Complaint volume
202 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2021 Subaru Forester Complaints
202 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Subaru Forester, grouped by component category.
202 Total complaints
16 Crash reports
5 Fire reports
5 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are visibility/wiper, unknown or other, visibility. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 16 crash reports, 5 fire reports, 5 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 36 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 12,643 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to visibility/wiper, unknown or other, visibility?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2021 Subaru Forester?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2021 Subaru Forester
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2021 Subaru Forester complaints?
16 Crash
5 Fire
5 Injury
0 Fatality
8 Towed
4 Medical attention
What are the most common 2021 Subaru Forester complaint categories?
VISIBILITY/WIPER 67
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 20
VISIBILITY 13
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 12
ENGINE 11
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 6
POWER TRAIN 5
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 4
SUSPENSION 4
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3
202 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | As I was getting into my vehicle with my family, we heard a loud noise come from the front of the vehicle ( windshield are). We immediately noticed the windshield had cracked and it had started right underneath the driver area and was going up the middle and turned to passenger side of the windshield. All of this occurred while vehicle was parked. Have been reading this has been an ongoing issue with Subaru. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | Chest Clip, Buckle, Harness | We’ve been using our Gold Revolve 360 car seat in rear facing for 14 months with our daughter who just turned two on August 19th. After normal wear, no car accidents and removing the carseat from the vehicle only a handful of times for sleepovers at grandparents and I’ve noticed a tear in the right strap, so bad that is nearly cut all the way through. This is toward the bottom where the strap meets the seat. From what I can see, there is nothing for it to rub up on to cause this, and my daughter is not allowed toys while in her car seat that could potentially do this. This is our only carseat at this time and it is extremely concerning every time she rides in it. We spent far too much money for this to happen, especially just over a year of use. I’ve tried reaching out to Evenflo via phone, website contact support and have emailed 8 times. Their chat services on the website are never available, even during hours of operation. I’ve called the number provided to me when I got the automatic response to the form I filled out on the contact tab,1 (800) 233-5921, and was told to email only by a automated message. Then there was a different number listed on the website that was a fraud number, 1 (800) 223-5921. And have yet to receive an email back after being asked to send a list of specific photos for their engineer team over a month ago. At this point I don’t feel safe putting my daughter in the car seat anymore. This should’ve been the last car seat I had to buy for her until a booster seat. And it barely made it a year and cost me $400+. I’m beyond frustrated by the lack of support I’ve received from Evenflo and the trust I had in this product. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | I have ~50,000 miles and have had an excessive amount of chips on my front windshield. Getting them filled doesn't matter, and the windshield will crack. I've replaced the windshield twice since owning this vehicle at $1200+ (high costs due to front camera recalibration). I've owned many vehicles over the years and have never had a windshield chip or crack this frequent. I've seen many other complaints online, did Subaru cheap out on glass or is the wind shield angle ineffective in shedding simple road debris from causing failures? I have concerns that the windshield would be unable to stop larger debris from entering the cabin and potentially injuring occupants. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I was driving my 2021 Subaru Forester on the highway and suddenly I saw with my own eyes a crack appear in the front window shield glass. A thin crack, about 2 feet long. curved shape. in the section in front of the steering wheel. It was out of nowhere; there was no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. I was terrified and shocked, as my car was just 2 years old. No one was hurt, and other cars were not affected as I continued to drive stably. But I was a bit shaken, as I was worried the crack might burst wider and thus I would lose control of the car. Thankfully, it stayed that way and I exited the highway and pulled over at a mall and called the dealership. The dealership was not very responsive: I was asked to call the next Monday again and schedule a time to bring the car there for inspection. It was definitively the poor quality of the glass/defect. I purchased extended warrant/Added Security from the dealership when I bought the car. It should cover this defect. I was hugely disappointed with the quality of Subaru car. Will never buy this brand again. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while parking the vehicle in a parking lot, the vehicle accelerated independently and jumped the curb and into the bushes. The contact attempted to reverse the vehicle but continued to also accelerate independently in Reverse. The contact stated the gear shift was on Neutral and continue to Rev loudly. The contact stated the vehicle stop on its own due to the tires deflating. The contact stated no one was injured nor sought medical attention. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed to the local dealer but was unable to duplicate nor diagnosed the failure. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| May 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | When I was driving less than 40 MPH a small pebble hit the lower portion of my windshield and the glass instantly cracked across my line of sight. It made it so images were distorted. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that a small crack had developed on the front windshield. After parking the vehicle, the contact discovered that the crack had expanded. The contact stated that there was no impact to the windshield to have caused the windshield to crack. The windshield was not replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 27,985. | Crash: No Fire: No | 27,985 |
| May 2023 | LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | Braking system sometimes is activated by a sign on the side of the road, by a tree if we are turning, or nothing at all. Nearly in 2 rear end collisions when the system activated incorrectly. We cannot drive into our garage with the system activated...brakes keep slamming on. The only safe way to operate this subaru is to manually turn it off every time we start the car. Subaru dealership states it cannot recalibrate the eyesight system as it does not have that ability. Dealership is in Corvallis oregon. Lane notification system also has issues in construction zones (it tries to steer the car into the water barriers marking the lane changes. At least the side warning system can be permanently disabled. We have filed many complaints with subaru to no avail. Promised return phone calls never happen, phone transfers to their technical department result in dropped calls. This system is dangergous!!! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Subaru's Windshield problems persist. Bought a 2021 forester in 2021, shortly after had a small chip turn into a giant crack in a matter of days. Dealership wouldn't repair under warranty, so $1000+ to have it replaced and Eyesight recalibrated. I understand now why they sell glass insurance. Less than 18 months later the replacement windshield spontaneously cracked from the bottom up, forming a 18" upside down L-shape, just as the previous class action lawsuit describes. No warning as this happened sitting in a garage overnight, no outside influence could have caused it. The crack is partially within sightline to the hood, but visibility to the road is impaired by the horizontal portion of the crack. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | My Subaru Forester 2021 windshield cracked spontaneously with no contact of an object (rock, etc.) Previous known issues and class action suits related to Subaru model windshields cracking spontaneously with no contact. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | THE WINDSHEILD SUDDENLY CRACKED ON THE DRIVERS SIDE, JUST IN FRONT OF THE EYESIGHT SENSOR, ABOUT 12 INCHES LONG. THE CAR HAS 35,000 MILES, AND IS DRIVEN BY A 67 YEAR OLD. VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN DRIVEWAY. OUTDOOR TEMPERATURE IS MID 50'S. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | I awoke to find the passenger side windshield cracked from the bottom, near wiper, extending upward and the moving horizontal in an Upside down L shape. I did a search and found that this incident is similar to others who own Subaru Foresters which is the vehicle I own. It is a 2021 model. I called my Subaru dealer and recommended that I take it to Wilson Auto Glass in Wheeling WV where I live. He did not tell me to bring it in to the service dept first. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | Vehicle auto start stop feature sporadically fails to start vehicle after stop feature stringers. Happened on multiple occasions, at red light, at stop sign, on freeway during traffic jams. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The first incident occurred when I drove into a parking space, applied the brakes, and the car suddenly sped forward, so I had to repeatedly jam on the brakes to make the car stop. Fortunately, no person or vehicle was directly in front of me. In the past week, we have experienced problems with the ADAS. We were backing into a parking space at night and made contact with a parked car. Our car made no warning sounds or lights to warn us. The following day, the blind spot detector light went on and off intermittently, sometimes with an exclamation point, and sometimes without an exclamation point. The lights on the mirror did not come on when cars were approaching from behind. We are making an appointment with the dealer ASAP. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Windshield spontaneously cracked, many others reported. Impaired vision, windshield could scatter while driving. Inspected & repaired by Subaru dealer, insurance company claim. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2023 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | It was a very cold night on Dec. 21, 2022. I traveled out of town. I don't recall seeing or hearing anything hit my windshield. However, on Dec. 22, 2022 when I got back in my car, I noticed a very long scratch across the windshield. It is now Mar. 1, 2023 and it has gotten much worse. I am unsure how to go about getting it fixed because I cannot pay for the repairs. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | ENGINE | My vehicle stalls at stop signs and red lights at Least once or twice a day regularly I’ve taken to the dealer and they said I was the reason it does that but the car is barely 2 years old bought new it has been doing that since last year it needs to be fixed | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | My Forester needed new tires at 13,250 miles. I had my tires rotated and that is when Subaru noticed the worn tires. I called Subaru Corporate and they informed me that do not replace tires. I bought new tires and then went to have a wheel alignment. The technician told me he could do the alignment but he couldn't adjust the Lane assist diagnostic or the VDC and other safety features. Now I am unsure what to do. I have tried to resolve this with Subaru of America without resolution. Hopefully, you will be able to help me. Why are Subaru dealers not doing these adjustments? Thanks for your help with this serious situation. [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | I was driving in downtown Chicago with my cousin. We had already been in the car driving around the city for ~15 minutes, so the car was warm. I had approached a stoplight, and we both heard a thud. I had assumed, because it had recently snowed, that it was some slush dropping on my car from a light. So, we were both looking around (specifically up), for what it could be. However, when we both looked forward again, we saw a 6-inch crack in my windshield. It's in the middle of my windshield in between my two wipers. As I further drove, the crack continued to grow for another 4-5 inches to the right. After doing a bit of research, Subaru has had issues with windshields before, and has settled a class action lawsuit (CLA) related to it. The crack that I experienced is the same type of crack that occurred with the windshields in the CLA. I had reached out to my insurance company (Progressive), and they did not have any idea about this issue with Subarus and said that it was not covered to replace it. I have not reached out to dealership yet for information. There was no warning lights, no drastic speed, no rocks or physical damage to the region that could explain the crack. However, if something like this could occur when barely anything is happening, what is the safety for a windshield when the car is on a highway, when a stone hits, when its sub-zero temperatures, etc. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES | My brake rotors warped at 6900 miles. They were resurfaced and covered under warranty. The shop indicated that because I washed my wheels in the course of a 4 minute car wash 3 blocks from my house that I caused them to warp. The symptoms included very rusty view from eye level and shuddering on braking. This was the front axle. Today I took car in at 42000 miles rotors and pads have to be replaced front and back rotors surfaced and pads replaced. My car was aok but sat for 2 weeks after Xmas and upon driving again they instantly suffered on braking and were very rusty. I am not a hard or fast braker. I do occasionally tow a 4x6 small wood box trailer that does not have its own brakes.. way too old… steel frame wood sides. It sounds silmilar to the issue the ascent has. My concern is obviously safety first and second cost to replace every 20-30k miles adds $1200 to $1800 and it should not be that way. Ever car prior to this has gone at least 120k before needing any brake replacement parts. Is it the ceramic pads leaving material on the rotors, not rotor warp? Is it improper tightening of parts per specs? Is it hub warp? Lugs overtightened? And how can I and many others (google it) avoid this safety issue and the costs?? | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while shifting the vehicle into the drive gear, the vehicle accelerated at high speed without any warning and drove into the wall of her garage causing front damage to the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated to turn off. No one was injured. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 8,000. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | 8,000 |
| Dec 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Windshield has cracked twice in last month, in separate areas. I replaced the windshield on 11/9/22 and identified a new crack on 12/18/22. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2022 | POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES | The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while depressing the brake pedal and attempting to park in the driveway, the vehicle excessively independently accelerated in speed. The brake pedal failed to stop the vehicle and the vehicle was shifted into Park in order to come to a stop. The vehicle caused damage to the door and garage. There were no injuries reported. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The dealer was contacted, and they stated they were not aware of any recalls or complaints for the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 10,000. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | 10,000 |
| Dec 2022 | STRUCTURE,VISIBILITY/WIPER | In the afternoon when I returned to my vehicle, a large crack (roughly 8 inches) formed on the lower sector of the windshield that appeared to have oriented by the mounting of the passenger wiper arm. I inspected the windshield for damage such as a rock chip and could not find anything to suggest that the integrity was compromised in any way. Their was no visible damage to the windshield other than the crack that formed. The crack formed while the vehicle was parked in a parking lot | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY | Glass cracked for no reason. According to this article Subaru has been sued related to 2017-2020 Foresters for a similar reason https://www.torquenews.com/1084/new-ruling-subaru-cracked-windshield-lawsuit-now-adds-25m-cars | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |