10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 4
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
96,400 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

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problem #5

Aug 202020

Forester

  • 200,000 miles
Rcn 07V043000

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #4

May 082016

Forester

  • 13,000 miles
Purchased in ak in 2007. Approximately 13,000 miles on engine. Paperwork listed entry-point: Hawaii. Current 2016 mileage: Less than 60,000. Ongoing intermittent problems since purchase: Doors' locks electronic-responses unpredictably fail. Sometimes they work; other times locks must be opened manually. (side note: Windows rattle distinctly when opening and closing doors; windows and doors have always felt too loose.) headlights and tail-lights fail sooner than normal, indicating an electronic problem causing shorts.these issues have been ongoing from purchase in 2007 to current 2016.

- Santa Maria, CA, USA

problem #3

Apr 072015

Forester

  • 82,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that a fire started in the rear of the vehicle by the tail lights. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and determined to be destroyed. The dealer stated that the wiring harness by the rear passenger side light and under the spare tire caught fire and burn the rear of the vehicle. The failure mileage was 82,000.

- Monterey, CA, USA

problem #2

Aug 262012

Forester 4-cyl

  • 92,000 miles
I arrived at my house on 8/26/2012 at 8:00 pm, parked my car in the garage of my house and went to sleep. At 2:00 am I heard an explosion, went outside of my house to verify what it was and found my Forester in fire. With the help of my neighbors we control the fire within an hour. Serious consequences came out of the fire; the car was declared total loss, another car parked in front of the Forester suffer a lot of damage, the motor of the garage door had to be replaced, the paint of the house, vertical blinds and other belongings of the house were replaced because of the smoke from the fire. Subaru/-Forester/2006 recall no.wvc-13 related to the wiring harness for the airbag occupant detection system in the front passenger seat may have been pinched during production. Pinching of the wiring harness between the floor crossmember and the seat mounting bracket could result in a short circuit.that could cause a fire. The way that my car got in fire has to be because of an electrical.short circuit, having as a result the fire and total loss of my car. The VIN of my car was not included in the recall, but I will appreciate if your Agency could do an investigation that as a result have the VIN of my car included in the recall wvc-13.

- Naranjito, PR, USA

problem #1

Aug 232012

Forester

  • 95,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, he noticed that all of the warning lights were illuminated on the instrument panel. Within seconds, sparks were emitted from the instrument panel and the contact could smell burning. The contact turned off the engine and exited the vehicle. No one was injured. The fire department was called and extinguished the small fire. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the contact was awaiting diagnosis. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure and the current mileage was 95,000.

- Sanit Louis Park , MN, USA