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: visibility/wiper
370 reports, newest first. Show all
Visibility/wiper, Jan 22, 2022
I have owned my certified pre-owned 2019 Subaru Forester for less than a year, with under 30K miles. Within the last 2 months I’ve gotten a crack and a chip in two different areas of my windshield. Nothing out of the norm happened to cause this. I only drive 20 miles round trip for work daily and some errands around town on the weekends.
Visibility/wiper, Dec 20, 2021
Windshield Glass Break even small debris
Visibility/wiper, Dec 20, 2021
My front windshield just cracked, no rock hit it, just cracked
Visibility/wiper, Dec 13, 2021
Yesterday, when we got into the car (2019 Subaru Forester) we noticed a large crack in the windshield. It started near the edge where the glass meets the frame, and went down and curved towards the driver side. If it were a straight line, it would be at least 10 inches. We had not had any rock strikes while driving and the windshield showed no signs of cracks the day before. The car has a little more than 12k miles so still very new.
Visibility/wiper, Dec 12, 2021
Yesterday as I was driving home, I heard a “pop” noise & I looked at my front windshield I saw a 6” crack in the lower section of my windshield underneath the left wiper blade. I have approximately 22,000 miles on the vehicle. I got it brand new on 7/3/2019.
Visibility/wiper, Dec 11, 2021
3 chips in the windshield very quickly and had them repaired. This windshield is a rock magnet and easily chipped. Only had 1 windshield cracked and less than 3 dings repaired with all my other vehicles in over 40 years of driving. Also, just driving down the road the windshield cracked right at eye level all the way across the drivers side. Now while driving, have to have seat raised all the way to be above the crack so road view is not distorted or impaired by the crack. Have not replaced it yet because of expense to do so for insurance, Eye Sight reprogramming, researching what brand windshield to replace it with that is not so susceptible to dings / cracking, why this vehicle has more issues than any others I have had and whether purchasing / installing a rock deflector would help. Something to note, that as of this post there are 514 complaints total for this vehicle posted with two thirds of them having to do with visibility (windshield) issues (313 + 25). Not to mention the other Subaru vehicles with the same issue around this time period. Something is not right with these windshields!
Visibility/wiper, Dec 10, 2021
Driving on the highway, and a small pebble hit my window and cracked it. This is the second time in the three years it's been driven (~34,000 miles). The windows seem to be weak as compared to other cars. The repair is expensive because of the eyesight system.
Visibility/wiper, Dec 1, 2021
Small rock strike on interstate caused cracked windshield. Second on this vehicle since purchased new.
Visibility/wiper, Nov 30, 2021
Numerous small chips throughout normal driving conditions. Mostly pitting. However one rock chip (starburst) received from opposite lane traffic. Had glass company seal, but approx 1 month later it spread across. Throughout my history I've never seen such a fragile windshield.
Visibility/wiper, Oct 14, 2021
A pebble struck the lower right corner of the windshield which precipitated a long crack going one-third of the way across the windshield. I have had many rocks hit my windshield in other vehicles and not once have they started a crack across the whole windshield. In contacting Subaru of Surprise service center, they notified me of a two month backlog order for a replacement windshield.
Other or unspecified, Visibility/wiper, Sep 24, 2021
My windshield cracked for no apparent reason. To the best of my knowledge, nothing hit the windshield itself. I was parking the car and all of a sudden I noticed the crack. Single line from the left edge. No chips or divots that I can tell
Visibility/wiper, Sep 20, 2021
Windshield cracked for an unknown reason. This is the second crack and windshield replacement within one year.
Visibility/wiper, Sep 14, 2021
When i entered my car on Monday 9-13-21 to go to store found a cracked in the windshield start from the top corner to the middle where the eyesight is located towards the middle and formed a J . The car was not used since friday night 9-10-21. I immediately checked if there was any object that hit or cause my windshield crack but could not find any. It just cracked for no reason
Visibility/wiper, Sep 11, 2021
Front windshield spontaneously cracked on passenger front side. The crack is only in the inside layer of glass and does not go all the way through it. Subaru dealer documented there is not impact from anything thing.
