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Engine & cooling

2023 Subaru Forester Engine problems

Owners have filed 6 complaints about the 2023 Subaru Forester's engine & cooling with NHTSA - 8% of all its complaints, most recently on June 10, 2026. They describe 1 crash, 3 fires and 0 injuries. Stalling, loss of power, oil consumption, overheating, head gaskets, timing chains and engine failure.

Complaints
6
Recalls
0
Crashes
1
Fires
3
Injuries
0
Deaths
0

Engine complaints

Engine & coolingFire

Vehicle caught fire after oil change. Oil leaked from engine onto catalytic converter and causes catastrophic engine fire

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11743185
Engine & coolingFire

Vehicle had just received an oil change at the dealership and the car caught fire. Oil leaked onto the catalytic converter and ignited. Car was a total loss. After my own review, there are several instances of this happening and many customers have experienced similar fires. The oil filter is inverted which makes leaks more susceptible

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11698669
Electrical systemEngine & coolingFire

Currently suspected that the vehicle battery was installed incorrectly during assembly. Engine fire started at the battery wiring and vehicle was a total liss

Filed Incident Electrical system · EngineNHTSA 11657516
Engine & coolingTransmission & drivetrainAcceleration & cruise control

The contact owns a 2023 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while at a stop light, the brake pedal was released, but the vehicle failed to move. The accelerator pedal was depressed, and the vehicle jolted forward. The contact was able to drive to a parking lot. After shifting to drive, the vehicle unexpectedly reversed. While in reverse, the vehicle would shift to drive erroneously. The vehicle jolted forward. The vehicle was shaking, jerking, and skipping gear. The engine and oil warning lights were illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 11,426.

Filed Incident Engine and engine cooling · Power train · Vehicle speed controlNHTSA 11610406
Transmission & drivetrainAcceleration & cruise controlEngine & cooling

I was driving the car, towards the end of about a 40-minute drive the car, I can best describe, lost its mind. Without any prior signs of symptoms, in about the span of 5-10 seconds, the check engine light came on, then eyesight warning came on, then traction system error appeared and I lost all power. It started braking on its own and completely acting on its own. I could still steer, but I had no other control over the vehicle! THANKFULLY I was in a 25 MPH zone, with no other vehicles or pedestrians anywhere near...

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me. I was able to steer the piece of junk into a vacant loading dock and at least get it off the street. I shudder to think what would have happened to me if the car did this on the interstate that I had exited from not five minutes prior to this incident. The car was rendered undriveable. I had it towed to the dealership. I don't know what is wrong with it yet as the dealer is closed on Sunday. This was an EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION! If the car lost its mind a mere five minutes earlier than it did, I could have been killed! I am still shaking from this incident.

Filed Incident Power train · Vehicle speed control · EngineNHTSA 11603673
Engine & coolingCrash

The contact owned a 2023 Subaru Forrester. The contact stated that while his wife was driving in reverse mode, the vehicle independently accelerated, which caused a crash. The contact stated that the vehicle simultaneously crashed into a parked vehicle and a concrete wall. The vehicle was towed to a collision center and then towed to a tow yard. A police report was filed. The vehicle was condemned as a total loss by the insurance company. The contact also stated that damage was caused to the parked vehicle and to...

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the wall. The vehicle was diagnosed by Subaru Headquarters which advised the contact that they do not share the diagnosis details with the customer. The contact stated that the Subaru Headquarters representative advised him that all their systems for the vehicle worked as designed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 200. The VIN was not available.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11551364

Subaru Forester engine complaints by year

Forester engine problems, every year

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Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data

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