2019 Subaru Forester: start-stop system problems

Filed Feb 18, 2026 · Electrical, Lights · NY

The electrical system fails, and the battery is not charging sufficiently. When the auto start/stop engages, the car does not restart in traffic. Requested a battery test at the dealership in May 2025; was told it could not be done that day because it would require leaving the dealer service shop. Eventually, the electrical system became unstable, and the car stopped in traffic on 11/07/2025. Replaced battery following OEM specs. In February 2026, symptoms reappeared with a new battery failing on 02/15/2026, resulting in all saftey systems failing in traffic when auto start/stop enages.

Filed Nov 17, 2025 · Electrical, Engine · NY

I have reported this before but it never went anywhere. When at a red light or in a traffic slowdown, the car will activate the auto start/stop system. Three times in the past 2 days, the car would not turn back on and required me to turn the car off and back on again. You can imagine that this leaves me in a dangerous situation because the cars behind me see a green light and get ready to move, or they see traffic clearing up and they get ready to move. I am forced to turn my car off and back on again in the middle of a 4 lane highway or on a busy city street. I get cursed at and nearly rear ended each time this happens. I did an internet search and there are entire threads dedicated to this exact problem with this subaru model and year. There should be a recall. It is very unsafe

Filed Oct 10, 2025 · NJ

The auto stop/start feature occasionally causes the entire vehicle to totally shut off. This happened 3 times 2 years ago and I was to it was a low battery. On 10/4/25, the car is stopped at a red light on a four lane highway and when my wife stepped on the gas to start, the vehicle totally shut off. After panicking, I helped her turn the electronics on in order to start the flashers, then move the vehicle from drive to park, and then restart the vehicle. With cars moving at 55 miles an hour toward a green light we were very concerned about getting hit from behind. Luckily, we were not hit. The Subaru dealer then suggested the problem might be the ECM and they charged us $203 for a software update. It is not clear what causes this total vehicle shutdown but it is a significant safety issue that puts the vehicle and occupants at risk. I hope the Subaru engineers have identified and fixed this issue in future models.

Filed Sep 9, 2025 · Engine · MD

At a stop light, auto stop engaged. When foot put on gas, engine died and every warning light the car has appeared on the dash board. It took several tries, but I did get the car started again. Took to dealer who confirmed the incident and replaced the starter at 38, 126 miles. The fuel pump relay was also replaced. After this incident, the cancel auto stop/start button was used most of the time when driving the car. 10 months later, forgetting to engage the cancel button, and the auto stop/start working, the car once again died at an intersection. We were able to get it restarted and it went back to the dealer. They again confirmed that the starter was faulty and once again replaced it and the fuel pump relay. This occurred at 44,770 miles. Thankfully, In both incidents, we were stopped at intersections with traffic lights. The first was in a left turn lane surrounded by cars on a hill. I was able to engage the parking brake before I rolled back into anyone. The second incident was at a flat intersection. Others were stopped around us and no one was approaching us with speed. My concern is that this will occur when waiting to make a left turn at an intersection and the car would roll forward into traffic. Another concern is if highway traffic is stopped and then starts moving again. If the car stalls and won't restart, traffic around you would go forward and traffic behind them would approach your stalled car at speed. Someone is going to be killed from this problem if they haven't been already.

Filed Apr 4, 2025 · Driver assistance, Engine · CA

Auto start/stop shut off engine at drive thru line. Locked up brakes and could not get it to unlock and restart car. It has happened on a number of occasions. After multiple attempts trying and letting it sit for a couple of hours, somehow got it to unlock and start. Thank goodness we haven’t gotten into an accident

Filed Oct 23, 2024 · Electrical · MD

As I was driving, every warning light came on, my car emitted a high pitched alarm and the car stopped working. This happened twice. I had to put my car in park. Turn off the car and turn it back on to make it driveable. I took it to the dealer and was informed that the battery and starter required replacement. The battery was covered by an extended warranty (I paid $100 or 20% of the cost), but the starter was not covered by any warranty since my car has 41K miles and is 5 yrs old. I contacted Subaru and they agreed to pay $800 towards the $1209.13 repair. My Subaru Case # 241016-1801159. I believe my starter failed because of the automatic start/stop engine feature. I asked the dealer if the starter failure could have been detected during a regular maintenance and they said no.

Filed Jun 12, 2024 · Engine · WA

The auto stop/start function is erratic. Many times the function fails to start the car after a stop. The car stalls. It requires car to put in park and have to restart the car. This causes delay for traffic to move. When this happens, it creates a safety issue. The car behind may start to move and cause accident because the rest of the traffic has started to move. Sometimes the car driver behind you honks the horn as the rest of the traffic starts to move. The 2019 Subaru Forester has only 31000 miles. This has been happening once a week since June 2023. It is becoming a safety concern for me. This started to happen around 25000 miles on the car.

Filed May 23, 2024 · Electrical · OH · crash

An electrical failure of the auto start/stop feature led to an unavoidable accident. I came to a stoplight, going slightly uphill, and the car shut off as designed. Releasing the brake re-engages the starter to continue driving, however when I released the brake, the car’s electrical system went haywire and the car immediately rolled BACKWARDS, damaging the car behind me. I took it to Subaru and the mechanic said the battery was low, but the car is designed NOT to initiate the start/stop feature, to prevent this from happening. They acknowledged that the accident was not my fault, but provided no further assistance. I was found at fault in the accident despite having no control over the scenario.

Filed Jan 3, 2024 · NC

We were driving in 6 lane traffic in Atlanta and the traffic came to a stop. The Subaru Auto Stop Start turned off the engine. When the traffic started and I released the brake, the engine would not start and the battery died trying to start. This left us in the middle of 6 lanes of traffic with a dead car. It was a significant personal safety issue. Luckily were were on a slight down slope and was able to have the car start rolling forward while in neutral and made our way to the shoulder, with cars passing at 70mph and narrowly missing the car. Prior to this, the vehicle was working properly. This is the 5th time we have had issues with the Subaru restarting after the Auto Stop Start turned off the engine. All prior times we were able to start the engine but had to turn off the car and then turn it on again. There is no way to turn off the auto start feature permanently, having to remember to turn it off each time you get in the car. There is also to no built in feature to not have the Auto Start Stop not turn the engine off if the battery health is not 100% and there is a chance it will not turn on again. It is a significant safety issue not having a permanent way to turn off the auto on off feature or have the car disable the feature if the engine or battery are not 100%.

Filed Jan 2, 2024 · MA

When I am stopped at a traffic light or stop sign, and I have not manually turned off the auto stop-start feature, from time to time the car will not start when I depress the gas. Often this is accompanied by a screeching sound - the sound the car makes if you try to shut it off when it is in gear. The danger is that I cannot move the car forward without putting the car in park, turning the engine off, then turning the car/engine on, and then depressing the gas. If there were no other drivers on the road, this would be an inconvenience but not a safety hazard. But there are other drivers who have no idea why I am not moving forward and they get impatient and try to pass me in areas where drivers coming in the other direction do not expect it. I have witnessed several near accidents. I have taken it to the dealer who cannot reproduce the problem but an internet search reports many other Suburu drivers who have experienced the same problem.

Filed Oct 30, 2023 · Electrical, Engine · OH

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.

Filed Jun 7, 2023 · Engine · NY

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.