Complaint volume
831 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2019 Subaru Forester Complaints
831 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2019 Subaru Forester, grouped by component category.
831 Total complaints
35 Crash reports
11 Fire reports
15 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are visibility/wiper, unknown or other, electrical system. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 35 crash reports, 11 fire reports, 15 injury reports, and 1 fatality report. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 467 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 13,263 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to visibility/wiper, unknown or other, electrical system?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2019 Subaru Forester?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2019 Subaru Forester
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2019 Subaru Forester complaints?
35 Crash
11 Fire
15 Injury
1 Fatality
37 Towed
11 Medical attention
What are the most common 2019 Subaru Forester complaint categories?
VISIBILITY/WIPER 346
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 98
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 73
ENGINE 35
VISIBILITY 32
POWER TRAIN 11
STRUCTURE 11
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 10
ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 10
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER 10
831 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | While my Subaru forester 2019 was in a parked location, the window spontaneously shattered on upper corner of the passenger side. At the time, the car had less than 15,000 miles on it. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Our car was parked in our driveway, off-street. Went to drive on Sunday July 11th, around noon, and noticed a large crack in the windshield where there WAS NONE the day before (last driving occurrence). There were NO signs of impact, no vandalism (security cameras didn't pick up anyone). No hail in the weather report for the night. The crack seems consistent with other reports of cracks originating at the base of the windshield. It is about 2ft. in length, starts roughly at the base of the passenger side and goes up about 4 inches and towards the driver's side the rest of the way. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | While driving on an expressway I heard what sounded like a tiny piece of gravel hitting my windshield. I did not see anything hit. Next thing I saw was a crack spreading across the driver side just above my line of vision. Within two or three minutes it was a foot and a half long. I’m not sure anything hit my windshield or not. There were no other cars in my immediate vicinity and no construction debris. The road was clear. Very puzzling | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The windshield has repeatedly chipped from minimal road debris prompting numerous repairs. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The windshield spontaneously cracked originating from the passenger side to the middle while driving out of a parking lot. Nothing struck the windshield and there was no previous damage. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Rear window spontaneously shattered while driving. Nothing struck the window and there was no previous damage. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | While driving down the road, with no other cars around, out of nowhere the windshield developed a huge crack starting at the base of the windshield in the middle and traveled upward and across the middle in front of the driver’s line of site obstructing the view. It was very startling. After researching the issue, I discovered it is a known issue and there is a class action lawsuit for this issue. Subaru refuses to acknowledge the issue. 06/21/2019 | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | For the second time in 3 years have large crack in windshield. No known reason for Crack and it is quickly moving across entire windshield. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | With about 14,800 miles on my 2019 Subaru Forrester the windshield cracked. I took the Vehicle to Brilliance Subaru, 1500 North Randall Road, Elgin, IL 60123, 224-281-4300 and was told that the crack wasn't covered under my warranty. I know this damage was not caused by any flying debris as the crack started on the bottom of the windshield and there is no chip in the windshield. I have read that many other owners have faced the same situation, as Subaru installed faulty windshields. This should be covered under warranty and the installation and recalibration should be Subaru's expense not the owner of the vehicle. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Windshield cracked for no reason lower passenger side | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | When I went to get in Forrester in the morning, the windshield has crack. Running from base of drivers side across to passenger side. It was not there night before Because it goes through drives side, it impairs drivers view of road | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Windshield with at least 2-ft long cracked line on my 2019 Subaru Forester. Line appeared instantly after something (perhaps a small rock/pebble) hit the windshield. The cracked line is within the sight of vision of the driver. Getting multiple glares from the cracked line when sun light hits it on certain angles. Thus, making driving uneasy during sunny days. Incident happened on 6/18/21 while driving on I-5 southbound in Oregon. I contacted a Safelite Auto Glass shop and was told that the whole windshield needs to be replaced. I made appointment with Safelite to have the windshield replaced when I return back home in Washington state in early July 2021. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | I’ve owned the vehicle for 21 months and have fewer than 24,000 miles on the car. During this time, I’ve sustained 2 windshield chips (both were promptly repaired), and now 1 windshield crack. This seems unusual and excessive. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | We bought our Subaru Forester after researching the cars with the best safety features. The car feels unsafe because of 2 problems: Engine hesitation and sudden acceleration. We have barely avoided an incident on two occasions in a parking lot. We were braking for a car heading toward us when our car lurched ahead coming close to hitting an approaching car. Another time we were braking for a stop sign and the car accelerated into moving traffic. We have not reported it to our dealer hoping it was a fluke. We are going to bring it to the dealer because it's obvious that there is something dangerously wrong with our car. I can't report dates - it happens each time we drive with no warning - no lights. Suddenly the engine hesitates acting like it has run out of gas or it lurches ahead, accelerating on its own. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Driving vehicle down the road with no vehicles in front and the windshield cracked for no apparent reason. Cracked in the lower left corner and then grew to about 18” spreading to the right and through the drivers sight line. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while the vehicle was stationary, a large crack appeared in the middle of the front windshield. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed with the windshield needing to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 14,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 14,000 |
