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.
Visibility/wiper, Jun 9, 2023
Windshield has developed a 14 inch crack from HVAC unit on bottom of windshield. Replacement windshield also developed a 20in horizontal crack.
Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Forward collision avoidance, Jun 8, 2023
Driving home for 15 minutes. parked on left turn lane, slight incline. when traffic light turned green, i stepped on the gas and the engine stalled. I remember seeing "eyesight disabled" warning light come on. I put vehicle in park, shut it off, and turned engine back on. I was able to drive home. possible system failure - fuel system, auto/stop feature? yes, available to inspect safety - 5:30pm heavy traffic on 4 lane highway0. blocked traffic turning left. no where to pull over. have not taken vehicle to mechanic or been inspected. I saw no warning lights prior to vehicle stalling, or experienced any engine anomalies.
Engine, Jun 7, 2023
The auto start/stop occasionally malfunctions where the auto stop turns on as expected but then doesn't turn off when you try to use the accelerator. It has happened when a red light turns green the car stalls, displays an error message and you have to restart the car to get moving again. This recently happened to me at a very busy intersection and was very dangerous.
Forward collision avoidance, Jun 5, 2023
First problem was eyesight was not engaging. Had diagnostics run and they said there was no problem. That problem continued. Second problem was when I was sitting at a red light. When the light turned green and I started to go, Eyesight engaged and totally shut the car off. It had to be placed in Park and restarted. Dealer said they have never heard of this. Internet says it's a problem. I had contacted Subaru headquarters after 1st incident. They paid for diagnostics, but would not respond after I contacted them to say it continued. Dealer and headquarters blew me off.
Visibility, Jun 2, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that upon entering the vehicle, she noticed an L-shaped crack on the driver's side windshield starting at the base of the windshield going upwards the top of the windshield. The contact stated that the temperature was not a hot or humid day when the windshield cracked. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000.
Electrical system, May 30, 2023
The Starlink Infotainment system started to continually reboot despite any attempts to reset it. With the car shut off, the CD player began continuously spinning up then winding down. This drained the battery. I had to pull a fuse labeled BACKUP to prevent this from happening. This has rendered the backup camera unusable.
Engine, May 25, 2023
I was driving my 2019 Subaru Forester on 5/16 and it was operating normally that morning with no visible warning lights. I got back into the car later and it started fine. While getting onto a local highway, accelerating to highway speeds, multiple warning lights including the check engine light turned on. I was subsequently unable to accelerate and needed to coast to a stop on the closest off ramp, fortunately avoiding an accident. After turning the vehicle off and back on again the check engine light was still illuminated and the car would only make short lurching movements. I needed to have the car towed to a local Subaru dealership (Maita Subaru in Sacramento, CA) and they diagnosed it as a problem with the engine's thermo control valve. This was replaced under warranty and the vehicle is now working normally. The dealership told me this is a known issue with 2019 Foresters and that they've repaired other vehicles under similar circumstances. Multiple other owners have detailed similar experiences on an online forum as well. There does not appear to be a recall but this is a serious safety issue.
Suspension, May 24, 2023, crash
I was driving up hill making a curve, suddenly the car went out of control slide all the way to the left. the car ended it up hitting some rocks, I was lucky that nobody got hurt, just my car was damage. I towed my car to a collision center, and I learned that THE REAR STABILIZER BRACKET WAS DAMAGE which was a recall WRD-21. this issue was address and suppostly was fixed by Subaru dealers but OVER TIME MAY LOOSEN AND INCREASE RISK OF A CRASH. Probably I will never find out if THE REAR STABILIZER BRACKET WAS MALFUNTION AND COUSE THE ACCIDENT. But I wanted to report it. Hopefully NHTSA looks into this issue.
Engine and engine cooling, May 23, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the temperature control valve (TCV) to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 67,000. The consumer had to get the vehicle repaired due to this TCV valve issue all the security systems were not functioning causing safety issues.
Visibility/wiper, May 14, 2023
Windshield cracked for no reason. I was sitting next to the car for 2 hours, when I arrived at location windshield was perfect, when I got in to leave it was cracked. I never was more than 10 feet from car and nothing hit it.
Other or unspecified, May 11, 2023
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
Power train, Electrical system, May 10, 2023
On January 1, my wife was returning home from a grocery run when our 2019 Forester’s dashboard suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree--Check Engine, EyeSight, Anti-Lock Brakes, Anti-Skid, and blue Temperature lights all came on simultaneously. The Forester did not lose any appreciable power but the heater stopped working and was only blowing cold air. My wife was only a couple of miles away and brought it straight home. I checked under the hood but had no idea what was going on, so I drove it over to my local Autozone for a scan, and it came back with the 'P26A3' Code, as well as 'P3300,' and 'P2100' (Throttle Control Motor-Circuit Open). I brought our Forester back home, did some online research, and discovered that this code typically indicates a thermal control valve assembly (TCVA) failure. Our vehicle's 60,000-mile powertrain warranty had just expired but fortunately, we live near a reputable repair shop which was able to take the Forester in the next day, confirm the codes and TVCA failure, and then make the repair. Further research revealed that this appears to be a widespread quality control problem and typically costs affected owners between $1,100 and $2,000 to fix beyond the expired standard 35,000 mile /60,0000 mile powertrain warranties. In fact, there is a Subaru Forester Owners thread that runs over 33 pages with 654 posts from other owners throughout the world reporting the very same failure over the past year, nearly always between 50,000 and 70,000 miles. (https://www.subaruforester.org/threads/2019-thermo-control-valve-assembly-and-warranty-merged-thread.823510/) This past week, a friend of mine who's an old school mechanic, took the old TCVA apart and discovered that coolant had actually leaked into the part's internal electronics and shorted them out, causing the failure. He was amazed that the short circuit did not damage my Forester's computer. It's certainly a design and manufacturing defect and a recall should be issued by Subaru.
