Subaru Forester

"Front end was out of alignment after 11000 miles and front tires were ruined"

"mileage is and always has been AWFUL . We wrote to headquarters and they sent regional engineer out to evaluate it 2 years ago. only problem he found was that Subaru service had over- filled the oil. It's only once gotten over 32mph and highway is rarely over 21mph, if that. City is 15 average. It's worse mileage than any car we have owned ( Astre ( Pontiac) over half a century driving, Nissan, Toyota Camry, and Corolla and Passat Turbo- The 8 cylinder 1969 Mustang was, of course, the worst, bought used in 1972. We will likely trade this in when loan paid; can't risk buying another as much as we like other aspects of the car."

"Battery failure; replaced by dealer and paid for by Subaru national"

"I had to go to the dealership about 6 times because the tire pressure light kept comming on. The replaced all 4 valves and reset my tires. And now my tire pressure light only comes on every 2-3 months or so. Also my rear cabin light keeps falling out. It was replaced but it still falls out all the time and sits there hanging by the wires. Also the rear hatch is getting stiff and slow to open. They say they greased it but it hasn't changed. I keep this car because mechanically it is working well and it is good in the snow, and it has a CD player."

"Two "stop/start" batteries failed prematurely. Apparently a common problem with this technology. Replaced stop/start feature with aftermarket bypass, and purchased a regular batteru."

"All 4 tire valves failed"

"Rodents chewed through wiring insulation causing $2000 in damage"

"bad thermo control valve -- recall by Subaru -- received letter 5/1/2024 -- our car was tested by our independent mechanic, and failed test -- will be replaced by 5/20/2024 by Subaru dealership under warranty and recall."

"battery less than 12 months old failed-independent repair shop replaced- I switched to an independent repair shop as subaru dealer was made constant excuses regarding any battery issues"

"Radio didn't work and had to be replaced"

"The car has an auto shut off function when it stops after a certain period of time. It is supposed to restart automatically when you remove your foot from the brake. In recent months on three occasions, the car did not automatically restart and had to be manually turned off to restart."

"The rear hatch wouldnt lock a few times when cold. The battery then died. The dealer could not recreate the issue."

"Battery and coolant pump"

"Loose cabin/trunk light for about 2 years and finally fixed after a few attempts"

"The passenger side air bag light would not change to "ON" when we first got the car. Our local dealer repaired it at no cost, but it took several weeks."

"Engine coolant bypass valve"

"Thermo Control Valve failure while driving. The failure disabled several safety features (Eye Sight auto-braking technology, no heater, no cooling for engine, etc.) all of which required replacement of the defective thermo control valve as soon as possible. We had the part replaced at a Subaru dealership at a cost of about $2,000 (because the 2020 Forester was beyond the 60,000 warranty mileage). A few weeks later, in May of 2024, we received a notice from Subaru that extended the warranty to this part to 150,000 miles - so a full reimbursement of the $2,000 repair was provided by Subaru, so the issue has been resolved to our satisfaction and we remain happy Subaru customers."

"Autostart"

"When pulling out of my driveway (car is in reverse gear), my computer screen goes blank. Once I am out on the street in front of my home, the screen lights up again. I have spoken to the dealership where I bought the car and they keep telling me that all sensors are working (I also have problems with the lift gate - it seems to work when it wants to). The car is now out of warranty and problem was not resolved."

"The problem existed from the beginning of purchase. I registered my concerns every time I take it in for routine service at the dealership."

"under the extended warranty Subaru replaced the NAVI ASSY 86271SJ630EX"

"It was from the beginning, happens from time to time while driving without any indication of what could trigger it. Subaru said in order to grant a warranty it had to be taken with the failure. Unfortunately I was never close to them when that happened or did not have time to search one or they were closed. The only thing they did was to supposedly update the software. That never fixed the issue. The failure varies from completely shutting down the screen and rebooting without being fixed until I stop the car, switch it off the engine and wait a few minutes to start the car again. It has been less often lately so it could be that the software updates are working."

