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What 70 owners told NHTSA about the 2023 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 (70)Crash / fire / injury (11)Driver assistance (12)Visibility & wipers (12)Electrical system (7)Airbags (6)Engine (5)Lane Departure (5)Speed control (5)Lights (4)Body & structure (3)Brakes (3)

2 of 70 complaints match · Driver assistance · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Jul 10, 2026Driver assistanceCrash

The contact owned a 2023 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle independently accelerated, and the Forward Collision Avoidance system was inoperative, causing the front center of the vehicle to crash into five other vehicles while trying to stop the vehicle. The air bags deployed as needed. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was deemed a total loss at the scene. A Police report was filed. No injuries were sustained, and medical attention was not needed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.

NHTSA ODI 11749571

Oct 28, 2023BrakesDriver assistanceCrashFire

Hit a deer the vehicle immediately was on fire and burnt to the ground. It had 3000 miles on it

NHTSA ODI 11552427

Working with the data? Download all 70 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 2023 Subaru Forester Wilderness verdict →