2019 Subaru Forester Complaint Log

While on freeway at night on 9/28/22 about 8pm several dashboard lights activated including check engine, eyesight assisted safety light, steering and safety controls disabled, all at once! I pulled over and called Subaru for assistance. Called AAA. AAA suggested I drive vehicle off freeway. I went to brothers and he noted car not overheated and drive short distance home. Car manuals did not explain so many warning lights. Drove car to Roseville Subaru next day and determined that engine part had failed to leave for repair. Dealer service agent Raj would not provide any details, strange? Went online and found Subaru Service Bulletin #09-80-21 dated 2/28/22 indicating thermo valve defective causing warning lights, and to replace. I felt unsafe as on freeway at risk at night and am elderly. Subaru bulletin shows part faulty as of June7,21 per s.bulletin. Why not recalled by now? Unsafe to drive this car as steering, braking, and driver assistance systems all fail to operate at once and I was not sure if I could control car. Virtually every safety system shut down as simultaneously the speed control, collision monitoring and lane control all stopped working. Furthermore, dealer can't estimate when part is available or provide me a lender car. I am a cancer patient at risk! This car only has 17,000 miles and is not safe or reliable and the dealer won't help. Please help asap!

The following has happened 3 times in the last year. While stopped and waiting for the light to change, my foot on the brake, damp outside, car stalls, the engine shuts off, eye sight flashes on dash stating eye sight off. I have to put the car into "park" and restart the engine. This is quite scary! I have taken the car to 2 different mechanics to check the battery - which shows the battery is 100% okay. The contact has stated that when the problem occurs, they have to put the vehicle in park and restart the engine.

Keep getting check engine light. Blue cold engine light stays on. Getting code P26A5 Engine Coolant Bypass Valve 'A' Position Sensor Circuit Range. Parts are unavailable at the dealer. They can’t give me a time frame when they become available.

when driving and stopped at a light the car died, I had to put it in park and restart it , this has happened on 4 different occasions, and I've taken it to the dealer and was told nothing checked out as failing, also, the radio has gone wild on occasion, dialing contacts in my phone numerous times, and me being unable to stop it. was told that heat and temperatures could cause the electronics to shut down or burn. I feel that I was in danger of getting hit because these things occurred while in traffic, and I had no control over the car, the system was acting out on its own.

Vehicle will not start after it has rained or if auto shut down occurs while it is raining. Vehicle has to be jump started if raining. Might start if “dried out” or left in dry conditions.

Something drained my battery completely dead (to less than 1V) overnight. The car was locked and the key fob wasn't near the car. In fact I keep it in a Faraday bag. The battery is less than one year old.

Part #21319AA010 COOLANT CONTROL VALVE ASSEMBLY. THERE IS A HUGE LINE 25 CUSTOMERS FOR THE SAME PART AT THE SUBARU DEALER I PURCHSAED THE 2019 BASE FORESTER FROM. CODE HAS BEEN READ. CODE P2682. VEHICLE HAS 50000 MILES. THE PART IS $435 PLUS INSTALLATION. NO LIGHT ON DASH, NO WARNING AT ALL BEFORE THE FAILURE CODE.

Battery constantly drains and fails to start the car almost from 2019 when I purchased the car. I’ve had to replace the original battery when the car was less than two years old and one year later the new battery has the same problem. No battery is able to hold a charge in this car and it continues to be a problem. Something seems to be draining the battery regularly. So that I won’t be stranded frequently, I needed to purchase a portable battery charger to start the car.

See attached document for complaint.

A small pebble hit the windshield while driving on the highway and now there's a huge crack in it.

We have had two windshields crack for no apparent reason in this car.

The problem cited below is on a 2019 Subaru Forester with 20,101 miles. The 'check engine' light came on when I started my vehicle as well as all the ADAS warning lights came on. All ADAS were inoperable. The car was drivable so I cautiously drove it to a Subaru dealership. While driving, I noticed the engine never warmed up. Running a cold engine causes an emissions problem and may be a violation of an EPA standard. The problem was diagnosed by the dealership as a faulty Thermo Control Valve Assembly, Part Number (21319AA010). Upon researching the problem on www.SubaruForester.org, I discovered over 240 similar postings about the same complaint on the same model car. I consider this to be a Safey issue with a potential of significant engine damage causing engine failure as well as making all the ADAS inoperable. Subaru of America is aware of the extent of this problem and should be made liable for recalling these vehicles and fixing this safety problem. The vehicle is currently (since Aug. 23, 2022) at the dealership awaiting a back-ordered part. I am currently negotiating with Subaru to have the part repaired under the 5 year/60,000 mile powertrain warranty. Please look into this issue since so many other owners of this vehicle are having this same issue. Thank You.

