What 432 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 Subaru Ascent

Replaced rear brakes and rotors in August 2025. By may 2026 they had worn down to the metal and needed replaced again. Only had 13000 miles on them. After multiple diagnostics testing was done, no issues were found with the brake system. Monitoring new pads and rotors. Still wearing rapidly but even. After only 6 weeks, they have reached about half of their life.

NHTSA ODI 11747480

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Ascent. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at approximately 75 MPH, a deer ran across the highway and hit the left driver's side of the vehicle. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. A grayish smoke began to emit from the vehicle as the contact's wife immediately pulled off to the side of the road. Due to the damaged cause by the impact of the deer, the contact's wife had difficulty exiting the vehicle. The contact's wife used excessive force to open a crack in the door, which was enough to slide herself out of the vehicle. The vehicle became engulfed in flames soon after exiting the vehicle, and the authorities were called to the scene. The fire department arrived at the scene and managed to extinguish the fire. The contact's wife sustained bruising to her left shoulder, left leg, and left arm but did not seek medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was initially towed to an independent tow yard and was later towed to an insurance holding facility. The contact stated that the vehicle was destroyed as a result of the fire, but the insurance adjuster had yet to determine a final ruling on the vehicle. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer had yet been notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11726659

We have been dealing with issues with this vehicle since 2024. We had 3 open recalls which we took into the closest dealership to us and things were okay for a few months and then started having issues again. We live in a small town and it is hard to get to the dealership so we had a few local mechanics take a look and one had found that the exhuast recall was not installed properly and so he addressed that issue. Things were then okay for a little bit after that and then we started having bigger issues the car would not exceed 30 MPH in the middle of us driving and then the car would jerk back and forth. After advice from Subaru of America we got it checked out at a dealership who put a part into the vehicle and then we got it back and less than a week later the car was doing the same things. We took it back and they kept the car for 2 weeks but told us they could not duplicate the problem so we got the car back and right away had the same issues when taking it home. The CVT is for sure messing up we believe and now the car does not drive at all. After some back and forth we found out that the 1st owners took it in for the CVT recall so I reached out to the dealership who did that and was told that they did look at it but at the time the CVT was not an issue but the mileage was fairly low at that time. Personally I am not in a place to afford to get it replaced on my own but I do not believe that the recall should have been closed out knowing that the part would eventually go out since it is a known issue on that car I have tried to go back and forth to get this resolved but I am not getting anywhere and I am not sure what to do at this point to try and get the problems address and made right.

NHTSA ODI 11722197

Component/System Failed: The vehicle’s CVT transmission and related transmission components. The transmission and associated components have been replaced multiple times by authorized Subaru dealerships. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Description of the Failure and Safety Risk: The vehicle has experienced repeated, intermittent transmission malfunctions, including warning lights, loss of power during acceleration, and sudden harsh re-engagement. Most recently, while accelerating through an intersection from a stop, the vehicle briefly lost power and then abruptly surged forward, causing a pronounced lurch strong enough to chirp the tires. This created a serious safety concern. A hesitation or loss of motive power in an active intersection exposes me to potential cross-traffic collisions, while the sudden re-engagement creates unpredictable acceleration and possible loss of control. The intermittent nature of the malfunction makes it impossible to anticipate when it will occur. Dealer/Manufacturer Involvement: The issue has been reported to and inspected by authorized Subaru dealerships multiple times. Because the malfunction is intermittent, dealers have stated they cannot fully diagnose the issue unless warning lights are active at the time of inspection. Subaru corporate customer advocacy has been involved in reviewing the case. Warning Lamps / Prior Symptoms: Intermittent transmission and check engine warning lights have appeared repeatedly over several months. The lights often illuminate while driving and then turn off after restarting the vehicle, despite the underlying issue not being resolved.

NHTSA ODI 11719891

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Ascent. The contact stated that while the engine was idling, exhaust fumes entered the cabin of the vehicle. Additionally, immediately after starting the vehicle, there was a loud ticking sound coming from the exhaust system. The vehicle was inspected by the local dealer, and it was determined that the exhaust manifold lines were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 120,000.

