I just had this popup on my 2020 Forester with just under 73K miles on it. It took me less than 5 mins to find that this is a known issues with Subaru. And being that it shuts off all collision mitigation systems, this item should be recalled.
@@genconex It's a TCV I got mine replaced last week. It's a known issue with '19 and '20 models. Even the dealer basically said so. They need to a recall on this original part. Not just because it's a flawed design, but because it kills Subie's most important safety design... Eyesight.
@crabjoe Yes. All of the safety features turned off. Those safety features are why my wife wanted the car. Dropped the car off this morning, and it's supposed to be replaced tomorrow.
2 months ago I had the intake manifold replaced under warranty. Now I've got the P26A5 issue, and will be replaced under warranty also. Didn't realise that the intake manifold has to be taken out again to replace the coolant bypass valve. Thanks for the upload!
Thanks for posting this. Mine went out at 52k miles. Dealers in my area want 2k to replace this. Fortunately it was covered under the factory power train warranty.
Just happened to me yesterday in my 2020 Forrestor at around 52K miles. If this is a known defect, Subaru should be replacing them for free! Fortunately I have the premium warranty but most people don’t
Jeeze, I think alot of these videos exist simply to illustrate and justify how much we non-mechanics take for granted when it comes to adding the cost of labor (HIGHLY SPECIALIZED labor, at that) to the repair bill! Great work, thanks for the insight!!! (**opens wallet**) haha
Except for the fact that Subaru went with this high failure rate design that could cause someone to be stranded then have to pay hundreds of dollars every time it fails out of warranty.
Highly specialized labor? Unbolt shit, replace, bolt shit back up. Anyone with patience can do it. Service bulletin says 2.5hrs. Watching this video, that is spot on if it were my first time. My dealer says it's an extremely big job and will take all day. Excuses.
Is the Thermo Control Valve also known as the Coolant Bypass Valve? Dealer told me my Coolant Bypass Valve was bad. $2000 repair estimate. My 2020 forester is passed the 5 year/60K warranty period (Barely).
Hey just a heads up. Subaru just made this part of the extended warranty for 15 years or 150,000 miles. It says if you already paid to have it replaced you’ll be reimbursed. Mine just went out and I got it replaced for free.
@@jaylewis919me as well, 2020 60,500 miles. Free of charge. Matter of fact, they didn’t even call me to ask if I want to do it. They called me and said we replaced the TCV free of charge.
P26A3 code yesterday. 78k miles. 2019 Subaru Forester 2.5L. Getting it repaired for free next week. What happens if it breaks again after the warranty coverage of that part? I think it’s covered up to 150k miles or 15 years…whichever comes first. Seems to be breaking much earlier.
Just bought a 2020 Subaru Forester with 17,000 miles on it thinking I was getting a reliable vehicle. A month into owning it and I'm reading about this TCV going bad. I knew I should have bought a Toyota. All I'll be thinking about now is the ticking time bomb I'm driving around. Just hope and pray it doesn't fail on me while I'm on the highway or something. With it being a relatively labor intense job, I'm willing to bet Subaru will fight tooth and nail against the class action suit as to not have to pay for literally tens of thousands of recall claims. I'm waiting for the inevitable, and I'll see how Subaru handles it. I just came from a Honda Civic that I put 120,000 miles on without a hitch. Changed the oil, and rotated the tires.
@@subietech90 I think they need to be aggressive in tackling this problem. I feel like I’m driving a ticking time bomb. If it goes out on the highway at speed and I suffer a sudden loss of power it could be dangerous.
A know design flaw. The fix is just to replace the part with an “improved” version of the design flaw- a plastic part in a high temp environment. The solution is a total redesign of the replacement part going back to mechanical thermostat.
Just had the tcv on my 20 forester replaced. In addition they threw in an engine air filter and cabin. Ever since getting the car back, it runs fine, however the smell of gasoline/fumes at idle/stop is strong. Any suggestions? Really don’t want to go back to the dealer. It started literally the minute I drove it away from the dealer, so whatever happened to it was a result of the dealership. It’s a major inconvenience for me, hoping I can fix at home quickly
Hey just replaced the thermostat control valve and the car wont start unless the obd2 port is connected to something. Any thoughts? Im guessing a ground but any advice would help
I just got this fixed on my 2019 Forester. I was only at 34k. It was covered under warranty, but is there any way to quickly check they installed the newer improved replacement part? I just would like to give myself the peace of mind that this shouldn't happen again anytime soon.
@@subietech90 The TSB I saw I think was billed at 2.6 hours... You must be good and have done a lot of these. A friend of mine use to be a mechanic at a Ford dealership. Whenever he saw techs complaining about hours a warranty job paid, he use to laugh, saying he could almost always beat the book times listed, even on new models. BTW, when the dealer did mine, the invoice showed a gallon of coolant. I didn't think much coolant was lost in the process.
As soon as I got into mine (2019 forester) after this was fixed I smelled coolant. I then noticed my heat wasn't working. I took it back, and they said that air was in the system and it is now fixed. I can't get rid of the coolant smell it is making me sick, and the heat doesn't seem to work as well as it used to.
Just had all of my check engine light, cruise control, eye sight lights etc pop up and the computer came back as “coolant flow valve” is that the same thing as shown in this video? Have a 2021 Subaru forester at 57k miles
Just had the same problem, Thanks Subaru!! you guys know this is faulty and fail to replace it. Up to now I really liked the brand, after this I doubt I'll get another unit. The cars are great, its mainly out of principles. If I did this to my clients they would be up in arms
I did the work and now I’m having issues with the car starting. When I try to start the vehicle, all I get are a lot of flashing lights showing a lot of the car’s features disabled. The car isn’t cranking/turning at all. Any ideas to solve this issue?
@@subietech90 The 12mm bolt that’s attached on top of the alternator? If so, yes. Any other thoughts? I forgot to disconnect the battery while doing this job, you think the battery got drained? Also, thanks for this video, it helped guide in where to look for bolts and what to move to get to the TCV.
I removed the intake and I’m not sure where exactly is this 12 mm bolt. I’m seeing the same thing where if I connect an OBD device, the car tries to turn over but doesn’t.
I did mine problem afterwards I had I left a ground loose and the car would crank but didn’t start but that manifold is in a tight spot I had to take off the alternator and unbolt the compressor slide it to the left to have room to get the manifold off
I’m hearing that the new updated part is no better than the old one. Plastic part that can fail open or closed. Subaru needs to issue this part in aluminum. It’s getting too much heat where it sits.
Mine is getting replaced free today due to the extended warranty for this part. After watching this video, now worried they may not put it back together correctly. Mine went out at 94,000 miles.
When I look at all the components under the hood of a Subaru and compare it to my Honda 1.4 turbo engine, I will take the Honda any day over wanting to ever work on the Subaru engine.
After seeing this, I wont buy a Subaru. This is ridiculous the amount of work the Tech has to do and the out of pocket to the owner if out of warranty, nice job Subaru engineers. This is a big screwup.
So I have a 2019 Forester Sport. Mine went out at 35K. Luckily they replaced it for free. But still this is ridiculous. Subaru needs to get their head out of their rear.
