1-16-24:car wouldn’t open and start; jump-started by AAA to dealer; dealer kept overnight & checked battery: said charge held, ready to go home. 1-30-24, 4 pm-ish: able to start n drive, but check engine& eyesight warning light came on- late in day, so didn’t drive to dealer. 1-31-24: car dead; jump-started by AAA again & drove to dealer. On 2-1-24, dealer sends a video & says replaced battery, but check engine light & eye sight warning light still on; investigated further & found there was a lot of water that had pooled under the passenger seat & caused some corrosion- I.e.: shorted out electrical system. I asked dealer to report to Subaru since this seemed like a car defect. 2-9-24- dealer says Subaru won’t repair it at their expense and it’s a 25 hour job & will cost a lot. Dealer wanted me to file a claim with my insurance, but car was not driven through rain, high water, or stored in a flooded garage or on a flooded street. The water in the car seems like a design defect on the part of Subaru.
2020 Subaru Forester electrical complaints
Page 3 of 5: complaints 41 to 70 of 103, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I started the car to make a trip to town to run some errands. When I cranked the engine the Check Engine light came on. The S for Sport Mode was flashing and a No Eyesight warning came on. Also SRS Side Airbag light came on to indicate it was not working. And another light came on showing a car going out of its lane, but I don't know if it was the Lane Keep Assist light or not.
Driving my 2020 Subaru Forrester on 1/26/24, at night. Stopped at traffic light. Car started shaking, dash lights system lights came on. Turned off car and restarted. Car would not accelerate. Had towed to mechanic. Diagnosed as probable thermo regulator. Could not repair because part only available from Subaru. Called dealer who was not sympathetic or helpful. Told to bring in and leave. Would get to it when they could.
Check Engine light came on along with EyeSight, traction control and flashing [S] lights. Dealer confirmed that the thermo control valve failed.
When I am idling at a stop sign or sitting in traffic and I have come to a full stop, the car's engine shuts down as a gas-saving feature. This is not the problem! The problem is that sometimes when this feature engages, when I lift my foot off the brake to start driving again, a shrill constant ringing sound starts and the engine won't power back on. There is an error message that comes on that says "eyesight disabled." When this happens, none of these factors (the ringing, the error message, the dead engine) stop until I put the car in park and power it down completely, then restart the engine. Then none of the symptoms are there anymore and the car drives normally. I have not noticed any consistency about when this problem does or does not happen - it occurs in all weather types, temperatures, times of day, slopes/flat roads. I sometimes go months without it happening, and other times it happens twice in several days. The only consistent thing is that it only happens when the car is at a full stop and the engine has shuddered off to save gas. I live in Chicago and almost exclusively drive short distances in the city, I hardly do any highway driving. This has happened maybe 20 times since I bought the car in February, 2023.
My vehicle has repeatedly required being jump-started after sitting for a period of time. Recently it has become a safety issue because the engine is designed to turn off at times in order to traffic to improve fuel efficiency. After research, Subaru has a known issue with the DCM system used to power the optional (subscription based) Starlink system. This system uses 3G signals to provide emergency assistance; however 3G signal has been decommissioned and the system is unable to connect to a tower and never stops trying. This creates a parasitic drain on the battery that can (and has) prevents the car from being able to restart from a stopped position.
Vehicle continuously suffers a total loss of power (engine shuts off) while driving, creating obvious hazard to the user of the car and other drivers. This continues to happen without warning and often while driving through intersections and other dangerous situations. No warning lights precede these events. We brought the vehicle to the Subaru dealership and, after testing/diagnosing the problem, they informed us the vehicle needs a larger battery (which also requires installation of a larger battery tray) than the one that came equipped with the vehicle from the manufacturer. No aftermarket modifications have been made to the battery or electrical systems and the current battery is the size and type recommended by Subaru in the owner’s manual; the dealership, however, advises that that battery is insufficient and needs to be changed for a larger-sized battery.
The thermo control valve malfunctioned causing the check engine light to come on which shut down all the safety features in the vehicle including the front eye sight camera, blind spot warning, the rear automatic braking, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, and lane keeping assistance.
