2020 Subaru Ascent Complaint Log

The contact owned a 2020 Subaru Ascent. The contact was driving approximately 35 MPH on a highway when the contact's husband lost consciousness causing him to crash into a truck. As a result, the event leads to a 4 vehicle collision. The driver was transported via ambulance to the hospital where it was confirmed that there were no injuries. The other occupants in the other vehicles did not sustain any injuries. A police report was filed. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 30,000. Case # [XXX] Goodman. Good morning this is a picture of my car and as it can be seen the airbags on either side did not deploy. Police report # is [XXX] date of accident and report was 3/5/2022. Thank you for your attention in this matter [XXX} and [XXX] Goodman (XXX) XXX-XXXX.

12V Battery for the Car needed to be jump started every morning. Car will not START until we jump start the battery. Security Beeping and all car buttons not working. The problem started since Feb 28, and its been happening almost every morning.

The windshield spontaneously cracked, for no apparent reason. It was not hit by anything. The car was sitting still and the windshield just cracked. I have babied this car. It only has 15,000 miles on it, kept in a garage, no ice or snow build up, rarely driven in bad weather.

My windshield cracked for no reason. There is no point of impact. The vehicle is just over 2 years old and has been driven approx 7000 miles. I don't drive a lot, and live in a pretty rural area where there is little traffic. When I picked up my son from daycare the day before there was no crack. The next morning when I got in the car to go drop him off, there was a substantial crack. This seems to be a common problem with this vehicle, according to searches online. The vehicle was parked in my driveway, and nowhere near any trees. It did not storm that night. I cannot see any reason the windshield would have cracked.

Something in car drains battery frequently not while the vehicle is running but after it’s been off for a few hours when no lights have been left on, Subaru dealership refuses to admit there’s a problem. This leaves me exposed to being stuck in unsafe situations with a dead battery. No warnings ever come on to alert me the battery is draining. Transmission frequently slips and stutters when accelerating to higher speeds like when trying to transition onto the interstate. Subaru also denies this problem. They fixed the transmission clutch but that did not help.

I’m very disappointed in the terms of the Subaru recall. Instead of just replacing the faulty transmission, they will only fix CVTs w/ evidence of problems. I reported transmission issues at my last service and was told to wait for the recall as they would charge me $175 if they couldn’t replicate the problem. So now I have to drive until at least May (probably longer with all the other recalled cars seeking appts) w/a faulty transmission that could cause an accident, while they figure out a remedy? Plus my 2020 Ascent will be out of warranty soon (6000 miles). So I’m stuck with paying to replace the trans, if these problems show up later? I’ve had so many problems w/ this car incl squealing brakes (my car was in the shop for a total of more than 4 weeks before they figured out how to fix this) and a hood that came close to Detaching at highway speed — I had to bring the NTHSA bulletins to the dealer to get them to admit these both were known problems that could be fixed. Please insist that Subaru do the right thing by just replacing the transmission NOW rather than waiting till May to figure out a remedy and exposing the owners of this problem-plagued car to further needless risk.

During a camping trip the battery died when the tailgate was left open. Second battery incident: Went to go start my car after not driving for 6 days, battery was dead. No lights, doors, or hatch was on or open. After using a trickle charger I recharged the battery and was able to start the car after 4 hours of charging. After the car sat for one day the engine did turn over, but it sounded like it took a bit of extra effort for the starter to get the engine going. Third battery incident: I went to start my car again after it was parked for 5 days and the battery was dead again. I used the trickle charger again and was able to charge the battery to over 80%. The next day I took the car in for a service to investigate why the battery was draining to dead after not driving for days. The service department was unable to determine a cause of the issue. The battery was in good condition and was in the green on the grading scale.

The windshield cracked on its own at the top of the windshield in the middle of the sights.

Front windshield cracked for no reason

Recall ID 21V-955 affecting the drive chain. Vehicle is showing signs of this (vibrations while driving). My families safety, two toddlers ages 2 and 4 are at risk. I am not comfortable driving this vehicle and it is my only car. Dealership cannot do anything as there are no parts to fix it. I need an immediate fix which is not happening.

