Electrical System Problems of Subaru Forester - part 2

After arriving home from a short drive to the grocery store I parked my car in the drive way and went inside. On the drive home I could hear a low humming coming from the speakers and the car was decelerating when the accelerator was not being pressed, no warning lights or sounds came on. About 10 minutes after I parked a neighbor knocked on the door letting me know my car was smoking from inside the hood. Within a minute or 2 the entire hood of the car was engulfed in flames. The entire front half of the car burned to a crisp, the fire also burned half a tree. The car was burning so hot that it melted the hood of the car, had I parked it with the hood facing my house my house would have caught fire. The problem has not been reduced or confirmed by dealer or independent service. The vehicle is being stored by the insurance and for the time being is accessible for investigation. Because I was having trouble with the infotainment system, the humming coming from the speakers, and a recent warranty extension by from Subaru for the infotainment system due to known issues I suspect that the fire was caused by electrical issues.

See all problems of the 2021 Subaru Forester 🔎.

I’m facing a really big issue here. I’ve been experiencing all the textbook issues in my vehicle for both of the recalls that did exist for my vehicle. I purchased my vehicle in [xxx], and I was just in to walser Subaru in st. Paul mn where they said my recalls were completed in April 22, 2022. That is absolutely not true. I was at the dealership all day that day. So I called miller hill Subaru in duluth mn where it said it was done, and all they provided me with was the 2 dates I had brought it in for a general inspection and for an a/c issue. All I had done there was a transmission flush and both of those times were well after April 22nd. I purchased my vehicle from anderson auto in rice lake township. So now I have my car with recalls that were falsified that they were done, but I am expected to pay for them. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2017 Subaru Forester 🔎.

Driving on the garden state parkway in NJ on August 1st at approximately 1pm my car just stopped in traffic and steering locked up and all lights came on dashboard along with a constant beeping sound-I was in the middle of a four lane highway traveling south-I could not get out of my car and feared someone would hit me as I was a "sitting duck" while cars were swerving around me-my only saving grace was that my flashers worked after I turned them on-I called roadside assistance as I was starting to panic and was told they could not help me as I was on a private road-I saw a helicopter overhead and at the same time a police office weaving in and out of traffic behind me to slow and stop the traffic-he then proceeded to push my car off the road with his car to the shoulder and called a tow truck-car was towed to nearest Subaru dealer where they performed a diagnostic test and found nothing wrong with my car!! how could that be?? I was then charged for the test and the tow-have called Subaru customer care several times but they say they cannot help me because the test result showed nothing-please help me as I no longer have peace of mind driving this vehicle and I am a single woman in my 70's who needs to drive long distances several times a month- there were no previous warnings in my car it just stopped.

I was stopped at a red light and the engine stalled. It read "for safety, auto restart disabled". All warning lights on the dashboard lit up. I had to put the car in park and restart it in order to drive. I was honked at and put in a dangerous position. This has happened at least twice now.

See all problems of the 2020 Subaru Forester 🔎.

This has happened 8 times in a month span. The car is currently being looked at by the dealership and so far they can’t find anything wrong. When I’m stopped in traffic, my car’s engine turns off. Once the light turns green and I press on the accelerator I hear a beep and the car doesn’t move . The dashboard shows a few error messages and a message stating that the eyesight has been turned off. In order to get the car to work again I have to put it in park, turn it off, and turn it on again. It is particularly dangerous because the car won’t move when the light is green.

Yesterday 6/19/25 I was driving out the driveway when the vehicle accelerated on its own, and not slowly, but like it had been punched. I was actually coasting at the time since I didn't want to stir up dust. My foot was not on the gas pedal. And it was not the floor mat. It happened on its own, the first time in 87,000 miles. It probably cannot easily be replicated as it was completely random, although now that it's happened once, it very well could happen again if there's a faulty or aging part or sensor. Neither the local dealer nor Subaru has acknowledged the problem (I called both today) but it's a serious safety issue. No check engine light or other means of warning. It just happened out of nowhere. Glad I was in the driveway and not in town waiting while a pedestrian was crossing the street.

See all problems of the 2018 Subaru Forester 🔎.

