Subaru Forester Complaints (2021)

207 consumer complaints on file.

#11659879May 9, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Automatic stop activated at traffic light. When the brake was disengaged, the star would not start. The occupant was stalled at the traffic light during rush hour in a thunderstorm with limited visibility for approximately 15 minutes. Winter Haven Police Department was dispatched but did not arrive probably due to other weather-related traffic situations. After that time, the engine did start and was moved into a lot without incident. The good Samaritan that assisted stated he had just stopped down the street on another disabled vehicle in traffic due to malfunctioning auto stop/start. Here is the issue. The alternator and battery have both been checked twice and were in proper order. The OE battery was in use. There was no warning to indicate any issue with the batter. In fact, the Subaru app was reporting the vehicle was operating normally while the vehicle was dead in the road. I work with a local law enforcement agency and have worked fatal crashes on that road. It is unacceptable for the vehicle to not have some type of redundant system to warn owners that the vehicle battery is failing before they are thrust into a possible deadly roadway breakdown.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11659683May 8, 2025
ENGINE
2021 Subaru forester limited- Stop Start when stopping at a red light. Sometimes the engine does not restart when releasing the brake pedal. Message on dash put car in park and press start. Occurred. April 24 2025 and May 5 2025
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11654189April 11, 2025
ENGINE, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Was stopped at traffic light. Start Stop system was engaged. Engine turned off as normal. When I took my foot off the brake the engine did not engage and the Eyesight warning light came on that the Eyesight system was not functioning. Put the car in park and engaged the ignition button and the engine started. Turned off the Start Stop system and the car functioned normally after that. Have read postings on Subaru forum that this has happened to others.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11653275April 7, 2025
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The contact owned a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that his wife attempted to turn into a parking lot while her foot depressed on the brake pedal, the vehicle jolted into acceleration, ultimately crashing into two parked vehicles at 5 MPH. The front passenger side of the contact's vehicle crashed into the front of two vehicles. No property damage was reported. The vehicle came to a stop upon impact. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was not towed. The Steering Responsive Headlight Warning Light was illuminated. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. No Injuries were reported. The local dealer was not contacted, and the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 39,500.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11644500February 24, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My dealer diagnosed issues with my car as: the gasket around my sunroof failed and allowed water to infiltrate the cabin and the electrical system over time. This caused corrosion in the electrical harness, which caused battery failure, failure of the adaptive headlight system, and random electrical glitches. My interpretation of their diagnosis was that this was a cascading failure that might have led to problems with other electrical components such as power brakes, other adaptive systems, etc., and affected safety, if it had not been diagnosed in time. An insurance appraiser confirmed the dealer's diagnosis. Repairs (including replacing the electrical harness) have been completed and so the situation is not available for further inspection. When the adaptive headlight system stopped working, this was reported on the dashboard, but the cause of this and the base problem was not.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11643583February 18, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
1. The car shut off several times, with the steering wheel locking up and becoming stiff, the brakes failing to respond, and loud, erratic sounds emanating from the vehicle. The car is available for inspection. 2. Yes, the car crashed resulting in damage to the car, driver, and other driver (e.g. car in front). 3. This is the second time the car has been brought to the dealership (the second time being Subaru South Hill in Pennsylvania) and they cannot identify the problem. 4. The vehicle was not inspected by police, or insurance, as far as I am aware. 5. There were no warning signs before the failure.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11638593January 26, 2025
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
In the summer of 2024, my forester started completely stall out when I was stopped at a stop light. The auto start/stop system seemed to not turn back on. I would have to put the car in park, turn the car off and turn it back on. It was very scary being in traffic and people getting upset behind me. This happened multiple times. I took my car to the dealership. I was told an update needed to be installed and it was not anything I could do at home. After that point, it worked better, but still started back up hard at times. When I remembered, I typically started turning the feature off each time I drove it because I do not trust the feature. Unfortunately, it happened again yesterday. We were at a stoplight, and the car did not start back up, it stalled out. My husband had to quickly try to put the car in park, turn it off and then back on. Cars started honking at us. I am very concerned about this feature.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11635534January 12, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
MY 2021 Subaru Forester battery has died twice in the last 10 months. I could not jump start the vehicle the first time about 10 months ago. I needed AAA to jump start it. I took the car to the dealer; they recharged the vehicle and said the battery was fine. They did not bill me. The car died again this week. This time I was able to jump start the vehicle myself. The safety issue is I might need to get to a doctor's appointment or other emergency in a hurry. I may be out shopping or hiking and need to return home, perhaps in bad weather. I might be stranded in a busy intersection or a lonely country road. The battery is simply not trust-worthy. The vehicle was inspected by the dealer, and they said the battery was fine. There was no warning lamp before the battery failed. The car is not safe-I don't know when it won't work.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11635323January 10, 2025
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
12/14/24-I was stopped at a red light at a VERY busy intersection. The engine was in stop mode by the start/stop feature. When the light turned green, the car failed to start. The entire car shut down, with alarms sounding and dash lights flashing. The entire system had to reboot before I could restart the car. It was a freighting experience. Fortunately, I wasn't killed by traffic zooming by or by some person with road rage. 12/16/24-Issue evaluated by local Subaru dealer. Their evaluation was that when the auto start feature was activated, my car battery was too low to work. There was zero warning about a low battery before this failure in traffic. I had to buy a new battery. The auto start/stop feature is not an enhancement, but a safety hazard. Owners should be able to permanently disable this unnecessary drain on batteries and starters. I did a search, and there are plenty of others that experienced similar issues with their Subarus.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11633969January 3, 2025
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE
At 40936 the valve body needed to be replaced. With such low milage vehicle is having problems.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11625815November 17, 2024
VISIBILITY/WIPER, POWER TRAIN
Having repeat issues with the windshield cracking. My vehicle has around 32k miles, and I'm already on my 3rd windshield. I've never had this issue with any other vehicle. It's been extremely costly. Also the transmission failed and had to be replaced at 26,000 miles.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11620045October 16, 2024
VISIBILITY/WIPER
The front windshield is covered in chips all over it I've got a few bigger ones repaired. However the whole windshield needs to be replaced I don't even know where they've come from I mean the whole windshield is just covered and tiny little chips and when the sun shines on it while you're driving It makes visibility extremely hard. And from what I gather researching windshields on Subaru this is a flaw... I've had plenty of vehicles and never have seen such a bad windshield. I recently purchased this vehicle in August and it has $112,000 mi on it. I did not see the issue with the windshield until after purchasing it and driving in direct sunlight. I did notice a few big chips in The windshield and the dealership did repair those...
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11618142October 4, 2024
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while waiting at a traffic light, the accelerator pedal was depressed, and the vehicle immediately shut off. During the failure, the message "Eyesight Disabled" was displayed and the vehicle could not immediately be restarted. The gear shifter was shifted to neutral(N) and the vehicle was pushed to the side of the roadway. The vehicle was eventually restarted and operated normally. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 37,000. The VIN was not available.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11617156September 30, 2024
VISIBILITY/WIPER, LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
**Component Malfunction**: The windshield developed cracks shortly after purchase, which expanded without impact, affecting visibility and causing the Safety Eyesight system to malfunction. **Safety Risk**: The expanding crack impaired vision and led to safety system malfunctions, posing a risk to driver and passenger safety. **Problem Reproduction**: It is unclear if the issue has been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or service center. **Inspection Status**: The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, or insurance representatives. **Warning Signs**: There were no warning lamps or messages prior to the failure; the issue appeared in the first week after purchase.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11608800August 15, 2024
STRUCTURE:BODY
While driving on the highway on 8/15/24, the rear driver's side door randomly opened. The warning/indicator light came on, as well as the overhead lights. I also immediately was able to hear extra road noise coming from that side and could clearly see through my side view mirror that the door was ajar (it was not wide open). I have not had the car inspected by anyone.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11608744August 15, 2024
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Windscreen cracked for no apparent reason
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11608245August 13, 2024
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD
See attached document for complaint
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11602929July 17, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Windshield has spontaneously cracked 2 times within ~30 days in the lower passenger side. No preceding event or chips in the windshield before cracking.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11598420July 2, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER, LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
I’ve owned the vehicle under a year and am already on my second window replacement. I drive the same route everyday and ever experienced windows cracking in any other vehicle before this vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11594250June 13, 2024
ENGINE
Thermo control valve defective. Not informed one week ago when I purchased car at end of lease. Problem known to Subaru since 2019 or sooner. Would not have purchased if I had been notified about this major problem
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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