Warnings problems of the 2020 Subaru Forester

"check engine" light along with "eye sight" appeared suddenly on Nov. 22, 2024. All safety systems along with cruise control became inoperable. Took car to Subaru dealer and it was confirmed to be the catalytic converter. My VIN is covered under extended warranty, but I was never notified of this. Plus, now repairs are of an emergency nature. Also, I do a lot of driving including on the NJ turnpike, I-95, etc. , and while I am awaiting car to be repaired, I have no safety features to rely on--which was one of the reasons I bought a Subaru. They will not pay for a courtesy car loan. Another issue is the thermo control valve. I was notified that I have an extended warranty for this, but part has to fail before Subaru will make repairs. Once again this becomes an emergency repair situation instead of a proactive one.

2020 Subaru Forester just had a check engine light appear. The engine malfunction code is p26a3, which is a defective thermostatic control valve. This malfunction also affects the vehicle manufacturers advanced driver assitance systems such "eyesight" blind spot monitoring, lane keep assist, etc. Vehicle only has 51,000 miles on it.

Multiple dashboard lights are on including starlink, eyesight, check engine, thermostat, and a blinking s. A quick google search shows that this exact combination is a known issue. Safety concern is that all the accident prevention systems are down leaving me at risk.

On Sunday, February 11, 2024 we were traveling in our 2020 Subaru Forester on a trip from minnesota to florida for a vacation. Not long into cross country trip we found ourselves stranded on the side of the highway uncertain about the ability of our vehicle to continue to due to a defective thermo control valve failure. About 200 miles into our trip, while driving at highway speeds south of rochester, mn the dashboard lit up. The check engine light was on, and other safety features were lit up on the dash as disabled (eye-sight technology, lane assist, automatic vehicle collision braking). The heat would not work after this incident. We checked the owners manual, and then drove to an auto-parts store to have a scan done to determine the error code. The code "p26a3 - engine coolant bypass valve a range/performance" was indicated. In checking online we discovered that a thermo control valve replacement was needed ASAP and to continue driving the vehicle could risk severe engine damage. Since it was a Sunday, and we were essentially stranded if we couldn't use the vehicle. We continued on, stopping and checking the engine periodically for overheating. We were able to get an appointment at lou fusz Subaru in st. Peters, mo on Monday afternoon and they replaced the thermo control valve at a cost of $1,961. 51. We were told that this wasn't under warranty due to the mileage on the vehicle (76,358 miles). In researching this issue online, we found that the thermo control valve failure to be a common issue and certain year/model vehicles and Subaru should have recalled this part a long time ago (in our opinion).

41k miles p26a3 p26a5 ****eyesight disabled*** ***forward collision disabled *** failed tcv and dealer will not cover because warranty period is over.

While driving, the 202 Forester, the check engine light, collision light, eyesight function lights all went on at the same time. I brought vehicle to check diagnostics and it is showing engine coolant bypass valve "a"control circuit low in power train system. Their were no messages prior to all the lights turning on and I was able to bring into the dealer for oil change but not able to make an appointment for repair for a few days from now.

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.

The thermo control valve on my 2020 Subaru Forester is broken and needs to be replaced. I have owned the car for 2 years, am the first owner, and it has less than 19,000 miles. 90 minutes into a drive the "coolant temp low" indicator light came on. After I pulled over, turned off the engine, and turned it back on the check engine light and sport mode indicator light came on, and all adas were disabled. The coolant level was low so I refilled it and took it to the manufacturer the next morning. They inspected my car and confirmed it the thermo control valve was broken. It is still broken as I cannot afford the repair and it is available for inspection upon request. My safety was put at risk by not having access to the adas forward collision warning, emergency breaking, and lane departure.

Was slowly pulling into a parking spot when the "automatic emergency braking" and "collision avoidance systems" engaged. The systems said that there was an "object detected" and slammed the car to a stop. Shut off the car and got out, there was no object. Had to disable the aeb system to pull into the parking space. Vehicle and component have not been inspected for this issue. Vehicle received regular maintenance at a shop (oil change) about 1 month ago and new tires about 1 week ago. Problem has not been confirmed.

