2019 Subaru Forester
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Visibility/wiper is the leading concern among 833 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the highest complaint count among 26 Forester model years with reports.
Of the 2019 reports, 37 involved a crash and 11 involved a fire. 21 people were injured and 1 person died.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Suspension, rearApr 15, 2021
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Subaru Crosstrek, 2019 Crosstrek Hybrid, and 2019 Forester vehicles. The rear stabilizer bracket bolts may loosen and detach.
Missing bolts may allow the rear stabilizer bracket to shift, increasing the risk of a crash.
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will retorque and replace any missing bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 17, 2021. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRD-21.
Campaign 21V263000 on NHTSA.gov
Engine and engine cooling, exhaust system, emission control, crankcase (pcv)Dec 2, 2019
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019 Crosstrek, Forester, and Ascent vehicles. The aluminum Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) valve can separate, allowing the separated components to enter the engine, resulting in a loss of power while driving.
An unexpected loss of power while driving can increase the risk of a crash.
Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the PCV valve, free of charge. If the PCV valve has separated and the components cannot be found, the short block engine will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began January 31, 2020. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUW-08.
Campaign 19V856000 on NHTSA.gov
Steering, electric power assist systemFeb 6, 2019
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2019 Forester and Crosstrek vehicles. A connector inside the Electronic Power Steering (EPS) unit may short circuit resulting in a loss of electric power steering assistance.
Loss of power steering assist would require higher steering effort, increasing the risk of a crash.
None of the affected vehicles have been sold yet. Subaru has notified dealers and they will inspect the steering gearbox, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began February 7, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUC-88.
Campaign 19V065000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: engine
111 reports, newest first. Show all
Engine, Lane departure, Forward collision avoidance, Mar 24, 2024
Thermo control valve failure, P26A3 code, eyesight safety assistance warning light ,check engine light, pre collision braking light, lane assist light.
Engine, Mar 19, 2024
Check engine light came on roughly 3 days prior to incident. Temperature control/coolant bypass valve failed (replaced by dealer at my expense with now updated design), caused the car to unexpectedly lose power rapidly and enter limp mode, dropping from 55 MPH down to 5 MPH in seconds. The incident occurred on a rural road. I had been on an interstate during rush hour roughly 15 minutes prior and could have caused a crash if the incident happened there.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, Mar 9, 2024
Start / stop feature. Multiple incidents. Continuing issue. Stop at a light or in traffic. The car turns off. Let off the brake the car completely looses power sometimes or dies. Need to move shifter to park to restart. When the vehicle dies completely. Unable to move shifter of use hazards. This has happened on the highway at stop lights leaving me stranded in the middle of the road with no vehicle power. Or having to restart. Battery, starter and Alternator have been tested and are good. Safety issue.
Power train, Engine, Mar 2, 2024
While driving on a highway outside Milford, CT my vehicle is check engine light suddenly illuminated. I had a sudden loss of power, no heat, and the engine temperature was unable to read. Engine temperature was not accurately reporting and showed it as being cold as indicated by blue light warmup light. My eyesight, pre-collision system, and sport mode was disabled due to the engine light being illuminated. The vehicle was seen at a Subaru dealer, who diagnosed the issue to be the thermo control valve. Dealership informed me that it was unsafe to drive and I risk complete engine failure, overheating, and or fire if I continue to operate without required repair. As a result, I was stranded overnight, three hours away from home. Repair was completed on [XXX] at cost of $1830. I learned at the dealership that this is a known issue, in 2021 Subaru replace the plastic components of this part with aluminum due to similar issues experience by many customers. Customers are reporting vehicles going into “limp mode” and even engine damage. I learn that there is a class action lawsuit regarding the same issue, which can be reviewed here: [XXX] Please help to recall vehicles and push Subaru to repair/refund. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Other or unspecified, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Mar 2, 2024, fire
CAR HAD JUST BEEN SERVICED BY SUBARU SERVICE DEPT ON 2/27/2024. ON 3/1/2024, WHILE TRAVELLING IN HEAVY RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC, WE SMELLED A VERY STRONG ODOR OF GASOLINE AND WERE ALERTED BY ANOTHER DRIVER THAT OUR CAR WAS LEAKING A LARGE AMOUNT OF GASOLINE IN THE ROADWAY. WE PULLED OVER TO A SAFE AREA, EVACUATED THE CAR, AND THE CAR BURST INTO FLAMES. FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED BY THE WANTAGH FIRE DEPARTMENT. POLICE REPORT BY NY STATE POLICE WAS OBTAINED. CAR WAS REMOVED BY TOW TRUCK.
Engine, Feb 21, 2024
The thermo control valve (TCV), responsible for regulating cabin temperature and engine temperature failed, causing the vehicle to go into safe mode and was not drivable.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, Feb 21, 2024
My 2019 Suburu Forester battery will not hold a charge. Whenever I want to use it, my husband must jump the Forester with cables from his car's battery. I am careful not to park it for long and use it for trips to dentist, doctor, and other necessities. We bought the Suburu Forester brand new off the car lot in 2019. The car has under 3k miles of use--it looks in perfect condition. We've changed batteries but that did not solve the start up problem. It is a safety hazard depending upon where I have to stop the car. The "incident" is one of many recurrences. After 7 days of nonuse, parked in my garage, the car fails to start.
