8.8

pretty bad
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
2,728 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2021 Subaru Forester electrical problems

electrical problem

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2021 Subaru Forester:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2021 Subaru Forester Owner Comments

problem #16

Jan 072025

Forester

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

MY 2021 Subaru Forester battery has died twice in the last 10 months. I could not jump start the vehicle the first time about 10 months ago. I needed AAA to jump start it. I took the car to the dealer; they recharged the vehicle and said the battery was fine. They did not bill me. The car died again this week. This time I was able to jump start the vehicle myself. The safety issue is I might need to get to a doctor's appointment or other emergency in a hurry. I may be out shopping or hiking and need to return home, perhaps in bad weather. I might be stranded in a busy intersection or a lonely country road. The battery is simply not trust-worthy. The vehicle was inspected by the dealer, and they said the battery was fine. There was no warning lamp before the battery failed. The car is not safe-I don't know when it won't work.

- Issaquah, WA, USA

problem #15

Dec 142024

Forester

  • miles
12/14/24-I was stopped at a red light at a VERY busy intersection. The engine was in stop mode by the start/stop feature. When the light turned green, the car failed to start. The entire car shut down, with alarms sounding and dash lights flashing. The entire system had to reboot before I could restart the car. It was a freighting experience. Fortunately, I wasn't killed by traffic zooming by or by some person with road rage. 12/16/24-Issue evaluated by local Subaru dealer. Their evaluation was that when the auto start feature was activated, my car battery was too low to work. There was zero warning about a low battery before this failure in traffic. I had to buy a new battery. The auto start/stop feature is not an enhancement, but a safety hazard. Owners should be able to permanently disable this unnecessary drain on batteries and starters. I did a search, and there are plenty of others that experienced similar issues with their Subarus.

- Tulsa, OK, USA

problem #14

Oct 042024

Forester

  • 37,000 miles
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while waiting at a traffic light, the accelerator pedal was depressed, and the vehicle immediately shut off. During the failure, the message "Eyesight Disabled" was displayed and the vehicle could not immediately be restarted. The gear shifter was shifted to neutral(N) and the vehicle was pushed to the side of the roadway. The vehicle was eventually restarted and operated normally. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 37,000. The VIN was not available.

- Eagleville, PA, USA

problem #13

Feb 092024

Forester

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The automatic shut off feature causes the car to lose all power. No power at all in the middle of traffic and I can't even use hazard lights to warn anyone. When at a stop the auto shut off turns off the car and when I take my foot off the brake it completely dies. It has happened 5 times in the last 3 days. Very dangerous. Imagine this happening on the freeway during rush hour. It's a miracle if no one has been killed. I saw countless posts from others on different forums. I have only owned this car for a week and half, taking it to the dealer today. This needs to be a recall paid for by Subaru, it is unacceptable.

- Pomona, IL, USA

problem #12

Jan 172024

Forester

  • miles
My vehicle starlink infotainment system does not work. This is a safety hazard because it prevents drivers from using their back up cameras and this car has many blind spots. This also frustrates drivers and causes distraction as navigation is not available. The screen display abruptly stopped working. I brought my vehicle to the dealer and their solution was to spend $1700 on a new infotainment system. Owners should not have to be paying to utilize safety features marketed for the vehicle they bought. There were no warnings prior to the system breaking.

- Greenville, SC, USA

problem #11

Dec 202022

Forester

  • miles
Vehicle auto start stop feature sporadically fails to start vehicle after stop feature stringers. Happened on multiple occasions, at red light, at stop sign, on freeway during traffic jams.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

problem #10

Oct 072022

Forester 4-cyl

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

When I bought my car I was assured that it was impossible to lock the keys inside the car. Typically I put my dog in a special car harness and buckle him into the middle of the back seat. He's 77 lbs. and tall. It's a bit of a project to get him all set. I'm leaning over and all my stuff is hanging off of me so I drop my purse onto the floor of the back seat and put the car keys on the console between the two front seats so I can more comfortably deal with him. I do this from the right side of the car as the child car seat is on the left side. Once he's buckled in I close the door and walk around to the driver's side and get in. On Oct. 7th I had taken him to a park to play. The temps were in the 80s and my car was parked in the sun. He's a Bernedoodle and does not handle heat very well. I buckled him in as usual from the right side and also put the keys on the console as usual. Then I closed the door. CLICK! Uh-oh! All the doors automatically locked! With the car in the sun and the outside temps in the 80s I can only guess that the inside temp had to be well over 100. I almost panicked. I thought of calling the police, but here in Portland they are slow to respond if they even respond at all. I banged on all the windows and thought of finding a rock to break one open. Then I remembered that I hadn't tried the back lift up door as it's an SUV. Thankfully it opened. But I had to crawl in over all my stuff in the back, over my tall, 77 lb. dog, and stretch out to reach my keys on the console in the front. Then I had to back out. This was not easy; I'm in my 70s. I shouldn't have to do that! So [XXX] was okay in the end. What if it had been my two year old granddaughter" What if the back didn't open like the side doors didn't" It shouldn't be that way. I called Subaru and they said they never heard of that happening. They said there was a lock setting but I couldn't find it. They said the fob battery could be low but there was no warning. I'm bringing the car in. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFO

- Portland, OR, USA

problem #9

May 192021

Forester

  • miles
Purchased brand new from dealer. Less than 3 months later a tiny pebble came up and hit the center of the windshield, immediately you could see an indentation and a spider web. Now the whole windshield has multiple spider web cracks. The splits go from edge of driver's side all the way to edge of passenger side of the car. As well as 3 separate rings going around center indentation. Only had the car 3 months when this occured. Have had 3 instances that I could not start the car. Now the cigarette lighter charge port will not work. Moon roof malfunctioning and will not close sometimes when fully opened. Now I am having issues with the brakes sticking. It's 1 year old and this is way too many issues for a brand new car! Never again!

- White Settlement, TX, USA

problem #8

Dec 082021

Forester

  • miles
My windshield shattered when hit by a small rock that apparently came from across and bounced up and hit the windshield. Subaru does not replace windshields... so you have to get Insurance to cover. The wiring in a Subaru is attractive to rodents - what the wiring is made of depends on who you speak with - most common answer is Oat Based Covering. I have spent over $4000 to have the wring in the front and fuel area. This is a 2021 Subaru Forester with less than 12K miles. Subaru can not give a straight answer on material in the wiring and says I need to build a shed. There are 4 other vehicles at my location that are there 20 hours a day - I go to an office 5 days a week so my car is gone over 50 hours a week - still my fault!

- Forsyth, GA, USA

problem #7

Dec 012021

Forester

  • miles
The wiring system fails when the wiring - SOY BASED - is eaten by rats. SUBARU refuses to take responsibility for this. My car has less the 9500 miles and has had over $3500 work done to replace the wiring eaten by Rodents as this is considered "my fault?.

- Forsyth, GA, USA

problem #6

Nov 022021

Forester

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I have had the wiring in my 2021 Subaru Forrester having to be replaced 2 times - once in front of car, once in fuel parts - due to Rodents eating the wiring. I have been told by Subaru Customer Service staff that the wiring is Soy Based. Subaru has a Class Action Suite in Hawaii for this exact reason yet Subaru in Macon continues to insist this is MY problem not theirs. I have Rodent repellant devices in my car. I am very frustrated, upset with being misled and no concern for the customer being offered.

- Forsyth, GA, USA

problem #5

Nov 302021

Forester

  • miles
Several instances of parasitic drain of the battery resulting in vehicle not being able to be started without a jump. Nothing was left on in the vehicle. Each time it was parked with the alarm set for approx 3-4 hours. The battery was completely dead. This vehicle is only 8 months old and this has happened around 8-9 times. Dealer does nothing about it except to charge the battery. This is unacceptable.

- Sun City, AZ, USA

problem #4

Aug 152021

Forester

  • miles
The batteries drained overnight 3 times within 7 months after the purchase of the new vehicle. Battery was jumped each time by Subaru Roadside Assistant. The dealer checked the battery and it was fine. It is the electrical (CAN) problem that drained the battery.

- Torrance, CA, USA

problem #3

Jul 252021

Forester

  • miles
I parked in the parking lot yesterday afternoon. But when I try to start my car this morning, the battery dead?I just bought this new Subaru three months with 5000 miles. Very disappointed.

- Meridian , ID, USA

problem #2

Mar 022021

Forester

  • 400 miles
On March 2, 2021 I needed to get to an appointment and my car wouldn't start, nor would my fob work to even open the doors. After calling for assistance they jumped the battery. Then I brought it to Subaru where they did a complete diagnostics test and found that the battery was defective. I had bought the car Nov. 25, 2020, only three months before! they replaced it with the same kind of battery. I was dismayed to find that I had been sold a new car with a defective battery.

- Portland, OR, USA

problem #1

Feb 072021

Forester

  • 6,252 miles
The car is two months old and the battery died (nothing was left on)!

- New York, NY, USA

Not what you are looking for?