IllustrationBROKEN LEFT REAR COIL SPRING AT 52,600 MILES. DEALER STATED THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THIS MODEL YEAR.
2015 Subaru Forester
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Forester years
Owner complaints for the 2015 Subaru Forester are substantially higher than the model-year median of 131.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Forester years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
1270–25K
10125–50K
9750–75K
5175–100K
29100–150K
5150K+
410 reports with mileage · 203 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Engine. Review the 131 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Air Bags. Review the 101 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Power Train. Review the 95 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
53 crash reports7 fire reports26 injury reports
What owners actually said
613 reportsWHILE STATIONARY, HORN QUIT WORKING. FUSE UNDER HOOD REPLACED TWICE AT $16 EACH. FUSE BLOWS AFTER BLOWING HORN ONCE. WHEN YOU HIT THE PANIC BUTTON ON THE KEY FOB THE HORN BLOWS FINE. LIKELY A SHORT IN THE STEERING ROLL CONNECTOR. OTHER SUBARU'S HAVE BEEN RECALLED FOR THIS PROBLEM. THIS ONE SHOULD BE ALSO.
PERIODICALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF A TURN THE CAR SEEMS TO LOOSE POWER AND ACTS LIKE IT IS GOING TO STALL. IT IS INCONSISTENT WHEN IT HAPPENS. CAR CAN BE COLD OR HAVE BEEN DRIVEN FOR OVER AN HOUR. SUBARU MECHANICS COULD NOT REPLICATE AND I DO NOT FEEL I SHOULD HAVE TO KEEP PAYING THEM WHEN THEY CAN'T FIND IT. PROBLEM ALSO HAPPENED TO…
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PERIODICALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF A TURN THE CAR SEEMS TO LOOSE POWER AND ACTS LIKE IT IS GOING TO STALL. IT IS INCONSISTENT WHEN IT HAPPENS. CAR CAN BE COLD OR HAVE BEEN DRIVEN FOR OVER AN HOUR. SUBARU MECHANICS COULD NOT REPLICATE AND I DO NOT FEEL I SHOULD HAVE TO KEEP PAYING THEM WHEN THEY CAN'T FIND IT. PROBLEM ALSO HAPPENED TO MY HUSBAND WHILE DRIVING THIS CAR. PROBLEM DID NOT HAPPEN IN WINTER BUT HAS HAPPENED TWICE IN PAST 4 MONTHS
BOTH REAR SPRINGS BROKEN AT THE LOWER PERCH OF THE STRUT. CAR HAS 9533 MILES. SUBARU REPLACED BOTH SPRINGS FOR NO COST BECAUSE IT WAS A SAFETY ISSUE. OWNER DID NOT NOTICE ANY PROBLEM UNTIL CAR WAS BROUGHT TO DEALER FOR BRAKE LAMP SWITCH RECALL. THE DEALER KNEW RIGHT AWAY WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS BEFORE IT WENT ON THE LIFT.
CAR WAS NOT MOVING AND SITTING IN MY DRIVEWAY. WHEN I NOTICED THE LEFT REAR BODY FRAME LOW, ALMOST TOUCHING THE TIRE. LOOKED UNDER CAR AND FOUND BROKEN SPRING PIECES, THAT WAS TOTALLY RUSTED INSIDE OUT. THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN TO A 4 YEAR OLD CAR WITH ONLY 38K MILES. I WAS VERY LUCKY NOT DRIVING THE WHEN THIS FAILURE HAPPEN OR IT…
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CAR WAS NOT MOVING AND SITTING IN MY DRIVEWAY. WHEN I NOTICED THE LEFT REAR BODY FRAME LOW, ALMOST TOUCHING THE TIRE. LOOKED UNDER CAR AND FOUND BROKEN SPRING PIECES, THAT WAS TOTALLY RUSTED INSIDE OUT. THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN TO A 4 YEAR OLD CAR WITH ONLY 38K MILES. I WAS VERY LUCKY NOT DRIVING THE WHEN THIS FAILURE HAPPEN OR IT COULD OF LEAD TO A MAJOR ACCIDENT. I ALSO FOUND OUT THOUGH THE INTERNET THIS IS NOT A ONE TIME PROBLEM SUBARU IS HAVING WITH THESE SPRINGS BREAKING. I BELIEVE IT'S A MANUFACTURED MATERIAL DEFECT THAT SHOULD BE RECALLED IMMEDIATELY BEFORE SOME ONE GETS INJURED! ALSO THE COST SHOULD BE BE HANDLED BY SUBARU..