While at a stop as the engine turns off and awaits decompression of brake to turn on again vehicle moves forward bit, then the engine shuts down while in drive (stalls) had a vehicle hit me in rear but luckily I had my trailer hitch on because it saved me from body damage . I had to place in park and restart this has happened several times before and I’m kinda nervous and makes my wife nervous when stopping at lights or stop signs it might turn off in the middle of the intersection. When this occurrence happens all dash lights pop up … I checked engine with code reader after the incidents but it doesn’t give out any info on what could possibly be happening. I had the dealership change the thermo control module in 2025 but these occurrences has happened before and after the tcm replacement. Having the dealership check is like wasting my time and money because they aren’t able to pinpoint the cause without a code . There has to be a problem somewhere in the system it’s just that the dealership in hawaii has no clue . .

See all problems of the 2019 Subaru Forester 🔎.

The rear backup camera failed. No warning lights appeared. This is a safety issue. This repair was expensive should not have happened at 79019 miles. The problem was inspected and estimated by our Subaru dealer. We were told that the radio/screen unit first needed replacement, then if that didn't fix it, to then replace the camera. We were give a rough estimate of $2500 to replace both items. We decided to get another estimate. They determine it was the camera, which we had them replace.

See all problems of the 2016 Subaru Forester 🔎.

The defect presents itself when the equipped data communications module (dcm) attempts to communicate with 3g cellular networks. As 3g networks within the u. S. Are no longer functioning, the call will continuously fail even after the vehicle has been turned off, draining the battery and resulting in a no-start safety risk for drivers but in order to replace the dcm to the 4g it will cost upwards of $2000.

The passenger airbag sensor often, but not always, malfunctions in my 2017 Subaru forrester. Often it says passenger airbag off when there is a passanger. Occording to kbb kelly blue book there is a current recall in place for 2017 Subaru forresters for exactly this issue, including for my car - but when I typed in my liscnese plate in the NHTSA website, no unrepaired recalls showed up for my car.

My vehicle is equipped with automatic start/stop system. In early 2024, I began having issues with sluggish restart during the start/stop cycle. I took it into the dealer at that time, who stated it required a software update and charged the battery. The issue persisted. It was more serious, as it was not just sluggish on the restart, but the restart would fail and stall the car. This happened in heavy traffic, which was very scary and unsafe. I took the vehicle back into the dealer in late 2024 for the same issue. They did another software update and charged the battery again. They recommended that we purchase a new battery. One month later, we purchased an upgraded agm battery, as it was recommended for auto start/stop systems. The issue continued to persist. First, with sluggish restart. Later, the auto start/stop system failed again in heavy traffic. We took the vehicle in again, and again the dealer stated it was the battery. They recommended we purchase a new battery. It was explained the battery was 6 months old, and the issue has never been fixed. Further, it was pointed out that the car could be restarted manually with the push button ignition, after a start/stop system failure. That led us to believe it was not a battery failure, but a deeper system failure. The dealer continues to assert it is the battery, even though it happened with a factory battery and a new, upgraded, battery. Neither of the batteries have failed testing, and report as "good" on the diagnosis forms. We believe there is a system issue, that is causing issues with the auto start/stop system, and is not being identified by the dealer. It is a safety issue, as it has happened in heavy traffic several times. We have attached diagnostic reports from March 2024 and June 2025, but cannot find the October 2024 diagnostic report.

Without any prior issue of having the engine turnover from being parked for more than 20 hours, the car would not start. It’s like the battery completely died overnight. I was able to unlock it but the car would not start, and therefore was unable to go into neutral because I didn’t have a long enough screwdriver with me to manually override into neutral. So it had to be jumped partially to be towed (had it towed for more than just the battery because it’s under warranty). The interesting part is that my car has a factory issued battery, and my car was the third Subaru made after 2020 that had to be towed due to the same issue, in the same day. Maybe the batteries are defective? regardless, since everything relies on power now, having a provided device to allow for manual override would prevent folks from being stranded. I tried using my key and the screwdriver that comes with the spare tire. Both were to short.

During severe stop/go, thick, holiday traffic on I-495 (DC beltway), during daylight hours, once again (this has happened several times before), the auto engine shutoff feature catastrophically malfunctioned, turning the car off, and simultaneously, activated the entirety of the dashboard to flash on/off, causing nearly every indicator light to come on, and then had difficulty restarting. This has been brought to Subaru's attention multiple times and they essentially have washed their hands of it and stating since they can't duplicate it, it essentially must not be occurring and they cannot repair it.