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the auto START/STOP feature was malfunctioning. The contact stated that upon coming to a complete stop, the engine turned off, but failed to restart after releasing the brake pedal. The message "Engine Disabled" was displayed. The contact depressed the brake pedal and pressed the Push to Start button and was able to continue driving. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring. The dealer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to manually deactivate the auto Start-Stop feature by pressing a button. The contact stated that she followed the dealer's instructions; however, the feature had been engaging independently and the failure had been recurring while at a complete stop. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 39,000.
Daughter was driving vehicle on the morning of September 15, 2023, when smoke came from under hood. Immediately pulled over and engine was engulfed in flames. Got out of vehicle and moved a safe distance away as glass started to break and fire department arrived on scene. Picked up vehicle on September 12, 2023, after having the thermal control valve replaced (warranty) but after doing research there are other components that also had to be replaced (fuel line, etc) as part of this repair. Noticed there have been other vehicles with recall due to thermal control valve just nothing on the Subaru Forester. Completely traumatized as the vehicle was gone in a little over 3 minutes. Have been in contact with Subaru but no resolution on what they believe caused the car to catch on fire. Did authorize them to get “black box” on September 29, 2023.
I’ve owned my Subaru forester for over a year now. About 6 months ago while getting off an exit and at a light, when I went to accelerate my car died. All lights came off and no power to vehicle. I was able to restart and drive home. Called the dealer took it in and paid almost $2k for repairs. Today the same thing happened on the turnpike in stopped traffic. This could have been a bad accident.
The car dies when it stops for a traffic stop. Sometimes it starts again and and sometimes it does not. It does not do it when the air is on. People honk at you in traffic if you do not start right away. I thought there was a recall on Subarus for same which is why I never bought one. The vehicle has been inspected. It also unlocks itself sometimes after I lock it.
At a stop light, auto stop/start system shuts down the vehicle engine. When the light turned green, and I lifted my foot off the brake, the engine failed to restart. The dash will lit up .. check engine light, eye sight light ... etc will come on. I had to shift to park and restart the engine. I read that low remote battery can be a problem, I replaced the remote battery but it has not resolved the issue. Engine failed to restart at stop light after being shut down by auto stop/start system multiple times in last six month. Only recourse is shift to park and restart the engine. This seems to be manufacture problem with auto stop/start system. It is a safety issue for me and my family having a stalled car at stop light due to engine being shut off by auto stop/start system and failed to restart until put in park and restart it.
The thermo control valve on my 2020 Subaru Forester is broken and needs to be replaced. I have owned the car for 2 years, am the first owner, and it has less than 19,000 miles. 90 minutes into a drive the "coolant temp low" indicator light came on. After I pulled over, turned off the engine, and turned it back on the check engine light and sport mode indicator light came on, and all ADAS were disabled. The coolant level was low so I refilled it and took it to the manufacturer the next morning. They inspected my car and confirmed it the thermo control valve was broken. It is still broken as I cannot afford the repair and it is available for inspection upon request. My safety was put at risk by not having access to the ADAS forward collision warning, emergency breaking, and lane departure.
This vehicle has approx. 45,000 miles and the electrical has failed. We have replaced the battery and tested all components in which they then operate fine. However overnight the battery fully drains, leaving us with no vehicle again. This vehicle has no accidents, maintained every 3 months and the health report even shows no issues/errors. No other symptoms have been noted. this car works and runs 100% like it did day 1 up until 3 days ago. Where it has died overnight every day. Luckily my husband is a mechanic as he indicated the last instance of a new battery going in, the dashboard was flashing and going haywire to the point that it wouldnt stop until he removed the battery. He indicated that its likely this would have been an electrical fire if the battery was not removed therefore could have caught on fire with myself and our 14 month old inside. There were no warnings, no alerts, no vehcile safety alerts, the mysubaru app in fact still says we have a 100% healthy vehicle.
While driving the vehicle suddenly stalled and stopped running. The dashboard illuminated with most lights and the check engine message came on the screen. I was thankfully able to get into the shoulder on the road safely without creating an accident or getting injured. The vehicle would not start again and had to be towed to the dealership. I am now out $1800 because I am slightly over my powertrain warranty in mileage on the vehicle. This is a known issue in bulletin: I am not only disappointed with Subaru of America and the federal safety agency that this is not already a recall but I am also willing to seek legal action and compensation if this repair is not going to be covered. There are many incidents and reports online of similar issues: https://www.subaruforester.org/threads/2019-thermo-control-valve-assembly-and-warranty-merged-thread.823510/ https://www.carcomplaints.com/Subaru/Forester/2020/drivetrain/power_train.shtml I have filed a case with Subaru of America corporate and am waiting to hear back. Someone is going to cause an accident or end up dead because of this faulty part. It is borderline criminal that this is not already a recall.
