Verified government source

NHTSA complaint #11624312

This page summarizes an official U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration owner complaint. Use the verification links below to confirm the record directly with NHTSA.

Vehicle

2020 SUBARU FORESTER

Manufacturer

Subaru of America, Inc.

Components

ENGINE

Dates

Incident: 05/11/2024
Filed: 11/09/2024

Owner complaint summary

DEFECTIVE THERMOSTATIC CONTROL VALVE- This part NEEDS to be recalled. Manufacturer has extended the warranty on the part, so it was free to replace. Otherwise, it's a $1600 part. I'm thankful they covered the price, but upset that this KNOWN issue is preventable and they've been letting people continue to be put in danger for four years now?! Incident 1) I was driving 45 mph on a busy street when the car bucked & All engine lights turned on (not helpful to pinpoint a problem) EyeSight turned off (when I needed it most.) The car was worse than dead. I was desperate to get to the shoulder, so I slammed on the emergency lights. Horrified, I realized turning the wheel did almost nothing. I had to lean on the steering wheel to get to the shoulder. When I applied gas it would choppily accelerate, so instead i let the car coast. Since i had no gas, i was stuck in the middle of a side road. I put it in park and turned it off. Someone started walking up from the bad neighborhood, wanted me to get out so he could push the car. I said no, but It took a few minutes to talk him into leaving through the glass of my window. But, this time when i started it up the dash warning lights were off Incident 2) between Oct& Nov 2024 Intermittently all the dash lights turned on, no cruise control or Eyesight. Resolved on its own. No engine trouble acompanied these. Incident 3) Nov 5th, 2024. I started my car, warmed it up, and drove for about 3 minute's when all the dashlights lit up, Eyesight failed, and the whole engine acted like it was on choppy seas. This was at night in a rural area and I was barely able to guide the car to the right shoulder because the accelerator was not working at all. Ended up slashing up my tire and ruining my rim on the shoulder of the road since the car was barely maneuverable. I could have been killed or in an accident - where is the recall on this part?? Mileage at total failure : 46,434

This is an owner complaint filed with NHTSA (ODI #11624312). It is not automatically an official recall, investigation outcome, or manufacturer admission unless the complaint text itself describes one.

Official record ID (ODI): 11624312. This page is the human-readable source link used across afterwarranty. The raw JSON link proxies NHTSA's public API for machine verification; prefer this page when reading the complaint.