In-car Electronics
CD or DVD players, radio, speakers, GPS, communication system (e.g., OnStar), display screen freezes or goes blank, phone pairing (e.g. Bluetooth), voice control commands, steering wheel controls, portable music device interface (e.g., iPod/MP3 player), backup or other camera/sensors.
What Owners Say
"I think the backup/parking camera is not correctly aligned. When I rely on it to back into a parking space, I am always angled in, not straight in. Fortunately, I am old and learned to back in with both side mirrors, so I just ignore the backup camera most of the time."
Anonymous, VA (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Continuing intermittent fluctuations in volume."
Anonymous, OR (2018 Subaru Forester 2.5i 2.0-L 4 Cyl turbo)"The display screen and infotainment controls (volume, on/off, etc) would freeze after the car was in operation for 1 hour and 25 minutes, regardless of whether the system was in use or not or what features were in use. The only way to regain control was to shut the vehicle off (engine, etc.) and restart the vehicle."
Anonymous, VA (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Within first yr of ownership required unit/radio be completely replaced and was replaced w/ a refurbished unit(I was specifically told it was not new. Sirius radio frequently spontaneously jumps from one station to another and touchscreen is unresponsive, usually until I turn off car and turn back on"
Anonymous, TX (2018 Subaru Forester Touring Unsure)"Navigation screen periodically freezes up or switches from one screen distance level to another or from one direction orientation to another."
Anonymous, VA (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The infotainment system is not very user friendly. Sometimes I can control it through voice activation, most of the time I can't. Sirius XM froze, screen unresponsive until I stopped and restarted the car."
Anonymous, (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.0-L 4 Cyl turbo)"Same problem as with radio"
Anonymous, CT (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Screen will freeze and become unresponsive. Often you have to restart the car. This is unfeasible when you're on the highway and puts the driver and passenger at risk because they suddenly won't have any navigation and will drive miles the wrong direction until they can pull over and restart the engine. I want to love this car so much but Subaru's glitches really make it difficult and I don't feel safe even commuting in it."
Anonymous, UT (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The Subaru Forester top of the line full loaded expensive vehicle is excellent in general. The customer service is terrible. They do not return phone calls, send out recall notices and do not follow up. Their service department is incompetent. I have brought back five times for the same problem a never working voice system and a malfunctioning GPS system. Compared to Volvo or Toyota-previous top of the line vehicles-Subaru is inept."
Anonymous, NJ (2018 Subaru Forester Limited 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The infotainment system in this car is horrendous. The software is ugly, slow, and hard to use. It constantly freezes for seconds at a time after you input something on the screen. Bluetooth pairing is hit or miss and often we have to manually select "connect" on the car touchscreen. The companion smartphone app is basically unusable."
Anonymous, MA (2018 Subaru Forester 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"I wasn’t going to mention anything, but you wanted some- thing in the Subaru column. It’s not that the screen freezes It is just hard for me to work with and figure it out. Too much time my eyes are away from the road."
Susan M., MI (2018 Subaru Forester 2.5i 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"i did not have this problem before they replaced by nonfunctioning unit with a refurbished one, but now I do. Luckily, from what i can tell from online owners with same problem, mine always resolves if i turn off the car and turn it back on"
Julie S., TX (2018 Subaru Forester)"4 or 5 times when brand new. Has not happened recently (last 6 months)."
William R., VT (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The display screen (and therefore the controls of the sound system) regularly freezes up. Sometimes restarting my iPhone clears the problem, but sometimes I have to stop the vehicle to turn off, and then turn back on the ignition to clear the problem. Dealer service manager reported problem was common but Subaru not addressing it."
Thomas G., VA (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Hard to describe how flawed the entertainment screen is.. Barely touch the volume control and it randomally select another station and sometimes continually changes station. Randomally make calls from cell phones; often have to turn off cell phone to stop random dialing of numbers. Sometimes screen freezes without any user interaction. Want to change time; watch one of the many youtube videos produced by consumers to help with this problem. Dealer said they system is a proble which has redeisgned in the latest version"
Anonymous, NY (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"It is not really blank, one cannot read the MPH & RPM screen when it is very bright outside; i.e. one's speed is not available! The screen is shielded and has an inadequate light. The other screen (centered) is bright and clear."
Anonymous, CA (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Takes forever to link, sometimes fails at start up"
Anonymous, QC (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Same as before. The car does not have CarPlay which makes it USELESS and I wish I never bought it I should have bought a Toyota."
Anonymous, MD (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The radio would not work at all. No music no phone etc. The only way to get it to work was to stop the car, turn off the motor and restart."
