2019 Subaru Forester Visibility Problems

In May 2025, I had the passenger-side mirror on my 2019 Subaru Forester replaced at a licensed Subaru dealership. I was told the replacement part would be factory-original and matched to the vehicle’s VIN, which specifies a dark metallic grey exterior. After the repair was completed, I noticed that the mirror casing was the wrong color — a visibly lighter grey than the rest of the car. While the mirror is functional and undamaged, the color mismatch may affect how other drivers perceive the vehicle, especially during lane changes or turns. In certain lighting or weather conditions, the inconsistency could potentially cause confusion or misinterpretation of the car’s shape or position. The dealership acknowledged that the wrong part color was used based on my VIN, but refused to replace it without full repayment. There were no warning lights or error messages associated with the issue. The part is still installed on the vehicle and available for inspection. I am reporting this as a consumer concern regarding improper VIN-matched component replacement, which may pose a minor but notable risk to the awareness and safety of other drivers.

NHTSA ID

11664785

Incident

May 19, 2025

See attached document for complaint.

NHTSA ID

11611764

Incident

Aug 30, 2022

I started my car and turned on the windshield wipers and fluid to clear the windshield. Within a few seconds of wiping the windshield, I heard a pop and a crack directly down the center of the windshield starting at the top developed along the line of the eyesight system and rearview mirror mount. There were no known rock chips and I had not experienced any debris hitting this section of the windshield. This appears to be a stress crack.

NHTSA ID

11593014

Incident

Jun 6, 2024

I purchased this vehicle brand new in 2019, and since them i have had to replace my windshield once in January of 2023 (piece of gravel on highway), then in February of this year, my passenger front window busted out .. nothing hit it, it just blew out while i was driving. Weather that day was 53. Then Friday, another windshield crack near eyesite device. This will require another full replacement. At this pace, i cannot afford to keep this car. Before i purchased this car i searched long and hard for the safest vehicle i could find and Subaru always came up on top. Now that i'm an owner having to dish out of pocket every few months for glass replacement, i'm starting to rethink my purchase. I've done research and have found thousands of the same complaints online.. Its a shame that the company is not taking any steps to improve this huge design flaw!

NHTSA ID

11589594

Incident

Jan 30, 2023

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while entering the vehicle, she noticed that the new windshield that was installed 11 days prior, was cracked. The contact stated that the windshield was previously replaced due to the same failure. The contact was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11584066

Incident

Apr 19, 2024

Car was sitting outside for the day (with camera observing it). Windshield had no issues when the car was moved to the street in the morning. Windshield was cracked from driver side bottom corner all the way past the half way point and about half way up the windshield. Review of camera video confirmed that no one or thing touched the car during the day. Suspect that the windshield is defective.

NHTSA ID

11578244

Incident

Mar 18, 2024

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked in the driveway, unattended, he noticed that the front windshield had cracked without impact. The contact called the local dealer, where it was determined that the windshield needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and assisted with the repair. The approximate failure mileage was 32,123.

NHTSA ID

11575304

Incident

Feb 27, 2024

Mileage

32,123 mi

Windshield spontaneously cracked without any known impact or damage. Vehicle was not in motion at time. Sitting at stoplight heard a ping and then noticed crack across bottom of windshield affecting visibility. No other vehicles were near enough or in motion that debris could have been at fault.

NHTSA ID

11564371

Incident

Jan 9, 2024

Went to a daycare to do a tour at 9am, parked my car and was gone for about 30 minutes and when I came back, there was a large crack (8inches) that starts from the bottom of the middle windshield. There was no indent or nothing that could have caused this.

NHTSA ID

11563920

Incident

Jan 5, 2024

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the front windshield had been replaced two times and the failure had reoccurred three times within the year. The vehicle was taken to the dealer the first two times the failure occurred. The contact stated each time the dealer replaced the windshield but could not determine the cause of the failure. The failure reoccurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 118,000.

NHTSA ID

11550820

Incident

Oct 10, 2023

Mileage

118,000 mi

The visor will not stay in place and drops into my visibility while driving, blocking partial view of the road. Subaru has had this issue for years and has not fixed the issue with their visors.

NHTSA ID

11535376

Incident

Jun 1, 2023

Vehicle was parked in a private single-home garage near Houston, TX. While parked overnight the windshield cracked spontaneously. Crack is ~18 inches long and goes to the bottom edge of the glass around the middle of the windshield.

