Electrical System Problems of Subaru Forester - part 2

This has happened multiple times, is increasing in frequency. Stopped in traffic at a red light. The auto stop/start was enabled and activated when stopped at the light. When the light turned green, tried to go, but the as/s system failed. A “no eyesight” warning flashed and disappeared; various symbol lights blinked across the instrument panel. Car would not start, hazards would not activate. After 10-20 seconds, I was able to put the car in park and restart the engine (would not start before then). No battery or check engine lights had been on previously, up to date on oil changes, 66k total miles, vehicle fully maintained at the nearest dealership. This was scary as I was stuck in the middle of the road on a state highway with traffic and cars behind me. Many people have reported this issue in Subarus and I’d like for this dangerous problem to be formally addressed.

See all problems of the 2020 Subaru Forester 🔎.

The automatic shutoff that occurs when the vehicle stops to prevent idling, disengaged two separate times in the span of 4 days. Both incidents occurred at very busy intersections and failed to restart both times. When attempting to restart the car, lights came up on the dash, along with beeping, and failed to restart the car after the light had turned green. To restart, the car had to be completely turned off for about 60 seconds and then could be restarted. To avoid having to experience this issue again, or worse - get into an accident - I took it to the shop where they could not recreate the issue.

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The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while waiting at a traffic light, the accelerator pedal was depressed, and the vehicle immediately shut off. During the failure, the message "eyesight disabled" was displayed and the vehicle could not immediately be restarted. The gear shifter was shifted to neutral(n) and the vehicle was pushed to the side of the roadway. The vehicle was eventually restarted and operated normally. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 37,000. The VIN was not available.

The key keeps getting stuck in the ignition. . . . . . . . .

See all problems of the 2014 Subaru Forester 🔎.

As I was driving, every warning light came on, my car emitted a high pitched alarm and the car stopped working. This happened twice. I had to put my car in park. Turn off the car and turn it back on to make it driveable. I took it to the dealer and was informed that the battery and starter required replacement. The battery was covered by an extended warranty (I paid $100 or 20% of the cost), but the starter was not covered by any warranty since my car has 41k miles and is 5 yrs old. I contacted Subaru and they agreed to pay $800 towards the $1209. 13 repair. My Subaru case # 241016-1801159. I believe my starter failed because of the automatic start/stop engine feature. I asked the dealer if the starter failure could have been detected during a regular maintenance and they said no.

See all problems of the 2019 Subaru Forester 🔎.

Stopped at a red light at busy intersection. The auto stop/start was enabled and activated when stopped at the light. When the light turned green, tried to go, but the as/s system failed. A “no eyesight” warning flashed and disappeared; various symbol lights blinked. Car would not start. Driver activated hazard lights, which flashed for no longer than three to five minutes before stopping completely. While car was stalled in traffic, a few lights continued to blink on the dash.

Vehicle traveling w on [xxx] bryan TX. Automobile suddenly started shaking and not developing power, driver was able to pull off on the shoulder barely clearing the #2 lane. The engine would crank but not sustain operation. The auto required transport to the home garaging location. Subsequent analysis of the fuel showed it to be gasoline, no water, lacked appearance of any foreign matter. With the ignition on 12v were detected at the gas tank terminal, however the in tank pump would not produce fuel flow at the connection at the top of the tank. Had the vehicle been operating in the #1 lane it may not have been possible to clear the traveled lanes thus causing a traffic safety problem. A state trooper did provide protection until the vehicle was transported. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Passenger's seat belt sensor is alarming when no one is in the seat. The passenger side airbag warning light is also coming on and off. I took it to the dealer, and they confirmed that the sensor in the seat pad is bad. The airbag light was intermittently going on for several weeks before I took it in. The car has been at the dealer since mid-August, and I am told that the part is currently on backorder without an estimated arrival date.

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I bought the car certified used from a grand prix Subaru in hicksville, NY. They did not mention this issue. I’ve had the car for 2 years, drive it 1-2x a week, have it serviced regularly, etc. All of a sudden in the past week it’s needed a jump 2x, maybe a few days apart. My lights are on auto, always, & shut off when the car turns off after a few seconds. My interior lights are all set to off, after the first jump. Doors & cargo door are all closed well. Battery has been tested & they say it’s not bad & doesn’t need replacing. So what is draining the battery then? when the battery is dead, it’s completely dead. No turnover at all & the cargo door won’t open until it’s running & charged enough again. I’m shocked the cargo door can’t open without the battery!.