Rear hatch open for more than 10 minutes, the battery is dead. Also, if the radio is left on after the car is turned off the battery is dead.

Recently, we experienced another problem with our 2022 Subaru Ascent Limited. I am asking that this issue be diagnosed and corrected. On January 21, 2022, within about 15 seconds of starting the car, the engine shut off while still parked for no apparent reason. The car was able to be restarted, however the Multi-Function Display went blank, and the STARLINK Multimedia touchscreen displayed only the Starlink logo. I attempted a reset by depressing the “home” button, but nothing happened. Neither the radio nor any other features would function. The car was then driven several miles and shut off. Then, after restarting it, the normal touchscreen and Multi-Function Display operated correctly, including the radio. I remain concerned however that unless this issue is diagnosed and corrected, such a shutdown could occur again in the future, possibly when driving the car, which could result in a serious accident. We have had recent problems with this car involving its electrical system. The excessive battery drain caused by the power rear gate resulted in a dead battery, producing only 8 volts. (The car had to be jump-started on two separate occasions). Subaru Pacific replaced the PRG Module (per TSB 07-155-19R), and installed a new SOA821B600 Enhanced Flooded Battery (per SOA’s October 1, 2021 memorandum). We do not know how or if the recent unexpected engine shutdown was related to these events, but we expect that Subaru should be able to determine the cause of this failure and find a remedy.

Battery randomly failed on 1/5/22. Had it jumped, kept it on for an hour. When I went to start the car on 1/6/22 the battery is dead again. 7,000 miles on the car, no signs of any issue prior to the failure. My safety was at risk because it was freezing outside. I attempted to contact subaru's roadside assistance per their 3 year 36K mile warranty but when calling the automated message said there are significant delays in call times and to submit the issue online. I tried submitting online but the online submittal process was not working. I ended up having it jumped through my insurer, though now I have to figure out how to get a new battery. I saw where Subaru 2020 ascent OEM batteries are part of a class action, so probably going to avoid taking it to the dealer for a replacement.

My vehicle windshield made a popping noise and a crack appeared on the front window, which was about 4 inches long, but the crack continues to grow as the vehicle is driven. The crack appeared on Dec 30 2021

This is the second time I've had a dead battery problem with my 2020 Subaru Ascent. The first time was 4/2021 and they replaced the battery. The second time is today - dead battery, could not charge or jump start. Tow truck coming to take it to a Subaru dealer.

The care continues to drain power resulting in dead battery. We have had continuous issues since purchasing the vehicle. The Dealer even installed a higher quality battery and due to Subaru admitting tot the problem. However this has not resolved the issue. The vehicle has been inspected multiple times at a factory dealer. We can't be in and out of the care while parked for 45 minutes. Subaru markets the vehicles for camping and recreation vehicles, but the vehicle is useless in these scenarios. Furthermore, there is great potential now in the winter session that we could become stranded in the vehicle. Also note that with a dead battery the rear hatch is in operable. The manual release is not easy to get to.

The rear liftgate on our 2020 Subaru Ascent opened on its own during the night of 12/18/21, resulting in a drained battery. The tech dispatched by Subaru roadside assistance stated that there is a software problem resulting in these doors falsly detecting an obstruction and opening the liftgate, which results in a drained battery. The Subaru dealer stated that they could not replicate the problem and did nothing about it. Several days later on 12/23/21, the battery failed again. The tech dispatched by Subaru jumpstarted the car, but noted that the battery was producing only 8 volts of power.

When the fan is on there is a strong smell of gasoline in the vehicle. This happens whether the vehicle is in motion OR is idling. The smell of gas fumes is very noticible if the fan for the heater/ac is pulling air from outside the vehicle. When the fan system is re-ciruclating the air from just the cabin, there is no smell. This is a very noticble smell and we have to drive with our windows open. My children are not able to be in this vehicle due to this smell. This is our family vehicle and daily driver. I have to drive this vehicle to work. This vehicle we have called about to multiple dealerships. They want to charge us over $300 dollars, but no one has ever heard of anything like this according to the dealers. The online forums say a completely different story. No warning lights or messages have happened. There has been no change to my gas mileage. We are current on all maintence. We have replaced the cabin and engine air filters, and we have replaced the gas cap to see if this would make a difference. It has not. There is no gas leak to the ground that is noticeable. But there is a faint gas smell in the engine area when the vehicle is running.

Bought in December 2021 had dealership fix breaks before bought then again after 3000 miles then again after 5 000 miles. Brakes still shudder and emit loud noises. Have only had 6 months and breaks are bad again. Car shakes with acceleration and hesitates to accelerate .

The 2020 Subaru Ascent has had a recall notice for nearly six months now (Manufacturer Recall NumberWRK21 NHTSA Recall Number21V955000). I experience a low frequency sound accompanied by rapid vibration lasting only a second when reapplying acceleration after a brief pause in acceleration. This occurs very inconsistently and not yet something replicable at the dealership. Subaru states they are working on a solution...The local service manager states they will do nothing unless a service light appears on the dash and that the remedy is likely replacement of transmission and they are not going to do that. We occasionally travel in mountain passes. This recall seems serious. Does NHTSA have any control over Subaru to force them to take the recall seriously? Do owners have to be injured or die for appropriate remedy?

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Ascent. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V955000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

Recall on my 2020 Subaru Ascent was more than 7 months ago. The remedy is not available at my local dealership because SUBARU of America, Inc. has not sent them the remedy. This is my only vehicle and I must use it but is it safe?

The manufacturer has known about this at least since December 2021. Their solution is to reprogram the transmission control unit. Waiting nine months or more for a reprogram seems excessive to me.

Windshield cracked twice for no apparent reason. Had the windshield replaced by Subaru, and will now have to replace it a second time.

Oil Leak(s) (found cam carriers leaking, front timing cover leaking, oil cooler leaking, upper and lower oil pan leaking. recommend engine reseal). Massive oil leaks found in car due to RTV sealant. Subaru uses RTV silicone sealant (formed-in-place gaskets) instead of traditional rubber gaskets for many sealing surfaces (cam carriers to heads, timing cover, oil pans, etc.). Transmission failure at 37,000miles which needed replacement. In dealership service for 52 days at that time. Transmission symptoms continued after replacement. Car hesitates while accelerating making it dangerous to accelerate to speed needed to merge into traffic. Same transmission symptoms occurring now that were present prior to complete transmission failure in 11/2021 that left me in middle of busy freeway with a disabled car. Subaru not taking transmission symptoms seriously. Continuous brush off from service and Subaru. Car is a lemon. Subaru not standing by product. Oil should not be leaking from every orfice of engine.

Started having electrical and audio glitches ultimately causing the battery to completely drain

Sudden unwanted rapid acceleration toward a building from parking lot causing head on collision: - Manual brakes failed - Automatic brakes did not engage - Airbags did NOT deploy after hitting an immovable object head on at least twice - Driver seatbelt did not lock - Starlink was not activated / notified - No collision warning was sounded (moot) Both driver and front passenger were severely injured and taken by ambulance to ER.

Since last NOV 2021, I have had this Ascent into the shop several times due to a 'chirping' or 'speaking' sound that comes from the underside of the middle o/t vehicle. I have come to find out through the service department that the primary differential has a batch of defective parts, and the entire differential needs to be rebuilt (21 parts total are being replaced). It has taken about 3 months to get parts in. The squeak was an annoyance. HOWEVER the situation got SIGNIFICANTLY worse when the wheels would not synchronize when turning - which should be unheard of because there are supposed to be sophisticated traction controls and such in place to prevent that very condition.

I purchased this car new, and it has less or about 20.000mile. I am using it daily. Yesterday suddenly the sound system stop playing. Neither the radio, the CD player, or the car play. Just the sound. Today, the battery died, but all the buttons will flickering and would not stop. My husband had to remove the battery cables so to stop. I also have notice in the past that the frond windows will close in a slower pace than normal. I saw here that there is a class action about this issue. Very disappointed, if this issue will not resolved I am driving my kids daily and I cannot have this happening in the middle of a road or while it is feeezing outside.

