Periodically, the vehicle stalls at stop lights, stop signs, and in other situations when coming to a complete stop. Once the vehicle comes to a complete stop and turns off due to the auto-stop/start function, it stalls immediately after the car re-starts and you press the gas pedal. This leaves the vehicle stalled in intersections and in potentially dangerous conditions. You must engage park and restart the vehicle while stopped in the middle of traffic, which poses a significant safety risk. I believe this issue is related to the auto-stop/start functionality. The vehicle has been inspected by a Subaru dealer several times, but they claim they cannot reproduce the problem and there are no diagnostic codes or warning lights. No other mechanic has inspected the vehicle.

- Spokane, WA, USA

My Forester just totally shuts down sometimes from the auto start feature in traffic or intersections. Errors come up. The wheel locks and I must put the car in park, turn it off and turn it back on. Very scary and very dangerous.

- Columbia, PA, USA

My Forester just totally shuts down sometimes from the auto start feature in traffic or intersections. Errors come up. The wheel locks and I must put the car in park, turn it off and turn it back on. Very scary and very dangerous.

- Columbia, PA, USA

"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.

- Estell Manor, NJ, USA

Subaru Forester engine stalls at an intersection due to auto start stop feature of subaru to save fuel, except that this is the second time when engine is idling it lowers the revs and then it stalls when trying to auto start engine; first time the dealer said is battery issue, I replaced the battery at my cost, and this is the second time. It is dangerous because there are oncoming traffic and I have only a split second to turn on my flashing lights. This is a brand new battery install on 9/2024.

- Princeton, NJ, USA

DEFECTIVE THERMOSTATIC CONTROL VALVE- This part NEEDS to be recalled. Manufacturer has extended the warranty on the part, so it was free to replace. Otherwise, it's a $1600 part. I'm thankful they covered the price, but upset that this KNOWN issue is preventable and they've been letting people continue to be put in danger for four years now?! Incident 1) I was driving 45 mph on a busy street when the car bucked & All engine lights turned on (not helpful to pinpoint a problem) EyeSight turned off (when I needed it most.) The car was worse than dead. I was desperate to get to the shoulder, so I slammed on the emergency lights. Horrified, I realized turning the wheel did almost nothing. I had to lean on the steering wheel to get to the shoulder. When I applied gas it would choppily accelerate, so instead i let the car coast. Since i had no gas, i was stuck in the middle of a side road. I put it in park and turned it off. Someone started walking up from the bad neighborhood, wanted me to get out so he could push the car. I said no, but It took a few minutes to talk him into leaving through the glass of my window. But, this time when i started it up the dash warning lights were off Incident 2) between Oct& Nov 2024 Intermittently all the dash lights turned on, no cruise control or Eyesight. Resolved on its own. No engine trouble acompanied these. Incident 3) Nov 5th, 2024. I started my car, warmed it up, and drove for about 3 minute's when all the dashlights lit up, Eyesight failed, and the whole engine acted like it was on choppy seas. This was at night in a rural area and I was barely able to guide the car to the right shoulder because the accelerator was not working at all. Ended up slashing up my tire and ruining my rim on the shoulder of the road since the car was barely maneuverable. I could have been killed or in an accident - where is the recall on this part?? Mileage at total failure : 46,434

- Haughton, LA, USA

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)

- Bryan, TX, USA

Car shuts off while stopped at light. This has happened 3 times. I have taken it to Subaru service provider and keep being told nothing is wrong. Car must be put into park and restarted to work. It is unsafe. There are multiple reports online ([XXX] and [XXX] ) of people reporting the same issue. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Portland, OR, USA

P2682 Engine overheating and engine gauge flashing red due to a recall related to the engine coolant bypass valve. The vehicle stopped and required a tow for $417 to the nearest Subaru dealership to repair. After towing to the dealership they charged 31% of parts to labor and would not eliminate or discount the invoice.

- Westminster, CO, USA

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

- Larchmont, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving at 60 MPH, a deer jumped in the roadway causing damage to the front driver-side engine compartment. No air bags had deployed. The contact had managed to pull onto the side of the road. The contact stated she and the front passenger exited the vehicle safely when shortly afterward a fire started in the front driver-side engine compartment. No injury was sustained. A police report was filed but was unavailable. The local dealer was not contacted, and the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot where it was then taken by the insurance company. The contact stated the insurance company had the vehicle in their possession for an investigation. The origin of the fire was unknown. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 23,000.

- Dallas, OR, USA

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 as: "eyesight" blind spot monitoring, lane keep assist, etc. Vehicle only has 51,000 miles on it.

- Independence , OH, USA

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.

- Middleton, WI, USA

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.

- Woods Cross, UT, USA

The Thermo Control Valve is faulty and renders the vehicle non-operative. There have been numerous instances in Subaru Foresters in the same make and year.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

The Thermal Control Valve failed on my car and it-??s only 3 years old. This is a common issue and is widely known within the forums. Subaru should recall these valves as they are failing prematurely.

- South Glastonbury , CT, USA

I was at a red light when the engine shut off and the check engine and several other warning lights came on. After multiple tries I was finally able to restart the vehicle and drive it off the road. After taking it to the dealership the confirmed issue is the Thermal Control Valve. The dealership is requesting about $1600 to replace the faulty part.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

I stopped at a red light. The car's auto shutoff feature turned the car off for the fuel savings. When the light turned green and I went to go, the car tried to start and failed. I had to put it in park and start the car manually.

- Mantua, OH, USA

On Sunday, [XXX] 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). INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Saint Cloud, MN, USA

Thermo control valve is bad. Ask subaru to issue recall on 2019-2020 models.

- Lebanon, NH, USA