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My 2018 Subaru Forester has a faulty passenger air bag sensor, which has been diagnosed by my local Subaru dealer, with a repair cost of $1,500+ for labor and parts. It has intermittently turned on and off again, but after getting a separate issue fixed by my dealer, they diagnosed this problem, and every time the car is turned on, the warning light is constantly displayed, and the passenger seat airbag light shows "off" even when someone is in the passenger seat. Upon research, this is a known and common issue with other Subaru Foresters with heated seats in the same model year (my Forester does have heated seats), but my VIN is not included in the Subaru recall for this specific repair. This greatly puts the passenger in my car at risk, as the sensor does not recognize that a person is in the seat while they are riding, and if we were to be in an accident, their airbag would not deploy. I am frustrated that this is a known, common safety issue that affects my model and year of car, but my VIN is not included on the recall list. I would expect that my car should also be included in the recall and fixed by the dealer at their expense as it is clearly documented many times on other 2018 Subaru Foresters.

After starting these lights came on the dashboard: check engine, flashing I drive, no eyesight, rab off. Seems related to start/stop system which randomly dies when I release the brake. The whole dash lights up and I have to put the car in p and start it again. Thanks.

The head unit suddenly stopped working. It unfortunately isn’t covered under warranty. The screen consistently turns on and off.

A week after my routine oil changed at 31k, the check engine light along with flashing "s" pop up. The next day the check engine disappeared. I was some what happy and continue to drive car as normal for 2 days, then check engine light came back again and this time is staying for good. I just can't believed that 4 years old car is having this issue. I've owned so many cars prior to this 2020 Subaru Forester, never once that those cars have problems like this one. I feel that I'm at risk driving without no eyesight or collision prevention warning. . When the check engine comes on, those two things are disable. After a long research and reading about so many people with same issues, I feel that they should be a recalling to fix the thermal valve control.

113,727 miles. 2016 Subaru Forester. 5 different warning lights all came on at the same time. Before that I noticed occasionally there was a delay starting again at a stoplight. Reputable mechanic replaced the valve body of the transmission. They said they service 2-3 Subarus for this same issue every month.

Numerous times when using the "gas saving feature" when the engine stops after the brake is pressed, the car has stalled and I have had no control over the vehicle. I have had to turn on my emergency flashers and restart my car in order for it to move again. Luckily whenever it has happened for me I have been stopped on a flat surface, and not on a hill, but if this ever happened while I was trying to turn I would be t-boned, or if it ever happened while I was stopped on a hill I would roll backwards. This also increases the chances of me being rear ended, because the person behind me has to be paying attention that my car has stalled. My apple car play has also not worked since I purchased the vehicle in 2020. Their only suggestion was that I needed to swap out my iphone cord every few months, and then it may or may not work. Also what if I was not an apple user?.

Blind spot detection goes on an off. Safety is impacted by the system going on and off. Took care to Subaru dealership.

Starting up the car in the morning after a long day stuck in traffic (over 100 degree f weather), moved about 5 feet then the eyesight system stopped working, rear braking stopped, and power steering gave out - the car started and the engine ran normally. The car was abandoned as unsafe until diagnostics could be performed and a different car was used to get around . That evening the car started up fine, also the next morning to reproduce conditions. Tested the battery, which showed "good" (93% charge/40%healthy). I suspect that, in the morning the a/c, headlights, radio, backup lights, etc. . . Put a large draw on the electrical system resulting in a system wide shutdown of adaptive features - however loss of power steering is insane and can easily result in death if it happens while driving especially while making a turn if the driver is not prepared/strong enough to force it. The linking of non-critical system to help the driver to an essential system is just asking for trouble.

Within one month the same thing happened. I turn on the car and the eyesight warning light is on (eyesight feature disabled), flashing "s" drive is on, "break" light is on, and check engine light is on. Due to this cruise control isn't working. My plan was to take it to a mechanic/dealership that Monday. By Monday morning, after about 15 minutes of driving, all warning signs disappeared. This exact thing happened a few weeks later (this morning). I started googling issues and seems like this is an issue for many customers and is just a malfunctioning thermo control valve, no actual problem. What do I do about this? this is much less important - but also seems like a quality issue, at drivers side, the seat cover is starting to crack, looking like this is car is over 10 years old, we've had it for less than 4 years and this shouldn't be happening on a car of this caliber. Photos attached.

