2019 Subaru Forester Fuel system Problems

My Subaru smelled like gas and caught on fire while I was driving to work less than 72 hours after it left the service department at the local Subaru dealership. Earlier that week I dropped the car off for service due to a check engine light and multiple other warning lights on the dashboard. The check engine light was determined to be due to a faulty thermo control valve (a known issue on several models of 2019-2021 Subarus). During that service appointment, the thermo control valve was replaced under warranty, the 60000 mile service, state inspection, and an oil change/tire rotation were completed. The morning of the incident, the car smelled like gas, but there were no warning lights on the dashboard and the temperature and gas gauges were all in range. While looking for a safe place to pull over on the side of the road, the gas smell worsened, I heard a pop, the check engine light and every single other light on the dashboard lit up, it smelled like burning jet fuel, and the front of the car was smoking and there were flames, and all mechanical and electrical control of the vehicle was compromised. The car coasted to the side of the right lane. I was unable to operate the gear shift to put the car in park. I opened the driver’s side door, removed my seatbelt, grabbed my backpack, lunch bag, and phone, and exited the vehicle while it was still rolling. I ran around the back of the car to get onto the side walk. Flaming, melting pieces of plastic were coming off the bottom of the car. Flames and smoke were visible on the front hood of the car. I called 911 while the car continued to roll across several lanes onto the other side of the road. The burning car rolled and hit a guardrail on the opposite side of the road and continued to burn until the local Fire Department arrived on scene. Local police and the fire inspector wrote reports. My insurance declared the car a total loss. I have informed the local dealership and worked to get them access to the vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11681834

Incident

Jul 27, 2025

My car is a 2019 suaru forester 54,268mi I was driving from Houston to Dallas on the freeway during a thunderstorm on [XXX] [XXX]. I got off the freeway and was almost on the road near my house when my car engine suddenly died, I had no control of my car, my car engine would not start anymore. I had no problems with my car before. I towed it home the next day and had it checked with a scanner and it came up with about 25 check engine codes. 5/14/2025 Subaru dealer (ewing of plano) had it checked and had the thermo control valve replaced because it was bad. They had no previous notices or recalls. If my car had stopped in the middle of the freeway it could have been a major accident..other people's lives are important..please look into this issue INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11661586

Incident

Apr 30, 2025

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.

NHTSA ID

11591360

Incident

May 10, 2024

CAR HAD JUST BEEN SERVICED BY SUBARU SERVICE DEPT ON 2/27/2024. ON 3/1/2024, WHILE TRAVELLING IN HEAVY RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC, WE SMELLED A VERY STRONG ODOR OF GASOLINE AND WERE ALERTED BY ANOTHER DRIVER THAT OUR CAR WAS LEAKING A LARGE AMOUNT OF GASOLINE IN THE ROADWAY. WE PULLED OVER TO A SAFE AREA, EVACUATED THE CAR, AND THE CAR BURST INTO FLAMES. FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED BY THE WANTAGH FIRE DEPARTMENT. POLICE REPORT BY NY STATE POLICE WAS OBTAINED. CAR WAS REMOVED BY TOW TRUCK.

NHTSA ID

11575058

Incident

Mar 1, 2024

The engine cuts out and stalls while turning through an intersection (with danger of being rear ended) or driving through parking lots at low speed. The car will zoom forward right after that, usually while in a parking lot nearly hitting pedestrians on several occasions! This issue is a frequent occurrence becoming more dangerous the past 2 years. We have our car serviced at the Subaru dealership in Prescott, AZ and have told them about this. They tell us the same thing when we tell them what it does, they say "NO IT DOESN'T".

