While driving at highway speeds a small rock (sounded like a small 'click') hit the windshield. There was no immediate crack with only a small chip in the windshield. After leaving work that day the chip had turned into a crack approximately 6 inches in length. The crack continued to increase in length over the next two days and even split off into a secondary crack.
2019 Subaru Forester visibility complaints
Page 13 of 15: complaints 341 to 370 of 406, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I was driving up a hill on a bypass and a work truck kicked up a rock that hit me windshield, nothing happened then, I checked hours later and it turned into a small crack, a few days later that small crack turned into a big crack that grew the entire windshield and is in field of vision
Vehicle was stationary in my garage. Ambient was about 65 degrees f. I was attempting to replace the passenger wiper blade. I accidentally dropped the wiper arm which struck the windshield without the blade. The result was an immediate crack over 12" long. Vehicle has approximately 16,500 miles. I have owned it for less than 1000 miles.
We were driving on a paved road with no other cars around and the windshield spontaneously developed a 12 inch crack coming up from very low on the drivers side of the windshield. It was approximately 65 degrees outside and we did not have either the heater or A/C running. Over the next 24 hours the crack increased to about 24 inches. On close examination I did see an extremely small 'star' where the crack started. I do remember having a pebble hit the windshield over a month ago but I could not see any damage at the time. I suppose it's possible that's what caused the tiny chip. I have received stone chips with other cars but never had one progress into a major crack like this before.
There had been a squeaking / crackling noise coming from the area where the dash meets the windshield. This noise only occurred when it was very hot outside 85 degrees or more. While I was driving down the road with no cars in front of me the windshield cracked from the bottom up. The crack starting where the noise was coming from. I have full glass coverage so I didn't think much about it. Since then I've heard about a possible faulty windshield in the 19 foresters. If it happens again I'll be going to subaru for a replacement. This matter needs to be looked into as the car only had 5,000 miles on it at the time of the incident.
Windshield cracked while driving on highway
Was driving on highway to work, the windshield suddenly cracked, out of nowhere, no rock chip, no impact from outside. It's a 3 months old forester 2019 with ~5000 miles on it. Really disappointed with the quality of the glass.
I purchased a 2019 subaru forester in mid-july and have had to replace two windshields due to cracking. The first replacement was in september due to a rock hitting the windshield on the far right passenger side. The chip quickly developed into an 18' crack. I noticed a second crack yesterday which originated behind the wiper blade in the bottom center of the windshield that extends on a 16' arch in the same direction of the wiper blade motion. There is very small chip, located behind the metal portion of the wiper blade from a rock that must have fallen out of the sky. I was traveling in the vehicle on m55 between lake city and cadillac on paved roads but had started out the morning in marquette, mi where the temperatures where in the 30s with a rain/snow mix. I did not hear any rock hit the windshield.
Just yesterday my subaru experienced an inexplicable sudden windshield fracture. The car was parked in my driveway warming up and I turned on the front defroster and suddenly, from the bottom center of the windshield, a giant crack appeared out of nowhere. My forester currently has 7600 miles on it and a rock/stone has never struck my windshield. I am the only driver of this vehicle. This crack started at the very bottom center of the windshield under the plastic molding part and made its way up from there. The crack started immediately adjacent to the heating elements / defroster on the bottom middle front windshield as soon as I activated the front defrost feature.
While driving about 40 MPH on a well traveled road I'm assuming a small stone cause a minute divot in the windshield. I was planning on repairing it the following morning. The next morning the entire windshield was cracked. I purchased my subaru forester touring august 2019. I didn't even own it a month and haven't even made a payment. Needless to say I had to replace the windshield and have the sensors recalibrated. I had many stones hit my windshield in the past and I never had to replace it just repair. I found it odd at the time, the entire windshield cracked. Now after reading on car and driver, facebook and now the federal safety agency I decided to report it. Since the sensor only works with oem glass and you can't use rainx I'm assuming the windshield glass has some type of issues. Why else could I not use a non oem glass? I was told by the dealership a known issue is the sensor may not work.
We bought the car in april, and by july I already had to have the windshield replaced twice and repaired once. It cracks if barely anything hits it.
