I recently bought this vehicle (used) with ~1900 miles. After 1.5 months of owning the vehicle, I suddenly had several warning lights as well as systems disabled within the vehicle. The first time this occurred I was about 2 hours into a drive, and suddenly my eyesight disabled, check engine light came on, cruise control disabled, lane departure disabled, collision warning and automatic braking disabled. After pulling over to inspect, I also realized my trunk would no longer open. I took it to a dealership who said it was due to low battery voltage—despite there being no spectacular incidents to drain the battery since I purchased the vehicle. They recharged the battery and the problem was temporarily fixed. However, once I retrieved my vehicle from the dealership the check engine light and disabled features were still prevalent. I once again had them recharge the battery—despite there again being no events causing the battery to drain—to which the problem was solved. Again, about an hour into my drive back home, the check engine light and features suddenly disabled. This is detrimental to my safety as a driver—as every safety feature suddenly disables without warning during my drive.
2019 Subaru Forester driver assistance complaints
Page 3 of 3: complaints 41 to 62 of 62, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The lane keeping assist even when shut off prevents lane changes. A truck drifted into my lane and I had to use extreme force to steer over the car. The collision assist will randomly brake at high way speeds, also while off. The brakes will get squishy, not properly engage and make funny noises while the parking collision is off as well.
My 2019 Subaru Forester experienced an unexpected (random) activation of the pre-collision avoidance automatic breaking feature. While driving on a major city road (dry, sunny, typical Arizona conditions) at approx 40-45 mph the system activated despite there being no obstacle (car or otherwise) anywhere near the vehicle. The nearest car was at least about half a mile ahead. The break force applied was the strongest I have experienced in 24 years of driving. This is not the first time I have experience this issue in this specific vehicle. A similar occurrence happened more than a year ago.
Windshield cracked around September 10 of 2021. Forward warning went off at times since crack. I had windshield replaced and new windshield cracked 4 months later. I must pay $500.00 deductible. Now the crack on new windshield is 3 weeks old and has spread to approximately 15 inches. Windshield must be replaced again. Forward safety now goes off at times as with previous windshield when it was cracked.
I was on a sharp incline at idle behind a line of cars, waiting for the light to turn green and my Subaru Forrester surged forward, out of my control, and hit the back of the vehicle in front of me, causing damage to my vehicle and the one in front of me. I questioned the Subaru service center regarding it and they did not have a means to report the incident to Subaru for investigation, but offered to do a service check on the transmission of the car. Coincidentally (or of uncertain significance), I had been waiting on a back ordered part from Subaru for a malfunctioning thermal control valve that caused a check engine light to be continually displayed on my dash, disabling some of the safety features of the vehicle. They assured me that the malfunctioning part would have nothing to do with any surging problems and that it was safe to drive the car until the part could be replaced.
Tl* the contact owns a 2019 subaru forester. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the forward collision avoidance system erroneously activated, causing the vehicle to abruptly stop in the middle of roadway. The contact indicated that during the failure, there was no objects or vehicles nearby to cause the braking system to activate. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer royal subaru located 3333 east 3rd st, bloomington, in 47401 and the manufacturer were notified of the failure however, no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 12,900.
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
My cars windshield has cracked from the base up over 12 inches. The curious thing about it is I have not driven it in three weeks due to foot surgery and it has been parker. There are no trees or possibility of debris nearby. I didn't have a crack before my surgery, my car had not been driven nor has it been tampered with. I have a camera on it 24 hours a day that notifies me if anyone comes near. The crack is deep and long and subaru has been reported for the safety of it's windshields being defective. Since I haven't driven anywhere it is concerning that my windshield has cracked so badly.
The car has 12600ish miles. There are no rock chips, etc. The windshield cracked for no apparent reason. It didn't have any when we parked last night and now there is a 6 inch crack coming from the bottom center. There were no instances of rocks, driving over bumps, etc.the car didn't have a crack when we parked it last night and all of the sudden does today.
I noticed a serious safety issue with subaru's lane keep assist safety feature: when driving on a busy highway over an area where the dotted line had been painted over with dark paint (by road workers to cover it up for a new lane to be painted) lane keep assist registered it as a line that still exists and forcefully steered me into the lane on my left. To avoid hitting the car in that lane, I forcefully turned to the wheel in the opposite direction. Luckily I am a healthy man who was able to steer myself back into my lane, but it turned my wheel with about three times the force of regular lane assist: I think many people including younger people and the elderly are at an even higher risk levels if they are unable to turn the wheel like I did. It was a much more forceful turn than subaru's regular 'non-urgent' lane keep assist. There were no visual obstructions present that the eyesight camera was picking up: it was registering the old line that had been painted over. This is extremely important because not only is this a safety risk for any type of road work that paints over lines during construction or repainting, but this also poses an immediate danger to life and health to people driving on roads with lines that have been painted over and left in that condition. The computer registered the dark line, meant to visually cover up the old paint, as a white line! I confirmed that this is a systemic issue and not just incidental with me. I found a post on a subaru forum where two people describe the same situation I had. I will link that below. Https://www.ascentforums.com/threads/lane-keep-assist-malfunction.9530/ I tried reaching out to subaru but they did not reply. I brought this up to my subaru dealer who only checked for recalls. I need this to get the attention it deserves, people are going to die here. They probably already have.
