2019 Subaru Forester brakes problems

Filed Aug 21, 2026 · Acceleration, Brakes · 80,000 miles · NY · crash

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH with the adaptive cruise control engaged, the vehicle accelerated independently. The contact depressed the brake pedal; however, the engine revved loudly, the vehicle continued to accelerate and collided with the rear of a minivan. The contact was able to steer the vehicle to the side of the bridge and stopped the vehicle. The side air bags deployed after the crash. No injuries were reported. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard by the Port Authority Police. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact retained legal counsel. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

Filed Oct 24, 2025 · Brakes, Engine · NY

About a month ago while approaching a stop light turning green at a busy intersection, I was slowing into the left turning lane when my car just stopped. No avoidance, no alerts. I had a semi behind me who started pulling out around me in heavy traffic. I could use my flashers. I turned the car off, then on and it finally restarted. This is a 2019 Subaru Forester, original owner, only one incident - but it was definitely weird, and unsafe!

Filed Jul 16, 2025 · Brakes · 50,000 miles · WA · crash · 1 injury

The contact owned a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving on a main road at 30 MPH upon approaching a red light the contact attempted to slow down by depressing the brake pedal, however the vehicle would not slow down, the contact proceeded to swerve to the right and in the process crashed into a lamppost and power pole with the entire front end of the vehicle. There was property damage to both the lamppost and the power pole, and the vehicle came to a stop upon impact. The airbags were deployed. The vehicle was going 30 MPH at the time of the crash. The vehicle was towed to a local junk yard. No warning lights were illuminated. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The contact was injured, and she was seated in the driver's seat. No one outside of the vehicle was reported to be injured. The contact sustained injuries to her chest, abdomen, and shins. Medical treatment was required for the injuries. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

Filed Apr 24, 2024 · Acceleration, Airbags · 34,000 miles · GA · crash · 1 injury

The contact owned a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while parking the vehicle, the vehicle suddenly accelerated to approximately 80 MPH unintendedly. The contact stated that she depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle failed to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle spun several times, causing her to lose control of the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle hit several power generator boxes while spinning. The vehicle then turned around and drove across the street unintendedly, and the front end of the vehicle crashed into a pine tree. The contact stated that the forward collision avoidance failed to engage. The air bags failed to deploy. The neighbors assisted the contact out of the vehicle. The contact stated that she was shocked and was assisted in a chair. The contact that she later felt pain all over the body and was taken to the hospital, where she was informed that she had sustained a broken sternum, bruises, and pain all over the body. The insurance company towed the vehicle to a tow lot, where it was totaled. The dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and sent a field engineer who retrieved the EDR from the vehicle. The manufacturer later informed the contact that the information retrieved from the EDR indicated that there was no vehicle malfunction and that the air bags had not deployed because the impact was not significant. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000.

Filed Jan 2, 2024 · Brakes, Engine · NY

The vehicle is less than 5 years old and has less than 50k miles. While driving with cruise control engaged on the Thruway, my check engine light came on. Almost immediately after the red "BRAKE" warning showed on the dash. When that happened my car engaged the brakes while I was traveling at 75mph and I pulled to the side of the Thruway as quickly as I could as to not wreck with another driver. My engine sounded like it was working overtime so I shut off the vehicle. After a couple of minutes I tried to start my engine and it would not go. After another few minutes I was able to start the vehicle but could not drive because the brakes were still engaged. I needed to turn on/off the parking brake a few times before they released. I then drove the vehicle the remaining 2.5 hours home with the check engine light on and red "BRAKE" light off. This same scenario happened on my way to bring the vehicle to the dealer to fix the issue. The Subaru dealership inspected the vehicle and confirmed the thermo control valve was malfunctioning and would need to be replaced. Thankfully the vehicle was under warranty and did not cost me anything to repair.

Filed Sep 12, 2023 · Brakes · 22,000 miles · VT · crash

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while stopping, the contact went to park in a parking lot and the vehicle had launched forward while the foot was still on the brake pedal which caused the contact to crash into a tree. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was going 1 MPH. No warning light was illuminated. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a dealership. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to tow her vehicle to the nearest dealership for diagnosis. The failure mileage was approximately 22,000. The VIN was not available.

Filed Mar 15, 2023 · Acceleration, Brakes · 29,000 miles · MA

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle suddenly unintendedly accelerated. The contact depressed the brake pedal to regain control of the vehicle. The contact stated that approximately 10 minutes after the first failure, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 29,000.

Filed Feb 21, 2023 · Acceleration, Brakes · AK

Auto safety systems compromised with illumination of check engine light and engine temp warning light. Subaru dealership service department determined problem with Thermo Control Valve. Engine was not overheating as the vehicle was being driven in winter time, February in Alaska. Only indication of problem was indicator lights and reduced heat from cabin heat system. Vehicle went into "limp" mode as soon as warning lights illuminated, disabling advanced safety systems.

Filed Feb 2, 2023 · Brakes, Transmission · AR

Driving uphill when the car suddenly jolted, lost power, and all warning lights became illuminated. All safety features were disabled as well. The sudden stop almost resulted in being rear ended and the car was barely drivable afterwards. Diagnostic trouble codes: P26A6, P2004, P2005, P060B, P0191, P24B9, P2200, P2400.

Filed Dec 21, 2022 · Brakes, Driver assistance · VA

There have been multiple incidents where the automatic collision braking system has almost caused me to be in an accident. Although it can be turned off, you must remember to do it manually each time you turn the car on. The dealership has not offered a choice to have this dangerous feature permanently disabled. In this incident, traffic in front of me started to slow down significantly, and I started to make a lane change into the left lane which was open. In the middle of the lane change, the brakes slammed on, which meant if anyone was approaching in the left, they would have to quickly slam theirs on to not rear end me. It is honestly very scary to find yourself suddenly not in control of your vehicle when a human is better able to interpret a constantly evolving situation than a computer system. Case in point, the last time I was scared half to death, the brakes slammed on while I was driving unobstructed as a car pulled out from a store far ahead of me into the lane to my right. I was in the middle lane. At no time was the car crossing into my lane. It had just started to pull out, and my brakes slammed on. If the person behind me didn’t think fast, I would have been hit. There have been lawsuits against Subaru’s eyesight feature because it misinterprets items like trash cans or cones as obstacles. The braking system is going to cause serious harm to someone, and I personally am tired of almost being in accidents because the car brakes without warning. I don’t know at this point what to do to get it disable. Safety features aren’t supposed to cause harm.