AutoUtility currently tracks 613 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2015 Subaru Forester. Engine & Cooling issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 112 complaints (18.3% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 53 filings cite a crash, 7 cite a fire, 26 report one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • Total NHTSA Complaints: 613 reports
  • #1 Reported Problem Area: Engine & Cooling (112 reports • 18.3% of submitted complaints)
  • Secondary Problem Areas: Air Bags & Restraints (104), Powertrain & Transmission (95)
  • Crash-Citing Complaints: 53 filings
  • Fire-Citing Complaints: 7 filings
  • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 26 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Reporting Methodology: Statistics describe unverified consumer submissions voluntarily filed with NHTSA. Complaint volume is not normalized for vehicle sales volume or miles driven. Multiple components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission.
Total Complaints
613
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
53
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
7
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
26
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2015 Subaru Forester

Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records

#1 Problem Area 18.3% of complaints

Engine & Cooling

112 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 8 crash reports 🔥 2 fire reports 🩹 3 injury report entries
#2 Problem Area 17% of complaints

Air Bags & Restraints

104 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ NHTSA Recall Context

NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:

*Component overlap means an official recall exists for the same broad vehicle system. It does not establish that an individual owner complaint was caused by, covered by, or resolved through that recall.
⚠️ 17 crash reports 🩹 12 injury report entries
#3 Problem Area 15.5% of complaints

Powertrain & Transmission

95 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 6 crash reports 🩹 1 injury report entry
#4 Problem Area 13.4% of complaints

Electrical System

82 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 1 crash report 🔥 3 fire reports
#5 Problem Area 12.7% of complaints

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech

78 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 27 crash reports 🩹 10 injury report entries
Domain Share Note: Share percentage represents the proportion of unique complaint filings referencing each vehicle system. Because single complaints may cite multiple systems (such as engine and electrical simultaneously), domain percentages represent individual category incidence and may sum to over 100%.

Symptoms Mentioned in NHTSA Owner Reports for 2015 Subaru Forester

Specific mechanical, electrical, and driver-assist defect symptoms identified via deterministic narrative analysis

AutoUtility uses deterministic phrase matching to identify recurring symptom descriptions within consumer-submitted NHTSA complaint narratives.

Powertrain & Transmission 4.6% of complaints

Loss of Motive Power While Driving

28 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech 2.1% of complaints

Unintended / Sudden Acceleration

13 complaint narratives describe this symptom
Symptom Identification Method: A complaint may describe more than one symptom, so percentages may sum to more than 100%. Symptom identification reflects text contained in consumer-submitted complaint records and does not establish a confirmed mechanical diagnosis.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2015 Subaru Forester

Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Engine & Cooling NHTSA ODI ID: #11750125
Crash Cited Filed: 07/13/2026

"I was parking at the dentist office in their parking lot going slow, turned into a parking space and thought i was slowly braking but my car lunged forward and hit a tree. I would normally be minimally braking, so I'm not sure what happened but it was sudden. I could have hit the gas pedal but i..."

Incident Date: 07/13/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE
Brakes & Traction Control NHTSA ODI ID: #11748724
Filed: 07/07/2026

"The contact's spouse owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving from a complete stop or at various speeds on several occasions, the vehicle hesitated and failed to accelerate as intended. The Hill Assist and Automatic Transmission Oil Temperature warning lights flashed, and..."

Incident Date: 06/30/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,POWER TRAIN
Air Bags & Restraints NHTSA ODI ID: #11747820
Filed: 07/01/2026

"The contact owns a 2015 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the passenger’s side air bag warning light illuminated, and the air bag module warning light was illuminated. The air bag occupant classification system was not operating as intended. The vehicle..."

Incident Date: 06/01/2024 • Raw NHTSA Component: AIR BAGS
Air Bags & Restraints NHTSA ODI ID: #11746865
Filed: 06/27/2026

"Codes for B1760 and B1650 present, intermittent SRS light for the passenger airbag. Passengers put at risk in event of crash. SRS sensor issues seem to be common for this vehicle according to online databases and dealership technicians."

