What 405 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Subaru Forester Wilderness

I had my foot on the brake, opened the garage door with my garage door opener, and before I took my foot off the brake the car surged, jumped, and smashed into the brick wall next to the garage. I did not put my foot on the gas.

NHTSA ODI 11726168

Vehicle self-accelerated abruptly while parked and crashed into another vehicle causing damage to both vehicles

NHTSA ODI 11684309

When parked on a slope, driver attempted to back SUV out of parking space. Before starting car, with key inserted, ignition on and foot on brake, driver attempted to remove gearshift from park. Car drifted backward rapidly and uncontrollably. The brakes completely failed even with foot on brake. The car was a hazard to anyone in its path and could not be stopped. The emergency brake was attempted but failed to stop the car. Power steering failed. Gearshift could not be put back into park. SUV crashed heavily into a sign protecting the gas pump, but auto suffered major damage: REAR WRAP AROUND BUMPER, ENTIRE POWER LIFT DOOR, AND FRAME, were included in the damage. Driver was the wife of a couple. Very importantly, the husband had experienced the exact same uncontrollable roll-back in the same vehicle at the same place a few weeks earlier, but somehow missed the gas pump and sign. At that time, the car was uncontrollable and caused panic for both drivers in separate incidents. THAT'S NOT ALL--of key importance was a conversation we--as a couple--had with the salesman and the dealership's lead mechanic when the auto was purchased in 2017. We pointed out that when backing out of a space on a slight downslope and changing gears, the car drifted backwards uncontrollably a number of feet--at least three to six feet. At that time in 2027, we told them we did not like this feature, and it could be a danger to children playing in the driveway. They said that the manufacturers' engineering department knew about this. And were making improvements. Subsequently we investigated this engineering/design fault online, discussed it again with the dealership, then dropped the issue. THE BOTTOM LINE: THIS SEEMS TO US TO BE A GENUINE MANUFACTURING FAULT. WE BOTH EXPERIENCED THIS UNCONTROLLABLE DRIFT BACK WHEN ATTEMPTING TO BRAKE THE CAR. IT IS FRIGHTENENING AND DANGEROUS TO BE IN A VEHICLE WEIGHING TONS WITHOUT ANY ABILITY TO CONTROL IT. PLEASE INVESTIGATE.

NHTSA ODI 11618333

I backed out of a parking space, put my foot on the brake and shifted into Drive to finish maneuvering out of the space. Although I didn't remove my foot from the brake, my Forester immediately accelerated at extremely high speed, striking the two cars parked next to me, and seriously damaging both. Rather than slowing down after hitting the other two vehicles, my car continued to speed up, only coming to a stop when it hit, head-on, a cement barrier surrounding the lot. My car hit with such force that every airbag in it deployed, and its front end was totally destroyed. No one was in the other two cars; I suffered minor injuries.

NHTSA ODI 11586376

I was driving very slowly in a long line of traffic due to a sudden downpour of hail, ice pellets, and frozen rain which blanketed the road in white. Suddenly, without warning, my 2016 Subaru Forester accelerated and veered to the right and into a grove of trees doing extensive damage to the front end. The vehicle was totaled by my insurance company. I suspect that there was sudden acceleration and because of the icy road conditions my car left the road instead of plowing into the car ahead of me. The airbags didn't go off and I wasn't hurt at all but the entire front end was beyond repair.

NHTSA ODI 11585676

October 31, 2023 at approximately 11:45 am was slowly pulling in to HEB Curbside parking spot #[XXX] at 651 N U.S. 183 in Leander, Texas and the car accelerated at a high speed without touching the gas pedal. I responded with braking but it did not stop the crash in to the concrete pylon. The pylon is fine but my front end on the 2016 Subaru Forester is not. It will need extensive repair. I got a ride for myself and my groceries, notified my insurance company but unfortunately, I am only covered by liability insurance. I am very fortunate that no-one was hurt including myself. The car remains at the scene of the accident in parking slot [XXX]. I am aware that this is not an isolated incident for this Make, Model, and Year of this vehicle. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11552884

