Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government
holds on this vehicle.
Owners have filed 601 safety complaints
about the 2020 Subaru Forester with the US government. Of those, 26 describe a crash, 9 mention a fire, 16 people were injured and no death is recorded. No recall campaign has been matched to this year, make and model.
The most complained-about system is visibility and the wipers,
named in 252 complaints, 42% of the total.
The typical failure was reported at 5,800 miles,
the median across the 272
complaints that gave
an odometer reading.
Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files
· Covers October 2019 to September 2026 · How this is counted
What is on file
601 complaints on file
601
Complaints
26
Describe a crash
9
Mention fire
16
People injured
0
Deaths
A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a
finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts
them.
Complaints fell 43% year on year: 20 in the twelve months to 2026-Q2, against 35 in the twelve before.
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.
Which system owners named
Complaints naming each system
VISIBILITY/WIPER 252 · 42%
252 42%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 107 · 18%
107 18%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 102 · 17%
102 17%
ENGINE 80 · 13%
80 13%
VISIBILITY 49 · 8%
49 8%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 43 · 7%
43 7%
POWER TRAIN 32 · 5%
32 5%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 24 · 4%
24 4%
LANE DEPARTURE 22 · 4%
22 4%
STRUCTURE 15 · 2%
15 2%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 13 · 2%
13 2%
SERVICE BRAKES 13 · 2%
13 2%
0104208
One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 601.
When the complaints arrived
By the year NHTSA received them
By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures
happened. They peaked in 2021 at 171.
180 135 90 45
192019202020212021222022232023242024252025262026
This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure
happened. The range runs from 2019 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.
Crash test ratings
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program
NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what
happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2020 Subaru FORESTER, and it is a separate
question from what owners report going wrong later.
Test
SUV AWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover
16.9%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard
A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.
In owners’ own words
Quoted from the complaint file
Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the
people who filed them, not findings of fault.
SERVICE BRAKES
3 injured · crash · towed
Eyesight pre-collision braking feature and pre-collision throttle management feature malfunctioned and caused the 2020 Forester to accelerate unexpectedly and lurch forward while I was manually braking and slowing to come to a complete stop behind two other vehicles stopped at a steady red light. See class action lawsuit Weston, et al. v. Subaru of America, Inc., et al. In US District Court Case No. [XXX] which alleges that the vehicle contains certain defects that caused sudden and unintended acceleration without driver input; acceleration while manually braking; and that these defects created a safety risk, because they severely affected the driver's ability to control the car's speed, …
NHTSA complaint 11599272, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
AIR BAGS
2 injured · crash · towed · 5,200 miles
2/17/2021 - HONDA ACCORD GOING NORTH ON LYNCHBURG TURNPIKE RAN A STOPLIGHT (GOING ABOUT 30 IN A 25 MPG ZONE) TRYING TO TURN WEST ONTO EAST MAIN ST. IN SALEM, VA ... BOUNCED OPPOSITE CURB, CUT WEST AND SWERVED (OVERSTEER) AND CAME HEAD ON INTO MY STATIONARY 2020 FORESTER. OUR LIGHT HAD JUST TURNED GREEN AND WE WERE ABOUT TO MOVE FORWARD WHEN THE HONDA CAME OUT INTO THE INTERSECTION. MY WIFE WAS DRIVING AND I WAS A PASSENGER. I WAS TAKEN TO ER AND SEEN BY SEVERAL DOCTORS AND AM UNDERGOING PT FOR THE NEXT 5 WEEKS.
