Complaint volume
207 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
207 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Subaru Forester, grouped by component category.
207 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, electrical system. 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 37 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 12,910 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, electrical system?
- 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
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 16
VISIBILITY 13
ENGINE 11
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 6
POWER TRAIN 5
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 4
SUSPENSION 4
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3
207 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Nov 2022 | ENGINE | Engine stalled 2x within 8 days at major intersections (both times), therefore blocking a lane in the intersections. Was told 1st time it was a gliche by dealership. Upon researching prior recalls for this make and model, engine stalls have been an issue. Dealership still can’t figure out issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | WHEELS | This is our 3rd Subaru Forester from Corpus Christi Tx dealer HICKs. During the past six months we have had the stem valves in the tires replaced 4 times.I said to the Manager that there appears to be a systemic issue , the run may be defective and requested that these tires be replaced Total mileage 6700 Dealer had three shots at fixing the problem plus the 4th shot today as the pressure signal was on. The request was denied Please investigate and help | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I purchased a 2021 Subaru Forester with approximately 9000 miles on the odometer. Purchase was made on October 18, 2022, then on October 19, 2022 I experienced unintended acceleration on my way home that day with the car. The car just seemed to have a mind of its own and just "took off" at high speed and quickly it returned to normal. I simply thought I did something wrong and kept driving the car. Then on November 2, 2022 while in my driveway, the unintended acceleration happened again and this time the car hit a building on our property and both the building and the car suffered severe damage. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | When I bought my car I was assured that it was impossible to lock the keys inside the car. Typically I put my dog in a special car harness and buckle him into the middle of the back seat. He's 77 lbs. and tall. It's a bit of a project to get him all set. I'm leaning over and all my stuff is hanging off of me so I drop my purse onto the floor of the back seat and put the car keys on the console between the two front seats so I can more comfortably deal with him. I do this from the right side of the car as the child car seat is on the left side. Once he's buckled in I close the door and walk around to the driver's side and get in. On Oct. 7th I had taken him to a park to play. The temps were in the 80s and my car was parked in the sun. He's a Bernedoodle and does not handle heat very well. I buckled him in as usual from the right side and also put the keys on the console as usual. Then I closed the door. CLICK! Uh-oh! All the doors automatically locked! With the car in the sun and the outside temps in the 80s I can only guess that the inside temp had to be well over 100. I almost panicked. I thought of calling the police, but here in Portland they are slow to respond if they even respond at all. I banged on all the windows and thought of finding a rock to break one open. Then I remembered that I hadn't tried the back lift up door as it's an SUV. Thankfully it opened. But I had to crawl in over all my stuff in the back, over my tall, 77 lb. dog, and stretch out to reach my keys on the console in the front. Then I had to back out. This was not easy; I'm in my 70s. I shouldn't have to do that! So [XXX] was okay in the end. What if it had been my two year old granddaughter? What if the back didn't open like the side doors didn't? It shouldn't be that way. I called Subaru and they said they never heard of that happening. They said there was a lock setting but I couldn't find it. They said the fob battery could be low but there was no warning. I'm bringing the car in. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Spontaneous cracks across windshield obscuring vision. Vehicle was parked overnight in my garage. No windshield cracks, stone damage etc. upon parking but the next morning there were diffuse cracks across windshield. This is similar to cracks in Subaru vehicles outlined in 2020 class action lawsuit filed against Subaru for spontaneous windshield cracks in 2017-2020 Subaru vehicles, especially the Forester. No recall has been issued. Car is being presented to Subaru dealer where purchased in Napa, Ca. this week. The diffuse nature of the cracks and its affect on vision is a safety issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | POWER TRAIN | Car was parked on driveway (6 degree slope to rear) Car was placed in park Driver exited car to go into house when she came out car had rolled down the driveway to hit another car parked across street rear facing bot cars had rear damage. The same thing happened to the car one week later when parked in the garage placed in park but started to roll back. Was able to stop it because I was still in the car I use the parking brake now all the time | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | SUSPENSION | The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that on two separate occasions while driving below 35 MPH, the sway bar fractured and detached from the subframe of the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the bolt was replaced; however, the contact then stated that while driving at a slow speed, the rear sway bar failed. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the rear sway bar had fractured and separated from the subframe and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided a case number. The failure mileage was approximately 26,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 26,000 |
