When I turn on the windshield wipers they travel too far hitting the windshild pillar(top) and the the cowl(bottom).

Could be connection broken cold shrinks

Check the fuse box under the hood. Typically on driver side behind battery. Top lifts off to expose relays and fuses.

There is a tool for that, to take the spring tension off the arm

You can still wrestle it off, by lifting the arm off windshield
& on the arms right side & under it ,is a small tab you slide
out.

Then the arm comes off & you can reinstall in a different place

I have the same problem with a 2001 Legacy wagon. The problem is not as simple as the solutions above. Mine are adjusted to park as low as possible when turned off. Even so, the blade on the drivers side goes all the way off the windshield. The Subaru dealer wants to replace the whole wiper blade transmission for about $450. Looking online it seems to be interconnecting arms and pivot points that connect the motor to the wiper blade arms.

There most likely is a nut at the base if the wiper arm, nearest to the cowl/windshield, that is loose. Grab a cressant wrench and attack.
Lefty loosey, righty tighty.....:-)

this might be a connection/ currosing problem. Check the windshild wiper relay for loose wires and then take apart the connection. Clean them up and put back together. also check your fuses.

You might have a stripped wiper arm spline. Check it by seeing if it moves with your hand. Also check wiper arm connection under the black plastic unscrew and remove black plastic.

at the base of the wiper arms pop the caps off turn on the wipers see if the safts are moving if they are tighten the nuts a little if that doesn't work you will have to replace the wiper arms i had the same ting happen on all three of my fords truck van and taurus

hello, this sounds like your wiper transmission got out of alignment possibly due to ice on windsheild.don't really know.short of replacing you could loosen the nut under the cover and move wiper arm back possibly.