On 8/13/23 one of the lift gate struts on my 2016 Forester sheared off at the bolt while I was loading groceries into the back. It crashed onto my shoulder with no warning, no sound, and very quickly. I was unable to reach up to stop it in time and was standing under the gate. While I did not require medical attention it did cause a bruise and muscle soreness for a few days. I should still have the lift gate strut that broke unless the dealer took it from my car. I have photos either way. This situation could be extremely dangerous for a couple reasons, one because it sheared off at all, and also because the other lift gate strut does not support the weight of the gate by itself, and it was 11 days before I could get the broken one replaced. It could have hit me in the head, broken a bone, landed on a child or pet, etc, either when it sheared off initially, or when the gate crashed down onto me or another person during the time I was waiting to get the repair. You also cannot close the gate without removing the broken lift gate strut which is dangerous by itself. I am aware that there is an extended warranty, but Subaru told me it only applies if the lift gate strut breaks or doesn't work, so I could not get them replaced prior to this under the warranty. I feel this should be a recall, not a warranty extension, because if consumers have to wait until the lift gate strut fails, then it's more likely to cause serious injury. On a Forester owner's forum online I looked for similar issues and immediately found a couple other people to whom this happened. I did not look much farther than that, I just wanted to know if it was only me, and it wasn't. So the dealer did replace the one that broke, under the warranty, but they said the non-broken one was not covered. That means I have to either pay them excess money to replace it (vs. going to my own mechanic, paying less but thereby voiding the warranty) or wait until the second one fails. This needs to be a recall. The contact stated on 8/26/23 the second lift gate strut sheared off and the gate again crashed down. Fortunately I was clear of it this time. But I need to amend or add all of this information and more (including photos) to the original complaint.

NHTSA ODI 11540684

The car caught on fire while in operation. A complete loss. It started in the engine

NHTSA ODI 11538170

While stopped at a “STOP” sign, the Subaru Forester unintentionally accelerated into a tree although the brake pedals were repeatedly utilized; it was totaled.

NHTSA ODI 11523588

I purchased on March 18, 2023 at HGREG West Palm Beach dealership. The salesperson did not disclosure the previous car incident information, I found it later that car has 2 car incidents. After purchasing a car on April 30, after I parked my car, its started unprovoked alarms. I have no control over my car for about 15 min. I knew that my car has an anti theft device so I contacted MagniShield and Road Vantage- the companies affiliated with HGreg Dealership where I purchased my car. I spoke with the MagniShiled representative- Edter but they refuse to explain what is the service installed in this car and refuse to cancel this service by my request. During this time, I have been contacting Dealership almost every week trying to get any clear explanation but they refused to give me any information or cancel the warranty contract. The fact that the car had several severe safety issues. On April 3, 2023 I was driving my kids from school and my car started to burn on the road. Heavy smog and explosions started coming from under the hood - inside the car. I had to do an emergency stop on the side of the road, quickly grab my two boys and run away from the car. I called 911. The police came and they called the fire station. Police officer made a police report, I have a case number. Same day my car was taken to the Midas. Midas specialist explained to me that this car was under the risk of fire to drive and can start burning at any time. The air conditioner exploded because it was under very high pressure. The mechanic found another safety issue - suspension was not attached properly and it was very loose. It might have caused a loss of control over the car, while driving, ultimately resulting in a severe accident Also, less than a week before, on March 28, 2023 I had to do another major service at Midas for the same car. This was just 10 days after the purchase. I changed oil, all filters and did wheel alignment, because they were heavily misaligned.

NHTSA ODI 11523704

Car unexpectedly accelerated when turning into a parking space. Gradually braking going in to the space and then car suddenly accelerated across the curb and hit a building. Car can be available for inspection. No one was hurt but only because of being lucky that no one was on the sidewalk by the building. Emergency services were called and police made a report and all is reported to the insurance company. There has been no inspection yet by manufacturer. Called Subaru and they said to get the body work done first and then bring the car in for inspection. No warning sounds or lights noticed prior to the problem.

