Subaru Forester

""AC was spotty on occasion last year - especially on very hot days. Took it to mechanic who fixed it, but said if it occurred again, would have to replace. Have not had issues since.""

""A/C stopped working 1 year ago, so had to replace the compressor""

"Replaced compressor"

"The air conditioner stopped working."

"The compressor was replaced."

"Compressor stopped working"

"Started with chronic refrigerant leaks. Eventually diagnosed with compressor problem which was then replaced."

"Air conditioning on the driver side is not working properly."

"Car stopped producing cool air or produced it erratically. Mechanics were unsurprised that it needed replacement after 9 years."

""Had refrigerant leaks, after 2 recharges, had compressor replaced in July 2024 and now A/C not cooling again.""

"Took 3 years to get passenger airbag seat sensor."

"Compressor clutch failed. Required replacement of compressor."

"AC started not working as well last summer, then this summer quit entirely. Naturally, it wasnt just a refrigerant problem, it was the compressor, which is the most expensive thing to fix. I went without AC for about two months before getting a new compressor. Now it works great."

"The A/C stopped working a year ago and the dealer diagnosed a freon leak. They replaced the leaking Evaporator core and replaced it for $1500 + tax. The A/C continued to cut in and out so we took it back in June 2024 and they told us that it is most likely a faulty compressor. The cost to replace the compressor would be $1900 plus tax so we decided to skip the repair. We tolerate the fact that it comes and goes but this is a reason not to buy another Subaru."

"noisy when air conditioner on"

"The cool air cuts out when the A/C is on, so it's sporadic. It leaves the cabin warmer than we'd like but not terribly uncomfortable."

"Compressor failed. No A/C in desert. Over $2K to repair. Needed return visit to correct A/C O ring."

"Needed replacement"

"Had the compressor replaced twice in the last 24 months"

"Compressor replaced and switch/sensor replaced. $1,800 repair cost at dealership"

"AC did not blow cold air and transmission light came on took to dealership for transmission issue as no mechanic works on Subaru transmission has them fix AC too"

""AC intermittently failed summer of 2024. We tried twice topping off the ?fluid but this didnt work. Mechanic Replaced compressor which fixed it for a couple months, then compressor failed. Compressor was still under warranty so replaced for free.""

"Problem keeping coolant in system. Due to the age and mileage on car, as a DIY person I replaced all main parts of the AC system. Problem solved. No labor costs This was done at 150000 miles."

"The compressor failed when the car was 10 years old and had about 175000 miles on it. I considered this a "normal" life span for an air conditioner compressor."

""AC was not working, needed replacement of compressor and other parts. Because this was past the warranty mileage by a little bit, it was not covered and cost us about $3000 for all AC repairs.""

"The AC compressor went out in late 2024, although I waited until mid 2025 to finally have it fixed. The air just stopped blowing cold."

"See previous explanation. They are tied together. Not sure how."

""I have never once had an a/c that simply needed to be recharged, in any car, ever. I'm always told, "Oh, well, the compressor is shot...". Is this a scam? Or do compressors just fail after years of use?""

"A/C system could no longer hold a full charge of refrigerant. Condenser and evaporator required replacement for about $1k total. A/C works quite reliably once again. Yay!"

"The AC has never had the power of an American car, but now it is intermittent and almost non-existent on hot days"

""Only 70,000 miles and air conditioner is dead.""

"It just stopped cooling. It was fixed last summer. But has recently started reoccurring where it doesn't blow cool air. It will be taken in soon."

""Both Schafer valves leaking, replaced""

"Blower failed (this is the third time since the vehicle was purchased). Although the blower was replaced the problem persisted but was ultimately resolved with the replacement of a capacitor or resistor."

"Started in 2022-23 They added coolent but them needed to replace condenser in 2024"

"I was unaware of the problem until the vehicle was in for routine maintenance."

"leak"

"The heater control assembly had to be replaced. It was difficult to use, but most likely would have eventually failed."

""As soon as the AC stopped working about a year ago, we took the vehicle to an automotive ac service. They had difficulty finding the leak, but finally found it. They evacuated and recharged the ac system and added freon. The problem was resolved, and the ac has been working for the past year. Prior to that about 3 years ago when the ac quit working, an expansion valve was replaced, system was recharged and freon was added.""

""I have had a problem for several years. Mechanics have not been able to detect where the leak originates, but I have had to flush and refill with freon (?)gas. It was necessary to replace the compressor about two years ago.""

"the AC was barely cooling the car. The refrigerant was recharged and it's fine now."

""A hole was found in the system, no doubt from driving on the rocky dirt road we live off of. It was repaired fall of 2024. There was also an issue with the horn not working (wiring) and this also was resolved at that time.""

"refrigerant was filled more than once before compressor problem was finally diagnosed and replaced which ultimately solved the problem"

"In April 2024 the car was diagnosed with a leaking Evaporator core and low refrigerant. They replaced the evap core and recharged the system. I was deemed to have no more leaks but the A/C continues to cut in and out. Subaru now says it's the compressor."

"2022-2024"

"Refrigerant has to be added annually due to leaks. Components replaced over time but still leaks. $165 to $200 annually."

"Ball joints were wearing out. Becoming very noisy. Had them replaced aut automatic repair shop."

"Dealer fixed it for free. Super simple to deal with the dealer."

"Had to have replaced"

"The ball joints were shot. Probably part of the failed lower front suspension assembly."

""Control arm bushings required replacement. Espensive problem to fix, however am having serviced by a dealer using Subaru parts and labor. Was expecting suspension issues after 113K miles of Midwestern winters, many 1000-mile drives to Florida and general wear-and-tear, so not a shock or a surprise. The engine is in GREAT shape!""

