Owner-reported complaints naming the electrical system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2019 Subaru Forester submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 136 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 136, in the owner's own words
We have replaced the battery twice and likely will need a third battery soon. I have learned that there is a known issue with the DCM trying to connect using 3G. This is causing a parasitic drain on the battery. The vehicle will fail to start. This has occurred many times over the last few years. We have just learned of the problem.
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled, with several unknown warning lights intermittently illuminated. The failure had occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with thermal control valve failure. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed, and it was determined that the thermal control valve needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
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.
While at a Stop as the engine turns off and awaits decompression of brake to turn on again vehicle moves forward bit, then the engine shuts down while in drive (stalls) had a vehicle hit me in rear but luckily I had my trailer hitch on because it saved me from body damage . I had to place in park and restart this has happened several times before and I’m kinda nervous and makes my wife nervous when stopping at lights or stop signs it might turn off in the middle of the intersection. When this occurrence happens all dash lights pop up … I checked engine with code reader after the incidents but it doesn’t give out any info on what could possibly be happening. I had the Dealership change the Thermo control module in 2025 but these occurrences has happened before and after the TCM replacement.Having the dealership check is like wasting my time and money because they aren’t able to pinpoint the cause without a code . There has to be a problem somewhere in the system it’s just that the dealership in Hawaii has no clue ..
Subaru Forester 2019 January - February of 2025: issue initially presented as the hatch beeping, indicating that it was not closing fully. The hatch would not pop back up as if something was in the way, just remain down & continue beeping. The car would then not start, with only the hatch beeping noise (beep beep beep) going off. When I drove it, it kept warning me that the hatch wasn't shut completely. After I parked it in the garage, the next morning it would be dead. The issue was supposedly resolved in February of 2025 as I replaced the battery on my own and replaced this part: 29182AA060. Schomp Subuaru reported no issues with their diagnostic tests. November 30th - December 2025: I started the car just fine. When I opened the trunk and closed it, it gave me three beeps and wouldn't fully close, even if I pushed it shut and locked it. The next morning, the car would not start - the battery was dead. The tow company also could not jump start the car. As the car was being towed, the hatch alert was the only thing working/beeping. Even when not trying to use the hatch. I have used the car every single day up until this issue started. I have not left the keys in the car. The car is now back at the dealership. The unreliability of this can/has left me and my passengers stranded and cold. The dealership found no issue the last time this occurred even though there was a class action lawsuit about this exact issue, but somehow my car was not considered included. I cannot have Subaru tell me that there is no issue again.
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
- *Incident 1 (2023):* While driving, my vehicle suddenly stopped while in drive gear, accompanied by a high-pitched alarm and multiple engine service lights. It took over 30 seconds to shift into park and restart the vehicle. The incident occurred at an intersection, and I was fortunate to avoid any collisions. - *Incident 2 (September 2025):* The same problem recurred on two separate occasions- AFTER CERTIFIED REPAIRS. The vehicle came to a complete stop while driving uphill at a decelerated speed, and also while stopped at an intersection. In both instances, the gear was in drive, and the vehicle shut down completely, displaying engine service lights. *Previous Repairs:* - *TCV Replacement:* The Thermo Control Valve was replaced under warranty due to a faulty issue affecting the EyeSight system. - *Battery Replacement:* The battery was replaced under warranty in 2023 after the initial incident. Whats concerning is that my dealer said to have found an “after market” appliance hooked up. This said feature was placed by certified subaru dealership when vehicle was purchased. This said item was never identified as to causing the said issue. Which raised even more safety concerns.
Car has died 10+ times in the last 2 weeks. Will not hold a charge and it’s getting to the point that my car is dying in the middle of the road, during heavy traffic. That or the car will just not start unless jumped
50k Mileage Mark: When the vehicle turned off at the stop light to save gas, the car stalled. I had to frequently put the car back in Park, and restart the engine. Since then, I had to turn off the “auto turn off” function for fear of the car stalling on the road. This has caused unnecessary anxiety and fear while driving, harming my psychological wellness. Since the 50k mark this has happened about 10 times. The most recent issue was this month
My 2019 forester touring. The sound system will randomly raise to extremely high volume. It’s an extremely loud, distorted, static version of what you were listening to. You cannot turn it down with the volume control with knob or power it off. It is unresponsive and you must wait 5-10 seconds for the sound to go back to normal. Not knowing when it’s going to happen scares the heck out of me. I’m afraid to drive off the road or cause an accident when being startled in this way. This has been happening since one month of my owning the car. (Ordered it, got it October of 2018] I’ve had it to the dealer numerous times and called Subaru of America. I was told if the problem doesn’t duplicate at the dealer nothing can be done. I only have 24k miles on it. It’s not safe! I now a have grand baby to drive. I also wear a hearing aide now which I cannot drive with as it’s way worse with the high volume the problem produces.
During severe stop/go, thick, holiday traffic on I-495 (DC Beltway), during daylight hours, once AGAIN (this has happened several times before), the auto engine shutoff feature catastrophically malfunctioned, turning the car off, and simultaneously, activated the entirety of the dashboard to flash on/off, causing nearly every indicator light to come on, and then had difficulty restarting. This has been brought to Subaru's attention multiple times and they essentially have washed their hands of it and stating since they can't duplicate it, it essentially must not be occurring and they cannot repair it.
