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New Subaru Lawsuit Claims Vehicles Have Thermal Control Valve Failure Defect

A new lawsuit against Subaru alleges some Outback, Forester, Crosstrek, and Legacy models have a thermal control valve failure defect. See if your vehicle is affected.

I cover all Subaru of America (SOA) lawsuits, and here is another that customers need to know about. Subaru is facing a new class action lawsuit claiming there is an issue with the thermal control valve on several of its 2019-2021 vehicles that the company refuses to recall or fix for vehicle owners, according to a report from Top Class Actions.

Which Subaru model years are affected?

The report says Subaru is accused of knowing about the defect in its 2019 to 2021 Outback, Forester, Crosstrek, and Legacy models since 2021. Despite this knowledge, the lawsuit alleges that Subaru failed to correct the issue or cover repairs under warranty.

2019 Subaru Outback with thermal issue

The class action claims the defect poses a safety hazard.

“The defect renders the class vehicles inoperable, impairing their core functionality, and poses a safety hazard for drivers and their passengers who may be left stranded,” the Subaru class action says. “The Thermo Control Valve Defect manifests unexpectedly, requiring drivers to incur unforeseen expenses such as thermo control valve replacements, diagnostics, roadside services, and costs associated with securing alternative means of transportation.” 

Plaintiffs Scott Austermann, Mackenzie Beuttel, Jennifer, and John Werthmann are Subaru vehicle owners who claim they experienced the thermal control valve issue, leading to repairs and additional expenses that Subaru did not fully cover. The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Matthew D. Schelkopf and Joseph B. Kenney of Sauder Schelkopf LLC. 

2019 Subaru Forester driving

Subaru made changes to the design.

The lawsuit says Subaru changed the thermal control valve design in June 2021 but did not issue a recall or offer a free replacement. According to court records, Subaru changed the design of its thermal control valves on June 7, 2021, to prevent sensor corrosion.

What are the plaintiffs asking for? 

The plaintiffs ask for a recall or free replacement program, a buyback of class vehicles, class certification, restitution, damages, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees.

2019 Subaru Crosstrek has the thermal valve issueDo you own one of the impacted 2019-2022 Subaru Outback, Forester, Crosstrek, or Legacy models? Let us know in the comments if you have experienced similar problems.

I reported on another class action lawsuit against Subaru of America, claiming the automaker manufactured and sold certain vehicles equipped with Starlink infotainment systems containing a defect that has rendered them partially or wholly inoperable. 

Thanks for reading, everyone. I hope you enjoyed this Subaru class-action lawsuit story. See you tomorrow for my latest Subaru Report.

For additional articles related to Subaru lawsuits, here are a few of my top stories you may enjoy. 

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I am Denis Flierl, a 12-year Torque News senior writer with 20+ years of Subaru and automotive journalism experience. I enjoy bringing you, the Subaru fans and customers, the most up-to-date Subaru news, reviews, and new model information. You'll find the latest Subaru stories on the Subaru page. Follow me on my The Dirty Subaru website, Dirty Subaru blog, SubaruReport, All Subaru, WRXSTI, @DenisFlierl, Facebook, and Instagram.

I’ve got you covered! - I cover all Subaru all the time - It’s called the “Subaru Report.” Check back daily for my expert Subaru analysis!

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photo credit: Subaru USA

Comments

Daniel (not verified)    December 9, 2023 - 10:55AM

I experienced the thermal control valve sticking on my 2020 Subaru Forester also. ? approximately ayear after purchase ? Took it in to dealer, replaced with no hassle and no cost, other than my personal time… which is NOT worth a class action lawsuit ,,, geesh

Ed Van (not verified)    December 20, 2023 - 3:10PM

In reply to by Daniel (not verified)

Thermal control valve failed at 72000 mi on my 2020 Outback. Repair costs $1600. Subaru tech said it happens often. Besides the $ cost, wasted time making 2 trips to dealer since had to get a loaner car. So much for Subaru being reliable (not!). Crazy to not have recall and have to go thru a lawsuit. Poor customer support by Subaru.

Christine Be ton (not verified)    December 9, 2023 - 12:25PM

I own a 2019 Subaru Forester Sport vehicle and I am always putting air in my tires. I believe it is due to the issue being written about. My mechanics say I need new valves on my car.
It should be Subarus’ responsibility.

Rita Storie (not verified)    December 9, 2023 - 1:27PM

Glad to read about the lawsuit concerning thermo value failure. Happened to me a couple months ago.. CEL came on and was told to continue driving as local Subaru dealer could not look at my car for 10 days. Bad idea.. found myself stranded late on Saturday evening with no cell service. Cost to repair over 2200.00. Have had a very SOUR opinion about Subarus since. Seems the car no longer has the power it had before? My imagination?
Not sure.. keeping the car in hopes that this lawsuit would happen.. Otherwise, would have gotten rid of it. Will be following for sure! Thanks for this site!

Rachel Robertson (not verified)    December 9, 2023 - 2:43PM

I own a 2020 outback which I bought new. Just replaced my thermal control valve out of pocket because over 110 000 miles. Did not do at subaru but got parts from them. Car had to be towed to local mechanic for repair.

Elizabeth Ingram (not verified)    December 9, 2023 - 3:23PM

I have a 2020 Outback and about a month ago my heater stop working took it to dealership and spent 1,425 to replace the thermal control valve. It caused all my warning lights to come on and cruise control does not work now.

Nick White (not verified)    December 9, 2023 - 4:18PM

I own a 2019 subaru forester, bought in 2020 and my thermo control valve went out not even a year later. I went to the dealership to see what was wrong and was quoted 2 grand for them to even open it up and more charges depending on the problem. I decided to investigate myself and found out the code and tried to get a replacement part and I couldn't get my hands on one. They took my money for the part but 3 days later they canceled the order. This happened 3 times. Anyways I'd love to be part of this lawsuit. Subaru really turned its back on people and then, once they made a fix for it, did little to nothing to tell their customers.

Joe slovak (not verified)    December 9, 2023 - 5:35PM

I have a2019 crosstrek hybrid and I’m currently experiencing a number of or.
I brought it in for a recall 2 weeks ago for a cool problem only to have the car fail to start when I get it back.
I had to jump it, twice since the recall fix.
I never had to jump it before.

Now I’m getting “ eyesight” not working along with check engine. It cones and goes. Can’t get it inspected because of it.

Michael Curtis (not verified)    December 9, 2023 - 6:06PM

I was recently charged $1800 to have the thermo control valve of my 2020 Outback Limited replaced.
It sounded from my dealer that this was a problem but that nothing was being done to remedy this for people outside of the warranty period.
I hope your action results positively for those of us who have had this problem.

Natalie (not verified)    December 10, 2023 - 11:31AM

I actually just bought out my lease for my 2020 outback and the thermal control valve went out. The Maintenance guy at the Subaru dealer knew exactly what was wrong when I told him what was going on as he had seen it many times before. After a long back and forth with SOA. They gave me a "one time" financial maintenance assistant but it didn't cover the full cost plus the inconvenience of not having my car for 2 weeks. I wasn't about to rack up a bigger bill renting a car from them when it seemed like they didn't want to fix an issue they knew was wrong...

Alb86 (not verified)    December 10, 2023 - 12:30PM

Yep mine went out on my 2020 outback while traveling home from vacation had to get it towed to the nearest dealership and get a hotel for an extra night. The dealership said they had seen it a lot and were surprised there was no recall for it. I drive my car everywhere even for vacation and live in the mountains so have to drive longer distances to see people so was out of warranty mileage wise. I'm definitely looking to get rid of the car when I'm able to. Subaru was unhelpful when I asked them about it after the repair happened. This is the last Subaru for me.

Thomas Myers (not verified)    December 10, 2023 - 10:10PM

I bought a 2019 Subaru Forester brand new and I have been driving without Eyesight for thousands of miles. Without Eyesight u have practically zero options that u paid for, not even cruise control! I have went to my Subaru dealership several times to try and get it fixed but they want to charge $2500! That's ridiculous!

Aaron (not verified)    December 10, 2023 - 10:14PM

Just had the thermal control valve replaced on my 2020 Outback. Thankfully still under warranty, so no charge. However, I do believe there should be a recall on this, as it took about 3 seconds of online searching to diagnose the issue myself because there are so many others with the same issue.

Eric (not verified)    December 11, 2023 - 12:10AM

Our 2019 Forester was fixed under warranty summer of 21 or 22, I forget.
It took a few months for the parts to arrive. Dealer said a few others had same issue. Hope we got redesigned part.
Failure caused engine to run cold - hope that didn't harm the engine. Gas mileage was noticably low.

Alex (not verified)    December 11, 2023 - 6:22AM

2020 forester owner. My thermovalve did fail, and it cost CAD $3,500 under warranty to fix it. I'm somewhat scared it will happen again and I'll have to pay from my own pockets...

Barb Willis (not verified)    December 11, 2023 - 10:11AM

I live In West Virginia. I have had this issue twice with my 2019 Subaru Forester! It totally disables your vehicle, and the first time it was covered under my Gold Plan warranty. They had my vehicle for several weeks, and even had to bring a group of "engineers " from out of state to figure out what the problem was. They gave me a loaner at the time. The second time I was not so lucky. I told them what it was, but they still had to put it on the diagnostic machine to find out, which cost money. Then I had to pay for parts and labor, and a rental car from them. I felt that I should not have had to pay for this repair, as it was a part that was, by then, known to be bad, and I already had it replaced once (evidently with another faulty part!).

Melanie (not verified)    December 11, 2023 - 10:15PM

Our 2019 Forester check engine light came on as my wife drove from Michigan to Denver. This was November 10. Subaru diagnosis was a failed thermal control valve and the part was not available until December 1. The repair took another day and she was able to drive home after repair was made. Missed work, was out of a car for the entire time in Denver and spent a week and half waiting on the part.

Calvin (not verified)    December 11, 2023 - 10:51PM

I have 2018 Subaru Forester, I already fixed Thermal control valve in April, paid $1,875. If we win, do I get my money back? How do I claim?

Jim T (not verified)    December 12, 2023 - 11:47AM

The TCV on my 2019 Forester failed during a trip back from Denver to Seattle last month. The replacement cost was over $1000.

Audrey (not verified)    December 13, 2023 - 2:00AM

We bought a Subaru Outback at the end of 2021 and immediately drove it up the Alcan to Alaska. At -46 degrees the car started circulating the coolant too fast and we lost heat and were nearly stranded in a remote part of Yukon Territory outside of cell phone reception. The only way we were able to keep driving the car was to cover the front grill with an emergency blanket to prevent the excessive cooling since the thermostat was circulating as though it was hot outside. When we finally reached Anchorage the car stranded us completely. Subaru got the car back to an operational state but refused to say what might have happened, they claimed it was a "software update".

Dee (not verified)    December 13, 2023 - 10:46PM

I have a 2024 Subaru Crosstrek which has a squealing problem. Original dealer claimed all vehicles squealed. Finally got another Subaru dealer to do a diagnostic test which confirmed rotor was the problem. Vehicle also has a recall on it. I feel that this rotor is inferior and also the vehicle might just be faulty. Please advise. Thank you.

Al benish (not verified)    December 14, 2023 - 9:21AM

I had a thermal valve control go bad and it cost me $1800 to repair at woodies automotive in summerville SC.

David Phousengthong (not verified)    December 14, 2023 - 2:05PM

I got a used forester and had 33k when i purchases the car. I got the extended warranty but it expired at 60k. I felt like it was a waste of money since it only cover 27k miles. I had a little under 68k miles and I had to replace my thermal controller valve. Suck they didn't want to cover the cost and was trying to charge me over 1400.

Matthew (not verified)    December 14, 2023 - 7:44PM

Same TCV issues happening in Australia also. Every second day in Forester Owners Australia Facebook group someone is reporting TCV failure, primarily '19 models.