Driving down a side street I pulled into a parking space behind another vehicle I hit the brakes and instead lurched into the car in front of me. I pushed the vehicle in front of me about 8 feet and finally came to a stop. During this time I repeatedly pressed the brake pedal and had no response. After having the car repaired at the collision center they brought the vehicle to subaru. Subaru ran a diagnostic test and said that there was nothing wrong with the car. After I received the vehicle from the collision center the passenger side airbag detector would not go off for my wife who weighs under 100 pounds.'to clarify the sensor indicated that the air bag was off.' I sat in the passenger seat and the light went off. Total damage to my car was about $8200 and I'm not certain of the damages to the other vehicle.
Purchased the vehicle brand new in dc of 2018. Since then it has had a series of electrical issues dating back to as early june of 2019. The air conditioner stopped working and I had to take the vehicle in to get serviced. My first red flag. Then the battery randomly died while waiting parked in december (temperature that day was above freezing). After that instance, I had several more dead battery issues with the vehicle. Fast forward to 2 weeks ago where again my battery died, I got the car jumped and the battery kept dying the next day. Recently had a new battery installed by the dealer (tuesday) and again the battery died the next time I went to start the vehicle! The car also has other electrical issues regarding the start/stop feature. I've had instances where the vehicle has completely shut off and I had to manually restart it. The cruise control speed constantly varies. The car doesn't always recognize when I plug in my phone. It seems that any electrical components of the car simply don't work and are not reliable. Subaru should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this death trap of a vehicle on the road. I would never recommend a 2019 subaru forrester to anyone looking to purchase a new vehicle. The car has been nothing but an expensive headache since the moment I purchased it. The irony of it all is that I traded in my old 2014 subaru forrstor into the dealership because it had "electrical issues" according to the dealer and I was better off getting a new car. Me, being naive trusted their advice and drove off with this 2019 hunk of problems. I hope this message serves to any prospective buyer of any subaru vehicle to do their own homework in regards to what they are purchasing.
We have a 2019 subaru forester, problems have been with the eyesight slamming on the brakes for no reason, and turning on and off at random times. The major issue has been the slammed on brakes when the road ahead was clear, jarring me and passengers, my wife literally had whiplash and a headache from the extreme, unexpected braking. This has happened when a vehicle in from of us made a right turn, road ahead is clear, traveling the speed limit of 35 MPH, sensors must be picking up the corner of the other vehicle as we approach, locking up the brakes, thinking it is still in front of us. Another incident, eyesight sensing an empty paper bag being blown across the highway, slamming on the brakes, this could have caused a rear end collision from a driver behind us if they were following to close, like is the norm in rush hour traffic. Another event, a dog ran across the freeway, eyesight never activated, I thought I had braked and cleared the dog, he kept running, no impact, found damage to front end upon inspection. Another issue unrelated to eyesight, the defroster blower motor does not respond to high setting when first turned to high to clear window fog, it takes 3 to 5 minutes before it ramps up to high speed. I have brought this to the attention of our salesperson and service department our subaru dealership, maybe be a calibration issue, program issue with the eyesight sensors, they refused to document anything I shared and told me their is absolutely nothing wrong with the system without even looking at it. There is no more love in our subaru, and no concern for safety at the dealership. I have spoken with other 2019 subaru forester owners experiencing the same eyesight issues. This has been happening since we leased the vehicle october 2018 to recently on 2/20/2020. I was informed to file this by the ohio attorney general while filing a complaint with them.
Traveling from ri to western ny. Departed ri in am with moderate rainfall when "eyesight disabled" indicator flashed several times over the course of half hour. When rain subsided, indicator disappeared. Several hours later, was driving 65-70mph on straight section of major interstate with good visibility, approaching a highway overpass when "obstacle detected" warning appeared despite no obstacle in road, and shortly thereafter car went into a slow spin (felt as if floating) towards left, striking a guardrail underneath the overpass head-on and continuing to spin 360 degrees at which point I was able to recover control of the car. It felt as if brakes had engaged (? Crash imminent braking system) although I did not have foot on brake pedal and I did not attempt to brake while in the spin as I feared rolling the vehicle. Despite extensive front end damage, airbags did not deploy. Had to leave the vehicle in albany, ny and currently awaiting evaluation by insurance adjuster. Of note, 5 months earlier the windshield had cracked when hit with small rock and was replaced at subaru dealership where the vehicle was purchased.
