Home · 2018 Subaru Forester Wilderness · Complaints

What 488 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 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 (488)Crash / fire / injury (28)Visibility & wipers (156)Airbags (92)Electrical system (68)Engine (31)Speed control (30)Seats (28)Steering (24)Transmission & drivetrain (23)Fuel system (20)Suspension (15)

2 of 488 complaints match · Airbags · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Jan 5, 2022AirbagsBrakesFuel systemCrash1 injury

While turning in a parking lot car accelerated and hit a tree. Foot was on brake and airbags didn’t deploy despite extensive damage. Body shop estimator said computer wouldn’t confirm problem. It was not caused by floor mat! No warning lights prior to incident.

NHTSA ODI 11446303

Sep 2, 2019AirbagsCrash2 injuries

I WAS IN AN ACCIDENT IN WHICH A CAR T-BONED MY PASSENGER SIDE. NO AIRBAGS DEPLOYED AND WE SUFFERED INJURY AS A RESULT. THE OTHER CAR THAT HIT US HAD ALL AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. THIS WAS A MALFUNCTION IN THE SUBARU I DRIVE. THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED WHILE I WAS IN MOTION GOING 40MPH AND A CAR HIT ME AFTER RUNNING A RED LIGHT GOING 45MPH

NHTSA ODI 11252727

Working with the data? Download all 488 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 2018 Subaru Forester Wilderness verdict →