general problems of the 2020 Subaru Outback - part 1

A fire started under the hood of my car while I was driving. There were no warning lights on in my car and the temperature gauge was in the middle where it usually is. Earlier in the day, I smelled gas, but I thought it was a different car as the smell of gas went away after a car that had a lot of exhaust coming out was no longer in sight.

Transmission is failing. Wheel bearing bad. This is a 5 year old car with regular maintenance. No warning lights.

[xxx] and I were driving to sean’s for dinner on Friday night [xxx] when the sunroof glass exploded at approximately [xxx]. [xxx] was driving on the [xxx] . We heard a loud bang and thought we were in an accident. We noticed sounds from the sunroof so I slide the cover open slightly and saw a massive hole so immediately closed it again. We pulled off and used the emergency ramp to examine the damage and take pictures. We think the glass exploded for no reason as we did not see any debris in front of us and were not under an underpass. We did not find any debris or scratches on the car indicating an external object as the culprit. I dropped my car off with Subaru carlsbad on June 17, 2025 and am waiting for an update. My service advisor was shocked by the occurrence as she had not seen something like this. I pointed out that the glass exploded outwards and asked her to check the cabin pressure vents as we found discussion pointing to those as a potential issue when researching online. We also heard complaints that Subaru has specifically excluded this piece of glass from the warranty so I let my advisor know that I hope / expect this to be covered under warranty. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

No warning, or dash lights. A/c stopped working. It’s 98 degrees outside, to me that is dangerous! wagner Subaru said it is the actuator doors ($900 in diagnosing) they said it would cost $3600. It’s a 2020. There is no reason there should be a cost that high for that new of a car.

Vehicle accelerated without touching gas pedal, rpm’s kept increasing even while trying to brake.

I am on my third windshield in les than a year. The tiniest pebble will crack the windshield, or sudden changes to weather has now caused a stress crack. Seems to be poor weight distribution on the design. There is extensive customer complaints on line with the same issue. Insurance will only cover two a year. There were no warnings of this issue when the car was purchased. This is an expensive hazard to keep having issues with. They need to do a recall on a fix.

2020 Subaru Outback rear auto liftgate randomly automatically closes after opening. It has hit me, the owner, in the head as I was attempting to place items in the rear. It has hit various store personnel as they were attempting to load products in the rear. I have reported this to my local Subaru dealer many times over the last five years, even leaving my vehicle for several days for inspection. Their responses have been - if we don't see it, we can't help or no problem is detected. I have reported to Subaru consumer advocate twice with no resolution.

Defective windshields. The vehicle has been in my possession for 4 years. During these 4 years I've had 5 windshield replacements. 2 of which have been from rocks. 3 of which I have no idea what caused the damage, it seemingly happened out of nowhere while driving. This is well known (but not well dealt with) issue with Subaru vehicles with eyesight. People on multiple forums have the same issue, as do many people I know personally. Its a shame nothing has been done about this despite countless reports and complaints. This is a safety hazard.

Problem component: exterior mirror on driver side it was raining, I was driving, I heard what sounded like a loud explosion by my driver side window. After the initial shock, I thought a tire had blown out, but car drove ok and no tire warning light came on. It was a rural road with no shoulder, only deep stormwater ditch along the roadside, so there was no place to safely pull over in traffic to assess what may have happened. I drove about 2-3 miles before I could pull over at a safe spot. There I saw that the back side of my driver side mirror had completely disappeared. Wires were exposed. It appeared to have exploded off for no apparent reason. The body of the car was completely fine, the white exterior paint of the car was perfect, the actual housing of the mirror showed no marks, there are no dings or cracks in windows. No sign of any debris hitting the car. I reported it to Subaru general headquarters, and gave them all the info. I have an appt with local Subaru dealer this week. The mirror and housing are still on the car, minus the back, which is gone. My husband returned to the scene a few minutes later and searched for the piece that had propelled off the mirror or for any debris that could have caused the mirror to explode. There was nothing on the road, so wherever the back of the mirror went, it must have propelled far off the road. Safety issue: because an explosion like that nearly caused me to lose control of the car. And the piece that propelled off the mirror could have hit another car. Additional info. At the time of mirror exploding: my windshield wipers were on, it was a warm day so my air-conditioning was on, good chance my front dehumidifier was on. Car is equipped with heated mirrors, but heat was off.

This recall for Subaru Outbacks has been in effect since March but there is no remedy available yet. I would like to have my car repaired as soon as possible because of safety concerns. Is there a timeline for when a remedy will be available?.