Visibility/wiper, Sep 2, 2021
VEHICLE WINDSHIELD CRACKED. FIRST CRACKED IN LOWER MIDDLE BY TRIM, THEN WENT UP AND SPLIT LEFT AND RIGHT. THIS CRACK IS CAUSING VISIBILITY ISSUES AND CAN POTENTIALLY CAUSE ISSUES WITH EYESIGHT (ADAS)
Visibility/wiper, Aug 31, 2021
Normal highway driving, when a loud "pop" noise occurred. Pulled over and assessed the front end, which revealed a large crack on the windshield. Immediately reported to insurance for replacement claim.
Visibility/wiper, Aug 16, 2021
The windshield on my 2019 Subaru Forester is the worst windshield I have seen. In three years, of which I have worked from home half that time and thus limited driving, I had over 8 rock chips, four of which are star cracks. I owned a Hyundai for eight years and never had an issue with that windshield. This is the worst glass I have ever had in a vehicle. I wished there was an aftermarket glass that could be installed to replace this one instead of the manufacturer's glass, but I am told the eyesight feature may not work then. I am stuck having to replace this windshield with the same glass. So I am sure I will be returning for another replacement, again and again, and again. The latest rock chip caused the windshield to crack half -way across the windshield and the split causes any passenger to have light refracted directly into their eyes.
Visibility/wiper, Aug 7, 2021
While washing my vehicle, I would notice small tiny little dips in the windshield. It appeared to be tiny chips as if they were hit with 1000 pebbles. I addressed the issue with the dealership in January 2021. They took pictures and submitted it to the Subaru corporate office. I knew that there were issues related to windshields cracking spontaneously which is why I addressed it with the dealership. They stated that my vehicle may not be related to that issue. Today, August 7, 2021, I went to lunch and park my vehicle. When I returned, I noticed a large crack which runs halfway through my windshield. It starts on the bottom right corner and goes all the way across underneath my rearview mirror.
Visibility/wiper, Jul 29, 2021
Date of incident: 16JUL2021; Mileage at time of incident: 23,202; Driving home from having a recall repair at the dealership, the front windshield cracked with no apparent outside impact. Crack originated in the area where the de-icer for the wipers is located vertically in the middle of the windshield. In an approximate 30 minute time frame the crack proceeded vertically up the middle of the windshield at which point it started to move in a horizontal direction toward the driver side directly at eye level.
Visibility/wiper, Jul 19, 2021
I was driving to work at 6:15 am and I was stopped at a traffic light with no other cars around me. I heard a light pop sound and realized my front windshield had a huge (approximately 13” ) crack in it.
Visibility/wiper, Jul 12, 2021
While my Subaru forester 2019 was in a parked location, the window spontaneously shattered on upper corner of the passenger side. At the time, the car had less than 15,000 miles on it.
Visibility/wiper, Jul 11, 2021
Our car was parked in our driveway, off-street. Went to drive on Sunday July 11th, around noon, and noticed a large crack in the windshield where there WAS NONE the day before (last driving occurrence). There were NO signs of impact, no vandalism (security cameras didn't pick up anyone). No hail in the weather report for the night. The crack seems consistent with other reports of cracks originating at the base of the windshield. It is about 2ft. in length, starts roughly at the base of the passenger side and goes up about 4 inches and towards the driver's side the rest of the way.
Visibility/wiper, Jul 7, 2021
The windshield has repeatedly chipped from minimal road debris prompting numerous repairs.
Visibility/wiper, Jul 6, 2021
Rear window spontaneously shattered while driving. Nothing struck the window and there was no previous damage.
Visibility/wiper, Jul 6, 2021
The windshield spontaneously cracked originating from the passenger side to the middle while driving out of a parking lot. Nothing struck the windshield and there was no previous damage.