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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

Electrical System complaints

101 reports
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Mileage unknown · Sep 11, 2023
Electrical SystemUnknown Or Other

At a stop light, auto stop/start system shuts down the vehicle engine. When the light turned green, and I lifted my foot off the brake, the engine failed to restart. The dash will lit up .. check engine light, eye sight light ... etc will come on. I had to shift to park and restart the engine. I read that low remote battery ca…

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At a stop light, auto stop/start system shuts down the vehicle engine. When the light turned green, and I lifted my foot off the brake, the engine failed to restart. The dash will lit up .. check engine light, eye sight light ... etc will come on. I had to shift to park and restart the engine. I read that low remote battery can be a problem, I replaced the remote battery but it has not resolved the issue. Engine failed to restart at stop light after being shut down by auto stop/start system multiple times in last six month. Only recourse is shift to park and restart the engine. This seems to be manufacture problem with auto stop/start system. It is a safety issue for me and my family having a stalled car at stop light due to engine being shut off by auto stop/start system and failed to restart until put in park and restart it.

NHTSA ODI #11543805

Mileage unknown · Jun 2, 2023
Electrical SystemEngineForward Collision Avoidance

The thermo control valve on my 2020 Subaru Forester is broken and needs to be replaced. I have owned the car for 2 years, am the first owner, and it has less than 19,000 miles. 90 minutes into a drive the "coolant temp low" indicator light came on. After I pulled over, turned off the engine, and turned it back on the check engin…

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The thermo control valve on my 2020 Subaru Forester is broken and needs to be replaced. I have owned the car for 2 years, am the first owner, and it has less than 19,000 miles. 90 minutes into a drive the "coolant temp low" indicator light came on. After I pulled over, turned off the engine, and turned it back on the check engine light and sport mode indicator light came on, and all ADAS were disabled. The coolant level was low so I refilled it and took it to the manufacturer the next morning. They inspected my car and confirmed it the thermo control valve was broken. It is still broken as I cannot afford the repair and it is available for inspection upon request. My safety was put at risk by not having access to the ADAS forward collision warning, emergency breaking, and lane departure.

NHTSA ODI #11524993

Mileage unknown · May 31, 2023
Electrical System

This vehicle has approx. 45,000 miles and the electrical has failed. We have replaced the battery and tested all components in which they then operate fine. However overnight the battery fully drains, leaving us with no vehicle again. This vehicle has no accidents, maintained every 3 months and the health report even shows no i…

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This vehicle has approx. 45,000 miles and the electrical has failed. We have replaced the battery and tested all components in which they then operate fine. However overnight the battery fully drains, leaving us with no vehicle again. This vehicle has no accidents, maintained every 3 months and the health report even shows no issues/errors. No other symptoms have been noted. this car works and runs 100% like it did day 1 up until 3 days ago. Where it has died overnight every day. Luckily my husband is a mechanic as he indicated the last instance of a new battery going in, the dashboard was flashing and going haywire to the point that it wouldnt stop until he removed the battery. He indicated that its likely this would have been an electrical fire if the battery was not removed therefore could have caught on fire with myself and our 14 month old inside. There were no warnings, no alerts, no vehcile safety alerts, the mysubaru app in fact still says we have a 100% healthy vehicle.

NHTSA ODI #11524610

Mileage unknown · Apr 18, 2023
Electrical SystemEnginePower Train

While driving the vehicle suddenly stalled and stopped running. The dashboard illuminated with most lights and the check engine message came on the screen. I was thankfully able to get into the shoulder on the road safely without creating an accident or getting injured. The vehicle would not start again and had to be towed to th…

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While driving the vehicle suddenly stalled and stopped running. The dashboard illuminated with most lights and the check engine message came on the screen. I was thankfully able to get into the shoulder on the road safely without creating an accident or getting injured. The vehicle would not start again and had to be towed to the dealership. I am now out $1800 because I am slightly over my powertrain warranty in mileage on the vehicle. This is a known issue in bulletin: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2022/MC-10208664-0001.pdf I am not only disappointed with Subaru of America and NHTSA that this is not already a recall but I am also willing to seek legal action and compensation if this repair is not going to be covered. There are many incidents and reports online of similar issues: https://www.subaruforester.org/threads/2019-thermo-control-valve-assembly-and-warranty-merged-thread.823510/ https://www.carcomplaints.com/Subaru/Forester/2020/drivetrain/power_train.shtml I have filed a case with Subaru of America corporate and am waiting to hear back. Someone is going to cause an accident or end up dead because of this faulty part. It is borderline criminal that this is not already a recall.