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the vehicle was in the park position in a parking space but was unsure if the shifter was in park when without warning, the vehicle rolled down a hill and crashed into a chain link fence and burial wall. No warning lights illuminated. The air bags failed to deploy. No injuries were sustained. No medical attention was needed. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic but was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to schedule an appointment to have it diagnosed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000.

Windshield cracked

check engine light came on end of August. Took into dealership early September (9/6/22) to find that the P26A3 code or Engine Coolant bypass Valve is defective. I have 47k miles on my 2019 Forester, so luckily it is under the powertrain warranty ( up to 60k). however, dealership is backlogged and waiting on parts . they were giving out loaners but can no longer do it due to the long lead time on parts as well as no place to let vehicles park for several months. I have been driving my vehicle at a limited capacity, however, living in Michigan the days are getting colder, and the need for my defrost to work properly is a must. with this issue my vehicles heating system is never warming up . thus causing a safety issue when I cannot use defrost on my car while waiting for parts to come in. I understand that all manufactured car parts have long lead times right now, however this is now a safety issue when not being able to use the defrost (directly related to this needed repair) on my 2019 forester.

Moonroof Cracks in the same spot randomly. 4 times now. Same exact area. No impacts.

The problem seems to be a faulty Thermo Control Valve Assembly. When I started the car, the dashboard lit up with several warning signs including the check engine light and 6 or 7 other warning lights. I also received texts and emails from Subaru saying to have my vehicle serviced ASAP. My 2019 Forester only has about 16,000 miles on the odometer. Continuing to drive would cause damage to the engine and potentially the car could abruptly stop on its own. Our car has been in the service department of our dealership for five weeks. I just received a call this morning that we had to return the loaner rental today, but that the thermal control valve is not expected until mid- or late-October. (It is now September 20.) I researched several Subaru blogs, and it seems that many others are having the same issue with their Foresters. Our dealership has five automobiles in their service department waiting for this part (and this is only one dealership). I also researched the Subaru service bulletins and see that they have a newly-designed thermo control valve assembly (same part number as the old one but a different date etched into the part). Apparently this has been an issue known by Subaru since at least September 2021 when their service bulletin came out. It seems that with so many owners having the same issues, there should be a recall and part replacement without cost to the owners.

Vehicle suffered sudden and extensive crack in the windshield. No impact caused the crack. The crack stared from the bottom.

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving at 45 MPH the RBD warning light stated off, as well as the Lane Keep, Eyesight, ABS off, and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated he noticed that several unknown safety features became inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the gasket for the heater control valve needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired because the parts were not available at the dealer. The manufacturer was contacted and a voicemail was left. The failure mileage was 47,500.

I recently bought this vehicle (used) with ~1900 miles. After 1.5 months of owning the vehicle, I suddenly had several warning lights as well as systems disabled within the vehicle. The first time this occurred I was about 2 hours into a drive, and suddenly my eyesight disabled, check engine light came on, cruise control disabled, lane departure disabled, collision warning and automatic braking disabled. After pulling over to inspect, I also realized my trunk would no longer open. I took it to a dealership who said it was due to low battery voltage—despite there being no spectacular incidents to drain the battery since I purchased the vehicle. They recharged the battery and the problem was temporarily fixed. However, once I retrieved my vehicle from the dealership the check engine light and disabled features were still prevalent. I once again had them recharge the battery—despite there again being no events causing the battery to drain—to which the problem was solved. Again, about an hour into my drive back home, the check engine light and features suddenly disabled. This is detrimental to my safety as a driver—as every safety feature suddenly disables without warning during my drive.

My thermo control valve went out while I was on the highway. My car lost power and all safety features. It’s been replaced but should be a recall.

Stopped at a red light. The Forester was in Auto Start/Stop mode and was in Stop. When I tried to start the Forester up again, it would not. A bell started ringing and all the warning lights lit up. I put the car in Park and and within a minute it started up again.

Braking for stop - brake pedal sinks, car accelerates ; requires extreme brake pedal push to stop car. A very unsafe condition. No warning or any dash board indication. Happened several times already.

Thermo electro valve failed, tripping check engine lights in the dashboard. I was told that the vehicle was undrivable until the part, which has been affected by supply chain issues, can be acquired by the dealer.

2019 Forrester has dangerous windshield that is prone to chipping and cracking very easley

In July my car kept dying and I had to jump the battery frequently. i Had it serviced at Hayesville firestone and was told it was ok. Problem continued. had a mechanic suggest I get another battery , whick I di at car quest. Has been fine since. I just received a notice of battery drains on Sub forester, so I am reporting this to you. No injury was involved

The windshield was cracked. I heard a pop and then a 15 inch crack spread horizontally across the front windshield in a couple seconds. This is a safety issue because it impaired visibility and altered the integrity of the vehicle. I took pictures of it. It has not been inspected or fixed yet but I have an appointment to do so. There were no warning lights

While driving, the vehicle stopped driving midride. I attempted to turn off the car and restart the car, but it had issues. This happened on 3 separate occasions. I believe the battery was being overdrawn. Two times this happened on the highway and I lost the ability to stay accelerated. I have had the dealer inspect it twice and they found no issues. Shortly after breaking down the third time, a separate car repair shop tested the battery and it tested good. The check engine light appeared and made mention of the Eyesight system.