Anonymous, (2018 Subaru Forester Limited 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Multitude of problems: * User interface is not intuitive - old fashioned, clunky * Apple Car play not available - it was on the 2018 Outback * Does not sync with my iPhone consistently - wants to keep playing same songs * Hard to find music on phone because the interface is too distracting when driving * Voice commands not always recognized * Bluetooth drops"
William S., WA (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"When I start up the car, the bluetooth connects to my phone and plays random music, usually songs my kid loaded onto my phone in 2013 when he was in middle school. It also sometimes tries to connect to Pandora, which I don't have a subscription to. I've also had problems with the usb ports-- power goes in and out and I'm not able to charge my phone."
Anonymous, MD (2018 Subaru Forester Limited 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"in car audio is very bad overall. Speaker quality is so bad it will make you turnoff the sound system. (My base 2012 Camry has a better system) B/T pairing phone of more than 1 phone is confusing, full of interference and provides bad recption(at best). Phone software gets confused with more than 1 phone is paired- accepting phone calls on onedevice while playing music on speakers with the other-during phonr calls. So bad we purchased Bose phone device to use whilr driving(business vehicle)."
Kenneth R., NE (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"After several trips to the auto dealer and months of waiting for a fix, Subaru finally replaced the head unit in an attempt to fix the problem with it freezing."
Anonymous, VA (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Subaru tech tried to help, but said there is no update on 2018 model, for which the GPS navigation has been discontinued. The GPS does not correct for where you are but wants driver to continually go back to start. This is the only reason I have to turn in the car after lease. There is also a recall having to do with the front passenger airbag. Due to corona lockdown I have not been able to have it corrected yet, but it is not affecting the cars performance, which is overall excellent."
Anonymous, PA (2018 Subaru Forester Premium Unsure)"Navigation system is often wrong. Has told me to turn right when my destination is visible on the left. Doesn't give freeway exit name, just exit numbers which aren't always visible. Doesn't give the shortest or most direct route. Worst nav system I've ever had in any car I owned. Waste of my money."
Anonymous, (2018 Subaru Forester Unsure 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The vehicle navigation system did not work properly from the first day I bought the car. It repeatedly lost the signal needed to navigate. After trying to correct the problem for months, I used my iPhone's navigation system, which was more reliable."
Anonymous, NY (2018 Subaru Forester Unsure Unsure)"Problem started about 1 month after buying it. It would lose contact with satellite, and locate the vehicle somewhere near where I was, and would continually recalculate the route to try to get me to my destination. It has been intermittent, working for several miles, then going crazy again. Took several tries before it acted up at the dealer's, so they didn't believe us for weeks. They are about to replace the radio, which they said would fix it. NOTE: Both our subarus do this, so we will have to go through this again with the other one."
Anonymous, (2018 Subaru Forester Unsure Unsure)"The GPS system provides many unreliable directions, at times is just completely stops functioning, the maps are out of date, the verbal warns of traffic jams are totally inept, the dealer and company's position is that many of these are up to either suplliers or me to correct."
Anonymous, PA (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The GPS is the worst I've ever seen on a vehicle. An alarm blares if it thinks you're speeding-- unfortunately the data is so outdated, it doesn't know the actual speed limit. The map information is completely antiquated and I suspect they are using street information nearly a decade old. This street doesn't exist anymore, there's a street over there now, that's not the speed limit, you can't go that way down a one way street. Honestly had we any idea it would be this awful, we'd seriously have reconsidered. Bait and switch, it felt like. Did we really pay $35k for a car with non-functional GPS?"
Anonymous, UT (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The Subaru Forester top of the line full loaded expensive vehicle is excellent in general. The customer service is terrible. They do not return phone calls, send out recall notices and do not follow up. Their service department is incompetent. I have brought back five times for the same problem a never working voice system and a malfunctioning GPS system. Compared to Volvo or Toyota-previous top of the line vehicles-Subaru is inept."
Anonymous, NJ (2018 Subaru Forester Limited 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The GPS shows the vehicle at least two streets west of the actual location of the vehicle. It is an intermittent problem which is caused by the Nav system not picking up two of the 5 satelites."
Anonymous, (2018 Subaru Forester Limited 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The GPS system uses TOM TOM software and has been consistently wrong with location accuracy. Even locations that are established have been incorrectly mapped"
William S., WA (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The car is located about 150 feet behind its actual position. This results in instructions to turn after passing the intersection."
Anonymous, FL (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"It refused to book a route of more than about 150 miles, forcing me to book the trip in segments. For the most part it eventully resolved itself. However, in general I occasionally have problems programming it in that it won't recognize standard, well known streets or addresses. It's also difficult to select alternate routes if, for example, you want to drive around a city rather than through it."
