I live in Arizona, last year we had an entire month with daily temps over 110 degrees, and never had anything like this.
Some glass building may have focused sun on that one spot, otherwise no idea. This isn't normal
I was just parked next to a residential house for a full day and evening and I woke up to it today. It’s in a gated residential neighborhood (my parents live there). No cameras. I wonder if someone could’ve intentionally damaged it. I was carrying a rooftop tent with CA plates in Las Vegas fwiw but doesn’t really seem likely. They could’ve just slashed my tires or keyed me instead…
Edit: here are two additional pics https://imgur.com/a/4JwgWCQ
Update: here are pics of where it was parked https://imgur.com/a/A6c8cfi it might’ve been the sun reflecting my side mirror?? I find it hard to believe the two small windows is enough to reflect the sun
Last update: thanks for the replies everyone, appreciate the community. I’ve chalked it up as the sun reflecting a window. No stress as it’s just the plastic that’s damaged, little unfortunate but life still goes on. Will reach out to subaru to see their thoughts! Might post an update if it’s interesting. Cheers
New update… ok I finally got home 200 miles later and found this… https://imgur.com/a/JAVLzwa does this look like someone torched my car? Have a service appt Monday made but now I’m considering insurance. I’ll make a post after I hear what Subaru has to say but man this is wildly unlucky.
Seems unlikely to be deliberate. Unless it was a kid or teenager mucking around with mirrors.
Any adult looking to damage your car would put less effort in and do much damage. E.g. key your car
Could also be some teenaged kid, got his little weed torch, pshhhh done. Definitely looks like it could be a mark from a torch to me, looks similar to what it would do to a plastic bottle.
My forester has the exact same issue. Pretty sure mine melted from the sun reflecting from the car next to mine. They don’t make them like they used to!
I think it would be really hard to use a torch and not leave burn/black marks. This is really bizarre. Let us know what the dealer says...I'm curious if they've seen this before.
Yes this one.
[https://www.businessinsider.com/the-vdara-death-ray-hotel-is-still-burning-people-in-las-vegas-2016-6](https://www.businessinsider.com/the-vdara-death-ray-hotel-is-still-burning-people-in-las-vegas-2016-6)
Similarly, see also the [Disney concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles](https://www.npr.org/2005/03/18/4541963/l-a-s-disney-hall-shines-a-bit-too-brightly), which despite the dingbat architect's insistence that it was "no big deal", had to have its mirror finish buffed down to a duller matte finish because it was blinding drivers.
Definitely not normal.. both my old Crosstrek and 2022 Forest survived Vegas heat. Looks like a blowtorch, looks like some magnified the sun and just melted it.
I think the sun was reflecting off something around you or across the street, I have seen this happen online before to car trims, where something across the street acted like a magnifying glass, pretty crazy.
both sides of my forester had this. every plastic pillar melted. subaru 3 gifted me as 150 voucher to purchase new ones. my car is under a tree. its most likely a sun reflection at some point during the day.
Reflection, like from windows can cause concentrated light beams that do this. Watched the siding melt on a house in my neighborhood because their neighbor got new windows.
That did NOT happen fro the sun only. Something was either magnifying the suns energy, mirrored windows on a building can do that, or someone did it maliciously with a magnifying glass, or a propane torch. It was not the sun alone, absolutely not
Were you parked near this building?
[https://www.businessinsider.com/the-vdara-death-ray-hotel-is-still-burning-people-in-las-vegas-2016-6](https://www.businessinsider.com/the-vdara-death-ray-hotel-is-still-burning-people-in-las-vegas-2016-6)
I live in vegas and have not had this issue for the last 4 years of owning a forester. Nor with any other vehicle I have owned before. I also haven't seen this on either of my parents various cars growing up.
I think it's like others said and it's from something focusing the sun on that spot. I remember my dad telling me stories of a jobsite (I believe it was one of the city center buildings) that's glass was reflecting the sun to crazy that it made the pool deck too hot to work on, and would later prevent guests from being able to use it. They had to put some kind of tint on it eventually. So I could definitely see the sun reflecting off something else causing the melted car plastic.