| Jun 2021 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | Battery hesitated when starting engine within 7-9 months of ownership. Spoke to mechanics and service staff several times then and later and was told I need to drive it every 2-3 days to keep battery charged. By 18 months of ownership it was completely dying by fourth day of not driving so I took it into service. After 9 days in service and then service not waiting my advised 4 days to cold start it, they said it’s fine and drive more or get a battery tender. (And that the battery compartment will not accommodate a larger, more powerful replacement battery!). So I purchased a battery tender and keep it attached at all times, just in case. And, I had to purchase a portable charger to keep in my car because an outlet isn’t always available and I could get stranded somewhere. I bought this car upon retirement as my forever car but I do not feel safe or comfortable owning it. I shouldn’t be forced to drive my car every 2-3 days. And should I really be going through all this when purchasing a new car? | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | I was sitting at a traffic light and heard a crack. No cars in front or at the time passing me by. I then saw a crack on my passenger side windshield. Upon my research I note there have been several complaints with this manufacturer and model of car. The car will be inspected on Monday. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | My car has 24,000 miles on it. A month after I got it, a large crack developed in the windshield and I had to replace it. (Very expensive!) The new windshield has chipped twice and I’ve had to have those repaired. Today I discovered another large crack which will require a new windshield. See picture.) I am aware that there is a class action lawsuit in New Jersey regarding defective windshields for this model (and others). So far, I am averaging one chip and one new windshield every 12,000 miles. That is outrageous! I’m sure Subaru will say that the chips and cracks were caused by road debris, but I am 64 years old and have driven since I was 16. In all that time, I have had to have only one chip repaired until I got my new Subaru. The windshield is clearly too delicate and fragile for the task. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, she noticed there was a crack on the windshield. There was no impact to the windshield that could have caused the crack. The contact stated that it was the second time the windshield had cracked after replacing it last year. The dealer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact to take the vehicle in to be inspected. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 14,720. VIN was unavailable. The consumer stated Williams Autoworld did pay for the 2nd windshield replacement. | Crash: No Fire: No | 14,720 |
| Jun 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Windshield spontaneously cracked, beginning above and to the right of the rear view mirror and tracking down and to the left. It was about 15-16 inches long when it was first noticed. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Windshield cracked for no obvious reason. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | A little bit under 15K miles, a now (roughly) 40 inch crack has formed across the windshield that continues to spread. The crack has spontaneously developed and was only discovered when cleaning out the car, which is always parked in a garage. There were no previous signs of a crack or damage to the windshield prior to it forming, nor was it prompted by anything (rocks, debris, etc). As the crack continues to spread, it limits my ability to see while driving. The windshield does require replacement which is not covered under warranty. Through research I've discovered that this is an identified issue, with a few owners going to court and winning their cases. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | SUSPENSION | I just received Subaru Safety Recall WRD-21 issued May 2021. It says there is a DEFECT that can cause a crash. It says “overtime, due to initial variation in rear stabilizer bracket dimensions, the rear stabilizer bracket bolts may loosen and possibly detach”. I purchased my Subaru Forester Touring model 2-2-2019. On 7-20-2020 with only 19;413 miles I experienced a very loud rattle in the rear. My local dealer in Albuquerque, NM found that both rear stabilizer bolts were very loose and about to fall out. They retorqued them to specification and checked for a recall. Of course they found none and said someone at the factory probably didn’t torque to the correct value. Now I receive this WRD-21 notice. I called Subaru customer service to find out why this defect is fixed by a simple retorquing of the bolts. Based on their own statement the loosening is caused by a manufacturing error in the stabilizer bracket dimensions. Simple retorquing in my opinion will not fix the defect but only fix the symptoms and probably the bots will become loose again over time due to the imperfections in the stabilizer bracket dimensions as they admitted. Subaru told me all recalls are approved by the NHTSA before it is sent out. So some engineer at NHTSA must have analyzed the problem and their proposed solution and approved it. I disagree with the approval and believe the bolts will loosen again under normal use. Many Subaru owners buy the Forrester model for off road use on rough roads. I fear it will happen to me again. I request NHTSA re-examine this recall and require Subaru to issue another recall to perform a permanent fix to this admitted safety defect in their product. Please me know your decision at [XXX] [XXX] Bernalillo, NM. [XXX] Or at [XXX] | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2021 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while the vehicle was stationary in his driveway, he noticed a large diagonal crack on the windshield. The contact stated that the crack happened without impact. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 18,900. | Crash: No Fire: No | 18,900 |