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What 613 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 Subaru Forester Wilderness

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (613)Crash / fire / injury (61)Engine (131)Airbags (101)Transmission & drivetrain (95)Electrical system (82)Speed control (70)Suspension (66)Fuel system (56)Brakes (35)Visibility & wipers (28)Seats (22)

6 of 613 complaints match · Transmission & drivetrain · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Dec 4, 2023Transmission & drivetrainCrash1 injury

The contact owned a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at 10 MPH, in a residential parking lot, the contact stated while he was parking, the vehicle independently accelerated and crashed into a nearby tree. The contact stated before crashing into the nearby tree the vehicle also hit a nearby pole. The contact stated that the acceleration continued to get faster and faster. The contact also stated that none of the air bags deployed. A police report was filed. The contact's wife was transferred by ambulance to a hospital for medical attention. The contact's wife suffered a compression fractured vertebra and she had been experiencing severe pain. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard. The vehicle was condemned to total loss by the insurance company. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.

NHTSA ODI 11558358

Feb 13, 2023Transmission & drivetrainSpeed controlCrash

I was backing out of a parking spot, and there was a telephone poll behind me in my path. I needed to pull forward to navigate around this poll. After backing up some, I put the car into drive to pull slightly forward, and the car lurched aggressively, so much so that I got out to see if it'd caught on something. It did not -- there was absolutely nothing there. So I got back in and tried to continue forward, and the accelerator went full force. I floored the brake pedal, but the car behaved as though I was flooring the accelerator. The car drove itself over a cement block, through a staircase and into the brick wall of an abandoned building, continuing to accelerate for a few seconds while against the wall. Air bags did not deploy. I walked away without physical injury, thank goodness. There were no warning lights, symptoms of or dashboard indicators of a problem before or during the issue. Upon investigation online, we see that there is a pending class action for this exact issue. The vehicle has been inspected by our insurance carrier and been deemed a total loss. Insurance has asked that we turn the title over to them in order to receive our payout, and I believe they plan to destroy the car.

NHTSA ODI 11507009

Apr 21, 2021Transmission & drivetrainAirbagsEngineCrash

PULLING INTO PARKING SPOT, VEHICLE STARTED TO STALL, GAVE A LITTLE MORE GAS AND VEHICLE LAUNCHED FORWARD AND HIT CEMENT POLE. NO DAMAGE TO POLE CAR DAMAGE AROUND 8K.AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THIS HAS HAPPENED WHEN PULLING OUT INTO TRAFFIC ALSO

NHTSA ODI 11413243

Apr 16, 2019Transmission & drivetrainSpeed controlCrash

WHEN STOPPED IN TRAFFIC CAR HESITATES, STALLS AND STUMBLES TO ACCELERATE FOR A FEW SECONDS. UNABLE TO SHIFT FROM 1ST TO 2ND SMOOTHLY (STUCK IN 1ST GEAR?). WAS REAR ENDED WHEN UNABLE TO ACCELERATE AT LIGHT. DEALER DID SOFTWARE UPDATE THAT DID NOT FIX PROBLEM, STILL ONGOING

NHTSA ODI 11196736

Oct 13, 2016Transmission & drivetrainEngineCrash

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 SUBARU FORESTER. WHILE PARKING THE VEHICLE AND DEPRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL AT 5 MPH, THE VEHICLE SURGED AND LURCHED FORWARD. AS A RESULT, A CRASH OCCURRED WITH SEVERAL OTHER VEHICLES. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES SUSTAINED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC, BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 14,000.

NHTSA ODI 10915747

Dec 19, 2014Transmission & drivetrainAirbagsCrash

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 SUBARU FORESTER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE IN PARK, THE VEHICLE ROLLED AWAY. AS A RESULT, THE VEHICLE CRASHED INTO TREES AND THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES REPORTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 2,000.

NHTSA ODI 10667330

Working with the data? Download all 613 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 19, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2015 Subaru Forester Wilderness verdict →