2019 Subaru Crosstrek Powertrain (other) Problems

While driving, my dashboard warning lights on my 2019 Subaru Crosstrek—AT OIL TEMP, EyeSight, and Lane Assist—illuminated simultaneously with a sudden onset of transmission slippage and erratic shifting, with no prior warning symptoms. The vehicle experienced a sudden mechanical failure of the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) torque converter clutch solenoid valve, which was diagnosed and confirmed by an independent service center under diagnostic trouble codes P0971 and C1431. This sudden loss of reliable vehicle propulsion and disabling of active driver-assist safety systems created an immediate collision hazard, severely compromising driver control and vehicle safety in live traffic. Subaru is denying reimbursement for this known CVT defect, expecting consumers to foot the bill after relying on a single mail notification sent 13 months prior. Although the failed component was replaced during this emergency repair using genuine OEM parts supplied directly by an authorized Subaru dealership parts department, all diagnostic logs, itemized parts records, and repair documentation are attached.

NHTSA ID

11753371

Incident

Apr 11, 2026

Wheel bearing failure resulting in replacement of the bearing and the integral hub at a cost of ~$750 (independent service center diagnosed and replaced the failed unit). Vehicle had only 42,000 miles and had developed a "rumble" which was thought to be related to seasonal temperature changes/tire tread. Sudden/catastrophic seizing of a failed wheel bearing can cause a loss of control and accident, thus this report as to the potential severity of the issue. No automated warnings other than a noticeable rumble when vehicle was in motion with increased severity over a few weeks. Manufacturer advised by email of the situation. Vehicle repaired and invoice attached to this report.

NHTSA ID

11737615

Incident

May 8, 2026

The rear differential had a contained catastrophic failure. The vehicle had been serviced according to the manufacturer schedule and by their own dealers. The car had never been off road. The failure occurred at 106,500 miles and 6.3 years.

NHTSA ID

11718173

Incident

Feb 6, 2026

The car started shaking and shuddering at 40 mph on a straight road and I had several losses of motive power, with sluggish acceleration of a busy road. All dashboard lights began to turn on. The Oil Temp light was flashing, indicating an powertrain issue. After slowly driving it to a Subaru dealership, I was told that the CVT needed to be replaced. This model year also had a loss of motive power when cylinder 4 short circuited (after full replacement due to a recall). These are two examples of loss of motive power at high speeds on a single vehicle which in my opinion constitute a severe safety issue

NHTSA ID

11701550

Incident

Nov 24, 2025

. I expect a full recall on this model years and relative MY vehicles with this specific engine due to its obsolescence in the subsequent years. I feel as if I was sold a lemon and defective engine that will eventually become a death trap Dear Bloomington Subaru Service Manager, I want to reiterate that this is not an isolated incident limited to your facility. Over the course of this vehicle’s history, I have visited more than five different Subaru dealerships — including White Bear Luther Subaru, Miller Hill Subaru, Walser Subaru, Morrie’s Minnetonka Subaru, and your own Luther Bloomington Subaru — for recurring ECM and engine-related concerns. Despite multiple ignition coil replacements, repeated ECM flashes/reprogramming, and assurances that the most recent updates would permanently resolve the issue, my Crosstrek continues to suffer from clunking, rattling, difficulties accelerating, rough idling, and even complete stalling when idling or in hot temperatures. At my most recent visit to Bloomington Subaru, the ECM was not loaded with the current software, ECM C1424 and C1422 and Diag Trouble Code P0011 code. There are 5-7 Subaru bulletins about ECM and these codes. I had this b4 2yrs ago yet the dealership won’t assist with repairs or costs associated with this defective oil control valve part as well as the defective design in the ECM / ECU and this specific engine in the 2019 Crosstrek, of which is no longer produced or manufactured. The ECM or Oil control valve has since been “replaced” and swapped with other components in future generations of Subarus this is defective & mechanically related, not from wear and tear or personal useThere is a recall where the camshaft can break and the PCV too leading to complete catastrophic engine failure, which is a safety issue and expired, but despite 5 ECM flashes, 3/4 sets of ignition coils my vehicle still struggles with the same issues today, costing me $750 and months with my car in the shop, recall this engine

NHTSA ID

11683546

Incident

Aug 1, 2020

PCV problems and the dealership saying they fixed and completed this recall and have not done so and now CVT problems saying there’s no parts to fix it and have to re do the whole valve system Starter with thinking it was a wheel bar ring problem To trying to figure out if it was a pcv with the engine or cvt with the transmission These are major safety problem that should not be happening

NHTSA ID

11678295

Incident

Aug 4, 2025

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. While the contact was attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that while the engine was still off, the gear shifter was shifted into reverse(R) and the vehicle accelerated backwards. The contact slammed on the brake pedal to prevent the vehicle from crashing into another parked vehicle. The contact pressed the ignition button with her foot on the brake pedal to start the vehicle. The dealer was notified of the failure and an appointment was scheduled to service the vehicle. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.

NHTSA ID

11666127

Incident

Jun 7, 2025

Mileage

15,000 mi

I sent my Crosstrek to the dealer for the WRE21 recall. After retrieving the car from the dealership with the recall fix in place, the engine stalled while I was at a red light and I could see smoke coming out from the hood. This occurred after driving less than 4 miles from the dealership. I opened the hood and could see that one of the coil packs on the driver side cylinder bank was on fire. I called 911 and the Fire Department had to extinguish the fire. The fire has rendered the vehicle inoperable and smoke damaged.

NHTSA ID

11624885

Incident

Nov 12, 2024

Car was at a stop light, went to accelerate and car would not accelerate- all the lights came on. I had to put it in park and turn it off and back on, then it accelerated and there were no other issues.

NHTSA ID

11547198

Incident

Sep 6, 2023

Vehicle transmission failed while moving up a hill, vehicle coasted back down hill into intersection. Had to be physically moved off the road. Subaru of America reimbursed $3k towards cost of transmission, leaving customer with approximately $5k repair.

NHTSA ID

11523090

Incident

Apr 15, 2023

When driving, the car has intermittent random power failures. When you start to accelerate, it does not go even when applying full petal to the floor or letting go and pushing the petal again then it goes rapidly to speed. It is failing to accelerate more frequently and when I brought it in to the dealership twice, they said if I can tell them exactly how and when it is failing they would have a chance at fixing the problem. The problem they say is that it is random. Because of the problem with this we are seriously looking at buying another car. We no longer pull out into traffic because we do not know if it will fail. There are no warning lights on the dash or other indications.

NHTSA ID

11505627

Incident

Feb 4, 2023

This 2019 Crosstrek dangerously malfunctioned. When driving at 75 MPH on the highway it went into in neutral, then it would not go in reverse, and in park it revved to 75 MPH, ultimately it would not start. Based on many codes the car was indicating, the Subaru mechanic tried to replace a cable that communicates the computer to the transmission (turbine?), it did not solve the problem. It has been waiting on a new transmission for four weeks with no ETA. Subaru dealer indicates the new transmission will have a 100,000-mile warranty. It appears that rather than fix this known dangerous defective transmission issue for good, there are many reports when you research online, they simply up the warranty. Someone is going to get hurt if they haven't already. Thank you for your time.

NHTSA ID

11461081

Incident

Mar 11, 2022

My daughter was in process of pulling her car into the garage when it experienced sudden acceleration and crashed into the garage. My daughter was unable to stop the car as the brake system failed during the incident. She is now too terrified to drive the car. Subaru claims that the car is and has been operating as intended. The Subaru Eyesight, Anti-Lock Braking, Vehicle Dynamic Control systems all failed during the sudden acceleration event. It's fortunate that this incident did not happen at a stoplight (intersection).

NHTSA ID

11430534

Incident

Jul 20, 2021

OCCASIONALLY, WHILE ACCELERATING, IT FEELS AS IF THE CAR LOSES ACCELERATION AND THE ENGINE LOSES POWER. IT HAPPENS WHILE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION SLOW SPEEDS AND FAST SPEEDS.

