What 831 owners told NHTSA about the 2019 Subaru Forester Wilderness

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that there was a crack on the windshield. There was no impact on the windshield that might have caused the crack. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 29,500.

NHTSA ODI 11502764

The windshield cracked for no apparent reason. It was parked in the drive way and just cracked out of nowhere.

NHTSA ODI 11502875

Windshield was found cracked after parked for no apparent reason. Crack starts at the passenger side A pillar and goes 10 inches inward.

NHTSA ODI 11501708

Random crack in lower passenger side windshield area. Nothing hit windshield. Appeared during the day as temperatures warmed up. Crack goes from the bottom to the center.

NHTSA ODI 11497788

Windshield Cracked for no reason on 11/19/2022 while parked in the drive way.

NHTSA ODI 11494235

Spontaneous cracking of windshield. There is no evidence of any damage on inside or exterior of windshield. The crack appears to be in the interior fabric of the glass projecting down from the dotted portion adjacent to the rear view mirror. The car was in the garage, temperatures outside were moderate. We had a similar problem with a 2015 Subaru Forrester that had the windshield replaced under a previous ruling. This model year does not have an official recogniton of the continuing problem in manufacturing. Replacement and recalibration cost about $1400.

NHTSA ODI 11492538

The contact’s husband owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that her husband had parked the vehicle and as he returned to the vehicle, he noticed a thin crack on the windshield. The contact stated that the crack started at the middle top of the windshield and extended to its bottom. The contact stated that the crack had formed without an impact to the windshield. The contact’s husband notified the dealer who confirmed that it was a known failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The windshield was replaced by Safelite. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.

NHTSA ODI 11489081

A small pebble hit the windshield while driving on the highway and now there's a huge crack in it.

NHTSA ODI 11481796

Windshield cracked

NHTSA ODI 11481069

The windshield was cracked. I heard a pop and then a 15 inch crack spread horizontally across the front windshield in a couple seconds. This is a safety issue because it impaired visibility and altered the integrity of the vehicle. I took pictures of it. It has not been inspected or fixed yet but I have an appointment to do so. There were no warning lights

NHTSA ODI 11474619

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked over night under a car port the next morning it was discovered that the front windshield had developed multiple cracks. The contact indicated that no objects had made contact with the windshield to cause the cracks to occur. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 25,000.

NHTSA ODI 11473830

I purchased my 2019 Forester brand new and have had minimal issues… most are just annoyances. However, this past weekend I got in my car and there was a spontaneous crack through the middle of the windshield. By the second day, it has expanded to halfway or past halfway across. The crack in directly in the line of sight. When looking into replacement, I realized this is a common issue. I have had cracked windshields before, but they are usually gradual and you have an opportunity to repair it. There was no chance of that since this just seemed to appear.

NHTSA ODI 11472531

Windshield started cracking. Affects EyeSight safety system.

NHTSA ODI 11472370

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, she saw a 2–3-inch crack on the lower passenger’s side windshield. The contact stated that the crack had since expanded to approximately 16-inches. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 49,205.

NHTSA ODI 11469742

WINDSHIELD CRACKED FROM PASSENGER SIDE "A" PILLAR 1/3 OF THE WAY DOWN FROM THE TOP ACROSS PASSENGER SIDE WINDSHIELD TO THE MIDDLE OF THE WINDSHIELD. ASIDE FROM THE OBVIOUS SAFETY FACTOR THE CRACK ALSO RENDERED THE CAR'S ADAS "EYESIGHT" SYSTEM INEFFECTIVE.

NHTSA ODI 11469434

We have owned the 2019 Subaru Forester for approximately 3 years and have had to replace the windshield FOUR times due to cracking (some that have occurred without noticing a chip from an object from the road. When we purchased this vehicle, the dealer suggested we purchase a fairly expensive extended warranty for the windshield without disclosing that the Forester (and other models) have a much greater tendency to crack and the manufacturer recently went to a windshield what was much thinner to save money. When we purchased this vehicle I was focused on purchasing one for my daughter to use to finish medical school and to get her started on her own. Man, was I mislead on reliability of Subaru! With regard to safety, I would say that safety is at risk anytime a windshield is cracked. This can and does impair vision, etc. Subaru should be made to replace the windshield with one that is thicker and more sturdy to reduce the constant cracking that we and others have encountered.

NHTSA ODI 11468851

There is a stress crack in the bottom, middle of the windshield that appeared out of nowhere.

NHTSA ODI 11467750

for the second time in less than 8 months the windshield has spontaneously developed a significant crack though driver's sightline that requires the windshield to be replaced at outrageous expense.

NHTSA ODI 11467132

A crack appeared in my windshield on the passenger side starting from the bottom side slanting towards the middle of the passenger's vision. I do not recall anything hitting my windshield. In researching a replacement cost I read a lot of complaints from Subaru customers who had to replace their windshields, some several times, because of thinner glass used by Subaru. Several reports included the 2019 Subaru Forester with low mileage. I have a photo as I plan to have it repaired soon. I have not yet contacted my Striver dealer nor Allstate insurance agent. Please note: I loaded my 6mb photo but had to delete it to be able to continue.

NHTSA ODI 11466086

I was driving on the highway and a pebble hit my windshield. It immediately cracked it.

NHTSA ODI 11465980

Windshield - Randomly cracked while parked in garage (no rock or road damage). Windshield crack started at bottom middle passenger side, spread across entire windshield. Second time windshield cracked in same location with no evidence of rock or road damage. Windshield was replaced with OEM windshield when the crack happened again.

NHTSA ODI 11464914

One morning I went to start my car to go to work and I found a crack. The crack is coming from the bottom of the windshield.

NHTSA ODI 11461968

UNKNOWN. Don’t know how the windshield cracked. It starts at the top edge of glass, goes around the shaded part of windshield in front of rear view mirror and then down middle of windshield. From top to bottom it is 14 inches

NHTSA ODI 11461913

The front windshield developed a crack for no reason.

NHTSA ODI 11461275

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving approximately 25 MPH, the front windshield cracked. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed; however, no cause for the failure was found. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 10,000.

NHTSA ODI 11460717