MY AC HAS BEEN GIVING ME PROBLEMS SINCE I BOUGHT IT. IT NEVER REALLY COOLED TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL. IT HAS GOTTEN WORSE OVER THE YEARS. LOUD NOISES WHEN AC IS TURNED ON, BLOWING COOL THEN AFTER 30 MINS GETS COLD. NOW IT STOPPED COOLING. BLOWING HOT AIR
TWICE WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE ON A 3-4 HOUR TRIP GOING APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH USING CRUISE CONTROL WITH APPROXIMATELY 1/12 - 1/6 TANK OF GAS, MY ENGINE BEGAN TO REV AND AT THE SAME TIME LOST POWER AND SPEED. THE FIRST TIME I PULLED OFF THE ROAD, SHUT THE ENGINE OFF, WAITED APPROXIMATELY 10 MINUTES AND WAS ABLE TO RESTART …
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TWICE WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE ON A 3-4 HOUR TRIP GOING APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH USING CRUISE CONTROL WITH APPROXIMATELY 1/12 - 1/6 TANK OF GAS, MY ENGINE BEGAN TO REV AND AT THE SAME TIME LOST POWER AND SPEED. THE FIRST TIME I PULLED OFF THE ROAD, SHUT THE ENGINE OFF, WAITED APPROXIMATELY 10 MINUTES AND WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE ENGINE AND FINISH MY TRIP. IT HAPPENED THE SECOND TIME WITH MOSTLY IDENTICAL CIRCUMSTANCES. I PULLED OFF THE ROAD, TURNED OFF THE ENGINE, WAITED AND WAS UNABLE TO START THE ENGINE. I HAD TO TOW MY VEHICLE TO A DEALERSHIP. THEY RAN DIAGNOSTICS WITH NOTHING TURNING UP. THEY WERE HOWEVER ABLE TO START THE CAR WHEN THEY TRIED. THIS WAS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS BEING IN 70 MPH TRAFFIC AND HAVING NO SPEED CONTROL. I HAVE THE DEALERSHIP PAPERWORK FROM THE SERVICE. NOW THE ENGINE DOES NOT SEEM TO HAVE THE NORMAL POWER IT USUALLY DOES WHEN ACCELERATING. *TT*JB
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 SUBARU FORESTER. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19V149000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING). THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. TUCSON SUBARU (4901 N ORACLE RD, TUCSON, AZ 85704, (520) 422-2111) WAS CONTACTED AND CONFIRME…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 SUBARU FORESTER. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19V149000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING). THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. TUCSON SUBARU (4901 N ORACLE RD, TUCSON, AZ 85704, (520) 422-2111) WAS CONTACTED AND CONFIRMED THAT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE RECALL REMEDY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND WAS NOT ABLE TO CONFIRM WHEN THE PARTS WERE TO BECOME AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.
STARTED THE CAR IN THE DRIVEWAY AND NO POWER STEERING, DROPPED OFF AT THE LOCAL DEALER. SEVERAL DAYS LATER WAS INFORMED OF FULL FAILURE OF POWER STEERING. THE POWER STEERING ASSIST MODULE AND POWER STEERING RACK SYSTEM SHORTED OUT/FAILED. CAR HAD 41000 MILES
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 SUBARU FORESTER. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19V149000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING). THE CONTACT CALLED CARLSEN SUBARU AT 888-520-5916 (LOCATED AT 480 VETERANS BLVD, REDWOOD CITY, CA 94063) AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF TH…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 SUBARU FORESTER. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19V149000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING). THE CONTACT CALLED CARLSEN SUBARU AT 888-520-5916 (LOCATED AT 480 VETERANS BLVD, REDWOOD CITY, CA 94063) AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND WAS NOT ABLE TO CONFIRM WHEN THE PARTS WERE TO BECOME AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.
Official recalls
319V701000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification
Oct 3, 2019
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Forester vehicles equipped with heated seats. An electrical connection in the front passenger seat for the Occupant Detection System (ODS) may loosen.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the connection loosens, the front passenger airbag may deactivate even though the seat is occupied, increasing the risk of injury to the front passenger in the event of a crash.
Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, replace the ODS sensor mat harness, free of charge. The recall began February 11, 2020. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUM-98.
19V149000 · Exterior Lighting:brake Lights:switch
Feb 28, 2019
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2014-2016 Forester, 2008-2016 Impreza sedans, 2012-2016 Impreza station wagons, 2008-2014 WRX sedans (including STI), and 2013-2017 Crosstrek vehicles. Exposure to certain contaminants may cause the brake light switch to malfunction, preventing the brake lights from illuminating and also preventing keyless ignition vehicles from starting and CVT/automatic transmissions from being able to be shifted out of Park.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Brake lights that do not illuminate properly will not alert other drivers that the vehicle is slowing or stopping, increasing the risk of crash.
Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will replace the brake light switch, free of charge. The recall began April 15, 2019. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WUE-90.
16V162000 · Engine And Engine Cooling:engine:gasoline:turbo/supercharger
Mar 21, 2016
Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain model year 2015-2016 WRX vehicles manufactured April 10, 2015, to October 21, 2015, and Forester 2.0XT vehicles manufactured April 10, 2015, to October 20, 2015. The turbocharger air intake duct may crack and possibly result in an engine stall.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: An engine stall increases the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the turbocharger air intake duct, and replace it as necessary, free of charge, depending on the lot number found on the duct. The recall began April 2016. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-800-782-2783. Subaru's number for this recall is WTA-62.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.