Phyllis S., IN (2018 Subaru Forester)"Starlink is horrible.. The GPS did not have names of streets, cannot be used in Canada, would direct me to incorrect/extensive routes, would black out in some areas. Subaru bought me a Garmin to replace the Starlink navigation system, and will no longer have Starlink in their vehicles"
Judith C., SC (2018 Subaru Forester)"maps are not updated. GPS stops fiuncting from time to time. GPS gives wrong directions. inacurate traffic jam warnings. some inability to locate addresses"
Anonymous, PA (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The accuracy of the GPS system is so unreliable I don’t use it. Instead I use Google Maps on my iPhone for directions."
Anonymous, WA (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Excessively alerts Traffic Jam Ahead. Probably correct less than 20% of the time."
Delbert R., CO (2018 Subaru Forester XT 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Indash system was replaced FIVE times in this past year and STILL isn't working properly. One time, the dealer replaced it with a different broken system. Does not give accurate location, out of date maps, thinks the car is located elsewhere. Constant problems."
Kathryn K., VA (2018 Subaru Forester Limited 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"When searching for a destination, the icon allowing one to find an address disappears. One has to stop the car, shut down the engine and all electrical systems, then reboot and restart the car to restore the icon. Very annoying on the highway (yes, there's a passenger using the NAV system)."
Anonymous, (2018 Subaru Forester Limited 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"We have been experiencing a malfunction in the GPS since we took possession of the vehicle. The GPS will intermittently show that we are travelling several streets west of our actual location The satellite continues to cycle to find our actual location. Sometimes it works, but most of the time it does not. It is an intermittent issue. It has been into the dealership on at least 6 or 7 occasions. They have replaced the antennae, wiring, and the entire unit, but they still can’t find the problem."
Jim D., ON (2018 Subaru Forester Limited 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Have only seen it once, by accident. Can't get to it, and dealership won't provide a tutorial."
Anonymous, WV (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"There is static in the connection. When the dealer paired a phone to it, they didn't replicate the static. Now, when I make calls, it partially drops to my phone, but if I tell it to do that and then transfer back to the vehicle, it resumes connectivity. Incoming calls have not flaked out that way, and are not nearly as static-y. Some of the static relates to direction of travel...I think. With staying home, it isn't pressing to get fixed right now. It is an irritant, not a major issue."
Anonymous, MD (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Works intermittently and when it works, it is very slow to initiate, particularly voice commands."
Anonymous, (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Once phone is paired, in many instances will not be paired next time I use car, causing me to have to go through unreasonably complex pairing process again."
Anonymous, VA (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"pairing is dropped unexpectedly. The problem will be checked by a dealer."
Anonymous, (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"For several months, I was not able to use the hands-free phone option"
Anonymous, MA (2018 Subaru Forester Limited 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Sometimes you can't hear the other person on a call, or they can't hear you."
Anonymous, MD (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Phone randomly connects and dials even when phone is not being used and put away. This is a safety issue when driving"
Anonymous, NY (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Pandora comes on at random times even when not selected. Actually takes over all phone source options (wired and bluetooth). Phone calls distrupt the Starlink app, e.g., Magellan Navigation, and it cannot return to what it was doing."
Anonymous, VA (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The pairing is inconsistent with respect to how long the pairing takes place."
Anonymous, WA (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The microphone for picking up my voice is terrible. People have difficulty hearing me when I use the bluetooth connection,and trying to dictate text messages almost never gives an accurate transcription. I've asked the dealer twice about it with no resolution."
Anonymous, CA (2018 Subaru Forester XT 2.0-L 4 Cyl turbo)"Poor sound, difficulty pairing with iPhone, poor speaker quality....constant problems over the past year"
Kathryn K., VA (2018 Subaru Forester Limited 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"For some reason, the Bluetooth pairing does not work on a continuous basis. When I answer a call I am unable to hear the party. I am able to call the party back using my Phone and bypass the Bluetooth."
James A., IL (2018 Subaru Forester Limited 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The system sometimes refuses to disconnect one of our two iPhones in order to connect with the other one"
Thomas G., VA (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The ^%$# radio does not have CarPlay, it has some obsolete "Link" something that is useless and "not possible to update or exchange" the Subaru guys say. Basically, tough luck buddy. You bought a Forester without CarPlay and with the *&^( crappy useless one that will not work with any of today's smart phones."
Anonymous, MD (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Failure to change stations. Have to turn off the radio, sometimes the ignition, to get it to respond"
Anonymous, CT (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Built-in Harmon-Kardon radio and sound system began making deafening popping and static noises after about a year in use. Dealership reset, but I now notice unpleasant distortion in sound from the radio/Sirius part of this system."