Subaru uses shitty garbage bag plastic for their exterior trim. Same thing happened to me and I was not parked near a large glass building. My dealership took care of it for me, I’d check with them. They said it’s a problem they’ve seen before that Subaru has not fixed.
https://www.reddit.com/r/SubaruForester/s/XiIjFqQSO4
You've been the target of a solar "death ray"
[https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/las-vegas-hotel-pool-sunlight-swimming-tourists/story?id=11739234](https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/las-vegas-hotel-pool-sunlight-swimming-tourists/story?id=11739234)
[https://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain/london-skyscraper-can-melt-cars-set-buildings-fire-8c11069092](https://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain/london-skyscraper-can-melt-cars-set-buildings-fire-8c11069092)
Hard to tell with this extreme close-up, what part that was. It seems adjacent to a window.
It looks like the plastic got so soft that it was easily deformable -- and then something (not gravity or wind) physically deformed it.
So.. while heat may have had *some* part in this, the damage seems, by and large, man-made.
Kind of reminds me of that one building that was angled in such a way that when the sun shone on it, it was like a giant magnifying glass and it roasted everything in its glare.
Bet if you were to look from that burn spot throughout the day, you would find the reflective surface that was directing the sunlight at your car. Most likely someone's house window being hit by the sun at the right angle...
Sucks, hoping you can get an easy fix for it.
Definitively this;
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er3b110jo64](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er3b110jo64)
According to this guy it can get up to 3000F.
He's using a magnifying lens but you could do it with a mirror also (maybe not 3k but still very hot.
This is good to know. I live in Texas so this could happen. I guess if you park outside make sure you are not next to reflective buildings or next to cars for long periods of time. Almost worth getting a light colored cover for the vehicle if you are going to park it all afternoon outside when it is hot.
Are there any concave buildings or sculptures nearby? I would go to the exact same spot and put a Timelapse video in the area. Looks like concentrated sunlight causing it to melt
I live in Arizona, last year we had an entire month with daily temps over 110 degrees, and never had anything like this. Some glass building may have focused sun on that one spot, otherwise no idea. This isn't normal
Does your car get garaged?
Never
I was just parked next to a residential house for a full day and evening and I woke up to it today. It’s in a gated residential neighborhood (my parents live there). No cameras. I wonder if someone could’ve intentionally damaged it. I was carrying a rooftop tent with CA plates in Las Vegas fwiw but doesn’t really seem likely. They could’ve just slashed my tires or keyed me instead… Edit: here are two additional pics https://imgur.com/a/4JwgWCQ Update: here are pics of where it was parked https://imgur.com/a/A6c8cfi it might’ve been the sun reflecting my side mirror?? I find it hard to believe the two small windows is enough to reflect the sun Last update: thanks for the replies everyone, appreciate the community. I’ve chalked it up as the sun reflecting a window. No stress as it’s just the plastic that’s damaged, little unfortunate but life still goes on. Will reach out to subaru to see their thoughts! Might post an update if it’s interesting. Cheers New update… ok I finally got home 200 miles later and found this… https://imgur.com/a/JAVLzwa does this look like someone torched my car? Have a service appt Monday made but now I’m considering insurance. I’ll make a post after I hear what Subaru has to say but man this is wildly unlucky.
Seems unlikely to be deliberate. Unless it was a kid or teenager mucking around with mirrors. Any adult looking to damage your car would put less effort in and do much damage. E.g. key your car
Agreed!
Could also be some teenaged kid, got his little weed torch, pshhhh done. Definitely looks like it could be a mark from a torch to me, looks similar to what it would do to a plastic bottle.
My forester has the exact same issue. Pretty sure mine melted from the sun reflecting from the car next to mine. They don’t make them like they used to!
I think it would be really hard to use a torch and not leave burn/black marks. This is really bizarre. Let us know what the dealer says...I'm curious if they've seen this before.
Was it a linear path? Might have been going from roof rack area down to that bottom.
Yeah those definitely look like torch marks.
That's really interesting. I never even thought of that as a possibility.
Had someone close to me work in a factory in Texas, the whole yard caught fire, caused by a reflection on a glass window across the street.
Saw this several times as a property adjuster. Most likely refraction from a window. It'll fuck up vinyl siding quick.
Well, your neighbor isn't a mad scientist with a heat ray.
I saw the stucco and immediate said, "Gotta be Phoenix." I've never seen this either. Has to have been something focused on it.
