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
833 reports, newest first.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Lane departure, Dec 15, 2023
On Friday, December 15, 2023 I started my car, Subaru Forester Touring 2019. After starting these lights came on the dashboard: check engine, flashing S drive, no eyesight, RAB off. I was reading online that there have been complaints to NHTSA similar to my problem ( NHTSA ID # 11490232, 12479843, 11511658, 11490977, 11479843, 11499756, 11480952, 11491752, 11474804) to name a few reports.This has never happenedbefore. The mileage on my car is about 54,400 miles at time of incident. It seems to me that there is a pattern here that needs to be resolved and the owners informed so they can get if fixed before it happens and causes safety problems for Subaru Forester owners. I am kindly asking your office to seriously look into this specific problem and help us, the consumers, to inform Subaru to fix these issues. I thank you for taking the time to read my letter.
Other or unspecified, Lane departure, Forward collision avoidance, Dec 12, 2023
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.
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.
Power train, Electrical system, Nov 6, 2023
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.
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.
Other or unspecified, Oct 25, 2023
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.
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.
Other or unspecified, Oct 19, 2023
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.
Visibility, Oct 19, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the front windshield had been replaced two times and the failure had reoccurred three times within the year. The vehicle was taken to the dealer the first two times the failure occurred. The contact stated each time the dealer replaced the windshield but could not determine the cause of the failure. The failure reoccurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 118,000.
Other or unspecified, Oct 18, 2023
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!
Electrical system, Oct 18, 2023
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.
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.
Other or unspecified, Oct 14, 2023
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
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
Forward collision avoidance, Sep 25, 2023
Check engine light is on and the heater control valve needs to be replaced. This part is on back order because so many vehicles need to have this replaced and it turns off all the safety features of the vehicle. This is unsafe, faulty and putting loyal Subaru drivers in a vulnerable position. This part needs to be a manufacturing recall as to replace out of pocket is close to $2,000 and only effects the AC but impairs the safety of the driver.
Other or unspecified, Sep 23, 2023
I came out to my parked vehicle to find a large crack on the windshield.
Electrical system, Sep 22, 2023
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.
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.
Other or unspecified, Sep 18, 2023
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
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