2019 Subaru Forester Complaint Log

One morning I went to start my car to go to work and I found a crack. The crack is coming from the bottom of the windshield.

The contact owned a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving approximately 75 MPH on the interstate, a deer jumped in front causing a crash. All the air bags deployed, and immediately soon after a fire was coming from the hood. The contact and two children in the rear passenger seat were able to exit the vehicle safely. The fire department arrived on the scene and extinguished the fire. There was a police report was filed. There were no injuries or medical reports. The vehicle was consumed by the fire and deemed destroyed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000.

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving approximately 25 MPH, the front windshield cracked. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed; however, no cause for the failure was found. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 10,000.

The front windshield developed a crack for no reason.

I have only had my car for about a month and already there are three chips in the windshield that weren't present when I bought it. The latest one appeared today.

The battery drains when the car is not driven for 5 days or more. This newly-engineered battery was necessitated to support the auto-stop-start feature on the car. The battery was replaced on 1-26-2021. On 3-30-2022, the car would not start again after not being driven for 5 1/2 days and had to be jump started. The dealership says the battery is fine but I have to rearrange my life to drive this car every 5 days for 30 minutes. The battery is in the car and can be inspected. There is no fix or workaround available other than driving the car. This battery drain leaves me unsuspecting that my car will not start and I am stranded while I have to wait for hours for roadside assistance. There were no warnings even though I have a paid Starlink subscription that has my email and cell phone on record.

In my Subaru Forester, my battery continues to drain while the car is off and locked. I am unable to start the car in the mornings when I go to work because of this. To get the car to start, I am constantly jumping it. I was not at risk. The problem has not been confirmed by a dealer. The component has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance agency. No warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms. The car is a 2019 and only has 33k miles on it.

Battery keeps on dying and doesn’t hold charge. Vehicle has less than 8000 miles on it. 3 weeks ago my vehicle was parked in my garage for one week while I was on vacation and the battery was dead and needed to be jump started. Last week My vehicle was in the garage for 8 days and would not start again and needed to be jump started. Then 4 days had passed since the vehicle was jump started and this morning would not start again. Each time it was parked in my garage with nothing running inside, but the battery keeps failing. I have an appointment with the dealer tomorrow to review.

I purchased a used 2019 Forester in the summer of 2020. By September 2021, I was having electrical issues - the car wouldn't start and the battery died. I had the car taken to a dealership, they replaced the battery and the alternator (they told me that the alternator was defective and broke the battery). I got the car back in October 2021. In December 2021, I had just driven for 2 hours and stopped to get gas. When I got back in, the car wouldn't start - the battery was dead again. This time, the AAA person who came to get me took a look at it and said that he thought it might start if he tightened the bolts for the electrical wires leading to the battery. That seemed to fix it. It's now March 2021. Yesterday, I walked outside to find my car battery dead again! I jumped it, and drove it around to allow the battery to recharge. I went in somewhere for dinner, came back out over an hour later, and it started. Today, it's dead again! This appears to be a consistent problem with Subaru vehicles.

Car caught fire after a relatively slow (less than 35 mph) collision with a Chevrolet Tahoe. Other vehicle was driveable, my Subaru Forester caught fire.

Driving vehicle in a busy intersection and all of a sudden the electrical power went out. Battery is completely drained.

