Subaru Forester Complaints (2026)

17 consumer complaints on file.

#11758790August 22, 2026
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION
When I am driving forward, or turning, sometimes the car automatically beeps very loud and puts on the breaks and the car in front of me is far away. It’s stressful and problematic. It doesn’t seem like an effective feature. This has happened like 10 times
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11757716August 18, 2026
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:FUELING/CHARGING DOOR/HATCH/PORT
The contact owns a 2026 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that on several occasions while the vehicle was parked after fueling, the fuel door failed to latch as needed, especially when it was extremely hot outside. The contact poured cool or cold water on the fuel door to latch it securely. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the locking mechanism for the fuel tank door needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11757019August 14, 2026
VISIBILITY/WIPER
I closed the driver's door, and the rear windshield shattered and collapsed into the vehicle. No known defects were known prior to the incident. Animals or contents in the rear compartment could have been cut by the shattered glass. The vehicle is only 4 months old. The rear windshield will be replaced by an independent glass company. We live in a very rural area, and park well away from the road. There were no storms since the previous use of the vehicle. Thus, no damage prior to the glass shattering.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11756014August 10, 2026
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
When filling my tank for the first time, I pumped the gas slightly after the "pop" from the handle. When I did this, fuel poured out of my gas tank onto me, my car, and the gas station. My VIN is not listed but my vehicle model is. Please advise.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11755786August 9, 2026
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Twice within a month. the Eyesight front collision braking system suddenly activated in traffic while passing through a signal light showing green when the car in front made a right turn onto an adjacent street. My vehicle was clear of the car that had turned right and could continue to proceed through the light without incident. The Eyesiight system activated and caused a near-miss potential rear end collision situation between my car and the cars following behind me.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11750448July 14, 2026
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
I was merging into a road in Windsor, Ontario on July 3/4. I was nowhere near another vehicle. There was a LARGE gap between myself in any other cars. I am always extra cautious being out of country and driving. The automatic brakes kicked on and told me I had an obstruction ahead and would not let me control the vehicle. I was stopped turning into the middle of a five-lane road without control of my vehicle. This was incredibly dangerous. Luckily, it was only a few seconds and I had time to move before other cars got to me but it was a much closer call than it should have been.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11746658June 26, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Got in the car around 8am. Sat down, shut the door and then BOOM! The rear hatch glass shattered into a thousand pieces. Nothing touched nothing hit it , it just shattered. Luckily no one was in the back seat. Brought it to the dealer. Interesting , at the exact time I pulled into the dealer another Forestef arrived with the EXACT SAME problem!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11743631June 11, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Brand new 2026 Forester's factory amplifier system completely failed within a week from purchasing at approximately 570 miles, disabling hands-free communication. California law strictly requires drivers to use phones in a hands-free manner. Drivers are prohibited from holding or physically touching their phone for any reason while operating a vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11742094June 4, 2026
VISIBILITY/WIPER
In early April 2026 I after washing the auto I noticed a chip in the windshield on the passenger side. I was shocked-normally if the windshield is hit hard enough to chip the drive notices it-I am the only drive and I was totally unaware of any such strike (auto had about 2000 miles on it). Then, May 30th as I exited a highway midway up the ramp going ~40-45 mph behind another auto going the same slow speed with 1-1.5 car length between us, something struck my windshield and immediately the strike had clearly broken the windshield just below the driver's direct line of sight and put a thorough 'star' the size of a nickel coin. There did not appear to be any debris on the road nor off or out of the auto in front of me. (There was not a vehicle ahead of that auto that would have generated this strike.) I feel I may be unsafe in this auto if its windshield cannot hold up under minor strikes such as this. When I called the auto repair center recommended by my automobile dealer they told me they’d already had 14 Subaru windshields call to schedule repairs this week (it was only Tuesday. This is a modest sized single location windshield repair shop).
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11741969June 4, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Infotainment center had popup ad about Sirius xm trial ending soon and a phone number to call to extend. Had to hit small x in the corner to disable while vehicle in motion or have no access to air, radio controls, or see map.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11741542June 2, 2026
VISIBILITY:REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES:EXTERIOR
Drivers side mirror vibrates making changing lanes a Safty issue as the approaching vehicle is not a clear visual to operator
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11740854May 29, 2026
VISIBILITY/WIPER
I was working on fitting a cargo box on the crossbars the dealer had recently installed and noticed a milky white discoloration and moisture in the front driver's corner of the moonroof. I arranged for an appointment at the dealer who confirmed the glass had delaminated. They happened to have a replacement in stock and replaced it under warranty.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11738456May 18, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The gps/map display, displays the wrong speed, on some traffic circles it directs me to go around in the wrong direction. The auto vehicle uses the speed limit from the installed map to display the speed limit on the main dash between the tach and speedometer. Both conditions could easily cause and accident. Contacted the manufacturer, the corporate headquarters, my dealership where I purchased the vehicle, and Tomtom in the Netherlands. None will assist in the correction of the issue. Tomtom did commit to investing the issue after I gave them the specific locations, but they closed my record/complaint file. On fb, I see a good many people complain about the same issues and also that they can't get sny help from the dealership, like me, to resolve the issue. Please help the all consumers to be able to purchase a new car that is functioning as advertised and to be confident that they will be safe when driving the highways.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11736419May 7, 2026
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
[XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] VIA CERTIFIED MAIL – RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Vehicle Safety Compliance Division (NVS-210) 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington, DC 20590 Wednesday, May 6, 2026 RE: SAFETY DEFECT COMPLAINT – 2026 Subaru Forester VIN: [XXX] Honorable, Eileen Sullivan Associate Administrator, Enforcement I am filing this formal safety defect complaint regarding my 2026 Subaru Forester. A pedestrian incident occurred on February 2, 2026, in which the vehicle failed to warn or brake automatically when a pedestrian crossed in front of my car. Additionally, the Subaru EyeSight system does not remain enabled between ignition cycles. Every time I start the car, I must manually re-engage the system. Consequently, Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) is not active by default during ordinary driving and will reverts to off (not remain enable) when I am driving . I believe this poses an unreasonable risk to pedestrian and occupant safety. I am aware of prior investigations (e.g., NHTSA Action Number PE23010 and related lawsuits) involving Subaru EyeSight failures, including lack of braking for obstacles. Vehicle Information: Year: 2026 Make: Subaru Model: Forester VIN: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11735341May 3, 2026
POWER TRAIN, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Vehicle stopped at light,auto start stop engine off,stepped on gas to go engine didn’t restart,my passenger and I jumped out and grabbed a Noco GB40 jump box I carry and jump started car,we were on a road trip out of town and could not wait for the dealership so finished our trip with the auto start stop turned off and if we had a problem starting used the jump box.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11735070May 1, 2026
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD
On the first day of receiving the car the windshield looked clear by day but it had little specks and lines like dust when driven at dusk and night of the first day it was driven. I brought it back to the dealer, they replaced it with a new one, and the problem persists. A clear windshield is much safer than one with specks.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11727592March 27, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Cell phone does not stay stable on the wireless charging pad. The phone will start to charge, but as soon as the vehicle moves, the phone bounces off the flat charging pad and no longer connects or charges. It’s distracting to try to reposition the phone as the car is moving. It has become a costly, not usable, feature. Have tried many phone cases and different types of phones to eliminate this as a possible problem. Nothing works.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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