2015 Subaru Forester problems
Owners have filed 899 complaints with NHTSA about the 2015 Subaru Forester. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 15% of complaints. After that come air bags (13%) and drivetrain & axles (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 899 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 15% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 92 and 12
- Injuries and deaths
- 52 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 43,000 miles 604 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 151 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 120 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 125 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 92 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 68 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 20 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 21 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 4 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 604 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 43,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 44,000 miles (105 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 92 complaints mention a crash; 12 complaints mention a fire; 52 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2015 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 29 model years of the Subaru Forester with enough data (620 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
I was traveling on the freeway going 65MPH, when with no warning my car's engine stop. I tough it was out of gas, but the computer was telling me I had 30 more miles of fuel. At the time of this accident there was no shoulder to park because of construction on the freeway. This unfortunate event cause 3 other cars to be involved in a car accident. Some how my car was ok, I drove the car back to my house praying that it would not happen again. My husband drove it for a little to see if it will be ok to drive.
My 2015 subaru forester xt was taken to an authorized subaru dealership numerous visits to the for an issue in which the cars engine lights and warnings would display, violently shake, shudder and lose power while at highway speed. Am authorized subaru mechanic was able to replicate the issue, they did an ECM computer update...unfortunately, the problems did not go away after the update. I re-visited the dealership explaining that the problems persisted, at which point they decided to try to replicate the problem.
The electrical keeps having problems. This problem is all over the internet for several years of the forester. I don't know why there hasn't already been a recall. There will be a be a beep, usually when driving - sometimes when trying to start the car or move out of park, and about any "safety" feature that this car has exhibits a light and/or warning. While this happens over days, sometimes the gears stick in park. I have to take a tool and press beside the gear stick to get out of park.
My wife and I were looking specifically for the 2014-2018 subaru forester. We looked over 25 of the same car and most of them had this noise coming from the AC compressor. The one we bought was 27000 miles only and did not have the loud noise on the AC compressor when we bought it, but about 2000 miles later the noise started, and after a little research we found that is super common on those years models to have the issue, and eventually it causes AC compressor to failure. I would attach a video if possible.