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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 →

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

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 reports
80,000 miles · Oct 6, 2017
Air BagsCrash

A VEHICLE RUNNING A RED LIGHT IMPACTED THE SUBARU'S FRONT END AND THE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY.

NHTSA ODI #11032092

81,000 miles · Oct 6, 2017
Engine

CAR BURNING OIL AT SUBSTANTIAL RATE BETWEEN OIL CHANGES. NEED TO TOP UP OIL TWICE BETWEEN 6000 MILE OIL CHANGE INTERVALS. CAR IS AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. SUBARU PROVIDES ENGINE BLOCK REPLACEMENT FOR ISSUE FOR 2015 FORESTERS WITH MANUAL TRANSMISSION AND FOR PREVIOUS MODEL YEARS WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS. 2015 AUTO TRANSM…

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CAR BURNING OIL AT SUBSTANTIAL RATE BETWEEN OIL CHANGES. NEED TO TOP UP OIL TWICE BETWEEN 6000 MILE OIL CHANGE INTERVALS. CAR IS AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. SUBARU PROVIDES ENGINE BLOCK REPLACEMENT FOR ISSUE FOR 2015 FORESTERS WITH MANUAL TRANSMISSION AND FOR PREVIOUS MODEL YEARS WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS. 2015 AUTO TRANSMISSIONS ARE OBVIOUSLY ALSO AFFECTED -- OUR CAR IS AFFECTED.

NHTSA ODI #11031999

29,000 miles · Sep 27, 2017
Electrical SystemElectronic Stability Control (esc)Service Brakes

I STARTED DRIVING AND FOUND THAT MY HILL HOLDER, MY VEHICLE DYNAMICS CONTROL SYSTEM, MY ABS, MY SUBARU EYESIGHT AND MULTIPLE OTHER WARNING LIGHTS WERE ALL LITE UP. I PULLED OVER AND TURNED OFF THE CAR AND WHEN I RESTARTED THE CAR I COULDN'T PUT MY CAR INTO GEAR. IT WAS STUCK IN PARK ON THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY. AFTER A FEW MORE…

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I STARTED DRIVING AND FOUND THAT MY HILL HOLDER, MY VEHICLE DYNAMICS CONTROL SYSTEM, MY ABS, MY SUBARU EYESIGHT AND MULTIPLE OTHER WARNING LIGHTS WERE ALL LITE UP. I PULLED OVER AND TURNED OFF THE CAR AND WHEN I RESTARTED THE CAR I COULDN'T PUT MY CAR INTO GEAR. IT WAS STUCK IN PARK ON THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY. AFTER A FEW MORE TRIES I WAS ABLE TO GET IT INTO GEAR AND CONTINUED DRIVING WITH ALL THE WARNING LIGHTS ON. THIS PROBLEM OCCURRED MULTIPLE TIMES YESTERDAY AS I ATTEMPTED TO GET IT TO THE DEALERSHIP.

NHTSA ODI #11030102

24,000 miles · Sep 21, 2017
Electronic Stability Control (esc)Fuel/propulsion SystemUnknown Or Other

TWICE THE FORESTER SURGE FORWARD --ONCE IT STOPPED BEFORE HITTING A TREE AND THE SECOND TIME IT HIT A BUILDING. BOTH TIMES PULLING IN TO A PARKING SPACE FROM A ROAD AND FROM A PARKING AREA.

NHTSA ODI #11024770

32,000 miles · Sep 18, 2017
Electrical System

I HAVE A 2015 SUBARU FORESTER (LESS THAN 32K MILES) AND MY CAR HAS NOT STARTED ON 3 DIFFERENT OCCASIONS THIS LAST YEAR. THIS LAST TIME I WAS WITH A FRIEND AND WE PARKED ON A SOMEWHAT DARKER CITY STREET LATE AT NIGHT WHERE I TURNED OFF THE ENGINE TO NOT WASTE GAS AND TALK. THE ONLY THING I REMEMBER DOING WAS TURNING ON THE UPPER …

