2019 Subaru Ascent UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
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.
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.
Blue smoke and hesitation as if motor will turn off. Blue smoke upon turning suv on.
A/C Pipe Evaporator refrigerant leaking
My 2019 Subaru Ascent windshield cracked from no apparent reason while driving on freeway. There was a loud bang sound and there is a circular crack quite symmetrical in the middle of the windshield. The diameter of the circular crack was ~2 inches wide. There is no hairline fracture. In recollection, it didn't feel like there was any rock or particle that ricocheted off the windshield. It felt more like it cracked on its own.
Since owning this vehicle, there have been three separate incidents where the windshield has failed after a small rock has struck it while driving on the highway. The first incident caused a significant chip causing a repair. The second incident was a crack that required total replacement and recalibration. The third incident caused another crack that will require another complete replacement and recalibration.
Open CVT recall is not being taken care of in a timely manner. Safety sensitive issue and it’s been open coming up on a year.
Driving when all of the sudden the front windshield cracked it started on the passenger side.
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? WINDSHIELD How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? CRACKED WINDSHIELD Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? YES Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? NO Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? NO
Windshield cracked while driving.
2019 SUBARU ASCENT. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO SUBARU SAFETY RECALL WRK-21. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED THE USE OF A RENTAL VEHICLE AND STORAGE BE PROVIDED WHILE AWAITING THE RECALL REPAIR COMPLETION. THE CONSUMER STATED THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME COMPLETING THE RECALL REPAIR.
The rear door knocked me to the ground because it didn’t go back up when it came in contact with my body and I couldn’t get out of the way fast enough
WINDSHIELD EASILY CRACKED < HAD TO GET REPAIR IN !ST 6MOS W/ CAR, HAS SEALED CRACK DEEP CHIP IN MIDDLE OF WINDSHEILD.
In June 2020, the front window cracked while I was driving even though I did not observe any rocks or other road debris hit the windshield. The crack has not spread further since that date.
I PARKED MY CAR AT WORK WITH NOBODY AROUND ME AND NOTHING ABOVE THE CAR. WHEN I GOT OUT OF WORK I SAT IN THE CAR I NOTICED A CRACK ON THE WINDSHIELD APPROXIMATELY HALF A FOOT. I DROVE IT THAT MORNING AND ABSOLUTELY SURE IT WAS NOT THERE. I LOOKED AROUND WHERE I PARKED IF THERE IS ANYTHING THAT COULD POSSIBLY HIT IT AND THERE WAS NOTHING, NONE ON THE GROUND OR ON THE VEHICLE. THE WINDSHIELD JUST SPONTANEOUSLY CRACKED EVEN THE VEHICLE IS STATIONARY HOW MUCH MORE IF SOMETHING HIT THE WINDSHIELD ON A HIGHWAY. I ALSO HAD TO REPLACE THE TIRES IN ABOUT A YEAR OF USE, I NEVER HAD TO REPLACE MY TIRES THAT SO EARLY ON A BRAND NEW VEHICLLE.
DEAD BATTERY WITHOUT WARNING. THE CAR HAS ONLY $11,100 MILES ON IT. I HAD TO CALL ROADSIDE SERVICE FOR A JUMP AND GO TO THE NEAREST PLACE AND BUY A NEW BATTERY. THIS OCCURRED ON A SUNDAY. THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY IN MY GARAGE. I HAVE AN EXTENDED WARRANTY AND ALL MAINTENANCE AND RECALLS HAVE BEEN DONE AT A DEALERSHIP IN A TIMELY MANNER. I HAD NO INDICATION THAT THERE WAS A BATTERY PROBLEM.
THE CAR EMITS GAS, PETROL FUMES IN THE CABIN VIA THE VENTS. THE CAR HAS BEEN BROUHGT BACK THO THE SHOP SEVERAL TIMES AND THEY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO REPAIR THIS. HAVE TAKEN A GAS SENSOR TO THE VENTS AND THE GAS SENSOR PROVES THAT GAS/PETROL FUMES ARE BEING RELEASED INTO THE CABIN AND CAN POTENTIAL CAUSE AFFIXATION. NOTE THIS HAPPENS WHEN THE CAR IS STATIONARY OR DRIVING
SMALL CRACK IN WINDSHIELD HAS SPREAD ACROSS ENTIRE WINDSHIELD RAPIDLY. WE DO NOT RECALL WHEN THE SMALL CRACK OCCURRED BUT THE CRACK SPREAD ACROSS THE ENTIRE WINDSHIELD IN ROUGHLY TWO WEEKS TIME.
BATTERY DIED WHILE PARKED WITH NO OTHER LIGHTS ETC LEFT ON
WHEN ACCELERATING THE CAR LURCHES AND HESITATES, THERE IS ALSO A LOW GROWLING NOISE FROM THE RIGHT SIDE. THIS HAPPENS MOST OFTEN AT LOW SPEEDS, IN NEIGHBORHOOD DRIVING, UNDER 30 MILES HOUR. THE CAR HAS ALREADY HAD A NEW TRANSMISSION AS WE WERE TOLD THIS WOULD RESOLVE THE ISSUE. ALMOST IMMEDIATELY THE ISSUE CONTINUED AND WAS BACK AT THE DEALERSHIP. THE OFFICIAL DIAGNOSIS FROM THE DEALERSHIP IS WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE ISSUE IS AND WE CANNOT FIX IT. PLEASE DRIVE AS NORMAL. THIS ISSUE HAS BENE ONGOING WITH THE CAR FOR MONTHS.
1ST REPLACEMENT: REPLACED FACTORY WINDSHIELD (7/27/19) DUE TO CRACK FROM TOP RIGHT TO THE MIDDLE OF THE GLASS. 2ND REPLACEMENT: ON THE HIGHWAY ON RAMP AT <55 MPH, A PEBBLE HIT ON THE DRIVERS SIDE TOWARDS THE BOTTOM OF THE OEM (7/27/19) REPLACEMENT WINDSHIELD AND A SUBSTANTIAL CHIP (IMMEDIATE SPIDER CRACK) RESULTED. IN PROCESS OF HAVING THE CHIP FILLED, A 12" CRACK FORMED THAT SPREAD TOWARDS THE EXTERIOR EDGE AND INTERIOR OF THE WINDSHIELD. REPLACED WINDSHIELD ON 3/5/20 (SECOND WINDSHIELD REPLACEMENT IN LESS THAN 8 MONTHS). STILL CONCERNED ABOUT RELIABILITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE OEM/FACTORY WINDSHIELDS THAT ARE INSTALLED ON THE SUBARU ASCENT.
HAIRLINE CRACK ON WINDSHIELD. UNKNOWN HOW AND WHEN IT STARTED. NOTICED WHEN I ENTERED THE CAR IN EVENING.
MOON ROOF CRACKED. CAR WAS PARKED AWAY FROM TREES ETC. ROOF WAS IN TACK WHEN PARKED. VEHICLE WAS NOT IN MOTION. WHEN I RETURNED TO MY VEHICLE 2 HOURS LATER IT HAD A HUGE CRACK EXTENDING FROM BACK TO FRONT OF WINDOW. IT WAS A WARM SUNNY DAY, BUT NOT EXCESSIVELY HOT.
THE CAR WAS IN THE USUAL PARKING SPACE WHEN I GO TO WORK. NO HAZARD OR DEBRIS THAT MIGHT HIT THE CAR/ WINDSHIELD BUT TODAY WHEN I GET OFF FROM WORK, MY WINDSHIELD HAS A 30' LINEAR CRACK, EXTENDING FROM THE PASSENGER SIDE UP TO THE MIDDLE OF THE WINDSHIELD. THERE IS NO MARK THAT THE WINDSHIELD IS HIT BY A STONE OR DEBRIS OR HIT BY SOMETHING HARD. I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPEN OR HOW IT GOT A CRACK. IT MIGHT BE POSSIBLE THAT THE WINDSHIELD WAS CRACK BY THE DIRECT HEAT OF THE SUN? MAYBE THE WINDSHIELD IS DEFECTIVE ON IT'S OWN AFTER CERTAIN TIME. OUR SUBARU ASCENT WAS PURCHASED ALMOST 23 MONTHS AGO WITH 30K MILEAGE. *TR
WINDSHIELD CRACK APPEARED FOR NO APPEARANT REASON
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Quick Summary
The 2019 Subaru Ascent has 30 UNKNOWN OR OTHER complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.