This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Bracket on door side of driver's seat is no longer supporting left front corner of seat. Apparently, 2 small spot welds have failed. They can be seen straddling threads of a bolt towards the bottom of the attached photo. I contacted Subaru of America (soa) and they claim they haven't heard of this issue despite the relatively large number of complaints filed with NHTSA for 2010 Foresters. Additionally, no recall has been issued and there was no offer from soa to make a good will repair at no charge to the customer. It would seem this would be considered a safety issue since it directly involves the driver's seat. I first noticed issue while I was driving and couldn't adjust my seat properly.
While in operation, during a left hand turn, the front left corner of the driver seat made an audible 'pop' and collapsed several inches. The seat is an electric adjustable, which does not appear to be effected by the seat base breaking. The seat is able to be lifted and pressed up and down 5 or so inches, and the corner which is broken sags under weight.
The driver's seat bottom frame came unwelded at the front left side of the frame. The part broke when the car was stationary. The driver's left leg is now unsupported and the seat bottom moves freely. Numerous other reports of the same problem have been documented on other websites.
Front left seat has fallen and from research here and on internet, it appears weld has broken on seat. Vehicle only has 80K miles. This is a safety issue and repairs should be covered on recall. We were driving on city streets and left front seat just fell.
Front drivers seat collapse on right side of seat towards the passenger side. Its very uncomfortable to drive the car. I looked in der seat and appears a bracket holding the seat has broken, very unsafe, Subaru needs to recall this car for repairs. Car has about 46,000 thousand miles.
- Meriden, CT, USA
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I own a 2010 Subaru Forester. The driver seat bracket weld failed while under low mileage. Thinking that this was a safety concern, I came in to talk about options. I was told I was wrong by thinking it was a common issue and that it wouldn't be covered, and was presented with a bit of a combative tone. I understand this, they can't go around saying yes to everyone that walks in the door. While they did offer to take a look, it was with hesitation. At the very least, I was hoping they would have offered to submit a claim to Subaru of America, but no offer was given. Many people from these threads went to their local dealers and seemed to have it covered, and if not, at least a claim submitted to Subaru of America. This is of great concern to me because of the fact that this is a safety issue putting my family at risk. Even if there was no potential for monetary coverage of the repair, I would have appreciated some sign of concern for my safety while in a vehicle brand this dealership represents. Https://www.carcomplaints.com/Subaru/Forester/2010/accessories-interior/seats.shtmlwww.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/F88/driver-S-seat-collapse-126336/index3.html
Broken seat welds drivers side power seat side nearest drivers door.seat leans considerably towards door. Seat can be moved up and down several inches.this needs to be a recall.it is very common on the 2010 model.Subaru needs to back quality.seat welds should never break.
The left side weld on the driver's seat broke while driving straight at about 30 mph. There was a snap and then my left leg seat support dropped by a few inches making the seat cushion go on an angle. The Forester had slightly less than 90,000 miles at the time this happened. Since the local dealership didn't have any open appointments for the next couple weeks I went to a local independent shop to have the seat repaired. The cost was a little under $200 and they confirmed it was a faulty weld which caused the seat to drop.
The contact owns a 2010 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that the driver's seat collapsed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact called an unknown dealer, but no repair appointment was scheduled. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of failure. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000. The VIN was not available.
The front left weld on the driver's seat broke around 90,000 miles. This is a problem that at least 40 other drivers have bothered to report on this website. I was driving about 35 mph at the time the front left side of my seat sunk down and it's been stuck like that ever since.
Driver's side seat frame became detached from seat base while vehicle was stationary. The dealer confirmed that there are two welds that failed. The seat slopes sharply towards the door and the driver must sit at an awkward and unsafe angle. The dealer is concerned about this very dangerous situation should the vehicle be involved in an accident.
127K miles. Driver side seat collapsed on driver side. When seated, driver slanted to left due to what I believe to be welding issue on this year and model. Right side of seat still holds weight, but left side does not feel connected to seat frame. No accidents on vehicle. Noticed after wife adjusted seat when she used for car for day.
Failure of welding point on drivers side seat resulting in structural failure of seat. Please see attached photo. This happened with normal use of the car without an accident.
The power driver's seat is not attached at the front of the seat on either side. It is only attached on the back side. Both front welds appear to be broken. It does not respond correctly when using power controls. It shifts when entering the vehicle from side to side. Does not seem safe at all. There are no loose parts apparent in the vehicle. I am not aware of exactly when the welds broke. It occurred at around 74,000 miles.
The welds on the bottom front left side of the driver seat broke while car was not in motion or under abnormal stress. Bottom of driver seat is not securely fastened to the frame. This appears to be a significant safety issue.
Front driver seat -- while driving heard a metal pop sound from the seat. After investigation the right side of the driver seat has separated from the seat tracks. Seat has not been abused as drivers weight using this vehicle is < 225lbs. Have seen several posts on Subaru sites indicating left side of seat failure. This is right side of seat. The seat no sits lower on the right side causing awkward seating position, leaning toward center of vehicle for the driver. Should vehicle be involved in crash I suspect the driver will not be properly positioned for proper restraint with seat belt and not center with the airbag potential deployment. All resulting in unnecessary driver injury. The vehicle has less than 90,000 miles.
There is an issue with the driver side power seat that collapses due to faulty welds particularly on the left side of the seat. In which the lower seat pad can become loose and potentially detach from the chair. A number of owners own forums have reported the same occurrences between typically between 60K and 80K miles of driving. Depending on the degree of the collapse and the detachment it can present a safety risk to the driver. Investigation should be conducted into this issue.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Pfafftown, NC, USA