10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
3,711 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2020 Subaru Outback miscellaneous problems

miscellaneous problem

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2020 Subaru Outback Owner Comments (Page 2 of 7)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #119

May 212023

Outback

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving on I-26, a small rock made an initially small crack in the windshield. Over time, while still driving, we watched the crack expand larger and larger, spreading with multiple new arms across the entire passenger side of the windshield. After parking at home in the garage and scheduling windshield replacement for the next day, we continued to notice the crack continuing to propagate further into the driver side. The incident happened on 5/21/23 and the windshield was replaced on 5/23/23.

- Simpsonville, SC, USA

problem #118

Mar 052023

Outback

  • miles
Cracked windshield, very very small pebble hit the driver corner near the pillar, I heard a little -??tick-?? followed by seeing a massive crack form. The crack has now gone straight across to the middle and is making its way up to obstruct the -??eyesight-?? camera

- Fontana, CA, USA

problem #117

Jan 312023

Outback

  • miles
I bought the Subaru Outback new Jan. 31, 2020. In those 3 years, I have had 3 windshield cracks from flying rocks resulting in 2-3 ft. long cracks extending across the windshield. The latest one happened Jan. 31, 2023, and the previous cracked windshield was replaced less than six weeks earlier on Dec. 22, 2022. While the first two incidents occurred on an interstate at high speed, the most recent incident occurred while sitting in stop-and-go, in-town driving at less than 15 MPH. Auto insurance will only cover one windshield claim per year. Subaru of Jacksonville (FL) and Subaru of America deny any known defects. The only other person I know who owns a newer Outback has experienced one windshield crack, and has owned the vehicle for less than 2 years. The auto glass company which performed the latest replacement told me last week that they get the most windshield damage claims from Outbacks, Mercedes and Range Rover. The most recent installer also said this is a problem with Outbacks and further said that the windshield containing the safety features are made of thinner glass than conventional windshields, and if I didn't want it to happen again, I would have to choose a thicker conventional windshield and lose the built-in safety features.

- St Augustine, FL, USA

problem #116

Jul 112022

Outback

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Moonroof without any warning broke out while driving on the freeway. This has happened two times within 6 months. When it breaks there is a very loud bang and glass fly's from the car, possibly hitting following vehicles. Both times we had the inside sun shade closed so the occupants of the car were not showered with glass. Happened on 7/11/22 & 1/28/23. We no longer trust driving the car and will trade it in.

- Mariposa, CA, USA

problem #115

Jan 142023

Outback

  • miles
I have had to replace my battery three times. Car drains battery without being used and I have had to be jumped on multiple occasions. The car is a 2020 and this seems unusual.

- Wilmington, CA, USA

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problem #114

Sep 102022

Outback

  • miles
For one, my windshield cracked out of nowhere, I didn-??t know that windshields were having issues at the time, so I had to replace it on my own without contacting the dealership. Other issues include the front windows not going up all the way from time to time. The info system crashes and shuts down from time to time too, which leads to the Eyesight to shutdown temporarily too. And from time to time, the hatch buttons lag where I have to push on the buttons multiple times to get it to close

- Monterey, CA, USA

problem #113

Jan 122023

Outback

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Windhsield cracked for the 2nd time. First, original windshield cracked in 2022 and replaced with OEM part. Now, 1/12/23, windshield again cracked w/o any reason.

- Ca, CA, USA

problem #112

Dec 252022

Outback 4-cyl

  • miles
Windshield defective issues. The windshield in my subaru outback cracked twice in a 6-month period. Both incidents occurred while driving between 40-55 mph in San Diego. The first time (July 2022) the windshield cracked for no apparent reason. I took the car to the Subaru dealership for a windshield replacement. The second time (12/25/22) it appears that a small pebble hit the windshield on the bottom side of the windshield. I am really not even sure a pebble hit the windshield, I just heard the windshield crack. Subaru has been notified of this second incident and I am waiting for an appointment to replace the cracked windshield. This is appears to be a defect on the windshield. I've never had this issue with any other car. Its troubling to know that the windshield on my car can cracked so easily and it worries me for the safety of my family. Please investigate all the other complains that have been submitted related to subaru's windshield cracking.

- Encinitas, CA, USA

problem #111

Mar 032022

Outback

  • miles
Windshied cracks from small rock chip am having to replace my secound windshield in less than 7 mounths time because it cracks with in a few minutes after inpact from small rock chip the safety issue would be the glass from the crack could inpair vision. I had the first one replaced by the dealerwith dealer supplied glass.

- Manteca, CA, USA

problem #110

Nov 292022

Outback

  • miles
This vehicle is equipped with an auto start/stop system. It is automatically enabled every time the car is turned on. While it can be turned off, it must be turned off manually every time the automobile is started. It is (candidly) both easy to forget to disable and also a nuisance to disable with every start. The incident occurred during fresh snow fall with ice coat, temperature around 24F. I was stopped at a traffic light and the auto stop turned the engine off. As I slowly started to accelerate with a green light, the auto on "kicked on" resulting in loss of control and the car fish tailing.

