2020 SUBARU FORESTER Visibilitywiper Problems
252 NHTSA complaints on file
Visibilitywiper Issues in the 2020 SUBARU FORESTER
252 visibilitywiper complaints have been filed with NHTSA for the 2020 SUBARU FORESTER. Of these, 0 involved a crash, 0 involved a fire, and 0 resulted in injury.
252
Complaints
0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
All Visibilitywiper Complaints
As I was driving my 2020 Subaru Forester a cracked suddenly appeared across the driver side of the windshield, possibly from a small pebble. The sunlight reflection off the crack sent blinding sunlight into my eyes which nearly caused a collision with the car stopped in front of me. I now have another crack that started from the other side making my car unsafe to drive. Both cracks continue to grow across the windshield, not sure if summertime temps make it worse. I spoke with the dealer and they have quoted thousands of dollars to replace the windshield and since the car has over 100,000 miles they won't replace it under the new warranty that was extended this year. This is my 3rd windshield and can't afford to keep replacing windshields and now I don't have a car to drive. See attached pictures of the windshield.
The head unit suddenly stopped working. It unfortunately isn’t covered Under warranty. The screen consistently turns on and off.
In a three year period I have had to replace my windshield for cracks causing visibility issues. Each of these cracks have appeared for no apparent reason.
On Monday, 5/13/24, I got in my car and there was a crack across the windshield that was not there earlier in the day. It seems to have spontaneously cracked for no known reason.
A crack in my windshield appeared during the 15 minutes my 2020 Subaru Forester was in parking lot while I was in a store. The ambient temperature was in the 70's, the car was facing away from the sun, and the windows were ventilating the inside. The crack starts at the passenger corner in the area of the defroster and runs all the way from the weatherstripping at an angle and length that it is directly in the field of view of the passenger. On a few occasions while driving since the incident I have heard expansion type crack sounds.
The windshield developed a spontaneous crack, starting at the base of the right passenger windshield wiper and traveling in a line up toward the middle in a slanted line. There is no spike, no rock hit, nothing to have caused this. I believe it is a stress fracture as reported by others who have Subarus with eyesight technology. I have an appointment with the Subaru Dealer tomorrow morning. This appeared suddenly and must have happened overnight as it was not there yesterday but it was there when I got into the car this morning. The car was parked overnight.
Fourth windshield crack in 4 years. Enough. Please do a recall of this model.
Windshield cracked. During a week of sub-freezing temperatures in January, the windshield cracked from the base of the windshield to the to the center point of the windshield (see photo submitted). Note: the windshield had had a very minor chip in it at the base of the windshield before the crack occurred.
I was driving to work and i was on the freeway and all of a sudden without a rock hitting my windshield, it started to crack. It might go bigger if i drive more and right now it is longer than 6 inches.
When I am idling at a stop sign or sitting in traffic and I have come to a full stop, the car's engine shuts down as a gas-saving feature. This is not the problem! The problem is that sometimes when this feature engages, when I lift my foot off the brake to start driving again, a shrill constant ringing sound starts and the engine won't power back on. There is an error message that comes on that says "eyesight disabled." When this happens, none of these factors (the ringing, the error message, the dead engine) stop until I put the car in park and power it down completely, then restart the engine. Then none of the symptoms are there anymore and the car drives normally. I have not noticed any consistency about when this problem does or does not happen - it occurs in all weather types, temperatures, times of...
Since purchasing my vehicle in June of 2020, I have replaced the windshield every 6-7 months for spontaneously cracking. In April of 2023 I filed a claim with Subaru of America and was instructed to make an insurance claim and my deductible would be reimbursed. As of December 1, 2023 my windshield has cracked yet again. I have had a windshield inspection done every time it has been replace, no defects or rock chips were identified. This will be the 6th windshield I have had replaced.
Windshield spontaneously cracked from the base into the wiper area. There was no previously known damage. This impacts driver visibility and weakens the windshield. I have not had the windshield inspected by another party and did not observe any warnings. I have since learned online that this is an ongoing issue with some Subaru windshields.