I was taking my kids to school. On the way, we stopped at an intersection. The car all the sudden stopped while it was in the Drive gear. The electric part of the car turned on but the engine didn’t. A police officer and a towing company came to the rescue to make sure our car didn’t get hit. However this was a quite scary process for our kids and myself. If could have happened in the middle of the intersection or on a highway and we could have been hit. The towing company couldn’t put the gear in the neutral and suggested an issue with TCM.They had to get a different towing track and took it to the dealer.

Battery dead something is happening with the trunk. I think it drained the battery. This is the second time this happened

I drove the vehicle Tuesday October 26th 2021 and the radio was on, but no sound coming from speakers. I found this odd as no changes were made to settings and dismissed this as something I would take a look at when home and not driving. The car was parked and turned off in the garage from Tuesday October 26th until Friday October 29th 2021. My husband went to run errands Friday October 29th and the car was dead- couldn't get the battery to charge with jumper cables or even put the car in neutral to have it towed. We called a tow truck Saturday morning October 30 2021 and the tow driver jumped the car to start- it started up fairly quick and was able to attach to the truck to be towed to Byers Subaru in Columbus Ohio. The technician told me the battery died as a result of leaving the keys in the car when it was not being used. I asked why the stereo speakers appeared not to work and I was told that was likely an update issue and unrelated to the battery being dead. I asked that they take a second look at the car and keep another day till Tuesday November 2nd 2021 so they did and then texted me there are no issues with the car and refused to replace the battery or address the stereo issue.

Several times my 2020 Subaru Ascent has failed to start and required a jump. I have taken my vehicle into the Subaru dealers 3 times for this problem. Every time they tell me something was left on that drained the battery when the vehicle was turned off. One time they replaced the battery but same issue occurred after the battery was replaced. Another time they replaced the radio but same problem occurred after replacing with a new radio. The last time they told me the WiFi was turned on. We don't even have a Wifi account for this vehicle which is needed to use the WiFi. Each time the dealers reset electrical components and computer chips they said needed to be reset. This vehicle is a daily driver so does not sit long between starts. I brought the vehicle in October of 2020 when it had 5K miles on it and to date only has 16K now. Now I have to purchase and carry a portable vehicle jump starter as this vehicle's battery is not reliable. I have read that other owner's have the same problem. Why can this not be fixed/resolved without costly repairs to the owner. I am worried that when the Dealer warranty runs out, I am going to face unnecessary costly repairs. Please assist and advise. Thanks.

Battery died, currently a class action lawsuit indicating an issue with the manufacturer

The hood seems to malfunction in the following manner: When driving at or over 65mph or in high, gusty winds, the hood seems to "wobble" around excessively. It has not come loose, and I've had the dealer look at it and they say it is OK. As an experienced mechanical engineer, I am not confident that failure will not happen as I've never observed this kind of hood wobble on any other large vehicle I've driven.

I recently bought my Subaru and I noticed the transmission would stall when going in to gear or changing gears and the rpm would be high, also last night I de fogged my windows and drove to my destination and noticed a crack in my windshield from the top where my eyesight is, I did not hear or see anything hit my car windshield, my car didn't give off any warning signs for either of the problems I stated, I have contacted subur 1800subur3 they say there is no recall so now talk to customer service so now I am waiting to speak to them

My front windshield spontaneously cracked while driving. The closest car was a very small car almost a mile in front of me and couldn't have caused a rock to get me. There were no warnings before it happened and it hasn't been inspected by anyone yet

Bought vehicle new in October 2019, now has 20,000 miles. Started having issues a couple months ago with not starting and needing to jump start. I can tell it is getting harder to start on its own as time goes by. Its going to the dealer this week for a new battery. One or two times the hatch may have been open for a short period as described in some of these posts. For those reading this, there is a class action law suit pending right now out of New Jersey for this issue against Subaru.