- Rochester, MN, USA

problem #109

Feb 042020

Outback

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The vehicle does not start at unforeseen times. Battery has been replaced. Safety is a risk if car would not start in unsafe location. Dealership has been unable to fix problem or find drain on battery or electrical problems. Car has had to be towed to dealership and jump started by a professional many times in order to drive to dealership.

- Asheville , NC, USA

problem #108

Nov 092022

Outback

  • miles
The front windshield has cracked twice now with no point of impact. This week marks the second of these spontaneous cracks in 6 weeks. Both times, the crack appeared first thing in the morning after not being driven all night.

- San Marcos, CA, USA

problem #107

Oct 232022

Outback

  • miles
My windshield has developed a crack for no apparent reason. The crack starts at the top of the windshield near the rear view mirror, goes straight down for about 6", then travels horizontally, creating an 'L' shape. Total length is approximately 12". The vehicle has not been involved in an accident, nor was it struck by a stone or other road debris. The crack just showed up.

- Plymouth, WI, USA

problem #106

Sep 062022

Outback

  • miles
I have had the battery be completely drained overnight for no apparent reason. Last year I took the car in 3 or more times for the dealer to diagnose. They gave me a new batter and said it was the parking break draining the battery. This year (almost a year later) the battery is again being drained. When the roadside assistance came to jump it he said the battery (after the jump) was only 3.9 volts which is much lower than anything like interior lights being left on would do. i'm worried that they haven't fixed this mysterious drain on the battery. And I see that there has already been a class action suit against Subaru of America (SOA) has been battling an issue with drained batteries on the Outback and Ascent SUVs. The original lawsuit from 2020 against SOA alleged the SUVs had defective electrical systems causing premature battery failure. A second lawsuit in 2021 against Subaru claimed defective electrical components in the Subaru Forester, Outback, Ascent, Legacy, and WRX vehicles.

- Oakland, CA, USA

problem #105

Aug 132022

Outback

  • miles
Winshield cracked spontaneously & readily spread out as I was driving.

- Mckinney, TX, USA

problem #104

Aug 162022

Outback

  • miles
Windshield has a known cracking issue

- Cerritos, CA, USA

problem #103

Jun 132022

Outback

  • miles
Windshied spontaneously cracked

- Mt. Morris , MI, USA

problem #102

Jul 212022

Outback

  • miles
This is my fourth cracked windshield in less than 2 years! I-??ve never cracked a windshield in ANY other car I-??ve owned in the last 20 years! The windshields do not seem to be strong enough to accommodate the flex of the frame of the vehicle. I hear the car flex over rough roads or speed bumps. I-??m assuming the torsion of the vehicle is weakening the glass, and any minor impact will cause the windshield to crack. I haven-??t been abusing the car at all, this time around I parked the car, came back 3 hours later and the windshield was cracked, I assume from the speed bumps on the way into the park. I was calm at first, but now am outraged! I cannot afford a new windshield every six months, especially at $1,000 a piece! Please help!

- Oceano, CA, USA

problem #101

Mar 212022

Outback

  • miles
I was driving in a residential neighborhood at low speed, about 20 mph. I slowed down because I needed to park at the curb, and also I was approaching a large speed bump. This was one of the wide, flat ones. I pulled over to the right curb a couple of car lengths before the speed bump, preparing to park. I went over the bump, accelerating a tiny bit to get over the bump. I was going maybe 10 miles an hour. As I came down off the bump, or shortly after that, the accelerator pedal moved down away from my foot. I felt the pedal move down and away so that my foot was no longer touching it. At the same time, the engine speed surged (I heard it rev), and the car lurched forward for a second or two. I put my foot on the brake and also saw the obstacle detection on the instrument panel and saw the red lights and heard the beeping, and the car stopped moving. I don-??t know whether I braked first or the car did. I was still about 2 car lengths away from a parked car in front of me when my vehicle stopped. I took my vehicle to a dealership the next day. They performed diagnostics but were unable to find anything wrong with it.

- Ann Arbor , MI, USA

problem #100

Jun 052022

Outback

  • miles
1.car accelerated on its own-?"very scary. (Took the car to Cochran Subaru of Monroeville, but they said nothing was found wrong.) 2. The very next day, the real door would not latch and car would not lock. I reported these two issues to 1-800-SUBARU3. My case # is: 220610-163479 3. we did a -??software-?? update bc we received a recall notice-?"it was completed at Cochran Subaru of Monroeville sometime in the fall of 2021, in March of 2022 while on vacation in Fla, the radio BLARED on its own, then stopped working altogether for a week or so-?"then just started working again.

- Pittsburgh , PA, USA

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