NHTSA ODI 11717497

I leased a 2019 Subaru Ascent (VIN: [XXX] ), which is equipped with the EyeSight driver-assist system. In the Spring of 2019, while driving in a parking lot at night with low visibility and snow, the vehicle struck a pole. Despite the imminent collision, the EyeSight system failed to engage Pre-Collision Braking or provide any audible/visual warning to alert me of the obstacle. The system did not disengage or indicate it was unavailable due to weather; it simply failed to function, resulting in a collision. Following this incident, I immediately contacted Subaru of America to report the failure. At that time, Subaru representatives denied any defect existed and stated the system was not at fault. I have recently learned that this vehicle is part of the [XXX], et al. v. Subaru of America, Inc. class action 9[XXX]), which addresses defects in the Pre-Collision Braking and Lane Keep Assist systems. Crucially, I was never notified of this class action or the associated defect by Subaru. I received no mail, email, or other communication alerting me to this safety risk or my eligibility for repair/reimbursement. I only discovered this information via a third-party news source after the settlement claim deadline of September 27, 2025, had passed. Upon contacting the Settlement Administrator and Subaru of America in January 2026, I was told that because the administrative deadline has passed, no remedy is available. Subaru is effectively refusing to address a known safety defect on a confirmed affected VIN solely due to a missed deadline that I was never informed of. I am filing this complaint to document the failure of the EyeSight system and Subaru’s failure to properly notify lessees/owners of known safety defects. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11713281

Over the past few months the transmission has started randomly refusing to engage. When entering the expressway, you will press the accelerator, and the engine will rev and the vehicle will not accelerate at all. Then you let off the accelerator, let the engine RPM drop back down to idle, and press again and it will accelerate. This has happened 3 times in 2 months. Subaru is refusing to replace the transmission because their tech cannot personally reproduce the problem on demand, even though they have voluntarily extended the warranty on this model transmission due to slippage issues. They are instead going to change the transmission fluid, which has less than 1/2 the mileage for a typical fluid service, to mask the issue, risking the safety of passengers.

NHTSA ODI 11702574

The break pads had to be renewed after 2.5 months because the ABS was engaging every time I used the breaks. At all speeds. 84,000 miles

NHTSA ODI 11686854

The battery is draining so quick that the car doesnt start at all. The battery drained completely in 3 days and it’s happening more often.

NHTSA ODI 11681026

While driving on the highway, my vehicle suddenly lost the ability to accelerate—this is the second time this has happened, with the first incident occurring in June 2022. Each time I bring the car to the dealership, I’m told that because the issue cannot be recreated on the spot, despite codes that are warranted for the QMR to be done they’re unable to inspect or apply the WRK-21 procedure to replace the transmission under warranty. Despite this, my car consistently slips during normal driving conditions. It shudders and surges unpredictably while accelerating in traffic, creating an extremely unsafe situation. Most recently, I was driving with my children when the car failed to accelerate as I attempted to merge across four lanes of highway traffic. I had to coast until I could safely pull over. On other occasions, the vehicle has jolted forward unexpectedly, nearly causing collisions and forcing me to slam on the brakes. This issue is not only recurring—it is dangerous. I am requesting that it be taken seriously and addressed appropriately under warranty.

NHTSA ODI 11674836

All of a sudden my vehicle accelerated after placing it in reverse with my foot on the brake. There was a screeching sound and I immediately shifted into (at least) Park. In attempting to exit my garage again, it repeated the same events. I parked the car and never did leave my residence. No dash lights etc. I am afraid to now drive this vehicle. This occurred several days before this mentioned event, but responded OK the 2nd time. In May of 2025 I actually crashed into a car across the street from this happening. Others are definately at risk. This actually occured twice during my 1st year of ownership, but was overlooked until now. I intend to take it to my dealer and have my vehicle inspected. There were no warning lamps etc.

NHTSA ODI 11671503

As a veteran and spouse of an active duty service member, we are currently fulfiling our overseas tour in South Korea. We were notified of the recall of our Subaru Ascent and made contact with Subaru via email for guidance on how to proceed as we are not within the continental United States. My email to them was as follows: Our family is currently stationed overseas in South Korea. Our family has been stationed here the past two years and will be completing an additional duty of two more years here in service of our country. I previously contacted Subaru addressing the concern of the Recall for our PTC Heater Ground Bolt which has been found to be unsafe and can lead to the vehicle catching on fire. It was disheartening to be told we could not be offered assistance as Subaru only services those in the U.S. Subaru prides itself as providing one of the safest vehicles for families on the market which is why we chose Subaru. What can be done to assist us? I look forward to hearing back soon.  Subaru responded with: Thank you for reaching out to Subaru of America. Regrettably Since we do not have a reciprocal agreement with Korea we would not be able to assist with the repairs until you return to the states. I do apologize as there would be no other loopholes that we will be able to provide to have the repair done. If fyou have any further questions, you can always give us a call back or email back in as well. Hope you have a good day ahead. We will not be able to ship our vehicle until all recalls have been fixed especially as this specific recall does come with a noted safety risk by Subaru and is as follows: This potential condition may result in the melting of the ground terminal and surrounding components when the PTC heater is in operation, increasing the risk of a fire. I am submitting a claim to acquire assistance as to how to proceed. -thank you.

