2019 SUBARU FORESTER Complaints

We bought our Subaru Forester after researching the cars with the best safety features. The car feels unsafe because of 2 problems: Engine hesitation and sudden acceleration. We have barely avoided an incident on two occasions in a parking lot. We were braking for a car heading toward us when our car lurched ahead coming close to hitting an approaching car. Another time we were braking for a stop sign and the car accelerated into moving traffic. We have not reported it to our dealer hoping it was a fluke. We are going to bring it to the dealer because it's obvious that there is something dangerously wrong with our car. I can't report dates - it happens each time we drive with no warning - no lights. Suddenly the engine hesitates acting like it has run out of gas or it lurches ahead, accelerating on its own.

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while the vehicle was stationary, a large crack appeared in the middle of the front windshield. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed with the windshield needing to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 14,000.

Battery hesitated when starting engine within 7-9 months of ownership. Spoke to mechanics and service staff several times then and later and was told I need to drive it every 2-3 days to keep battery charged. By 18 months of ownership it was completely dying by fourth day of not driving so I took it into service. After 9 days in service and then service not waiting my advised 4 days to cold start it, they said it’s fine and drive more or get a battery tender. (And that the battery compartment will not accommodate a larger, more powerful replacement battery!). So I purchased a battery tender and keep it attached at all times, just in case. And, I had to purchase a portable charger to keep in my car because an outlet isn’t always available and I could get stranded somewhere. I bought this car upon retirement as my forever car but I do not feel safe or comfortable owning it. I shouldn’t be forced to drive my car every 2-3 days. And should I really be going through all this when purchasing a new car?

I was sitting at a traffic light and heard a crack. No cars in front or at the time passing me by. I then saw a crack on my passenger side windshield. Upon my research I note there have been several complaints with this manufacturer and model of car. The car will be inspected on Monday.

My car has 24,000 miles on it. A month after I got it, a large crack developed in the windshield and I had to replace it. (Very expensive!) The new windshield has chipped twice and I’ve had to have those repaired. Today I discovered another large crack which will require a new windshield. See picture.) I am aware that there is a class action lawsuit in New Jersey regarding defective windshields for this model (and others). So far, I am averaging one chip and one new windshield every 12,000 miles. That is outrageous! I’m sure Subaru will say that the chips and cracks were caused by road debris, but I am 64 years old and have driven since I was 16. In all that time, I have had to have only one chip repaired until I got my new Subaru. The windshield is clearly too delicate and fragile for the task.

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, she noticed there was a crack on the windshield. There was no impact to the windshield that could have caused the crack. The contact stated that it was the second time the windshield had cracked after replacing it last year. The dealer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact to take the vehicle in to be inspected. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 14,720. VIN was unavailable. The consumer stated Williams Autoworld did pay for the 2nd windshield replacement.

Windshield spontaneously cracked, beginning above and to the right of the rear view mirror and tracking down and to the left. It was about 15-16 inches long when it was first noticed.

A little bit under 15K miles, a now (roughly) 40 inch crack has formed across the windshield that continues to spread. The crack has spontaneously developed and was only discovered when cleaning out the car, which is always parked in a garage. There were no previous signs of a crack or damage to the windshield prior to it forming, nor was it prompted by anything (rocks, debris, etc). As the crack continues to spread, it limits my ability to see while driving. The windshield does require replacement which is not covered under warranty. Through research I've discovered that this is an identified issue, with a few owners going to court and winning their cases.

I just received Subaru Safety Recall WRD-21 issued May 2021. It says there is a DEFECT that can cause a crash. It says “overtime, due to initial variation in rear stabilizer bracket dimensions, the rear stabilizer bracket bolts may loosen and possibly detach”. I purchased my Subaru Forester Touring model 2-2-2019. On 7-20-2020 with only 19;413 miles I experienced a very loud rattle in the rear. My local dealer in Albuquerque, NM found that both rear stabilizer bolts were very loose and about to fall out. They retorqued them to specification and checked for a recall. Of course they found none and said someone at the factory probably didn’t torque to the correct value. Now I receive this WRD-21 notice. I called Subaru customer service to find out why this defect is fixed by a simple retorquing of the bolts. Based on their own statement the loosening is caused by a manufacturing error in the stabilizer bracket dimensions. Simple retorquing in my opinion will not fix the defect but only fix the symptoms and probably the bots will become loose again over time due to the imperfections in the stabilizer bracket dimensions as they admitted. Subaru told me all recalls are approved by the NHTSA before it is sent out. So some engineer at NHTSA must have analyzed the problem and their proposed solution and approved it. I disagree with the approval and believe the bolts will loosen again under normal use. Many Subaru owners buy the Forrester model for off road use on rough roads. I fear it will happen to me again. I request NHTSA re-examine this recall and require Subaru to issue another recall to perform a permanent fix to this admitted safety defect in their product. Please me know your decision at [XXX] [XXX] Bernalillo, NM. [XXX] Or at [XXX]

A very tiny pebble bounced off of our windshield very lightly as we were going 45 MPH. The force of the impact should not have caused any damage to the windshield however it resulted in a 12 inch crack across the windshield.