This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
2019 subaru forester failed thermo control valve. There are literally 1000s of complaints on this issue and SOA refuses to issue a recall. Subaru has issued a bulletin to replace the faulty design with redesigned part. When this fails the car goes into limp mode and all lights come on. Very dangerous and quote frankly completely irresponsible that subaru refuses to recall this failure. I am out of warranty and it's minimum 2k to fix. I have a 2019 vehicle parked that I can't get Inspected and can't afford to fix because Subaru of America is trying to save money. Just a matter of time before this causes a tragic accident before they own up to recall.
Car would not restart after engine turned off multiple times at intersections. All warning lights came on. Had to turn off vehicle completely and restart. Very dangerous. Required new battery
All side windows and the sun roof have become scratched. This vehicle is garaged, has 28,000 miles and never goes off road. The scratches extend into the door gasket area thus reaching to very top of the glass. Scratching of the windshield and rear window do not show this. We use a touchless auto wash. The paint is near flawless. There are no such scratches. I believe the glass is defective. We also own a 2015 Subaru Forester. it does go into dirt and grit. The side windows have no such tendency to scratch.
Vehicle was parked in a private single-home garage near Houston, TX. While parked overnight the windshield cracked spontaneously. Crack is ~18 inches long and goes to the bottom edge of the glass around the middle of the windshield.
At 70594 miles TCV (Temperature Control ) failed Check engine light came on and sfety features like eyesight were disabled. Subaru has known for a couple years these valves were bad and redesigned them for replacement. Because I was out of warranty it cost me over 2100 dollars to get it repaired
- Fayetteville, AR, USA
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While driving on the highway my car started to stall and rough idle, It wouldn't drive past 2 rpm sometimes less and would stall. My car constantly stalling made multiple cars/semi-trucks almost hit me and cause them to swerve. The problem was confirmed to be the thermo control valve eroding, which Grayson of Subaru verified. The manufacturer inspected it and confirmed this needed replaced. The only warning signs or messages that appeared appeared after the vehicle stalled when the check engine light, and all lights on the dashboard lit up. Subaru of America has even admitted that this is a problem and offered to pay part of the cost to fix it, therefore knowing they are at fault. They have said they would email me/contact me but haven't returned any correspondence.
Thermocontrol valve failure. Part failure common to this vehicle make and model. Part has been repaired at this time. However Subaru is aware of the part failure reference service bulletin DTC # P2682 & P26Ax** / Thermo Control Valve -?" Design Change. Number: 09-80-21. Date: 02/28/2022. I believe this should be a recall as it is a part failure. If valve fails while closed prevents vehicle operation and can cause unexpected vehicle breakdown in traffic.
The engines shut down or stalled on me while driving completely. It did not accelerate when I was trying to move the car off the road. the engines sputtered / shaken, all the lights came up on the dash board, smokes started to come out of my engines. this problem is similar to the recent Subaru recall on the fuel pump. Please add 2019 Forester on your list of recalls. This is a serious and dangerous issue, i could have been killed if I was dring on the freeway. I was lucky it shut down on a little local street when I was dring slow, about 30 - 35 mpg. Imagine if this happened on the freeway, it could have created a chain reaction, and a lot more people will be involved, and deaths might be involved. Please add Subaru 2019 forester sport on your list immediately because deaths involved. Thank you.
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.
Several times I have needed to jump start my battery. Most recent incidence: I parked and was waiting to get out of the car. I turned back on the Car after driving for 15-20 minutes, but did not turn on the engine. The car ran for about 2-3 minutes and then turned off to get out of the car. I was away from the car for 3-5 minutes and when I went to start it, the battery was dead. I can not leave the door open to bring in groceries or the battery dies. Or, I cannot open the doors to clean out the car because the battery will die.
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.
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.
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.
The car has a power assisted hatchback. When it fails to latch, the power is completely drained from the car, and there is zero indication of this happening, until the next day when an attempt is made to start the car. We've been stranded twice in our car and twice on the road. It's all due to the robotics not getting a signal to stop trying to keep it open. We notified the dealer twice by April of 2021. The second time they replaced the battery and we failed to convince them that this was a symptom, not the cause per many TSBs. In March of 2022 we were traveling and the hatch failed to latch. It would beep all the time. We took it to another dealer in Baton Rouge, who ordered a latch back in Atlanta. We drove it hundreds of mails beeping. The electrical system failed the next morning - again. We got the car started, made it back to Atlanta, and had the latch replaced by a 3rd dealer. Our original dealer says we are not eligible for the replacement hardware/software fix in the robotics (as distinct from the latch) to stop parasitic draining unlike identical cars made in this year. We do not trust this car until it's fixed.
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.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Georgetown, TX, USA