Engine, Feb 6, 2024
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the audible alert sounds were excessively loud and the warning lights were so bright that the contact became frantic. The contact stopped at a local Auto Zone. The Auto Zone mechanic inspected the vehicle and informed the contact that the failure was due to a failed heater control valve. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed heater control module, and it was determined that the heater control valve needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 79,128.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Lane departure, Jan 11, 2024
I am concerned as my car was safely parked, once I started it and it said eyesight off, flashing S symbol, the heat thermo Stat changes back and forth from hot and cold, car is not warming up and check engine light came on. I am very concerned as it is the winter, and I have my baby in the car. Please advise. This seems very unusual and never happened before. The vehicle have around 23K miles.
Service brakes, Engine, Jan 2, 2024
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.
Engine, Dec 10, 2023
I started my vehicle and the check engine light came on. In addition, my eye sight turned off and the letter S started blinking. I also had clicking noises when I turned the vehicle off. I read some forums and this is a thermo control valve problem that happens to many Subarus in 2019-2021 range. As I took the vehicle to check the codes, the heater did not work and the cold engine light kept coming on. The codes read P26A3. Other reports are: NHTSA 11490232; 12479843; 11511658; 11490977; 11479843; and many others. Apparently Subaru is aware this valve and has come out with a new replacement that costs a high dollar amount to change out.
Electrical system, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Dec 5, 2023, crash, fire
On November 30th around 5:30 PM on [XXX] 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. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Engine, Lane departure, Nov 9, 2023
There are two problems: 1 after the car turns off after stopping to save fuel it will fail to restart automatically and must be put into park to manually restart; 2 the car will try to change lanes indicating that the safety related lane change is malfunctioning. I have to fight the car to maintain my lane.
Engine, Forward collision avoidance, Nov 3, 2023
The check engine light came on and all of the eyesight components on the car were disabled as I was traveling down the highway at 70 mph (this included the adaptive cruise control, the lane departure warning, forward collision warning, etc). In addition, the engine thermostat light came on and the heater and defroster stopped working. It was cold and rainy and the window started to fog up and I was unable to clear it without a functioning defroster. This was definitely a safety issue and I had to stop driving. The car was taken to a subaru dealer today and diagnosed with faulty thermo control valve. The technician told me the car should NOT be driven in this condition due to the problem being in the engine coolant system. This is a known issue on the 2019 Forester, and other Subaru models as well, and has a TSB originally issued in Sept 2021. (#09-80-21) My car has 70K miles and therefore is just out of the warranty period. I will have to pay over $1500 to replace this part and because it is a safety issue I have no choice but to pay for the repair. It is a part that is known to be defective and I am requesting that a recall should be issued before others are also put in potential danger and/or forced to pay large sums of money to get it fixed.
Electrical system, Engine, Oct 30, 2023
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.
Engine, Back over prevention, Forward collision avoidance, Oct 23, 2023
The temperature control valve (TCV) has gone bad and so the check engine light is on and reverse automatic braking and the Eyesight system is disabled. The problem with the temperature control valve is unrelated to the safety systems, however, when this valve goes bad, these safety systems are disabled automatically.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, Oct 21, 2023
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.
Electrical system, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Oct 15, 2023
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.
Engine, Lane departure, Forward collision avoidance, Oct 6, 2023
4 days ago my Check Engine light came on. In my car, when this happens, it disables all Eyesight features - collision warning, lane departure warning, etc. Work hours being what they are, I drove home that night and back to work the next day with it on. I managed to get it scanned when it popped a code for the Coolant Bypass Valve. Searching that code online lead me to DOZENS AND DOZENS of forums, posts, stories of the same code popping up on other 2019-2020 Subaru's. They all had to take it in for a hefty repair. It also led me to a Service Bulletin issued last year, which showed that Subaru had rebuilt the TCV so it could withstand corrosion, unlike the previous version. So naturally I took it into my local dealership to have it looked at, and sure enough - the TCV needed to be replaced. WHY HASN"T THIS PART BEEN RECALLED YET??? Given there is no thermostat on my cars dash, I would have no clue whether my car was overheating due to this faulty valve, until its too late. It seems like this is a big potential safety issue that Subaru needs to address, and someone needs to force their hand.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, Sep 26, 2023
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 ON
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, Sep 20, 2023
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.
Engine, Sep 18, 2023
Thermo control valve needs replacing at 34k miles. Not covered under warranty. Also needed new tires at 30k miles and now faulty ignition coil
Engine, Forward collision avoidance, Sep 8, 2023
Thermo Control Valve malfuncitoned, causing check engine light to come on. Car only has 72k miles on it, so dealership (McDaniels Subaru, Columbia. SC) said they couldn't repair under warranty. Even though car has 100K powertrain. To get to this part you have to remove intake manifold, so I don't see how it's not considered part of the powertrain. While Check Engine light is on, NONE of the safety features of this car function. From Internet research, this part is going to fail, (part has been redesigned due to this), it's just a matter of whether it fails within your warranty period or not. Mine was not.
Electrical system, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Aug 10, 2023, crash, fire
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?
Power train, Electrical system, Engine, Jul 25, 2023
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.