10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 4 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 5,822 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.
The air conditioning stops working in warm weather posing a health hazard.
- New Milford , NJ, USA
The battery completely drains after not being started for 2-3 days. I-??ve had the battery checked by autozone and it was found to be in good standing. This issue has happened twice in the last two months. Also, on occasion when driving an icy road message pops up from the eyesight, however it-??s a clear sunny day. Although this hasn-??t engaged any other safety features, it-??s concerning that at any time it could initiate an eyesight safety feature to engage which could pose a safety issue for occupants.
- Winston Salem, NC, USA
The ignition key gets stuck from time to time and will not turn all the way to off, which means it cannot be pulled out. When this happens, I have to turn the car back on and off, move the gear away from park and then back to park, and then try again to remove the ignition key. Sometimes, it takes multiple tries before the key can be removed! This has been happening for several years now.
- Springfield, VA, USA
Engine started to race when applying the brake and vehicle was being placed into gear (either forward or reverse the first time it happened and reverse the second time it happened). I could not verify my foot was not on the accelerator the first time, but I was able to verify I was on the brake and only the brake to second time.
- Virginia Beach, VA, USA
While driving steering wheel freezes and driver is not able to control steering.Engine quits.
- Walhalla, SC, USA
I was making a 90 degree left turn, at a very slow rate of speed, onto a tarred parking bay located in front of a hedge approximately 4 feet high. (This is a parking spot I was very familiar with, and moving extremely carefully which is necessary, because the small cat colony I was there to feed were milling around on the parking bay as they always do.) When I depressed my brake to bring the car to a complete stop, my vehicle surged forward through the hedge and landed up against a wall on the other side of the hedge. The movement was wholly unexpected, and directly contradictory to my braking to bring the vehicle to a stop. It felt as if I, the driver, was not actually in control of the vehicle for those few seconds. After the tow truck pulled it back onto the parking bay, although my Subaru was still mechanically drive-able, I had the vehicle towed to the closest Subaru dealer as it would have been irresponsible for anyone to drive the vehicle given the unexplained spontaneous acceleration issue that had just occurred. I immediately reported the accident to AAA Insurance and made the Claims Representative at the time, and subsequently the Insurance Adjuster, aware of the safety issue experienced. -?? The mechanical root cause is unknown -?? Immediately following the body shop repairs I sold the vehicle back to Subaru and made them aware of the safety issue. -?? I could have been injured. Fortunately, I was alone, and although in shock for several days, not physically hurt. -?? When I asked Subaru about the feasibility of getting data from the Event Data Recorder, to substantiate what happened, they advised that was not possible without a court order. -?? Yes, the vehicle was inspected by a Third Party Insurance Assessor but am unsure if they were made aware of the safety event that precipitated the vehicle's damage -?? There were no prior warning signs which made the occurrence extremely surreal and shocking.
- Lutz, FL, USA
AC compressor went out at 110k miles. This is a common issue with Subaru compressors.
- Fenton, IL, USA
Control arms failed within 55,000 miles, shaking and dangerous conditions for a vehicle less than 5 years of age. Leaking air condition and numerous electrical issues started ironically just after the standard 35,000 bumper to bumper warranty extended. Now my car smells like coolant and worried it-??s going to overheat. All my tire sensor pressure gages burn out before 50,00 0 miles and needed replacing. Violent shaking of suspension at highway speeds and not one safety alarm goes off.
- Rye, NY, USA
We purchased 2018 Subaru Forester. Paid top dollar. When we got home we noticed rust and paint bubbles across the windshield. Subaru says they won't do anything car is 5 yrs old. collision shop wants $1700 to repair. Says it is more than stone chips as rest of car body is in perfect condition. It will become safety issue and compromise safety of windshield. They cannot guarantee the work. We went back to used car dealer where we purchased it, they say just touch it up, would not do anything. It is much more tha a touch up. On line many 2018 Subaru owners are complaning of same issue.
- Macomb, MI, USA
The Condenser for the A/C went at 70,700 miles. This is a known problem with 2017-2018 Foresters.