NHTSA ID

11562199

Incident

Dec 27, 2023

On November 30th around 5:30 PM on [XXX] my wife struck and killed a 6 point buck. Thankfully a SC Highway officer was coming in the opposite direction saw the accident and aided my wife in getting out of the car as he had seen a fire in the engine compartment area. Shortly thereafter the car exploded and was engulfed in flames and totally destroyed. Neither the patrol officer nor the tow operator can remember an auto fire resulting from striking a deer. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11558550

Incident

Nov 30, 2023

This is a follow up from previous complaint 11525953 dated 6/8/2023. My subaru forester stalled again on 8/2 at an intersection after 15 minutes of driving, and then again on 10/4 at an intersection after 45 minutes of highway driving. There are no warning signals or any indication of engine problems. I replaced the air filter in June hoping that might solve the issue.

NHTSA ID

11550049

Incident

Oct 4, 2023

On our way to a vacation in NJ, we were driving on the expressway and a deer jumped over the rail into the hood of the car. The car immediately started to smoke ( dark black). We got out of the car, retrieved two luggage bags, and the car burst into flames. All within 60 seconds of hitting the deer. About five years ago, same thing happened to my daughter driving a Subaru WRX…. Twice in the same family….no recall?

NHTSA ID

11537644

Incident

Jul 15, 2023

Driving home for 15 minutes. parked on left turn lane, slight incline. when traffic light turned green, i stepped on the gas and the engine stalled. I remember seeing "eyesight disabled" warning light come on. I put vehicle in park, shut it off, and turned engine back on. I was able to drive home. possible system failure - fuel system, auto/stop feature? yes, available to inspect safety - 5:30pm heavy traffic on 4 lane highway0. blocked traffic turning left. no where to pull over. have not taken vehicle to mechanic or been inspected. I saw no warning lights prior to vehicle stalling, or experienced any engine anomalies.

NHTSA ID

11525953

Incident

Jun 6, 2023

While driving, the car would occasionally experience deceleration despite pressing the gas pedal. It would suddenly pick up speed and continue normally. Moreover, the car stalled twice, and on both occasions, it wouldn't restart. The first time, it took a while to restart, and I initially suspected bad gasoline. The second time, it took about five minutes. Given these symptoms, I suspect that the fuel pump could be causing these issues.

NHTSA ID

11516123

Incident

Mar 1, 2023

No response when gas pedal is pushed. Intermittent. Very dangerous when pulling out into traffic. Very serious safety hazard.

NHTSA ID

11490457

Incident

Oct 20, 2022

We were driving to our summer vacation destination, which was about a 2-hour drive from where we currently live, when it happened. We had been driving for about an hour now and I was in the left lane going approximately 60 MPH when out of nowhere all of the warning lights flashed on my dashboard, including the "check engine light". Then, within seconds I went from about 60 MPH down to 30 MPH down to 10 MPH with no control of the acceleration. I quickly and safely had to pull over to the right lane, which was a bit challenging. Thankfully, I managed to pull off to the side of the road avoiding cars that were zooming past me. At the time, I had no idea what had happened. I tried to depress the gas pedal, but nothing happened. So then I decided to turn the car off. I opened the hood of the car to see if it was something obvious, but didn't see anything. I went to go turn the car back on, but it wouldn't start. We were left stranded on a fast highway. I had to call a tow truck to take my 2019 Subaru Forester to the closet Subaru dealership.This all happened on a Sunday when most places are closed. I receive a call a few days later stating that it was a fuel pump failure and pressure valve malfunction and some of the parts are on backorder. It's been a little over two months now and I still don't have my car back. I keep calling about every 2 weeks for an update, but they keep pushing back the ETA of the part arrival. Last time I called, they stated there was no update and they don't know when the part will come in. Looking back, there were no warning signs that could have lead me to believe that I had a fuel pump problem. I took my car to all of the scheduled maintenance and completed the one recall I had. My car ran great and nothing was wrong with it until that day on the fast highway. I was thankful that we were able to pull off to the side of road in a matter of seconds safely with cars going 60 MPH.

NHTSA ID

11486282

Incident

Jul 17, 2022

Braking for stop - brake pedal sinks, car accelerates ; requires extreme brake pedal push to stop car. A very unsafe condition. No warning or any dash board indication. Happened several times already.

NHTSA ID

11477305

Incident

Aug 1, 2022

vehicle stalled for no reason causing a dangerous situation, dashboard had 'eyesight' come on, possible crash avoidance feature ??

