IllustrationSee attached document for complaint.
2021 Subaru Forester
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2021 Subaru Forester do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 131.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Forester years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 37 of 207 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
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.
- Visibility/wiper. Review the 76 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 33 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine. Review the 32 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
16 crash reports5 fire reports5 injury reports
Air Bags complaints
2 reportsI was coming out of my garaged ( car was facing forward) . The car seemed to hesitate as I tapped the gas pedal. I thought maybe this was because the car sensed the sides of the garage via the rear view mirror sensors. I am always careful when exiting my garage so as not to ding the rearview mirrors. I repeatedly tapped the g…
Read full complaint
I was coming out of my garaged ( car was facing forward) . The car seemed to hesitate as I tapped the gas pedal. I thought maybe this was because the car sensed the sides of the garage via the rear view mirror sensors. I am always careful when exiting my garage so as not to ding the rearview mirrors. I repeatedly tapped the gas lightly about three times but the car hesitated each time and did not want to seem to move forward. One last time I tapped the gas and the car bolted out of the garage jumped the curb across the street at an unexpected rapid speed. I did not have my foot on the gas pedal. The car lunged forward , crossed the street and hit the garage door and frame of the house across the street for me doing structural damage. I believe this to be unintended acceleration for which other Subaru models have experienced problems. The air bags did not deploy. Please see similar accident for another example of this same scenario with the same make model and year as my vehicle: https: //www.google.com/amp/s/www.torque net.com/1084/subar-acceleration-lawsuit-update-forester-slams-garage/amp
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
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
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.