2020 SUBARU OUTBACK Forward Collision Avoidance Automatic Emergency Braking Problems
25 NHTSA complaints on file
Forward Collision Avoidance Automatic Emergency Braking Issues in the 2020 SUBARU OUTBACK
25 forward collision avoidance automatic emergency braking complaints have been filed with NHTSA for the 2020 SUBARU OUTBACK. Of these, 1 involved a crash, 0 involved a fire, and 0 resulted in injury.
25
Complaints
1
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
All Forward Collision Avoidance Automatic Emergency Braking Complaints
Gas cap was not secured overnight. The next day every ADAS function both safety and convenience was disabled and their lights were on. Users guide said car should recover after a few miles of driving. 100 miles and multiple restarts later it did not. It was taken to the dealer where they cleared the error for free. Poor design that a loose gas cap could cause a collision due to lack of ADAS. Dealer said it is a known condition with all Subaru models.
The Subaru front camera incorrectly detected a hazard. The automatic braking system engaged and locked the steering. I skidded off the pavement, causing damage to the car. At the time of the accident, the blind sight warning lights flashed on the dash signaling that they were disabled. I was going very slow in a driveway. No personal damage just property damage and damage to the car. I have let the insurance company know about the issue and the collision center. I have had periodic instances where the warning signals of blind sight disabled have come on the vehicle. I informed Subaru in August 2024 about the issue at my last maintenance appointment. There is also a software update required on the vehicle. I asked Subaru to update the software in August 2024, but I was told by a service technician that it was not possible to update . I had...
After completing an OTA software update the screen would not load and entered continuous buffering disabling all environmental and safety functions.
After an automatic software download update, the RAB off light came on. The RAB light comes on when the car is put in Reverse and provides the option to turn that function off. After the update, the RAB icon is no longer displayed. It is the only system so far that I noticed that malfunctioned after the software update
On [XXX], I was driving east on [XXX] on the North side of Toledo Ohio close to the intersection with [XXX] . The "Check Engine" warning came on, all the vehicle "Eyesight" functions were automatically turned off, and Pre collision braking and Pre collision throttle control features were activated. There was no danger of a collision at this time, but all of this left me stranded in the middle of this busy four lane highway. I was able to literally crawl to the shoulder of the road. I was not hit, but it was just good fortune that prevented that. This is where my safety was at greatest risk. After about 10 minutes during which I started and stopped the car numerous times, the pre collision braking and throttle were deactivated and I was able to drive the car. I located the nearest Subaru dealer (Yark Subaru Toledo, Ohio) and...
A well-known failure of the Thermal Control Valve (TCV) occurred, which disabled many or most of the safety features on the car in addition to crippling the heat output in the cabin. Additionally, depending on which way the valve sticks, it could overheat the car and ruin the engine, or worse. Car is under 4 years old and repair estimate is nearly $1900. There is a technical safety bulletin [XXX] that outlines a redesigned TCV. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
On November 21th, 2023, we were driving on a 30 mph street at 8:00 pm with no traffic and our automatic emergency braking system deployed on our 2020 Outback, we jolted to a stop for no apparent reason. This could have been dangerous if a car was behind us. Just had our oil changed with free inspection at Miller Hill Subaru 1 week prior. First incident. Will have the dealership inspect ASAP. The "Auto Start /Stop No Activity Detected" indicator message light came on afterward.
Per Subaru there is something wrong with the Cockpit Control Module (CCM) that is causing a constant / parasitic draw on the battery. This results in the battery being dead within 4 hours, leaving us constantly stranded. Because the CCM also controls the electrical system, many of the safety features (auto breaking, lane departure, etc) turn off randomly. This is the diagnosis from our local Subaru dealership: COCKPIT CONTROL MODULE IS DRAWING 2 AMPS. WITH COCKPIT UNPLUGGED THERE IS STILL A 1 AMP DRAW. WILL NEED TO REPLACED CCU THEN FIGURE OUT WHERE THE OTHER 1 AMP DRAW IS. UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE WITH MULTIPLE SYSTEMS DRAWING I have opened a case with Subaru of America, but with no resolution.
I purchased the lease for the vehicle in January 2020. I first notified Subaru in Austin of an obvious "glitch" with the computer operating system in April 2020. The "glitchy" OS challenges came and went, I would notify Subaru and they would remedy the issue with a "patch" update at the service center. On April 29 2022 a clear night and a suitably clean vehicle, the RAB system completely failed to recognize/notify/respond to a mailbox behind me, upon impact the mailbox broke the rear windshield. on June 28 2022 the vehicle fails to start, and is "surging" completely draining a new jumper box, and then promptly burning it out, the box will no longer operate. Put in a new battery(#1), make an appointment for service on the vehicle. The dealership replaces the battery(#2), computer updates are completed. Vehicle goes to the body shop for the rest of the work to...
-The windshield has cracked in the same place for no apparent reason. -The cracked windshield can affect the use of the safety systems built into the windshield. -I'm not sure how this can be "reproduced" as we are talking about a broken windshield although the windshield has been fixed already once and now, the second break has occurred. -Not inspected but replaced once. It is currently broken and can be inspected again if need be. -The first one appeared in August 2022, the second in May 2023
A crack has spontaneously appeared at the base of my windshield after no apparent damage. The crack is spreading across my windshield and will affect my adaptive cruse control and automatic emergency breaking if it interferes with the Subaru eye-sight system at the top of my windshield. I have not taken the vehicle in for service but I did see this was an issue that lead to recalls on previous outback models but not currently a recall for the 2020 Subaru Outback. I do not have any current warning lamps or messages.
The car set overnight (was fine) next AM no electrical. Everything locked except driver's door and passenger door. No battery charge at all. Everything DEAD.
I was driving in a residential neighborhood at low speed, about 20 mph. I slowed down because I needed to park at the curb, and also I was approaching a large speed bump. This was one of the wide, flat ones. I pulled over to the right curb a couple of car lengths before the speed bump, preparing to park. I went over the bump, accelerating a tiny bit to get over the bump. I was going maybe 10 miles an hour. As I came down off the bump, or shortly after that, the accelerator pedal moved down away from my foot. I felt the pedal move down and away so that my foot was no longer touching it. At the same time, the engine speed surged (I heard it rev), and the car lurched forward for a second or two. I put my foot on the brake and also...
Infotainment system went into a continuous boot loop where screen went blank then subaru bootup screen appeared, then menu started to load then process repeated. During this process the Eyesight driver assistance system would produce an error saying all of it's functions were disabled while the infotainment system was rebooting. Also the display in center of the dashboard that shows vehicle info was randomly showing scrambled text while the infotainment system rebooted. This has happened multiple times, appears to happen when the vehicle has been on for several hours and is warm so it is hard to reproduce.
Head unit shuts off while driving with no warning, and no clear cause. All safety features shut off including Eyesight and rear brake assist (shows as off in instrumental panel). It has happened multiple times in the past several months ( at least seven times) Head unit then appears to restart while underway, as if I had just entered and started the vehicle. Contacted dealer who said “the radio sometimes shuts off”. I explained that it was the entire head unit and safety features. It was simply left with them saying they have know of it happening, but no action or follow up was recommended. Time of incident is an estimate. Electronics seem to be slow to start when vehicle is first started. Was not able to get photos while driving.
The EyeSight system will randomly not load at times and need to be reset for Rear Automatic Braking and other EyeSight safety features to become available. This usually only occurs within 30 seconds of engine startup but always occurs when plugging in a phone with Android Auto (a phone with Apple Car Play has never been used for verification). Warning message is displayed on driver's side message center stating EyeSight, RAB, and other safety features are not available. Reproduction of problem is difficult as it seems random.
The Automatic Emergency Braking System engaged while driving at 20 MPH in my community's private roads. After it came to a screeching halt, I had to put the car in Park and then in Drive so I could proceed the half mile to my house. If this had happened while driving @ 70 MPH on I 95, I AM CONFIDENT THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN AN ACCIDENT. I am now afraid to drive my car. I wonder if and when it is going to happen again unexpectedly. Very dangerous situation.
Without warning or repeatable cause the "infotainment" system will reboot causing the Bluetooth, LKAS, forward watching camera, emergency braking, and RAB to also stop working and reboot. This problem has occurred numerous times over the past several months. It happens without any predictability and I have not been able to find a common factor that triggers it. In May it happened once on a 4 hour drive west, but on the return trip it happened 4 times in a 2 hour window. The problem did not occur again until the first week of June and happened multiple times over a 3 day period. The software for the car has been recalled and reinstalled twice and the problem still occurs without warning or explanation. I have reported the issue in mid-August to Subaru's customer service and was told "a software update" was 2 weeks away. I do not believe this report...
The head unit (Entertainment Center) of my car will re-boot several times while driving. This re-boot process will also disable Eyesight, speed control, lane departure warning, and other safety systems on my car while driving. These safety systems will not re-enable without pulling over, turning off the car, then turning the car back on again.
In the last month, twice within 30 seconds of starting the car, the head unit has done a complete reboot, which meant that I had no rear-view camera as I was backing out of a parking space. Since the car was already in motion, it was very distracting as it took about a minute for the unit to reboot. This seems to indicate that there is an electrical problem with the car as many others have noted. Many of the car's controls (such as climate control) are soft buttons displayed on the head unit and cannot be adjusted otherwise. Therefore, it is essential that this unit operate properly and dependably.
On multiple occasions my car has come to a complete stop, due to the automatic emergency breaking, when the car in front of me was in no way near my car or when there was nothing near my car at all. After almost having 2 accidents in the last 2 weeks due to this, I brought my car to Subaru (twice! two different dealerships) where I was informed that Subaru cameras are overly sensitive and "this happens a lot". Both dealerships told me to turn off my safety features and said there was nothing to fix. There is a class action lawsuit in the works for this exact issue and Subaru is continuing to tell me nothing is wrong. I'm hoping filling this out will get the issue further investigated since it's a common enough problem.
WENT TO GET IN MY CAR PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS WEEK WHERE IT WAS PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY, HADN'T BEEN DRIVEN SINCE SUNDAY THE 11TH AND THE WINDSHIELD WAS CRACKED FROM THE BOTTOM MIDDLE AND UP A SIGNIFICANT WAY BEFORE IT SPLIT INTO A WIDE 'Y' SHAPE.
EVER SINCE THE RECALL FOR THE COCKPIT CONTROL SYSTEM SOFTWARE WAS UPDATED ON MY 2020 SUBARU OUTBACK TOURING ON MARCH 1, 2021 THE CONSOLE RANDOMLY REBOOTS. IT HAS HAPPENED 6 TIMES IN 3 WEEKS. ON A RECENT TRIP ON THURSDAY MARCH 25, 2021 THE CONSOLE REBOOTED 3 TIMES IN A LITTLE OVER AN HOUR. WHEN THAT HAPPENS THE SAFETY FUNCTIONS ARE DISABLED - PRE-COLLISION BRAKING, ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, PRE-COLLISION THROTTLE MANAGEMENT, LANE DEPARTURE AND SWAY WARNING WITH LANE KEEP ASSIST, ETC.