Woke up to a large cracked windshield for no reason
I have had three cracked windshields within 4 years of driving and 30,000 miles
Windshield cracked for no reason shortly after purchasing. Needs to be replaced. Quoted 1500.00 because self driving feature must also be adjusted when replacing windshield
Windshield on this Subaru Forester cracked severely shortly after purchasing the car. This happened in the driveway while parked. Nothing hit the glass.
Was driving at highway speeds (65 mph) and within the posted speed limit and a small, unidentifiably small object was kicked up by a car in the adjacent lane and hit the windshield, resulting in a small ding that immediately spread to a large crack across most of the windshield.
The windshield suddenly crack for no apparent reason. I inquire about this problem from the Subaru service department and I was told that its not covered by warranty. I found out from my own research that a lot of Forester owner have complain of the same issue.
For the 3rd time in less than 3 years my windshield crack from a small pebble hitting it. Either Subaru is making very thin windshield glass, or the material used is not sufficient to suppress small pebbles and causes the windshield to crack, often. The latest crack happened July 25, 2023 in the PM with a small 1/4 inch crack, by morning it had grown to over 2 feet. It seems to me there is a design flaw here.
Windshield randomly cracked while parked. There was no hit to the windshield that was detected. Crack runs down middle of windshield.
(06/22) - Small pebble hits windshield and creates a "star-pattern" crack measuring 2.25 inches in diameter. Booked earliest appointment for windshield replacement on Tuesday 06/27. Have not touched windshield and have not driven vehicle as of this day. (06/24) - Waiting for windshield replacement appointment; star-pattern crack has extended aggressively overnight while parked under shaded carport (average temp 64 degrees), far beyond what is typical. As of 06/24 there are 2 long cracks extending in opposite directions measuring 9 inches above and 13 inches below original impact diameter. Please note that Subaru has had prior class action lawsuits filed for similar issues regarding brittle/unsafe windshields for Subaru Outback and Forester 2016-2020 models.
Windshield cracked in the bottom black area. This is a known problem for other model years. Subaru should issue a recall / fix for the 2020 Forester also.
While driving, I heard a loud POP. I thought something hit the car, but I was not close behind another vehicle or road hazard. For about 15 minutes I thought no harm, no foul. Then suddenly, I saw a long, mostly horizontal crack from the bottom left and extending about 18" toward the center of the windshield. I called the Subaru dealer [where I bought the car] and was quoted $910 parts and $590 labor, but they were unable to give me a service appointment date at that time. I don't feel the car is safe to drive, so I am looking for a quicker repair from an independent windshield replacement shop. At the same time, I researched Subaru windshield cracks and found numerous reports of easily cracking Subaru windshields. It appears that if I replace one Subaru windshield with another Subaru windshield, I may just be waiting for another...
Driving down the highway and the windshield cracks and the cracks keeps getting longer.
The vehicle was parked in our driveway in Lafayette, CA on 5/16/2023. Outside temperature reached approximately 75 degrees. The windshield developed a spontaneous crack, horizontally spanning the driver's side edge to nearly the middle. No impact point can be observed along the crack line. The vehicle is available for inspection but has not yet been inspected by any authority. Vision may be blurred or compromised along the crack line, which should be deemed a safety issue. Numerous reports of windshield faults for 2019+ Subaru Foresters have been reported online, though Subaru continues to deny these claims.
My windshield has cracked - huge lines running across the windshield including the driver's side - three times in 2.5 years necessitating I pay out of pocket to replace the windshield each time. I will now need to get my fourth windshield in less than 3 years of having a brand new car. Though I have been told that it was "outside influence" such as a rock, I did not see or hear a rock hit the windshield. Not to mention I have owned many other cars and have never had to replace the windshield so many times. The latest windshield I replaced was less than a month ago and now I have to replace it again. There was a recall/class action lawsuit on previous years of the Subaru Forester and it is not clear or apparent that they have changed the windshield substantially enough that this issue has been...
