The vehicle is less than 5 years old and has less than 50k miles. While driving with cruise control engaged on the Thruway, my check engine light came on. Almost immediately after the red "BRAKE" warning showed on the dash. When that happened my car engaged the brakes while I was traveling at 75mph and I pulled to the side of the Thruway as quickly as I could as to not wreck with another driver. My engine sounded like it was working overtime so I shut off the vehicle. After a couple of minutes I tried to start my engine and it would not go. After another few minutes I was able to start the vehicle but could not drive because the brakes were still engaged. I needed to turn on/off the parking brake a few times before they released. I then drove the vehicle the remaining 2.5 hours home with the check engine light on and red "BRAKE" light off. This same scenario happened on my way to bring the vehicle to the dealer to fix the issue. The Subaru dealership inspected the vehicle and confirmed the thermo control valve was malfunctioning and would need to be replaced. Thankfully the vehicle was under warranty and did not cost me anything to repair.

- Rensselaer, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while stopping, the contact went to park in a parking lot and the vehicle had launched forward while the foot was still on the brake pedal which caused the contact to crash into a tree. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was going 1 MPH. No warning light was illuminated. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a dealership. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to tow her vehicle to the nearest dealership for diagnosis. The failure mileage was approximately 22,000. The VIN was not available.

- Milton, VT, USA

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle suddenly unintendedly accelerated. The contact depressed the brake pedal to regain control of the vehicle. The contact stated that approximately 10 minutes after the first failure, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 29,000.

- Lakeville, MA, USA

Auto safety systems compromised with illumination of check engine light and engine temp warning light. Subaru dealership service department determined problem with Thermo Control Valve. Engine was not overheating as the vehicle was being driven in winter time, February in Alaska. Only indication of problem was indicator lights and reduced heat from cabin heat system. Vehicle went into "limp" mode as soon as warning lights illuminated, disabling advanced safety systems.

- Anchorage, AK, USA

Driving uphill when the car suddenly jolted, lost power, and all warning lights became illuminated. All safety features were disabled as well. The sudden stop almost resulted in being rear ended and the car was barely drivable afterwards. Diagnostic trouble codes: P26A6, P2004, P2005, P060B, P0191, P24B9, P2200, P2400.

- Cabot, AR, USA

There have been multiple incidents where the automatic collision braking system has almost caused me to be in an accident. Although it can be turned off, you must remember to do it manually each time you turn the car on. The dealership has not offered a choice to have this dangerous feature permanently disabled. In this incident, traffic in front of me started to slow down significantly, and I started to make a lane change into the left lane which was open. In the middle of the lane change, the brakes slammed on, which meant if anyone was approaching in the left, they would have to quickly slam theirs on to not rear end me. It is honestly very scary to find yourself suddenly not in control of your vehicle when a human is better able to interpret a constantly evolving situation than a computer system. Case in point, the last time I was scared half to death, the brakes slammed on while I was driving unobstructed as a car pulled out from a store far ahead of me into the lane to my right. I was in the middle lane. At no time was the car crossing into my lane. It had just started to pull out, and my brakes slammed on. If the person behind me didn-??t think fast, I would have been hit. There have been lawsuits against Subaru-??s eyesight feature because it misinterprets items like trash cans or cones as obstacles. The braking system is going to cause serious harm to someone, and I personally am tired of almost being in accidents because the car brakes without warning. I don-??t know at this point what to do to get it disable. Safety features aren-??t supposed to cause harm.

- Fairfax, VA, USA

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.

- Elizabeth, NJ, USA

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.

- Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA, USA

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.

- Eau Claire, WI, USA

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.