Excessive battery drain for no reason. The vehicle has a random battery drain for no apparent reason. This vehicle has less than 26K miles on it and has needed a charge or jump-start more than 10+ times. We have been able to replicate the problem numerous times, once charged, the battery and alternator pass tests.

When packing the car for a trip, if any of the doors are left open for a period of 15 minutes to 20 minutes the battery will drain. I am unable to start the car. This has happened three times. I have mentioned this to the dealer who remarked that I am not driving the car enough to keep the battery charged. On one occasion it happened after driving for over three hours (148) miles.

I was crossing a four lane road going 20mph when there was a loud noise, which sounded like my transmission, then I could not accelerate my car. Thankfully I was able to coast across the road without being hit by another car to a safe parking spot. My check engine light, check transmission, and check eyesight lights all went on. (Later MySubaru only sent me an email saying my engine and eye sight lights were on). I was unable to put my car in reverse but could put it into park. My lights, radio and AC stayed on until I turned my car off. A tow truck came and towed my car to the nearest Subaru dealership (which was not my dealership since I was away on vacation). There are less than 20,000 miles on my car, my transmission failing is unacceptable and thankfully did not happen on a highway which I drive on a lot. The dealership confirmed it is indeed a transmission issue and Subaru agreed to tow it to my dealership near my house.

16000 miles. Front brakes vibrate hard when you press the brake. The whole front of the car vibrates it feels the same when the ABS system vibrates. Really scary sound and vibration.

NHTSA Recall Number 21V587. Cracked fuel pump potential due to improper manufacture, resulting in stalling, vehicle not starting or other fuel pump failure-related issues. Stalling while driving could result in an accident. Subaru’s recall notification should begin in September. Our family will be driving from NC to Maine on August 27 and returning on September 15. We need to know if 1) our specific Subaru Ascent will be recalled and 2) if so, if we can get the fuel pump replaced on our 2020 Subaru Ascent before 28 August 28. Jack Bacheler

I stopped at a stoplight, when it turned green I stepped on the gas, the car lurched forward but would not move, engine was running. I was sitting on a 4-lane highway and my car would not move. Warning lights then appeared on my dashboard. Car was towed to a Subaru dealer who replaced the transmission after 5 days.

My mother pulled off of Interstate 85 in North Carolina and while preparing to turn of the exit ramp the car lurched forward and then back. The transmission chain had snapped, and it seems similar to what was going on with the 2019 Subaru Ascent. This one is 2020, and had 16000 miles approximately. The vehicle had to be towed.

My battery drains with only the slightest mistake in leaving the hatch open for an hour. It has happened so many times we had to replace the battery after 1 year. I was stranded somewhere because of it.

Leaving my lift gate open for even a short amount of time drains the battery. Even after charging the battery manually my battery went completely dead after one year and three months.

When applying brakes to 2020 Subaru Ascent limited (10,325 miles) the car shudders. Being an aircraft mechanic for over 45 years I knew the brake rotors were warped. I Took car to Subaru of Kennesaw GA. 7-13-2021. They opened work order SuCS159697. They resurfaced the rotors on front brakes and installed new pads. My safety concern is if brake rotor originally installed are warping and now you are removing the width of the rotor making it thinner and more likely to heat and warp sooner. When i questioned the maintenance technican about this concern he stated this was Subaru policy to resurface. Extreme heat to brakes could cause brake failure.

Windshield cracked with no apparent reason.

At around 18,000 miles when applying the brakes, the vehicle would shake and vibrate. By 20,000 miles the vibration was excessive affecting the ability to steer straight when braking. The dealer told me that they were aware of the issue with this year/model. Diagnosis, warped rotors. Dealer resurfaced rotors and replaced pads under warranty. Vehicle performed fine for a while. At around 36000 miles had the same issue, this time dealer indicated that there was a "fix to the issue", new rotors and pads were installed again covered by warranty. Vehicle performed fine for a while. At around 49,000 miles, the same braking issue, dealer replaced rotors and brakes, this time NO WARRANTY, $610 out of pocket to replace brakes for a know design defect.