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, Apr 5, 2021
WINDSHIELD CRACKED WHEN VEHICLE WAS 6 WEEKS OLD
Visibility/wiper, Apr 1, 2021
DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AND HEARD A POP SOUND. THEN NOTICED A CHIP FROM THE WINDSHIELD. I'VE HAD WINDSHIELDS GET CRACKS BEFORE FROM A ROCK IMPACT AND LEAVING A CHIP THEN THE CRACK FORMS. THERE WAS NO IMPACT AND THE WINDSHIELD JUST STARTED TO CRACK. IT WAS COLDER OUTSIDE AND WE WERE RUNNING THE HEATER AND THAT'S IT.
Visibility/wiper, Mar 24, 2021
TWO WEEKS AFTER PURCHASING MY CAR, THE WINDSHIELD CRACKED, I TOOK IT TO GET FIXED 3 TIMES AND IT WOULD CONTINUE TO CRACK. I KNOW HOW MY WHOLE WINDSHIELD CRACKED SELL SIDE TO SIDE.
Visibility/wiper, Mar 22, 2021
WINDSHIELD CRACKED FOR NO REASON. I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE INTERSTATE AND IT CRACKED. I HAD IT REPLACED WITH A NEW SUBARU WINDSHIELD AND 2 WEEKS LATER THE NEW WINDSHIELD CRACKED WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE INTERSTATE.
Visibility/wiper, Mar 21, 2021
WINDSHIELD CRACKED WITHOUT KNOWN CAUSE 3 MONTHS AFTER BUYING NEW.
Visibility/wiper, Mar 21, 2021
WINDSHIELD CRACKED WITHOUT KNOWN CAUSE. THIS IS THE SECOND WINDSHIELD ON THE CAR THAT HAS SPONTANEOUSLY CRACKED SINCE IT WAS BOUGHT NEW, A LITTLE OVER TWO YEARS AGO.
Visibility/wiper, Mar 20, 2021
CRACKS IN WINDSHIELD, ONE IS 7 INCHES LONG, OTHERS ARE SMALLER
Visibility/wiper, Mar 15, 2021
WHILE DRIVING I HAVE GOTTEN TWO WINDSHIELD DINGS/CRACKS THAT HAVE BEEN REPAIRED . ANOTHER JUST APPEARED OUT OF NO WHERE. THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING WRONG AS THIS IS THE SAME AMOUNT AS IN ALMOST 50 YEARS OF DRIVING. NEVER HAD THIS MANY PROBLEMS WITH A WINDSHIELD!
Visibility/wiper, Mar 10, 2021
THIS VEHICLE WAS SOLD WITH A FRONT WINDSHIELD WHICH I BELIEVE HAS SERIOUS ENGINEERING ISSUES. I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE 26 MONTHS AGO. LAST WEEK MY WINDSHIELD DEVELOPED A CRACK, WHILE DRIVING ON INTERSTATE 5 IN WASHINGTON STATE, WITHOUT A NOTICEABLE CAUSE. THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED, WITH THE NEXT MOST RECENT OCCURRING IN JUNE 2020. ON THAT OCCASION, SOMETHING HIT MY WINDSHIELD, BUT IT WAS MINUSCULE, CAUSING A NOISE AKIN TO A LIGHT TICK. IT CERTAINLY DID NOT SEEM SUFFICIENT TO CAUSE CRACKING, BUT IT DID. I AM QUITE CONCERNED WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN IF A ROCK LARGE ENOUGH TO CRACK A SAFER WINDSHIELD HITS MY VEHICLE. ANY INFORMATION YOU CAN PROVIDE WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.