"Multiple issues with infotainment system. It seems to get confused at times. The Bluetooth will suddenly stop working. The corded connection for Apple CarPlay is very sensitive. Randomly stops working. Have had issues where it stops altogether on a highway while using maps and Im lost. On road trips where it just stops working until I pull over and turn the car off for while. Cords that work fine at home dont consistently work in the car. Recently bought an apple cord even though all others were Mfi certified. Currently working but its only been 5 days. It could also just be that its new. All is very random. Mostly like the car but confusing a different vehicle because of this frustration. I do find the ride a bit rough at times and seats are fine except on long trips. Could be that Im getting older with some health issues that I didnt have when it was purchased."

"Screen orientation should be bottom going up. Mine could be left to right or top to bottom. To reset press the compass pointer."

"The Maps put you on the wrong roads and exits. The display is alway re calculating . The Updates are not timely."

"Battery went dead several times in a couple.of weeks. Either parasitic drainage or leaving tiny rear seat light on. Light is so dim you cannot tell it is on unless you are in back seat."

"One time happened that the engine stopped when I released the brake after a green traffic light so the stop/start function tried to restart the engine but instead it stopped. I switched it off and on again to make it run again"

"This problem occurred recently (8/28/2024) and we are in the process of trying to get it resolved. The first available appointment at the dealership is not until 9/3/2024. Background: To turn off the radio or shutdown the Starlink system, you must press on the volume button. Incident: The radio came on when the vehicle was started; driver attempted to turn off radio by pressing volume button. The Starlink system then suddenly malfunctioned -- it permanently vacillates between trying to load and shutting off. This is happening in a quick and continuous loop. It happened without warning. Based on information obtained from chats/forums for Subaru owners, this has been an issue for years with the Starlink volume button on numerous Subarus. The button, over time, incrementally recedes into the unit until one day it causes continuous pressure inside of the Starlink system and the entire system malfunctions. When the car is turned off, the system appears to shut down, but in truth it is still trying to load and some owners have reported their vehicle's battery being drained the next morning. To avoid this, we have pulled the corresponding fuse thereby disabling the Starlink system. When the malfunction was described to the Subaru dealership, we were told the volume button cannot be repaired and that the entire Starlink unit would have to be replaced. By phone, we were quoted a ballpark cost of $2,300. for the unit since the car is past the 3 year warranty period that would have covered the unit. While Starlink is out of service and the fuse is pulled, many important features are unavailable including the back up camera, Apple Car Play, navigation system, interior dome lights, temperature/clock display, and more. Prior to this happening, we were happy with our Subaru Forester. But to have a poorly designed volume button that completely disables the Starlink system -- an important component for many safety features -- is inexcusable. And the exorbitant cost to replace an integral system on a 4-year-old vehicle with less than 30k mi just adds insult to injury. If the dealership is unable to help us with this issue other than via the costly system replacement, it will be hard to recommend Subaru."

"when operating using the cruise control the eye site function quits which cuts off the safety devices"

"Since I purchased the car in December 2022, I have always had to plug my phone in. When trying to use Bluetooth for pairing for music, the sync is problematic. Each time that I use my car I need to manually reset the Bluetooth in order for the sync feature to work. The issue is a lag in any music or it speeds up to sound like a chipmunk"

"It has been an ongoing problem in the last year. When i answer the phone, the person on the other end cannot hear me."

"very poor quality sound"

"The back gate was left open overnight, draining the battery. When the battery was jumped and car started, the radio didn't have sound."

"front and side safety features didnot turn for a few minuts"

"Voice control commands are not understood and not processed by the system."

"Due to a leak, the evaporator needed to be replaced which required the entire dashboard to be removed. This was labor intensive and an expensive repair."

"Problem just occurred. Haven't had it diagnosed/repaired yet. Suspect it's either loss of refrigerant or compressor failure."

"air compressor clutch and bearing damage causin serp drive belt to come off- it needed to be replace along with the ac compressor."

"Engine warning lite re coolant pump. Thermocouple valve was replaced under extended warranty due to faulty part"