The windshield cracked for no apparent reason. It’s a 2 foot long crack, low on driver side. The crack appeared while the car sat parked in a garage. It wasn’t there when the car was parked and was visible when we returned to drive the car. The windshield is so widely cracked, the risk is s sheet of glass will hurt the driver or passenger. We have not taken it to the dealer for repair yet The windshield cracked without warning or sufficient cause.
Windshield cracked and split to the middle unexpectedly
Noticed a crack in the windshield glass today in the parking lot at work. This crack starts at the bottom of the windshield and goes upward about 8 inches. There are no signs of the windshield being hit. I looked this issue up and there is a class action lawsuit going on about defective windshields on certain Subaru models. Mine is included.
Windshield cracked in J shape starting at the center of the bottom. The crack appeared overnight; there was no crack when the car was parked the night before, and the crack was observed when entering the car the next morning. No impacts observed. Approximately 12k miles.
The headlights produces little to no lighting when driving at night. I almost got into an accident last night because I had extremely low visibility, even with the high beams on.
Driving car in my town to grocery store. As I was driving, I looked in rearview mirror and noticed the windshield had spontaneously developed a 6 inch crack running straight down from the middle of the top edge, directly over the rearview mirror. The crack was not there when I'd started driving approximately 30 minutes prior. No impacts, not using wipers, temperatures have been moderate. There is no glass chip or other indication of impact at the edge of the windshield or on the adjacent edge of the car roof. There is no other visible damage to the windshield. The car is 2 months out of standard warranty. I will be filing an insurance claim.
Windshield cracked while parked during the day. No visible reason for the crack - no chips, divots, or impact marks on windshield. Crack runs from bottom corner of driver's side windshield up to mid windshield right in the line of vision for driver.
The windshield cracked while I was stopped at a light. It creates a visibility issue. The windshield was repaired previously and has cracked again. The vehicle has not been inspected the manufacturer, police, insurance or others. There were no warnings prior to the incidents.
I bought this vehicle new. In the past three years, I have needed three windshield repairs. The first two were chips that could be filled and repaired. Most recently, a small chip has begun cracking and will require replacing the entire windshield at substantial cost. This vehicle is more prone to windshield damage from normal interstate use than any other I have driven in four decades.
Windshield suddenly cracked from lower passenger side almost 2-feet long. No obvious cause, driving around 50 mph in 62 degrees, clear sky.
I haven’t driven my 2020 Subaru Forester since 11/06/22 I come out this morning to a cracked windshield on the driver side obstructing my view. No form of impact what so ever - what needs to be done about this ?
Rock chip on windshield spread across whole windshield in 2 days. Had to pay $1200 to have it replaced with a third party windshield.
Windshield cracked for no apparent reason. It is cracked from the passenger side to the middle of the vehicle. The car was parked when this occurred. There isn’t an object near the crack.
1. Fragile windshield, easily get cracks on it. It is available for inspection upon request. 2. Could cause serious problem if the crakes are bigger and on the diver's side. 3. Not yet. But a lot other Subaru Forester owners have experienced the same problem. 4. Not yet. 5. No.
Vehicle was parked in a parking lot for approx 30 mins. Upon returning to the vehicle, the windscreen was found to have been cracked. Visibility is now obscured. This problem is known to Subaru, however they refuse to do anything about it. A class action lawsuit was filed in 2020 over the problem.
Windshield cracked for no apparent reason from edge. Started to spread.
Windshield cracked rapidly (seconds) from left bottom to center of windshield beyond repair. Windshield did not have previous damage or was hit by foreign object, appears to be a stress crack. Local Subaru Dealer referred that this situation should be discussed with Subaru USA.
Car window cracked while parked at work. Heard there was recalls from the internet was wondering if my car is in the classification of defective windshield
My windshield cracked without any damage. While driving down the road one giant crack appeared out of nowhere.
The SUV developed the long crack across its windshield (see attachment) while parked in garage. There was no impact to cause the disintegration. There was a minor "star" damage at the bottom of the windshield, approx. 3/4 - 1 inch wide, no ding, that had occurred some two weeks prior, that I was about to get repaired. The concern here is quality of the glass that is easily damaged and disintegrates without impact.