"Bushings cracked and needed to be replaced. Twice in 2years"

"shimmy when faster than 55mph. problem was rotted bushings on both sides of front suspension"

"Last August I noticed play, vibration and looseness in the steering wheel. Though it may be bushings or a CV joint. Brought it to a Subaru Dealer and they confirmed it was the bushings. Had it repaired for approx. $800. That was the only repair this car needed since new."

"My dealer says that the front lower control arm bushings are torn and beginning to separate from their housings ($1375 for replacement). Some exhaust heat shields & other exhaust components are rattling a bit. Exhaust piping replacement would cost $2875)."

"Front lower a-arm bushings failed"

"The suspension system was having wear and tear issues after about 8 years with moderate 11500mi yearly commuting"

"A year earlier needed to replace other side. This time making same sound on turns."

""Steering rattle and wheel vibration turned out to be a problem with the lower front end suspension. That whole assembly had to be replaced, as well as the completely shot bushings and ball joints. Amazing, with only 45834 miles and 9 years. Amazingly bad. And city/highway driving.""

"some kind of tie rods. Caused vibrations at highway speeds."

"Car went to dealer for recall on electric power steering. Suspension problem was found and fixed while I waited. No time left to diagnose air conditioning."

""The front control arms were replaced, at the recommendation of our regular mechanic. We were not experiencing any problems with the suspension, but he expected they could cause a problem soon, and recommended that we replace them before they caused any trouble.""

"Recall replacement"

"There was linkage on the struts"

"The McPherson struts wore out and needed to be replaced; my mechanic diagnosed this."

"Driver side strut was broke after 100,000 miles."

"springs rusted through and basically disintegrated."

""Left rear spring broke, but that's a recall, and I chose to have the replacement springs custom made by a company I know do very good work. I will do the labor myself.""

"Replaced under Warranty"

"Nope"

"See the previous discussion about vibration. Mechanic replaced tie rods and the vibrations ceased."

"There was tire rot in all tires even though there was not much wear on the tires. Ties had 65000 miles warranty"

"Wheel bearings failed at 40000 miles. Apparently a known problem but Suburu refused to help pay for the repair. Will be selling this vehicle."

"The wheel bearings need to be replaced."

"Left rear wheel bearing worn out at 60000 miles. Fixed before it was more than an annoying noise."

""The service station found the problems in an annual inspection. After 2 visits for other reasons, I had it fixed.""

""Left and right rear wheel bearing hubs prematurely failed within a year of each other. The cost of replacing each bearing hub is over $800 (same at dealer and indy shop, I did one at each), so I currently have over $1600 into bearings that failed with less than 75,000 miles on the car. It was interesting to learn that Subaru had issued a TSB (technical service bulletin) for this problem, and repairs now require the installation of an extra new shield along with the new bearing hub to stop or slow down dirt and road debris from prematurely causing these very expensive hub repairs. It's as if they admitted their design flaw, but with no compensation to the consumer. Indeed, the repair is even more expensive with the addition of the new shield. Many users suggest the fronts fail prematurely as well, so I'm wondering when that shoe will drop...""

"A rear wheel bearing was groaning. It was replaced at a shop."

""Replaced all 4 bearings, then had to replace 1 again.""

"Rear wheel bearing started making noise. It got increasingly loud over a period of months. We finally had it replaced. I feel that wheel bearings should last longer than 100000 miles."

"worn & replaced"

""My car sounded like an airplane taking off and it took several trips to the dealership for them to figure out it was the wheel bearings, though i called a mechanic friend who told me that's what it was right away. It was frustrating they didn't fix it sooner at Subaru.""

"Rear hubs needed replacement due to bearing wear & noise"

""All wheel bearings have had to be replaced twice since purchasing the vehicle certified pre-owned in 2017 with 28,000 miles.""

"Rear wheel bearing failed causing a loud noise."

"Wheel bearings needed replacement due to normal wear."

"At a recent service appointment at the dealership (at almost 104,000 miles) they told me the right wheel bearings needed to be replaced. I hadnt realized they were making noise, but I realized after they fixed it that I had been hearing a noise that I associated with the new tires I had gotten (from a different proprietor)."

"Bluetooth frequently fails. Connection drops several times per trip on most occasions despite several attempts by dealership to address via updates etc. theyve blamed my device (mobile phone) but I have had 4 devices, both android and apple. I cant rely on Bluetooth connection for directions."

"Amp in XT model is located under drivers seat. With Winter climate in Canada, the salty water spray from boots accumulates on wiring. Eventually the wiring and components in the amp short out and dry the amp. This actually happened twice to me and I had to buy a used Amp off eBay. Its a relatively easy component to replace with 4 bolts under drivers seat with a big pig tail connector."

"The GPS is essentially useless. Gives poor directions and sends us into circles. Total garbage. I can't believe we paid extra for it."

"This is a real annoyance. It takes 6 to 8 steps to change the time. I gave up"

"Dashboard indicates that windshield wiper fluid needs refilling when that is not the case."

"I can not pair on my own. Have to drive to Subaru to have them do it MANY times."

"I've never been able to keep this connection."

"Phone no longer paired with radio when I got a new ( at the time ) iPhone 13. Dealer stated car stereo software no longer supported newer models of iPhone and iOS systems. I can still play music from phone with USB cable."

""Phone pairing randomly just stops working, requiring the phone to be paired again with the car. This happens at least a couple of times yearly, and is very annoying.""

"The Bluetooth pairing worked when we first got the car but hasn't worked in several years."

""Three years ago the system would not retain the pairing information once the ignition switch was turned off. I tried resetting the system and then re-pairing, t worked until the ignion switch was turned off, Also, unable to send music from the phone to the amplifier. Tried 3 different Android phones - unsuccessfully.""

"Broken speakers on both left and right doors"