NHTSA ODI 11514085

When accelerator is slightly pushed after the vehicle has come to stop it accelerates in a jack rabbit manner. The driver stopped at beginning of driveway parking area, and decided to move slightly forward. A slight push on accelerator pedal caused vehicle to lurch forward and do $8,700 damage to the closed 2 car garage door, and $1,000+ to vehicle. Date of accident 02/10/2023

NHTSA ODI 11506839

Pulled into parking space in shopping mall. The car accelerated over the curb and ran into a store front knocking out a wall. The car was still in Drive when it came to a stop. No one was hurt in the car, on the sidewalk or in the store. There is a class action law suit on this model of Subaru for uncontrolled/sudden acceleration while coming to a stop, but Subaru does not acknowledge any problem. This was the first indication of a sudden acceleration for this car. It just had its 30,000 inspection from the Subaru dealer.

NHTSA ODI 11480037

The accident with my 2016 Subaru Forester happened on 07-07-2022. It happened in daylight on our farm. I was the only person in the car and was wearing my seatbelt. I had slowly pulled into a parking spot, had my foot on the brake and had essentially stopped at the 6x6 piece of lumber that was marking the spot. As I was stopping the car accelerated out of control and sped down a very narrow path on a hill diagonally to the right of the parking spot. I struggled to control the car as I sped down the hill toward the gravel driveway. I was able to avoid hitting a large spruce tree and avoid turning over in the deep ditch on the hill. I was going so fast, I ran over a sapling and ran into a large apple tree, tipping it over, damaging my right front passenger side, pushing the wheel back into the wheel well. My brakes were not responding. When I reached the gravel driveway at the bottom of the hill, I lifted my foot slightly and stomped on the brake, skidding to a stop just before going down another steep hill which leads to a creek. I was parallel to a road/driveway which often has many cars driving on it that time of the day. It is also used as a walking path. Luckily I did not hit anyone. I was able to barely turn the wheel and move the car out of the road/driveway. Since it was on our farm there was no police report necessary. I hurt my ribs, shoulder, back and neck. The accident had potential for injuring me much more severely if I had rolled over, hit a tree head on or been unable to stop, continuing down another hill toward a creek. I could have hit another car or people walking on the road No warning lights, it surged slightly when slowing to turn a corner the day before. Unknown component failed The car is presently at Masters Auto Body in Charlottesville VA. They are completing the repairs and will take it to the Subaru dealer in Staunton, VA to have them check for the cause of the unintended acceleration.

NHTSA ODI 11479076

My Subaru Forester is equipped with Airbags and Subaru's Eye Sight anti-collision braking system. On Aug 5th my wife met with an accident while trying to avoid a head-on collision side swiped a vehicle on the right lane which hit the car on the rear side and the impact further changed the direction of her car and she went and hit the steel fence stone pillar on the right side. The frontal collision with the stone pillar damaged the bumper and car engine is dislocated from its position as the frame is deformed and the front tires jammed. The car's famed anti-collision system did not prevent the collision and the Air bags failed to deploy. I suspect that there is a serious manufacturing defect that all the safety systems failed in the car, hence I request you to conduct an enquiry while the car is being sent to the repair center to ascertain the right cause of failure.

NHTSA ODI 11478865

The contact owns a 2016 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while attempting to park in a driveway, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated causing the contact to crash into a building wall. There were no injuries sustained. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was repaired but the failure continued to proceed to accelerate. several times after the repairs. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 600.

NHTSA ODI 11468988

Was Backing up and car started excelling and the throttle stuck hitting 2 cars It was out of control I got it in drive and it took off forward running full throttle up over the pavers around a tree and ran up on the side of a BMW which was sitting on the side of The hostess paved driveway coming down the side of the car My car was on 2 wheels . Came off the BMW and slammed into a tree trunk which stopped it. I got out of my car in disbelief . It happened on private property and We did call the police. But since it happened on private property They did not come but told us to get each others info for insurance Purposes

NHTSA ODI 11466929

I arrived at work. I was placing my car in park with foot on the brake. The car took off and the brakes took time to stop the car. I tried to stop the car as we hit a fence and was headed through it it and into a pond. Pumping the brakes throwing car in reverse stopped us from ending up in the pond. Major car damage incurred. Thank goodness noone was seriously hurt. The car just accelerated with my foot on the brake and with me attemtping to put it in park.