NHTSA complaint 11399587. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
SERVICE BRAKES
1 injured · fire · crash · towed
Automatic braking system failed and led to a front end collision immediately a fire broke out under the hood and accelerated into the car with in minutes using a tire iron the passenger door was forced opened Air bags deployed (3) and seat belt held
NHTSA complaint 11455557. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
SERVICE BRAKES
1 injured · crash · towed · 600 miles
I WAS DRIVING MY 2020 SUBARU FORESTER SPORT IN THE LEFT LANE ALONG AN ON-RAMP TO THE HIGHWAY, WHICH CONSISTS OF A ROAD THAT CURVES TO THE RIGHT. THERE WAS SNOW ON THE GROUND BUT THE ROADS WERE CLEAR AND DRY. SUDDENLY AND IN A MATTER OF A FEW SECONDS, THE CAR BEGAN TO BEEP CONTINUOUSLY WHILE THE STEERING WHEEL VEERED TO THE LEFT AND LOCKED, AND THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM KICKED IN AS I TRIED TO CORRECT THE WHEEL AND BRAKE THE CAR. I WAS SUDDENLY COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AS THE CAR DROVE ME OFF THE ROAD AND DOWN INTO THE SNOWY MEDIAN, WHERE IT ROLLED AT LEAST ONCE BEFORE LANDING UPRIGHT. I BELIEVE THE ERROR WITH THE CAR MAY HAVE OCCURRED WITH SUBARU'S BRAND-NEW LANE CENTERING …
NHTSA complaint 11289740, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ENGINE
fire
Smoke and fire occurred in the engine and spread into the car while the car was being driven. The car has not been inspected yet.
NHTSA complaint 11765530. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ENGINE
Three times within 30 minutes on short drive, the engine stalled at stop sign or stop light. The car had a half tank of gas, and at the same time as the engine stalled, the miles remaining until empty display showed an anomalous 0.3miles to empty reading. Put the car in park allowed the engine to restart and the range remaining display to return to normal.
NHTSA complaint 11763869. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
POWER TRAIN
Component/System Defect: Failed Thermo Control Valve (TCV) leading to sudden vehicle power loss / limp mode. Description of Safety Incident: While operating my vehicle at highway speeds late at night, the Thermo Control Valve (TCV) failed catastrophically without warning. The vehicle instantly experienced a massive loss of engine power and entered an aggressive "limp mode," causing a drastic, uncommanded deceleration in active traffic lanes.Due to the sudden reduction in speed and the low-visibility night conditions, a commercial semi-truck traveling directly behind my vehicle was nearly unable to brake in time and narrowly avoided rear-ending us. My family—including an elderly senior and a …
NHTSA complaint 11763453, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ENGINE
Car stalls when it shouldn't i.e. when stopped at traffic light Transmission Control Module (TCM) Software Issue
NHTSA complaint 11762389. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
24th February 2020 - Bought the car from Subaru dealer. Couple of service records prior to May 24, 2022. - May 24, 2022 (9,037 miles) | RO# 806326: The lower oil pan leaked prematurely and had to be completely replaced under warranty. During the same visit, explained LONG BRAKE PEDAL issue, and was given an estimate. - - June 1, 2022 (9,039 miles) | RO# 806767: Just 2 miles after that repair, the oil pan had to be torn apart again because the internal oil level sensor failed and got stuck. - January 19, 2024 (18,854 miles) | RO# 838995: The vehicle suffered a dangerous engine shutdown in the middle of traffic due to the factory Thermo Control Valve defect (TSB 09-80-21). While resolving …
NHTSA complaint 11760087, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ENGINE
This 2020 Subaru Forester has experienced repeated failures involving the Auto Start/Stop system. When stopped in traffic, the system shuts the engine off as designed, but on multiple occasions the engine has failed to restart normally when the driver needed to proceed. This has left the vehicle unable to move in active traffic and created a serious risk of collision. The failures have occurred in highly dangerous situations, including a busy [XXX], a major [XXX] intersection, and most recently while entering a freeway. In these incidents, surrounding drivers had to brake hard to avoid striking the disabled vehicle. The occupants reasonably feared a serious collision, and the events were …
NHTSA complaint 11758094, 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. How
many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by
the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.
Complaints: NHTSA's ODI
complaint file, published October 2, 2026. One
complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.
Recalls: NHTSA's recall
campaign API, no campaign on file for this vehicle.
Investigations: NHTSA's ODI
investigation file, published October 2, 2026.
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