NHTSA Complaint #11692496 — 2019 SUBARU FORESTER

The auto stop/start feature occasionally causes the entire vehicle to totally shut off. This happened 3 times 2 years ago and I was to it was a low battery. On 10/4/25, the car is stopped at a red light on a four lane highway and when my wife stepped on the gas to start, the vehicle totally shut off. After panicking, I helped her turn the electronics on in order to start the flashers, then move the vehicle from drive to park, and then restart the vehicle. With cars moving at 55 miles an hour toward a green light we were very concerned about getting hit from behind. Luckily, we were not hit. The Subaru dealer then suggested the problem might be the ECM and they charged us $203 for a software update. It is not clear what causes this total vehicle shutdown but it is a significant safety issue that puts the vehicle and occupants at risk. I hope the Subaru engineers have identified and fixed this issue in future models.