Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government
holds on this vehicle.
68
Complaints
6
Crashes
0
Fires
3
Injuries
0
Deaths
Owners of the 2020 Subaru Crosstrek have filed 68
safety complaints with NHTSA
between January 2020 and May 2026.
The most complained-about system is visibility and the wipers,
named in 30 of them
(44%). The typical failure was reported at 5,200 miles, the median
across the 31 complaints that gave an
odometer reading.
No recall campaign was matched to this year, make and model. That is not
the same as a clean vehicle: recalls are issued against production
ranges, and the only reliable check is your own VIN.
What owners report
Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add
up to more than 68.
VISIBILITY/WIPER 30 44%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 10 15%
POWER TRAIN 9 13%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 9 13%
ENGINE 5 7%
VISIBILITY 4 6%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 3%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 3%
SEAT BELTS 2 3%
SERVICE BRAKES 2 3%
STRUCTURE 2 3%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 3%
When the complaints arrived
By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures
happened. They peaked in 2021 at 18.
2020 to 2026, the last of them a part year
In owners' own words
Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the
people who filed them, not findings of fault.
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
1 injured · crash · towed · 5,104 miles
The contact owned a 2020 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that as attempted to park her vehicle at 5 MPH, the vehicle independently accelerated without warning and drove onto a boulder. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. Three of the contact’s front teeth were knocked out as a result of the failure. The police were called to her property; however, a police report was not filed since the failure happened on private property. The contact was able to make an appointment with a dentist where she was treated for a fractured jaw; in addition, two front teeth were extracted from her jaw. Once her jaw had healed, dental implants were used to replace her missing teeth. The vehicle was …
NHTSA complaint 11465334, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
SEAT BELTS
1 injured · crash · towed
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated that while she was sitting in the parked vehicle on the side of the road, another vehicle driving at approximately 60-65 MPH rear-ended her vehicle. The contact's vehicle was pushed into the highway's first lane. The front driver's side seat belt failed to restrain the contact in her seat, causing her forehead to hit the steering wheel and the back of her head to roll between the A-Pillar of the front windshield and the front driver's side door. The contact attempted to depress the brake pedal when the front of her ankles hit the bottom of the dashboard. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The contact was …
NHTSA complaint 11557526, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
SEAT BELTS
1 injured · crash
At Miami Airport, with ample space behind the vehicle in front, a pickup truck with a very long sloping ramp trailer to carry several cars pulled into the stated space. The lefthand side rear of the trailer being well below my line of vision hit my bumper on the passenger side. My insurance provided GPS confirmed I was driving at 16 mph at the time. We both stopped. We looked at no damage to the trailer and seemingly minor damage to the car. We both drove off. I was about 500 yards from where I parked at the airport. After my return from the UK 5 days later I drove home and used the car for several days. At the time of the collision, my diagonal part of the seatbelt failed to restrain me. …
NHTSA complaint 11693525, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
crash · towed · 42,000 miles
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while pulling into a parking spot and depressing the brake pedal to come to a complete stop, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that upon depressing the brake pedal a second time, the vehicle jerked, unintendedly accelerated, drove up the curb, and crashed into the metal plastic pole of Wawa. The pole was fractured. The air bags did not deploy. There was no injury sustained. There was no warning light illuminated. A police report was filed, but the contact did not have the police report information available. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that …
NHTSA complaint 11643745, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
POWER TRAIN