My 3rd windshield needs to be replaced for cracking clear across. The first one shattered after a pine one fell from a tree and completely shattered the glass. Employer paid 1,000 (see pic)The next was hit by small pebbles and it instantly cracked one half of windshield. Insurance paid with 500 deductible. This time I heard a pop and a crack appeared from the bottom and continued to crack all the way across with several cracks starting from the original crack. An estimate of 1,000to fix it.
We discovered a crack in the windshield this morning across the lower half of the passenger side. There was no sign of any impact, just the crack. The crack was not there when the vehicle was parked yesterday afternoon.
The windshield on the 2020 Subaru Forester, as reported by many other owners, is extremely brittle and prone to frequent chips/rapidly spreading cracks. Since purchasing new, I have had two chips that resulted in small cracks and one that resulted in a larger spiderweb crack. None of these were caused by stone/pebble impacts I would have expected to cause windshield damage. (I have lived in the same area with a Ford Ranger, Jeep Wrangler, Ford Escape, VW Sportwagen, and 2016 Forester, and never experienced any windshield chips needing repair with any of the others.) While getting my third crack repaired today, the technician stated that a disproportionate amount of his work in the last two years has been on late-model Subarus. The technician who completed the second chip repair around four months ago stayed the same — a high number of late-model Subarus with chips and cracks. My experience seems...
I believe the SUBARU FORESTER 2020 WINDSHIELD is dangerous and is a system failure. In April, 2022 a piece of gravel hit the windshield--smaller than the size of a quarter. Within hours, the windshield had fractured so much that there was no way that I could continue to drive safely as the windshield flowered and split the driver's eye view. I reported the claim to insurance (USAA) and took the car on May 12, 2022 to Safelight to be repaired. After working on it for three hours, they couldn't get the EYESIGHT to calibrate. I drove for two weeks without those safety features until I could get to Safelight again. After 3 more hrs I was finally told to take it to the dealership to finalize repairs and again the EYESIGHT was not calibrated. Those safety features were not available until on June 6, 2022 the delearship calibrated EYESIGHT. Driving...
Other 2020 SUBARU FORESTER Problem Areas
Unknown Or Other
102 complaints
Electrical System
91 complaints
Engine
69 complaints
Visibilitywindshield
46 complaints
Power Train
30 complaints
Forward Collision Avoidance Automatic Emergency Braking
26 complaints
Vehicle Speed Control
21 complaints
Forward Collision Avoidance Warnings
18 complaints
Structurebody
13 complaints
Service Brakes
12 complaints
Fuelpropulsion System
11 complaints
Steering
11 complaints
Air Bags
10 complaints
Forward Collision Avoidance Adaptive Cruise Control
10 complaints
Lane Departure Assist
10 complaints
Lane Departure Warning
10 complaints
Lane Departure Blind Spot Detection
5 complaints
Engine And Engine Cooling
4 complaints
Seats
4 complaints
Exterior Lighting
3 complaints
Vehicle Speed Controlaccelerator Pedal
3 complaints
Visibility
3 complaints
Electronic Stability Control Esc
2 complaints
Seat Belts
2 complaints
Structurebodyhood
2 complaints
Air Bagssensoroccupant Classificationfront Passenger
1 complaint
Back Over Prevention Rearview System Braking
1 complaint
Chest Clip Buckle Harness
1 complaint
Electrical System12v24v48v Battery
1 complaint
Electrical Systemadas
1 complaint
Forward Collision Avoidance
1 complaint
Latcheslockslinkageselectronic Locklatch Actuator
1 complaint
Latcheslockslinkageshatchbackliftgatelock
1 complaint
Latcheslockslinkageshoodlatch
1 complaint
Parking Brake
1 complaint
Seat Belts Rearotherbuckle Assembly
1 complaint
Tires
1 complaint
Tiresvalve
1 complaint
Wheels
1 complaint