery was bad and it was replaced. The new battery was good for sometime but lately it feels that it lacks power again, specially to restart when off from the auto start-stop system. This problem is very concerning as it can cause a major accident if unable to restart when expected.

NHTSA ODI #11487157

Mileage unknown · Sep 27, 2022
Electrical System

Battery will not hold a charge. Battery frequently needs to be recharged. Bought a portable jumper, to ensure vehicle will start away from home where the battery would otherwise be charged in the garage.

NHTSA ODI #11486698

Mileage unknown · Sep 26, 2022
Electrical System

I've owned this car for less than a week and already have to replace a battery that was said to be completely fine. It does not retain charge or replenish when parked.

NHTSA ODI #11486541

Mileage unknown · Sep 24, 2022
Visibility/wiper

Windshield cracked rapidly (seconds) from left bottom to center of windshield beyond repair. Windshield did not have previous damage or was hit by foreign object, appears to be a stress crack. Local Subaru Dealer referred that this situation should be discussed with Subaru USA.

NHTSA ODI #11486215

Mileage unknown · Sep 22, 2022
Service Brakes

I have a 2020 subaru forester with low mileage. A few weeks ago, I started to move forward when the traffic light turned green. There is a car in front of me that started to move forward. There was another car perpendicular to my right. I started to apply the gas, and the car fought me and was appying the brakes. I saw no…

Read full complaint

I have a 2020 subaru forester with low mileage. A few weeks ago, I started to move forward when the traffic light turned green. There is a car in front of me that started to move forward. There was another car perpendicular to my right. I started to apply the gas, and the car fought me and was appying the brakes. I saw no reason for the car to brake. This concerns me. I was on dry pavement in daylight. I fear if this had happened when the roads were covered with ice or snow, it could have caused me to spin out.

NHTSA ODI #11485937

Mileage unknown · Sep 13, 2022
Unknown Or Other

Windshield keeps cracking as if unable to withstand regular road conditions that other vehicles/windshields for vehicles with the same capabilities and from the same brand (but different models) can. Windshield for my vehicle has been replaced once but will need to be replaced again, each time with an oem part

NHTSA ODI #11484331

Mileage unknown · Sep 13, 2022
Lane DepartureSteering

Corrupted Driver Assist Software. Dashboard icons for hands on steering wheel, dynamic vehicle control, lane change control were flashing that systems were off, controls were turned off randomly. Vehicle was not tracking appropriately in its lane, steering was not acting correctly. Car at times acted as if it were being blown…

Read full complaint

Corrupted Driver Assist Software. Dashboard icons for hands on steering wheel, dynamic vehicle control, lane change control were flashing that systems were off, controls were turned off randomly. Vehicle was not tracking appropriately in its lane, steering was not acting correctly. Car at times acted as if it were being blown by a strong crosswind. Steering between lanes was not consistent. Icon warning that my hands were not on steering wheel when both my hands were on the steering wheel.

NHTSA ODI #11484209

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