10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 0
Average Mileage:
74,250 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.

2008 Subaru Forester seat belts / air bags problems

seat belts / air bags problem

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2008 Subaru Forester Owner Comments

problem #4

Nov 082022

Forester

  • miles

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

The airbag on driver-€™s side deployed (malfunctioned)without incident while parked in my garage. It is currently at local Subaru dealer. Mechanics cannot determine what caused the malfunction. An engineer from Corporate Subaru inspected. Another team of engineers from Corporate is going to conduct a more thorough investigation once more photos of interior and exterior are provided by retailer. It is, of course, available for inspection. Fortunately, I was not driving the vehicle at the time of deployment. No one was in the car at the time of deployment. Vehicle was parked in my garage and deployed overnight. The dealer has confirmed deployment, but as stated above, has not been able to determine cause of deployment. Dealer-€™s mechanics and a Corporate engineer are only ones to my knowledge that have inspected the vehicle. As there was no accident, police and insurance representatives were not notified. No warning lights, messages or symptoms that I-€™m aware of. I, as stated, was not in the car at the time of deployment. Did not discover the deployment until the following morning when I went to garage to move the vehicle. I was shocked when I saw the airbag draped over the steering wheel and called dealership immediately. Car was towed to dealership and has been there for a month as of December 10, 2022.

- Indian Trail , NC, USA

problem #3

Feb 052018

Forester 4-cyl

  • 107,000 miles
I own a 2008 Subaru Forester 2.5X, VIN. [xxx], which was purchased new at brown's Subaru, 960 hilton heights road, charlottesville, va. All factory recommended maintenance schedules were meticulously upheld. Vehicle malfunctions experienced during accident: 1. rapid RPM surge without operator activation from idle to approximately 5,000+ rpms 2. rapid uncontrollable vehicle acceleration, plowing the vehicle through multiple load-bearing structures 3. failure of deployment of driver and passenger airbags after multiple heavy impacts, last of which an extremely hard impact which completely stopped and disabled vehicle, resulting in injuries to the driver and passenger. Accident description: I had a major malfunction of my Subaru Forester, which resulted in a very severe and potentially lethal car accident. In the process of pulling slowly into a handicapped parking space, with one foot applied to the brake almost to a complete stop, the vehicle's rpms surged ahead racing out of control. At that time, I applied both feet to the brakes. The car rapidly accelerated into a business, throwing us back in our seats and completely demolishing multiple exterior load bearing structures as well as interior structures. It wasn't until the car became lodged against a kiosk completely inside the building, that it stopped, although brakes were applied firmly for the duration of the accident. Please investigate this matter, as this was a serious incident completely out of my control, that could have resulted in serious injury or death. This was a terrifying uncontrollable event that could have resulted in tragedy. Thank you for your time and your services. Please contact me for any additional information needed. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Charlottesville, VA, USA

problem #2

Jan 192018

Forester

  • 134,000 miles
The vehicle was involved in a high-speed crash on I-35 in denton tx. The car was rear-ended. Both cars were travelling at highway speeds (50-60 mph). The driver and the front seat passengers were restrained and both sustained head injuries and lost consciousness. They were taken from the scene in an ambulance. The airbags did not deploy and we are concerned that they should have.

- Coppell, TX, USA

problem #1

Mar 162013

Forester 4-cyl

  • 56,000 miles
A fire broke out in the interior of our car while parked. The passenger door was destroyed and the interior of the car was ruined with smoke damage. Insurance declared it a total loss and both the adjuster and fire department suspect it was a wiring issue. While arson was not ruled out, there was no other damage to the car to suggest a break-in, and no personal belongings in the car were tampered with.

- Cambridge, MA, USA

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