2025 Subaru Forester — Known Issues & Recalls

Your rear windshield shattered spontaneously while your car was parked, with no prior warning or impact. The broken glass scattered on the street and bumper with sharp edges, creating a safety hazard in a neighborhood with children. The dealership informed you they don't handle glass repairs and noted a related class-action settlement exists for this issue. Fixing this will require replacement of the rear windshield, likely through your insurance claim or glass repair specialist.

Your infotainment system's SiriusXM advertisement unexpectedly takes over the entire screen while you're driving, blocking access to GPS navigation, temperature controls, and radio functions. You must physically tap the screen to close the ad, which requires taking your attention off the road. There are no settings available in your car to prevent this from happening.

Your rear hatch window has shattered twice in less than 9 weeks without any obvious cause — once when closing the hatch and once when shutting the driver's door, both times while parked in your garage with the engine off. This appears to be a defect rather than normal wear, as you've never experienced this issue before. The repair will likely involve replacing the rear window glass and investigating whether there's a structural or stress issue with the hatch.

While driving, an advertisement popped up on your in-dash display screen and blocked important information you needed to see. You couldn't close or dismiss the ad, which distracted you from the road. The infotainment system may need a software update or the ad display settings may need to be configured to prevent ads from appearing while driving.

Your car's interior screen displays Sirius XM advertisements while you're driving, which can be distracting. The owner considers this a safety concern because it takes attention away from the road. Disabling or blocking these ads in your Sirius XM settings or infotainment system may help resolve the issue.

Your 2025 Subaru Forester has been subject to a fuel tank safety recall due to a gasket leak that could potentially cause a fire. You've been instructed to park outside your garage and keep at least a half tank of fuel. Your dealership has not provided a loaner vehicle or kept you updated on repair status, which is concerning given that your spouse has mobility limitations and you rely on the car for work.

Your gas tank is leaking from the top when you fill it up. This has triggered all of your check engine lights to turn on and disabled all of your vehicle's safety features. Subaru has confirmed there's an open recall for this issue but currently has no fix available. This makes it impossible to tell if there are other actual problems with your car since all warning lights are constantly on.

Your 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid may leak gasoline from the fuel filler area when the tank is filled to 100% capacity. You might notice a strong smell of gasoline and find fuel spilled around the gas cap recess, down the side of the vehicle, and pooling on the ground. The gas cap may appear properly closed even though fuel is leaking. The fix will likely involve replacing the gas cap or inspecting the fuel filler neck assembly for defects.

Your 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid has a camera-based safety system called EyeSight that requires a clear windshield to work properly. After a minor star chip in your windshield, your insurance company may try to use aftermarket (non-OEM) glass instead of Subaru's original glass, but Subaru requires OEM glass to ensure the EyeSight system's critical safety features—like pre-collision braking, adaptive cruise control, and lane keep assist—function correctly. Aftermarket glass could cause optical distortion that interferes with the camera calibration, potentially preventing these safety systems from working as designed. The windshield replacement will need to use OEM glass to maintain proper system performance and safety.

Your windshield developed a crack that started under the wiper blade and spread across to the passenger side within 12 hours. The dealer identified an impact spot under the wipers as the cause. You believe this type of damage shouldn't occur from normal wiper use based on your experience with other vehicles.

Your 2025 Subaru Forester is subject to a recall (Campaign 26V106000) for a fuel system issue, but the replacement part needed to fix it isn't available yet. You've been waiting longer than you feel is reasonable for the dealer to complete the repair. No actual failure or damage has occurred to your vehicle so far.

Your 2025 Forester has paint bubbles and discoloration near the fuel cap and bumper, with condensation found under the fuel tank. The dealer confirmed your vehicle is under recall for this issue but couldn't complete the repair because the necessary parts aren't currently available. The fuel system may need to be inspected and sealed, and the affected painted surfaces may need to be refinished once recall parts become available.

Your forward collision avoidance system has activated the brakes unexpectedly twice in the same location near your home. When a vehicle in front of you turned left into an exit lane while you were using cruise control, your car's system falsely detected an obstacle and automatically braked hard, accompanied by loud beeping and flashing lights. While no collision occurred, this false activation could create a safety hazard if another vehicle were behind you. The issue may require the collision avoidance system to be recalibrated or have its software updated to better distinguish between vehicles turning away and actual obstacles.

Your car unexpectedly accelerated while you were slowly pulling into a parking space at 5 mph with your feet off the pedals, causing it to hit a cement wall. The forward collision warning system and automatic braking did not activate, and the airbags did not deploy, resulting in your serious injury. You've also noticed that various safety sensors and warning systems intermittently disable on their own since you purchased the vehicle, and the dealership has refused to physically inspect the car despite your request.

Your car is shifting from Park into Drive or Reverse while the engine is off, and it moves a significant distance before flashing a warning light on the dashboard. This has happened multiple times and is a serious safety concern. Additionally, when you shift into Park and turn off the engine, your car sometimes moves forward on its own even after you've taken your foot off the gas.

While parking at low speed in a Walmart lot, your car suddenly accelerated when you applied the brake, causing it to hit a concrete parking sign at high speed. You sustained bruising from the seatbelt impact, and the vehicle sustained approximately $6,820 in damage. You believe your foot was on the brake, not the accelerator, and have found online reports of similar incidents in other Foresters. The dealer will need to diagnose the brake system, fuel/propulsion system, and speed control to determine what caused the unexpected acceleration.

Your seat heater turned on by itself on a hot day and became so hot it burned your right thigh, even though you had it switched off. The dealership and a corporate inspector both tested your vehicle and couldn't reproduce the problem or find anything wrong, but you've found reports from other owners experiencing the same issue. You're requesting Subaru install an emergency kill switch on all vehicles with seat heaters to prevent further injuries.

Your navigation system is giving you wrong directions, including incorrect freeway exits and placing your home location 300-500 feet away from where it actually is. This creates a safety hazard while you're driving and trying to follow directions. Despite six repair visits, the dealer hasn't been able to fix the problem.

Your windshield has cracked or chipped three times in less than one year of normal driving, which is unusually frequent compared to your previous vehicles. The first chip appeared within two months, a second chip spread into a larger crack during repair attempts three months later, and a third large crack requiring full replacement developed two months after that. This pattern suggests the windshield glass may be more fragile than normal or improperly designed. A professional windshield replacement or repair assessment may be needed to determine if there's a manufacturing defect affecting the glass quality.

Your engine compartment smells like exhaust gases when the car is parked after driving, and this smell lingers in your garage if the car is left inside. The smell goes away overnight, but it's persistent enough that you've noticed it's unusual compared to other vehicles you've owned. Subaru dealers in New Mexico have inspected the car and found no error codes or warning lights, but the issue continues.