293 of the 2,453 complaints about the Subaru Forester (11.9%) concern Unspecified or other, making it the model's third-largest problem area. That share is 1.3× the Unspecified or other share across all tracked vehicles.
293Complaints · Unspecified or other
11.9%Share of complaints
1.33×vs. all vehicles
30Last 12 months
4.4%Share involving a crash or fire
1Related recalls
Analysis
30 Unspecified or other complaints were filed in the last 12 months versus 22 in the 12 months before — up 36%.
18 of these reports (4.4%) describe a crash or fire, with 2 injuries and 1 death mentioned.
1 recall campaign relates to this area, most recently campaign 26V436000 (2026-07-07, model years 2025 and 2026).
Driver side rear window spontaneously failed while driving on the highway. Passenger experienced cuts due to glass fragments
Unspecified or other · 2026-10-11 · ODI 11770474
Dear National Transportation Safety Board, I would like to bring a situation that happened to me while driving my 2019 Subaru Forester last Saturday March 7th, 2026 at 10:40am. I was coming back to my house from an errand.
Unspecified or other · 2026-03-13 · ODI 11724205 · Crash
The air conditioning system began blowing warm or hot air. Determined that the compressor failed and required replacement. Vehicle was purchased new from the dealership in Oct. 2018, with this issue arising at approximately 50k miles.
Unspecified or other · 2026-10-02 · ODI 11768616
The radio/HVAC system in the 2025 Subaru Forester has a major delay problem which causes the unit to freeze and not accept user input, delay connectivity, and HVAC conteol, and volume comtrol/on/off, etc.
Unspecified or other · 2026-09-14 · ODI 11764139
The affected product is a Kuat Sherpa 2.0 hitch-mounted bicycle rack (2-bike, [1.25" / 2"] receiver), purchased new in January 2023, mounted on a 2022 Subaru Forester.
Unspecified or other · 2026-08-27 · ODI 11759893
Rear hatch glass shattered on April 16th while parked in carport after my wife opened the right rear passenger door, had it replaced by Safelite on April 29th, on July 9th while driving it shattered again, Safelite says that this is a Subaru issue, Subaru…
Unspecified or other · 2026-07-17 · ODI 11751087
Excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length. The ODI number is NHTSA's record identifier.
Related recalls
EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS Campaign 26V436000 · 2026-07-07 · Model years: 2025, 2026
Summary: Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2026 Crosstrek Hybrid, 2025-2026 Forester Hybrid, Forester, and 2019-2026 Ascent vehicles. These vehicles were manufactured with an incorrect Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) on the certification label. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 110, "Tire selection and rims."
Remedy: Subaru will mail a new certification label to owners, free of charge. Owners may also choose to have a dealer install the new label, free of charge. Letters informing owners of the safety risk were mailed August 27, 2026. Additional letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRH-26.