In June 2020 a rock on the highway hit my windshield and by the time I had arrived at my destination, the crack had grown to over 6 inches in length, so a replacement was required. It was replaced by safelite in July 2020 (limited staff due to COVID). In April of 2021 my windshield was again struck by a rock from the highway and, while it started as less than 4 inches in length, quickly grew to over 6 inches within a matter of days. Since this would be the second time replacing my windshield and I still needed to commute 30 minutes to work via the highway for another couple months, I withheld reaching out to Safelite to get my windshield replaced until I could move residence and not have to take the highway every day. It was replaced in July of 2021. This ended up being the wise decision, as between April 2021 and July 2021 the windshield sustained two more cracks, for a total of 3 well over 6 inches each. Yesterday, March 10, 2022 my windshield was once again struck. This time it looks like if it were hit with a baseball bat, but I was on the highway, so it may have been a bird. I am aware of a current lawsuit against Subaru for weak windshields on 2017-2020 vehicles, which my 2019 Forester falls into, so I can't help but wonder if it's just really bad luck, or a bad lot of weak/defective windshields. I know Safelite fixed them instead of Subaru, but I am under the impression that they were made by the same manufacturer that supplies the windshields to Subaru.

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while at a complete stop at the car wash waiting for his turn, the vehicle accelerated suddenly and unintendedly, and crashed into a concrete brick wall. The air bags deployed. The contact sustained a whiplash, laceration on the left arm, muscle injuries in the back, skin abrasion on the upper arm, Skull laceration. The contact was pinned in his seat by the shoulder strap of the seat belt. The contact was transported to the hospital with the assistance of the emergency units. The vehicle was towed to a body shop where it was totaled. No police report was filed. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 14,000.

UNKNOWN. Don’t know how the windshield cracked. It starts at the top edge of glass, goes around the shaded part of windshield in front of rear view mirror and then down middle of windshield. From top to bottom it is 14 inches

Windshield started cracking. Affects EyeSight safety system.

I was sitting in park w/ac on and heard a crack looked up, initially saw nothing a few minutes later I saw a crack that has continued to spread.

The windshield on my 2019 Subaru has cracked for the second time. This has taken away many of the safety features that comes with the car due to the cameras not working properly or not at all. This second time it cracked its cost me money through my insurance company. No one has physically seen my windshield except me. I currently have photos with Progressive and they’re still reviewing my claim. This happened once before when a cement crew had sawed cement fibers into the side of my car and just so happened to crack the windshield in the process. But the angle from which they were spraying the cement fibers didn’t make sense at the time. Then it cracked a second time and I looked online. I found the lawsuit and other people complaining online about their windshields as well. The second time it cracked, I do not know how. I came out to my car to find an impact point and spider cracks coming from it. I’m thinking a rock hit it on the highway but didn’t fully crack until it snowed or something.

Repeated battery failure issues. Vehicle has had to be jumped anytime the vehicle has sat more than eight hours since approximately 01/18/2022. Vehicle has been taken to an auto shop where battery and alternator test was done. Battery has been determined to be okay, simply in need of a charge. Alternator also okay. No indicator/warning lamp or message was given prior to initial or subsequent failures. Vehicle is driven for extended periods of time each day which allows for the battery to be charged. Battery drain occurs when the vehicle is parked and turned off. Key fob kept away from vehicle, doors securely shut, no lights or accessories left on. Repeated battery failure has resulted in my being stranded until someone is available to jump the vehicle. Safety concerns of being stuck away from my home, in freezing temperatures, and/or alone at night.

While the vehicle was parked in a driveway, the windshield developed a 10 inch crack in an upside down "J" shape, originating from the bottom edge of the windshield. There were no debris impacts in this area of the windshield and no "pitting" is visible that would have compromised the structural integrity of the windshield. There have been multiple class-action lawsuits related to the issue of cracking windshields and in my opinion this should be investigated and considered for a recall.

Windshield cracked for no reason.