The contact owns a 2025 Subaru Forester hybrid. The contact stated that the hatchback had opened independently while the vehicle was parked. The contact stated that the doors had opened unintendedly while the vehicle was being washed at the car wash. The contact stated that the door required to be slammed to close and to latch securely. Additionally, the contact stated that while reversing out of a 2-15 percent sloped driveway, the reverse automatic braking (rab) system's beeping sound engaged while there were no vehicles or objects in the proximity of the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle stopped abruptly, causing the driver's side seat headrest to hit the contact's head violently. The contact stated that the vehicle became inoperable. The contact exited and inspected the surroundings of the vehicle. The contact verified that the vehicle had not collided with an object. The contact returned inside the vehicle, and the vehicle responded as needed. The contact pulled into the driveway. The contact contacted the doctor's office weeks later, and was referred to the er. The contact went to the er, where a CT scan, and other tests were performed, but internal bleeding was not found. The contact sustained a concussion and persistent headaches. Additionally, the contact underwent an mri and was waiting for the neurologist to interpret the mri test results. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was advised to deactivate the reverse automatic braking(rab) system. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and sent a field technician who inspected and test-drove the vehicle. The manufacturer later informed the contact that the vehicle had operated as designed while reversing on the sloped driveway. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100.

See all problems of the 2025 Subaru Forester 🔎.

While driving, the vehicle's automatic stop-start system engaged as usual when the car came to a stop (e. G. , at a red light or in traffic). However, when releasing the brake, the automatic stop-start system failed to restart the engine. Not only it failed to restart the engine, but multiple attempts of manually start the engine all failed. And the car became stranded in the middle of road with heavy traffic. Had to call 911 and tow truck to get the vehicle out of the road. No dashboard warning or error message appeared prior to the failure. Never had issues with engine cold start prior to the failure. Basically, the battery was good to cold start the engine prior to the incident, but while driving when the car came to a stop at a red light for few seconds, the automatic stop-start system's engagement somehow suddenly cause the battery not able to start the engine anymore. The issue poses a serious safety hazard, particularly if it occurs in traffic, at intersections, or on highways, as it may leave the car stranded in a dangerous location.

Currently suspected that the vehicle battery was installed incorrectly during assembly. Engine fire started at the battery wiring and vehicle was a total liss.

See all problems of the 2023 Subaru Forester 🔎.

I’ve experienced recurrent failures with my Subaru’s ac system, and it’s become more than just an inconvenience—it’s a real safety concern. In hot weather, the cabin can become unbearably warm, making it difficult to concentrate and increasing the risk of fatigue or even heat-related illness, especially for passengers who are older, very young, or have medical conditions. What’s even more frustrating is the poor quality of the system and Subaru’s lack of communication about what appears to be a known defect. Despite numerous complaints from other owners and repeated service visits, there’s been no clear explanation or long-term fix offered. The situation is not only uncomfortable—it’s unsafe, and the lack of transparency and accountability from Subaru has been incredibly disappointing.

While I was driving to work, with cruise control set at 65, I hit a deer head on. All airbags deployed and engine ceased and I was able to brake car to a stop on the shoulder of the road. Within minutes, the engine erupted in fire and thankfully I wasn't trapped inside and was able to get out, because by the time I got 4-500 feet from the car, it had been totally engulfed in flames. From the time I hit the deer to the fire starting was less than 10 minutes. Fire truck wasn't even on scene yet and I was still speaking with highway patrol on the phone. If I had been trapped or the vehicle had rolled I wouldn't be here today. It was that quick.

See all problems of the 2014 Subaru Forester 🔎.

The contact owns a 2019 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 mph, there was an alarm heard before several unknown warning lights illuminated and the vehicle lost motive power and decelerated to 35 mph. The contact shifted to neutral to restart the vehicle. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and waited for a while before continuing to drive. The eyesight, brake light, automatic transmission, oil temp, and several other warning lights illuminated intermittently. The failure occurred a second time on the same day. The dealer was contacted and advised the contact to take the vehicle to the dealer whenever the lights were illuminated. The vehicle had not been taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was 119,000.

The airbag sensor (ods) malfunctions for front passenger seat. The "airbag off" warning lights up when the seat is occupied. This was fixed by dealer back in 2020 under recall wum-98/NHTSA id 19v-701000. However, this problem recurred intermittently about five months ago. I called capitol Subaru in san jose, CA and spoke with service advisor, dan padilla, who informed me that the recurrence of this safety issue would no longer be covered under this recall. He offered to schedule an appointment for a diagnosis, but I declined since it would cost $300. I also spoke with jorge, case specialist, from Subaru of America who reiterated that the aforementioned recall only covers a one-time repair and cannot be reopened. It is my understanding that safety recalls do not expire and that "federal law often mandates the manufacturer to provide free repairs for safety recalls on vehicles up to 15 yrs old. " how can NHTSA help in resolving this car safety issue with Subaru? the ods system is unreliable and poses a risk to my passengers.

