10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
5 / 7
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
4,340 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2019 Subaru Forester Owner Comments (Page 1 of 6)

problem #106

Nov 302023

Forester

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

On November 30th around 5:30 PM on Highway 161 in York County, SC my wife struck and killed a 6 point buck. Thankfully a SC Highway officer was coming in the opposite direction saw the accident and aided my wife in getting out of the car as he had seen a fire in the engine compartment area. Shortly thereafter the car exploded and was engulfed in flames and totally destroyed. Neither the patrol officer nor the tow operator can remember an auto fire resulting from striking a deer.

- York, SC, USA

problem #105

Nov 052023

Forester

  • miles
Defective/failed thermal control valve. Valve failed while I was driving, resulting in safety systems (e.g., lane keep assist, pre-collision braking). Looking this up, this is a known issue to Subaru.

- Gig Harbor, WA, USA

problem #104

Oct 282023

Forester

  • miles
I own a 2019 Subaru Forester. Approximately 5 months ago, I experienced a failure in the auto start-stop feature. My car intermittently shuts down when stopped at traffic lights or in the middle of an intersection. Subaru conducted a diagnostic assessment to address the issue, but they couldn't identify any problems. This has happened about six times within the last five months. They claim to have never encountered this issue before. The temporary solution is to turn off the car and restart it, which is not safe when it occurs in the middle of an intersection. Following my dealership's recommendation, I replaced my battery with a standard EFB battery, However, the same issues persisted. Notably, the problem consistently occurs after driving on the highway for approximately 60-80 minutes and then coming to a stop at traffic lights. It is evident that the issue is not related to the battery. This issue raises significant safety concerns, especially when making left turns after coming to a stop at intersections. The sudden shutdown of the vehicle in the midst of an intersection can pose a substantial safety risk to both the driver and other road users. It not only creates a hazard in terms of traffic flow but also increases the likelihood of accidents and collisions. Given the critical nature of this safety concern, it is imperative that the problem be promptly addressed and resolved to ensure the safety of all road users.

- Dayton, OH, USA

problem #103

Oct 192023

Forester

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Three times in the last week or so, coming to a stop, in traffic, the car throws a warning about the EyeSight not working and it shuts the car off. The first time I was still rolling and had not come to a stop. The other two times I was just barely stopped and it happened. It would be horrible if it happened while driving fast. You have to put it in park and hit the start button to turn the electrical off and then hit the button again to start the car. Windshield is clean. No visible obstruction to the camera system. Clear weather every time. No rain. Daytime driving.

- Lawrenceville, GA, USA

problem #102

Oct 112023

Forester

  • miles
Subaru has issued a service bulletin regarding this issue. The vehicles auto engine on/off (gas saving feature) fails to restart while driving due to OEM battery is known to be too weak. Only way to resolve the issue is to replace with higher capacity battery requiring new battery tray and additional new equipment. Current, customer has to pay repairs out of warranty. Incidents are frequent and reoccurring.

- Templeton, MA, USA

problem #101

Oct 042023

Forester

  • miles
This is a follow up from previous complaint 11525953 dated 6/8/2023. My subaru forester stalled again on 8/2 at an intersection after 15 minutes of driving, and then again on 10/4 at an intersection after 45 minutes of highway driving. There are no warning signals or any indication of engine problems. I replaced the air filter in June hoping that might solve the issue.

- Elkridge, MD, USA

problem #100

Sep 262023

Forester

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

1. termal control valve 2. traveling out of state and engine light came on 3. warning light (check engine was on) 4 confirmned by dealer 5. all lights on dash boards

- Westborough, MA, USA

problem #99

Sep 102023

Forester

  • 16,600 miles
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH in a thunderstorm, the vehicle lost motive power inadvertently. The check engine, the Vehicle Dynamic Control, and the Eyesight Driver Assist system warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The contact stated that the engine continued running, and the instrument panel functions were operable; however, the vehicle failed to respond upon depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, and the vehicle operated as needed. The dealer test-drove the vehicle but could not determine the cause of the failure. The contact stated that she picked up the vehicle; however, the failure recurred while driving. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, and the dealer diagnosed that water was leaking out of the thermal control valve and onto the electric wiring. The vehicle was repaired under Warranty. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 16,600.

