10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
5,835 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 miscellaneous problems

miscellaneous problem

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2019 Subaru Forester Owner Comments (Page 1 of 7)

problem #121

Dec 122023

Forester

  • miles

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

The Eyesight feature went out and the heater went out and I took the car to a mechanic and he said it had a faulty thermo control valve that needs replacement.

- Cathlamet, WA, USA

problem #120

Oct 202023

Forester

  • miles
2019 Subaru switched from a thermostat to a "Thermo Control Valve" (TCV). They eventually redesigned it in 2022 due to so many failures. Mine failed rendering the cars "eyesight", lane assist, cruise control and brake assist useless. Check engine light and oil temperature light remain on. Engine code is P26A6 and P26A5. Subaru has known about this issue for years yet charge $600 for the new "Thermo Control Valve" and $1,000 to install it. These "TCV" valves fail indiscriminately with mileage not being a factor, rather the product itself. Any search online and you will find hundreds (if not thousands) of people affected in and outside the warranty. No recall has been given.

- New Vienna, OH, USA

problem #119

Oct 192023

Forester

  • miles
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 #118

Oct 152023

Forester

  • miles

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

2019 Subaru Forester with 38,000 miles. Heat stopped working. 30 minutes later, check engine light came on. Warning on dash stating that Eyesight cannot turn on. Lane assist and adaptive cruise control will not turn on. Mechanic found it needs the Thermo Control Valve replaced or the car will have no heat and the engine can overheat. Quoted a $2,000 repair cost and 3 weeks before we can get the part.

- Lansing, MI, USA

problem #117

Oct 182023

Forester

  • miles
This is the second time I am reporting this issue in the past few months. Three times this week my car has gone into the "gas saving" mode at a stop sign or red light and has not turned back on. I get a warning and need to turn the car off and then back on. This has put me in very u safe situations as people assume I'm going to start driving once the light changes and I've been nearly rear-ended multiple times, screamed at, cursed at, etc. This has happened an uncomfortable amount of times and I think you should do an investigation before I, or someone else gets hurt!

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

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problem #116

Oct 132023

Forester

  • miles
Thermo Control Valve went bad causing car to have no heat in the cold can-??t use the defroster for windshield and no safety features Subaru knows about issue but not recalling it leaving us the high service payment

- Montgomery, NY, USA

problem #115

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 #114

Sep 232023

Forester

  • miles
I came out to my parked vehicle to find a large crack on the windshield.

- Richmond, TX, USA

problem #113

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 #112

Jun 012023

Forester

  • miles
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

- Gainesville, FL, USA

problem #111

Jul 022023

Forester

  • miles

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

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.

- Missoula, MT, USA

problem #110

Jul 032023

Forester

  • miles
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.

- Cedar Park, TX, USA

problem #109

Apr 192023

Forester

  • miles
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

problem #108

May 032023

Forester

  • miles
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.

- Knoxville, TN, USA

problem #107

Apr 092023

Forester

  • miles
Front window has a hairline crack inside glass about 6 in. long. There is no impact point from a rock or object, it just suddenly appeared.

- Plano, TX, USA

problem #106

Mar 262023

Forester

  • miles
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.

- Fayetteville, NC, USA

problem #105

Dec 152022

Forester

  • miles
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.

- Wexford, PA, USA

problem #104

Dec 012022

Forester

  • miles
Windshield cracks developed, 2x since ownership.

- Nutley, NJ, USA

problem #103

Jul 142022

Forester

  • miles
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.

- Albany, OR, USA

problem #102

Oct 282022

Forester

  • miles
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.

- Bountiful, UT, USA

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