The battery is getting drained by the car's system.

I am writing to express serious concerns about the auto start-stop feature, which poses a significant safety risk when it causes shutdowns in critical situations. Recently, my vehicle shut off due to auto start-stop while in the express lane of a highway. A depleted battery prevented it from restarting, leaving me stranded without the ability to shift to neutral or activate brake lights and hazard signals. For 30 minutes, I was stuck in a vulnerable position, forcing high-speed traffic to swerve dangerously close to my vehicle. While the battery issue was a factor, the car would have remained running had I been able to turn it off manually once parked. Reports from other drivers indicate similar issues, including stalling, hesitation, and complete system failures. Given these risks, I urge the NHTSA to investigate this feature and require manufacturers to provide a permanent disable option rather than a temporary one that resets.

The issue started last year over a period of several months when my car kept stalling at a traffic light. After stopping on a red light my car stalled. I had to shut off the car then restart to get it going. Had the battery replaced and problem was gone until this week. Car stalled at the traffic light again (in the middle of busy downtown and being the 1st car at the intersection), but this time it wouldn't restart and battery light turned on when attemped to restart. Called Subaru road assist and requested jumpstart service. While waiting for road assist to arrive, attempted to jumpstarts with a manual jump starter, but didn't work. Attempted with the jumpstart cables, but still didn't work. Subaru assist arrived and was able to successfully jumpstart my car. The Subaru tech assessed my battery and showed 75% battery life. Drove home on the freeway for about 25 miles. The next day drove to and home from work (25 miles reach way) with no issues. The following day, my car wouldn't start from my home. Jumpstarted with the manual one and brought it to the shop a few miles away. Got to the shop and turned off the engine. When turning on again, it wouldn't start.

My 2021 Subaru Forester battery has died twice in the last 10 months. I could not jump start the vehicle the first time about 10 months ago. I needed aaa to jump start it. I took the car to the dealer; they recharged the vehicle and said the battery was fine. They did not bill me. The car died again this week. This time I was able to jump start the vehicle myself. The safety issue is I might need to get to a doctor's appointment or other emergency in a hurry. I may be out shopping or hiking and need to return home, perhaps in bad weather. I might be stranded in a busy intersection or a lonely country road. The battery is simply not trust-worthy. The vehicle was inspected by the dealer, and they said the battery was fine. There was no warning lamp before the battery failed. The car is not safe-I don't know when it won't work.

I was stopped at a red light when, suddenly, my car engine completely shut down, a loud and high-pitched alarm began to squeal and many alerts flashed on my screen. One of the alerts stated that the eye--sight was not functioning. The car would not move when the traffic light turned green and I applied the gas pedal. Cars behind me and those in oncoming traffic had to swerve around me. I was in the center lane of traffic. Fortunately, I was able to put the emergency blinkers on. The traffic light turned red again. It occurred to me to shift into park and attempt to restart the car. The car did restart and I was able to drive home when the traffic light again turned green. I made an appointment to take the car into concordville Subaru and, there, I was told that the battery was low and I was given a new battery since the car is under warranty. I am reading from other owners that this is a temporary fix only and that it does not address the real problem.

The airbag system has a sensor issue and I keep getting warnings from Subaru to get it fixed because it affects the seatbelts. The garage where I take my car says they are unable to get the part needed for the passenger sensor. And, Subaru says they need to replace the whole harness for $6000. Makes me wonder why a safety issue like this one seen in other Subaru’s have been recalled but not my model… also the start stop feature drains the battery excessively. I have had to replace the battery twice in less than a year. I push the button to stop this feature the minute I get into the car.

Periodically, the vehicle stalls at stop lights, stop signs, and in other situations when coming to a complete stop. Once the vehicle comes to a complete stop and turns off due to the auto-stop/start function, it stalls immediately after the car re-starts and you press the gas pedal. This leaves the vehicle stalled in intersections and in potentially dangerous conditions. You must engage park and restart the vehicle while stopped in the middle of traffic, which poses a significant safety risk. I believe this issue is related to the auto-stop/start functionality. The vehicle has been inspected by a Subaru dealer several times, but they claim they cannot reproduce the problem and there are no diagnostic codes or warning lights. No other mechanic has inspected the vehicle.