NHTSA ODI 11669652

I purchased the car brand new in 2019. Shortly after purchasing, the transmission started having hesitation and slipping. I took the car back to the Subaru, and they replaced the transmission under warranty. Unfortunately, they replaced it with another full transmission, and very shortly there after, they had to replace it again. Unfortunately, they replaced it with another faulty transmission and now it is at 150,000 miles and needs another transmission. No one offered me to buy back my car with a second transmission replacement. I was told I was trying to scam a new transmission from Subaru. For this third transmission, I had it verified by an independent shop. I have placed a complaint with Subaru and ask them to buy back my vehicle and I have been told it’s unlikely to happen. I am worried about what will happen when the transmission goes out while I’m driving 70 miles an hour down the highway. This is a pattern in the warrants consumer protection. Many other car companies have stopped. Trying to make this CVT because it kept having problems..

NHTSA ODI 11661510

When trying to maintain highway speeds (65 to 70 MPH) and driving in mountainous terrain of Pennsylvania, Maryland, or New York, the vehicle will shudder as if it is loosing power. The vehicle will rapidly loose speed. No warning code is issued. The only way to solve issue is depress the pedal to increase the RPMs. Took vehicle to dealer and reported that it felt as if the CVT chain was slipping. They said they could not recreate and there was no code.

NHTSA ODI 11651625

My vehicle smokes when starting it. A lot of white smoke that can fill a parking lot. The smoke has a strong chemical smell.

NHTSA ODI 11645828

Transmission belt broke while driving resulting in a catastrophic failure.

NHTSA ODI 11645838

Subaru windshild in my 2019 Ascent have been replaced twice in 30,000 miles due to very inadequate glass. I'm struggling to get Subaru to acknowledge their responsibility to replace this current cracked windshield with a new part, as per my reading of a settlement that they should be following [XXX] ). They are currently trying to send me to a 3rd party repair business to do the repair, but supposedly they have fixed the part on more recent versions of the car. By comparison, I had a Toyota Highlander for 11 years and never once had to replace the windshield glass. Yes, it took a beating, but never once cracked like this glass does. It's not up to the task, and clearly dangerous. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11643538

I have a 2019 Subaru Ascent Limited model with 96,xxx miles as of January 2025. In 2023, there was a safety recall for the PTC heater ground bolt sent first class mail for multiple year Ascent models. This recall was completed by local subaru dealership on 3/27/2023 stating "WRL 22 completed. Removed ground bolts and cleaned threads. Found no signs of heat damage. Removed and replaced bolts." Move forward to Saturday, [XXX]. I remote started vehicle from inside the house while on vacation in Bristol Tennesee. Car was running for roughly 5 minutes, when fire alarms inside the house starting going off. Seemed odd considering nothing was going on inside. Walked inside to see large amounts of white smoke coming from the windows of the Ascent. I was able to jump into the car and turn the engine off. I opened all 4 doors to let the car air out. I checked the engine, nothing seemed off. I then turned my attention to the air cabin filter, everything seemed normal as well. After the engine cooled and aired out, there is smoke damage to the vehicle. I was able to transport the car safely to Wallace Subaru which was less than 0.25 mile from our airbnb. I was quickly notified by the service technician that the car is not safe to drive until it was fixed. After further investigation, it was found that the PTC ground bolt has failed again, and this time melting the wiring harness and bolt around it. This was right next to the carpet and put my life as well as my wife, who is [XXX] and my [XXX] daughter. Thankfully we weren't in the vehicle when this occurred. There was no warning. No check engine light, nothing. No other issues leading into the incident. Car is still parked in Bristol TN at the dealership and I am 5 hours away in Lexington KY. Subaru has been uncooperative with this situation and is avoiding talking to me or making this situation better. I literally have no answers. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11638826