Visibility/wiper, Forward collision avoidance, Mar 9, 2021
WINDSHIELD CRACKED SOMETIME BETWEEN 2/16/21 AND 3/4/21. VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED AS PRE-OWNED CERTIFIED ON 2/13/21 FROM DEALERSHIP. CAME OUT TO GO TO WORK ON 3/4/21 AND FOUND LARGE CRACK ACROSS WINDSHIELD. I HAD NO INSTANCES OF OBJECTS HITTING WINDSHIELD WHILE DRIVING THAT WOULD HAVE CAUSED INITIAL CRACK. INTERNET SEARCH REVEALED NUMEROUS SUBARU OWNERS COMPLAINING OF DEFECTIVE WINDSHIELDS IN MODEL YEARS FROM 2017 - 2019. COST TO REPLACE WINDSHIELD AND RECALIBRATE EYESIGHT FEATURE EXPECTED TO COST IN EXCESS OF $1,000. SUBARU CUSTOMER SERVICE CONTACTED AND ADVISED TO TAKE VEHICLE TO DEALERSHIP TO DETERMINE IF THIS IS DUE TO MANUFACTURERS DEFECT. CASE #1-66770999440
Visibility/wiper, Mar 3, 2021
I RAN THE REMOTE START ON MY CAR TO DEFROST IT WHILE IT WAS SITTING IN MY DRIVEWAY THIS MORNING. LESS THAN 10 MINUTES LATER I GOT IN AND NOTICED A SMALL CRACK GROWING UP THE CENTER OF THE WINDSHIELD. THE CRACK WENT VERTICAL ROUGHLY 9 INCHES THEN CURVED HORIZONTALLY ABOUT FOUR INCHES. THE CAR WAS STATIONARY IN MY DRIVEWAY.
Visibility/wiper, Feb 26, 2021
I WAS SITTING IN MY CAR, IT WAS OFF. THE NEXT THING I KNOW, THE WINDSHIELD CRACKED. NO EXPLANATION, NOTHING HAPPENED, NO CARS DROVE BY, THE CAR WASN'T ON. I HAD JUST GOTTEN IN A FEW MINUTES BEFORE TO LEAVE MY JOB AND WAS ON THE PHONE.
Visibility/wiper, Feb 20, 2021
VEHICLE WAS PARKED OVERNIGHT AT MY RESIDENCE. UPON GETTING IN THE VEHICLE I NOTICED A CRACK IN THE WINDSHIELD WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS STILL STATIONARY. THE CRACK WAS NOT PRESENT THE PREVIOUS DAY, AND THE VEHICLE WAS SECURE FROM ANY FALLING OBJECTS. THE CRACK ORIGINATED FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE WINDSHIELD NEAR THE CENTER, TRAVELS VERTICALLY UP, TURNS TOWARDS THE DRIVER (LEFT) SIDE, AND TURNS UP. THERE ARE NO SIGNS OF AN IMPACT. THE WINDSHIELD APPEARS TO HAVE SPONTANEOUSLY CRACKED FROM A DEFECT.
Visibility/wiper, Feb 13, 2021
I HAD MY WINDSHIELD REPLACED SUMMER 2020 DUE TO A MAJOR CRACK IN THE WINDSHIELD. HERE WE ARE IN THE BEGINNING OF 2021 AND I HAVE ANOTHER MAJOR CRACK IN MY WINDSHIELD THAT WILL REQUIRE A FULL REPLACEMENT
Other or unspecified, Visibility/wiper, Feb 11, 2021
ON 2/9/21 I NOTICED A CRACK IN THE LOWER CORNER OF MY WINDSHIELD ON THE PASSENGER SIDE, NEAR THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS. IT WASN'T HIT BY ANY OBJECT AND THERE'S NO POINT OF IMPACT FROM A ROCK OR OTHER ITEM. IT JUST BEGAN TO CRACK BEHIND THE WIPER. THIS IS THE 5TH WINDSHIELD I HAVE HAD ON THIS VEHICLE. 4 WINDSHIELDS HAVE HAD TO BE REPLACED AND THIS IS ANOTHER ONE THAT WILL PROBABLY NEED REPLACED TOO. THERE ARE CURRENTLY 3 SMALL DEFECTS/ CRACKS IN THIS WINDOW ALONG WITH THIS NEW UNEXPLAINED CRACK.