Anonymous, QC (2018 Subaru Forester Limited 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Display system overly complicated, super sensitive and prone to randomly change stations. This also applies to other items in electronic display. One should expect this since manfacturer provided 5 separate manuals which cover electronics. The also contradict each other on particular topic. Not sure who designed this system but it is a mess"
Anonymous, NY (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The radio had an issue where it just stopped playing any sources. It was an issue with the firmware and required a replacement be put in."
Anonymous, WA (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The radio screen would not display the backup cameraoutput"
F A., CT (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"It cuts out intermittently on AM, FM & Satellite."
Shannon P., WA (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Ongoing intermittent fluctuations in volume."
Anonymous, OR (2018 Subaru Forester 2.5i 2.0-L 4 Cyl turbo)"radio would not change channels"
Anonymous, PA (2018 Subaru Forester Limited 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Sometimes unable to switch between AM/FM and Satellite radio stations; radio sometimes freezes."
Daniel T., NC (2018 Subaru Forester Limited 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The volume control self adjusts. It was explained that this was a feature but we had all the settings changed to NOT auto adjust and it still does it -- whether the car is running or not. Extremely annoying going from level chosen then can barely hear it and then loud again. Frustrating is understatement."
Anonymous, TN (2018 Subaru Forester)"syrius radio stopped working..entire system had to be replaced and I lost use of the car for 2 days"
Rhonda B., NY (2018 Subaru Forester Limited 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"has sirius xm radio, stopped working, in the shop for several days, finally had to replace whole radio unit, and it became clear that it was not replace with a NEW unit, but rather a refurbished unit (was still logged into sirius under previous owner) and subaru repair corrected me when i said new radio. Still freezes but works"
Julie S., TX (2018 Subaru Forester)"I can not tune more than 1 AM station and more than 1 FM station.. I can not turn the radio ON or OFF while the car was just turned on but is NOT moving--and once moving it becomes distracting. This is built into the system. My 2002 Subaru still works perfectly."
Anonymous, CA (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"HD radio very seldom get clear transmission from source. worse radio I have ever owned in any vehicle. I have owned 67 vehicles in my life!"
Steven R., OR (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The sirius radio needed a software update"
Anonymous, FL (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Blue tooth and I phone did not connect to one another. Very poor user UNFRIENDLY"
Anonymous, (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"It is extremely difficult to adjust the clock setting. The rear hatch door would not open once. I have to go to the dealer to get the clock adjusted. The location of the hatchback switches is problematic."
Anonymous, MI (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The actual fuel consumption is approx one litre per 100 kms greater that shown by the readouts. I have not bothered to have it fixed."
Anonymous, (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"subaru is either unable or unwilliong to prvide software updates"
Anonymous, PA (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The front right door panel speaker began distortion or the emitted sound after about two days of ownership! Dealer ordered and replaced the defective speaker and that resolved the problem! Sound system sounds great ever since!"
Anonymous, NC (2018 Subaru Forester 2.0-L 4 Cyl turbo)"Complex safety features include vehicle steering itself back into the lane when crossing a line and/or applying brakes when approaching another vehicle on cruise control. These are at first alarming when they engage on smaller winding roads and we disengage the features when not on a major highway."
Anonymous, BC (2018 Subaru Forester Limited 2.0-L 4 Cyl turbo)"Just bad, long, I use siri, it is twice as fast"
Anonymous, QC (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Often doesn't recognize my voice. Commands are not always logical. Most take too many steps so I have to stop and do it manually."
Anonymous, (2018 Subaru Forester Unsure 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Inconsistent."
Anonymous, (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.0-L 4 Cyl turbo)"They are terrible. Basically unusable so we don't use them at all. I was hoping for a software update but there apparently hasn't been on."
Anonymous, ON (2018 Subaru Forester 2.0-L 4 Cyl turbo)"You must repeat commands multiple times, and sometimes just give up..because the system can't decipher your instructions."
Anonymous, CA (2018 Subaru Forester 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Very seldom does it recognize the name I am asking to call."
Anonymous, MD (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"Car cannot understand wife or I very well. Have to repeat when calling hands free. Our 2015 Scion xB was perfect in this area."
Charles L., NJ (2018 Subaru Forester 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"The voice recognition is so poor I’ve given up using it"
Shannon P., WA (2018 Subaru Forester Touring 2.5-L 4 Cyl)"It probably works just fine--but I can't get the dealership to show me how to use it."
Anonymous, WV (2018 Subaru Forester Premium 2.5-L 4 Cyl)
"Night time camera is not clear making it hard to see what is behind me"
Anonymous, CA (2018 Subaru Forester 2.5-L 4 Cyl)