Rear trunk door won’t lock when closed and open up while driving. It’s unsafe as I have to constantly keep an eye in rear view mirror to see if door popped open by itself. Took to service station and they said it’s tied to battery and it is preventing door to close because trunk door takes power to open. I do not understand how trunk door locking close cannot be independent of battery. It is quite unsafe for vehicle occupants and poses danger to other vehicles driving behind.

Spontaneous windshield cracking.

As my husband & I were traveling to augusta, GA on memorial day weekend with our niece, we approached the southbound I-75 / I-24 split outside chattanooga, tennessee in heavy traffic and heavy rain on Saturday, may 25, 2024 at approximately 10:00 a. M. When we stopped for a small accident ahead of us, the “auto stop-start engine” feature stopped the car engine as normal. However, almost instantly, all of the electronics in the car appeared to fail and the car would not restart. The dashboard indicated that eyesight and rab were disabled and to "check the owner's manual. " normal traffic quickly resumed around us, but we were stranded in the #2 lane with several close calls of a rear-end collision--not to mention the cars at risk swerving to avoid us. My husband is a retired firefighter & our niece is a nurse in los angeles. Frankly, we were terrified! we were stranded on the interstate in the #2 lane for about 20 minutes before being pushed into the "gore zone" between I-75 & I-24 by a tdot truck. We spent about 40 minutes in the gore zone where we were nearly hit twice by cars driving across the zone. We were finally towed to crown Subaru in chattanooga, TN and arrived there about 11:40 a. M. The general manager of the dealership, keith aviles, told us there was a sudden, massive failure of a battery cell controlling the electronics of the car, and the battery was replaced. We never had any indication or evidence prior to this incident that there were issues with the battery. Also, we have never received a notice from Subaru about battery problems. However, we are now aware that Subaru settled a class action lawsuit to avoid a recall of these batteries. I have notified six friends who own Subarus. Three have had issues with their batteries, but were also unaware of the class action lawsuit. This is absolutely shocking for a vehicle manufacturer that touts safety to sell vehicles.

The thermal control valve went out in may while I was traveling though texas, I took it to a dealership right away to see what the issue was and was told once again it was the thermal control valve. When it goes out you have the check engine light come on, the eyesite, and cameras all stop working along with all the warning lights staying on. They replaced it and I was told I should most likely get a refund for when I had the part first replace in July 2021. Which at that time my car was only 7 months old. I was told I would get a reimbursement for that part. However ever since Subaru warranty sent me an approval for reimbursement of this service ( letter dated may 21, 2024 for $1071. 00 that should happen in 30 -45 days, they are now stalling and stating it will be 90 days for checks to be mailed out. This is a faulty part they knew it 3 years ago and failed to handle, now more and more vehicle owners are having the issue, so they will replace the part only if you have any issues. This is fraud on the part of Subaru to their customers.

Spontaneous crack in windshield with no other signs of chips or damage. Car was sitting in the driveway when it occurred.

This was december2023clicking noise when turning. "rear swaybar bushing replaced (have gap in them when loaded)" also replaced 2 front axle/cv boots. Said they were worn. Additionally today, 5/3/2024 got in my car and there is a crack in my windshield that occurred overnight. Crack comes from bottom corning on drivers side up about 12 inches.

This vehicle is equipped with a driver monitoring system. This system will flash warnings and activate audible alarms directing the driver to keep his/her eyes on the road. At times this system malfunctions and blares warning after warning non-stop to keep eyes on the road when in fact the driver is absolutely looking straight ahead giving the road and traffic full attention. This erroneous non-stop alarm is distracting to the driver and will continue non-stop. Mostly the alarm can be ended by stopping the vehicle and shutting it off and then restarting the vehicle. The distracting nature to the driver is not the only issue. Is that false driver attention alarm being recorded to some black box to be recovered by any investigator, law enforcement or otherwise? if I should be in an accident while the vehicle erroneously has recorded that the driver was not attentive, then in fact I was, how could I prove otherwise? after all, the computer said otherwise. Once, the alarm begins, there is no way to safely stop the vehicle on the interstate, rush hour beltways and such. There is no way to safely stop the vehicle and turn off the ignition. My vehicle electronic system has been updated several times under the warranty period, yet this erroneous distracting safety alarm persists on an intermittent basis. I never know when. It is going to happen. There is reference in the manual to turning the system off, however I question whether just the alarm is turned off and the false data is till being recorded for anyone to find and place me in jeopardy should an accident occur. This is a known problem discussed in multiple forums and discussion groups. This has been and intermittent problem since 2020.

Later today I am getting my 4th windshield, maybe my 5th, I don’t remember. There is something wrong with these windshields. Nothing more than a small pebble has hit the windshield to cause the cracks and honestly that was only one incident. All the rest happened for no apparent reason. Again, my fourth or fifth windshield. This is ridiculous.

