2021 Subaru Forester problems
Owners have filed 285 complaints about the 2021 Subaru Forester with NHTSA. Visibility/wiper accounts for 26.7% of them — the clear leader, ahead of electrical system at 11.6%.
Complaints285
Crashes28
Fires10
Injuries18
Deaths0
What owners report breaking
Visibility/wiper 26.7% · 76
Unknown or other 14.4% · 41
Electrical system 11.6% · 33
Engine 11.2% · 32
Forward collision avoidance 7.7% · 22
Power train 4.9% · 14
Visibility 4.9% · 14
Vehicle speed control 4.2% · 12
Severity
Of those complaints, 28 describe a crash, 10 describe a fire and 18 report an injury.
Reading the numbers
Across the 23 model years of the Subaru Forester in this data, 2021 sits 9th by complaint volume. 2019 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 122 in the last three years against 163 in the three before. The issues here may already have been addressed.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 8,500 miles.
In owners' own words
As I was getting into my vehicle with my family, we heard a loud noise come from the front of the vehicle ( windshield are). We immediately noticed the windshield had cracked and it had started right underneath the driver area and was going up the middle and turned to passenger side of the windshield. All of this occurred while vehicle was parked. Have been reading this has been an ongoing issue with Subaru. Visibility/wiper
Windshield cracked without warning. There was no damage to the windshield at 9am when I walked in to my office building, when I came out at 5:15 pm there was a large crack stretching from the passenger side towards the center. The vehicle had been parked all day, in a very slow office building complex (there were 3 of us at work) parked along the front walkway, there is no foot traffic around our building. Visibility/wiper · reported at 1,805 miles
Windshield has cracked twice with no visual impact site or minimal impact. Occurred almost âspontaneously.â Both incidents had significant splintering on the windshield impairing visibility. Incidents occurred within 6 months of each other. The windshield cracking can also affect the âEye Sightâ camera with the car safety features. Appears to be a known issue with the type of glass used. Visibility/wiper
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…