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while at a complete stop, the automatic start/stop, the feature intermittently failed to operate upon depression of the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the failure occurred without warning. The contact stated that once the vehicle was restarted, the vehicle resumed normal operation. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that the failure was related to the battery. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

Vehicle: 2024 Subaru Forester touring date of report: [July 3, 2024] what component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? on June 19th, 2024 I noticed the side mirror of my 2024 Subaru Forester touring has melted. This component is available for inspection upon request. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? the melting of the side mirror poses a potential risk of fire if it continues to deteriorate. This not only endangers the occupants of the vehicle but also poses a threat to nearby vehicles and property. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? the problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by the dealer. Subaru has declined to cover the issue under warranty, attributing it to user-caused damage, which I strongly dispute. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or others? the vehicle has been inspected by Subaru, who declined to cover the issue under warranty. Were there any warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? there were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms prior to the melting of the side mirror. The problem was first noticed recently, within two months of owning the vehicle. Additional comments: I have owned the car for less than two months and have taken meticulous care of it. The car is always parked in my garage, ensuring no sun exposure. The only place I have had the car washed is at the Subaru dealership, which further confirms that I have not done anything to damage the car.

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I have had multiple issues with my car for the past month. First, my rear right wheel has been making a fan-like sound when going above 35mph and it gets louder until 70mph. It is most likely the wheel bearings going out but, I only have around 50,000 miles on the car. This seems to be a common issue with Foresters. Secondly, my rear harman kardon speakers have stopped working. This also appears to be a recurring issue with Forester's, with both their standard and premium sound systems. Lastly, my engine check light turned on and shut off my adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, emergency braking, and rear automatic braking. I'm surprised that these issues are still happening to Subaru since they have been complained about by consumers for years.

Car suddenly stopped accelerating several times over the course of several months, at seemingly random speeds, once even at a full stop when attemptign to begin acceleration. Required to turn it off and on again (in park, break still works) and it works again. I towed the car to the dealership, and they told me after a few days that they could not recreate the issue and nothing was certifiably wrong with it. The only thing that came up on the sceen was the eye light system wording with a slash through it.

The battery on my 2019 Subaru Forester was replaced in September 2022. It was the best battery available offered at les schwab. But a few days ago, the battery was completely dead again and couldn’t even be jump started with my jump n carry after being parked in my garage for ~3 weeks. After taking out the battery and getting it fully recharged at les schwab, they also tested the battery saying it’s still in good shape. I suspect there is parasitic battery drain issue going on with this model.

At 7:30 am on 21may2024 I came out to find the car was dead, no electrical power at all, it would not start. I called Subaru customer service and arranged to have the battery jumped. When the tow driver tried to start the car, my car drained his battery in about 30 seconds. Because of the way my car was parked, the flatbed tow truck could not reach the car & I had to arrange for another truck to come pick up the car. That happened Thursday 23may2024 because my Subaru dealer did not have a loaner car available til then. That tow driver was able to start the car and said it was ok to drive it to the dealer if I didn't turn it off. So I started out and 1/2 mile from my house the battery died again & I had to arrange for another tow. Once I got the car to the dealer and they had a chance to check it out, I got a call about what was wrong. They said the battery was dead and a diagnostic test had confirmed that there was nothing in the car draining the battery, it was just dead and would need to be replaced. When I went to pick up the car and asked for a more detailed explanation of why a 2-year-old car's battery would suddenly just die, I was told that the battery didn't have enough amps for the needs of the car and they put in a battery with more amps (see attached service record). They also mentioned that Subaru was aware of this battery problem and there had been a class action settlement, but that my 2022 Forester was not covered by this settlement. I don't know if the old battery is available for inspection but this incident put me and others at risk when the car died in the middle of the road. My hazard flashers didn't work so there was no safe way to alert oncoming drivers of the hazard in the road. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem before I found the dead battery Tuesday morning, or when it died on the road Thursday morning.

See all problems of the 2022 Subaru Forester 🔎.

Horn on steering wheel stopped working. Don't know when it stopped working, no lights, warnings on dash, nothing. You only use horn when you need it and when needed for safety concerns, it did not work. Almost got in an accident when needing horn which did not work and was first discovery of this safety defect. Same situation twice after first discovery of no horn while waiting for dealership appointment day. But horn would work by pressing panic button on fob. Steering wheel, nothing. Dealer confirmed steering roll connector causing horn to be inoperative on steering wheel. Very expensive basic safety component repair for Subaru customers. Best extended factory warranty back in 2015 was 7yr/100k mi. Our Subaru was only 8yrs 8mo old and with only 79k miles. Out of warranty, but Subaru of America did help with bill as a good faith jester being so close to being in warranty. Much appreciated. However, this basic safety feature should last much longer than 8yrs or almost 9yrs, especially with no prior or current warning it has failed. Everything else on steering wheel electrically functioned fine. This defect can cause an accident, possibly a serious accident. Glad my wife and I were not in that statistic. This is not the only complaint involving horn not working on this 2015 model here and elsewhere. Makes me wonder what other Subaru years and models experience this safety defect. I strongly believe this should be a safety recall before there's a fatality, if not already, from horn function on steering wheel becoming inoperative without warning.