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I HAVE A 2015 SUBARU FORESTER (LESS THAN 32K MILES) AND MY CAR HAS NOT STARTED ON 3 DIFFERENT OCCASIONS THIS LAST YEAR. THIS LAST TIME I WAS WITH A FRIEND AND WE PARKED ON A SOMEWHAT DARKER CITY STREET LATE AT NIGHT WHERE I TURNED OFF THE ENGINE TO NOT WASTE GAS AND TALK. THE ONLY THING I REMEMBER DOING WAS TURNING ON THE UPPER CAR LIGHT FOR 60 SECONDS TO FIND MY FRIEND'S PHONE AND ADJUSTING THE DRIVER WINDOW WITH KEY IN ACCESSORY MODE I BELIEVE (ENGINE WAS NOT RUNNING). WE DID NOT USE THE RADIO BECAUSE EMBARRASSINGLY, THE SAME FRIEND HAD WAITED WITH ME THE TIME BEFORE WHEN I PLAYED MY RADIO FOR 10 MINUTES ONE TIME. SO AGAIN, MY CAR DIDN'T START, AND SHE HAD TO WAIT WITH ME ONCE AGAIN 30-45 MINUTES UNTIL HELP CAME TO GIVE THE BATTERY A JUMP. IT SEEMS TO HAPPEN EITHER WHEN I SIT IN THE CAR WITH THE KEY OUT AND USE THE INTERNAL LIGHT (EVEN FOR ONLY 60 SECONDS LIKE THIS LAST TIME) OR IF KEYS ARE IN, LISTEN TO THE RADIO FOR A FEW MINUTES ONLY WITHOUT ENGINE RUNNING. ANYTHING TURNED ON AFTER THE CAR HAS STOPPED RUNNING SEEMS TO MESS WITH THE BATTERY AND I'M AFRAID IT WON'T START. THIS LAST TIME WHEN IT WOULDN'T START THE ENGINE, I NOTICED THAT MY DRIVERS WINDOW DID NOT ROLL UP (EVEN THOUGH THE OTHER WINDOWS DID) AND THEN IT STARTED TO GRIND WHEN I TRIED TO START IT MULTIPLE TIMES, WAITING A LITTLE TIME IN BETWEEN BEFORE TRYING TO START IT ...THEN IT SEEMS TO SLOWLY DRAIN UNTIL NO LIGHTS AT ALL IN CAR. THE TOW COMPANY TESTED THE BATTERY AND SAID IT IS STILL GOOD, THERE WAS NO PROBLEM WITH IT, BUT MENTIONED MAYBE IT'S NOT GETTING BOTH CELLS TO CHARGE EQUALLY OR HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH STARTER, NOT SURE. WHEN I FIRST BOUGHT MY CAR, I REMEMBER DEALERSHIP MENTIONING THE ELECTRICAL AND NOT HOLDING THEM RESPONSIBLE (?) I THINK IF THEY KNEW ABOUT THIS, THEY NEED TO RECALL AND FIX, OR GIVE US A PORTABLE CAR JUMPER. SAD BECAUSE I LOVE MY SUV OTHERWISE. :(

NHTSA ODI #11023906

8,208 miles · Sep 10, 2017
Service Brakes

SOFT BRAKE FADE. BRAKES FADE, IN PARTICULAR, WHEN VEHICLE IS WARM AFTER DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, BRAKES SINK ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR. IT SEEMS LIKE THEY WON'T STOP THE VEHICLE. THIS SEEMS TO BE GETTING WORSE AS VEHICLE AGES. HAPPENS REGULARLY. DEALER AND SUBARU SAY THIS IS NORMAL BEHAVIOR. THERE ARE SERVICE BULLETINS AB…

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SOFT BRAKE FADE. BRAKES FADE, IN PARTICULAR, WHEN VEHICLE IS WARM AFTER DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, BRAKES SINK ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR. IT SEEMS LIKE THEY WON'T STOP THE VEHICLE. THIS SEEMS TO BE GETTING WORSE AS VEHICLE AGES. HAPPENS REGULARLY. DEALER AND SUBARU SAY THIS IS NORMAL BEHAVIOR. THERE ARE SERVICE BULLETINS ABOUT THIS SAFETY ISSUE ON MANY OTHER SUBARU MODELS, BUT NOT ON THIS MODEL. DEALER AND SUBARU ARE INCORRECTLY TREATING THIS AS A CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ISSUE, NOT A SAFETY ISSUE. I RECOMMEND AN INVESTIGATION OF SUBARU BRAKE ISSUES ON ALL MODELS.

