2020 Subaru Ascent Visibility Problems

Water intrusion occurred inside the vehicle, resulting in extensive mold contamination throughout the interior, including the seats, front and rear carpets, and a child’s car seat. The source of the water intrusion has not been identified. The vehicle was taken to an authorized Subaru retailer, which confirmed in writing that water was present inside the vehicle and that mold was covering interior surfaces, including the child’s car seat. The only diagnostic test performed was a car wash to check for a sunroof leak, which did not replicate the issue. The retailer indicated that further diagnostic work would require significant interior disassembly and cleaning at the owner’s expense before the source of the leak can be determined. The manufacturer was contacted regarding this issue and declined assistance, citing “lack of required maintenance.” The specific maintenance and its relationship to the water intrusion have not been identified, and the source of the leak has not yet been diagnosed. The retailer also stated that technicians would not enter the vehicle due to the extent of the mold contamination. As a result, standard recall repairs have not been performed while the vehicle remains in this condition. A dealership technician also documented in a recorded inspection that water was present beneath the carpet, that the source of the leak could not be identified without further disassembly, and that the extent of mold contamination created an unsafe working environment. This condition creates a potential health and safety concern due to mold exposure inside the passenger cabin, particularly for a child occupant. In addition, excessive interior moisture has caused window fogging, which may impair visibility while driving. No warning lights or prior indicators were observed before the issue was discovered. The problem has been confirmed by a Subaru retailer. The vehicle remains available for inspection.

NHTSA ID

11728801

Incident

Feb 26, 2026

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Ascent. The contact stated that he parked the vehicle in the parking garage overnight and when he went to get into the vehicle the next morning, he noticed that the windshield was cracked. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the dealer was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

NHTSA ID

11536360

Incident

Jul 14, 2023

Mileage

60,000 mi

On Tuesday, January 3, I had a THIRD chip in my windshield. This just happened yesterday, so I have not had it evaluated yet. HOWEVER, this will be the THIRD chip that I will have to have repaired in the three short years I've owned this vehicle. The first chip happened within a month of owning the vehicle, and there is a current NHTSA complaint on file (11297348) for this chip. The second chip occurred in September 2022, and I have had that one repaired. NEITHER of the repairs "held" past 30 days. I have NEVER owned a vehicle that had a windshield that chipped so easily. I'm very surprised that this has not been a recall issue yet (as the glass repair shop suggested it should be- they see this ALOT with Subarus).

NHTSA ID

11500139

Incident

Jan 3, 2023

Front windshield has cracked for a second time. The initial windshield purchased with the vehicle cracked, and was replaced in 2020. The second windshield has now cracked, and is pending repair.

NHTSA ID

11497335

Incident

Dec 3, 2022

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Ascent. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked in the parking lot, the windshield suddenly cracked without impact. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 29,200. The contact stated that they reached a settlement with the manufacturer where they paid for the majority of the windshield repair.

NHTSA ID

11495335

Incident

Nov 29, 2022

Mileage

29,200 mi

We've had this car for a little over 2 years and have had 3 cracked windshields, seems like anything that hits it causes a crack. I've been driving for over 45 years and multiple cars and have had cracked windshields 2 or 3 times. This doesn't make any sense. Thank you.

NHTSA ID

11490861

Incident

Oct 24, 2022

While parked, I adjusted the rear view mirror to my driving position. I heard a cracking noise and saw a crack go about three inches down from the rear view mirror on the windshield. Over night it spread from the mirror all the way down to the base of the windshield. I inspected the windshield for impact damage and found none.

NHTSA ID

11488678

Incident

Oct 8, 2022

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Ascent. The contact stated that while her fiancé was driving 65 MPH, the contact was seated in the passenger’s side seat and noticed a crack on the driver’s side windshield, starting from the rearview mirror. The contact took the vehicle to a local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 26,000.

NHTSA ID

11482975

Incident

Sep 1, 2022

Mileage

26,000 mi

My windshield cracked for no reason. There is no point of impact. The vehicle is just over 2 years old and has been driven approx 7000 miles. I don't drive a lot, and live in a pretty rural area where there is little traffic. When I picked up my son from daycare the day before there was no crack. The next morning when I got in the car to go drop him off, there was a substantial crack. This seems to be a common problem with this vehicle, according to searches online. The vehicle was parked in my driveway, and nowhere near any trees. It did not storm that night. I cannot see any reason the windshield would have cracked.

NHTSA ID

11456564

Incident

Feb 23, 2022

The windshield cracked on its own at the top of the windshield in the middle of the sights.

NHTSA ID

11451204

Incident

Feb 8, 2022

My front windshield spontaneously cracked while driving. The closest car was a very small car almost a mile in front of me and couldn't have caused a rock to get me. There were no warnings before it happened and it hasn't been inspected by anyone yet

NHTSA ID

11442793

Incident

Sep 6, 2021

Windshield cracked twice for no apparent reason. Had the windshield replaced by Subaru, and will now have to replace it a second time.

