2024 Subaru Forester problems & reliability
29 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2024 Subaru Forester, alongside 2 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Sep 21, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several components.
1 complaint report injuries (1 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2024 Subaru Forester vehicles were involved in 1 fatal crash with 1 occupant death. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown / Other | 9 | 31% |
| Air Bags | 7 | 24% |
| Visibility/wiper | 5 | 17% |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 4 | 14% |
| Exterior Lighting | 2 | 7% |
| Structure | 2 | 7% |
| Back Over Prevention | 1 | 3% |
| Electrical System | 1 | 3% |
| Engine | 1 | 3% |
| Lane Departure | 1 | 3% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 14 reported components →Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“While driving my grandbaby home I was unable to avoid hitting a deer when it ran into the road. Neither the automatic braking nor the airbags deployed when I hit the deer at the front left side. It destroyed the headlight and damaged the fender and quarterpanel lightly and slightly bent the hood. I was able to pull…”
Structure · filed Aug 15, 2026
“I am writing to formally request that the NTSB investigate an apparent defect in the EyeSight driver assistance system installed on the 2024 Subaru Forester. I have experienced repeated instances of unreliable and unsafe behavior, including unexpected alerts and the EyeSight system disengaging on multiple occasions…”
Forward Collision Avoidance · filed Apr 23, 2026
“Windshield cracks/chips very easily even when nothing has touched it. I have had 4 cracks in less than 6 months with no reason as to why they are occurring and they are ALL on the driver side, NOTHING on passenger side, which seems very odd. This car was bought brand new in February 2025 and this should not be…”
Unknown / Other · filed Apr 23, 2026
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
176 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2024 Subaru Forester. The 10 most recent:
This bulletin announces the service procedures to be followed when encountering instances of water intrusion from the sunroof area. This is an revised version of the original bulletin.
12-269-25R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 31, 2026
This Announcement provides diagnostic assistance for CVT issues.
SubaruNet Announcement (C · Other · issued Aug 21, 2026
This bulletin provides guidance when diagnosing chain slip, judder, shudder, and hesitation concerns on the TR580 model CVT transmissions used in the models listed.
16-158-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 20, 2026
This Service Information Bulletin announces the release of a new diagnostic assistance application for TR690 and TR580 CVT-equipped vehicles. This is an revised version of the original bulletin.
16-154-25R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 20, 2026
This Service Information Bulletin outlines a systematic procedure for diagnosing parasitic draw (dark/standby current) in vehicles experiencing battery drain when the ignition is off, leading to no-start conditions or…
15-308-23R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 20, 2026
This Bulletin has been developed to outline the steps for gathering basic but essential information during diagnosis of Infotainment concerns. (This is an revised version of the original bulletin.)
15-304-22R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 13, 2026
Techtips newsletter locator index.
Article Locator · Other · issued Aug 5, 2026
This bulletin contains illustrations of exchange components and their manufacturer as well as a description of the proper exchange procedure. This is an revised version of the original bulletin
15-333-25R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 1, 2026
This bulletin announces the design change made to the high-pressure fuel pump developed to prevent DTC P0087 (Fuel Rail/System Pressure – Too Low Bank 1). (This is an revised version of the original bulletin.)
09-123-24R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 28, 2026
This bulletin provides new diagnostic steps for DTC P0851 and P0852 to be used in conjunction with the applicable Service Manual.
16-159-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 23, 2026
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2024 Subaru Forester has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2024 Subaru Forester?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.