2019 Subaru Forester

THIS COMPLAINT RELATES TO THE UNSAFE NATURE OF THE AUTO START/STOP FEATURE ON OUR 2019 SUBARU FORESTER. THE VEHICLE AUTOMATICALLY SHUTS THE ENGINE OFF WHEN YOU COME TO A STOP, AT A STOP SIGN FOR EXAMPLE. IT THEN TAKES A SECOND OR MORE FOR THE ENGINE TO START AGAIN AFTER TAKING YOUR FOOT OFF THE BRAKE. THIS HESITATION IS VERY UNSAFE IN ANY SITUATION WHERE THERE IS A NEED FOR THE VEHICLE TO MOVE OUT OF THE WAY OF APPROACHING DANGER, SUCH AS AN OUT-OF-CONTROL VEHICLE COMING AT THE CAR. THE HESITATION IN MOVEMENT CAUSED BY THIS FEATURE COULD EASILY MEAN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING HIT AND GETTING OUT OF THE WAY. THE FEATURE'S DEFAULT SETTING IS "ON." EVEN IF YOU TURN IT OFF, THE NEXT TIME YOU START THE CAR IT WILL BE BACK ON AGAIN. IT WOULD BE MUCH SAFER IF THE FEATURE'S DEFAULT SETTING WAS "OFF." THE SUBARU DEALER SAYS THEY CANNOT CHANGE THE DEFAULT SETTING TO "OFF." I HAVE WRITTEN TO SUBARU SEVERAL TIMES ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND THEY ARE UNRESPONSIVE. THE CAR IS CLEARLY LESS SAFE TO OPERATE WITH THE FEATURE ON, SO SUBARU SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO CHANGE THE DEFAULT SETTING TO "OFF."

VEHICLE QUICKLY DEVELOPED A "SURGE, SPUTTERING, JERK" TYPE ACTION WHEN COASTING OR MAINTAINING SPEEDS ABOVE 35MPH. ALSO WHEN BRAKING, THERE IS GOOD AND PREDICTABLE SPEED REDUCTION UNTIL ABOUT 10MPH WHEN THE TRANSMISSIONS SEEMS TO UNLOCK AND THE CAR LUNGES FORWARD SINCE THERE IS SUDDENLY NOT ENOUGH BRAKE PRESSURE BECAUSE THE TRANSMISSION HAS SHIFTED FOR SOME REASON. DEALER HAS BEEN ABLE TO REPLICATE THE ISSUE BUT HAS NO KNOWN FIX. BRAND NEW CAR 1 MONTH OLD AND IT RUNS LIKE A BRAND NEW CAR SHOULD, UNTIL YOU GET TO MAINTAINING CRUISING SPEEDS. VERY DISAPPOINTING TO HAVE THIS ONE ISSUE WITH SOMETHING THAT IS OTHERWISE A FANTASTIC CAR.

ON THE 10TH OF JULY WHILE STOPPED AT A RED LIGHT, I WATCHED A CRACK COME DOWN FROM ABOUT 4 INCHES FROM THE TOP OF THE PASSENGER SIDE WINDSHIELD, TO DOWN JUST BELOW THE REAR VIEW MIRROR HEIGHT AND THEN CONTINUE ALL THE WAY OVER TO MY SIDE (DRIVERS SIDE). A SOUND OF SOMETHING HITTING THE WINDSHIELD WAS NEVER HEARD! ONLY WHEN I EXAMINED THE WINDSHIELD FROM OUTSIDE COULD YOU SEE A VERY MINUTE CHIP WHICH SHOULD HAVE NEVER CAUSED THIS DAMAGE! THIS WINDSHIELD GLASS IS SO THIN THAT I'M AFRAID IF SOMETHING BIGGER HITS IT, IT WILL COME THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD! THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS! A VERY EXPENSIVE OEM WINDSHIELD (AND CALIBRATION) IS REQUIRED AS A REPLACEMENT DUE TO THE EYESIGHT CAMERAS. WHY AN AFTER MARKET WINDSHIELD AN CALIBRATION CAN'T BE USED I DON'T KNOW? SOMETHING UP?

