10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
4,937 miles

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #23

Oct 232019

Forester

  • 3,373 miles
Rear hatch will not open using remote or button on dashboard or button on door. This happened when I was parked at grocery store. Tried again at home and still not working.

- Plainfield, IL, USA

problem #22

Sep 252019

Forester

  • 1,345 miles
Rear hatch will not open. This issue has been random and periodic since we took delivery from dealer at end of may, 2019. Today after shopping I tried to place items in the hatch. It would not open. I tried the inside button and the handle on the hatch, neither worked. I loaded the items in the back seat, started the car then started to back out of the space. As vehicle traveled in reverse there was a noise like a motor and the hatch opened. Dealer has not been helpful so far but this is the first time it opened while in motion

- Homer, AK, USA

problem #21

Sep 242019

Forester

  • 1,000 miles
Owned this car for 3 months and 4X the rear gate does not open using the appropriate button on the dashboard. Requires use of key fob rear gate open/close button or flattening back seat to drag groceries out side door. Happens in park when trying to unload items from rear.

- Mesa, AZ, USA

problem #20

Sep 202019

Forester

  • 3,000 miles
The back door will not open with remote control, dashboard open button, or manual button on door itself. There are ways mechanics can open it, but not your average child or adult. Sometimes the back gate is is the only way out to rescue a passenger. This gate fails and could cause death in emergencies like when trapped in car during hot (or cold) weather, and if it is the only way out in accidents. This fault happens intermittently, but it is reported all over the internet for this model.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

problem #19

Sep 122019

Forester

  • miles
I have owned the car for 6 months and the car only has 3500 miles. I have had the windshield repaired twice in the past month due to chips. The glass seems very weak and cracks with the slightest impact. I've never experienced this with any other cars. It usually takes a big rock to crack it.

- Gettysburg, PA, USA

problem #18

Aug 212019

Forester

  • 60,000 miles
Key cannot be removed from ignition switch even if vehicle is in park. Occurs on a regular basis now. There is a Subaru tsb for this (16-112-18R).

- Sevierville, TN, USA

problem #17

Jun 152019

Forester

  • 300 miles
#1 ) while applying the brake at low speed the cvt transmission causes the vehicle to jump forward countering my braking control. #2) while driving the visuals and driver assist alerts distract the drivers visual attention away from the road

- Wilmington, DE, USA

problem #16

Aug 252019

Forester

  • 7,000 miles
As I was driving in the right hand lane on the interstate, my back side door window spontaneously shattered. I had been driving for one hour, temperature was around 80 degrees.

- Glen Carbon, IL, USA

problem #15

Aug 232019

Forester

  • 7,000 miles
I was backing out of parking space, approximately 5 mph. Rear view mirror fell off windshield. Windshield at place of mirror attachment had broken so a large chunk of the windshield was still attached to the mirror. Was not a full thickness break but created a divot in the windshield approximately 2 inches in diameter. There was no previous damage to this area of windshield. Car had been in no accidents. There was a very small (1/2 inch) star in windshield toward outside of passenger side which occurred from rock 4 months before and was not enlarging.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #14

Aug 082019

Forester

  • 3,500 miles
Windshield of car cracked without any contact. There was a loud cracking noise and a large crack appeared which kept getting longer as I drove. The car was on the highway when this happened on a sunny normal Chicago summer day, about 80 degrees F.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #13

Aug 012019

Forester

  • 2,200 miles
My complaint may not be valid but I though it appropriate since many others are having windshield problems with their 2018/19 Subaru Foresters. I had a small rock bounce of the windshield while driving at 35mph on Aug 1,2019 and now the shield is spider webbed with two long cracks and two smaller cracks. From my readings online, it appears that people with these models are having to replace their windshields at unusual rates. Of course you cannot predict what a rock to the shield will do, but I do know from experience that driving these same roads and conditions for 20years with two other vehicles, that I have only had to replace two windshields. Just my two cents and after this replacement we shall see how long the next shield lasts.

- Clinton, MT, USA

problem #12

Jul 282019

Forester

  • 3,800 miles
In an accident involving front end to other car rear end on an interstate highway, the airbag system didn't deploy. The engine then caught fire in the right front of the engine. The entire car burned. Fortunately no injury to driver or passenger.

- Dalton, PA, USA

problem #11

Jun 152019

Forester

  • 150 miles
This complaint relates to the unsafe nature of the auto start/stop feature on our 2019 Subaru Forester. The vehicle automatically shuts the engine off when you come to a stop, at a stop sign for example. It then takes a second or more for the engine to start again after taking your foot off the brake. This hesitation is very unsafe in any situation where there is a need for the vehicle to move out of the way of approaching danger, such as an out-of-control vehicle coming at the car. The hesitation in movement caused by this feature could easily mean the difference between being hit and getting out of the way. The feature's default setting is "on." Even if you turn it off, the next time you start the car it will be back on again. It would be much safer if the feature's default setting was "off." The Subaru dealer says they cannot change the default setting to "off." I have written to Subaru several times about this issue and they are unresponsive. The car is clearly less safe to operate with the feature on, so Subaru should be required to change the default setting to "off."

- Warrington, PA, USA

problem #10

Jul 012019

Forester

  • miles
Bottom passenger side windshield cracked across glass. Grew fast and still growing across to drivers side. Did not see anything hit it. Was driving and just heard pop of glass and crack. No star just crack from corner under wiper.

- Dallas, TX, USA

problem #9

Jun 102019

Forester

  • 4,000 miles
Crack occurred on passenger side windshield with in overnight. I haven't heard any rock hitting sound.

- Bothell, WA, USA

problem #8

Jan 312019

Forester

  • 10 miles
Homelink, the in car operation for garage door openers changed creating what I believe to be a hazard. The current version only operates with the ignition on while previous models did not have this requirement. I contacted Subaru and their reply was "working as intended". my point is this, how many people might now start their car in an enclosed space (closed garage) because the homelink won't open the door until ignition is on" I recognize that you can turn ignition on without starting the vehicle, but how many people might not understand or take the extra step to do that"

- Glenville, PA, USA

problem #7

Jun 052019

Forester

  • 4,115 miles
I was driving on the highway nowhere near another car, when my windshield spontaneously cracked. It's a horizontal crack across almost half of my windshield on the passenger side, about 19 inches long and 14 inches from the bottom. I was out in the open, no trees, no overpass, no other cars nearby.

- Kansas City, MO, USA

problem #6

Apr 042019

Forester

  • 3,500 miles
Wife was driving down the highway and hit a very small pebble about the size of a skittle and the windshield cracked and needs a full replacement.

- Yreka, CA, USA

problem #5

Apr 172019

Forester

  • 16,000 miles
Windshield is weak and cracks very easily. Have had it replaced and five days later it needs replacing again due to crack. Both times from a small rock hitting the windshield on the highway.

- Randolph, NJ, USA

problem #4

Mar 012019

Forester

  • 200 miles
I was driving the vehicle and a crack appeared spontaneously in the windshield starting from the bottom of the windshield close to the wiper. I have been unable to obtain a replacement windshield due to backorder and unavailability of Subaru windshields for this vehicle. I am unable to drive the car due to the condition of the windshield. I am responsible for payments for a car that I cannot drive because Subaru does not have the necessary replacement part. I have requested a substitution of collateral for this reason and am waiting to hear from Subaru. According to various forums this seems to be an ongoing problem with this model Subaru. Is the part unavailable because so many windshield replacements are needed?

- Staten Island, NY, USA

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