My 2019 subaru forester is now on its second front windshield replacement. In each case, I assume there was impact from a small rock due to the very tiny chip in-line with the eventual crack. Neither impact started as anything big judging by the size of the tiny pit and the fact the cracks developed days afterwards, the first during city driving and on the second incident, while the car was parked in the garage. I have taken previous small projectile impacts on the interstate with other car makes owned and never had to replace windshields due to similar incidents although now I am on the second windshield replacement on a subaru owned less than a year. I had a 2003 subaru forester and a 2012 subaru impreza and only replaced one windshield in the 25 yrs combined that I owned those cars.
Tl* the contact owns a 2019 subaru forester. After driving and parking the vehicle, the contact noticed a crack from the top of the windshield that traveled down and curved to the right towards the passenger side. The contact researched the failure and found that numerous subaru vehicles had the same failure. The manufacturer and dealer were not notified. The contact called his insurance company and was referred to a glass company. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 4,600.
Purchased new in oct. 2018. Was absolutely surprised just how easy every little tiny bit of salt or normal debris from winter driving chips the windshield (paved, interstate). By the end of the winter, I had near as many pits in this subaru windshield with 10,500 miles on the forester as my pickup which has 200,000 miles on it. Then in april 2019, I'm driving down the interstate, a small rock gets thrown at me, and the windshield shatters! It wasn't a hard hit, and it wasn't that big. (I say this based on sound. Usually when a windshield shatters, the noise is so intense it'll make you jump!) then to top it all off, they have the nerve to tell you it costs $1,200 to replace! Obviously I have no choice, the crack is right in the worst spot possible for visibility. I cannot safely drive the car due to my height and the where the crack went as it created a double vision issue. I go ahead and schedule the replacement, but the dealer tells me its on back order. It takes them 17 days to get me a new windshield, during which time I cant really drive the car. I did not get third party replacement glass, I got an oem windshield ordered thru the dealer the car was purchased from. Now oct. 2019 I have 18,300 miles on the car, and while summer driving has been less hard on the windshield, the new one seems to pit easily/often as well.
In may a small rock from highway driving nicked the windshield of my car, putting a small scratch in the glass. Within hours the scratch had spread into a major crack spanning 3 feet across the windshield. I had a glass warrantee on the car from the dealer, which the dealer declined to honor because the crack was greater than 12 inches, although starting out as only a nick. I see from car and driver that this has become a concern for at least 100 2019 subaru forester owners. I had similar damage on my 2011 acura rdx with a rock creating a scratch about a quarter of an inch long, but in that case the scratch stayed a scratch. Subaru made me pay for the entire labor and windshield replacement costs on a virtually new car, approximately $1,100.
Very weak windshield a very small rock caused a crack all the way across the windshield it didn't even hit it directly or hard.
Windshield cracked while driving on a bay bridge 1 month after we got our new subaru forester. There were no cars in front and no signs of any objects hitting the glass. It was really suspicious and we decided to search for any similar complaints and found a lot here, so it actually looks like some manufacturer issue.
The windshield spontaneously cracked on the passenger side. I was driving straight about 40mph on a hot day mid-september with the A/C going. There was a sudden "pop" and I noticed a curved crack had instantly appeared on the passenger side. There were no cars near me. Looking at the windshield, I didn't see an obvious impact but I could see near the defroster traces the crack appeared to form there. I'm concerned this could have been from thermal stress and the windshield should not have cracked that easily. The crack appears to be coming from inside to outside and some of the glass sort of flaked when I probed it with my finger.
I was driving straight on a city street on hot day with the A/C on when there was a loud "pop". A diagonal crack instantly appeared on the passenger side in the windshield. No other cars were near me and I was going about 40mph. The car had previously been sitting in the sun with a windshield shade for about 30 minutes. I'd been driving about 5 minutes when the windshield cracked. When I inspected the crack, it appeared near the defroster and appeared to flake a bit when I probed it with my finger. It appears to be a crack starting from the inside to out. This could be thermal stress and I'm concerned because the car has under 250 miles on it and no windshield should crack that easily.
When I parked my car at my workplace there was no visible damage to the windshield and when I returned afterwards, there was a large crack, over a foot long coming from the top of the driver's side. Upon inspection, there is an extremely tiny point of impact from a tiny pebble. The windshield is so fragile. I suspect they use thinner glass to allow eyesight to function properly. I've heard of people needing to replace windshields within weeks of each other. It's concerning when subaru markets these vehicles to be capable of handling all weather conditions when the windshield is not even strong enough to withstand a tiny pebble. I drive the speed limits, never tailgate, and I never had this problem on any other vehicles I've owned. I'm truly disappointed that I will have to replace my windshield and have eyesight recalibrated, which will be very costly, with less than 4,000 miles on the odometer.