WHEN I START MY CAR VIA SUBARU STARLINK THE FOLLOWING TECHNICAL ISSUES OCCUR VOICE OVER BLUETOOTH GETS DISTORTED, APPLE CARPLAY DOES NOT CONNECT OR AFFECTS RADIO FIRST WAS NOTICED JAN 23, 2019. ALSO, POWER REAR GATE DOOR WOULD FAIL AND WOULD NOT OPEN WITH REAR GATE BUTTON, DASH BUTTON OR VIA KEY FOB AS THIS ON AND OFF PROBLEM ALSO NOTICED AFTER CAR IS STARTED VIA REMOTE APP STARLINK. POWER GATE PROBLEM REPORTED FIRST ON JAN 23, 2019 AND CONTINUES THROUGH THE PRESENT DATE. EYESIGHT FAILED ON JUL 06, 2019 WHEN CAR WAS STARTED VIA STARLINK, JUL 07, 2019 EYESIGHT BACK ON AND FAILED AGAIN ON JUL 08, 2019 WHEN CAR WAS MANUALLY STARTED FROM PARKING POSITION. WHEN EYESIGHT FAILS IT EFFECT VEHICLE DYNAMIC CONTROL WHICH ANALYZES STEERING ANGLE, ENGINE SPEED AND BRAKING CONDITIONS. ALSO, CRUISE CONTROL FAILS TO WORK ANS WELL SUBARU REVERSE AUTOMATIC BREAKING. TOTAL MILES ON THE CAR 7321 AS OF JUL 08, 2019.

AS OTHERS HAVE REPORTED, THE WINDSHIELD QUALITY IS SUSPECT. CAR WAS ONLY A MONTH OLD WITH LESS THAN 700 MILES WHEN A LARGE HORIZONTAL CRACK APPEARED ON THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE WINDSHIELD AFTER THE CAR HAD BEEN PARKED IN A PARKING LOT. NO VISIBLE SIGNS OR EVIDENCE OF IMPACT FROM A FOREIGN SOURCE. HAVE NEVER HAD ANYTHING LIKE THIS HAPPEN IN PREVIOUS CARS IN OVER 20 YEARS OF DRIVING. WHAT MAKES MATTERS WORSE IS THAT AN EXPENSIVE OEM WINDSHIELD (AND CALIBRATION) IS REQUIRED AS A REPLACEMENT DUE TO THE EYESIGHT CAMERAS.

WINDSHIELD QUALITY - 2019 SUBARU FORESTER SPORT WINDSHIELD CHIP VERY EASY. CAR PARKED ON DRIVEWAY AND IT WAS HAILING FOR 2 MINUTES; COUPLE TINY CHIPPED/PITTED WERE FOUND ON WINDSHIELD; NO CRACK. THIS ONLY HAPPEN TO THE SUBARU, BUT NOT THE OTHER VEHICLES I OWNED (VOLVO AND HONDA). SUBARU WINDSHIELD CHIP/PITTED EASILY ON VEHICLE WITH EYE SIGHT EQUIPPED. THE WINDSHIELD SEEMS THINNER COMPARE TO OLDER MODEL AND OTHER VEHICLE BRANDS. THIS ISSUE ALSO APPLIED ON HIGHWAY DRIVING AS ANY TINY OBJECT WILL CAUSE CHIPPED ON WINDSHIELD EASILY WHERE THIS DOES NOT APPLIED ON OTHER VEHICLES. REPLACEMENT IS EXPENSIVE AS WINDSHIELD HAS TO BE SUBARU CERTIFIED OTHERWISE EYE SIGHT WILL NOT WORK. FURTHERMORE, EYE SIGHT CALIBRATION IS AN ADDITIONAL COST ON TOP OF THE WINDSHIELD REPLACEMENT AND IT IS NOT COVER BY DEALERSHIP WINDSHIELD WARRANTY PACKAGE.