RETURNED TO CAR FOUND FRONT WINDSHIELD CRACKED. NO EVENT OCCURRED TO MY RECOLLECTION TO CAUSE THIS
WHEN APPLE CARPLAY IS BEING USED, THE MULTIMEDIA DISPLAY HAS FROZEN SEVERAL TIMES AND WHEN IT FREEZES, THE RESETS ITSELF TO A BLACK SCREEN. ONCE IT RESETS TO A BLACK SCREEN, THE EYESIGHT IS DISABLED AND RAB (REVERSE AUTOMATIC BRAKING) IS DISABLED. I HAVE HAD A MOMENT WHERE THE SCREEN WAS COMPLETELY BLACK AND BOTH THINGS WERE DISABLED FOR OVER 15 MINUTES WHILE I WAS DRIVING. UNTIL THE MOMENT I TURNED OFF THE CAR DID IT STOP SHOWING THE ISSUE BUT THIS WASN'T THE FIRST INSTANCE OF IT HAPPENING. THE MOMENT I DO NEED THE EYESIGHT WOULD BE TOO LATE SINCE IT'S DISABLED. I'VE RECORDED SEVERAL VIDEOS OF THIS HAPPENING AND I'VE TAKEN IT TO THE DEALERSHIP BUT THEY TELL ME NOTHING CAN BE DONE SINCE THEY CAN'T DUPLICATE THE ISSUE AND THAT THE VIDEO RECORDING IS "HYPOTHETICAL." I'VE UPLOADED SOME OF THE VIDEOS I'VE RECORDED ONTO YOUTUBE FOR YOU...
Other 2020 SUBARU OUTBACK Problem Areas
Visibilitywiper
313 complaints
Electrical System
251 complaints
Unknown Or Other
150 complaints
Visibilitywindshield
64 complaints
Engine
44 complaints
Power Train
41 complaints
Forward Collision Avoidance Warnings
27 complaints
Air Bags
18 complaints
Forward Collision Avoidance Adaptive Cruise Control
18 complaints
Vehicle Speed Control
17 complaints
Structurebody
16 complaints
Exterior Lighting
15 complaints
Service Brakes
15 complaints
Fuelpropulsion System
12 complaints
Lane Departure Warning
12 complaints
Steering
12 complaints
Lane Departure Blind Spot Detection
8 complaints
Back Over Prevention Rearview System Braking
5 complaints
Electrical System12v24v48v Battery
5 complaints
Visibility
5 complaints
Lane Departure Assist
4 complaints
Wheels
4 complaints
Seats
3 complaints
Suspension
3 complaints
Back Over Prevention
2 complaints
Back Over Prevention Warnings
2 complaints
Electronic Stability Control Esc
2 complaints
Engine And Engine Cooling
2 complaints
Structurebodyhatchbackliftgate
2 complaints
Air Bagssensoroccupant Classificationfront Passenger
1 complaint
Electrical System Instrument Clusterpanel
1 complaint
Electrical Systemadas
1 complaint
Electrical Systemwiringconnectorsplugsaccesory Power Outletjackportusbsaecigarette Lighter
1 complaint
Engine And Engine Coolingengineengine Control Module Ecuecm
1 complaint
Equipmentelectricalinfotainment
1 complaint
Exterior Lightingbrake Lights
1 complaint
Firerelated
1 complaint
Forward Collision Avoidance
1 complaint
Fuel System Gasolinedeliveryfuel Pump
1 complaint
Latcheslockslinkagesdoorslatch
1 complaint
Latcheslockslinkageshatchbackliftgatelock
1 complaint
Parking Brake
1 complaint
Power Trainautomatic Transmission
1 complaint
Power Trainautomatic Transmissioncontrol Module Tcmpcmtecm
1 complaint
Power Trainautomatic Transmissioninternalcvt
1 complaint
Seat Belts
1 complaint
Structure
1 complaint
Structurebodyhatchbackliftgatesupport Devicestrut
1 complaint
Structurebodytailgate
1 complaint
Vehicle Speed Controlaccelerator Pedal
1 complaint
Visibilityrearview Mirrorsdevices
1 complaint
Visibilityrearview Mirrorsdevicesexterior
1 complaint