NHTSA ODI 11463552

Car accelerated while I was parking in a parking spot and hit fence and unoccupied storefront.

NHTSA ODI 11457842

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2016 SUBARU FORESTER . THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT LOW SPEEDS 25 MPH, THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCED UNINTENDED ACCELERATION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WENT THROUGH HER NEIGHBOR GARAGE AND CRASHED INTO OTHER VEHICLES THAT WAS IN THE GARAGE, THE VEHICLE THEN EXITED ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GARAGE AND CRASHED INTO A SNOWBLOWER, AND A TRACTOR TRAILER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT SHE DID NOT SUSTAINED INJURIES BUT SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION. NO WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN AUTO BODY SHOP. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE . THE FAILURE MILEAGE APPROXIMATELY 30,000.

NHTSA ODI 11397394

I WAS PREPARING TO PARK MY CAR ,IN THE PARKING LOT OF THE GIANT PARKING LOT MY FOOT WAS ON THE BRAKE AND THE CAR WAS ALMOST AT A COMPLETE STOP WHEN THE CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED . UPON ACCELERATION, THE CAR HIT THE STEEL CONSTRUCTION UNIT THAT IS BUILT TO STORE THE CUSTOMER SHOPPING CARTS AND DRAGGED THIS FORWARD BEFORE CRASHING INTO THE SIDE OF A VEHICLE THAT WAS IN THE NEXT AISLE

NHTSA ODI 11390652

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 SUBARU FORESTER. THE CONTACT STATED WHEN DEPRESSING ON THE BRAKE PEDAL IT FAILED TO STOP THE VEHICLE AND REAR ENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED NO WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT DID NOT HAVE ANY INJURIES OR SOUGHT MEDICAL ATTENTION. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT STATED HE HAD EXPERIENCED THE FAILURE ON 3 DIFFERENT OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO LOCAL DEALER GRAYSON HYUNDAI ( 8729 KINGSTON PIKE, KNOXVILLE, TN 37923; (865) 693-4550) AND HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO PROPERLY DIAGNOSE THE VEHICLE AS OF YET. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED AS OF YET. THE MANUFACTURER HAD BEEN INFORMED OF FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 16,000.

NHTSA ODI 11378295

2016 SUBARU FORESTER. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG SAFETY RECALL. *LD THE CONSUMER STATED SHORTLY AFTER RECEIVING THE RECALL NOTICE, THE VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A HEAD ON COLLISION WITH A TREE. THE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY. THE VEHICLE WAS TOTALED. *JS

NHTSA ODI 11349491

STEERING WHEEL LOCKED WHILE CAR WAS BEING DRIVEN ON HIGHWAY, CAUSING CAR TO CRASH INTO GUARDRAIL ON MEDIAN, CAUSING EXTENSIVE BENT FRAME OF CAR AND EXTENSIVE BODY DAMAGE, CAUSING CAR TO BE DECLARED A TOTAL LOSS, AND CAUSING NERVE DAMAGE IN THE NECK OF DRIVER.

NHTSA ODI 11323214

ON OCTOBER 2ND 2019 I WAS TRAVELING ON THE EXPRESS WAY AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS WHEN I WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT. DAMAGES TO MY CAR WERE SO BAD THAT THE CLAIMS DEPARTMENT DEEMED IT AS A TOTAL LOSS. THE FRONT OF MY CAR WAS COMPLETELY SMASHED IN. NEITHER OF MY AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT SUBARUS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE SAFE SO THIS IS VERY DISAPPOINTING. I'M NOT SURE WHERE TO GO FROM HERE ABOUT THIS BUT IT IS SCARY THAT THIS HAPPENED.*DT*JB

NHTSA ODI 11266030