2018 Subaru Forester problems
Owners have filed 687 complaints with NHTSA about the 2018 Subaru Forester. Wipers, windshield & visibility is the most reported problem area, at 23% of complaints. After that come air bags (18%) and electrical system (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 687 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Wipers, windshield & visibility 23% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 53 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 17 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 15,000 miles 328 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 | 202 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 80 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 29 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 12 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 3 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 328 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 15,000 miles. For wipers, windshield & visibility specifically, the median reported mileage is about 20,000 miles (114 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 53 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 17 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2018 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 29 model years of the Subaru Forester with enough data (572 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 in an accident in which a car t-boned my passenger side. No airbags deployed and we suffered injury as a result. The other car that hit us had all air bags deployed. This was a malfunction in the subaru I drive. The accident occurred while I was in motion going 40MPH and a car hit me after running a red light going 45MPH
Tl* the contact owns a 2018 subaru forester. The contact stated that while attempting to switch from drive to reverse, when they pressed the brakes the vehicle suddenly accelerated forward. The vehicle crashed into the contact's garage door through the garage door and partially through the cement wall inside the garage. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed however it was still being determined whether the vehicle would be deemed totaled.
When my husband shuts off the car, gets out and refuels, I remain seated in the passenger seat. He starts the car and drives off. The passenger airbag light reads that the airbag is off even though I am seated in the passenger seat. The first time it happened starlink told us to take the car in to be checked,but the didn't find anything wrong with it. This has happened so many times that I get out when he gets gas, so we don't have to pull over on the highway and shut off and get out to reactivate the airbag.
The contact owns a 2018 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the passenger’s side air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who reset the fault light; however, the failure persisted. The contact was aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V701000 (Air Bags) however, the dealer confirmed that the VIN was not included. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 63,000.