The car battery in my 2019 Subaru Forester drained completely overnight. The car was stuck in the garage and I could not go anywhere. I had to call for roadside assistance to get the car jumped. The battery power was at 0%. I had driven the car over 1 hour the day before, so it should have had good power stored. It appears to be parasitic power drain that happened overnight. There were no warnings given by the car that the battery power was low. The safety concern is what if I had been in a remote location and this had occurred. That scenario could have produced far more dire results. After the jump, I drove to the Subaru service department and had the battery checked. The Suburu Service Department is denying that any car component is draining the battery. They blamed my situation on ‘human error’, which it was not. There are existing lawsuits against Subaru regarding this same issue.

cracking in windshield without any impact

My 2019 Subaru Forester experienced an unexpected (random) activation of the pre-collision avoidance automatic breaking feature. While driving on a major city road (dry, sunny, typical Arizona conditions) at approx 40-45 mph the system activated despite there being no obstacle (car or otherwise) anywhere near the vehicle. The nearest car was at least about half a mile ahead. The break force applied was the strongest I have experienced in 24 years of driving. This is not the first time I have experience this issue in this specific vehicle. A similar occurrence happened more than a year ago.

Over the weekend, the check engine light came on and I lost heat in my vehicle instantly (like flipping a light switch) after already driving with full heat for about 30 minutes. In addition to losing heat on a zero degree day, the vehicle also lost the capability to circulate and redirect coolant to the engine properly, causing a significant reduction in engine temperature causing it to run nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit less than optimal running temperature. Upon research, the only logical explanation was the failure of the "thermo control valve" which was added to the Subaru lineup starting in 2019, and this was just confirmed as the cause of this incident by the dealer. While coolant issues previously were managed easily in other vehicles, or a slow reduction in the ability of the heating system, having an electronic component control the diversion of coolant in the car for cabin heat and engine heat control seems to be harmful, not only potentially to the engine, but causing the heat to instantly stop to someone that may not be dressed to deal with it while driving in zero degree weather can cause potential significant health problems. This part should not be the sole source of control, let alone be failing without warning after a mere 3 years. In addition, a quick search online provides no information on the product, but many threads of individuals experiencing similar issues, as well as comments that Subaru has recognized it was originally inadequately built and have since produced a more Hardy product to replace them with. The other issue with this part, is that it is below the intake which needs to be removed to replace it. While the intake and other coolant system items are mentioned under warranty, this part is never mentioned. For this being a new addition starting in 2019, it is deeply concerning that there are many accounts for this, with no official messaging from Subaru, for such a critical part.

There is a software problem which caused the alternator to not charge the battery correctly, causing the battery to go bad prematurely. The battery was just a few months outside of it's warranty, with it needing to be jump started frequently. It was tested at an Autozone then at the Subaru dealership confirming the bad battery. Subaru dealership confirmed the software malfunction that caused the problem. However, the software update needed was never done and was never communicated as a need. I have always taken the car in for all maintenance and this software update should have been done by Subaru. There was no warning signal/message other than the battery dying multiple times.

Crack in windshield that came out of nowhere and just keeps expanding

The failure is affected by the braking system and control logic of the ignition key switch, gear shift and emergency break button. A coffee cup at the drive through collapsed spilling coffee. Through a sequence of moves I found myself rolling out of the drive up line, across the parking lot right towards the sidewalk and highway on the other side. The engine was off, the brakes would not function, I could not move the shift lever and the ignition key would not re-start the car! I had no control or ability to change anything in the span of 10 seconds. Only the landscaped run of bushes at the edge of the parking lot saved us. At the drive up window the car was in neutral. I could not change the position of the shifter if I had my foot on the break as we were rolling. Nor could I restart the engine with my foot off the break and rolling. At the end of the roll when stopped I think the shift lever was in the reverses R position. Despite several tries I could not operate the emergency break. There were no warnings from the smart car system. I was able to test out a few sequences that would cause the same circumstances. I did not go to the dealer yet, there were no police involved or damage done other than hot coffee on me and my front seat. Engineers designing "smarts" in new vehicles have over-engineered the controls creating a major overall hazard because the systems are too complicated. More training for new car owners is not a solution. Up until the 21st century cars had a true emergency break that could be operated by hand or foot to apply the rear emergency brakes. Now they are all operated electronically with a button, which is not available unless the car is running. This is not just a problem with our car. It is a problem with most autos built today, domestic and foreign. Somewhere along the line we lost our focus on what an emergency brake is for.

Battery 620 CCA. Batter is 28 months old. Inspected by dealer. Dealer determined low battery voltage unknown cause.

Battery Failure for the second time since purchase. Yesterday, 2/1/2022, I took my Subaru in due to the battery they replace about 15 months ago went dead two days ago. I was able to jump start to get back home. After sitting in my driveway after getting home two days ago I trie to start my car and again the battery was almost depleted. Not enough energy in the battery to start the car. Summary: Twice within a period of less than three (3) years I have brought my 2019 Subaru Forester in for service due to a dead battery that left me stranded. The battery, both incidents, was able to be jumped started to get home and also into Subaru for service. Both incidents Subaru Service initially said the battery was tested and OK and did not want to replace the battery. First incident: After 2 - 3 days I was back again to service for drained batter and they replaced with new battery. 13 - 15 months later the same exact battery drained and would not start car. Again, service said battery tested OK and would not replace, but my service advisor agreed to replace the batt This is the second time the battery was almost totally depleted and would not start the car. The first battery, that was part of the original purchase, died after owning the new car for about one (1) year. The first incident, I was able to get the car in for service after jumping the battery. The service tech said that the battery tested OK and Subaru would not replace the battery. Two or three days later the battery dies again. This time Subaru put in a replacement battery. Second time same incident, I took into Subaru service and again the tech said the battery tested OK. I then discussed with the Service Rep. and she agreed to mark the battery bad and to have the battery replaced with again another new battery. I asked about the issue of parasitic battery drain, which I learned about searching the web, and I assumed that they tested for this issue, but unsure if this was done.

Windshield cracks very easily. It has cracked on my 2019 Subaru Forester Premium trim two times in the last two years. This is just from the normal debris flying off the road. The first incident happen in Aug 2020, Second January 2022.

Small rock hit windshield while highway driving and created an impact point in the bottom-center of the windshield, affecting eyesight and requiring a replacement per Subaru dealership.

I have owned my certified pre-owned 2019 Subaru Forester for less than a year, with under 30K miles. Within the last 2 months I’ve gotten a crack and a chip in two different areas of my windshield. Nothing out of the norm happened to cause this. I only drive 20 miles round trip for work daily and some errands around town on the weekends.

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the windshield cracked without impact. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and the contact was awaiting a response. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

I was on a sharp incline at idle behind a line of cars, waiting for the light to turn green and my Subaru Forrester surged forward, out of my control, and hit the back of the vehicle in front of me, causing damage to my vehicle and the one in front of me. I questioned the Subaru service center regarding it and they did not have a means to report the incident to Subaru for investigation, but offered to do a service check on the transmission of the car. Coincidentally (or of uncertain significance), I had been waiting on a back ordered part from Subaru for a malfunctioning thermal control valve that caused a check engine light to be continually displayed on my dash, disabling some of the safety features of the vehicle. They assured me that the malfunctioning part would have nothing to do with any surging problems and that it was safe to drive the car until the part could be replaced.

My front windshield spontaneously cracked, originated from the center inside/below the visible site line under the rubber edging. This happened in the beginning of January when there was a combination of bitter cold and heavy snows.

Battery drains extremely quickly. I replaced with brand new battery and it completely drained overnight. When I tried to start car next morning the Engine clicked repeatedly then the infotainment and dash lights started blinking and acting strangely then went black but the music still played (with a black screen and car off). This is very alarming as it appears to be a major electrical issue that could cause a fire? Or possibly shut down random safety features that I want to use.

Battery has died

> 5 total jump starts and 3 dead batteries requiring battery replacement since purchase 2 years ago. Total mileage currently <10k. Multiple diagnostics from dealer reported to be negative. We have been diligent about assuring no lights left on although this has been cited as a theoretical cause. Most recently, received a jump start at an airport, then driven >90 miles continuously, then was again dead after being parked after only ~<12 hours.

