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.
Check engine, forward collision warning, flashing "S"drive, no eyesight, automatic emergency braking warning lights, all came on at once and staying on. Possible thermo control valve issue - needs a recall!
Collided with a deer that was running across the freeway. Driving legal speed. Impact to front driver's side. Impact seemed relatively minor. No passenger injury. Odd that the airbags didn't deploy. Able to coast to the shoulder. Steam coming from radiator. That dissipated quickly. Had my sister call 911. Took pics of the front as well as the deer fur stuck to the car. About 2 minutes went by and I returned to the front to assess the extent of the damage. Car totaled. As I was assessing, I noted flames starting at the engine compartment firewall, almost directly centered between right and left sides. Vehicle eventually became fully engulfed. Seems like that fire shouldn't have started a full 5 minutes after the engine had been shut off. Advised to report by State Farm as the loss prevention person also thought it was unusual, as did OSP and fire. Said they'd never seen a car burst into flames after a deer strike.
1-16-24:car wouldn-??t open and start; jump-started by AAA to dealer; dealer kept overnight & checked battery: said charge held, ready to go home. 1-30-24, 4 pm-ish: able to start n drive, but check engine& eyesight warning light came on- late in day, so didn-??t drive to dealer. 1-31-24: car dead; jump-started by AAA again & drove to dealer. On 2-1-24, dealer sends a video & says replaced battery, but check engine light & eye sight warning light still on; investigated further & found there was a lot of water that had pooled under the passenger seat & caused some corrosion- I.e.: shorted out electrical system. I asked dealer to report to Subaru since this seemed like a car defect. 2-9-24- dealer says Subaru won-??t repair it at their expense and it-??s a 25 hour job & will cost a lot. Dealer wanted me to file a claim with my insurance, but car was not driven through rain, high water, or stored in a flooded garage or on a flooded street. The water in the car seems like a design defect on the part of Subaru.
The thermal control valve stopped working. The car has <50K miles on it. The error also results in many/all of the safety systems being deactivated (no adaptive cruise control, no lane centering, no rear braking, etc.)
Driving my 2020 Subaru Forrester on 1/26/24, at night. Stopped at traffic light. Car started shaking, dash lights system lights came on. Turned off car and restarted. Car would not accelerate. Had towed to mechanic. Diagnosed as probable thermo regulator. Could not repair because part only available from Subaru. Called dealer who was not sympathetic or helpful. Told to bring in and leave. Would get to it when they could.
- Orlando, FL, USA
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The Thermo Control Valve failed at 33,945 miles. Because of this, the heater, Eye Sight, Cruise Control, Lane Assist, and Collision Brake did not work. The engine was then only running at "Sport" mode. It did not regulate the heat to the oil and could've caused sludge. The problem was confirmed by a Subaru Dealer Service Shop. I only noticed this problem when the blue thermometer light came on the dash board. Usually I wait about 5 min and once the car is warmed up the light goes away. This time the blue thermometer warning light did not turn off and stayed on for the remainder of the trip. When the car was restarted on the same day the engine check light came on. Eye Sight, Lane assist and Collision assist lights were on.
When the vehicle comes to a stop light or a stop in traffic and the engine turns off the vehicle will stall. It then leaves me sitting in traffic trying to restart my vehicle thus leaving me in an unsafe situation. This happens more often than not.
Thermo Control Valve is the issue according to Subaru. This is apparently an issue as a quick google search took me to many forums of other owners/drivers experiencing the same issue. For me, I was stopped at a red light and my car performed an automatic engine off like normal, and as the light turned green I took my foot off the brake and went to press the gas but my car fully shut off and gave me several warnings that all of the systems were offline. I had to put it in park and try to turn it off and on again to get it going, but it was incredibly stressful for my car to lock up like that on a busy road. This valve causes errors that turn off all the safety features in the car which sounds like a huge issue.
At a stop light, auto stop/start system shuts down the vehicle engine. When the light turned green, and I lifted my foot off the brake, the engine failed to restart. The dash will lit up.. check engine light, eye sight light... etc will come on. I had to shift to park and restart the engine. I read that low remote battery can be a problem, I replaced the remote battery but it has not resolved the issue. Engine failed to restart at stop light after being shut down by auto stop/start system multiple times in last six month. Only recourse is shift to park and restart the engine. This seems to be manufacture problem with auto stop/start system. It is a safety issue for me and my family having a stalled car at stop light due to engine being shut off by auto stop/start system and failed to restart until put in park and restart it.
My wife was out this morning meeting friends for coffee. She gave a friend a ride home and she noticed a crack in the windshield on the drivers side. There was no indication that it was hit with a rock or anything else. I see that there was a lawsuit against Subaru for defective windshields.
Thermo control valve needed replaced. Check engine light and all safety lights turned on. All safety features were disabled when light came on. Subaru has has a recall on 2019 but not 2020.
We hit a deer, front-end impact, then our Forester started on fire and completely burned up. The airbags did not deploy, we were not injured but the car is a complete loss.
Firestone Wauwatosa, WI told me I need to have them recalibrate the Driver Assist System as part of an alignment I took the car in for on 5523. This added $125 on top of a $209.99 cost for the lifetime alignment cost. Laura, in the service department at Zeigler Subaru, Kenosha, where we bought the car, said this would only have to be done if the car had been in an accident. Not knowing what is actually required leaves me feeling unsafe.
Windshield cracked with out any other related damage. No rock chips or other damage. While sitting still windshield popped and a small 1/2 inch crack started on the edge of the glass and spread all the way across the windshield. Subaru clames there is no coverage even tho there is no damage to the windshield
Windshield keeps cracking as if unable to withstand regular road conditions that other vehicles/windshields for vehicles with the same capabilities and from the same brand (but different models) can. Windshield for my vehicle has been replaced once but will need to be replaced again, each time with an oem part
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while attempting to park her vehicle, the vehicle independently accelerated without warning. The vehicle ran through both the parking lot fence and a fence located on private property. The contact made multiple attempts to stop the vehicle by depressing the brake pedal; however, the vehicle failed to stop. The vehicle continued accelerating down a driveway as she attempted to avoid hitting a house, a tree, and another parked vehicle. The contact was able to shift the vehicle into park which stopped the acceleration. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. The contact suffered a headache but did not seek any medical assistance. A police report was filed. Both the parking lot and private property fences were damaged. The contact was able to drive the vehicle back to the parking lot where she called the dealer and was instructed to leave the vehicle at the scene until the vehicle was inspected. The contact was informed that the dealer filed a claim with the manufacturer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 14,865.
Windshield cracked, what appears to be originated from the inside near the heating coil. Has spread horizontal about two-thirds of the windshield. Available for inspection upon request. Has not had any inspections yet. Can inhibit the eyesight if continues to spread.
Windshield cracked with minor strikes. There are two cracks, one small crack, one large crack in windshield and some chips. The windshield seems to be prone to cracking and when I discussed this with the Subaru dealer on 08/05/2022 about the 2020 Forester, he stated that the windshields are thinner to reduce weight for improved fuel efficiency and are not as durable as older windshields. The representative said it would cost $1415.80 plus tax to replace with original windshield. Why would I want an original windshield if it not durable and prone to breaking? This is a defective product and I would think it would be replaced by the dealer at no charge with a more durable product.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Newton, NC, USA