2017 Subaru Forester Recalls and Problems

NHTSA lists 1 safety recall and 594 owner complaints for the 2017 Subaru Forester.

Recalled components: air bags. Most-described problem: a cracked or shattered windshield (115 complaints, 19%). Most-reported area: air bags (167 complaints, 28%; median mileage when it happened: 30,000).

Data: NHTSA recall, complaint and investigation filesUpdated Nov 12, 2026

Year to avoidBest year

1 safety recall for the 2017 Subaru Forester

Newest first. Summaries are NHTSA's own wording. Open a recall for the fix and the full notice.

Questions about any of these recalls: call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 888-275-9171) or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

NHTSA investigations

NHTSA has opened 1 investigation that names the 2017 Subaru Forester; it is closed. An investigation means NHTSA is reviewing reports of a problem. It is not a finding that the vehicle has a defect.

A preliminary evaluation is NHTSA's first step, to gather information and decide whether to look further. NHTSA lists investigations by make, model and model year only, so one can apply to only some versions of a model, such as one engine; its summary says which.

What owners report

Owners have filed 594 complaints with NHTSA about the 2017 Forester. Below, they are sorted by the problems owners describe and by the areas NHTSA files them under. NHTSA does not verify complaints.

Problems owners describe

• Cracked or shattered windshield115 · 19%
  Median 36,300 miles at failure, from 84 reports with mileage
• Airbag warning light or airbag fault82 · 14%
  Median 26,600 miles at failure, from 45 reports with mileage
• Dead battery or battery drain36 · 6%
• Shaking, shuddering or vibration20 · 3%
• Stalling or shutting off17 · 3%
• Unintended acceleration or surging17 · 3%
• Suspension parts (struts, ball joints, control arms)15 · 3%
• Hesitation or slow acceleration12 · 2%

Counted from the complaint text: a complaint counts once for each problem it describes (how we match them). Some complaints describe none of these. Compare other models in the problem owners report most for every model year.

Areas named in complaints

• Air bags167 · 28%
  Most named: sensor, occupant classification (25); sensor, occupant classification, front passenger (10) · Median 30,000 miles at failure, from 81 reports with mileage
• Electrical system106 · 18%
  Median 38,000 miles at failure, from 49 reports with mileage
• Visibility/wiper104 · 18%
  Median 31,000 miles at failure, from 77 reports with mileage
• Engine47 · 8%
  Median 17,600 miles at failure, from 27 reports with mileage
• Powertrain46 · 8%
  Median 33,400 miles at failure, from 33 reports with mileage
• Seats34 · 6%
  Median 28,000 miles at failure, from 15 reports with mileage
• Speed control33 · 6%
  Median 29,000 miles at failure, from 24 reports with mileage
• Unknown or other98 · 16%
  Median 30,000 miles at failure, from 49 reports with mileage

A complaint can name more than one area, so shares add up to more than 100%. Mileage is shown where at least 15 owners reported it.

Subaru Forester recalls and complaints by model year

The highlighted bars are the 2017 model year. Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower. Counting complaints filed in each model year's first three years, the 2019 Forester drew the most (525) and the 2017 drew 200.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for each version it tested. Rollover risk is NHTSA's estimate of the chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.

2017 Forester MPG

Questions