12 recalls covering model years 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025. To check whether your vehicle is affected, look up your 17-character VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls — a recall may apply only to some vehicles of a given year.
The sticker on the door frame that lists how much weight each axle can safely carry shows the wrong numbers on these Subarus. If you load the car based on that sticker, you could end up putting more weight on it than it is built to handle. Overloading a vehicle makes it harder to control and harder to stop. Subaru is mailing owners a corrected sticker, and a dealer will put it on for free if you prefer.
The bolts that hold the child seat anchors to the car body may not have been tightened enough at the factory, so they can work loose. Those anchors are what a child safety seat latches onto. If a bolt is loose, the child seat may not be held firmly during a crash and a child could be hurt. A dealer will inspect the anchor bolts and tighten any that need it, free of charge.
Some 2025 Foresters left the factory with 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels that were made wrong in the spot where the lug nuts press against the wheel. Because that surface is not shaped correctly, the lug nuts may not clamp the wheel tightly to the car. A wheel that is not properly attached can make the vehicle unstable and hard to control. Subaru dealers will inspect the wheels and replace any bad ones at no charge.
A weld on a switch that tells the car which gear you are in was not done well enough, so water can seep inside and break it. When that switch fails, your reversing lights may not come on and the backup camera screen may go blank. That makes it easy to miss someone or something behind you while backing up. A dealer will replace the switch free of charge.
A driveshaft is the spinning bar that carries power from the engine out to a front wheel. On these vehicles, part of that shaft can crack and break. If it breaks while you are driving, the vehicle can lose power to the wheels. If it breaks while the vehicle is parked and the parking brake is not set, the vehicle can roll away on its own. The dealer inspects both front driveshafts and replaces either one if needed, free of charge.
On some 2024 Subaru Foresters, the bolts holding the engine's coolant pipe may not be tight enough. A loose pipe can break its seal and let engine coolant drip out. If that coolant lands on the hot exhaust pipe underneath, it can catch fire. Subaru says these particular vehicles were caught before they reached dealers or buyers, so the bolts are being tightened at its distribution facilities and no owner letters are going out.
The low-pressure fuel pump sits inside the gas tank and pushes fuel toward the engine. In these vehicles that pump can fail. If it quits, the engine can stall and shut off while you are driving, and you would lose engine power with little warning. A stall in traffic, at highway speed, or in an intersection can easily lead to a crash. The dealer replaces the pump inside the tank with a new one.
The bolts that hold the rear stabilizer bar brackets in place can work loose and fall out. The stabilizer bar is part of the rear suspension, and it helps keep the car steady in turns. If the bolts go missing, the bracket can shift out of position and the car may not handle the way you expect. Subaru dealers will check the bolts, tighten them to the correct setting, and install any that are missing.
A small aluminum valve that vents pressure out of the engine can come apart. The broken pieces can fall into the engine itself, and the engine can lose power while you are driving — possibly in traffic or on the highway. A dealer will inspect the valve and replace it. If the valve has already broken and the missing pieces cannot be located, Subaru will replace the lower part of the engine at no cost.
Certain 2015-2018 Foresters with heated seats have an electrical connection in the front passenger seat that can work loose. That connection belongs to the system that senses whether someone is sitting in the seat. If it loosens, the front passenger airbag may turn itself off even when a passenger is seated there. In a crash, that passenger would not be protected by the airbag. Dealers will inspect the seat sensor wiring and replace it if needed.
A connector inside the electric power steering unit can short out. When that happens, the power assist that makes the steering wheel easy to turn stops working, and the wheel becomes much harder to turn, especially at low speeds like parking or taking a corner. None of these vehicles had been sold when the recall started, so dealers were told to inspect the steering gearbox and replace it if needed before delivery.
The certification label on your Forester, the sticker that lists wheel size, tire size, and the air pressure your tires should be set to, may show incorrect information. If you or a tire shop go by that sticker, the wrong tires could be put on the car or the tires could be inflated to the wrong pressure. Either mistake can affect how the car handles and makes a crash more likely. A Subaru dealer will install a corrected label free of charge.
Complaints owners have filed with NHTSA about the Subaru Forester. These are unverified reports; better-selling years collect more.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Fires | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 493 | 26 | 1 | 9 |
| 2019 | 833 | 37 | 11 | 21 |
| 2022 | 98 | 8 | 6 | 5 |
| 2023 | 73 | 8 | 4 | 5 |
| 2024 | 29 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 93 | 11 | 2 | 6 |
Recalls and complaint record for one model year at a time: