Subaru Forester electrical problems

The contact owns a 2020 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while at a complete stop, the automatic START/STOP, the feature intermittently failed to operate upon depression of the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that the failure occurred without warning. The contact stated that once the vehicle was restarted, the vehicle resumed normal operation. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was informed that the failure was related to the battery. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

Vehicle traveling W on [XXX] Bryan TX. Automobile suddenly started shaking and not developing power, Driver was able to pull off on the shoulder barely clearing the #2 lane. The engine would crank but not sustain operation. The auto required transport to the home garaging location. Subsequent analysis of the fuel showed it to be gasoline, no water, lacked appearance of any foreign matter. With the ignition on 12V were detected at the gas tank terminal, however the in tank pump would not produce fuel flow at the connection at the top of the tank. Had the vehicle been operating in the #1 lane it may not have been possible to clear the traveled lanes thus causing a traffic safety problem. A State Trooper did provide protection until the vehicle was transported. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The Occupant Detection System (ODS) has failed in this 2017 Subaru Forester. The dealership tried replacing the wiring harness under a previous recall but it did not fix the problem. The ODS does not correctly identify when a passenger is seated in the passenger seat and therefore will not properly activate the passenger airbag. I ordered a replacement seat assemby in October 2023 but to date the dealership has been unable to obtain the part, and has been unable to fix the ODS malfunction in any other way.

The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware that the horn was inoperable. There was no warning light illuminated. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 176,300.

Battery constantly fails after a few days of driving. Even after battery has been replaced with new, the problem continues to occur. Car does not start and it needs to be constantly jump started. The problem first started happening in 2019. Just discovered there was a lawsuit related to this issue, but I did not receive any type of notification about it.

I bought the car certified used from a Grand Prix Subaru in Hicksville, NY. They did not mention this issue. I’ve had the car for 2 years, drive it 1-2x a week, have it serviced regularly, etc. all of a sudden in the past week it’s needed a jump 2x, maybe a few days apart. My lights are on auto, always, & shut off when the car turns off after a few seconds. My interior lights are all set to off, after the first jump. Doors & cargo door are all closed well. Battery has been tested & they say it’s not bad & doesn’t need replacing. So what is draining the battery then? When the battery is dead, it’s completely dead. No turnover at all & the cargo door won’t open until it’s running & charged enough again. I’m shocked the cargo door can’t open without the battery!

My 2018 Subaru Forester has a faulty passenger air bag sensor, which has been diagnosed by my local Subaru dealer, with a repair cost of $1,500+ for labor and parts. It has intermittently turned on and off again, but after getting a separate issue fixed by my dealer, they diagnosed this problem, and every time the car is turned on, the warning light is constantly displayed, and the passenger seat airbag light shows "OFF" even when someone is in the passenger seat. Upon research, this is a known and common issue with other Subaru Foresters with heated seats in the same model year (my Forester does have heated seats), but my VIN is not included in the Subaru recall for this specific repair. This greatly puts the passenger in my car at risk, as the sensor does not recognize that a person is in the seat while they are riding, and if we were to be in an accident, their airbag would not deploy. I am frustrated that this is a known, common safety issue that affects my model and year of car, but my VIN is not included on the recall list. I would expect that my car should also be included in the recall and fixed by the dealer at their expense as it is clearly documented many times on other 2018 Subaru Foresters.

Had recall completed for Subaru Forester (WUM-98) where dealer replaced ODS sensor harness in 2020. At the end of 2021 had the SRS light intermittently come on but would then go off for months( front passenger seat). This kept happening intermittently so I brought it to dealership and had it diagnosed in 2023. They suggested replacing the passenger seat ($1200 P&L). Dealer said no water damage to seat and cables looked good. Brought it to new dealership in 2024. They said it needed a new ODS sensor harness and replaced it. Since this was replaced, I have not had the SRS light come back on. This is a huge safety risk to front passenger riders. Disappointed that it needed to be replaced so soon after the recall was completed. I did open a case with SOA and they offered goodwill assistance but said the recall warranty only lasted a year.