NHTSA ID

11375327

Incident

Nov 17, 2020

Mileage

36,000 mi

ALL ELEXTRICAL WAS DIABELED, NO S DRIVE, NO RESPONSE TO KEY FOB, COULD NOT TAKE CAR OUT OF PARK, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON. CAR WAS WORKIG WHEN PARKED AT STORE, CAME OUT AND THE CAR WOULD NOT START AND KEPT GIVING ME ERROR MESAGES. THE YBRID BATTER WAS GOOD AND I FINALLY WAS ABLE TO USE THE HYBRID MODE TO GET THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP.

NHTSA ID

11365945

Incident

Oct 20, 2020

Mileage

19,100 mi

WHEN ACCELERATING RPM DISPLAY AT APPROXIMATELY 2-3 THOUSAND RPMS STARTS TO JOLT AND THE RPM NEEDLE BOUNCES UP AND DOWN AS THE ACCELERATION CONTINUES!! THE VEHICLE DOES THIS WHEN GOING FROM A FULL STOPPED POSITION TO ACCELERATING.

NHTSA ID

11339853

Incident

Jul 7, 2020

Mileage

10,542 mi

AT TIMES VEHICLE HAS STUTTERED ACCELERATION OR DELAYED ACCELERATION. THIS IS VERY NOTICEABLE AFTER CAR HAD BEEN RUNNING FOR MORE THAT AN HOUR AT FREEWAY SPEEDS. TWICE I HAVE TAKEN MY SUBARU IN TO HAVE IT LOOK AT ONCE ON 1/2020 AND AGAIN 5/2020. SUBARU HAS RECORDED AS ISSUE TWICE OVER 517 MILES. AT TECHLINE INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN OPENED UP. THEY THINK THIS IS A SOFTWARE ISSUE. THEY HAVE DEEMED THIS NORMAL OPERATION AND SAFE TO DRIVE. MY CAR HAS A PROBLEM AND ITS NOT BEING ADDRESSED BY SUBARU. THIS IS A NEW CAR WITH 14307 MILES ON IT. THIS ACCELERATION ISSUE HAPPENS ON THE FREEWAY AND AROUND TOWN AT 35 MPH. *TR

NHTSA ID

11326799

Incident

May 15, 2020

Mileage

14,307 mi

PULLED INTO A PARKING SPACE AND PLACED THE VEHICLE IN PARK,TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF, REMOVED THE KEY AND EXITED THE VEHICLE. WHEN RETURNING TO THE VEHICLE WITHIN 5 MINUTES, THE VEHICLE HAD ROLLED BACKWARDS 25 FEET AND HIT 2 PARKED CARS. I UNLOCKED THE VEHICLE, ENTERED IT AND STARTED THE CAR TO RETURN TO MY ORIGINAL PARKING SPACE SO I COULD CALL THE POLICE TO REPORT A FENDER BENDER. I WILL BE CALLING MY DEALERSHIP IN THE MORNING TO HAVE THE VEHICLE INSPECTED FOR SAFETY. IN THE MEANTIME I PARKED THE VEHICLE AND APPLIED THE EMERGENCY BRAKE AS AN ADDED PRECAUTION.

NHTSA ID

11318753

Incident

Mar 19, 2020

Mileage

11,697 mi

WHILE SLOWING DOWN TO A STOP AN EXIT RAMP WITH A SIGNAL, THE ENGINE SUDDENLY SHUT OFF, AND THE VEHICLE BECAME IMMOBILE. ALL WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL, AND THERE WAS A MESSAGE INSTRUCTING TO MOVE THE GEAR TO 'PARK'. I HAD TO SHUT OFF THE ENGINE AND RESTART BEFORE THE CAR COULD MOVE. IT WAS A DANGEROUS SITUATION.