| Sep 2022 | STRUCTURE | On my 2021 Subaru Forester the rear passenger wheel well rubber cover came loose during travel. This has happened on my wife's 2019 subaru forester on the driver rear, and the one on the passenger rear is coming loose. The part was slapping against the side of the car and if we had not pulled over and manually removed it it could have easily flown off the car. The driver side on my wife's car has been replaced, and a replacement has been ordered for my car. The local dealer stated that this has not happened before. To have two car suffer from this seems a bit suspect to me. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, she heard an abnormal noise and saw a crack on the upper driver’s side windshield. The contact was able to continue driving. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the windshield to be replaced. The dealer referred the contact to an auto shop to have the repair completed. The windshield was replaced however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 7,000. The VIN was not available. | Crash: No Fire: No | 7,000 |
| Aug 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, she shifted the gear shifter into reverse(R) and the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration and lunged backward, crashing into another vehicle. Additionally, the vehicle made abnormally loud noises and was extremely hot after it was turned off. The contact did not sustain any injuries. No police report was filed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the dealer inspected the brake system. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 7,000. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | 7,000 |
| Aug 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | On 08/23/2022 while driving on a four lane city street, light rain, moderate traffic, at about 35 mph, the car suddenly lost forward speed, depresssing the accelerator move rpm to over 3000, with continued loss of forward speed, until suddenly the drive train engaged and forward speed resumed. This is the fourth time this type of event has occured. A check at a Subaru dealer the next day revealed no codes in memory. Fortunately there was no heavy traffic on this road at the time because in another half hour there would have been very heavy traffic. This is very disconcerting and potentially dangerous to vehicles directly behind. Is there a problem with the Eye Sight system that triggers a sudden loss of speed when there is no vehicle close ahead? | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | The windshield cracked from a minor stone impact while driving on a highway. This is the second time it cracked since purchasing in March of 2021. The first cracked windshield was replaced by the dealer under warranty since no impact indication was detected. The crack is documented in pictures and the windshield will require replacement in order to comply with local regulations. The crack location across the drivers line of sight poses a safety distraction. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | A stone came off the road in Interstate 25 and hit my windshield. Within 24 hours, there was a crack halfway across. I have had the car for a year and this will be the second windshield replacement. The first one was from an impact so small that I could not see it--I thought it had just spontaneously cracked. The dealer showed me a pinhole impact (you could find it by tracing the crack with a ballpoint pen until the tip of the pend caught in the impact crater). These windshields are garbage--I have been driving since 1974 and have never seen anything like this. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Windshield crack spontaneously appeared while parked. There are no rock chips. Crack starts where the windshield wipers meet, immediately over the heated windshield wiper location. This is the same issue that Subaru recently had a class action lawsuit against them for, though that was for models up to the year 2020. Subaru so far has denied there to be an issue and states that the warranty period is up to 36,000 miles, which I have surpassed in the 17 months since I bought it brand new in 2021. There appears to be a bubble under the glass where the crack started. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | A spontaneous crack in the windshield appeared across the driver's field of vision. The crack began on the lower driver's side and progressed to the middle of the windshield. It blocked my normal field of vision and caused light distortion from oncoming headlights. This problem has been documented MANY times including in a class action lawsuit for 2017 - 2020 Subaru Foresters. Yet Subaru refuses to acknowledge a problem. The windscreen was replaced by Delmarva Auto Glass, Cambridge, MD. Pictures were taken of the removed windshield. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | I believe Low Beam Head lights must be carefully inspected in low light environments, when driving at around 60mph at 2 lanes highway where you cannot use high beam lights, the sight is clear at the sides of the road but its to low down at at the speed driven if something shows up at the road it would be impossible to see and to stop at a safe distance. I believe the lights from your car ahead are too low to the ground and the visibility is dangerously short, I think that problem should be revised carefully. When driving on a highway alone at night that concern can be seen and maybe understand what I want to say and why that can cause an accident. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | on 7/9/22 @ 6:00p I was with my wife & 2 grandsons going into a diner parking lot. as I was slowly going into a spot the car suddenly and without warning accelerated causing the car to drive over a cement parking stop, over a 1foot high cement wall, through a chain linked fence which had privacy covering, down into a 12 deep ravine. after shutting off the car my grandsons, wife & myself had to crawl out through the rear hatch. when things quieted down we realized that none of the safety features were activated (anti-collision warning, anti-collision braking) I thank God no one was hurt. Subaru needs to look into this so in the future no one ever experiences this. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Medical attention | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | Windshield started cracking for no reason from bottom left, spreading to about 22inches across to the driver side | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | VISIBILITY/WIPER | a crack developed at the base of the windshield and spread across the windshield | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | Windshield developed large L or J shaped crack from very top near roof line, down center of windshield and turns toward the Drivers side. This car was PARKED in our driveway at home when it cracked. No stone chips, nothing dropped on it as you can see in attached pictures. We will schedule a visit to Subaru dealer here in Knoxville, TN. for inspection. No warnings because vehicle was parked in our driveway. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |