2026 SUBARU FORESTER

3 recalls, 28 complaints - 5/5 safety rating

EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS

Defect Description

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 ... Read more

Consequence

An incorrect GAWR label may lead to an overloaded vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

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 are expected to be mailed August 25, 2026. Additional letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. ... Read more

541,237 vehicles affected

Manufacturer: Subaru of America, Inc.

VISIBILITY:SUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY

Defect Description

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2026 Forester and Forester Hybrid vehicles. The sliding glass panel of the power moonroof assembly may have been improperly bonded to the sliding frame, allowing the glass panel to detach from the vehicle.

Consequence

A detached glass panel may become a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will inspect the power moonroof glass panel for proper adhesion and, if necessary, replace the glass panel assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 6, 2026. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRF-26. V... Read more

69,663 vehicles affected

Manufacturer: Subaru of America, Inc.

STRUCTURE:BODY:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE:HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS

Defect Description

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2026 Forester vehicles. These vehicles may have been manufactured with an incorrect and/or incorrectly oriented rear hatch support bracket which can detach without prior warning.

Consequence

A rear hatch support bracket that detaches can allow the rear hatch to fall unexpectedly during use and increase the risk of injury.

Remedy

Dealers will inspect the rear hatch support brackets and, if necessary, replace the stay and support bracket, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 29, 2026. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRG-25. Vehicle Iden... Read more

5,603 vehicles affected

Manufacturer: Subaru of America, Inc.

Complaint Statistics

28 total complaints

Top Reported Components

Component	Complaints
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	5
ENGINE	4
POWER TRAIN	3
VISIBILITY/WIPER	3
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL	1
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD	1
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM	1
SUSPENSION	1
STEERING	1
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE	1

Incident date: Sep 7, 2026

While the vehicle was stationary and off, the rear windshield shattered and fell in the vehicle for the second time in just over 3 weeks.

Incident date: Aug 15, 2026

"My 2026 Subaru Forester Wilderness is subject to safety recall Campaign 26V346000 for moonroof adhesive failure. A yellow chemical fluid leaked out from the driver's side moonroof seal assembly and ran down the body panel, burning completely through the factory clear coat down to bare metal. While ... Read more

Incident date: Aug 22, 2026

When I am driving forward, or turning, sometimes the car automatically beeps very loud and puts on the breaks and the car in front of me is far away. It’s stressful and problematic. It doesn’t seem like an effective feature. This has happened like 10 times

Incident date: Aug 22, 2026

Incident date: Jun 1, 2026

The contact owns a 2026 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that on several occasions while the vehicle was parked after fueling, the fuel door failed to latch as needed, especially when it was extremely hot outside. The contact poured cool or cold water on the fuel door to latch it securely. The ve... Read more

Incident date: Aug 14, 2026

I closed the driver's door, and the rear windshield shattered and collapsed into the vehicle. No known defects were known prior to the incident. Animals or contents in the rear compartment could have been cut by the shattered glass. The vehicle is only 4 months old. The rear windshield will be re... Read more

Incident date: Aug 7, 2026

Honda Part #80872-SN7-003 failed at 3years and 40,000 miles which Honda will not cover under warranty. This is a simple O-Ring for the AC line which has a life span of 10-15 years. Apparently this has been common on 2023-2025 Pilots and passports and thus should be a recall issue.

Incident date: Aug 3, 2026

Component/system that failed: The audio/infotainment system (radio), rear DVD entertainment system, and backup camera all fail together while driving. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Description of the problem: While driving, the radio works normally for approximately 10-30 mi... Read more

Incident date: Aug 3, 2026

Incident date: Jul 3, 2026

Purchased 2014 Ford Focus from a private dealer. The vehicle had 75k miles on it and needed a reliable vehicle for my daughter who is in college. The same day as the purchase, the engine light came up as well as the transmission light. Had to tow it to ford and was advised the TCM needed replacemen... Read more

Incident date: Jun 26, 2026

Recurring incident after completion of Jeep recall software update 68C intended to address fire hazard associated with the vehicle's hybrid battery. Since that update, when driving in standard Electric mode, the vehicle experiences a sudden loss of power, hesitation, and a physical 'bogging down'. ... Read more

Incident date: May 22, 2026

The airbag error light has been coming on in the dashboard in the last few weeks. Sometimes it stays on for the whole trip, sometimes it intermittently comes and goes. If an airbag is disabled due to this error, that's a safety hazard. I found several reports of almost the same issue on this car on... Read more

Incident date: May 22, 2026

Today, June 11, 2026, my wife and 9 month old baby were on their way home from running errands in town when the vehicle started to violently shake, becoming frightened my wife tried to apply pressure to the brakes. When she pushed down on the brake pedal nothing happened and the pedal hit the floor.... Read more

Incident date: May 22, 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Ford Escape. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number 25V467000 (Fuel System, Gasoline); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amoun... Read more

Incident date: May 22, 2026

The contact owns a 2021 Jeep Gladiator. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V363000 (Steering); however, the parts required for the recall repair were unavailable. The dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the parts were not available. The contact stated the manuf... Read more

Incident date: May 30, 2026

I have a 2024 Hybrid Toyota Tundra Equipped with V35-A- FTS 3.4 L Twin- Turbo V6. This motor is the same engine as the non hybrid motors included in the recall. There was recently a defect information report sent out on May 20th 2026 from Toyota stating that there is an issue with the main #1 bearin... Read more

Incident date: Jun 4, 2026

I’ve had it looked at twice at two different places and they don’t see anything wrong with it but when you hit bumps, especially going high rate of speed, it feels like you’re gonna lose control of the backend. When I looked online, there’s multiple people with the exact same issues and they... Read more

Incident date: Apr 9, 2026

Today, my turbocharger was diagnosed as damaged and leaking coolant into the cylinders and visibly leaking throughout the undercarriage. Additionally, my cylinder 4 is misfiring. My mechanic said they've seen this problem many times and while the turbocharger can be replaced, it often fails or other... Read more

Incident date: Apr 25, 2026

Stereo randomly started glitching out

Incident date: Feb 16, 2026

CASE NUMBER: [XXX] VEHICLE: 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLE350 --- EMAIL EXCHANGE TEXT --- From: [XXX] Sent: 1/14/2026, 12:11 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Message From Mercedes-Benz USA: Case Number [XXX] Dear Ken, I want to clarify that my concern is not about support for “older technolog... Read more

Incident date: Jan 7, 2026

Transmission failure without any warning while driving. Vehicle engine immediately shut down resulting in no power and loss of power steering. Vehicle came to a complete stop within seconds. Fortunately I was on a country road with no traffic. Had I been traveling on a highway I could have been re... Read more

Incident date: Jan 7, 2026

Engine Coolant bypass Valve B control circuit high check engine light

Incident date: May 1, 2026

Vehicle stopped at light,auto start stop engine off,stepped on gas to go engine didn’t restart,my passenger and I jumped out and grabbed a Noco GB40 jump box I carry and jump started car,we were on a road trip out of town and could not wait for the dealership so finished our trip with the auto sta... Read more

Incident date: May 1, 2026

Incident date: Apr 7, 2026

On the first day of receiving the car the windshield looked clear by day but it had little specks and lines like dust when driven at dusk and night of the first day it was driven. I brought it back to the dealer, they replaced it with a new one, and the problem persists. A clear windshield is much... Read more

Incident date: Nov 29, 2025

The front camera that controls adaptive system died within 4years of owning the vehicle so all the warning lights come on now.

NHTSA Safety Ratings, 2026 SUBARU FORESTER

2026 SUBARU FORESTER SUV N/A AWD

Category	Rating
Overall Rating	5 / 5 ★★★★★
Frontal Crash	5 / 5 ★★★★★
Frontal Crash, Driver	5 / 5 ★★★★★
Frontal Crash, Passenger	5 / 5 ★★★★★
Side Crash	5 / 5 ★★★★★
Side Crash, Driver	5 / 5 ★★★★★
Side Crash, Passenger	5 / 5 ★★★★★
Rollover	4 / 5 ★★★★☆
Rollover Risk	17.4%

Safety Technology

Feature	Status
Electronic Stability Control	Standard
Forward Collision Warning	Standard
Lane Departure Warning	Standard

Source: NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings Program. Ratings are based on crash tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

NHTSA Safety Investigations, SUBARU FORESTER

Investigations opened by NHTSA into potential safety defects. These are separate from recalls and may or may not result in a recall.

PE, Closed , Model Year: 2016

Occupant Detection System (ODS) Failure

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE19-009 to investigate 51 complaints and additional Early Warning Report (EWR) data related to allegations of front passenger seat Occupant Detection System (ODS) malfunctions in model year (MY) 2016 through 2018 Subaru Forester vehicles. These vehic... les use a capacitive type ODS, which is intended to classify the occupant of the passenger seat as either full-sized, small stature, a child seat or other object. The complaints reported the ODS failed to operate properly, the SRS (Supplemental Restraint System) warning light illuminated, and/or the ODS incorrectly suppressed (turned off) the front passenger air bag when the seat was occupied by a full-sized passenger. In a frontal crash that is sufficient to warrant deployment, a suppressed air bag may increase the risk of injury to the occupant of the seat.On August 14, 2019 ODI sent an Information Request (IR) to Subaru requesting information on the subject vehicles and MY 2014-2015 Subaru Forester vehicles.On October 3, 2019, Subaru submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) to NHTSA describing a safety defect in the passenger-side front airbag Occupant Detection System (ODS) harness of 366,282 MY 2015-2018 Subaru Forester vehicles equipped with seat heaters.The DIR stated that over time, due to a decrease in contact pressure between the terminals in the ODS sensor mat harness, a temporarily unstable electrical connection may be possible. If the connection is temporarily unstable, the ODS may not properly determine the status of the right front seat occupant. If the ODS is unable to correctly determine the status of the front occupant, the airbag warning light may illuminate, and the front passenger airbag may deactivate even though the seat is occupied, increasing the risk of injury to the front passenger in the event of a crash.Using vehicle production data and field occurrence frequency, Subaru determined the potentially affected vehicle production range to be between January 20, 2015 ?and August 1, 2017.In addition, Subaru indicated that over 99 percent of the related MY 2015-2018 field reports with vehicles in the production range involved vehicles with seat heaters.NHTSA's analysis of complaint and warranty claim data showed 1,440 of the complaints and 11,672 of the claims involve vehicles with seat heaters that were built within the production range covered by Subaru's recall.In addition, NHTSA's analysis showed a complaint rate of 393.1 per hundred thousand vehicles for the recalled population and 89.0 for MY 2014 through 2018 vehicles that are not included in the recall. Analysis of warranty claim data found a claim rate of 3.2 percent for the recalled population and 0.3 percent for MY 2014 through 2018 vehicles that are not included in the recall.Subaru will instruct owners with Subaru Forester vehicles produced in the affected vehicle production range, to bring their vehicles to a dealer to have the sensor mat harness, inspected and replaced with a new part, including the seat cushion assembly, if necessary.Based on ODI's analysis, the actions taken by Subaru mitigate any unreasonable risk to safety posed by ODS sensor mat failures in the subject vehicles. For subject and peer vehicles outside the recall population and those equipped without seat heaters, ODI's analysis indicates that there is currently no safety-related defect trend. Given these circumstances, further use of the agency resources in this matter does not appear to be warranted. Accordingly, this investigation is closed.Read more

PE, Closed , Model Year: 1999

SEAT BELT ANCHORAGE SEPARATION

ODI HAS ONE COMPLAINT ALLEGING THE PASSENGER'S SIDE SAFETY BELT ANCHORAGE, LOCATED BETWEEN THE SEAT AND CENTER CONSOLE, BECAME DETACHED WHILE DRIVING.IN ADDITION, THE OWNER INSPECTED THE DRIVER'S SIDE SAFETY BELT ANCHORAGE AND FOUND THAT THE BOLT WAS PARTIALLY BACKED-OUT.THE COMPLAINT VEHICLE WAS EQ... Read more

SUBARU FORESTER - All Years Overview

Complete safety history for the SUBARU FORESTER across all model years (1998, 2026).

116 Total Recalls

8,731 Total Complaints

2 Investigations

801 Reported Crashes

139 Reported Fires

9 Reported Deaths

SUBARU FORESTER - Year by Year

Compare recalls and complaints across model years. Click any year to see full details.

Year	Recalls	Complaints
2026 (current)	3	28
2025	3	127	View
2024	2	41	View
2023	1	110	View
2022	1	142	View
2021	0	285	View
2020	0	812	View
2019	3	1,088	View
2018	3	679	View
2017	1	800	View
2016	3	619	View
2015	3	897	View
2014	2	576	View
2013	12	94	View
2012	15	140	View
2011	16	195	View
2010	17	307	View
2009	18	228	View
2008	1	67	View
2007	1	89	View
2006	2	121	View
2005	1	105	View
2004	2	270	View
2003	3	238	View
2002	1	109	View
2001	0	169	View
2000	0	95	View
1999	1	156	View
1998	1	138	View

Other SUBARU Models

Model	Recalls	Complaints
IMPREZA	321	3,425	View
LEGACY	307	4,132	View
OUTBACK	288	12,131	View
SOLTERRA	259	109	View
WRX	190	1,208	View
ASCENT	112	1,248	View
TRIBECA	70	51	View
CROSSTREK	42	1,453	View

Vehicle Safety

Consumer Safety

Infrastructure

Public Health

2026 SUBARU FORESTER

Complaint Statistics

Top Reported Components

NHTSA Safety Ratings, 2026 SUBARU FORESTER

Safety Technology

NHTSA Safety Investigations, SUBARU FORESTER

SUBARU FORESTER - All Years Overview

SUBARU FORESTER - Year by Year

Other SUBARU Models