Automatic Emergency Braking problems of the 2020 Subaru Forester

I, the owner of a 2020 Subaru Forester am writing to you in regards to an issue with my vehicle’s eyesight program. Over the past month, there have been several instances where the eyesight program fails and caused the vehicle to suddenly stop without warning. This prevents me from safely moving the vehicle to the side of the road as the car stops. In other words, the car abruptly stops on the spot. This creates an immediate danger to life and health to myself and to other motorists. This issue must be addressed immediately and the necessary steps taken to ensure the safety the driver, passengers and other motorists on the road. Thank you for understanding.

I was driving to work and many of my warning lights suddenly came on. This includes my check engine light, my lane assist light, my auto collision braking, my eye sight disabled and my cool engine light keeps going on and off. My cabin heating also isn’t working. There is no reason for this happening other than my thermo control valve failing.

Eyesight pre-collision braking feature and pre-collision throttle management feature malfunctioned and caused the 2020 Forester to accelerate unexpectedly and lurch forward while I was manually braking and slowing to come to a complete stop behind two other vehicles stopped at a steady red light. See class action lawsuit weston, et al. V. Subaru of America, inc. , et al. In us district court case no. [xxx] which alleges that the vehicle contains certain defects that caused sudden and unintended acceleration without driver input; acceleration while manually braking; and that these defects created a safety risk, because they severely affected the driver's ability to control the car's speed, acceleration, and deceleration, and increase the risk of a collision, which did in fact occur. The defective car was completely totaled and towed to a salvage yard by the police and the insurance company. Defect malfunction caused a collision which resulted in property damage and personal injury to three vehicles and three people. I mentioned the defect to my insurance company at the time of the accident. I do not know if they chose to follow up and inspect the vehicle. The problem occurred twice before ( not resulting in property damage or injury) and I took it to my Subaru dealer both times and they claim that they could not find anything wrong, but oddly did not note that they checked for the problem which I brought to their attention on the written summary/invoice for my service visit. See the class action lawsuit- this is apparently the typical dealer non-response to the problem. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

While driving temperature light, check engine light, all adas lights came on as inoperable (cameras, warning, abs, bsd/rcta), no heat (including defrost) available to defrost or for cabin. Appointment 3/13 replaced thermo control valve assembly , coolant bypass valve, intake gaskets, fuel line, coolant, total charges $2070. Luckily had extended warranty I bought, that I had to make a claim on. Dangerous to drive (no camera based safety features available, no defrost for the snowy weather, no emergency braking or other collision safety features on, this affected the entire 'eyesight' system). The engine also had no thermo control regulation during this time, affecting not just then, but possible future performance and early aging due to disregulation.

Check engine light came on, low temp light stays on, eyesight disabled, lane departure, emergency breaking, etc have all been disabled due to the issue. I took it to the local autobody shop and they found code p0128 | coolant thermostat issue. This has caused all safety features to become disabled as mentioned above. I was told by the local shop that I need to go to the dealership. I have not brought it to the dealership yet however, after looking online I found that this is a common issue with this make and model vehicle however, nothing has been done by Subaru to recall the component. I am going to bring the car to a dealership however, I'm upset that Subaru hasn't acted on the information that they have a faulty component in this vehicle. I am very concerned with cost of repairs since I am being forced to go to the dealer.

While driving, most of the dash errors lights lit up- alerting me that the eyesight warning, rab ( reverse auto braking) and other safety functions were disabled. The check engine light was on and a flashing s next to it. Cold engine light was illuminated as well. Dealer diagnosed with a faulty thermal control valve, which somehow disabled all safety features. This is a common failure of Subarus and a recall is needed.

