What 405 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Subaru Forester

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

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

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

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

THERE WERE 5 MAJOR ISSUES WITH MY VEHICLE THAT I WANT INVESTIGATED. I WAS DRIVING STRAIGHT NB ON US-101 IN THE #1 LANE OF TRAFFIC, GOING APPROXIMATELY 75 MPH, WHEN FOR NO EXPLAINABLE REASON, THE REAR TIRES OF MY 2016 SUBARU FORESTER BEGAN TO SKID ME ACROSS THE #2 LANE OF TRAFFIC. I WILL NOTE THAT IT HAD JUST STOPPED SPRINKLING AND THE ROAD WAS DAMP. ISSUE 1: DURING MY SKID, THE SKID CONTROL FEATURE NEVER ENGAGED (WHICH IS A MARKETED FEATURE AND A REASON I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE). I HAD TO FIGHT THE SKID ON MY OWN. ISSUE 2: THE ROLL OVER FEATURE NEVER ENGAGED (WHICH IS A MARKETED FEATURE AND ANOTHER REASON I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE). AFTER FIGHTING TO PREVENT MY VEHICLE FROM ROLLING OVER AND SKIDDING OUT OF CONTROL, I ULTIMATELY CRASH ON THE SHOULDER OF THE FREEWAY, HITTING A LIGHT POST. ISSUE 3: UPON HITTING THE LIGHT POST, MY SEAT BELT FLEW OFF. (BOTH MY HANDS WERE ON THE WHEEL AT THE TIME AND THERE WERE NO LOOSE OBJECTS IN THE AREA. UNLESS THIS IS SOME "FEATURE" IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS FOR THE SEAT BELT TO DISENGAGE AUTOMATICALLY.) ISSUE 4: THE CRASH NOTIFICATION FEATURE, THAT I PAID EXTRA FOR, DID NOT DO IT'S JOB. EVEN WITH MY CELL PHONE LINKED TO THE VEHICLE, THE CRASH NOTIFICATION NEVER CALLED 9-1-1 ON MY BEHALF. I IMMEDIATELY CALLED 9-1-1 TO NOTIFY CHP OF MY ACCIDENT BECAUSE I WAS FEARFUL OF ANOTHER VEHICLE ALSO SPINNING OUT OF CONTROL AND HITTING ME. CHP TOOK A REPORT. ** ISSUE 5 **: THE AIR BAGS NEVER DEPLOYED. NONE OF THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. MY CAR WAS DEEMED TOTALED BY THE INSURANCE COMPANY AND AUTO BODY SHOP. THE AUTO BODY SHOP STATED VEHICLE HIT THE POLE SO HARD ALL BOLTS WERE BENT INTO A 45 DEGREE ANGLE. HOW DOES A CRASH THAT SEVERE NOT ENGAGE THE AIR BAGS? I HAD A SCAR ON MY COLLAR BONE FOR A MONTH AFTER THE CRASH. NONE OF THE MARKETED OR REQUIRED SAFETY FEATURES WORKED TO PREVENT THE CRASH NOR ASSIST AFTER THE CRASH.

NHTSA ODI 11243025

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2016 SUBARU FORESTER. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50-55 MPH, THE VEHICLE HYDROPLANED, STRUCK A WALL, AND WAS STRUCK BY THREE OTHER VEHICLES. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED A BRUISED FACE AND MINOR CONTUSIONS, WHICH DID NOT REQUIRE MEDICAL ATTENTION. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED AND TOWED TO A SALVAGE FACILITY. A DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 36,000.

NHTSA ODI 11165089

MY ACCIDENT INVOLVED HITTING A TREE HEAD-ON TRAVELING AT LEAST 10-15 MPH. I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT AT LEAST 3 AIRBAGS WOULD HAVE DEPLOYED (SIDE CURTAIN, STEERING, AND DASH FOR KNEES) PREVENTING ME FROM HITTING MY HEAD.

NHTSA ODI 11015021

FRONT END TOTAL COLLISION TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 30MPH ON A RESIDENTIAL SECTION OF A MAIN STREET. HIT, AND BROKE, A TELEPHONE POLE. CAR DEEMED TOTALED. NO AIRBAGS DEPLOYED.

NHTSA ODI 10992796

"TAKATA RECALL" VEHICLE ACCELLERATED, BRAKES DID NOT STOP VEHICLE, ACCIDENT TOOK PLACE INJURING MY WIFE, PHYSICALLY, EMOTIONALLY & PSYCHOLOGICALLY. AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. WIFE WAS TRYING TO PARK, WHEN VEHICLE SPED UP AND HER BRAKING HAD NO EFFECT AND SHE CRASHED INTO A PARKED VEHICLE.

NHTSA ODI 10918643