NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2020 Subaru Outback. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026
Battery Failure. Auto-start would shut engine off at light and no restart car. Took 3 trips to Subaru to fails their test. Once replaced car is fine now.
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle, the next morning it was discovered that the front windshield had cracked on the passenger’s side. The contact indicated that no object had struck the vehicle to cause the failure to occur. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The local dealer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 15,000. It was determined by the dealer that something very small caused an extremely tiny impact not an internal issue.
Infotainment system went into a continuous boot loop where screen went blank then subaru bootup screen appeared, then menu started to load then process repeated. During this process the Eyesight driver assistance system would produce an error saying all of it's functions were disabled while the infotainment system was rebooting. Also the display in center of the dashboard that shows vehicle info was randomly showing scrambled text while the infotainment system rebooted. This has happened multiple times, appears to happen when the vehicle has been on for several hours and is warm so it is hard to reproduce.
The windshield cracked with no apparent impact from an object. While driving, a loud pop sound was heard and a 10" long curving crack appeared on the left side of the windshield.
Battery draining and constant jump starting. If the car is not driven for a few days the battery is drained out. This has happened on more then one occasion. The vehicle has only 11,339 miles on it. Take it to the dealer and they claim dome lights were left on. Well a fully charged battery leaving a led dome light on won't drain the battery beyond starting. Of course they do a battery test and nothing is wrong. Well, after you drive it of course it will test good. This issue needs to be looked at or at least addressed in some form
The EyeSight system will randomly not load at times and need to be reset for Rear Automatic Braking and other EyeSight safety features to become available. This usually only occurs within 30 seconds of engine startup but always occurs when plugging in a phone with Android Auto (a phone with Apple Car Play has never been used for verification). Warning message is displayed on driver's side message center stating EyeSight, RAB, and other safety features are not available. Reproduction of problem is difficult as it seems random.
The battery on the vehicle began dying repeatedly. At first, the service provider said there was nothing wrong, however the vehicle died again the next day after inspection. Subaru replaced the battery after I brought it in a second time and the vehicle died again the next day. I brought it in a third time, and It turned out that there was a problem in the electrical system that was draining the battery. Subaru has since fixed the issue but I had heard that lots of other Subaru Outbacks were having the same problem so I wanted to report this.
Windshield developed spontaneous crack on bottom edge of driver side extending 12-18” in line of sight of driver. There was no impact or stone hitting the windshield. Drove car for 30 minutes and parked car to go shopping. 5 minutes later the crack developed while still parked. Vehicle to be inspected by local dealer on December 29, 2021.
Battery inexplicably drains overnight. 1st occurrence was on 21 December 2021 and second occurrence on 25 December 2021. Car is stored in garage, located in Ponte Vedra, FL and is used daily. Mileage is 31,000 miles.
My car stalled at a stop light when I attempted to go when the light turned green. The car was in auto shut off mode so the engine was not running at the time. When I took my foot off the brake to go, the car didn’t restart and started shaking and all the lights on the dash came on. There was also a piercing warning sound and the infotainment screen showed that the “eyesight “ and all other driver assistance program were off but my audiobook continued to play. I tried restarting the car but it would not restart. I put the car in park and tried to get it to turn off but it wouldn’t. Since I was at a light and cars were behind me, I put on my hazards and waited a few minutes and got the car to restart and to get that noise to stop, sounded like a siren. My fuel warning had just come on but it indicated that I had 50 miles so not sure if it has anything to do with it?
The car battery is draining faster than it should. The battery had to be jumped this morning to get me to work. I work 10 miles away from my house and I drive the car around 200 miles a week. I do not use the start stop feature so the battery only starts the car at the beginning of a trip.
Have been experiencing issues with the transmission for 6 months. Still have not been provided a remedy to correct the issue.
My Suburu Outback's battery has gone dead 4 times in a year and a half, the first time at 6 months. I took it to the dealer at a year and a half and they said it didn't show a drain on the battery, the battery was good, and was told I should be sure to start it daily to keep the charge up. After driving 180 miles, the car battery was dead 2 days later. I have never had a car that needed to be turned on daiuly just to keep running. At close to $30,000 purchase price, I would expect dependability. The car is not dependable and is defective.
The touch screen control panel randomly crashes and reboots, disables safety features while being rebooted. Happening every other day.
Battery drains when car sits idle for more than a week. No lights were accidentally left on. Had to jump start the car four times in less than a week. Subaru dealership attempted to tell me the battery was fine but the service advisor noted it was starting up sluggishly. Service did a full charge. Subaru's own website recommends driving the car at least a couple times a month, which is what I've done, but the battery still drains within two weeks. The Subaru dealership further told me that the battery has a memory and "learned" my driving habits (I purchased the car prior to the pandemic) and that is why the battery is not keeping a charge since I'm not driving it as often as they think I should. They also told me that I should disconnect the battery if I have to leave the car at an airport, for example if I go on vacation. That is absurd. The service advisor further told me that the warranty would likely not cover the battery replacement because they believe I'm not driving the car enough. I am concerned that the battery not holding a strong and sufficient charge will cause the car to not be able to restart at a traffic stop if I have not remembered to disengage the fuel-saving feature. While I carry a jump starting kit, I would need to get out in the road and try to hurriedly jump the car. There are several reports online with a parasitic drain where the computer does not go into a sleep mode when the car is off.