NHTSA ODI #11022540

10,000 miles · Sep 6, 2017
EnginePower Train

THE VEHICLES STUTTERS WHEN ACCELERATING. THE ISSUE WILL GO FOR A FEW DAYS TO A FEW WEEKS THEN DISAPPEAR AND RETURN A FEW WEEKS LATER. HAVE TRIED CHANGING TO SPORT AND SPORT + MODES AND ALSO USING THE PADDLE SHIFTERS AND NONE OF THEM HAD ANY CHANGE IN THE STUTTERING. THE CAR HAS 25,000 MILES ON IT AND THE ISSUE HAS BEEN HAPPEN…

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THE VEHICLES STUTTERS WHEN ACCELERATING. THE ISSUE WILL GO FOR A FEW DAYS TO A FEW WEEKS THEN DISAPPEAR AND RETURN A FEW WEEKS LATER. HAVE TRIED CHANGING TO SPORT AND SPORT + MODES AND ALSO USING THE PADDLE SHIFTERS AND NONE OF THEM HAD ANY CHANGE IN THE STUTTERING. THE CAR HAS 25,000 MILES ON IT AND THE ISSUE HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE ABOUT 10K MILES. WHEN I BROUGHT THE VEHICLE IN FOR A RECALL IT WAS FUNCTIONING FINE AND THE TECHS COULD NOT FIND ANY ISSUES. I HAVE ANOTHER APPOINTMENT SCHEDULED FOR 2 WEEKS FROM NOW.

NHTSA ODI #11021819

15,000 miles · Aug 18, 2017
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemPower Train

ENGINE HESITATES ON ACCELERATION, ESPECIALLY FROM A DEAD STOP, LEAVING ME STUCK IN THE ONCOMING LANE FOR SEVERAL SECONDS. THIS IS A RECURRING PROBLEM AND IS VERY DANGEROUS! IT?S VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO ACCELERATE WITHOUT FEELING HESITATION AND SURGING. IT FEELS LIKE THE CAR IS VERY SLOW TO GO INTO GEAR AND THEN LUNGES TO CATC…

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ENGINE HESITATES ON ACCELERATION, ESPECIALLY FROM A DEAD STOP, LEAVING ME STUCK IN THE ONCOMING LANE FOR SEVERAL SECONDS. THIS IS A RECURRING PROBLEM AND IS VERY DANGEROUS! IT?S VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO ACCELERATE WITHOUT FEELING HESITATION AND SURGING. IT FEELS LIKE THE CAR IS VERY SLOW TO GO INTO GEAR AND THEN LUNGES TO CATCH UP. THIS HAPPENS IN ALL WEATHER AND ALL DRIVING CONDITIONS, IT HAPPENS EVERY DAY. VERY DISAPPOINTING PERFORMANCE FOR A CAR I BOUGHT BRAND NEW.

NHTSA ODI #11016142

17,000 miles · Aug 16, 2017
Vehicle Speed ControlCrash

PULLED INTO PARKING SPACE WITH FOOT ON BRAKE GETTING READY TO PUT CAR IN PARK. CAR ACCELERATES OUT OF CONTROL HITTING PARKED CAR, TREE AND PROCEEDED TO ROLE OVER. ALL POWER LOST AND COULD NOT UNLOCK DOORS.

NHTSA ODI #11015732

18,500 miles · Aug 16, 2017
EngineStructureFire

CAR PASSED STATE INSPECTION ON 8/3/2017 WITH 18500 MILES. ONE WEEK LATER, CAR WAS TAKEN ON SHORT ERRAND AND BURST INTO FLAMES WITH DRIVER INSIDE UPON BEING PLACED IN PARK. FIRE DEPARTMENT AND POLICE ASSESSED THE SITUATION.

NHTSA ODI #11015704

Official recalls

3

19V701000 · 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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.

Go deeper into Subaru Forester problems