2019 Subaru Forester problems and complaints

Owners have filed 833 complaints with NHTSA about the 2019 Subaru Forester. The most-reported areas: Visibility/Wiper (370), Unknown Or Other (144), Electrical System (134).

Key takeaways

  • 833 owner complaints on file with NHTSA.
  • 37 involve a crash, 11 a fire, 21 reported injuries.
  • Complaints are unverified owner reports; recalls are confirmed defects.
Complaints by component
ComponentComplaintsShare
Visibility/Wiper37044%
Unknown Or Other14417%
Electrical System13416%
Engine10613%
Forward Collision Avoidance435%
Power Train385%
Visibility385%
Vehicle Speed Control273%
Service Brakes263%
Structure253%
Fuel/Propulsion System223%
Air Bags172%

One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.

NHTSA 5-Star crash ratings
VersionOverallFrontSideRollover
2019 Subaru Forester SUV AWD5/55/55/54/5

Latest complaints, as filed

Owner-written and unverified by NHTSA.

Air Bags - filed 2026-09-05

On 9/2/2016, my 2019 Subaru Forester was involved in a right-front collision. During the collision, the driver's frontal airbag did not deploy. Actually none of the airbags deployed. As a result, the driver's chest and upper abdomen struck the steering wheel.And sustained significant bruising and other injuries and re...

Service Brakes, Hydraulic,vehicle Speed Control,forward Collision Avoidance - filed 2026-08-21

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH with the adaptive cruise control engaged, the vehicle accelerated independently. The contact depressed the brake pedal; however, the engine revved loudly, the vehicle continued to accelerate and collided with the rear of a minivan....

Unknown Or Other - filed 2026-05-16

Car swirving as if someone grabbed the steering and pulled right left quickly when applying breaks. First incident happened on interstate which nearly caused an accident. Carriage makes a “clunk” sound when moving forward or backwards and you feel the cabin continue in motion when first stopping. When taken to Subaru,...

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More for the 2019 Subaru Forester

Complaints are reports filed by owners with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them, and counts rise with how many cars were sold, so compare years of the same model rather than different models. Crash ratings are NHTSA's own 5-Star Safety Ratings results.