2025 Subaru Forester problems
Owners have filed 126 complaints about the 2025 Subaru Forester with NHTSA. Forward collision avoidance accounts for 11.9% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of visibility/wiper at 10.3%.
Complaints126
Crashes18
Fires2
Injuries11
Deaths1
What owners report breaking
Unknown or other 14.3% · 18
Forward collision avoidance 11.9% · 15
Visibility/wiper 10.3% · 13
Fuel/propulsion system 9.5% · 12
Electrical system 6.3% · 8
Exterior lighting 6.3% · 8
Visibility 5.6% · 7
Back over prevention 4.8% · 6
Severity
Of those complaints, 18 describe a crash, 2 describe a fire, 11 report an injury and 1 report a death.
Reading the numbers
Across the 23 model years of the Subaru Forester in this data, 2025 sits 19th by complaint volume. 2019 draws the most.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 2,700 miles.
In owners' own words
My sight turn off when out side temperature in cold, or raining hard, fog on wind shield. Sony when the weather seem perfect all safety systems turn off. I have told my dealer about this event with no real positive answer. The pit system on compute and said it was working as designed so best auto and most reliable on road does not seem to be true Forward collision avoidance
Exhaust gas smell from the engine compartment when parked after driving. Garage smells like exhaust gases when left in enclosed garage - ongoing problem. Smell dissipates overnight. It has been inspected by Subaru dealers in Albuquerque and Santa Fe New Mexico. They report no error codes and so no problem. Have not had this issue on any other vehicle we've ever owned. There are no warning lamps or messages. Engine
Infotainment system not working correctly. Cannot connect Apple car play. If is does a partial connection, just my phone contacts show when screen states âiPhone connectedâ When and if a partial CarPlay installation shows up, it automatically turns off the WiFi on my iPhone. All updates are up to date on the phone Dealer contacted and unaware that there was a new software update on 3/24/25 Unknown or other
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…