The check engine light illuminated and the thermo control valve failed at 3 years old. The defrost and heater stopped working immediately making visibility extremely difficult . The eyesight and automatic braking system were also disabled due to the tcv issue. My Forester mpg dropped to under 20 mpg. The Subaru dealer inspected and confirmed code p26a3 and stated the thermo control valve needs to be replaced.

This is about a problem of which your agency is already aware. Subaru of America has been aware of a defective thermo control valve for almost a year (part 21319aa010). The part was redesigned since the initial part was subject to extreme corrosion. The redesigned part has the same part number as the original part. Subaru did not do any recall but instead waited for the parts to fail. When it fails on a car with safety features (called "eyesight"), each and every safety feature is permanently disabled until the redesigned part is installed. In addition, the engine runs too cool and there is little or no cabin heat. My car has been on the lot of my local dealership for 2 months with no end in sight. My car is covered by the original warranty and an extended warranty. Managers at the dealership have told me that they have no idea when the part will arrive, that it may be many months and that there are many people already waiting for the part. A 6-page letter by me to the general counsel of Subaru of America did not result in any direct response. By information and belief, this involves thousands of cars nationwide. By information and belief, dealerships are initially telling people the cars are still drivable despite the loss of all safety features since this what was initially told to me. I refused to accept the car in a defective unsafe condition. There may be thousands of cars being driven in which said safety features are fully disabled. Subaru claims the part has been on "back order" since March. By information and belief, based upon Subaru's own February 2022 service bulletin, it appears that the newly designed part is currently being installed on new cars at the factory thereby putting into question the "backorder" label. This analysis was enunciated in detail in my letter to Subaru of America's general counsel and there was no response contesting that allegation. Your agency's investigation and intervention are immediately required.

Subaru has a known issue with a thermo control valve in Foresters. Apparently the part is failing all over the place and they redesigned the part and are replacing it. The problem is the part is backordered and the dealerships are telling people it is safe to drive the car. Our car completely shut off at highway speed. I have since learned this is happening to a number of other owners who were also told it was safe to drive it while the part is back ordered. This vehicle has a lot of advanced driver features and some or all of them are shut off when this happens. Very dangerous for them to tell people to keep driving it and the vehicle should be recalled to replace the defective part that is failing.

Subaru eyesight technology has a pre collision feature along with lane departure feature. Latter can be turned off permanently, the pre-collision feature cannot. Number of instances where this has malfunctioned in a way that is unsafe. Driving in upstate NY on foggy morning, winding hilly roads, 50mph roads. Road had a driveway with a parked car not moving, parked and the pre collision system tried to break, so slowed down the car but there was another coming behind from a hilly turn, not aware I would suddenly slow, especially as I did not anticipate the car would try to put on breaks on its own for a parked unmoving car. No collision resulted fortunately, but unsafe if the car behind had not been able to slow to accomodate for the faulty detection by Subaru’s eyesight, thinking the parked unmoving car was a sudden stopping vehicle in front of me, when the winding road was actually clear for me to continue driving. Another incident on another road where a series of 4-5 cars driving constant speed, fixed distance from each other, then first car signalled to turn right and stopped; cars behind just went around them slightly as they were waiting to turn, and I was going to follow suit, the train of cars in front of me, when suddenly eyesight pre collision detected that turning vehicle as something to try to brake for, and the car behind me did not expect the sudden breaking attempt to slow down, and again, close call, no collision resulted but unsafe when the human driver was expecting to continue along with the other train of cars and not expecting a sudden stop. I have called Subaru both dealership and main office but informed there is no way to permanently disable the pre collision setting in the car. Concerned that if this feature is on, and erroneously detects an object in front, such as that parked unmoving car, in other situations the cars behind me may not be able to accomodate the attempts at sudden breaking by the Subaru eyesight technology. Dangerous.

My vehicle was parked at my place of employment, I exiting my work and got in the vehicle and noticed a chip in the windshield that was not previously there. I drove straight home, after parking in the garage the windshield then began to crack and spider out.