While I was traveling I stopped at a rest area and when I restarted my car, my panel lit up like a christmas tree. All my safety assist systems were disabled and my check engine light came on. When I got home I had my mechanic run the codes and it came back to the thermo control valve. This happened on 8-29-2023. I researched the problem and Subaru put out a service bulletin in February 2022 but never notified me. My car is out of warranty now and am forced to drive without my safety systems because, 1- they don’t carry the part in stock and 2- the cost to repair is over $1400. 00. Subaru was aware of the problem but kept it quiet. I feel this is a scam and Subaru should recall this part. I was warned that my car could die at any time. I bought it for those very safety systems as I am a senior citizen and rely on them now.

I was driving on a paved two lane rural route and hit a small bump in the road. Immediately, my check engine light came on and all the safety features turned off. Control panel showed multiple safety features off and the sport mode indicator light blinking. My car only has 17k miles on it and I have had it just over a month. I was able to drive it safely home and when I called the dealership the next morning I was told I could continue to drive it until the service appointment six days later. When I got home, my husband checked it with his cel reader and got the code for the temperature control valve (an issue known by Subaru). This was confirmed by the dealership and I was told after having driven it for several days that it should not be driven. The repair is being covered under the power train warranty.

Error code (p26a3?)for - engine coolant bypass valve. Causes the "check engine" light to come on and automatically disables all of the safety and collision mitigation systems. The engine coolant bypass valve failure is common and a known issue and Subaru has already updated the part on newer vehicle models. The common failure of the coolant bypass valve should not be disabling the safety features and the collision avoidance systems.

Thermo control valve stays open. Needs replacement. Automatic brakes have gone on with no car in front of vehicle. Unsafe.

Automatic braking system failed and led to a front end collision immediately a fire broke out under the hood and accelerated into the car with in minutes using a tire iron the passenger door was forced opened air bags deployed (3) and seat belt held.

Driver gets choked while drinking a cold beverage, gets disoriented and loses consciousness momentarily causing the vehicle to veer off the street and strike a tree with extensive front end damage. Airbags did not deploy at all. Driver has injuries from the crash, such as possible fractured wrist, contusions and much pain in the neck, chest and back areas. She was transported by ems to the hospital. Insurance was notified and an adjuster has already sent a repair appraisal and cut a check for the estimated cost of repairs. The driver does not feel comfortable about the having the car repaired with potentially faulty airbags. We have photos of the car. We have stated our concerns about this to the insurance company and the vehicle manufacturer. They have opened a file with our concerns and we are waiting to learn further from the insurance provider and the car maker. My wife has numerous injuries and does not feel secure keeping this car. A police report is filed and I have also made an initial request to a consult with an attorney.

I was driving up an empty suburban road at 25 mph when the brakes suddenly went off, causing the car to skid to a stop. The dashboard screen said the pre-collision emergency braking system was activated. There was nothing in the road and no reason for the car to stop suddenly. Thank god I wasn't on the highway - this is extremely dangerous.

Driving on straight multi-lane highway ~2:00 pm in the daytime at ~55 mph; clear, dry weather, dry road. No vehicles or obstructions of any kind in front of vehicle, fortunately no vehicles behind. Automatic emergency braking system triggered fully without any warning, bringing car to sudden stop in high speed travel lane; could have caused severe rear end collision had there been anyone behind. Engine continued to run, vehicle would not move until after shifting into park and back into drive. Subaru could find no reason for erroneous sudden stop function.

2/17/2021 - Honda accord going north on lynchburg turnpike ran a stoplight (going about 30 in a 25 mpg zone) trying to turn west onto east main st. In salem, va . . . Bounced opposite curb, cut west and swerved (oversteer) and came head on into my stationary 2020 Forester. Our light had just turned green and we were about to move forward when the Honda came out into the intersection. My wife was driving and I was a passenger. I was taken to er and seen by several doctors and am undergoing pt for the next 5 weeks.

12/16/2020 driving. 3:30 pm daytime. Clear weather. Divided highway. Approx 50 mph. No vehicle in front of car for at least a quarter mile. Car initiated sudden stop mode nearly causing a severe rear end collision (avoided by approaching driver going into median).

I was driving home it was dark and raining. Something hit my windshield when I woke up on Saturday I saw a big crack in the windshield.