Yes, inspect it. Bought 2019 Subaru Ascent from Carvana, March of 2022. 5 months later, the transmission started to low screech and hard shift. I took it to Osteen Subaru dealership. They test drove it, then reprogrammed transmission. Same day while leaving their parking lot, hard shifted and slighty screeched yet again, reprogrammed again. On my way home that day, did it again, problem persisted. Called and told them, asked them about replacing transmission, was told I had to go on waiting list because recall was released yet. Started getting even worse by November 2022. They ended up keeping it for 2 and a half months. Got it back in January 2023. Was told the problem was torque converter lockout. Subaru Company began to have recalls on their CVT Transmission & still refused mine. My VIN # was/and is included in the lawsuit for the extended warranty, & I was still under the manufactures warranty for Drivetrain when this first happened. The last I took it to the dealer I went to a dealer and hr away, was told they wont touch. Subaru of America told me they won't fix either because was out of warranty @100467miles. I explained I went to the dealership several times under 100k miles as it states my mileage on the Service invoices she was looking at on her screen. I have papers being in their shop still under man. warranty. They still refuse. My car is part of the lawsuit about transmission & still won't fix their recalled transmission. This vehicle has been to dealer 4 times since built with this same issue and not fixed. The service manager at dealership named Joe, told me the screeching is normal. It was not doing that when I first bought. It's my only transportation and still making payments on it. Subaru refuses to rectify their recall problem. I have kids & unsafe SUV. The car was great then without cause transmission stops working. Subaru of America won't help or take responsibility. Highly disappointed in the brand

NHTSA ODI 11636416

STARTED THE VEHICLE TO DRIVE 30 MILES FOR AN APPOINTMENT. WHILE DRIVING, ALL OF THE INTRUMENT CLUSTER LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. THE EYE SIGHT TURNED OFF, CRUISE CONTROL NO LONGER WORKED, PARKING BRAKE LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED, ABS LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. TPMS LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THIS HAS OCCURED 2 TIMES BEFORE. THE FIX FOR THE PREVIOUS ISSUES WAS TO CLEAN THE BATTERY TERMINALS.

NHTSA ODI 11636557

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Ascent. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the hood was flapping up and down. The contact was concerned that the hood might release and crash into the front windshield. The brake pedal was depressed but was slow to respond. The TPMS warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the interior lights were inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously taken to the same dealer for routine maintenance, and the brake fluid and coolant were not topped off. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 79,000.

NHTSA ODI 11633719

The windshield cracked with no obvious damage. The crack did not start at a chip. Cracked while not driving and no recent rock hits.

NHTSA ODI 11633422

The Y pipe that connects the exhaust from the engine to the turbo charger, has cracks from poor welds. It happened 8-12 months ago we started to notice that during warm up our Ascent would sound real loud then quiet down once it warmed up. We didn’t know there was an issue as there were no lights that came on and we had no loss of power or MPG. The safety issue would be that we finally took the car in once we started to smell exhaust fumes coming from the car that we would start to smell from inside the car. We had to start to air out the car after warming up if we couldn’t immediately drive away once started. We contacted Subaru and they offered a partial credit for a repair but after researching I have seen they have had recalls in the past regarding similar cracked Exhaust manifolds on another model car.

NHTSA ODI 11631180

We have had to replace battery twice and had to have auto club give us a jump start multiple times. We drive this vehicle once or twice a month, but something is causing battery to run down way to fast. Manufacturer claims we need to drive more often. I have always had one car, that burned to much fuel, and was used as an occasional vehicle, but never had this type of problem. Something needs to be provided so that battery does not leak power when it is a low use car. I don’t want the internal lights to turn on when I walk by, or for it to access the internet. I believe that this leaves us vulnerable to non-availability at a critical time. We are planning a multi-week trip and have no idea if car will start when we return. Nor is their a way to disconnect unneeded activity that is draining battery.

NHTSA ODI 11630014

We observed Subaru Ascent 2019 (Limited) car handling poorly over bumpy areas, especially over bumps on turns even at speeds under 40 mph. Car feels as if it is loosing contact with the road. It is also jarring over bumps even while driving straight. In wet conditions, I do not know if I will be able to stop within the proper distance. We took the car to the dealer, that indicated front struts needed replacement. They could not provide an estimate of when struts would be available -- this was over one month ago. I am uncertain if a repair is possible to correct this apparent safety issue.

NHTSA ODI 11626570