NHTSA ID

11475861

Incident

Jul 7, 2022

On December 30, 2021, I was driving on I-95 S around 4 pm about 1/2 a mile from exit 43B when my 2019 Subaru Forester with 64,000 miles stalled in the middle of the highway. I was going about Highway speed during rush hour 55-65 pmh when the check engine light came ON, the EyeSight feature light came ON, and the emergency Brake light came ON. Scariest moment in my life. The vehicle stalled, the steering got really stiff, and the vehicle started sputtering along probably at 2 mph. I managed to make my way to the breakdown lane and called Subaru Starlink Roadside Assistance. After towing the vehicle to the dealership, the diagnosis revealed that both tumble generators on the Air Intake Manifold failed and I also needed a fuel line replacement. After doing a lot of research on the internet it appears that Subaru Foresters have a history of these failures and there has been a number of recalls for this particular model detailing the vehicle losing power or stalling. Unfortunately, the dealership and corporate Subaru refuse to cover the full cost of the repairs as they claim the vehicle is past the warranty period; they have $750 to cover $1800 worth of repairs. This is clearly a safety issue and defect, and Subaru is clearly neglecting its responsibility to cover known defects from the factory.

NHTSA ID

11447249

Incident

Dec 30, 2021

On 9/11/2021, i was pulling into a vacant parking spot. I backed into an open area and applied the brakes and shifted from reverse to forward, The car accelerated full open, initially the brakes did not stop the car, I pulled to the left trying to avoid hitting the auto in front of me. I hit the auto on the left bumper, the car continued to race full open while my foot was on the brake, we moved forward five foot or so and then the car stopped. The air bags did not deploy. The auto that we hit was not occupied and there we no injuries. note; we have not yet made a police report but will soon, so the line is now marked no. we have looked on line and similar incidents have been reported going back 20 years' we are waiting for Monday to have the car towed from our house to ther repair shop, no estimates yet. but the entire front is pushed in.

NHTSA ID

11432666

Incident

Sep 11, 2021

CAR STALLS SOMETIMES WHEN TURNING FROM ONE STREET INTO ANOTHER STREET, ABOUT ONE TIME IN TWENTY.

NHTSA ID

11386574

Incident

Dec 21, 2020

Mileage

3,500 mi

LEAVING A PARKING LOT GETTING READY TO TURN ONTO A DIVIDED 4 LANE HIGHWAY AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT, AS THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN THE CARE DID NOT GO WILE I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR DOWN AND I DID IT AGAIN AND STILL NOTHING. BEFORE I REALIZED SOMETHING WAS WRONG THE CAR DRIFTED INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTION WITH NO POWER EXCEPT THE ENGINE WAS RUNNING AT IDLE SPEED AND IN GEAR BUT STILL NO ACCELERATION SO I LEFT THE CAR DRIFT TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD AND THE CAR STARTED TO GO JUST BEFORE THE LIGHT CHANGED BACK. THE START-STOP WAS TURNED OFF AND THE ENGINE NEVER STOPPED THE DEALER SAID THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG AND THEY COULD NOT DO ANYTHING, BUT THEY WOULD NOT GUARANTEE THE CAR WAS SAFE TO DRIVE. THIS HAPPENED 6 OR 7 TIMES IN ABOUT 4 MONTHS BUT THIS WAS THE MOST SERIOUS.