NHTSA ID

11530187

Incident

Jul 3, 2023

On 6-11-23, while parked in a private driveway, the front windshield of our 2019 Subaru Forester spontaneously cracked. This 20-inch crack ran diagonally from the upper left corner down toward the center of the dashboard. We are not aware of any impact that may have caused such a crack. The day was overcast, drizzle rain, ambient temperature was about 66 degrees F.

NHTSA ID

11526587

Incident

Jun 11, 2023

Windshield has developed a 14 inch crack from HVAC unit on bottom of windshield. Replacement windshield also developed a 20in horizontal crack.

NHTSA ID

11526137

Incident

Jun 2, 2023

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that upon entering the vehicle, she noticed an L-shaped crack on the driver's side windshield starting at the base of the windshield going upwards the top of the windshield. The contact stated that the temperature was not a hot or humid day when the windshield cracked. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000.

NHTSA ID

11525086

Incident

May 29, 2023

Mileage

70,000 mi

Windshield cracked for no reason. I was sitting next to the car for 2 hours, when I arrived at location windshield was perfect, when I got in to leave it was cracked. I never was more than 10 feet from car and nothing hit it.

NHTSA ID

11521900

Incident

May 13, 2023

Since purchasing the vehicle in December 2018, we have had to replace the windshield twice, and there is a crack in the current windshield which I am speaking to the insurer about tomorrow. Attached are pictures of the 3 incidents. For comparison we also own a 2015 Nissan Rogue with 110,000 miles which has never had any such issues.

NHTSA ID

11517271

Incident

Aug 17, 2020

A crack "spontaneously appeared" at the base of the wind shield going up at 18 inches.

NHTSA ID

11516465

Incident

Apr 11, 2023

Front window has a hairline crack inside glass about 6 in. long. There is no impact point from a rock or object, it just suddenly appeared.

NHTSA ID

11516157

Incident

Apr 9, 2023

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that after parking and exiting the vehicle, she returned and noticed a large crack from mid driver’s side to the passenger’s side the windshield. The local dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that they do not repair windshields. The windshield was not replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.

NHTSA ID

11516022

Incident

Apr 7, 2023

Mileage

15,000 mi

The front windshield on my 2019 Subaru Forester has cracked for no apparent reason. The crack arcs upward from the base of the driver's left side near the wiper blade through the middle part of the lower center windshield approximately 20-22 inches. The crack occurred while the car was parked overnight outdoors. There is no apparent impact damage. The crack appears between the inner and outer layers of the windshield and cannot be physically felt. I have attached four photos of my vehicle's windshield that illustrate the placement and the length of the crack.

NHTSA ID

11515850

Incident

Mar 31, 2023

Spontaneous Windshield Crack on Subaru Forester he windshield of our vehicle spontaneously cracked without any apparent cause or visual impact. At the time of the incident, there was no visible debris, rocks, or other potential hazards on the road that could have caused the crack. Additionally, the vehicle was not involved in any collisions nor exposed to extreme temperatures or conditions that could have contributed to this occurrence. The sudden appearance of the crack has raised concerns about the integrity of the windshield and the overall safety of the vehicle. We kindly request an investigation into this matter to determine the cause of the crack, and if it is determined to be a manufacturing defect, we request the necessary repairs or replacement of the windshield at no cost to us. Furthermore, we would appreciate any additional guidance on how to prevent similar incidents in the future.

NHTSA ID

11514004

Incident

Mar 27, 2023

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, upon starting the vehicle, the contact noticed there was a crack on the driver’s side windshield that was approximately 8-inches long. The contact believed that the crack was caused by the dramatic change in the weather. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 55,000.

NHTSA ID

11512794

Incident

Mar 16, 2023

Mileage

55,000 mi

A small rock chipped the windshield and unlike other windshields, it grew into a crack extremely quickly all the way across the windshield I feel like there is a problem with the Subaru windshields as this occured to other people with Suburaru vehicles I feel like the windshield glass is very thin to have the spread and spidering go across so fast.

NHTSA ID

11506495

Incident

Jan 11, 2023

The windshield cracked and spiderwebbed.

NHTSA ID

11503308

Incident

Sep 1, 2019