NHTSA ID

11316772

Incident

Mar 7, 2020

Mileage

38,950 mi

SINCE I BOUGHT THIS CAR IN MARCH 2019 I HAVE HAD PROBLEMS. IT HAS BEEN IN FOR SERVICE 5 TIMES AND EACH TIME I TOLD THEM SOMETIMES WHEN YOU PUSH THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL THE ENGINE STUTTERS OR MISFIRES. SOME TIMES IT DOES NOT EVEN RESPOND TO PUSHING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THIS IS INFREQUENT AND THEY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO EXPERIENCE IT. BUT, IT DOES EXIST AND I AM AFRAID ABOUT THE SAFETY. FOR EXAMPLE I WAS AT A STOP SIGN AND STARTED TO TURN LEFT AND I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND IT WENT ABOUT TEN FEET AND WOULD NOT GO FURTHER. I PUMPED THE PEDAL AND TWO OR THREE SECONDS LATER IT MOVED. SUBARU TOLD ME I COULD TRADE IT IN AND THEY WOULD GIVE ME $2000 TOWARDS A NEW CAR ALONG WITH A TRADE IN VALUE OF $18,500 THIS IS HORRIBLE. I FEAR THE SAFETY BUT ALSO DON'T WANT TO SPEND ANOTHER $8 ,000 FOR A VEHICLE I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO BUY. ON THE SECOND VISIT TO THE DEALER FOR SERVICE AND PROBLEM WITH ENGINE THEY SAID THERE WAS TOO MUCH OIL IN THE ENGINE. THEY WERE THE ONLY ONES WHO TOUCHED THE OIL THAT WAS PUT IN THE ENGINE SINCE THE DAY I BOUGHT THE CAR. THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT NO ONE IS HELPING ME WITH. ALSO, I DID HAVE A RECALL FOR THE NEED TO UPDATE THE ENGINE COIL SOFTWARE PROGRAMING.

NHTSA ID

11309329

Incident

Apr 1, 2019

Mileage

1,000 mi

AT AROUND THE 2000 MILE MARK I NOTICED A DRASTIC REDUCTION IN FUEL ECONEMY. I ALSO STARTED NOTICING METAL PARTICLES IN THE ENGINE OIL. I ALSO NOTICED A SIGNIFICANT DROP IN ENGINE POWER AS WELL. THIS IS A SIGN OF DEBRIS GETTING IN THE ENGINE AND CAUSING METAL PARTICLES TO BECOME BROKEN OFF. MY MILEAGE WENT FROM 460-480 MPT TO 360-380 MPT. (MPT=MILES PER TANK) I HAVE BROUGHT THE VEHICLE INTO THE DEALERSHIP AND NOTHING WAS FOUND FROM THRM TESTING THE FUEL SYSTEM. I HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTING THIS THRU PHOTOGRAPS ON MY TRIPOMETER. I TOOK DEALERSHIPS ADVICE AND TRIED A DIFFERENT GAS STATION WITH THE SAME RESULTS. FUEL ECONEMY IS AVERAGING 22-33 MPG CITY/HIGHWAY. I DRIVE 20 OF 25 MILES EACH WAY TO WORK ON THE HIGHWAY. THE DISPLAY THAT READS GAS MILEAGE BASED ON HOW I DRIVE IN THE CAR SAYS I SHOULD BE GETTING BETWEEN 27-28 MPG BASED ON HOW I DRIVE.

NHTSA ID

11271271

Incident

Sep 30, 2019

Mileage

24,631 mi

2019 SUBARU CROSSTREK. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD SPEEDOMETER RED DIM LIGHT AN OLDER STYLE TRANSMISSION. *AS THE CONSUMER STATED THE LIGHTING ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL WAS INSUFFICIENT AND COULD NOT BE MANUALLY ADJUSTED SEPARATE FROM THE HEADLIGHTS. THE CONSUMER STATED THE TRANSMISSION DOES SHIFT QUICK ENOUGH. *JS

NHTSA ID

11267451

Incident

Oct 16, 2019

THIS VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. AT NIGHT, WHEN HEADLIGHTS ARE SET ON "AUTO," THE ILLUMINATED GEAR INDICATOR LIGHT ADJACENT TO THE SHIFTER DO NOT ILLUMINATE. THIS LEAVES THE POSSIBILITY OF SHIFTING THE CAR INTO THE WRONG GEAR. THESE LIGHTS DO ILLUMINATE WITH THE LIGHTS SET TO MANUAL. THE SPECIFIC INCIDENT OCCURRED WHEN AN OLDER DRIVER PARKED THE VEHICLE, THINKING SHE HAD SHIFTED INTO PARK, AND INSTEAD, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO REVERSE. HAD SHE BEEN ABLE TO VISUALLY VERIFY THE GEAR, THIS WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED.

NHTSA ID

11174985

Incident

Feb 1, 2019

Mileage

300 mi