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, he noticed a crack in the windshield coming from the lower driver’s side up to the center of the windshield. The contact stated that he was unaware of what caused the crack in the windshield. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000.
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. 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 not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V955000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V955000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. 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 dealer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. 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. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
******* DELETE VOQ ******* THIS COMPLAINT IS BEING MARKED FOR DELETION BECAUSE THE CONSUMER PLACED THE REQUEST.*DJR ******* DELETE VOQ *******
My wife purchased this car last Dec. It was a demo with only 2811 miles (but the odometer showed 3411 when delivered). As we have 2 other autos, the Subaru is used sparingly and mostly on longer trips. The car now has 7100 miles. Since we owned it we noticed that it was often difficult to start and my wife claims that when cornering, it hesitates like it is going to stall. This week she was visiting a client and the car was TOTALLY dead...no electrical activity at all. No door locks, no lights, no seat adjustment, no driver identification....I thought it was a dead FOB so when I went to pick her up I brought the spare FOB. It did not work either. We live in a rural community and if the car is not able to be operated, there is very little in the way of support at night. The car is now at the dealer. BUT I did some research and realized that this is a frequent occurrence and there are 2 law suits in progress. The remedy that Subaru is telling its dealers is to replace the battery...but it is likely that the battery is the cause of the electrical faults. And there are no recalls even though my wife claims a problem when cornering. Please add my wife's name to your investigation. The car is registered in my wife's name, Caroline Schorr. 205 Foxgrape Hollow Road, Beech Mountain, NC 28604. Thank you...
Windshield cracked. No reason for the issue
windshield cracks for no reason
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated on multiple occasions both the front passenger’s and driver’s side window had become stuck and would not close or open. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who diagnosed that the window regulators and window tracks were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 28,000.
The Bluetooth hand-free function stopped working. Callers can be heard by the driver, however, the callers can not hear the driver speaking. It failed on both the Subaru calling system and Apple Carplay. It was taken in to the dealer with no resolution. This failure creates a dangerous situation when trying to place or receive calls and violates the legal requirement for hands-free calling.
Returned to vehicle and battery was dead. While at work, received notification through Subaru app that alarm was triggered. Same thing happened last week. Tailgate was making clicking sound like it was trying to open. Once battery was jumped, the tailgate continued clicking. Researched online and found that this is a known issue for Subaru Outback and Ascent vehicles of certain years.
Battery/car died on new 2020 outback. Less than 35,000. Dealership cannot diagnose the problem. It has happened 4 times. 3 before. 1 after the dealership tried to diagnose.
The sixth time the car has failed to start due to dead battery. 3 of the 6 were times when the car was driven less than 5 miles and only turned off for a short duration.
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the front windshield cracked without impact. The crack was approximately one foot long on the passenger’s side of the windshield. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The windshield was previously repaired twice at the same dealer. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.
Vehicle was started remotely (which turned on windshield deicer) and when I entered the vehicle as I prepared to drive there was a popping sound. I noticed that the windshield had cracked in the center bottom of the windshield where the deicer is locate. The crack ran about 4 inches long. Notified Subaru and was told to have dealer inspect vehicle. Waiting for reply from Subaru
1.) Headlights. They are extremely bright to oncoming traffic and oncoming traffic is always flashing or beaming you with their high beams as they think your brights are on when they are not. This is dangerous. Also LED lights do not put off enough heat and the headlamp body itself freezes over in cold rain or snowy conditions severely reducing your ability to see during low light situations. Wipers. The windshield wipers do not last. They should be silicone and they are rubber which is terrible for longevity.
Windshield seems to have cracked for no good reason
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while the driver was driving at approximately 35 mph, the vehicle was maneuvering to the right lane however, the vehicle flipped over landing on the roof. The air bags did deploy. The contact mentioned that the wheel mechanism and driveshaft fell out onto the right side of the vehicle. A police report was not filed. The contact stated that the driver did not sustain any injuries that needed medical attention. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The vehicle was damaged. The dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 31,000.
The front windshield cracked spontaneously overnight while parked in my garage. There had been no previous chips or cracks. The crack started on both sides near the wiper area and radiated upward toward the eyesight camera.
