2020 Subaru Outback · symptom sheet

Car won't start

58owner reports
6,766median miles
1involved a crash

Newest report Jul 13, 2025 · checked Oct 2, 2026

58 of the 210 reports of dead battery on the 2020 Outback describe won't start.

Part of Battery dies or the car will not start (210 reports)

No recall on this systemas of Oct 2, 2026

1 crashin 58 reports

Tick what matches of 58 reports

it will not crank at all

it needed a jump start

the starter was replaced

it failed to start more than once

warning lights came on first

the dealer found nothing wrong

Won't start on other Outback years

201638 reports 201754 reports 201946 reports 202058 reports

Report counts are for each model year on its own, so a newer car has had less time to collect them. Model years with too few reports of it for a sheet: 2014, 2015, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.

What got replaced

Owners who name the part that was replaced mention the battery (55 reports) and the starter (5 reports).

Recalls and investigations

No recall on the electrical system covers the 2020 model year as of Oct 2, 2026.

When it happens

The middle half of failures fell between 3,200 and 9,500 miles, from the 30 reports that gave a mileage.

Is this a known problem?

The manufacturer has sent NHTSA 1 service bulletin or notice for the 2020 Subaru Outback that deal with this problem. Newest first.

Federal rules make a manufacturer send NHTSA a copy of any notice about a defect that goes to more than one dealer or owner. Most of these are service bulletins, the repair instructions manufacturers send to dealers. NHTSA generally leaves safety recall bulletins out of this file, and recalls are listed separately.

Service bulletin15-308-23RAug 20, 2026
This Service Information Bulletin outlines a systematic procedure for diagnosing parasitic draw (dark/standby current) in vehicles experiencing battery drain when the ignition is off, leading to no-start conditions or frequent jump-starts.This is an revised ...

What owners wrote

“The vehicle does not start at unforeseen times. Battery has been replaced. Safety is a risk if car would not start in unsafe location. Dealership has been unable to fix problem or find drain on battery or electrical problems. Car has had to be towed to dealership and jump started by a professional many times in order to drive to dealership.”
Filed Nov 12, 2022

“The sixth time the car has failed to start due to dead battery. 3 of the 6 were times when the car was driven less than 5 miles and only turned off for a short duration.”
Filed Nov 22, 2021

Should you keep driving it?

This page can't tell you that. 1 of 58 reports involved a crash. Owners who file are the ones who had a bad experience, and nobody checks their reports. If the problem affects steering, braking, power or a fire risk, treat it as a safety fault and have it inspected before a long or high-speed drive.

File your own report with NHTSA. Complaint counts are how a problem gets an investigation. How reports land on this sheet.

Guide Taking it to a shop? How to describe this problem so it gets found