10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
63,108 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 #9

Nov 272023

Forester

  • miles
Front drivers side control arm broke at bracket point and lost control of vehicle steering. And car was damaged hitting a post. Vehicle per recall for control arm had already been -??fixed-?? contacted Subaru if control arms were replaced under recall or the -??rust proofing-?? applied.

- West Granby , CT, USA

problem #8

Nov 182022

Forester

  • miles
Front control arm failed on car. Which snapped the front axle and sway bar link on right side. Found out it was a known issue that was taken care of by dealer. Waiting to see if they will cover repairs.

- Winchester , CT, USA

problem #7

Mar 062022

Forester

  • miles
I was made a turn at roughly 15mph and the front passenger side control arm sheared in half causing me to lose control of the vehicle and then abruptly come to an immediate stop. My family was in the car and at a higher speed this could have been fatal. Had there been any vehicles behind me that could have caused an accident with unknown results. Had this been moments early I would have been in a head on collision. This is a known issue for this year, make, and model that was not properly resolved in the past by the manufacturer. The part should not fail in that manner. There were no warnings. The failure was inspected by the tow truck driver.

- Idaho Falls, ID, USA

problem #6

Feb 252020

Forester

  • 51,000 miles
The contact owns 2016 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to brattleboro Subaru (1234 putney rd, brattleboro, vt 05301) to be serviced for an unknown manufacturer recall. The contact stated that upon retrieving the vehicle from the dealer, the vehicle was started and the power steering was inoperable. The contact stated that the power steering failure warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that extra effort was needed to turn the steering wheel in either direction. The vehicle was not taken back to dealer. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and offered to fix the vehicle free of charge. The failure mileage was 51,000. The VIN was invalid.

- Northfields, MA, USA

problem #5

Jun 272019

Forester

  • miles
Every time I reach speed of 80mph in the freeway my steering wheel is vibrating out of control

- North Hills, CA, USA

problem #4

Apr 042019

Forester

  • 237,000 miles
While the vehicle was in motion on a highway, I drove over a pothole on the passenger side and my lower control arm broke due to a known problem with corrosion in this model year. There was a noticeable problem with wheel alignment which was able to be felt in the steering wheel. Subaru recall wvx-34 was supposed to fix this safety issue. The 'repair' was completed on my vehicle in January of 2012. As you can see from the photos, the rust proofing did not help.

- Oshkosh, WI, USA

problem #3

Nov 132018

Forester

  • 130,000 miles
Control arm is rusted completely through. I need to fully replace the entire arm. It's urgent, as the entire wheel and mechanism could fall off at any time.

- South Royalton, VT, USA

problem #2

May 152015

Forester

  • 118,814 miles
The front control arms on my 2006 Subaru Forester failed on May 15, 2015. There was no warning (no sound, no shimmying, no steering issues) to suggest that something was about to happen. The main safety issue is that in 2012, Subaru issued a recall for Foresters and imprezas, rustproofing the control arms. I brought my car in at that time, and have the paperwork that indicates that this service was performed. I therefore assumed the car was safe. There has been no other recall. My car had 118,000 miles on it, and is well taken care of. I am not an aggressive, poor or off-road driver. My husband is experienced with cars and car repairs, and he also heard and felt nothing to suggest my car might have a problem when he drove the car prior to the accident. Fortunately, I was exiting a rotary onto a highway, so hadn't yet reached full speed. The car glided across another lane as I hit the brake, and a raised divider kept the car from continuing into oncoming traffic. This failure could happen to anyone else with a similar car history. That person could be driving at full speed, and might not be as lucky as I was in being able to stop safely. A deputy sheriff called aaa for me, and I was towed to a local Subaru dealership. They replaced both control arms, sway bars, and the axle. Subaru paid for all the repairs, and offered to pay for the towing. In 2014, the rear control arms were replaced; I brought the car in because it was making a noise and the rear of the car was not responding correctly. Subaru didn't cover that expense, and I didn't realize that I should have insisted that they do so. The experience suggested to me, however, that I would have plenty of warning should something happen to the other control arms. This was not the case in my situation, and others should be made of aware of the extreme danger they face.

- Kingston, NY, USA

problem #1

Apr 292011

Forester 4-cyl

  • 31,156 miles
2006 Subaru Forester. Consumer writes in regards to wheel bearing malfunction. The consumer stated while driving, the vehicle began to make some unusual sounds. She pulled over to check the tires, because it sounded like a flat tire. However, everything looked normal, so she continued driving. As she drove a little further and made a left turn, the brakes went out. She slowly eased the vehicle to the side of the road, where the rear tire fell off the axle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. An inspection revealed the wheel bearing broke. The consumer stated the same bearing was replaced on April 29, 2011. Also, the power steering pump was replaced.

- Wheeling, WV, USA