2020 Subaru Forester Body and structure Problems
- Complaints
- 15about this part
- Share
- 2%of 603 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 6,642miles
- Trend
- FallingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% lower than in the 3 years before.
NHTSA recorded 15 complaints about the body and structure of the 2020 Subaru Forester, 2% of the 603 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 6,642 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“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.”
NHTSA complaint #11329350, filed 2020-06, 6,410 miles“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.”
NHTSA complaint #11309651, filed 2020-02, 3,350 miles“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. …”
NHTSA complaint #11390003, filed 2021-01, 8,330 miles“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. …”
NHTSA complaint #11374285, filed 2020-11, 7,000 miles“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. …”
NHTSA complaint #11383225, filed 2020-12, 10,000 milesRelated service bulletins
- 11036824Aug 31, 2026This bulletin announces the service procedures to be followed when encountering instances of water intrusion from the sunroof area. This is an revised version of the original…
- 11036822Aug 31, 2026This bulletin provides a procedure to address customer concerns of surface rust accumulating in the top center retaining nut area of the front strut mounts. This is an revised…
- 11033052May 1, 2026This bulletin announces a design change to the Power Rear Gate Drive (PRG) Unit to address rare concerns about a very slight drop immediately after the gate is fully open.
- 11022328Aug 26, 2025"This bulletin announces the service procedures to be followed when encountering instances of water intrusion from the sunroof area for models listed. "
- 11022304Aug 11, 2025This bulletin provides information on paint codes for vehicles in the 2026 line up.
- 11016230Mar 27, 2025This bulletin announces design changes made to the Power Rear Gate Drive (PRG) Unit to address concerns of the power rear gate being inoperative.
- 11016174Mar 6, 2025This Bulletin announces diagnostic procedures to be followed when working with a Power Rear Gate (PRG).
- 11010905Nov 21, 2024This bulletin announces the initialization service procedures to be followed when diagnosing and/or repairing Power Rear Gate (PRG) systems.
- 10246093Nov 9, 2023This bulletin announces the initialization service procedures to be followed when diagnosing and/or repairing Power Rear Gate (PRG) systems.
- 10244910Oct 25, 2023This Bulletin announces the repair procedure developed to address rattle-type sounds heard from the left and/or right B-Pillar area.
Body and structure: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 3 | 9% |
| 2025 | 1 | 1% |
| 2024 | 2 | 6% |
| 2023 | 3 | 4% |
| 2022 | 2 | 2% |
| 2021 | 4 | 2% |
| 2020 | 15 | 2% |
| 2019 | 25 | 3% |
| 2018 | 14 | 3% |
| 2017 | 15 | 3% |
| 2016 | 11 | 3% |
| 2015 | 20 | 3% |
| 2014 | 27 | 7% |
| 2013 | 4 | 5% |
| 2012 | 5 | 5% |
| 2011 | 8 | 5% |
| 2010 | 7 | 3% |
| 2009 | 2 | 1% |
| 2008 | 1 | 2% |
| 2007 | 1 | 1% |
| 2006 | 7 | 8% |
| 2005 | 4 | 4% |
| 2004 | 4 | 2% |
| 2003 | 19 | 10% |
| 2002 | 3 | 3% |
| 2001 | 4 | 3% |
| 1999 | 3 | 2% |
Other parts of the 2020 Subaru Forester
301 complaintsOther or unknown
108 complaintsElectrical system
103 complaintsEngine
81 complaintsForward collision avoidance
43 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
32 complaintsVehicle speed control
24 complaintsLane departure
22 complaintsBrakes
14 complaintsFuel system
13 complaintsAir bags
11 complaintsSteering
11 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2020 Subaru Forester
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology