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2019 SUBARU FORESTER — FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

fire · 2122306 · 2025-08-20

Vehicle

Make
SUBARU
Model
FORESTER
Year
2019
Manufacturer
Subaru of America, Inc.
Component
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Speed
35 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
0
Fire
Yes
Crash
No
Police report
Yes
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

My Subaru smelled like gas and caught on fire while I was driving to work less than 72 hours after it left the service department at the local Subaru dealership. Earlier that week I dropped the car off for service due to a check engine light and multiple other warning lights on the dashboard. The check engine light was determined to be due to a faulty thermo control valve (a known issue on several models of 2019-2021 Subarus). During that service appointment, the thermo control valve was replaced under warranty, the 60000 mile service, state inspection, and an oil change/tire rotation were completed. The morning of the incident, the car smelled like gas, but there were no warning lights on the dashboard and the temperature and gas gauges were all in range. While looking for a safe place to pull over on the side of the road, the gas smell worsened, I heard a pop, the check engine light and every single other light on the dashboard lit up, it smelled like burning jet fuel, and the front of the car was smoking and there were flames, and all mechanical and electrical control of the vehicle was compromised. The car coasted to the side of the right lane. I was unable to operate the gear shift to put the car in park. I opened the driver’s side door, removed my seatbelt, grabbed my backpack, lunch bag, and phone, and exited the vehicle while it was still rolling. I ran around the back of the car to get onto the side walk. Flaming, melting pieces of plastic were coming off the bott

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
11681834
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown