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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.

Counts are not adjusted for sales, age, mileage exposure or reporting. A lower count does not establish that a car is problem-free.

About this comparison →

Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗ Model-level counts do not show whether a particular VIN is affected or repaired.

Inspection summary

How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales, mileage exposure 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

Exterior Lighting complaints

1 reports
Clear category filter
Mileage unknown · Jul 15, 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…

Read full complaint

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.

NHTSA ODI #11474021

Recall campaigns

0

No 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 ↗

Defect investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.

An investigation is not a finding of a defect, and closure does not prove a vehicle is problem-free.

Go deeper into Subaru Forester problems