NHTSA ID

11375397

Incident

Oct 30, 2020

Mileage

5,900 mi

I LEASED THIS CAR LATE MARCH 2019 AND FROM DAY ONE I SMELLED A GASOLINE LIKE ODOR WHEN TURNING ON THE CAR FOR THE FIRST 5 TO 10 MIN. I'VE HAD BMW FORN10 YEARS AND SUBARU IS NEW TO ME. I THOUGHT THE SMELL WAS NORMAL BECAUSE IT'S A 4WD. AT MY LAST VEHICLE SERVICE AT SUBARU I MENTIONED THE SMELL TO THEM. THEY ULTIMATELY DISCOVERED THAT THE CAR HAS A FAULTY EXHAUST. THEY SAID THE SMELL CAME FROM A PLASTIC BAG THAT THEY FOUND INSIDE THE HOOD OF THE CAR. HOWEVER, MY BROTHER IN LAW HAD OPENED THE HOOD 2 WEEKS PRIOR TO CHECK THE OIL LEVEL OF CAR BC OF A SOUND IT WAS MAKING AND THERE WAS NO PLASTIC BAG AT THAT TIME. I AM GOING TO HAVE THE EXHAUST REPLACED THIS SATURDAY BUT I WANTED TO REPORT THIS JUST IN CASE THERE ARE MORE CARS THAT HAVE THE SAME PROBLEMS.

NHTSA ID

11308716

Incident

Mar 27, 2019

Mileage

1 mi

MY SON'S NEW 2019 SUBARU FORESTER TOURING BURNED TO A CRISP (TOTAL) ON SATURDAY, 10/19 IN I-95 NEAR NEW ROCHELLE, NY. VEHICLE WAS IN THE LEFT LANE AND THE CAR IN FRONT STOPPED AND THEY HIT IT, THEN THEY WERE HIT IN THE BACK, TOO. THEIR CAR BURNED BUT THE CAR IN FRONT AND BEHIND DID NOT. THE CAR IN FRONT WAS EVEN ABLE TO MOVE INDICATING NOTHING WRONG WITH ITS GAS TANK.

NHTSA ID

11269863

Incident

Oct 19, 2019

WHILE DRIVING AROUND 30MPH THE CAR WILL SOMETIMES HESITATE AND THEN LURCH IF THE GAS PEDAL IS VERY LIGHTLY PRESSED. SOMETIMES IT WILL DO IT AT HIGHER SPEEDS AS WELL, AROUND 50MPH BUT NOT TYPICALLY AT FREEWAY SPEED. HAPPENS ON MOUNTAIN ROADS AND CITY STREETS. MOST NOTICEABLE WHEN KEEPING SPEED WITH A CAR AHEAD. WHEN PRESSING HARDER ON THE GAS PEDAL IT IS USUALLY NOT NOTICEABLE. WHEN DRIVING IN 'SPORT' MODE OR WITH MANUAL PADDLE SHIFTERS SET AT 4TH GEAR OR LOWER IT DOES NOT HAPPEN. THIS IS A CVT SPORT MODEL. DROVE A LOANER OF THE SAME YEAR AND TRIM, WHICH SHOWED SIMILAR BEHAVIOR, ALTHOUGH LESS COMMON. SUBARU CLAIMS IT IS NORMAL BEHAVIOR.

NHTSA ID

11253275

Incident

Sep 4, 2019

Mileage

6,500 mi

VEHICLE QUICKLY DEVELOPED A "SURGE, SPUTTERING, JERK" TYPE ACTION WHEN COASTING OR MAINTAINING SPEEDS ABOVE 35MPH. ALSO WHEN BRAKING, THERE IS GOOD AND PREDICTABLE SPEED REDUCTION UNTIL ABOUT 10MPH WHEN THE TRANSMISSIONS SEEMS TO UNLOCK AND THE CAR LUNGES FORWARD SINCE THERE IS SUDDENLY NOT ENOUGH BRAKE PRESSURE BECAUSE THE TRANSMISSION HAS SHIFTED FOR SOME REASON. DEALER HAS BEEN ABLE TO REPLICATE THE ISSUE BUT HAS NO KNOWN FIX. BRAND NEW CAR 1 MONTH OLD AND IT RUNS LIKE A BRAND NEW CAR SHOULD, UNTIL YOU GET TO MAINTAINING CRUISING SPEEDS. VERY DISAPPOINTING TO HAVE THIS ONE ISSUE WITH SOMETHING THAT IS OTHERWISE A FANTASTIC CAR.

NHTSA ID

11233927

Incident

Jul 5, 2019

Mileage

3,000 mi