What 68 owners told NHTSA about the 2020 Subaru Crosstrek

The 2019-2021 Crosstrek Hybrid has an issue with the fuel tank design. Subaru has finally released a TSB (Reference: 09-82-23R) that explains the issue in more detail and how the defective parts need to be replaced. In short, the fuel tank has a design flaw such that regular fuel corrodes the fuel tank and causes clogging in the vapor vent tubes. Subaru says it's related to fuel with high ethanol content, however I have been filling up with regular fuel and have still experienced the issue. I have personally owned two of these vehicles and experienced the occasional P0452 check engine light which when diagnosed by a licensed shop pointed to this fuel evap system issue. Subaru has finally acknowledged that this is a known issue and issued the TSB, however they have not yet issued a recall. The repairs for this issue are expensive and the symptoms are an occasional check engine light. I am concerned because this issue is not easily detectable and is expensive to repair. Since this involves the fuel tank and fuel vapors tubes I am concerned there might be a fire risk or health risk, but since there is no recall issued I don't know if it can be ignored or needs immediate attention. Subaru does cover this repair under 3 yr / 30k mile warranty but with the irregular symptoms it is hard to detect and diagnose it and Subaru only issued the TSB in Jan 2024 when the 2021 model became 3 years old and out of warranty. It seems like Subaru knew about the issue but didn't want to address it under warranty so they issued the TSB only after all the cars were out of warranty and only now when the consumers have to pay out of pocket are they diagnosing it correctly. Also, this issue triggers the check-engine light only occasionally and at random, and when the light goes on all the vehicle safety aids like pre-collision braking and rear cross traffic warnings are disabled. I think this is dangerous because drivers tend to get used to having those features.

NHTSA ODI 11650867

The contact's significant other owns a 2020 Subaru Crosstrek. The contact stated while his significant other was driving from a complete stop, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring. The vehicle was taken to the dealer several times. The dealer replaced the battery, the fuel cap, and cleared the warning lights; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was being diagnosed. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 51,000.

NHTSA ODI 11595485

Stalls sometimes when in intersection or when making a turn from dead stop ,then goes along fine. Seems like it is fuel or computer problem

NHTSA ODI 11434773