2020 Subaru Forester

Our thermo control valve (TCV) assembly failed and caused dangerous loss of speed and control while on the highway. Subaru is fully aware of the defect in their design as they issued a service bulletin to inform their service centers of a new, fixed TCV assembly that is retaining the same part number (a notice only sent to their service centers, NOT to owners). Please see attached. Despite being aware of the defect, Subaru has not voluntarily replaced the defective TCV assemblies or even bothered to notify owners. Instead, they are letting us put our families and other drivers in dangerous situations through sudden loss of control. There are pages and pages of other owners experiencing this dangerous issue and - like me - being surprised to find it's a known issue that Subaru is not proactively fixing (see any of the owner forums like subaruforester.org).

The thermo-valve controller gives out on this vehicle. Through searches and discussions with two separate dealerships, this seems to be an incredibly common issue. It's enough that Subaru has actually completely replaced the design of this piece for whenever it gets replaced. This triggers a check engine light which already removes many features on the Subaru. My understanding is that this part controls and measures the engine temperature which means that drivers have no clue if their engine is overheating or not when it goes out. Subaru has gotten away with covering this part over their Powertrain warranty since the vast majority of their vehicles are having this part break within 3 years. Most drivers are happy with this because the major ($1500-2000) repair is covered. The issue is that people that drive more often, like myself, are stuck footing the bill for a part that Subaru has admitted doesn't work properly just because we've now fallen out of this 60k mileage warranty. From my research, it's not a part that is greatly affected by mileage, so much as time since the dealerships have noted that every replacement they've seen has fallen within 3 years, regardless of the mileage. For that, I'm asking that there be a true recall put in place for this part. This is a major expense for almost anyone and isn't fair for Subaru to hide behind a warranty that won't apply to everyone when they know they created this improperly. Even the reps at the dealership mentioned that they see this far too often for it not to be a recall, but that most people are still under 60k miles, so there aren't normally issues.

While driving the vehicle suddenly stalled and stopped running. The dashboard illuminated with most lights and the check engine message came on the screen. I was thankfully able to get into the shoulder on the road safely without creating an accident or getting injured. The vehicle would not start again and had to be towed to the dealership. I am now out $1800 because I am slightly over my powertrain warranty in mileage on the vehicle. This is a known issue in bulletin: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2022/MC-10208664-0001.pdf I am not only disappointed with Subaru of America and NHTSA that this is not already a recall but I am also willing to seek legal action and compensation if this repair is not going to be covered. There are many incidents and reports online of similar issues: https://www.subaruforester.org/threads/2019-thermo-control-valve-assembly-and-warranty-merged-thread.823510/ https://www.carcomplaints.com/Subaru/Forester/2020/drivetrain/power_train.shtml I have filed a case with Subaru of America corporate and am waiting to hear back. Someone is going to cause an accident or end up dead because of this faulty part. It is borderline criminal that this is not already a recall.

The other day, the check engine light came on & Eyesight was disabled. I take it to the nearest mechanic who tells me that the cooling fans are running too long at idle & this could drain the battery. He also tells me to watch for the engine overheating. The recently checked coolant level had dropped lower than the minimum. I take it to dealer who keeps it for day. Similar to the 2 other complaints, the fault is related to TSB-09-80-21R calling for replacement parts to be installed. Subaru did not do any recall but instead waited for the parts to fail. I have minimal heat & the engine runs cool a lot of the time which affects emissions. My gas mileage is getting worse. The part is on backorder with no estimated time of arrival. I was told to just keep driving it & to let them know if it starts to run rough. The dealer said there are a lot of other cars & drivers in this situation at the dealer’s service department.

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.

At the time,time, car was not fully 2 years old.. its brand new.This is an addition to a post created a week ago. After the dealership offered to detail the interior of the car to solve the sulferic acid feeling I noticed that the flap above the driving wheel started to feel warm. This happened right in the morning in February. I'm not sure if I am feeling an electrical voltage, smelling the exhaust or there's still sulferic acid in the car. Every once in awhile I my hair smells like oil.. Whatever it is it makes your head feel heavy. My toddler feels something because during a drive he will say " hot". This puts our safety at risk if we are smelling the exhaust or feeling voltage while driving in the car. Sometimes it smells like fuel I the trunk of the car or acidic

Ever since we purchased our Subaru, the RPM's seemed a little off and then at random times when I put it in reverse, it will just idle and I will slowly press on the accelerator and it will not engage in reverse and then random pop into gear and lunge backwards. It doesn't happen every time, but is scary when it does. This has been happening pretty much since we purchased it

When climbing shallow hills, car will buck and surge. Engine RPM seemed to stay constant. The transmission seemed to be unable to decide on which gear it should be in. No accident occurred, but surging made the car's performance unpredictable in traffic. Reported to dealer, who noted that this has happened to other cars in the past.