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Total NHTSA Complaints
17
Owner filings recorded
#1 Reported Problem
Electrical System
5 reports (29.4%)
Crash Incident Reports
1
Filings citing a crash
Fire & Injury Reports
1
0 fire • 1 injury filings
Defect Investigation Analysis

Executive Problem Findings

AutoUtility currently tracks 17 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2020 Subaru WRX. Electrical System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 5 complaints (29.4% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 1 filing cites a crash, 1 reports one or more injuries.

Methodology Notice: Consumer complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Filings are not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and do not constitute an audited component failure rate.
Incident & Severity Profile
  • • Total Owner Reports: 17 complaints submitted under federal penalty.
  • • Primary Subsystem: Electrical System accounts for 29.4% of submissions (5 reports).
  • • Secondary Systems: Visibility, Wipers & Glass (3), Powertrain & Transmission (2).
  • • Crash Incidents: 1 filings cite an impact or collision.
  • • Thermal Incidents: 0 filings cite smoke or fire.
  • • Reported Casualties: 1 injury filings • 0 fatality filings.
Category Distribution

Reported Defect Categories for 2020 Subaru WRX

Factual proportion of owner complaints categorized by automotive subsystem in NHTSA records

Electrical System
5
29.4%
Visibility, Wipers & Glass
3
17.6%
Powertrain & Transmission
2
11.8%
Engine & Cooling
2
11.8%
Air Bags & Restraints
2
11.8%
#1 29.4% SHARE

Electrical System

5 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

✓ 0 Incidents
#2 17.6% SHARE

Visibility, Wipers & Glass

3 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

✓ 0 Incidents
#3 11.8% SHARE

Powertrain & Transmission

2 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

✓ 0 Incidents
#4 11.8% SHARE

Engine & Cooling

2 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.

✓ 0 Incidents
Consumer Filings

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2020 Subaru WRX

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech ODI #11694019
Filed: 10/17/2025
Defect Report

"The contact owns a 2020 Subaru WRX. The contact stated that while the transmission was shifted into neutral (N), the instrument panel displayed that the transmission was shifted in reverse (R), and the rearview camera image was displayed. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact..."

Other / Miscellaneous ODI #11684021
Filed: 08/29/2025
Defect Report

"The head unit started to delaminate and ghost touching"

Powertrain & Transmission ODI #11676691
Filed: 07/28/2025
Defect Report

"2020 WRX: TR690 (CVT) transmission that the car came equipped with, began leaking between the engine and (CVT) transmission, it was noticed during an oil change at 71686 miles but not identified as (CVT) transmission fluid immediately, it was cleaned and assumed to be oil spill. Another oil change..."

Electrical System ODI #11634545
Filed: 01/07/2025
Defect Report

"Parasitic battery problem My car battery keeps dying on my Subaru sti 2020 after one day of not driving. I have had the car checked with Subaru dealership and a local shop but no issues were found. This morning I had to get my car jumped again after not driving it for one day. This battery was..."

Engine & Cooling ODI #11615911
Filed: 09/23/2024
Defect Report

"I purchased the vehicle used with 33800 miles and at 34100 the engine stalled and was hard to start, once started it was knocking severely. I have seen a class action law suit based on the same issues but the 2020 model year is not included"

Multi-Year Trend

Complaint History for Subaru WRX

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Subaru WRX 55 2 3 View 2015 Problems →
2016 Subaru WRX 34 1 3 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Subaru WRX 53 8 1 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Subaru WRX 44 6 2 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Subaru WRX 30 0 2 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Subaru WRX Current Page 17 1 1 Current
2021 Subaru WRX 13 0 1 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Subaru WRX 25 3 1 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Subaru WRX 7 2 1 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Subaru WRX 13 0 0 View 2024 Problems →
2025 Subaru WRX 2 0 0 View 2025 Problems →
2026 Subaru WRX 0 0 0 View 2026 Problems →
Exhaustive System Audit

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2020 Subaru WRX

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 11 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Injury Entries Fatality Entries
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 4 0 0 0 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 3 0 0 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 1 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
Search Intelligence

Quick Answers: Common Problems & Reliability Questions for the 2020 Subaru WRX

Direct, deterministic answers synthesized from verified United States government databases for the 2020 Subaru WRX

What are the most common reported problems with the 2020 Subaru WRX?

In official NHTSA consumer records, the most frequently cited issue area for the 2020 Subaru WRX is Electrical System, appearing in 5 records (29.4% of submitted filings).

Secondary reported categories include Visibility, Wipers & Glass (3) and Powertrain & Transmission (2).

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)

Is the 2020 Subaru WRX a reliable vehicle?

AutoUtility does not issue subjective reliability scores or commercial ratings. In official United States government records, NHTSA tracks 17 consumer defect complaints and 1 safety recall campaign for the 2020 Subaru WRX.

Reviewing documented component complaint distributions, recall remedy notices, and active federal investigations provides an objective, evidence-based view of the vehicle's historical safety and defect record.

Source: NHTSA ODI & Safety Recalls Databases

Are there crash, fire, or injury reports associated with the 2020 Subaru WRX?

Among consumer complaint records on file with NHTSA for the 2020 Subaru WRX, 1 filing cites a crash, 0 cite smoke or fire, and 1 report one or more injuries.

Incident entries represent consumer descriptions at the time of submission to federal authorities and do not establish mechanical causation or legal liability.

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Consumer Logs
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database under 49 CFR Part 576.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.