- Northampton, MA, USA

problem #98

Jun 012023

Forester

  • miles
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.

- Georgetown, TX, USA

problem #97

Jun 302023

Forester

  • miles
When driving, ALL lights on the dash went on and vehicle safety features did not work- no cruise control, automatic breaking, automatic headlight adjustments, etc. We were over 500 miles from home and had the oil changed but it did not fix the problem. Had $72,000 miles on it, 4 years old. We had to drive home that distance to get it repaired over a 2-3 day period. No safety features were enabled as we drove. Thermo Control Valve was deemed faulty and replaced. Seeing after the fact that the TSB was issued without any VIN numbers: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2023/MC-10237281-0001.pdf, I believe it should include our VIN number and be recalled and the replacement paid for.

- Doylestown, PA, USA

problem #96

Jul 152023

Forester

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

On our way to a vacation in NJ, we were driving on the expressway and a deer jumped over the rail into the hood of the car. The car immediately started to smoke ( dark black). We got out of the car, retrieved two luggage bags, and the car burst into flames. All within 60 seconds of hitting the deer. About five years ago, same thing happened to my daughter driving a Subaru WRX-??. Twice in the same family-??.no recall?

- Hammondsport, NY, USA

problem #95

Jul 192023

Forester

  • miles
My wife was driving her 2019 Subaru Forester (purchased new) and the Eyesight disabled and the check engine light came on. The car was still running, but not as it normally would. It had less power but would still maintain the speed limit. At home the car idled differently, like it was running too rich or too lean. The exhaust also smelled funny.

- Fort Valley, VA, USA

problem #94

Jul 172023

Forester

  • miles
Sun roof malfunction. Would not open. Once open, went on highway and had to close it. This was distracting to me, driver, and put us all at risk for no weather protection or debris on highway. The sunroof malfunctioned again by not responded and would not close. No warning for any errors. Has not been inspected by insurance. It is available for inspection. Online forums show multiple people are having this issue!

- Denver, CO, USA

problem #93

Jul 112023

Forester

  • miles
Over a dozen times now, when at a traffic light, the automatic on/off feature turns the cars engine off. When you take your foot off the brake to reactivate the engine, there is an EyeSight Disabled warning and the car stalls and fails to turn off. You have to turn the car completely off to restart it. I have previously brought the car into a Subaru dealer for servicing after this happened. It has continued happening since then.

- Maple Glen, PA, USA

problem #92

Jun 292023

Forester

  • miles
2019 Subaru Forester Premier. 6/29/23 All ok while driving for 3 hours on highways. Never had any issues before. I stopped car to take a break, when I restarted the car. All the warning lights lit ou and eye-site was off and could not be turned on. Check engine light on along with many others. Had 30 minutes more to go, stopped a few more times to check on the engine compartment - all ok. Brought it to the dealer today, 6/30/23, they were going to need 4 hours to replace a Thermo Coupler Valve? Issued a loaner car, and said Subaru will cover it under warranty even though it has expired. Only 24500 miles on a 2019 Forester.

- Washington, NJ, USA

problem #91

Jan 012023

Forester

  • miles
Automatic Rear lift gate will not raise (but does unlatch); the lift gate cannot be raised manually after latch is released. One can only open it about 6 inches until there is heavy resistance- like the strut has seized or a sensor has triggered a brake. Now, the rear gate cannot be opened in an emergency.

- St. Pete Beach, FL, USA

problem #90

May 272023

Forester

  • miles
The Starlink Infotainment system started to continually reboot despite any attempts to reset it. With the car shut off, the CD player began continuously spinning up then winding down. This drained the battery. I had to pull a fuse labeled BACKUP to prevent this from happening. This has rendered the backup camera unusable.