While driving and vehicle in motion, intermittently the following indicator/warning lights come on, stay on, go off, and come back on again without any pattern: the bsd/rcta warning, the auto start stop, hill descent control, accident avoidance/braking, lane assist, and eyesight. One or more warning/indicator light comes on and then sometimes goes off every time I drive. Started on january 18th-still happening feb 1, 2020.. Happens regardless of road condition (dry, wet), temperature (very cold, warm (40 degrees), or speed (25 MPH to 60 MPH). This has happened on highway, city, rural roads. The driver touches nothing and does nothing to begin/end these. Sometimes the lights stay on and then when trip is ended, vehicle turned off and restarted, the lights remain on. Sometimes next time the vehicle is started, the lights are off. The lane assist indicator and auto braking in particular, are of concern. The lane assist comes on (on its own) and is white'then, while driving, it turns green and tries to steer the car off to the right 'the driver has to hold on tight and fight the steering wheel and car. This seems very unsafe. The driver has tried turning off these lights/functions when they just pop up'while driving'but if in heavy traffic, cannot allow for these distractions. If clear/no traffic, driver attempts shutting off these features by pressing the buttons with these icons 'on the center rear view mirror panel or on the lower left panel below dashboard. Sometimes this works, sometimes doesn't and they remain on. The unexpected nature of warning lights going on and off and difficulty controlling the steering wheel are really causing concern. It is like the car is possessed. This is a new vehicle (5 months). Dealer contacted for service but told had to wait 3 weeks for appointment. Trying not to get in an accident until then...
1. While the car is in motion (and under normal driving conditions) on highways, my front windshield has cracked 4x since taking delivery of new vehicle at the end of july 2019. Once the front windshield cracks, it continues to spread. During the process of paying for the vehicle, I was encouraged at every step to purchasing additional windshield coverage to cover the cost of replacing the front windshield in case it needed to be replaced due to the eyesight camera system. The windshield has cracked on the interstate, a state tollway, and a highway. 2. The blue temperature light turns on for five minutes or more when starting the vehicle. I have brought this to the attention of the dealership and they dismiss me saying that this is a normal condition of the car (which was not mentioned during the sales process) and to just wait until the blue temperature light goes out before driving the car. When taking the car back to the dealership for the replacement of the front windshield for 4th time, they finally listened to me and added checking the coolant to the list but it has been a fight to have this looked at. 3. While the car was in motion and with no other cars in front of me, to the side or behind me, the car pre-collision system activated and braked the car on its own. There was no pre-warning that the car was going to brake. 4. The car auto light on and off function does not fully turn on the car lights at night. 5. While the car is in motion and backing out of a parking space, I hear a big ka-thunk sound from the front left of the car. It doesn't matter which way the steering is being turned. Ordered the car in june 2019, was told that the car wouldn't be ready until mid-aug. Due to the factory shutting down for a two week holiday in japan, received notice from the dealership that the car had been delivered much earlier than expected in july.
Tl* the contact owned a 2019 subaru forester. The contact stated that all the automatic safety features failed on the vehicle. While driving between 50-55 MPH and changing lanes, the lane departure warning failed. As a result, the contact rear ended another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained a fractured sternum that required medical attention. The contact was able to exit the vehicle before it caught fire and burned to the ground. The fire department extinguished the fire. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and deemed destroyed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not assist. The failure mileage was approximately 14,000. The VIN was unknown.
A large crack in the windsheild though the top center , where the eyesight technology center is located, occurred without any incident to catalyze the cracking of the glass.
When I start my car via subaru starlink the following technical issues occur voice over bluetooth gets distorted, apple carplay does not connect or affects radio first was noticed jan 23, 2019. Also, power rear gate door would fail and would not open with rear gate button, dash button or via key fob as this on and off problem also noticed after car is started via remote app starlink. Power gate problem reported first on jan 23, 2019 and continues through the present date. Eyesight failed on jul 06, 2019 when car was started via starlink, jul 07, 2019 eyesight back on and failed again on jul 08, 2019 when car was manually started from parking position. When eyesight fails it effect vehicle dynamic control which analyzes steering angle, engine speed and braking conditions. Also, cruise control fails to work ans well subaru reverse automatic breaking. Total miles on the car 7321 as of jul 08, 2019.
Steering is very sensitive on highway speed -- above 50mph. Car is responding too much and unpredictable on any small movement of steering wheel.
Accidentally left the moonroof slightly open. Rainwater got inside the adaptive cruise control causing it to malfunction .
In our 2 week old 2019 forester, we were driving on the freeway at 65mph and felt a sudden jolt and the car shut off: the lights on the dashboard went off, the headlights went off, the turn signals would not work and the accelerator wasn't working. We guided the car off the freeway and sat on the side of the freeway. The dealer's master mechanic cannot find any code that tells them what is wrong so they tell us there is nothing to fix. This is outrageous. This was a life-threatening event so we do not feel safe driving the car for ourselves and other cars on the freeway. Subaru is not taking this seriously. We read there have been other "car stall" problems similar to ours with foresters from other years.
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