Wiper problems of the 2019 Subaru Forester - part 1

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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!.

The windshield cracked for no apparent reason. It was parked in the drive way and just cracked out of nowhere.

Windshield was found cracked after parked for no apparent reason. Crack starts at the passenger side a pillar and goes 10 inches inward.

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.

Random crack in lower passenger side windshield area. Nothing hit windshield. Appeared during the day as temperatures warmed up. Crack goes from the bottom to the center.

Windshield cracked for no reason on 11/19/2022 while parked in the drive way.

Spontaneous cracking of windshield. There is no evidence of any damage on inside or exterior of windshield. The crack appears to be in the interior fabric of the glass projecting down from the dotted portion adjacent to the rear view mirror. The car was in the garage, temperatures outside were moderate. We had a similar problem with a 2015 Subaru forrester that had the windshield replaced under a previous ruling. This model year does not have an official recogniton of the continuing problem in manufacturing. Replacement and recalibration cost about $1400.

A small pebble hit the windshield while driving on the highway and now there's a huge crack in it.

Windshield cracked.

The windshield was cracked. I heard a pop and then a 15 inch crack spread horizontally across the front windshield in a couple seconds. This is a safety issue because it impaired visibility and altered the integrity of the vehicle. I took pictures of it. It has not been inspected or fixed yet but I have an appointment to do so. There were no warning lights.

I purchased my 2019 Forester brand new and have had minimal issues… most are just annoyances. However, this past weekend I got in my car and there was a spontaneous crack through the middle of the windshield. By the second day, it has expanded to halfway or past halfway across. The crack in directly in the line of sight. When looking into replacement, I realized this is a common issue. I have had cracked windshields before, but they are usually gradual and you have an opportunity to repair it. There was no chance of that since this just seemed to appear.

We have owned the 2019 Subaru Forester for approximately 3 years and have had to replace the windshield four times due to cracking (some that have occurred without noticing a chip from an object from the road. When we purchased this vehicle, the dealer suggested we purchase a fairly expensive extended warranty for the windshield without disclosing that the Forester (and other models) have a much greater tendency to crack and the manufacturer recently went to a windshield what was much thinner to save money. When we purchased this vehicle I was focused on purchasing one for my daughter to use to finish medical school and to get her started on her own. Man, was I mislead on reliability of Subaru! with regard to safety, I would say that safety is at risk anytime a windshield is cracked. This can and does impair vision, etc. Subaru should be made to replace the windshield with one that is thicker and more sturdy to reduce the constant cracking that we and others have encountered.

There is a stress crack in the bottom, middle of the windshield that appeared out of nowhere.

Windshield cracked from passenger side "a" pillar 1/3 of the way down from the top across passenger side windshield to the middle of the windshield. Aside from the obvious safety factor the crack also rendered the car's adas "eyesight" system ineffective.

For the second time in less than 8 months the windshield has spontaneously developed a significant crack though driver's sightline that requires the windshield to be replaced at outrageous expense.

A crack appeared in my windshield on the passenger side starting from the bottom side slanting towards the middle of the passenger's vision. I do not recall anything hitting my windshield. In researching a replacement cost I read a lot of complaints from Subaru customers who had to replace their windshields, some several times, because of thinner glass used by Subaru. Several reports included the 2019 Subaru Forester with low mileage. I have a photo as I plan to have it repaired soon. I have not yet contacted my striver dealer nor allstate insurance agent. Please note: I loaded my 6mb photo but had to delete it to be able to continue.

I was driving on the highway and a pebble hit my windshield. It immediately cracked it.

Windshield - randomly cracked while parked in garage (no rock or road damage). Windshield crack started at bottom middle passenger side, spread across entire windshield. Second time windshield cracked in same location with no evidence of rock or road damage. Windshield was replaced with oem windshield when the crack happened again.

One morning I went to start my car to go to work and I found a crack. The crack is coming from the bottom of the windshield.

The front windshield developed a crack for no reason.

I have only had my car for about a month and already there are three chips in the windshield that weren't present when I bought it. The latest one appeared today.