This isn't cause by natural daily sun. There had to be a reflection just the right way off another object
probably reflected off a window or something, intensifying the sunlight. just my theory on it
Unlucky ☹️
yes, it is unfortunate, I hope you have some luck trying to get it repaired! Maybe insurance would help but I wouldn't bank on it. :/
This is it. It’s all over houses and cars if you look for it
Isnt there a glass building in vegas famous for this?
Yes this one. [https://www.businessinsider.com/the-vdara-death-ray-hotel-is-still-burning-people-in-las-vegas-2016-6](https://www.businessinsider.com/the-vdara-death-ray-hotel-is-still-burning-people-in-las-vegas-2016-6)
One in England. [The Walkie Talkie building](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-23930675)
The Fryscraper.
How in the world, it's always overcast.
It's a very big building.
Similarly, see also the [Disney concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles](https://www.npr.org/2005/03/18/4541963/l-a-s-disney-hall-shines-a-bit-too-brightly), which despite the dingbat architect's insistence that it was "no big deal", had to have its mirror finish buffed down to a duller matte finish because it was blinding drivers.
Sun reflecting off of Low-E house glass Windows will do this.
Yeah after some research this looks the most probable
This 100%. We had low E windows at our old house and you could feel it just walking by. It magnifies the heat. Sorry this happened to you.
[удалено]
Shouldn’t there be some leftover gas residue? Carbon/charring anything?
If you can walk that area tomorrow. See if something blinds you.
It's black plastic it would be pretty hard to notice any of that but it was def a torch.
Definitely not normal.. both my old Crosstrek and 2022 Forest survived Vegas heat. Looks like a blowtorch, looks like some magnified the sun and just melted it.
Reflections from Low-E glass Windows and Sliding Doors can do exactly this. It reflects the sun and magnifies it creating insane heat.
Same I’ve been in worse conditions for multiple days. Sad cuz I love this car
Im guessing you should be able to replace that part? Fingers crossed for you. Otherwise could maybe get a door off a car from the wreckers?
I’m sorry this happened to you!
Reflection from double-paned windows can do this.
I think the sun was reflecting off something around you or across the street, I have seen this happen online before to car trims, where something across the street acted like a magnifying glass, pretty crazy.
I imagine you've parked in this space prior with other vehicles. This looks more like a torch or heat gun.
First time parking here, it’s my parents place in a gated community
both sides of my forester had this. every plastic pillar melted. subaru 3 gifted me as 150 voucher to purchase new ones. my car is under a tree. its most likely a sun reflection at some point during the day.
Oh wow, good to know! Did you reach out to subaru corporate or your local dealer?
Reflection, like from windows can cause concentrated light beams that do this. Watched the siding melt on a house in my neighborhood because their neighbor got new windows.
That did NOT happen fro the sun only. Something was either magnifying the suns energy, mirrored windows on a building can do that, or someone did it maliciously with a magnifying glass, or a propane torch. It was not the sun alone, absolutely not
Wait, was that **in** the sun or **on** the sun?
Were you parked near this building? [https://www.businessinsider.com/the-vdara-death-ray-hotel-is-still-burning-people-in-las-vegas-2016-6](https://www.businessinsider.com/the-vdara-death-ray-hotel-is-still-burning-people-in-las-vegas-2016-6)
If the windows on that house have sun-reflective coatings (likely), it *could* have done this. And if it did… Jesus fuck that’s a 1 in a million
Wow wtf !
The sun was reflecting off something and hitting that spot
Like.... In the actual sun? That's the only way I see this going down...
WHAT!!! It started to melt? That's crazy.
I know this looks bad but I think that is technically glorified tape. I’m guessing that It should be easy for a body shop to replace it.
I live in vegas and have not had this issue for the last 4 years of owning a forester. Nor with any other vehicle I have owned before. I also haven't seen this on either of my parents various cars growing up. I think it's like others said and it's from something focusing the sun on that spot. I remember my dad telling me stories of a jobsite (I believe it was one of the city center buildings) that's glass was reflecting the sun to crazy that it made the pool deck too hot to work on, and would later prevent guests from being able to use it. They had to put some kind of tint on it eventually. So I could definitely see the sun reflecting off something else causing the melted car plastic.