Auto start failed multiple times leaving car disabled for a short period of time in traffic creating safety hazard. After asking the Subaru service center about it they said there was nothing they could do about it because there was no lights on the dashboard. Eventually they informed me at the last service that the battery needed to be replaced.

On December 30, 2021, I was driving on I-95 S around 4 pm about 1/2 a mile from exit 43B when my 2019 Subaru Forester with 64,000 miles stalled in the middle of the highway. I was going about Highway speed during rush hour 55-65 pmh when the check engine light came ON, the EyeSight feature light came ON, and the emergency Brake light came ON. Scariest moment in my life. The vehicle stalled, the steering got really stiff, and the vehicle started sputtering along probably at 2 mph. I managed to make my way to the breakdown lane and called Subaru Starlink Roadside Assistance. After towing the vehicle to the dealership, the diagnosis revealed that both tumble generators on the Air Intake Manifold failed and I also needed a fuel line replacement. After doing a lot of research on the internet it appears that Subaru Foresters have a history of these failures and there has been a number of recalls for this particular model detailing the vehicle losing power or stalling. Unfortunately, the dealership and corporate Subaru refuse to cover the full cost of the repairs as they claim the vehicle is past the warranty period; they have $750 to cover $1800 worth of repairs. This is clearly a safety issue and defect, and Subaru is clearly neglecting its responsibility to cover known defects from the factory.

Windshield broke on its own

8 days ago I replaced the battery on this car as the lights/radio would come on but it would not start. Today the car is totally dead. It will have to be towed to the dealer whenever the towing companies can get around to it. I believe this one of the vehicles like those in the class action lawsuit.

My front windshield just cracked, no rock hit it, just cracked

Windshield Glass Break even small debris

Check engine light came on and code was for the TCV. The dealership said it would be $1500 to repair and was not under warranty…even though my car is a 2019 Subaru Forester with just 17,000 miles. The Subaru forums on Facebook show that numerous other people are also having this problem.

Battery is repeatedly drained while parked, even with taking care to close all doors and turn off interior lights. This has happened 6-7 times in the last 6 weeks. The dealer tells us the car is fine.

Yesterday, when we got into the car (2019 Subaru Forester) we noticed a large crack in the windshield. It started near the edge where the glass meets the frame, and went down and curved towards the driver side. If it were a straight line, it would be at least 10 inches. We had not had any rock strikes while driving and the windshield showed no signs of cracks the day before. The car has a little more than 12k miles so still very new.

Yesterday as I was driving home, I heard a “pop” noise & I looked at my front windshield I saw a 6” crack in the lower section of my windshield underneath the left wiper blade. I have approximately 22,000 miles on the vehicle. I got it brand new on 7/3/2019.

Driving on the highway, and a small pebble hit my window and cracked it. This is the second time in the three years it's been driven (~34,000 miles). The windows seem to be weak as compared to other cars. The repair is expensive because of the eyesight system.

12/6 - 3:30pm. My dashboard warning lights all came on as I turned right into my driveway, the car stalled so I turned it off. Next day 12/7 - 9:00 am all the warning lights came on when I turned the key. I called Subaru and described all the lights and was told it was safe to drive. I made an appointment for the next morning. At 12:00pm the Lights on dash went out and stayed off, but then they all came back on again at 4:05 pm. A minute later I took a right turn onto a side street and the car stopped suddenly and stalled in the middle of the road. I tried to start it back up 3 times. The Engine would turn on and then shut down again. After 2 hours we turned the car on and drove it 2 car lengths off to the side of the road and kept it idling to get warm, but it overheated after a while and we had to shut it off. We stayed there until 8:30pm (3.5 hours later) waiting for Subaru Roadside Assistance, but ended up walking home because they never came. Apparently they arrived sometime after 11:00pm and towed the car to Subaru dealer.