Other or unspecified, May 8, 2023
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.
Power train, Electrical system, Forward collision avoidance, May 5, 2023
Eye-sight system shutdown and the car, although it was drivable, ran rough. Since there is a huge reliance on the monitors as they are designed to "forward think" to aid the driver, this was a major disruption to the driving experience. Not knowing what the disabled components affected, was a huge cause for alarm. Upon seeing the check engine light come, my wife brought the car home and I hooked up my device to read the code (P26A3 - showed up). Then I looked up that code and was directed to multiple incidents where that very same thing has become frequent on this model and a few others like it. We called the Winston-Salem NC Subaru Dealer (Flow) and they suggested we bring the Forester in for a check. Once they checked the vehicle out and confirmed the code we mentioned, they told us the "TCV" problem was found on our vehicle and they have seen others with the same problem. They even had the parts in stock to make the repair that day! They kept the parts and said they were going to be sent back to Subaru of America for analysis.Interesting detail: once we drove the repaired vehicle, it ran better than it ever had and the only work they did was to fix the TCV issue (according to the repair paperwork).
Engine and engine cooling, May 1, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Auto Zone, where it was diagnosed that the thermal control valve was faulty. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where the thermal control valve was replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 09-80-21 (Thermal Control Valve – Design Change) however, the vehicle was not covered under the TSB. The failure mileage was approximately 93,000.
Air bags, Apr 30, 2023
SRS warning light illuminates after honking of horn (horn activator on central steering wheel). After turning off the car and then restarting, the warning light is not visible, but then the warning light recurred after honking horn again during driving. Appointment for evaluation at dealer scheduled.
Engine, Forward collision avoidance, Apr 26, 2023
THERMO CONTROL VALVE (TCV) is suspected. I am a member of 2019 Forester group on facebook and reports are quit common for these model year. The check engine light is on and RAB system/eyesight is disabled.
Engine, Forward collision avoidance, Apr 25, 2023
* Eyesight disabled and Thermal Control Valve-P26A3 diagnostic code. Vehicle is available upon request. * Eyesight immediately disabled and maintaining that all safety features are disabled. Safety features that are relied upon, disengaged, and aborted for literally a Subaru known engine issue (TSB #09-80-21) - THAT IS SAFETY AT RISK to everyone that owns a Subaru with this issue. * 2 Independent services confirmed diagnostic- P26A3 *Subaru was requested to review when the vehicle was in for recall inspection. * No warning lamps, messages or any other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. The warning lights and safety features disengaged all appeared at one time.
Visibility/wiper, Apr 16, 2023
Since purchasing the vehicle in December 2018, we have had to replace the windshield twice, and there is a crack in the current windshield which I am speaking to the insurer about tomorrow. Attached are pictures of the 3 incidents. For comparison we also own a 2015 Nissan Rogue with 110,000 miles which has never had any such issues.
Engine, Apr 12, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that on multiple occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, or while the vehicle was idling, the vehicle lost motive power; however, the engine remained running. The contact attempted to press the START/STOP button to turn the vehicle off, but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated, and the turn signals failed to operate. The contact stated that she attempted to restart the vehicle several times however, after waiting for several minutes, the vehicle restarted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
Visibility/wiper, Apr 11, 2023
A crack "spontaneously appeared" at the base of the wind shield going up at 18 inches.
Other or unspecified, Visibility/wiper, Apr 9, 2023
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.
Fuel/propulsion system, Apr 8, 2023
While driving, the car would occasionally experience deceleration despite pressing the gas pedal. It would suddenly pick up speed and continue normally. Moreover, the car stalled twice, and on both occasions, it wouldn't restart. The first time, it took a while to restart, and I initially suspected bad gasoline. The second time, it took about five minutes. Given these symptoms, I suspect that the fuel pump could be causing these issues.
Engine, Apr 8, 2023
Check engine light seemed to put vehicle in "limp" mode, cancelling all onboard safety features, i.e. "eyesight", cruise control, vehicle dynamics control, blinking "S" Upon bringing it to a repair shop, they informed me that the thermal value control needs to be replaced, despite having owned the car for only three years. This leads me to suspect either a faulty part or a design flaw.
Visibility, Apr 7, 2023
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that after parking and exiting the vehicle, she returned and noticed a large crack from mid driver’s side to the passenger’s side the windshield. The local dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that they do not repair windshields. The windshield was not replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.