We were driving to our summer vacation destination, which was about a 2-hour drive from where we currently live, when it happened. We had been driving for about an hour now and I was in the left lane going approximately 60 MPH when out of nowhere all of the warning lights flashed on my dashboard, including the "check engine light". Then, within seconds I went from about 60 MPH down to 30 MPH down to 10 MPH with no control of the acceleration. I quickly and safely had to pull over to the right lane, which was a bit challenging. Thankfully, I managed to pull off to the side of the road avoiding cars that were zooming past me. At the time, I had no idea what had happened. I tried to depress the gas pedal, but nothing happened. So then I decided to turn the car off. I opened the hood of the car to see if it was something obvious, but didn't see anything. I went to go turn the car back on, but it wouldn't start. We were left stranded on a fast highway. I had to call a tow truck to take my 2019 Subaru Forester to the closet Subaru dealership.This all happened on a Sunday when most places are closed. I receive a call a few days later stating that it was a fuel pump failure and pressure valve malfunction and some of the parts are on backorder. It's been a little over two months now and I still don't have my car back. I keep calling about every 2 weeks for an update, but they keep pushing back the ETA of the part arrival. Last time I called, they stated there was no update and they don't know when the part will come in. Looking back, there were no warning signs that could have lead me to believe that I had a fuel pump problem. I took my car to all of the scheduled maintenance and completed the one recall I had. My car ran great and nothing was wrong with it until that day on the fast highway. I was thankful that we were able to pull off to the side of road in a matter of seconds safely with cars going 60 MPH.

BATTERY DRAIN ISSUE: WE purchased 2 batteries within 2022, and it keeps dying. We understand there may be some type of class action lawsuit related to this issue as it seems to be fairly common.

My car started on fire while parked and turned off. The fire was electrical and appeared to be caused by issues in the main wiring harness under the console between the driver and passenger seats.

vehicle stalled for no reason causing a dangerous situation, dashboard had 'eyesight' come on, possible crash avoidance feature ??

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked over night under a car port the next morning it was discovered that the front windshield had developed multiple cracks. The contact indicated that no objects had made contact with the windshield to cause the cracks to occur. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 25,000.

I purchased my 2019 Forester brand new and have had minimal issues… most are just annoyances. However, this past weekend I got in my car and there was a spontaneous crack through the middle of the windshield. By the second day, it has expanded to halfway or past halfway across. The crack in directly in the line of sight. When looking into replacement, I realized this is a common issue. I have had cracked windshields before, but they are usually gradual and you have an opportunity to repair it. There was no chance of that since this just seemed to appear.

When parking the vehicle has experience unexpected acceleration. this issue has occurred 2 times in the last few months and thankfully I did not hit another vehicle or person. I called the dealer but unfortunately they informed me that unless this happens with a tech in the car they will not replace anything

UNKNOWN. There is some sort of battery drain issue causing the battery to die and prevent my car from starting. The battery has been tested independently at two different locations, both of which found the battery was operating properly. My mechanic checked for anything causing any phantom power drain from the battery and could not locate anything. The tow truck operator told me they've been seeing and issue with Subarus where very new cars are having their battery die when there is no reason for it to.

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, she saw a 2–3-inch crack on the lower passenger’s side windshield. The contact stated that the crack had since expanded to approximately 16-inches. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 49,205.

The lane keeping assist even when shut off prevents lane changes. A truck drifted into my lane and I had to use extreme force to steer over the car. The collision assist will randomly brake at high way speeds, also while off. The brakes will get squishy, not properly engage and make funny noises while the parking collision is off as well.

We have owned the 2019 Subaru Forester for approximately 3 years and have had to replace the windshield FOUR times due to cracking (some that have occurred without noticing a chip from an object from the road. When we purchased this vehicle, the dealer suggested we purchase a fairly expensive extended warranty for the windshield without disclosing that the Forester (and other models) have a much greater tendency to crack and the manufacturer recently went to a windshield what was much thinner to save money. When we purchased this vehicle I was focused on purchasing one for my daughter to use to finish medical school and to get her started on her own. Man, was I mislead on reliability of Subaru! With regard to safety, I would say that safety is at risk anytime a windshield is cracked. This can and does impair vision, etc. Subaru should be made to replace the windshield with one that is thicker and more sturdy to reduce the constant cracking that we and others have encountered.

There is a stress crack in the bottom, middle of the windshield that appeared out of nowhere.