[xxx], driving home, dark at [xxx] in airway heights wa. About 10 mins to home, lights in dashboard suddenly lit (brake, check engine, battery icon, water temp icon, 2 yellow colored pictures that had the word “off”, park, abs, exclamation point next to a circle that had a symbol in circle like a Mercedes Benz, and another symbol colored yellow). I kept driving with very little power in the car and it was hard turning the wheels to left or right turns. I was so scared thinking I would be stranded in the middle of the street! made it to my carport and drove it in. Turned off car; attempted to restart but didn’t, and during the times I started the car, it would make a stuttering noise. The lights that lit up remained, wouldn’t turn off until attempt to start again when the lights all turned off. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

My dealer diagnosed issues with my car the gasket around my sunroof failed and allowed water to infiltrate the cabin and the electrical system over time. This caused corrosion in the electrical harness, which caused battery failure, failure of the adaptive headlight system, and random electrical glitches. My interpretation of their diagnosis was that this was a cascading failure that might have led to problems with other electrical components such as power brakes, other adaptive systems, etc. , and affected safety, if it had not been diagnosed in time. An insurance appraiser confirmed the dealer's diagnosis. Repairs (including replacing the electrical harness) have been completed and so the situation is not available for further inspection. When the adaptive headlight system stopped working, this was reported on the dashboard, but the cause of this and the base problem was not.

12/14/24-I was stopped at a red light at a very busy intersection. The engine was in stop mode by the start/stop feature. When the light turned green, the car failed to start. The entire car shut down, with alarms sounding and dash lights flashing. The entire system had to reboot before I could restart the car. It was a freighting experience. Fortunately, I wasn't killed by traffic zooming by or by some person with road rage. 12/16/24-issue evaluated by local Subaru dealer. Their evaluation was that when the auto start feature was activated, my car battery was too low to work. There was zero warning about a low battery before this failure in traffic. I had to buy a new battery. The auto start/stop feature is not an enhancement, but a safety hazard. Owners should be able to permanently disable this unnecessary drain on batteries and starters. I did a search, and there are plenty of others that experienced similar issues with their Subarus.

The wum-98 recall fix did not address the problem with the front passenger occupancy detection system. We, and many other Subaru Forester owners are continuing to experience problems post recall repair with the srs airbag light on, indicating error code b1760 "occupant detection sensor mat" failure. Subaru is not covering the cost of addressing this problem, and the entire seat frame and bottom cushion (that includes the sensor mat) are required to be replaced at the consumer's expense, with bills for repair in excess of $2,000. And, due to the high demand for this repair, parts are not available to perform the repair for as much as 6 months! this is jeopardizing the safety of occupants in the front passenger seat for extended periods of time while waiting for parts, whereby the airbag is not active due to the sensor mat problem. The original recall should have encompassed not only the harness cable component, but also the sensor mat.

My car completely lost power. I had driven to the stop light and was waiting when it lost power. It had no power for several minutes and was unresponsive to the ignition or anything else.

Passenger airbag sensor intermittently works and turns off when passenger is in the seat. Dashboard light for airbag is constantly on and passenger airbag is constantly off. Issues with seat sensor going off when no one is sitting in the passenger seat. Abs system error message. All identical to recall symptoms.

See all problems of the 2015 Subaru Forester 🔎.

1. The car shut off several times, with the steering wheel locking up and becoming stiff, the brakes failing to respond, and loud, erratic sounds emanating from the vehicle. The car is available for inspection. 2. Yes, the car crashed resulting in damage to the car, driver, and other driver (e. G. Car in front). 3. This is the second time the car has been brought to the dealership (the second time being Subaru south hill in pennsylvania) and they cannot identify the problem. 4. The vehicle was not inspected by police, or insurance, as far as I am aware. 5. There were no warning signs before the failure.

I had a problem. Arming the remote control. With Forester Subaru 2014 -2015 model car w/n arm. With key or electronically. I had changed battery you can arm manually sometimes , alarm will go off if you use the key to open door and shut it off with key. In ignition. Had a diagnostic test done. With code b1500. Tpms lights stays on also. Tires are good. Pressure good. Extra remote key is good batteries changed. Any info concerning this. Thank you. This happen week and half ago Nov 11,2024. Have an appt will Subaru dealer on Dec 5 to toubleshoot. Is there any recalls for this matter.