Incident Date: 04/01/2025 • Raw NHTSA Component: AIR BAGS
Wheels & Tires NHTSA ODI ID: #11745979
Filed: 06/23/2026

"2 REAR WHEEL BEARINGS FAILED ON LOW MILAGE VEHICLE.ALTHOUGH CAR IS 10 YEARS OLD IT IS WELL MAINTAINED AND HAS 57K MILES ON OD.nEVER DRIVEN OFF ROAD OR IN WATER. PERHAPS WORSE THREE STUDS AND LUGS HAD TO BE REPLACED DUE TO SNAPPING OFF. APPARENTLY THIS IS COMMON AS THE SAME STORY WAS TOLD TO OTHERS..."

Incident Date: 06/10/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: WHEELS
Consumer Narrative Notice: Excerpts are sanitized text descriptions submitted by vehicle owners to the federal ODI database. They reflect the reporting consumer's observations at the time of filing and have not been independently confirmed by vehicle manufacturers or government investigators.

Complaint History for Subaru Forester

Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)

Model Year NHTSA Complaints Crash Reports Safety Recalls Detailed Report
2015 Subaru Forester Current Page 613 53 3 Current
2016 Subaru Forester 410 39 3 View 2016 Problems →
2017 Subaru Forester 582 39 1 View 2017 Problems →
2018 Subaru Forester 492 26 3 View 2018 Problems →
2019 Subaru Forester 832 36 3 View 2019 Problems →
2020 Subaru Forester 596 26 0 View 2020 Problems →
2021 Subaru Forester 207 16 0 View 2021 Problems →
2022 Subaru Forester 96 8 1 View 2022 Problems →
2023 Subaru Forester 73 8 1 View 2023 Problems →
2024 Subaru Forester 29 4 2 View 2024 Problems →
2025 Subaru Forester 90 11 4 View 2025 Problems →
2026 Subaru Forester 0 0 3 View 2026 Problems →
Comparative Disclaimer: Complaint totals are unadjusted historical counts and are not normalized for vehicles sold, active fleet size, or total road mileage. Newer model years naturally have had less calendar exposure time to accumulate owner filings.

Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2015 Subaru Forester

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 129 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 64 8 0 10 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 62 0 0 0 0
Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION 62 0 0 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 39 3 1 1 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 38 0 2 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 38 1 0 1 0
Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 24 14 0 8 0
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 18 0 0 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 15 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEATS 13 1 0 1 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 12 1 0 0 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 12 0 0 0 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 11 2 0 2 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 10 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 9 1 0 0 0
Steering NHTSA category: STEERING 8 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 6 0 1 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 5 1 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 5 1 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS,SEATS 4 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 4 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 4 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 4 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 4 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 4 0 0 0 0
Tires NHTSA category: TIRES 4 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 4 0 0 0 0
Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY 4 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 1 0 4 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 3 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,SEAT BELTS 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 2 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,SEATS 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 0 0 0 0
Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,AIR BAGS 2 1 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 1 0 0 0
Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS 2 0 1 1 0
STEERING,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,ENGINE 2 1 1 0 0
STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 2 1 1 1 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 2 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES 2 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 2 1 0 0 0
WHEELS,SERVICE BRAKES 2 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE,ENGINE 1 1 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 1 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 1 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 1 0 2 0
Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,VISIBILITY 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 1 0 0 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
Equipment & Accessories NHTSA category: EQUIPMENT 1 0 0 0 0
EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY 1 0 0 0 0
EQUIPMENT,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,AIR BAGS,ENGINE 1 1 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,AIR BAGS,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
SEAT BELTS,SEATS 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, AIR 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,POWER TRAIN 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 1 0 0 0
STEERING,AIR BAGS,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 1 0 1 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES 1 1 0 0 0
STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,STRUCTURE,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 1 0 1 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 1 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 1 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 1 0 1 0
SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
SUSPENSION,WHEELS,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
TIRES,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC),ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
VISIBILITY/WIPER,LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
WHEELS,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
Data Attribution & Reporting Methodology: Complaints are unverified voluntary submissions to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). Because multiple vehicle components can be cited within a single owner complaint submission, component-level rollups may sum to more than the unique complaint count (613). Injury and fatality entries in the detailed table reflect raw values entered by reporting consumers across individual submissions; they are not deduplicated casualty statistics and may include duplicate or unverified entries. Complaint volume is not normalized for sales volume or vehicle mileage and does not represent an audited component failure rate.
Official US Government Data Provenance

The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.

Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.