The windshield has cracked every year since I purchased the vehicle in may 2020. I fortunately bought the insurance but that only covers the windshield once a year. The windshield cracks within a month or two of replacing every single year. The cracks generally start from the edge of the windshield and there is no indication that it was hit be a rock as the start of the crack is clean. There have been two incidents where I heard a pop prior to the start of the crack. I am currently on my fourth windshield.

Rear hatch opens while driving. It will not lock nor will it auto close. The dealer, pine belt Subaru, lakewood, NJ, tried to fix it, but it happened again one week later. A very dangerous situation. A complete replacement of the hatch's lock may solve the problem .

I sent a complaint yesterday, I would like to add this to the complaint. . Read more...

- driver and passenger window stuck down (won't close) in extreme cold temperatures - I feel my safety is at risk because I had to drive my car miles in frigid temperatures with my window stuck open. - my dealership acknowledged the problem, but were not able to reproduce it as it was 59 degrees when I took it in. - my vehicle was not inspected by anyone other than the dealer - I had no warning of the problem I have a 2020 Subaru Outback limited. Since I bought the car, there have been multiple incidents where the driver or passenger window got stuck open after being rolled down on very cold days. Several years ago ,shortly after I bought it, my Subaru dealer explained to me this was happening because Subaru changed the rubber content in the window gaskets to a harder rubber. Then, when there is dirt on the insides of the gasket, the gasket drags on the window and the actuator opens the window because it thinks it detected it was closing on something it was not supposed to close on. The fix to be able to close my window was to take a screwdriver and a t-shirt or thin towel to clean the insides of the gasket that touches the window. Subaru knows about this problem. As this is a safety hazard and dangerous in cold weather, I do not understand why there has not been a recall. I took my car to the dealer today. I was told that it should not happen again if I keep the gaskets clean. As a Subaru is supposed to be made for offroading and extreme weather conditions, I would think that something as basic as being able to open and close a window is not too much to ask. Do you really expect me to clean the inside of window gaskets to keep my windows from sticking? that is just trying to normalize a problem that should not be not be normalized. My passenger window got stuck a couple of weeks ago and I had to drive home 7 miles with it open when it was 0 degrees out. I tried to clean the gaskets using a screwdriver and a rag, but it would not work. Please recall!!!.

The automatic lifting of the rear trunk opens as it should, but then will start to close on you out of no where without pushing the close button. It is terrifying because it doesn’t sense a body there. The screen in the center console also will become inaccessible and black out making it impossible to use the touch screen. The usb ports/ connecting to iphone will disconnect making bluetooth unavailable. Extremely difficult when needing gps or on the freeway.

I noticed when the weather is wet, closing the front windows is slow. This kept advancing and now it won't close at all. Today, 12/28/2023 it wouldn't even come up more than half an inch then goes back down. Done some online research, and lots of people are reporting this with several Subaru models and dealers only say it needs lubrication.

Thermo control valve broken. Leaves no heat to cabin.

Rock hit windshield and cracked need to be replaced.

I am reporting defective windshield. I’ve had windshield replaced 3 times when just the tiniest pebble tinged. My daughter also has a Subaru Outback and 3 windshields replaced. There must be a defect. Now that we have replaced the windshield several times, state farm insurance has dropped us because of the number of claims. Most definitely a danger when a tiny people shatters the glass and pieces of the glass hit your face and eyes. If there is another agency I should report this, kindly let me know. Regards, marcia ianno.

Windshield developed a crack for no apparent reason on the lower passenger side. Car was parked. Only unusual circumstance is that was a hot day.

The windshield in my 2020 Subaru Outback has cracked spontaneously twice. I had 75k bumper to bumper warranty, which the dealer would not honor the first time the window broke. He said that it was warranted for repair, not replacement. I argued until he gave me a 50% discount. My windshield broke again today. I had just pulled out onto the street and was traveling about 10mph. No rocks or stone touched the windshield. The sound of the crack startled me. I thought that there had to be an issue. Consequently as I looked online, I have discovered this is a design flaw or something as the problem is widespread. Two cracks in year is not right and it is expensive.

Thermocontrol valve.

Over the course of the nearly three years I have owned my vehicle, the windshield has either spontaneously cracked or cracked from a very very small chip three times. Two of these occurred while I was driving, with no debris impact with the vehicle windshield. There have been several suits filed against Subaru for similar cases, including for the 2020 Outback model. This has been three times in about two and a half years, quadruple the amount for my previous vehicle. Not only is this a vision impairment while driving and a financial burden to fix, I also worry about more catastrophic failure should anything significant impact the windshield while driving. I have had the glass repaired twice, and both times the repair technicians could not understand how such a significant crack had occurred.

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.

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.

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.

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.