2019 Subaru Forester 2.5L JF2SKAEC0KH576270 I use cruise control most of the time in all of my cars. Tapping the inc/dec button in my Subaru changes speed in 5 mph increments. This is very dangerous because my other cars use 1 mph increments. My use case is on long climbs I like to slow down my car 1 or 2 MPH as it works harder. When I double tap the Subaru it drops by 10 MPH instead of the expected 2 MPH. I want Subaru the update the PCM firmware to allow the user to switch to compatibility mode where single tap is 1 MPH and Long tap is 5 MPH.

WINDSHIELD CRACKED FROM PASSENGER SIDE "A" PILLAR 1/3 OF THE WAY DOWN FROM THE TOP ACROSS PASSENGER SIDE WINDSHIELD TO THE MIDDLE OF THE WINDSHIELD. ASIDE FROM THE OBVIOUS SAFETY FACTOR THE CRACK ALSO RENDERED THE CAR'S ADAS "EYESIGHT" SYSTEM INEFFECTIVE.

for the second time in less than 8 months the windshield has spontaneously developed a significant crack though driver's sightline that requires the windshield to be replaced at outrageous expense.

A crack appeared in my windshield on the passenger side starting from the bottom side slanting towards the middle of the passenger's vision. I do not recall anything hitting my windshield. In researching a replacement cost I read a lot of complaints from Subaru customers who had to replace their windshields, some several times, because of thinner glass used by Subaru. Several reports included the 2019 Subaru Forester with low mileage. I have a photo as I plan to have it repaired soon. I have not yet contacted my Striver dealer nor Allstate insurance agent. Please note: I loaded my 6mb photo but had to delete it to be able to continue.

My 2019 Subaru Forester Sport only had 41,000 and the thermal control valve on it failed. The engine is running really cold and sometimes without warning certain safety feature shutoff as a result. There were no warning signals before it failed but when it went out the check engine light came on as well as about 5 other warnings. I had it diagnosed at Young Subaru in Ogden, UT. After doing some research I found that this specific part recently underwent a design change due to this malfunctioning. I’ve found several other Subaru owners that are having the exact same issue where the safety features are completely disabled as a result of this poorly manufactured part. This part needs to be recalled asap before it can continue to cause more damage to the engines or the people who drive these vehicles

I was driving on the highway and a pebble hit my windshield. It immediately cracked it.

The battery drains while the vehicle is off. The car is frequently dead after being off for a short period of time, requiring jump starts and replacement batteries far more often than with a typical vehicle.

Front windshield spontaneously cracked in my 2019 Subaru Forester. Car was parked in a parking lot when there was a popping sound and then a crack appeared starting from the bottom corner of the passenger side. NO impact marks on the exterior or interior. The crack has since spread to the center of the windshield. Based on Internet searches, there is a known issue with windshield cracking in Subarus. Subaru's "Customer Advocacy" department refused to pay for the repair (over $1300), claiming that the photos showed an impact mark and therefore it was the customer's responsibility. However, the Subaru dealership (Ramsey NJ) that did the physical inspection and took the photos said they saw NO impact marks. I invited Subaru Customer Advocacy to send someone to physically inspect the car; they declined. Subaru refuses to stand by their product. Instead of recalling the vehicles at risk and replacing the windshields at their cost, Subaru runs the risk of accidents caused by the spontaneous windshield cracking which could lead to bodily harm and/or death. And even with an actual case of spontaneous window cracking, Subaru claims to "see" impact marks in photos, when it is impossible to tell from photos alone, and refuses to conduct a physical inspection. Action should be taken against Subaru to ensure the safety of consumers purchasing their vehicles. Subaru should be required to issue a recall or at minimum cover the cost of replacing windshields that spontaneously crack. The spontaneous cracking occurred on 5/7/22. I brought my car to a Subaru dealership and spoke to Subaru's "Customer Advocacy" department on the same day. It took nearly 3 weeks of calls to Subaru for them to offer me a $750 coupon "as a one-time goodwill gesture" to cover half the cost of the repair. Subaru's customer service is unacceptable and their reluctance to take responsibility is a public safety issue.

Windshield - Randomly cracked while parked in garage (no rock or road damage). Windshield crack started at bottom middle passenger side, spread across entire windshield. Second time windshield cracked in same location with no evidence of rock or road damage. Windshield was replaced with OEM windshield when the crack happened again.

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated she turned on the vehicle, left it on, and exitto close the trunk, but after forcefully closing the trunk, the vehicle began to roll backward. The contact stated the gears were set on Park and the area was an inclined driveway. The contact stated the vehicle knocked her down but she was not injured nor needed to seek medical attention. The vehicle continued to roll into the woods and was detained by a tree stump. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to an auto shop and was being serviced at the moment. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 27,000.