Visibility/wiper, Feb 1, 2021
THE WINDSHIELD GLASS OF MY SUBARU FORESTER 2019 MODEL IS HIGHLY PRONE TO CRACKING. IT IS JUST OVER 10K MILES. IT HAS A 12 INCH CRACK OUT OF NOWHERE. I CANNOT IDENTIFY THE REASON FOR THIS CRACK AS I DID NOT HEAR ANY ROCK-HITTING SOUND WHILE I WAS DRIVING THE CAR. THERE MIGHT BE A ROCK OR OTHER SMALL OBJECT HITTING MY WINDSHIELD. BUT THE SOUND MUST BE TOO GENTLE TO NOTICE.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 30, 2021
SPONTANEOUS CRACK ACROSS THE WINDSHIELD WHILE DRIVING UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS. STARTED AT THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER AND PROGRESSED ACROSS THE WINDSHIELD TO THE EDGE OF THE MIDDLE LEFT SIDE.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 24, 2021
I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE EXPRESSWAY AND STONE HIT MY WINDSHIELD, CAUSING IT TO CRACK.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 13, 2021
HAD TO REPLACE WINDSHIELD 2 TIMES IN 15 MONTHS. WINDSHIELD CANNOT WITHSTAND SMALL CHIPS-THEY RESULT IN LARGE CRACKS THAT REQUIRE REPLACEMENT OF ENTIRE WINDSHIELD. NORMAL DRIVING ON FREEWAY, SURFACE ROADS.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 12, 2021
WINDSHIELD BROKE WITHIN DAYS OF BUYING THE VEHICLE. NO KNOWN ROCK HIT THE WINDSHIELD. CRACK FORMED WHILE DRIVING AND HAS BEEN THERE EVER SINCE
Visibility/wiper, Jan 12, 2021
WHEN DEFROSTING MY CAR AFTER A RECENT SNOWSTORM, I NOTICED THAT A CRACK DEVELOPED IN THE WINDSHIELD JUST BELOW THE PASSENGER SIDE WINDSHIELD WIPER. IT APPEARS THAT A SMALL ROCK/PEBBLE HITTING THE WINDSHIELD CAUSED THE CRACK, BUT I DO NOT REMEMBER HEARING A ROCK HIT THE WINDSHIELD. I HAD NOT DONE ANY HIGHWAY DRIVING IN THE DAYS PRIOR TO NOTICING THE CRACK EITHER. ATTACHED PHOTOS SHOW THAT THERE WAS ONLY A SMALL CHIP (IE NOT A BIG CRATER) AT THE IMPACT POINT, WHICH SUGGESTS THAT WHATEVER HIT THE WINDSHIELD MAY HAVE BEEN SMALL AND DID SO AT RELATIVELY LOW VELOCITY. GIVEN THAT CRACKED WINDSHIELDS ARE A COMMON ISSUE WITH NEWER SUBARU VEHICLES, I BELIEVE THAT THIS CRACK IS THE RESULT OF POOR QUALITY WINDSHIELD MATERIALS AND/OR POOR WINDSHIELD DESIGN. THE CAR IS ONLY ~2 YEARS OLD, AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE EVER HAD ANY SORT OF CHIP/CRACK TO A WINDSHIELD ON ONE OF MY VEHICLES.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 9, 2021
HELLO, WINDSHIELD CRACKED AGAIN ON MY 2019 SUBARU FORESTER. THERE WAS A LOUD CLICKING SOUND AFTER I STARTED THE ENGINE AND A HUGE HORIZONTAL CRACK APPEARED ON THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE WINDSHIELD. PLEASE SEE THE PICTURES ATTACHED BELOW. IT IS A SECOND SUDDEN WINDSHIELD CRACK IN TWO YEARS OF OWNERSHIP! THIS ISSUE IS BECOMING A REAL FRUSTRATION DUE TO THE POOR QUALITY OF THE GLASS AND UNREASONABLY HIGH COST TO REPLACE IT AND RECALIBRATE THE EYE-SIGHT. I AM AWARE THAT THE NEW CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT HAS BEEN FILED AGAINST SUBARU COVERING THE NEW FORESTER SK 2019+ FOR THE SUDDEN WINDSHIELD CRACKS. THAT PROVES THAT I AM NOT ALONE. WHAT ARE THE REASONS WHY THE RECALL WAS NOT ISSUED YET? PREVIOUS WINDSHIELD REPLACEMENT WAS COVERED BY SUBARU DUE TO A WELL-KNOWN GLASS DEFECT THAT TRACES BACK TO 2015. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. BEST REGARDS, ML
Visibility/wiper, Jan 3, 2021
THE WINDSHIELD INEXPLICABLY CRACKED ALONG THE HEATER ELEMENT AND SPREAD UP INTO THE MIDDLE RIGHT OF THE WINDSHIELD, WHILE IN MOTION ON A FAIRLY EMPTY INTERSTATE.
Visibility/wiper, Jan 3, 2021
WINDSHIELD CRACKED FOR NO REASON
Visibility/wiper, Jan 2, 2021
WITHIN A YEAR OR USE MY WINDSHIELD UNEXPECTEDLY APPEARED CRACKED ONE DAY IN PARKING POSITION.