14 problems related to body have been reported for the 2020 Subaru Forester. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2020 Subaru Forester based on all problems reported for the 2020 Forester.
The automatic rear liftgate opens all the way, then closes automatically on your head/back. This has been happening with my car for over a year. When it started, it was occasional, but now it happens nearly every time. When it closes, it does so with considerable force, and has knocked me over twice. One time it hit my head just right and I came close to losing consciousness. I have taken it to Subaru and they said it wasn't an issue. They just reset the liftgate trim height, but that only fixed it for 2 closes. Then it started again. There are many reports of this issue online, and others note that it is a safety concern as well. Others have reported that replacing the liftgate struts and/or the entire liftgate mechanism resolved the problem.
There is a crack on the left lower part of the windshield. It’s the 3rd crack requiring a windshield replacement and it only has 21,110 miles on it.
Automated lift gate opened fully, and then immediately closed without warning upon a person who was trying to access the back, nearly causing injury. It is unknown what precisely is failing within the lift gate and it is available for review. The automated lift gate can close on a person unexpectedly potentially causing injury. This has been reproduced as was "fixed" by the dealer but then reappeared only a month later with the same issue. The vehicle was not inspected by anyone but the dealer's service representatives. There was a soft beep emitted as it came down but the behavior was completely unexpected. There were no warning lamps or other information as to something was non-functional, only the soft beep as the lift-gate fully opened, then automatically fully shut right after.
Our windshield spontaneously cracked and the crack has grown very quickly. I looked online only to see that this has happened to several others.
The linkage cable between the drivers' front interior door handle and the door latching mechanism became unhooked somehow during normal usage, rendering the door inoperable from the interior. Simply removing the interior trim from the door and reattaching the linkage fixed the problem, but until then the door was only useable from the exterior of the vehicle.
A large fracture on the windshield appeared (roughly 16 inches long) with, in my opinion, no obvious impact. I only noticed the fracture after the vehicle had been parked for a period of time. I took the car to the Subaru dealership to get the fracture inspected. The service manager ran a ball-point pen along the fracture and found a small indentation (less than 1/32 inch deep) near the a pillar. The dealership claimed that this indicated the fracture was due to an impact and not a defective windshield. Consequently, the dealership refused to replace the windshield. I have since filed a claim with my insurance and I am in the process of getting the windshield replaced.
Hello, I own a Subaru Forester sport 2020 and I have the driver side rear window implode without any reason. The car was parked alone for less than one hour and I came out of the house to use it and the window was in a million little pieces with no sign of entry or any object to suggest that it was an act of vandalism. The police came and did a through-rough investigation and could not find a motive or reason. At the end it was assigned as vandalism. However, after further searching online, there is a pending lawsuit christine powell vs. Subaru of America due to this reason which is windows and windshields cracking or imploding without any reason. Subaru is not taking responsibility and even asked the lawsuit to be dismissed. The number of complains keeps increasing and insurance companies and owners have to foot the bill to get equally bad replacement windows. I am deeply concern for the integrity of the car and also my safety and that of my passengers.
Vehicle was driving next to an RV on the freeway. Rv kicked up small debris onto windshield. Windshield immediately had about 16 inch crack.
On the morning of October 1, 2020, I pulled the car out of my garage. I was the only occupant,. The car was parked facing the wall, on the opposite side of the garage door, and I had to back out of the garage into my driveway, putting the car in reverse. I then had to turn right, into my driveway leading to the street. After I shifted the gear from reverse into drive, the car started moving forward spontaneously, and I was unable to stop it, nor steer the steering wheel. My right foot was on the brake pedal, but I was unable to stop the vehicle. The brake pedal felt hard and would not go down. I found the car going forwards towards the garage, but slightly to the right of the open garage door. I was also not able to turn the car with the steering wheel, which was also stiff. I was fully aware of the failure, and my inability to control the vehicle, with the car going towards my house, and the brake not being effective. My wife, dr. Geetha rao who was at the door, was watching and helpless. The car then hit the pillar/ post, between my garage doors and stopped, hitting the right side, of the front of the vehicle into the garage post. I notified my insurance company and drove the car to Subaru's service center, and has since left the car there. I had met experienced a similar situation about 2-3 days earlier. At that time, I did not think much of it. The car is with the service department of bill kolb jr, Subaru dealer, and the service manager, can explain the damages to the car, as it has been with them since the incident. My wife was standing at the door and witnessed the incident. The investigation was then handed over to Subaru America , who further forwarded it to bosch engineering. Subaru America now wants to me take the car without explanation for the failure. I have requested a copy of the report, which Subaru has denied .
Windshield cracking: I have 7k miles on my 2020 Forester and have had to replace the windshield twice already within 2 months of each other. The first time I'm not even sure if I was hit by anything. I had been driving on the highway for a couple hours and I parked it in my driveway. When I came out an hour later the entire windshield was cracked left to right. The second time while driving on the highway, I was hit by a very small pebble that left the tiniest of nicks - initially barely even visible. Within an hour it stretched across the entire windshield. I live in az - it's going to happen occasionally. But all my other cars over the years had lots of tiny and not-so-tiny nicks from small rocks that never spread out at all. The windshield on my prior 2014 Forester with 90k miles on it only had to be replaced twice in 6 years. In both cases I was hit by larger pepples that left significant (like 1/2 inch) spider nicks. I am convinced there is something going on with the 2020 Forester windshield - maybe the pitch or a manufacturing/design issue. But this is potentially dangerous and a real inconvenience. If it happens again soon, I will trade it in. It's a shame because I love this vehicle otherwise. My cousin in CA btw has had to replace the windshield in his 2019 Forester four times in 17k miles.
One day I looked up at my windshield and there is a scratch/crack visible on the inside. Nothing hit it.
On June 16th, 2020 my vehicle was straight in motion on a city street. Randomly, a crack appeared on the driver side part of the windshield. I have no idea what caused this, but the dealership did not give me coverage for this incident.
The lift gate motor on my 2020 Forester does not shut off when the lift gate is open, it continues to cycle until the battery is dead. Subaru dealer says they're unaware of the problem even though a simple computer search found dozens of complaints for the same issue.
I went on an extended road trip and received two cracks in my windshield in a single day. I have owned several cars in my life, and never have had a car with such a sensitive windshield. I would not expect the windshield to crack so easily. I know this is an issue for other similar year Subaru models, so I'm thinking it wasn't a coincidence. Both cracks were received on a freeway, moving at 70mph. Both objects were very small in size, and should have resulted in only minimal damage.
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