- Chandler, AZ, USA

The car was parked for a week while visiting. (It has recently had its 30,000 mi.service) When I got in and started it, all the dashboard lights lit up including check engine. I tried reaching a Subaru near where I was visiting. No luck so I called my Subaru in VT. I was told I was safe to go as long as the Check Engine wasn't blinking. It wasn't so I drove home (I did note the steering wheel felt "tight".) When I went into the dealership upon my return, they did their computer diagnostic test. It was explained it could be as simple as not tightening the gas cap. The computer turned up something in the wheel. At first, he wanted to give me an appointment a week and a half out, but then found a car he could loan me that following Monday. I wanted to know why they needed it several days. He said it was to figure out the issue. When I asked if it was safe to drive, he said it was but there was a possibility of being on the highway and losing control/not being able to stop, but that was rare. I asked about the change in steering, as though the power steering was lost, and he explained they don't have that kind of system. I drove home slowly and went no where except Sunday when I drove a couple of miles to a farm stand close by. Upon returning into the driveway, I put it in reverse to park. It accelerated and when I tried braking, it wouldn't respond. It was a though everything was locked. The car jolted. Sped. Jolted. The side airbags deployed. My arm was banged up from the airbags but nothing broken. I did not mistake the accelerator for the brake. The floor mat did not get stuck under the accelerator (I've Weather Tech Mats.) When the car got towed, it started. The tow driver said it should not have done that with the side airbags deployed. (It won't let me type in the box How Fast Were You Going. It should have been 2mph. The car accelerated and lack of braking and control contributed to the crash.

- Thetford, VT, USA

There is a dangerous design that you need to be aware of. We had eye drops stored in the Subaru console in the nook by the parking brake button. While we were driving, the weight of a purse must have pushed down on the drops causing it to act like lever and pull up on the parking brake button. The brakes activated with the car coming to a very abrupt stop. The vehicle following us (too closely) rear ended us. $15,000 worth of damage to a 2019 Subaru. Subaru is not the only manufacturer to have the parking break button in the console where it is a convenient spot for eye drops, chap stick, or make-up.

- Durango, CO, USA

Saturday, Dec 26, around 2:30-3pm I was leaving estes park Colorado, driving down a windy mountain road. At this time I was applying my brakes around the corners and, constant on/off from the brake pedal. During one of these braking moments on a corner my car accelerated instead, as I'm applying the brake, for 1-2 seconds. It's like a lurch forward instead of a brake. Then it corrected itself and did not do this again. I also experienced this phenomenon when driving in the snow in 2019. It occurred 3-4 times when I was driving in the snow applying the brake frequently. The car would unexpectedly lurch forward while my foot is on the brake. Each time I've experienced this I was driving with eco mode on, pressing the brake frequently for a duration of time. It's as if the car gets confused or is trying to switch gears. This is my first AWD vehicle.

- Arvada, CO, USA

Driving down a side street I pulled into a parking space behind another vehicle I hit the brakes and instead lurched into the car in front of me. I pushed the vehicle in front of me about 8 feet and finally came to a stop. During this time I repeatedly pressed the brake pedal and had no response. After having the car repaired at the collision center they brought the vehicle to Subaru. Subaru ran a diagnostic test and said that there was nothing wrong with the car. After I received the vehicle from the collision center the passenger side airbag detector would not go off for my wife who weighs under 100 pounds.'to clarify the sensor indicated that the air bag was off.' I sat in the passenger seat and the light went off. Total damage to my car was about $8200 and I'm not certain of the damages to the other vehicle.

- Montgomery, OH, USA

Brakes: The car accelerate without any action during driving. Wiper: Wiper blade make a noise like its about to fall apart. Seat belt: Seat belt install in a place that( front both seats) there is no space between seat and car body.

- Iselin, NJ, USA

We have a 2019 Subaru Forester, problems have been with the eyesight slamming on the brakes for no reason, and turning on and off at random times. The major issue has been the slammed on brakes when the road ahead was clear, jarring me and passengers, my wife literally had whiplash and a headache from the extreme, unexpected braking. This has happened when a vehicle in from of us made a right turn, road ahead is clear, traveling the speed limit of 35 mph, sensors must be picking up the corner of the other vehicle as we approach, locking up the brakes, thinking it is still in front of us. Another incident, eyesight sensing an empty paper bag being blown across the highway, slamming on the brakes, this could have caused a rear end collision from a driver behind us if they were following to close, like is the norm in rush hour traffic. Another event, a dog ran across the freeway, eyesight never activated, I thought I had braked and cleared the dog, he kept running, no impact, found damage to front end upon inspection. Another issue unrelated to eyesight, the defroster blower motor does not respond to high setting when first turned to high to clear window fog, it takes 3 to 5 minutes before it ramps up to high speed. I have brought this to the attention of our salesperson and service department our Subaru dealership, maybe be a calibration issue, program issue with the eyesight sensors, they refused to document anything I shared and told me their is absolutely nothing wrong with the system without even looking at it. There is no more love in our Subaru, and no concern for safety at the dealership. I have spoken with other 2019 Subaru Forester owners experiencing the same eyesight issues. This has been happening since we leased the vehicle October 2018 to recently on 2/20/2020. I was informed to file this by the Ohio attorney general while filing a complaint with them.