NHTSA ODI #11517612

Mileage unknown · Mar 19, 2023
Electrical System

The Battery life was considerably short. It started requiring frequent jump starts.

NHTSA ODI #11512645

Mileage unknown · Feb 15, 2023
Electrical System

Stopped at a stop light for a few minutes and when trying to move forward the car just stopped working. This happened twice.

NHTSA ODI #11507366

Mileage unknown · Jan 3, 2023
Electrical SystemEngine

The Subaru starlink system has no controls around transfer of ownership. I only discovered this after receiving a $150 charge 2 months after I traded in the car to a Subaru dealer. Even after trading in the car I was able to unlock, lock, start the car, and track the cars location. This represents a significant safety risk to th…

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The Subaru starlink system has no controls around transfer of ownership. I only discovered this after receiving a $150 charge 2 months after I traded in the car to a Subaru dealer. Even after trading in the car I was able to unlock, lock, start the car, and track the cars location. This represents a significant safety risk to the consumer and must be addressed immediately.

NHTSA ODI #11499864

Mileage unknown · Dec 27, 2022
Electrical SystemForward Collision Avoidance

When I was driving this car one night, every dash light was suddenly activated and remained on -- and as a result all safety features were deactivated. When I was able to do so, I touched the battery cables together to reboot the system. I had to do this 3 times over the course of 4 days. Realizing the problem was chronic, I …

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When I was driving this car one night, every dash light was suddenly activated and remained on -- and as a result all safety features were deactivated. When I was able to do so, I touched the battery cables together to reboot the system. I had to do this 3 times over the course of 4 days. Realizing the problem was chronic, I took the car to the dealership (a 2 hour drive), where a service tech explained the problem 'was caused by a low battery.' This car is only 2 years old. A new car battery should last longer than 2 years. It thus seems to me the battery was defective or the car improperly drained it somehow. More important, there is no warning that a 'low battery' -- one which can easily start a car -- could still deactivate safety features while driving.

NHTSA ODI #11499054

Mileage unknown · Nov 12, 2022
Electrical SystemEngineSteering

Engine shuts off when coasting into a turn when car is moving at less than 5mph. Causes loss of steering. Will restart if gas pedal is pumped. Dealer can find no problem. Does not happen predictably and can not always be replicated. Very dangerous.

NHTSA ODI #11493270

Mileage unknown · Oct 17, 2022
Electrical System

Repeated experiences of battery going dead after simply opening and closing doors a few times a day for four days. Engine was not started in this time. All interior light were off and rear hatch remained closed. Safety risk is being stranded in rural locations, at times with no cell service. Local Subaru dealer indicated I nee…

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Repeated experiences of battery going dead after simply opening and closing doors a few times a day for four days. Engine was not started in this time. All interior light were off and rear hatch remained closed. Safety risk is being stranded in rural locations, at times with no cell service. Local Subaru dealer indicated I needed an authorization code from a battery lawsuit settlement to look into it. Lawsuit doesn’t include my vehicle VIN and only reimburses cost for battery replacement and possibly towing, not a repair. Research into the problem has indicated that this “parasitic drain “ can be remedied by replacing the defective older PRG Module with the effective newer one. This should be covered by the warranty on a two year old car. Local dealer would only refer to the lawsuit for direction. Suspect they are “buying time” until warranty expires to avoid doing the appropriate repair. See attached file for example of correct repair from another Subaru owner.

NHTSA ODI #11489643

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