See all problems of the 2015 Subaru Forester 🔎.

Most of the safety quiet. Motor cut out, eyesight quiet working, check engine light came on service person said the diagnostic showed a code p2682 engine coolant bypass valve control low. Steering light came on. No prior warnings. Happened while driving at speed limit on interstate.

An electrical failure of the auto start/stop feature led to an unavoidable accident. I came to a stoplight, going slightly uphill, and the car shut off as designed. Releasing the brake re-engages the starter to continue driving, however when I released the brake, the car’s electrical system went haywire and the car immediately rolled backwards, damaging the car behind me. I took it to Subaru and the mechanic said the battery was low, but the car is designed not to initiate the start/stop feature, to prevent this from happening. They acknowledged that the accident was not my fault, but provided no further assistance. I was found at fault in the accident despite having no control over the scenario.

4/2/2024 at 5:30am my eyesight system flashed a message in orange that the eyesight system was off - not temporarily disabled. This is not due to an obstruction of the cameras by weather/glare/dirt etc. All functions controlled by eyesight including lane departure, adaptive cruise control, and forward emergency braking, as well as reverse automatic braking are disabled by this malfunction. I removed the negative lead from my battery in an attempt to reset the system which did not clear the error. No check engine light accompanied this error and all other systems seem to be functioning normally.

The thermo control valve on vehicle failed on 2020 Subaru Forester which is causing vehicle to loose acceleration, multiple errors codes displaying on the vehicle instrument dash panel and no heat in the vehicle (see attached photo for reference). The failure of this device could cause a vehicle fire depending on what position/ and or state the thermo valve failed in. There needs to be a manufacturer recall on this particular part as there is numerous amounts of complaints and issues. Subaru needs to make it right with the customer. We need to drive safe vehicles on the road.

Start / stop feature. Multiple incidents. Continuing issue. Stop at a light or in traffic. The car turns off. Let off the brake the car completely looses power sometimes or dies. Need to move shifter to park to restart. When the vehicle dies completely. Unable to move shifter of use hazards. This has happened on the highway at stop lights leaving me stranded in the middle of the road with no vehicle power. Or having to restart. Battery, starter and alternator have been tested and are good. Safety issue.

The thermo valve leaked into connector, causing engine to shut down abruptly to prevent overheating. This happened at 70 mph on interstate highway in traffic. Part was replaced with modified thermo valve later. Barely able to coast to narrow shoulder flanked by deep ditch, with vehicle very close to interstate traffic, so much so that exit from vehicle ill-advised. After towing, vehicle was serviced by Subaru dealer. At time of part failure many warning lights & messages appeared, but not before the event.

Vehicle shuts off while driving.

My 2019 suburu Forester battery will not hold a charge. Whenever I want to use it, my husband must jump the Forester with cables from his car's battery. I am careful not to park it for long and use it for trips to dentist, doctor, and other necessities. We bought the suburu Forester brand new off the car lot in 2019. The car has under 3k miles of use--it looks in perfect condition. We've changed batteries but that did not solve the start up problem. It is a safety hazard depending upon where I have to stop the car. The "incident" is one of many recurrences. After 7 days of nonuse, parked in my garage, the car fails to start.

The automatic shut off feature causes the car to lose all power. No power at all in the middle of traffic and I can't even use hazard lights to warn anyone. When at a stop the auto shut off turns off the car and when I take my foot off the brake it completely dies. It has happened 5 times in the last 3 days. Very dangerous. Imagine this happening on the freeway during rush hour. It's a miracle if no one has been killed. I saw countless posts from others on different forums. I have only owned this car for a week and half, taking it to the dealer today. This needs to be a recall paid for by Subaru, it is unacceptable.

1-16-24:car wouldn’t open and start; jump-started by aaa to dealer; dealer kept overnight & checked battery: said charge held, ready to go home. 1-30-24, 4 pm-ish: able to start n drive, but check engine& eyesight warning light came on- late in day, so didn’t drive to dealer. 1-31-car dead; jump-started by aaa again & drove to dealer. On 2-1-24, dealer sends a video & says replaced battery, but check engine light & eye sight warning light still on; investigated further & found there was a lot of water that had pooled under the passenger seat & caused some corrosion- I. E. : shorted out electrical system. I asked dealer to report to Subaru since this seemed like a car defect. 2-9-24- dealer says Subaru won’t repair it at their expense and it’s a 25 hour job & will cost a lot. Dealer wanted me to file a claim with my insurance, but car was not driven through rain, high water, or stored in a flooded garage or on a flooded street. The water in the car seems like a design defect on the part of Subaru.