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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2018 Subaru Forester — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 498 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

498
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
26
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
1
Involved Fire
owner-reported
9
Injuries
across all reports
Years to Avoid

Subaru Forester — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

147 complaints

105 complaints

78 complaints

403 complaints

615 complaints

415 complaints

589 complaints

498 complaints

834 complaints

602 complaints

210 complaints

99 complaints

74 complaints

30 complaints

98 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Visibility/wiper 135 reports
Air Bags 99 reports
Unknown Or Other 84 reports
Electrical System 71 reports
Engine 32 reports
Seats 30 reports
Vehicle Speed Control 30 reports
Steering 25 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Air Bags ODI 11292320 12/31/2019

NHTSA RECALL 19V-701 (SUBARU RECALL WUM-98) INCLUDES ONLY FORESTERS WITH SEAT HEATERS MANUFACTURED FROM 1/20/15 - 8/1/17. MY FORESTER WAS MANUFACTURED ON 6/6/18 AND IS NOT CURRENTLY INCLUDED. PAGE 3 OF PRODUCT CAMPAIGN BULLETIN WUM-98R REVISED 11/20/19 (COPY ATTACHED) STATES IF THE DATE CODE ON THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT CUSHION WIRING HARNESS IS 18074 (74TH DAY OF 2018) OR B…

Visibility/wiper ODI 11385597 12/30/2020

VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY, PARKED, ENGINE WAS OFF, NO ONE WAS IN THE CAR. CRACK SPONTANEOUSLY APPEARED FROM BASE OF WINDSHIELD UP ABOUT 5 INCHES. THERE WAS NO CRACK IN THE WINDSHIELD WHEN I PARKED THE CAR. THERE WAS NO ROCK CHIP ON THE WAY UP. I LOOKED CLOSELY AT THE CRACK AND THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF A ROCK CHIP, NO DIVOT ANYWHERE ALONG THE CRACK, NONE WHATSOEVER. WHEN I R…

Engine ODI 11632993 12/29/2024

We were driving at 70mph on the freeway, left lane, and suddenly the car lost power as if the fuel pump went out. We had to suddenly get over to the shoulder of the freeway, almost got hit, then limped along the shoulder until we called a tow truck which towed us 40 miles to Subaru dealer. The dealer looked at the car and "couldn't find anything." Now we are afraid to drive th…

Visibility/wiper ODI 11291854 12/29/2019

MULTIPLE CRACKS ON THE WINDSHIELD. SOME CRACKS ARE FROM VERY SMALL ROCKS AND MY INSURANCE COVERED IT . THE MOST RECENT CRACK IS VERY LARGE AND DIDNT APPEAR TO START FROM ANY ROCK. THIS WINDSHIELD FEELS VERY UNSAFE.THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY .

Steering ODI 11499125 12/28/2022

My 2018 Subaru Forester front low control arms and wheel bearing were damaged after about 24000 miles of driving in 5 years. I got it second hand in 2020 and it had only about 14000 miles. I had them replaced due to safety concern.

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2018 Subaru Forester, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

Check Another Car

Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2018 Subaru Forester reliable?
Owners have filed 498 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2018 Subaru Forester, most often about visibility/wiper. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.
Which Subaru Forester years should I avoid?
The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.
Where do these complaints come from?
Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.
Do complaints mean a recall is coming?
Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.