The Battery life was considerably short. It started requiring frequent jump starts.
Stopped at a stop light for a few minutes and when trying to move forward the car just stopped working. This happened twice.
The Subaru starlink system has no controls around transfer of ownership. I only discovered this after receiving a $150 charge 2 months after I traded in the car to a Subaru dealer. Even after trading in the car I was able to unlock, lock, start the car, and track the cars location. This represents a significant safety risk to the consumer and must be addressed immediately.
When I was driving this car one night, every dash light was suddenly activated and remained on -- and as a result all safety features were deactivated. When I was able to do so, I touched the battery cables together to reboot the system. I had to do this 3 times over the course of 4 days. Realizing the problem was chronic, I took the car to the dealership (a 2 hour drive), where a service tech explained the problem 'was caused by a low battery.' This car is only 2 years old. A new car battery should last longer than 2 years. It thus seems to me the battery was defective or the car improperly drained it somehow. More important, there is no warning that a 'low battery' -- one which can easily start a car -- could still deactivate safety features while driving.
Engine shuts off when coasting into a turn when car is moving at less than 5mph. Causes loss of steering. Will restart if gas pedal is pumped. Dealer can find no problem. Does not happen predictably and can not always be replicated. Very dangerous.
Repeated experiences of battery going dead after simply opening and closing doors a few times a day for four days. Engine was not started in this time. All interior light were off and rear hatch remained closed. Safety risk is being stranded in rural locations, at times with no cell service. Local Subaru dealer indicated I needed an authorization code from a battery lawsuit settlement to look into it. Lawsuit doesn’t include my vehicle VIN and only reimburses cost for battery replacement and possibly towing, not a repair. Research into the problem has indicated that this “parasitic drain “ can be remedied by replacing the defective older PRG Module with the effective newer one. This should be covered by the warranty on a two year old car. Local dealer would only refer to the lawsuit for direction. Suspect they are “buying time” until warranty expires to avoid doing the appropriate repair. See attached file for example of correct repair from another Subaru owner.
In less than 2 years of owning this car the battery failed putting me in a very dangerous situation. While standing in the middle of the road to make a turn into incoming traffic the car was off because of the auto stop-start system. As I released the brake and tried to accelerate to cross the intersection the car failed to restart automatically and stalled as if the battery did not have enough power. I had to place the car in parking and restart it again in the middle of the road. This happened multiple times. I took the car to the dealer and it was confirmed that the battery was bad and it was replaced. The new battery was good for sometime but lately it feels that it lacks power again, specially to restart when off from the auto start-stop system. This problem is very concerning as it can cause a major accident if unable to restart when expected.
Battery will not hold a charge. Battery frequently needs to be recharged. Bought a portable jumper, to ensure vehicle will start away from home where the battery would otherwise be charged in the garage.
I've owned this car for less than a week and already have to replace a battery that was said to be completely fine. It does not retain charge or replenish when parked.
2nd event - SOY based transmission wiring chewed. TWICE in two years. Car garaged, traps in garage. Our cost: about $1500. Time in shop - 3 months, due to "no parts".
BATTERY DRAINS constantly and car will not start. This has happened several times the past month. I understand that it is an ongoing issue with other Subaru's. This is dangerous and must be fixed. This issue has happened 3 times in 2 weeks. 8/1, 8/13, 8/15/2022
There are various lights on on the dash of the vehicle when nothing is seemingly inherently wrong with the vehicle. I notified the dealership about this issue, the dealership claimed that special parts were ordered but I still have not been notifed of their arrival. This puts my safety at risk due to the fact that I am not sure wether the car actually has an issue, or if it is a mere malfunction. The vechicle is now shaking.
Battery drained, towed to dealership twice within a month battery replaced then failed within 2 weeks everything checked out ok but battery still drained very frustrating
The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the battery was continually being drained and needed to be recharged frequently. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer however, a cause for the failure was not determined. The dealer recharged the battery. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure with electrical system defects which consistently drained the battery. The contact recharged the battery after each time the vehicle was driven. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 2,000.
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