- Oneida, NY, USA

problem #89

Jan 012023

Forester

  • miles
On January 1, my wife was returning home from a grocery run when our 2019 Forester-??s dashboard suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree--Check Engine, EyeSight, Anti-Lock Brakes, Anti-Skid, and blue Temperature lights all came on simultaneously. The Forester did not lose any appreciable power but the heater stopped working and was only blowing cold air. My wife was only a couple of miles away and brought it straight home. I checked under the hood but had no idea what was going on, so I drove it over to my local Autozone for a scan, and it came back with the 'P26A3' Code, as well as 'P3300, ' and 'P2100' (Throttle Control Motor-Circuit Open). I brought our Forester back home, did some online research, and discovered that this code typically indicates a thermal control valve assembly (TCVA) failure. Our vehicle's 60,000-mile powertrain warranty had just expired but fortunately, we live near a reputable repair shop which was able to take the Forester in the next day, confirm the codes and TVCA failure, and then make the repair. Further research revealed that this appears to be a widespread quality control problem and typically costs affected owners between $1,100 and $2,000 to fix beyond the expired standard 35,000 mile /60,0000 mile powertrain warranties. In fact, there is a Subaru Forester Owners thread that runs over 33 pages with 654 posts from other owners throughout the world reporting the very same failure over the past year, nearly always between 50,000 and 70,000 miles. (https://www.subaruforester.org/threads/2019-thermo-control-valve-assembly-and-warranty-merged-thread.823510/) This past week, a friend of mine who's an old school mechanic, took the old TCVA apart and discovered that coolant had actually leaked into the part's internal electronics and shorted them out, causing the failure. He was amazed that the short circuit did not damage my Forester's computer. It's certainly a design and manufacturing defect and a recall should be issued by Subaru.

- Gettysburg, PA, USA

problem #88

Apr 132023

Forester

  • miles
Eye-sight system shutdown and the car, although it was drivable, ran rough. Since there is a huge reliance on the monitors as they are designed to "forward think" to aid the driver, this was a major disruption to the driving experience. Not knowing what the disabled components affected, was a huge cause for alarm. Upon seeing the check engine light come, my wife brought the car home and I hooked up my device to read the code (P26A3 - showed up). Then I looked up that code and was directed to multiple incidents where that very same thing has become frequent on this model and a few others like it. We called the Winston-Salem NC Subaru Dealer (Flow) and they suggested we bring the Forester in for a check. Once they checked the vehicle out and confirmed the code we mentioned, they told us the "TCV" problem was found on our vehicle and they have seen others with the same problem. They even had the parts in stock to make the repair that day! They kept the parts and said they were going to be sent back to Subaru of America for analysis.Interesting detail: once we drove the repaired vehicle, it ran better than it ever had and the only work they did was to fix the TCV issue (according to the repair paperwork).

- Lexington, NC, USA

problem #87

Mar 092023

Forester

  • miles
March 9, 2023 at 7 AM, I was driving in Philadelphia and traffic had slowed slightly and I was going 5 MPH, coming to a stop in traffic when my car completely "froze", and all the lights on the dashboard came on and it said "auto start disabled" and my car would not move. I tried to hit "start/stop" button but nothing worked and I tried to hit my blinkers so I could warn the cars behind me, but nothing worked in the car and it was stalled. This was the situation for 4 full minutes. I am lucky the cars behind me were paying attention and did not hit my car when it abruptly stopped like that with no warning at all. I am really concerned about this car's safety. This issue occurred to the same car in 2021 and I made an incident report then as well. The dealership said it was due to a faulty hood sensor which they replaced but the same exact thing happened a few times in 2021. I think there is some problem in the car's wiring or electrical system that is not being addressed. This is unsafe and a safety hazard for me and other cars on the road. Subaru needs to address this.

- Macungie, PA, USA

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