Subaru Forester Complaints

513 consumer complaints on file.

#11459902April 6, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Design flaw-2022 Subaru Forester, Antenna placements inside body of car result in pacemaker interference and make it impossible to drive in and avoid. Antennas are built into frame of car and cannot be disabled to accommodate for disabled persons who have implantable medical devices. Inability to be able to permanently and completely disable technology that can interfere with implantable medical devices including "StarLink", GPS, Wireless and Radio wave technologies. Failure by Subaru to release testing results of above telematic devices to consumers. Failure by auto industry to properly test these systems before implementing into autos. Failure by auto industry to allow for accomodating people with disabilities to operate and purchase safely autos with these features. I want a black box warning on all vehicle stickers and complete disclosure in writing to dangers and exclusion to disable person to operate these vehicles! I disclosed to sells staff at Subaru at time of looking at vehicles to purchase that I have pacemaker, no warning was giving or safety concerns for persons with pacemakers. After purchase of vehicle and experiencing pacemaker function issues caused by these systems I was informed to stay 8" away from all antennas, which is impossible to do while driving or sitting in or near vehicle. I now have a vehicle I cannot drive and Subaru has refused to buy back to vehicle. I also want all any any testing info result findings do by NHTSA/Subaru to be mail to me asap! Thanks for your time.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11459315April 2, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Windshield is faulty because it cannot hold up to small impacts of small rocks. I was driving on the freeway and a nearby car picked up a small rock which impacted my windshield glass. There was about one centimeter circumference star crack that webbed out 1 inches. While driving, the crack grew to 1 foot long in the span of less than 30 minutes during the drive (this day the outdoor temperature was 49-50 degrees F.). This is the second time this has happened. I had recently replaced my windshield about 8 months ago when rock hit windshield and crack grew over 2 feet. I have purchased the car 14 months ago and needing two windshield replacements.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11458296March 25, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Purchased brand new from dealer. Less than 3 months later a tiny pebble came up and hit the center of the windshield, immediately you could see an indentation and a spider web. Now the whole windshield has multiple spider web cracks. The splits go from edge of driver's side all the way to edge of passenger side of the car. As well as 3 separate rings going around center indentation. Only had the car 3 months when this occured. Have had 3 instances that I could not start the car. Now the cigarette lighter charge port will not work. Moon roof malfunctioning and will not close sometimes when fully opened. Now I am having issues with the brakes sticking. It's 1 year old and this is way too many issues for a brand new car! Never again!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11458084March 23, 2022
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
There seems to be an issue with the led headlights. When on they are projecting two dark shadows of something looking like rectangle objects. This is very unsafe and definitely very annoying because all you see are those two shadows right in front of your eyes.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11457431March 19, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER
There was a small rock kicked up by another car, and there immediately was a 6 inch curved crack in the windshield from the bottom-most part of the windshield. It quickly spread to 10+ inches and is still growing. The car is only at 9.8k miles
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11455921March 9, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER
I heard a ping from a small rock kicked up by another driver, and I immediately noticed a 6 inch crack in the windshield. It quickly spread to 10+ inches and is still growing. The car is only at 7k miles…and I already had to replace the left rear quarter panel glass which shattered a month after buying new. I’ve never had vehicle glass crack so easily on any other vehicle!!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11455717March 8, 2022
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Same complaint as NHTSA ID Number: 11454147. I have a serious safety concern with a new vehicle purchased in February 2022. I have there are three issues concerning the vehicle’s headlights: 1.There are two large shaded dark spots directly in your field of vision. These are approximately fifteen to twenty feet directly in front of the vehicle. 2.The cutoff lines are jagged and irregular with low points dropping down. These are always in motion with the steering responsive headlights. 3.There are two rectangular black areas below the cutoff area in your field of vision. These too are always in motion with the steering responsive headlights. These headlights create a variety of safety concerns. The dark shaded areas result in a reduced clarity of vision in the most needed area; directly in front of the car in the dominant field of vision. The jagged irregular moving cutoff lines are extremely distracting. When the lowered dark cutoff areas move across your field of vision, it’s as if something is jumping out in front of the car. The driver struggles to know if there is an actual need for emergency action or not. Then perhaps the greatest concern of well being is the two dark moving rectangular boxes below the cutoff lines. Your eyes fixate on these moving rectangles. When fixated on these boxes the driver is not giving complete attention to the whole field of vision. The first time I drove the vehicle at night I became almost completely disoriented and would have had a accident if I had been driving faster than the 20mph under cruise control. I stopped, got my bearings and drove the last quarter mile home. I thought I had had a brain seziure.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11454529February 28, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Bought my brand new Forester less a month and i have to replace a windshield already!!! Discovered about 5 inches crack while warming up the car on the snow day. Subaru have a glass action agains them about windshield so easily to crack. Service dept refused to replace my windshield because of a super tiny hold that can not be seen by normal eyes, i think it was a damage from crack . We have a different brand vehicle which has about 10x bigger intake but never cause the crack for year. Now i know the reason why Subaru offer the limited windshield replace program.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11454147February 25, 2022
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
