2020 Subaru Ascent fuel system problems

Filed Apr 20, 2026 · Fuel system, Transmission · DC

My 2020 Subaru Ascent struggles to retain power when accelerating, especially from stopping and especially when the fuel is low. The vehicle stalls or loses some power when trying to accelerate. The check engine light is not on and there is no other indication that there is a problem with the vehicle. I have discussed it thoroughly with my mechanic and we both think it sounds like a fuel pump issue. He looked at the other Subaru recalls and thinks my vehicle should be included in the other Subaru fuel pump recall (the federal safety agency ID Number: 21V587000). Does my vehicle qualify for this fuel pump recall? Thank you.

Filed Apr 11, 2024 · Fuel system · MO

Possible Transmission issue. The transmission was replaced in February by University Subaru in Columbia, Missouri. I have made a second appointment as the vehicle is still having the same issue shifting gears or going uphill. During a drive where there was a small incline of 10 degrees when the vehicle somewhat jumped or as if it skipped a beat. I had stopped in traffic and when the other cars started to move, I started to drive forward, and the car jumped. A gap in the acceleration. I am scheduled to take it in on the [XXX] of April. I will follow-up with you. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Feb 26, 2024 · Driver assistance, Engine · IL · crash

On Friday evening, February 23, 2024 , I pulled onto my driveway and came to a complete stop before driving into the garage . I reached up and hit the garage door remote. When the door began to go up I took my foot off the brake. Instead of creeping up the driveway the car took off like a proverbial "bat out of hell" It was as if I had pushed the accelerator compltely down.to the floor board. The brakes had no effect. I smashed through the garage door,. The car jumped a six inch concrete step up, obliterated the garage cabinets and pushed the contents of the cabinets and garage wall into our family room.The car came to a rest just outside our family room. My son opened the door to the garage and yelled out to me "Are you okay" Because the engine was still racing he said "Get your foot off the accelerator' My reply was I DON'T HAVE MY FOOT N THE ACCELERATOR". I then tuned the ignition off and the ordeal was over.. It appears that the engine continued to recieve fuel irregardless of the position of the accelerator., the automatic braking system failed miserably and the the forward collision warning was malfunctioning. I am waiting for the insurance company to remove the car from the garage and do a structural assessment.. Because there may be serious structual damage I want the insurance company to remove the vehicle less the second floor collapses onto the garage. My son was on the couch just seconds before the wall "exploded". The couch was moved eight feet across the room. If a piece of debris came through the windsield I also might have been injured. The potential for serious injury to others in another set of ircumstances also scares me. The malfunction came without warning. The damages will be in the tens of thousands of dollars. I am blessed that no one was injured or killed.

Filed Jul 18, 2023 · Engine, Fuel system · VA

The car has a blue smoke from tail pipe * oil smell when turned on and last for 20 seconds

Filed Aug 19, 2022 · Fuel system · IN

Pretty much from day 1, Ascent smells of gasoline in the cabin after parking the car either inside or outside, shade or shine, hot or cold, day or night, flat or not surface.. after having parked it. It doesn’t matter if it’s a quick trip or a long one, it can still happen after parking. Fumes come out of the vents up front. The concerning part is we have a toddler, which I suspect the federal safety agency would have an issue breathing in hydrocarbons, let alone any passenger. It doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does it lasts a solid five minutes or so. Mentioned to Subaru at time of CVT recall, not even mentioned they checked it out on my paperwork. I even waited to say anything until our car was broken in and all possible lube/other off-gassing components to stabilize.

Filed Jun 3, 2022 · Engine, Fuel system · WI

When the fan is on there is a strong smell of gasoline in the vehicle. This happens whether the vehicle is in motion OR is idling. The smell of gas fumes is very noticible if the fan for the heater/ac is pulling air from outside the vehicle. When the fan system is re-ciruclating the air from just the cabin, there is no smell. This is a very noticble smell and we have to drive with our windows open. My children are not able to be in this vehicle due to this smell. This is our family vehicle and daily driver. I have to drive this vehicle to work. This vehicle we have called about to multiple dealerships. They want to charge us over $300 dollars, but no one has ever heard of anything like this according to the dealers. The online forums say a completely different story. No warning lights or messages have happened. There has been no change to my gas mileage. We are current on all maintence. We have replaced the cabin and engine air filters, and we have replaced the gas cap to see if this would make a difference. It has not. There is no gas leak to the ground that is noticeable. But there is a faint gas smell in the engine area when the vehicle is running.

Filed May 9, 2022 · Engine, Fuel system · WI

We own a 2020 Subaru Ascent we purchased brand new. A few weeks ago we noticed a faint gasoline smell while at a red light. I thought it was a one time occurrence but it has been happening now every time the vehicle is at idle or stopped. I have read on Subaru owner forums about 2019 to 2021 models having this issue all the way from 2100 miles to almost 90,000 miles. Many customers have had to make multiple trips to the dealership to get charged diagnostic fees and many times they say they can’t smell the problem. I just recently contacted my dealership about this issue and found an old service recall about the low pressure fuel pump and was told to not believe everything I read online. This is the vehicle that my family uses and I’m not sure if this is safe for them to be in and is getting to sound eerily similar to when Ford had the CO problem in their explorer and people were crashing. For the amount I paid for this vehicle and all my service intervals at the dealership and many people having the same safety concern I hope this is investigated and I won’t have to pay for repairs.

Filed Mar 24, 2022 · Electrical, Engine · ID

My Subaru 2020 with 16,000 miles stalled in the middle of driving down the road in Town, I was driving 35 mph when out of nowhere the car stalled. I was able to coast/turn on to a side street. I’m lucky the car had enough momentum to keep going or we would have been hit by traffic as the street we were on is a busy road. The car flashed all the lights when it stalled and refused to crank over, it was low on gas so I called AAA and they brought 5 gallons of gasoline and filled it. The technician then tried to get the vehicle to start but it wouldn’t. Luckily he offered to tow it to my house for free. I have tried multiple times to get the vehicle to start and it wont. It cranks but doesn’t actually move. I don’t know what’s wrong and now I have to have it towed to the the local dealership. This is the second major issue that has happened. The first one was that the transmission failed and with my car having a branded title for being stolen/recovery. Subaru would not replace the transmission at 7,600 miles and I had to find a used one to replace it with. I now just got the recall letter and have messaged Subaru about it.

Filed Oct 22, 2021 · Fuel system · NJ

I was almost in two accidents. Back on July 26,2021 I reported to the dealer that the car almost stalled twice, when I am coming to a yield or slowing down and then you accelerate The car has no power. You have to try to pull over before you get hit from behind. Then you step on the gas and it goes again (it does not completely stall) I did not know of any recall on the car but in the October issue of consumers reports it said they have a problem with the fuel pump It sounded like my same problem. I went back to the dealer on 10/14/2021 they went with me for a road test of course it did not happen. They said they cant do anything because my vin no. is not on recall. They can not find anything wrong with the car. Also, I feel the car hesitates when you step on the gas. They say no its normal. recall No 21v58700 7/28/2021 -- subaru recall no WRG-21

Filed Aug 10, 2021 · Fuel system · NC

the federal safety agency Recall Number 21V587. Cracked fuel pump potential due to improper manufacture, resulting in stalling, vehicle not starting or other fuel pump failure-related issues. Stalling while driving could result in an accident. Subaru’s recall notification should begin in September. Our family will be driving from NC to Maine on August 27 and returning on September 15. We need to know if 1) our specific Subaru Ascent will be recalled and 2) if so, if we can get the fuel pump replaced on our 2020 Subaru Ascent before 28 August 28. Jack Bacheler