2022 Subaru Forester Recalls, Ratings & Complaints

Incident: October 12, 2026 · Filed: October 19, 2026

Head gasket failure. Caused oil in coolant. Caused coolant hose to break while driving. Subaru dealership says need to replace head gaskets, radiator, all hoses, cvt cooler(?), and will cost about $6400. My car has about 130000 miles. This seems to be rather unusual at this mileage.

Incident: October 11, 2026 · Filed: October 16, 2026

On [XXX], my [XXX] son was driving our Forester on [XXX] at [XXX]. At red light, Auto Start-Stop shut off engine as designed. On green, releasing brake triggered restart attempt. Dash lights cycled continuously, engine failed to restart. Brake pedal pushed back firmly and would not depress. Simultaneously, Electronic Parking Brake auto-engaged and would NOT disengage, preventing shift to neutral or pushing to safety. We were stranded in active lane off high-speed artery until flatbed tow arrived. Because EPB had no manual override, tow operator had to drag vehicle onto flatbed with brakes locked. Towed Sunday night to selling dealer, diagnosed Monday 7:30 AM as dead/failing 12V battery, which was replaced. CRITICAL SAFETY QUESTIONS: Why no Battery State-of-Health warning before failure? Vehicle should alert when cranking capacity degrades below safe Auto Start-Stop restart threshold. A voltage/health indicator would have prevented this. Why no emergency EPB manual override? No accessible mechanical backup to release EPB during electrical/start fault. Locking wheels in live roadway creates severe collision hazard for occupants and traffic. REQUEST: Formally document as Product Safety Concern, assign corporate case number, and escalate to engineering/product safety team for review of battery monitoring logic and EPB override design. This created unacceptable hazard for my son. We request written response. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Incident: September 11, 2026 · Filed: September 13, 2026

On two occasions now, one on XXX and another in XXX our vehicle initiated a pre collision breaking sequence with no visible object in our path. On XXX this occurred while turning off of a main road into a shopping center located on route XXX in [XXX]. I was traveling at about 15-20mph with no cars in front of me. The vehicle displayed a pre- collision warning and the vehicles breaks locked up. No injuries but I had both my children with me in the car and we were all quite shaken up. The event in XXX happened while my husband was traveling on climax rd in [XXX]. On a sunny day with no one ahead of him traveling at about 45mph the same pre collision warning happened and the breaks locked up on him causing his tires to scratch and the car to come to a Hault. no injuries as a result. Additionally we have had multiple failures of the auto start/stop system while in active traffic. At this point it is about 5 times. Each failure resulted in the car having to be turned off and back on while in active traffic. The vehicle is scheduled to be brought into the suburu dealer of Purchase for inspection for these issues. An issues has also been filed with Suburu of America. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Incident: August 26, 2026 · Filed: August 27, 2026

The affected product is a Kuat Sherpa 2.0 hitch-mounted bicycle rack (2-bike, [1.25" / 2"] receiver), purchased new in January 2023, mounted on a 2022 Subaru Forester. On two occasions in the past several months, the front ratchet/hook arm that secures the front wheel released on its own while the vehicle was in motion, allowing the bicycle to come off the tray. On July 17th 2026, at approximately 15 mph on a gravel driveway, the bike released and was retained only by the rear wheel strap. On August 26th 2026, at approximately 15 mph, the bike released again and was retained only because a supplemental lock cable was attached; the bike ended up on the ground behind the vehicle with the rack still mounted and deployed (photo attached, timestamped 8/26/26 21:56). The rack was installed and used per the manufacturer's user guide: correct hitch class, provided hitch pin, torqued to spec, genuine unmodified parts, and within the stated weight limit. There was no crash, curb strike, or overloading. No injury or property damage to other vehicles occurred, but a bicycle detaching from a rack at highway speed presents a clear risk of a crash to following traffic. Note for investigators: NHTSA recall campaign 24E044 addressed a similar carrier-drop failure on Kuat's Transfer v2, in which a pivot mechanism could disengage and let the carrier/bike drop while driving. The failure I experienced on the Sherpa 2.0 is the same class of failure. I have not seen a recall covering the Sherpa 2.0.

Incident: August 15, 2026 · Filed: August 19, 2026

On 8/15/2026 my car's EyeSight system falsely automatically engaged Pre-Collision Braking on a clear road with no cars, obstacles or potholes ahead, on a sunny day, accelerating at 10–15 mph from a traffic light stop. The car was brought to an abrupt stop with no warning beeps from the Eyesight system that are supposed to precede its activation. This event almost caused a chain-like rear end collision involving 2-3 cars behind my car. On 8/19/2026 a Subaru dealership scanned for DTC codes, found none, stated that since no codes were found,there is no problem found. Dealership did not offer to recalibrate the Eyesight system or do any additional diagnostic work.

Incident: August 12, 2026 · Filed: August 12, 2026

We are experiencing the exact same problem as the recall Under NHTSA Campaign No. 23V755000 (Subaru recall code WRQ-23) for an ineffective weld leading to moisture affecting the backup camera and dashboard lights. However, our VIN is NOT included in the recall.

Incident: May 21, 2026 · Filed: July 9, 2026

While driving my 2022 Subaru Forester, the factory EyeSight autonomous safety system completely failed and disabled itself permanently. The total system shutdown caused an immediate loss of Pre-Collision Emergency Braking, Lane Change Detection, and Adaptive Cruise Control, creating an active highway safety hazard. A subsequent diagnostic scan by an authorized retailer confirmed hard fault code B1402, indicating that the internal factory camera software permanently corrupted itself and erased its own model code data profile. The manufacturer has issued TSB 07-225-24 to address this exact internal memory logic crash, but is currently refusing to replace this critical, failed safety system on a vehicle with only 32,364 miles.

Incident: June 17, 2026 · Filed: June 23, 2026

The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Forester. While the contact's wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a failed inhibitor switch. The contact was informed that the inhibitor switch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was being repaired. The contact was informed that parts were on back order. The contact referenced an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not associated with a recall related to the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 51,000.

Incident: May 11, 2026 · Filed: May 12, 2026

The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at the dealer for a service appointment, the contact was advised that the batter was defective. The contact was informed that the battery was not large enough for the power of the vehicle. The contact was informed that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was a known failure of the vehicle. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 30,200.

Incident: March 17, 2026 · Filed: March 18, 2026

Back window shattered spontaneously. No known cause. No evidence of vandalism. Temperature did drop 45 degrees over night. Shut side door and back window shattered. Had not started car yet. Rear defroster not engaged.