This is not a specific incident but a serious safety concern with a new vehicle purchased in January 2022. There are three contributing issues to the concern with the vehicle’s headlights: 1.There are two large shaded dark spots directly in your field of vision. These are approximately fifteen to twenty feet directly in front of the vehicle. 2.The cutoff lines are jagged and irregular with low points dropping down. These are always in motion with the steering responsive headlights. 3.The most glaring problem is two rectangular black areas below the cutoff area in your field of vision. These too are always in motion with the steering responsive headlights. Up close to a wall these are about eight inches wide, but when projecting on the road these grow exponentially to several feet. Note - These matters are most prominent with the low beam headlights. These headlights create a variety of safety concerns. The dark shaded areas result in a reduced clarity of vision in the most needed area; directly in front of the car in the dominant field of vision. The jagged irregular moving cutoff lines are extremely distracting. When the lowered dark cutoff areas move across your field of vision, it’s as if something is jumping out in front of the car. The driver struggles to know if there is an actual need for emergency action or not. Then perhaps the greatest concern of well being is the two dark moving rectangular boxes below the cutoff lines. Your eyes fixate on these moving rectangles. When fixated on these boxes the driver is not giving complete attention to the whole field of vision. This seems to be a design flaw.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11448833January 25, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER
While driving home 1/21/2022 I heard a rock hit the hood of my car, when I arrived home I checked for damage...nothing I could see. When I went out the next morning I had a 14 inch crack in my windshield. I took my car to have inspected at the dealership repair and they said it was due to a chip the size of a pinhead. I have contacted my insurance and filed a claim so the windshield will be repaired but I have to pay a $500 deductible. There's got to be some kind of fault with the windshield that it would sustain this kind of damage from such a small chip in the glass. I have included pictures magnified at 10X
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11448558January 23, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER
There was a tiny pebble hit the windshield on Friday Jan 21st 2022. There was a minor chip in the windshield due to that and later in an hour or so it expanded into a 8-10 inches one. This is while I was driving, I still haven't got home.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11448238January 20, 2022
VISIBILITY/WIPER
With no impact from flying debris the windshield developed a bubble/crack potentially in the interlayer. There crack/bubble cannot be felt on the inside or outside parts of the windshield.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11447193January 12, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
My windshield shattered when hit by a small rock that apparently came from across and bounced up and hit the windshield. Subaru does not replace windshields... so you have to get Insurance to cover. The wiring in a Subaru is attractive to rodents - what the wiring is made of depends on who you speak with - most common answer is Oat Based Covering. I have spent over $4000.00 to have the wring in the front and fuel area. This is a 2021 Subaru Forester with less than 12K miles. Subaru can not give a straight answer on material in the wiring and says I need to build a shed. There are 4 other vehicles at my location that are there 20 hours a day - I go to an office 5 days a week so my car is gone over 50 hours a week - still my fault!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446824January 9, 2022
BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING
The RCTA system operates very poorly. When backing up and we see a car in the rear camera screen approaching from the back side of our car, we cannot hear or see any allert. My wife and I are both seniors in our seventies and I suffer from normal age-related hearing loss....my wife not so much. Her hearing is quite normal. But we cannot hear the alert alarm. Also, the visual alert is located in a place where you do not look when you are backing up. It wasn't until I owned the car for four months that I discovered that there is a visual RCTA alert in the side view mirrors (of all places)....an area one does not look at while backing up. With a car with a rear camera, your eyes are usually glued to the camera display screen when backing up; after all, it is a safety device. We have nearly had a collision a half dozen times already. I contacted Subaru about this issue, and they told me that there is nothing that they can do and that in their words "As you can imagine, finding the right balance for all of our owners is a difficult job." this sound alert should be adjustable...it is not. And the visual alert should be in a place where your eyes are looking when backing up. Right now, the Subaru RCTA is worthless to us.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11446401January 5, 2022
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I leased a 2021 Forester in April, and around September, I got a J shape crack in the bottom center of the windshield. Subaru dealership in Glendale, CA told me they would replace the windshield free for the first time. Had to wait until mid-December for the backordered replacement to come in. Today, 1/5/22, was driving on the highway and a small projectile on the road caused a starburst crack on my newly replaced windshield.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11445361December 28, 2021
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Today I replaced my windshield for the second time in less than 6 months of owning the vehicle. The first crack happened a few months after I bought the car with no impact while driving. The second one also happened a couple weeks ago with no impact while driving. After seeing the other complaints, I'm shocked that there isn't a recall on these windshields. It's very dangerous to have windshields constantly cracking, especially without impact while driving.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11444913December 24, 2021
VISIBILITY/WIPER
Windshield cracked with no impact. Started at top center and is expanding down the center of the windshield. I reached out to Subaru but no response.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11444187December 17, 2021
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH and passing a vehicle, he heard a sound coming from the windshield and the windshield cracked from the driver side to the middle of the windshield. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who replaced the windshield. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred at the same spot while driving and passing another vehicle. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who replaced the windshield a second time. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred a third time while passing another vehicle. The contact stated that the windshield had a small crack at the bottom; however, the crack significantly expanded overnight. The dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 3,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11443767December 14, 2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The wiring system fails when the wiring - SOY BASED - is eaten by rats. SUBARU refuses to take responsibility for this. My car has less the 9500 miles and has had over $3500.00 work done to replace the wiring eaten by Rodents as this is considered "my fault?.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11443603December 13, 2021
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Windshield cracked after it was hit by a rock. I have been told there is windshield issues with this vehicle.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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