New Subaru Lawsuit Claims Vehicles Have Thermal Control Valve Failure Defect

I have had continuous problems with my 2019 Outback. Starlink failure, Subaru wouldn't replace, my fault do to use of hand sanatizer. Catalytic converter failed at 81000, Subaru claims it was out of warranty! Now been to dealer 4 times in 6 weeks. Eye Sight and dash lights come on as well as check engine. Dealer has replaced transmission valve and 5 sensors still not fixed. For someone who is mentally disabled it has caused health issues.

Our 2020 outback threw this code in the middle of wyoming last Wednesday. Not only does cruise control quit, but there is no heat. Quite a factor in Wyoming winter. Appointment at subaru dealership set for Tuesday, Dec 19. In the meantime I've got hundreds of miles I have to drive until it is fixed. 5 hours shop time is what they quoted us. Thousands of dollars.

can the writer of the article or anyone else explain what happens when the thermal valve goes out?

The thermal control valve failed on my 2020 Subaru Forester this past summer. Thank God it was covered under my power train warranty.

Yes I own a Forester Sport 2019 and had the valve replaced. It was still under warranty and the dealer was very helpful with the process. Even the tech was wondering why Subaru hadn't issued a recall since they were getting so many vehicles brought in.

I had a defective thermal control valve on my 2019 Forester Sport. It took about 6 months or more to get the parts to fix it. When I asked the company about the safety of driving with this defect, I was told it would not be dangerous. I spoke to customer support and suggested a recall based on all the comments on many blogs. No go on that. I also in writing requested a new vehicle. No go on that either. They offered a few hundred dollars as compensation. At least they did that. I did not have out of pocket expenses as my car was still under warranty. I went to bat for those individuals who had out of pocket expenses. No go on that either.

I had to replace this valve on my 2019 Forester, the dealer made me wait 3 weeks without use of my vehicle, because of back ordered parts. Still have the old valve.

I just had $1700 repair to my Subaru Forester and have to deal with low tire pressure more than normal. I’d like more info on the class action suit, please.

I literally just had my Thermal control valve replaced this last November. Luckily, I purchased the extended warranty plan. It cost me a little over a hundred dollars to get it replaced. I sure would love to get that money back. Thanks!

I have 2020 Forester and the same thing happened. Was told not warranty can't afford the 1500. Still driving. I saw the letter from subaru they mailed to dealers, on the defect and change they made to the part.

Thanks for covering this. Subaru is allowing this TCV failure to continue, leaving some drivers stranded in life-threatening situations. I am afraid to take mine on long drives. My dealer said it’s happening to 20% of its customers, so a recall is warranted.

Hello. I bought 2021 Outback Premium in Sept 2023. 4 months later At 60,500 miles multiple warning lights appeared culminating from failed Thermo Control Valve. I purchased an extended warranty at the time I purchased this Outback. Full cost of repair should be covered under my extended warranty.

Thermo control valve (TCV) failed at 60,501 miles on my 2021Outback, just past the 60k mile drive train warranty. I ALWAYS buy extended warranty (Yaris, Camry, Outback since 2011) on used cars. Parts cost $650 (valve is $430) + 5 hours labor. Subaru redesigned this faulty design in mid 2021, but not recalled the vehicles with this bad valve. The intake manifold gasket is back ordered by 3-5 weeks. My dealer has replaced 10 of these valves in the past 3 weeks! In my case, the valve is open allowing constant flow of coolant which keeps engine cool/cold. Little heat and temp gauge is shut off. This failure turns off Eye-sight, cruise control, lane assist, pre collision braking and more while showing at least 4 dash lights. Other cases might have car overheating, but dealer strongly suggests I do not continue driving. Luckily I still have my older Camry. Not sure if ext. warranty covers car rental but dealer does not have a loaner car to give me. In addition, my battery failed 2 weeks after buying this Outback. Replaced with a $368 750 CCA battery. I plan to sell this Out ack well before my ext warranty expires at 100k miles. Will go back to most reliable Toyota. PS. this valve in newer cars provides much more precise temp. control, cars heat up faster & gain about 4% fuel efficiency.

My vehicle (2019 Forester, purchased new October 2018, 32000 miles) is in the shop as I type this. After I told the service advisor the symptoms and said I thought I knew what the problem was, he told me he thought he knew what it was, too. No mention of TPV until the code came up as such. I went "Ding, ding, ding!" and asked if Subaru would cover it. Well, my extended warranty does, fortunately, but I am out the $100 deductible. Will be watching to see how this pans out.

I had to have the thermo control valve replaced on my 2020 Subaru Outback, which I bought used at a Subaru dealership in 2021. Having had a bad experience with the dealership after the dead battery lawsuit, which left me stranded with a dead car on the road (Subaru tried to tell me the battery was fine and send me back out on the road - and then was forced to pay for the repairs due to the lawsuit), I elected to have this repair done by my local mechanic after they identified the problem. The cost was over $1000 as well as loss of use and especially loss of trust!
Obviously, Subaru knew about both of these problems WHEN THEY SOLD ME THE CAR but elected to sell it to me anyway without telling me. Would love to join this class action lawsuit!

I have a 2020 subaru forester that i can'd drive because of safety consern on code p26a5 so its park in my dryveway because brake failer eyesight no working properly to muck to list . I love subaru but i am going to move to other veacule . I will put my subaru on trailer and loaded with lemond an drive around town . totaly mad .

Going thru this same issue on daughter's car 2020 Forester, bought new. 71,000 miles and a copy of the 2021 Subaru service bulletin, but not under warranty? 60,000 mile warranty for something they were aware of and redesigned the part due to failures. I question if it should not also be covered by the Federal Warranty for emissions as the EGR is compromised by this failure as well.Goes into shop tomorrow, so will know more after.

I also have a 2019 Forester, less than 30,000 miles, in which the thermal control valve has failed. I have been waiting since mid-July for replacement and keep getting the run around from the dealer Gurley Leep Automotive. Now that winter has hit, I have no heat. We have had sub-zero temperatures and it is actually painful to drive any further than 20 minutes. My engine runs cold and sluggish, warning lights and engine light have been on continuously since the original failure. Dealer tells me it's safe to drive while they wait for the back order parts but I am concerned after the sudden power failure late at night while picking up my pregnant daughter and grandchildren from the airport. Scary!!

In the Fall of 2023, I was driving my 2020 Subaru Forester down the main street of Appleton Wi. Unexpectedly, dash board lights went on and the car would not move forward. It did correct itself and I was able to continue down the street. I had no understanding of what had caused this and have not had any similar experiences since. I am taking my Subaru to the dealer next Monday for a safety check as I am gifting this car to my Granddaughter at the end of February. Any suggestions for me or updates on the Thermo Control Valve lawsuit?

At 90,000 miles, the blue light (indicating cold engine operating temperature) on my 2020 Subaru Forester came on and did not shut off after driving it for 10 minutes. After I parked the car and re-started it a few minutes later, the Eye Sight light went on, the blue temp light, among several other lights on the dash, all the symptoms of the thermo control valve.

We were just informed that our family's 2019 Forester has a defective Thermo Control Valve that has to be replaced. Our Forester has just over 60K miles. We have taken excellent car of it. The price quoted to replace the defective TCV is about $1500.
According to the facts we have discovered, Subaru has known about its defective TCVs but refuses to accept responsibility for designing, manufacturing and selling these defective TCVs.
We are seeking to join the class action lawsuit that seeks to hold Subaru accountable.

2019 Forester Thermal Control Valve failure $1600+ repair cost. I would like to join the class action. How?