NHTSA ID

11442608

Incident

Dec 3, 2021

When I arrived at work I noticed a 4 inch crack at the bottom left corner of my windshield. I had not noticed any rock hitting my windshield. By the time I got out of work, the crack had expanded to about 8 or 10 inches and continued to expand to over 1 foot. This has never happend to me in the 35 years I've been driving and not to any of the many cars I've owned. I filed a claim with my insurance and plan to have the windshield replaced this week. However, I happened to do a Google Search about Subaru Ascent cracked windshields and noticed the recall of other Subaru models. Additionally, on the Subaru forums, there have been many others writing of the similar experience of an unexplained crack in the windshield of their Subaru Ascent.

NHTSA ID

11436352

Incident

Jun 29, 2021

I recently bought my Subaru and I noticed the transmission would stall when going in to gear or changing gears and the rpm would be high, also last night I de fogged my windows and drove to my destination and noticed a crack in my windshield from the top where my eyesight is, I did not hear or see anything hit my car windshield, my car didn't give off any warning signs for either of the problems I stated, I have contacted subur 1800subur3 they say there is no recall so now talk to customer service so now I am waiting to speak to them

NHTSA ID

11432762

Incident

Sep 12, 2021

Windshield cracked with no apparent reason.

NHTSA ID

11424185

Incident

Jul 9, 2021

As we were driving, a vehicle passed us going the other way and suddenly something hit our windshield and damaged it. I am reporting this because the cracks from this unusual incident are rather large in comparison to other windshield chips I have seen on previous cars.

NHTSA ID

11423463

Incident

Jun 25, 2021

Several months ago a very small chip appeared in our windshield. We do not remember getting hit by anything. Within a couple of days the chip cracked almost half the length of the windshield. We paid over $1000.00 to have windshield replaced. Less than two months later we again saw a small chip in the windshield. My husband tried to fix it before it cracked and while fixing it the chip cracked almost half the length of the windshield. We will now have to pay to fix another windshield due to spontaneous chips that we were not aware of.

NHTSA ID

11417688

Incident

May 18, 2021

The windshield cracked out of no where. I haven't even had the car for a year and barely drive it.

NHTSA ID

11417433

Incident

May 9, 2021

WITHIN A SEVEN MONTH PERIOD AND WHILE MY CAR HAD UNDER 10,000 MILES ON IT, I'VE HAD TO REPLACE THE WINDSHIELD TWICE. BOTH TIMES A PEA SIZE CHIP HAD PROGRESSED INTO A 12-18 INCH CRACK WITHIN A HOUR WHILE THE CAR WAS PARKED. BOTH TIMES I WAS DRIVING ON THE SAME CITY HIGHWAY AT SPEEDS AT/UNDER 60 MPH AND WAS HIT WITH COMMON HIGHWAY GRAVEL. MY PREVIOUS SUBARU, A 2018 OUTBACK, ALSO HAD TO HAVE THE WINDSHIELD REPLACED WHEN THE REARVIEW MIRROR POPPED OFF THE WINDSHIELD ON ITS OWN WHILE I WAS DRIVING IN A NEIGHBORHOOD AND LEFT A HOLE THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD. THERE IS SOMETHING DEFECTIVE WITH THESE NEWER SUBARU WINDSHIELDS AND ITS A SAFETY ISSUE.

NHTSA ID

11415454

Incident

Mar 29, 2021

Mileage

9,500 mi

WINDSHIELD CRACKED WITH NO CAUSE I CAN SEE

NHTSA ID

11415018

Incident

May 3, 2021

Mileage

4,000 mi

MY WINDSHIELD CRACKED OUT OF NO WHERE WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY

NHTSA ID

11414451

Incident

Apr 16, 2021

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2020 SUBARU ASCENT. THE CONTACT STATED SHE NOTICIED TINY DOTS ON THE WINDSHIELD, WHICH OBSTRUCTED HER VIEW WHILE DRIVING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE LOCAL DEALER CAMELBACK VW (1499 E CAMELBACK RD, PHOENIX, AZ 85014, (602) 648-9181) AND THE MECHANIC WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS INFORMED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 1,000.

NHTSA ID

11414284

Incident

Apr 1, 2020

Mileage

1,000 mi

I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY ON 4/16 AND SOMETHING HIT THE WINDSHIELD AND CREATED THIS CHIP. I'M AFRAID IT'S GOING TO TURN INTO A LARGE CRACK

NHTSA ID

11408617

Incident

Apr 16, 2021

Mileage

18,000 mi

18 INCH CRACK IN WINDSHIELD ON PASSENGER SIDE, HAPPENED SPONTANEOUSLY, NOTHING STRUCK THE WINDSHIELD AT ANY TIME.. JUST NOTICED IT TODAY 4/7/21 AT 0930

NHTSA ID

11406880

Incident

Apr 7, 2021

Mileage

8,500 mi

A HORIZONTAL CRACK APPEARED IN THE TOP 3/4 OF THE DRIVERS SIDE WINDSHIELD. CRACK BEGINS ON LEFT MOST EDGE OF WINDSHIELD AND HAS SPREAD APPROXIMATELY 6' HORIZONTAL AND THEN 8' DOWNWARD. CRACK CONTINUES TO GET WORSE AND NEEDS REPLACEMENT ASAP. NO IMPACTS TO THE WINDSHIELD AND CRACK WAS FOUND AFTER SITTING OVERNIGHT.

NHTSA ID

11405228

Incident

Mar 24, 2021

Mileage

16,600 mi