2023 Subaru Forester

2023 Subaru Forester recalls (1)

• POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT

  Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2024 Crosstrek, Impreza, 2023-2024 Forester, and 2023 WRX vehicles. The front driveshaft assemblies' outer race may develop cracks and break.

  Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the left and right front driveshafts as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 8, 2024. Owners may contact Subaru's customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRP-23.

2023 Subaru Forester safety ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP ratings.

2023 Subaru Forester owner complaints (15)

• VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES

  I am writing to formally report a critical safety defect regarding the driver-side footwell design in my 2023 Subaru Forester Sport, which poses an immediate and severe risk of a crash. A hard plastic lower extension for the HVAC air duct sits dangerously low directly above the brake and accelerator pedals. For drivers with larger or longer feet, this duct extension acts as a physical obstruction that interferes with safe pedal operation in two specific, highly dangerous ways: Delayed Braking: When attempting to transition from the accelerator to the brake pedal, the toe of the driver's shoe frequently catches on the lip of the air duct extension, delaying the ability to depress the brake pedal in time-sensitive or emergency situations. Pedal Entrapment: When the brake pedal is depressed, the driver's foot can become completely wedged between the brake pedal arm and the air duct extension. This traps the foot, making it impossible to smoothly or quickly release the brake. The physical proximity of this hard plastic duct to the primary driving controls is a severe design flaw. The air duct should not protrude into the clearance space required for standard footwear, as it directly compromises the driver's ability to control the vehicle's speed and braking. I have photo and video documentation clearly demonstrating the lack of clearance and exactly how a shoe becomes caught and wedged during normal driving maneuvers. I am requesting that the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) review this hazard immediately, as this spatial interference requires a recall and physical redesign of the lower ductwork to prevent potential collisions, injuries, or fatalities. The component causing the issue is the physical HVAC ductwork extension, and the vehicle is available for inspection upon request. Because this is a physical design flaw rather than an breakdown, there were no warning lamps or dashboard messages. I have photo and video documentation.

• SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

  Eyesight collision braking system engaged as I was rolling up my driveway to go into garage. Garage door was rolling up and was about 5 feet off the ground when Anti Collision system engaged and slammed the brakes on. I was going under 1 mph and would not have hit the door. It beeped right before brakes engaged. This is the second time it has engaged when it shouldn't have. The first time was in a right lane, a car about 6 car lengths in front of me was and did turn right as I was driving down the road. It almost caused an accident with the car behind me. The brakes slammed on so hard my back and neck are now sore and it bent my fingernail backwards somehow on the steering wheel.

• SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN

  Tires are wearing badly on the inside edge only. Suspension and drive train components make noise during normal operation.

• FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

  The contact owned a 2023 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle independently accelerated, and the Forward Collision Avoidance system was inoperative, causing the front center of the vehicle to crash into five other vehicles while trying to stop the vehicle. The air bags deployed as needed. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was deemed a total loss at the scene. A Police report was filed. No injuries were sustained, and medical attention was not needed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.

• ENGINE

  Vehicle caught fire after oil change. Oil leaked from engine onto catalytic converter and causes catastrophic engine fire

• UNKNOWN OR OTHER

  This 2023 windshield can easily be chipped. It has more than 10 visible chips/cracks.

• UNKNOWN OR OTHER

  My vehicle has experienced repeated stalling events, including while the vehicle is in operation. The first occurrence began at approximately [mileage] and has continued intermittently despite multiple service visits. During these incidents, the vehicle unexpectedly loses power without warning. This creates a serious safety concern, particularly when driving in traffic, as it increases the risk of collision due to sudden loss of acceleration and potential impact on vehicle control. The issue appears to be intermittent and cannot be reliably reproduced. In some instances, a check engine light has appeared in connection with the events. Despite multiple attempts to diagnose and repair the vehicle at an authorized dealership, the problem has not been resolved. I have been informed that prior issues may have been addressed; however, I was also told that the root cause has not been definitively identified, and there is no assurance that the stalling will not occur again. The vehicle has been in service multiple times without a confirmed fix. Despite this, I have also been told that there are “no safety concerns” and that the vehicle is safe to operate. This is concerning given the unresolved and recurring nature of the issue. The vehicle is primarily used to transport my young children, which heightens the urgency of this safety risk.

• ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER

  This vehicle has died 4 times in one week. when this happens, multiple lights have flashed in the dash board, including the "eye sight" warning. Then, it would not restart but continued to "turn over" when the ignition button was pushed. One instance was on a busy street at a stop light, another at a busy intersection in the inner left turn lane, the other 2 instances were in parking lots. The first 2 times the vehicle was able to be jump started and was not taken to the dealership. The 3rd, it was jump started and taken to the dealership. They said the battery was slightly low, but had sufficient charge. They changed the fob battery, and topped off the car battery. That was all. The next day was the episode where it died in the turn lane. I had it towed to the dealership. This time they changed the battery to a more high capacity battery, and admitted that these vehicles have a battery put in them at the manufacturer that is not strong enough for the systems it runs. I even found a service bulletin about it online, #TSB 07-218-23R. This should be a recall item, and they should have changed this battery at my first visit! A vehicle suddenly dying on a busy roadway puts those inside at risk, as well as everyone around them. Very disappointed in this 2023 Subaru Forester Premium.

• LANE DEPARTURE

  Eyesight camera randomly turns off and on while driving. Has been consistent over several months pierced to be an ongoing issue that was previously recorded from 20 14–20 21 super Forrester. Very similar issue now with my 2023.

• FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

  Vehicle suffered a major oil leak at under 60k miles. My low oil light didn’t turn on but I was actually extremely low on oil. The dealer confirmed the issue and had to replace multiple components related to the oil filter, caps, etc. If I hadnt noticed/waited any longer I would have had no oil in my car at all.

• AIR BAGS

  1. The passenger seat air bag turn on mechanism malfunctions in a 2023 Subaru Forester Limited. The seat mechanism can be tested (and has been tested) upon request. 2. An adult that weighs 104lbs is not detected when in the seat, so the air bag is not turned on. 3. The problem has been reproduced by two dealers. 4. No other parties have inspected the car seats or the mechanism. 5. The problem indicator is the status light that shows the air bag as off or on. 6. Testing of the car by the dealer found no problems with the setup of the SRS and seat detection technology. Employees weighing more than the customer getting into the seat turned on the air bag. 7. Testing with the customer reproduced the problem 100% of the time. Testing was done by having the adult get into the seat multiple times after a restart of the vehicle. The air bag light never turned on. 8. The same test was performed with the adult customer using a different Forester. The detection mechanism of the other Forester also failed to detect the customer 100% of the time.

• TIRES

  see attached

• SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

  In three years I've had the Automatic Emergency Braking system engage and almost cause accidents several times. The breaking system engages when it's not needed. Going down a road driving straight at 25 MPH, no obstacles in road and breaks engage. Verry scarry, what if I was going 65 MPH on the highway! Another incident was on an off ramp in a curve, and another making a U-turn. This is not ok!

• ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

  Traveling at approximately 45 mph through a green light at a 4-way intersection a car making a right on red turn turned into the outside lane in front of me. I had no warning sounds or automatic braking, to avoid a collision I had to steer to the left after an on coming car passed. There were no chimes or auto braking.I have had several instances similar with no alerts. My eyesight system has been problematic for the life of the car and required many diagnosis and recalibration with many trips to the dealership and no permanent repair. Frequent software updates and days with no eyesight -see manual. Finally had a total eyesight replacement with the assurance this was a long awaited technology all under 60,000 miles. A few months later eyesight malfunctioned again and required another update. Eyesight still remains unresponsive and goes in and out a couple of times a day. The technology is defective and unreliable. Subaru has provided no lasting fix.

• ENGINE

  Vehicle had just received an oil change at the dealership and the car caught fire. Oil leaked onto the catalytic converter and ignited. Car was a total loss. After my own review, there are several instances of this happening and many customers have experienced similar fires. The oil filter is inverted which makes leaks more susceptible