I purchased a 2019 subaru forester, sport in november 2018. In march/april my windshield was cracked by a small rock that hit it on a small country road. I had to have it completely replaced. Now five months later, a small rock hit my windshield while driving on a 2 lane township road, and it cracked again. I have to have it completely replaced again and pay another deductible fee. I've had other, non-subaru, vehicles and my windshields have never cracked with a rock hitting them. This is my 2nd subaru vehicle. My first model, a 2010 forester also had to have it's windshield replaced due to the windshield cracking due to temperature changes. There is no way that the size of rock that hit my glass should have caused the damage that it has, now multiple times.
I was driving on the highway in colorado and was a good distance from the cars ahead of me when a rock chipped my windshield. Within 5 minutes the chip had cracked across the glass.
My 2019 forester premium, 6 weeks old and <200 miles on it was parked in my driveway overnight. It was cold out that night. When I got into my car I turned in the heated windshield and regular heat in the car. Moments later and while still parked in the driveway, the windshield cracked from the windshield heating element halfway up to the top. Brought it to the auto glass place nearby, where it was noted by the technician that no impact point was present. He documented this on my work order / receipt. The windshield was on backorder for 3 weeks but was finally installed.
Something hit the edge of the windshield and it cracked over half way to the drivers side. My husband was driving it on nb i65 north of mobile, alabama. The windshield had sever pits in it not sure what those were caused by. Subaru makes money as the eyesight system needs to be calibrated after a new windshield is installed. One crack had been repaired on 2/4819 mileage was 6330
Windshield defect. It just cracked by itself without any outside force. The crack started at the bottom of the windshield. The vehicle was not at motion. It was after being parked.
A spontaneous 20-25in windshield crack has appeared overnight while my 2019 subaru forester was parked in a covered parking spot at my home on 8/25/2019. I was surprised to see this in the morning on sunday as there was no crack on saturday and the car was just sitting there overnight. Seems like the crack started below the driver's window wiper (where the wiper heating element is located) and developed a c-shape crack up and to the left towards the driver's view side. No signs of chips or dents on the windshield, it has cracked for no obvious reason. Please see pictures attached. I have googled this issue and it seems that there were a lot of similar complaints about outback and forester in the past. It would be nice if subaru acknowledged and fixed this issue. Thank you for your help! Best regards, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Winshield has cracked twice on a 2019 subaru forrester. Either the angle of the windshield, or the quality of the glass is a very poor design. I think this should be investigated, because I'm sure this will become a common problem.
08/16/19 I was driving down the interstate at 70mph, I heard a very faint "tink" and saw a 1 inch crack on the lower passenger side near the outer edge. I did not see a rock and it definitely was not a loud sound like a normal rock chip would create. My insurance set up an appointment at 8:00 am the following morning 08/17/19 with safelite to repair it. After being at safelight for only 5 minutes the tech comes out to tell me the windshield split and now I have a 19 inch crack across my windshield and it must be replaced and the cameras recalibrated through subaru. I now have to drive my 1 month old subaru forester sport with a cracked windshield until my subaru dealer can get me a new windshield and repair date. I've owned honda, toyota , scion, chevy, gmc, acura, lexus and ford and have never had a windshield crack or split. This seems to be way too common with these subaru windshields.
Husband was driving home after graveyard work shift, with no other cars on the highway, when he heard a crack. He noticed a crack coming from under the windshield wipers in the middle of the front windshield, closer to the driver side. He did have the defroster on. The next day the crack had spread and 2 more cracks appeared on the windshield. We called the dealer and notified them and they said warranty does not cover that since we didn't purchase additional warranty, and it is not a factory defect that they are aware of. It is a new 2019 subaru forester.
I was driving on highway and did not hear a rock or any object hit windshield. When I arrived home I noticed a crack in windshield beginning at deicer of windshield up to 25% upwards from the bottom of the windshield. The window appears to be brittle and subaru previously had same issue with 2016 outbacks. Subaru denied this was within warranty. I purchased the car new 3-4 weeks ago.
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