- Margate, NJ, USA
In June 2022 I purchased a 2018 Subaru Forester Turbo Touring at Carmax. Soon after purchase the car hesitated a few times when I was turning. I was turning in front of oncoming traffic and it scared the ___ out of me. So I returned the car to CarMax and bought a similar replacement which is the VIN reported to you in this report. After a couple of months, this car is now doing the same thing, generally when turning but sometimes when merging into traffic. I press the gas, the car moves a bit, then it just dies - there's nothing there, simply no response. It does not turn off, it is just powerless. Then a few seconds later it gets gas and we squeal to safety. However I am just dead in the water, usually in front of oncoming traffic, until it decides to move. Pumping the gas does not help. I took the first Subaru to CarMax for a check up but they found nothing wrong so I just returned it. I am taking the second one in in January. Because the problem is intermittent, it is hard to diagnose but there's definitely a terrifying problem. I thought I was going to die when I had that first one and now this one is developing the same problem. There are a few posts on Google about the same problem. Is there a recall" Have others reported the same problem" I would appreciate any feedback you might be able to provide.
- Benton, KS, USA
Fuel gauge system became inaccurate in February 2022, showing 100 extra miles available upon filling tank, 450 instead of 350, also gallons left on fuel gauge was inaccurate, off by 4 gallons. Went to Subaru dealership/Service Dept. & was told that I would have to replace gauges & fuel tank, due to warranty past 3 years. I decided to not replace, just keep track. They said they'd never heard of this problem before. It lasted approximately 3 months & went back to normal, then beeped & became inaccurate again while I was starting engine 4 months later, & re-adjusted back to normal after a couple weeks.
- Makawao , HI, USA
Environmental and safety issue. The AC System has failed three times now. SUBARU dealer checked the system for leaks at in November 2021 (mileage about 22,000 miles) and could not locate any leak but added freon. AC System stopped working again in August 2022 at 24,000 miles. Mechanic checked system, found a loose connector and tightened it, then recharged Freon in system. After 4 days, system again is not cooling the car. Compressor and blower work but no cold air and return line from compressor is not cool. This problem is widespread across Subaru Forrester models 2017 & 2018. Checking for leaks and adding freon costs $200. Most likely a repair of the system will cost at around $1,500 - 3,000. For a less than 4-year-old, very well-maintained, garaged and little driven car, components should not be failing. Having no working AC is a safety hazard to be in while driving in 100+ degree weather and also the windshield will fog over because moisture is not being taken out of the air now. Environmental issue due to loss of Freon to atmosphere.
- Point Arena, CA, USA
Windshield cracked over night, and is getting bigger. There was no accident, nothing hit the windshield. It is in the drivers view point
- Collegeville, PA, USA
On June 8 after waiting for my garage door to rise, my 2018 Subaru Forester suddenly shot through the door, across the garage, through a 7 ft high wooden cupboard, through the back wall, across the basement steps, into the wall that backs up to the kitchen, shoving my stove one and a half feet into the kitchen. I was able to back out because I believe the right front tire ran on the top basement step, stopping me from falling into the basement. The insurance company has assessed the damage to both the car and the house. The car is in the body shop. The repairs do not address the reason it accelerated without me stepping on the gas. I had no previous warning that anything was wrong. Before driving up to the garage door I had just filled the car with gas from our gas tank located on the other side of the house. I had been driving very slowly around our circular driveway and had pushed the remote for the garage door. I wasn-??t in a hurry. Now I am afraid to drive the car when it is returned to me.
- Elmer , NJ, USA
My windshield has cracked twice in the last year while driving
- East Aurora, NY, USA
Windshield spontaneously cracked.
- Seattle, WA, USA
The radio/touch screen unit has lost its contrast. In bright sunlight I can see an underlying circuit pattern on the screen that makes it hard or sometimes impossible to see the back up camera. Instead of seeing the image from the backup camera all I see are lines. I can no longer rely on the camera for safety support.
- Bethesda, MD, USA
This is the latest time in a series of incidents where the SUV would not start due to a problem with the main battery. New batteries drain very quickly after a series of electrical problems. So far, we have noticed keyless entry FOB says battery in the FOB is low and stops connecting (but then connects if we remove the key from it without us holding it to the button that turns the car on and off), we replace this battery but continue to have the same issues, front passenger side window is not able to be rolled down or up from driver side, as the battery continues to drain, gas gauges stop correctly registering amount of gas in the car, different warning lights light up on control panel without any sense of rhyme or reason, and overhead lighting gets dim. For a few weeks, the SUV blames the problems on the battery in the key FOB being low, even though it was replaced on December 15, 2021. When replacing the FOB battery did not work, we learned it was the actual main SUV battery that had been drained. It is now March 19, 2022, and we are having the same issues despite having only a moderate amount of miles put on the SUV and only 3 months of time passing since we purchased and installed a brand new car battery. We will have to spend money on batteries again.
- Oak Ridge, TN, USA
- Aurora, OH, USA