AutoUtility currently tracks 96 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2022 Subaru Forester. Visibility, Wipers & Glass issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 24 complaints (25% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 8 filings cite a crash, 6 cite a fire, 3 report one or more injuries.

Key Problem Findings
  • Total NHTSA Complaints: 96 reports
  • #1 Reported Problem Area: Visibility, Wipers & Glass (24 reports • 25% of submitted complaints)
  • Secondary Problem Areas: Driver Assistance & Safety Tech (23), Brakes & Traction Control (10)
  • Crash-Citing Complaints: 8 filings
  • Fire-Citing Complaints: 6 filings
  • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 3 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
96
Submitted to NHTSA ODI
Crash-Citing Complaints
8
Filings citing a collision
Fire-Citing Complaints
6
Filings citing smoke or fire
Complaints Reporting Injuries
3
Filings citing one or more injuries
Complaints Reporting Fatalities
0
Consumer filings citing fatalities

Most Reported Problems for 2022 Subaru Forester

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

#1 Problem Area 25% of complaints

Visibility, Wipers & Glass

24 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
✓ 0 crashes or fires cited
#2 Problem Area 24% of complaints

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech

23 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 4 crash reports 🔥 1 fire report 🩹 3 injury report entries
#3 Problem Area 10.4% of complaints

Brakes & Traction Control

10 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
⚠️ 2 crash reports 🩹 2 injury report entries
#4 Problem Area 10.4% of complaints

Electrical System

10 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
🔥 1 fire report
#5 Problem Area 8.3% of complaints

Fuel & Propulsion System

8 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI
🔥 2 fire reports
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%.

Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2022 Subaru Forester

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

Driver Assistance & Safety Tech NHTSA ODI ID: #11758116
Filed: 08/19/2026

"On 8/15/2026 my car's EyeSight system falsely automatically engaged Pre-Collision Braking on a clear road with no cars, obstacles or potholes ahead, on a sunny day, accelerating at 10–15 mph from a traffic light stop. The car was brought to an abrupt stop with no warning beeps from the Eyesight..."

Incident Date: 08/15/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech NHTSA ODI ID: #11756597
Filed: 08/12/2026

"We are experiencing the exact same problem as the recall Under NHTSA Campaign No. 23V755000 (Subaru recall code WRQ-23) for an ineffective weld leading to moisture affecting the backup camera and dashboard lights. However, our VIN is NOT included in the recall."

Incident Date: 08/12/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: BACK OVER PREVENTION
Driver Assistance & Safety Tech NHTSA ODI ID: #11749419
Filed: 07/09/2026

"While driving my 2022 Subaru Forester, the factory EyeSight autonomous safety system completely failed and disabled itself permanently. The total system shutdown caused an immediate loss of Pre-Collision Emergency Braking, Lane Change Detection, and Adaptive Cruise Control, creating an active..."

Incident Date: 05/21/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE
Powertrain & Transmission NHTSA ODI ID: #11746009
Filed: 06/23/2026

"The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Forester. While the contact's wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a failed inhibitor switch. The contact was informed that the inhibitor switch needed to..."

Incident Date: 06/17/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: POWER TRAIN
Electrical System NHTSA ODI ID: #11737260
Filed: 05/12/2026

"The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at the dealer for a service appointment, the contact was advised that the batter was defective. The contact was informed that the battery was not large enough for the power of the vehicle. The contact was..."

Incident Date: 05/11/2026 • Raw NHTSA Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
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 613 53 3 View 2015 Problems →
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 Current Page 96 8 1 Current
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 2022 Subaru Forester

Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 42 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications

Vehicle Component / System Total Complaints Crash Reports Fire Reports Reported Injury Entries Reported Fatality Entries
Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER 16 0 0 0 0
Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER 13 1 1 0 0
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 8 0 0 0 0
Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 6 0 0 0 0
Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN 3 0 0 0 0
Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES 3 2 0 2 0
SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 3 0 0 0 0
Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 2 1 1 0
Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY 3 0 0 0 0
Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 1 0 0
Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE 2 1 1 0 0
ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 0 1 0 0
Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION 2 0 0 0 0
Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS 1 0 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 1 0 0 0
AIR BAGS,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 1 0 2 0
AIR BAGS,WHEELS 1 0 0 0 0
Back Over Prevention / Camera NHTSA category: BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 0 0 0 0
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS 1 0 0 0 0
SEATS,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,LANE DEPARTURE 1 0 0 0 0
STEERING,SUSPENSION,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE 1 0 0 0 0
STRUCTURE,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1 0 1 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES 1 0 0 0 0
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 0 0 0 0
VISIBILITY,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 0 0 0 0
Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS 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 (96). 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.