- Willoughby Hills, OH, USA

I was parking at a busy ski center, car in drive as I was slowly pulling into an open space, car in first row of vehicles facing a small road. The road connects the parking lot with the ski shop. 5 mph would be normal speed on this road, where pedestrian skiers walk from the lot to the ski shop. Before I could stop to turn off the car, the engine started revving crazily, the car lurched forward and accelerated on its own. Brakes would not respond. I was able to steer onto the road, car accelerating faster and faster, no brakes, no control. There was a small car driving slowly some distance ahead, and I was gaining on it fast, a split second away from crushing it, so I deliberately swerved into a snowbank, hit some trees, and that finally stopped my car. I was unhurt. Extensive front end damage and passenger door damage front and back, and roof rack damage. Police came to the scene, car was towed by flatbed back to the dealer. Insurance paid for the repairs. Manufacturer will examine the vehicle thoroughly, will remove the "black box" to find what was the cause of unintended acceleration and loss of brakes. This examination may take 4-6 weeks. So fortunate that no one was injured or killed. I cannot estimate what speed the car reached on its own.

- North River, NY, USA

Traveling from ri to western NY. Departed ri in am with moderate rainfall when "eyesight disabled" indicator flashed several times over the course of half hour. When rain subsided, indicator disappeared. Several hours later, was driving 65-70mph on straight section of major interstate with good visibility, approaching a highway overpass when "obstacle detected" warning appeared despite no obstacle in road, and shortly thereafter car went into a slow spin (felt as if floating) towards left, striking a guardrail underneath the overpass head-on and continuing to spin 360 degrees at which point I was able to recover control of the car. It felt as if brakes had engaged (? crash imminent braking system) although I did not have foot on brake pedal and I did not attempt to brake while in the spin as I feared rolling the vehicle. Despite extensive front end damage, airbags did not deploy. Had to leave the vehicle in albany, NY and currently awaiting evaluation by insurance adjuster. Of note, 5 months earlier the windshield had cracked when hit with small rock and was replaced at Subaru dealership where the vehicle was purchased.

- Barrington, RI, USA

I have experienced two instances of phantom braking, similar to reports I've read about Nissan rogues. Once in July, and once last week. In both cases I was driving at low highway speed on a sunny afternoon. The car's "object dectected" warning flashed and beeped, and the car braked automatically, for no reason. I suspect bright sunlight and/or a shadow on the highway was to blame

- Washington, DC, USA

Takata recall, we recently purchased a 2019 Subaru Forester from a Subaru dealer in berlin Vermont. It developed an extremely loud squeal with under 2000 miles. This was a result of defective brake material on the right rear inner brake pad breaking loose from the brake pad and lodging between the rotor and dust shield. I took photos of said defect (kept the defective component) and brought the vehicle back to the dealer, I gave them the defective material which was crusted on the side of the pad lining. They brought the car in and told me it was road dirt. Fortunately I took photos of the defective component as well as the brake pad. They gave me the car back without changing the defective components. The defective brake pad had a build up of this crusted obviously defective material from brake manufacture on the sides of it. This material appeared to have a lava crusty type texture and is obviously not brake pad material. The manufactured brake pads are currently on the vehicle. I can not upload photos on this computer, do have photos however. This would obviously have some effect on brake life and and performance as a foreign substance is being introduced into the service brake components. I have the actual miles when the dealer brought it into the shop as well. Thanks for your attention in this matter.

- Hyde Park, VT, USA