The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, there was an alarm heard before several unknown warning lights illuminated and the vehicle lost motive power and decelerated to 35 MPH. The contact shifted to neutral to restart the vehicle. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and waited for a while before continuing to drive. The eyesight, brake light, automatic transmission, oil temp, and several other warning lights illuminated intermittently. The failure occurred a second time on the same day. The dealer was contacted and advised the contact to take the vehicle to the dealer whenever the lights were illuminated. The vehicle had not been taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was 119,000.
The issue started last year over a period of several months when my car kept stalling at a traffic light. After stopping on a red light my car stalled. I had to shut off the car then restart to get it going. Had the battery replaced and problem was gone until this week. Car stalled at the traffic light again (in the middle of busy downtown and being the 1st car at the intersection), but this time it wouldn't restart and battery light turned on when attemped to restart. Called Subaru road assist and requested jumpstart service. While waiting for road assist to arrive, attempted to jumpstarts with a manual jump starter, but didn't work. Attempted with the jumpstart cables, but still didn't work. Subaru assist arrived and was able to successfully jumpstart my car. The Subaru tech assessed my battery and showed 75% battery life. Drove home on the freeway for about 25 miles. The next day drove to and home from work (25 miles reach way) with no issues. The following day, my car wouldn't start from my home. Jumpstarted with the manual one and brought it to the shop a few miles away. Got to the shop and turned off the engine. When turning on again, it wouldn't start.
[XXX], driving home, dark at [XXX] in Airway Heights WA. About 10 mins to home, lights in dashboard suddenly lit (brake, check engine, battery icon, water temp icon, 2 yellow colored pictures that had the word “off”, park, ABS, exclamation point next to a circle that had a symbol in circle like a Mercedes Benz, and another symbol colored yellow). I kept driving with very little power in the car and it was hard turning the wheels to left or right turns. I was so scared thinking I would be stranded in the middle of the street! Made it to my carport and drove it in. Turned off car; attempted to restart but didn’t, and during the times I started the car, it would make a stuttering noise. The lights that lit up remained, wouldn’t turn off until attempt to start again when the lights all turned off. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
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.
After starting these lights came on the dashboard: check engine, flashing I drive, no eyesight, rab off. Seems related to start/stop system which randomly dies when I release the brake. The whole dash lights up and I have to put the car in P and start it again. Thanks.
Car suddenly stopped accelerating several times over the course of several months, at seemingly random speeds, once even at a full stop when attemptign to begin acceleration. Required to turn it off and on again (in park, break still works) and it works again. I towed the car to the dealership, and they told me after a few days that they could not recreate the issue and nothing was certifiably wrong with it. The only thing that came up on the sceen was the EYE LIGHT system wording with a slash through it.
The battery on my 2019 Subaru Forester was replaced in September 2022. It was the best battery available offered at Les Schwab. But a few days ago, the battery was completely dead again and couldn’t even be jump started with my Jump N Carry after being parked in my garage for ~3 weeks. After taking out the battery and getting it fully recharged at Les Schwab, they also tested the battery saying it’s still in good shape. I suspect there is parasitic battery drain issue going on with this model.
I have had multiple issues with my car for the past month. First, my rear right wheel has been making a fan-like sound when going above 35mph and it gets louder until 70mph. It is most likely the wheel bearings going out but, I only have around 50,000 miles on the car. This seems to be a common issue with Foresters. Secondly, my rear Harman Kardon speakers have stopped working. This also appears to be a recurring issue with Forester's, with both their standard and premium sound systems. Lastly, my engine check light turned on and shut off my adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, emergency braking, and rear automatic braking. I'm surprised that these issues are still happening to Subaru since they have been complained about by consumers for years.
most of the safety quiet. motor cut out, eyesight quiet working, check engine light came on service person said the diagnostic showed a code p2682 engine coolant bypass valve control low. steering light came on. No prior warnings. happened while driving at speed limit on interstate.
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.
4/2/2024 at 5:30am my Eyesight system flashed a message in orange that the Eyesight system was off - not temporarily disabled. This is NOT due to an obstruction of the cameras by weather/glare/dirt etc. All functions controlled by Eyesight including lane departure, adaptive cruise control, and forward emergency braking, as well as reverse automatic braking are disabled by this malfunction. I removed the negative lead from my battery in an attempt to reset the system which did not clear the error. No check engine light accompanied this error and all other systems seem to be functioning normally.
Start / stop feature. Multiple incidents. Continuing issue. Stop at a light or in traffic. The car turns off. Let off the brake the car completely looses power sometimes or dies. Need to move shifter to park to restart. When the vehicle dies completely. Unable to move shifter of use hazards. This has happened on the highway at stop lights leaving me stranded in the middle of the road with no vehicle power. Or having to restart. Battery, starter and Alternator have been tested and are good. Safety issue.
My 2019 Suburu Forester battery will not hold a charge. Whenever I want to use it, my husband must jump the Forester with cables from his car's battery. I am careful not to park it for long and use it for trips to dentist, doctor, and other necessities. We bought the Suburu Forester brand new off the car lot in 2019. The car has under 3k miles of use--it looks in perfect condition. We've changed batteries but that did not solve the start up problem. It is a safety hazard depending upon where I have to stop the car. The "incident" is one of many recurrences. After 7 days of nonuse, parked in my garage, the car fails to start.
All of a sudden, the eyesight and collision prevention stopped working, the check engine light came on, the blue light thermostat indicator came on. We had no heat. The flashing "S" (sportsmode indicator) came on. We were driving on the highway and still over an hour from home. It was snowing, we could not adequately clear the windshield of fog so our visibility was severely compromised. We lost all Eye Sight capability which meant that we were vulnerable if there was ever a crash or an obstruction in the roadway.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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