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle to the dealer to be serviced, the dealer informed the contact that the transmission was binding and making an abnormal grinding sound while driving at slow speeds and making turns. The dealer performed the TCM software update and replaced the transmission clutch kit under NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V955000 (Power Train); however, the failure recurred. The contact stated that the recall repair had failed to correct the failure. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where the transmission clutch pack was replaced twice; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to a second dealer, Schumacher Subaru (3021 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL 33409), where the transmission clutch pack was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the second dealer, where the transmission clutch pack was replaced. The contact stated that the vehicle was temporarily repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 21,869.
11/10/21 first incident: vehicle stalled in middle of dangerous busy road intersection: would not start. After about 15-20 min, it restarted. Drove to Dealer who reported: "battery low, taking too many short trips running down the battery. Many codes found. all referring to low battery". 11/16/21 second incident in remote beach parking lot. After a 30-45 min walk, vehicle would not start. solenoids clicked, engine turned over a few times, but would not start. 15-20 min later, was able to start. Drove to dealer and left vehicle. Tech wondered if problem was maybe not the battery, possible loose wire, but none found immediately. Left car with them. 11/17/21: Dealer called: "bad fuel pump overheating and stopping. once cooled down would run again." Ordered a new part will be here in 2 days. I am not sure of their explanation since the car had a long time in the cold for fuel pump to cool down. If they are right, then the fuel pump must be defective from manufacturer.
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that after coming outside to start the vehicle it was discovered that the front glass windshield had cracked. The crack was located on the passenger side of the front windshield and extended between 18 to 30 inches long. The cause of crack was not determined. The contact indicated that no object had made contact with the windshield to cause the failure. The contact also indicated that the windshield had previously been replaced for the same failure in February. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 42,000.
Windshield continously cracks. The windshield is prone to cracking. Within two years I've had two windshield cracks
I have had 2 batteries replaced under warranty. Without warning, vehicle will not restart leaving myself or my wife stranded.
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front windshield cracked without impact. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact mentioned that the windshield was previously cracked and was replaced. The manufacture was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 44,000.
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Outback. The contact stated that there was a crack in the windshield. There was no impact to the windshield that could have caused the crack. The contact stated that this was the third time that the windshield cracked and needed to be replaced. The first failure occurred in a parking garage when the contact heard a loud pop and noticed there was a crack while leaving the parking garage. The second failure occurred when a rock came off another vehicle and struck the windshield. The dealer replaced the windshield twice. The dealer was not made aware of the third failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 14,501.
Twice I The car is approaching one year old, and twice in the last 2 months the car would not start when I got in the car after it had been sitting in my garage for a number of days. I did not leave the light on or the door open. I had to call Subaru Roadside Assistance to jump start the car because the battery had died. There were no warning signs that the battery had drained. I am a 70 year old woman and it is extremely dangerous for me to be out somewhere, particularly at night, waiting for someone to arrive to give me a jump start. The dealer says the battery is O.K. after getting an appointment with them and having driven it for awhile, but obviously the battery is being drained when it is not driven for awhile.
Windshield crack from a rock chip expanded across entire windshield. Another rock chip 5 months later caused another 8” crack.
Was driving SB on route 41 south of Oskosh, Wi at a certain point I noticed a crack forming on the windshield spreading from the lower right side over to the lower left side and continue upward. No rock hit or impact was heard.
TPMS showed one tire with low pressure alert, checked and corrected all 4 tires. Drove vehicle for over 30 miles and all 4 tires showed same pressure but one tire continued to show a false alert. This is the 2nd time this has happened, the TPMS shows false alarms and cannot be relied upon as a safety feature.
Car was purchased in 9/2020. Battery died in March 2021 (needed jump start) and again in October 2021 (battery replaced)
The Automatic Emergency Braking System engaged while driving at 20 MPH in my community's private roads. After it came to a screeching halt, I had to put the car in Park and then in Drive so I could proceed the half mile to my house. If this had happened while driving @ 70 MPH on I 95, I AM CONFIDENT THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN AN ACCIDENT. I am now afraid to drive my car. I wonder if and when it is going to happen again unexpectedly. Very dangerous situation.
In mid 10/2021 while I was driving, my front windshield cracked with no apparent reason. The crack appeared on the passenger side, at the side edge of the windshield. As stated the crack appeared with no apparent reason as there was no imppact of any object to the windshield. No police report was made. I did not make a claim with my insurance. The winshield was replaced and eyesight syste,m was recalibrated at the Subaru dealership in Skokie IL.
Head unit shuts off while driving with no warning, and no clear cause. All safety features shut off including Eyesight and rear brake assist (shows as off in instrumental panel). It has happened multiple times in the past several months ( at least seven times) Head unit then appears to restart while underway, as if I had just entered and started the vehicle. Contacted dealer who said “the radio sometimes shuts off”. I explained that it was the entire head unit and safety features. It was simply left with them saying they have know of it happening, but no action or follow up was recommended. Time of incident is an estimate. Electronics seem to be slow to start when vehicle is first started. Was not able to get photos while driving.