DEFECT DESCRIPTION My 2020 Subaru Crosstrek has been diagnosed with diagnostic trouble code P2757 (Torque Converter Clutch Pressure Control Solenoid Control Circuit Performance), which my authorized Subaru 802 Subaru retailer in Vermont has confirmed is caused by a defective CVT Control Valve Body. Subaru of America has acknowledged this exact defect in Technical Service Bulletin 16-156-25R (revised 10/28/25), which explicitly covers the 2013–2021MY Crosstrek 2.0L (FB20 engine, TR580 CVT) and prescribes replacement of the CVT Control Valve Body with an updated design incorporating an improved valve sleeve. This bulletin confirms that Subaru is aware of the design flaw in the original valve …
NHTSA complaint 11737783, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ENGINE
My 2020 Subaru Crosstrek CVT Valve Body equipment failure and CVT Torque Converter failure. This appears to be a common failure for prior Subaru Crosstrek model - however was not extended for coverage to 2020 and beyond models - appears the issue still persists and additional year models should be covered. My vehicle experience the same failure for CVT Valve Body failure and CVT Torque Converter while driving at highway speeds. Problem occurs for previous Subaru Models example: MC-11021247-0001, Subaru Service Bulletin: 16-155-25R where Subaru extended coverage to 10yrs/100k miles or +1 year from date of notification - and my vehicle is currently at the Subaru Dealership for repairs for …
NHTSA complaint 11737051, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
While driving 2020 Crosstrek Hybrid, the dashboard lights suddenly flashed and then engine stalled, leaving me with no brakes and no steering. I rolled through straight through an intersection with four stop signs and I could not stop. Luckily no one was driving or walking at the time. I couldn't start car, even with a jump start. I bought a new Interstate battery with higher specs. Three days later the same thing happened, the car stalled while driving just about to park. The dashboard lights also flashed and I saw Hybrid System this time. Car was towed to the dealer and there was a huge amount of corrosion with the electrical system underneath the car. Previously, four times this winter …
NHTSA complaint 11737166, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ENGINE
My 2020 Subaru Crosstrek experienced a sudden loss of motive power and stalled due to a blown ignition fuse. Diagnostic code P1604 (Startability Malfunction) was stored. Inspection by Wayne Subaru (Invoice #25340) confirmed the Cylinder 3 ignition coil had shorted and physically melted. This is the exact failure mode described in Subaru Safety Recall WRE-21 (NHTSA Campaign 21V825000), which currently only covers 2018–2019 models. My vehicle experienced a thermal event and a stall despite being a 2020 model. The dealer replaced only the melted coil and did NOT update the ECM software. This leaves the vehicle at risk of a repeat stall in traffic, as the underlying software defect that causes …
NHTSA complaint 11735976, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Beginning one year after buying this used 2020 Subaru Crosstrek base trim the starter failed and battery fully died after failing to start from a stop. The engine was OFF due to the auto-stop system and failed upon lifting my foot from the brake on a slight incline, causing a constant warning beep and a starter system failure message on the dash display. Immediately after failing to start the brake pressure significantly dropped causing my car to roll into the front of the car behind it. The car was stranded in the road and required a jump start. Since this event the issue has occurred twice more on two brand new batteries on no incline, and I now fully disable the auto-stop feature before …
NHTSA complaint 11725956, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
POWER TRAIN
The rear differential on my PHEV Crosstrek failed around 31,500 miles. My spouse was driving under 30mph and turning, and heard a clunking/popping/metal-on-metal sound that persisted intermittently for the remainder of the drive home. Since then on 1/8/26, the sound has been aggravated and persistent, every 45 seconds or so while driving, mostly while turning, so we brought it in and were alerted to significant and large metal shavings in the rear differential oil. The current service bulletin (03-95-24) the dealership is relying on to inform the replacement describes sounds much subtler than the sounds my car is making and I remain concerned about other components in my vehicle that may be …
NHTSA complaint 11720387, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon
law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back.
What each state asks for
, read from the statutes.
Where these numbers come from
Complaints: NHTSA's ODI
complaint file
, published August 20, 2026. One
complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.
Recalls: NHTSA's recall
campaign API
, most recent campaign filed August 12, 2026.
Investigations: NHTSA's ODI
investigation file
, published 2026-08-19.
A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by
us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that
sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.
G
Compiled and maintained by guarledes Independent developer and analyst