Home · 2024 Subaru Forester Wilderness · Complaints

What 28 owners told NHTSA about the 2024 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 (28)Crash / fire / injury (4)Airbags (6)Visibility & wipers (5)Driver assistance (3)Lights (2)Backup camera & sensors (1)Body & structure (1)Brakes (1)Electrical system (1)Engine (1)Lane Departure (1)

4 of 28 complaints match · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Mar 8, 2025Body & structure1 injury

I opened the back hatch of my 2024 Subaru Forester to retrieve an item. I then pressed the button to close the hatch. It was an extremely windy day and right when I pressed the button to close the hatch an empty grocery bag blew out of the car. I caught it and shoved it back into the car. The hatch was closing at the time and it struck me on the head. I contacted a local Subaru dealer and Subaru corporate to confirm that the hatch was supposed to stop and reverse when encountering an obstruction. It did not. I have been suffering from a severe headache since this happened a week ago. I will be taking my car in to have it repaired as well as seeing a doctor since my headache has not resolved. Please investigate and ensure this safety issue is corrected by Subaru.

NHTSA ODI 11647168

Feb 11, 2025TiresCrash

Bridgestone Ecopia H/L Plus tires are M+S rated. They actually have almost no traction in the snow. I can be going under 5 mph on level ground and apply roughly 30% breaking power and the tires start to slip. They are going to kill someone.

NHTSA ODI 11642077

Jan 23, 2025Speed controlCrash

What Component or system failed or malfunctioned. A control system (I am guessing a computer or software problem occurred. The car had a sudden unexpected acceleration. On [XXX] my 2024 Subaru Forester Sport while completing parking in a parking spot had a sudden unintended acceleration event. My foot was not on the acceleration. The automobile travelled at least 27 feet before I was able to stop the vehicle. The car skidded when I depressed the brakes. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The car accelerated over curbs and a planter and onto a wide sidewalk with a bus stop. The car hit the bus stop structure and a sign. If there had been a pedestrian on the sidewalk, the pedestrian might have been killed. If the car had travelled another 10 feet, I would have been crossing a busy boulevard. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? The car was taken to Dalton Subaru dealership in National City, California. Dalton Subaru did an initial test of systems with their computer. Subaru of America investigated. The Subaru of America corporation stated the accident was due to driver's error and that my foot was not on the accelerator. THIS STATEMENT IS NOT TRUE! I am 100% sure that my foot was not on the accelerator when the car had a sudden unintended acceleration. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others. The Subaru of America Corporation has inspected the car. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? There were no warning signs. The Sudden Unintended Acceleration event happened only once. It occurred on [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11638044

Dec 29, 2024BrakesCrash

Left the house and at about 1.5 miles while approaching a stop sign the vehicle brakes did not engage even when pushing all the way down. Resulting in a collision that landed in a corn field and jumping over a ditch. Vehicle has not been inspected by a mechanic but will be heading to repair shop soon. Would like to know any information the NHTSA would like to collect during repairs to rely the information to the shop. Safety was put at risk by crossing an intersection and running a stop sign. Luckily no other vehicles were impacted. Problem has not been able to be reproduced as the vehicle is not drivable. It has not been inspected by manufacturer but is not drivable. Police report available and provided on this form. No warning or signs. Vehicle is new purchased January 2024. Currently many warning signs on dashboard post accident. Additional information needed for this report (Repair cost, insurance claim etc) will be provided once available.

NHTSA ODI 11632976

Working with the data? Download all 28 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 2024 Subaru Forester Wilderness verdict →