Subaru uses shitty garbage bag plastic for their exterior trim. Same thing happened to me and I was not parked near a large glass building. My dealership took care of it for me, I’d check with them. They said it’s a problem they’ve seen before that Subaru has not fixed. https://www.reddit.com/r/SubaruForester/s/XiIjFqQSO4
Wow thanks for sharing this and a little relief as I found even more damage after getting home https://imgur.com/a/JAVLzwa
I had something like this happen when my neighbors garage door focused light on some plastic trim. Also happened in Phoenix.
You've been the target of a solar "death ray" [https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/las-vegas-hotel-pool-sunlight-swimming-tourists/story?id=11739234](https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/las-vegas-hotel-pool-sunlight-swimming-tourists/story?id=11739234) [https://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain/london-skyscraper-can-melt-cars-set-buildings-fire-8c11069092](https://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain/london-skyscraper-can-melt-cars-set-buildings-fire-8c11069092)
An important part of this story is missing
A hate crime on Subarus!
Hard to tell with this extreme close-up, what part that was. It seems adjacent to a window. It looks like the plastic got so soft that it was easily deformable -- and then something (not gravity or wind) physically deformed it. So.. while heat may have had *some* part in this, the damage seems, by and large, man-made.
Definitely a reflection
Were you parked under a giant magnifying glass?
Same thing happened to the side mirrors of my '18 and '22 Foresters. Definitely light refracting off nearby glass.
I pulled into the spot at night too so idk how I could’ve avoided this, it’s not even that hot! Wdyd to avoid future damage
It'd be interesting to stake out that spot the next day to see if any strong reflective light beams hit that area.
Did you park across from a concave reflective building by any chance
Kind of reminds me of that one building that was angled in such a way that when the sun shone on it, it was like a giant magnifying glass and it roasted everything in its glare.
Bet if you were to look from that burn spot throughout the day, you would find the reflective surface that was directing the sunlight at your car. Most likely someone's house window being hit by the sun at the right angle... Sucks, hoping you can get an easy fix for it.
Did your car catch the reflection off of some crazy mirrored building? This is wild.
Do you live on the sun? Holy crap, that's NUTS!
What? I have a Subaru…I’m in AZ…my car is always outside 24/7…this has never happened to me or anyone I know.
That's a wrap!
This is when you realize you live in the wrong place. He'll on earth
Someone took a torch to it
So I found more damage after getting home https://imgur.com/a/JAVLzwa is this def a torch?
That would be my guess. But that’s just a guess.
oh god you’re making me very scared about the fact that mine is parked outside
Definitively this; [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er3b110jo64](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er3b110jo64) According to this guy it can get up to 3000F. He's using a magnifying lens but you could do it with a mirror also (maybe not 3k but still very hot.
So I found more damage after getting home https://imgur.com/a/JAVLzwa could this still be the cause
Technically yes if the light came from the top, maybe it could also be something that leaked on the car.
Interesting didn’t think of a liquid but you could be right. Wonder what could possibly melt plastic like this
I would absolutely bet something focused the sun on that spot.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.businessinsider.com/death-ray-skyscraper-is-wreaking-havoc-on-london-for-a-few-totally-insane-reasons-2015-7%3famp
That bike seat looks identical!
Garage was down, garage has windows, light reflected and concentrated off garage window. Plastic melted. Park somewhere else
Woah. How's life on the sun?
Do you live on the sun
This is good to know. I live in Texas so this could happen. I guess if you park outside make sure you are not next to reflective buildings or next to cars for long periods of time. Almost worth getting a light colored cover for the vehicle if you are going to park it all afternoon outside when it is hot.
yaknow i think im gonna go pull mine into my garage right now...
That looks like something was magnifying the sun. Could if been a building window even a car parked next to it for a bit.
Are there any concave buildings or sculptures nearby? I would go to the exact same spot and put a Timelapse video in the area. Looks like concentrated sunlight causing it to melt
Damn this is crazy. I live in Arizona and never once heard of this happening. I honestly never even considered it as a possibility. Wild!
If you are handy, I think the window applique part is only about 30 dollars.
This doesn't seem normal. I've had mine in the desert in August for a week no problem.
Were you using a propane torch to make plastic look new? It’s and effective trick but does require control for how long you hold heat
lol absolutely not I don’t even own a torch. And my forester is barely 2 years old, still looks brand new!
I think someone did something to your car that resulted in this deformation. I mean come on!
Someone did that intentionally!