Subaru Forester

"I am unable to consistently use Android Auto as a navigation system. Sometimes it work fine, but then stops displaying my route. It also stops giving voice directions while driving. I wish I had bought the extra cost builtin navigation system."

"It is difficult to reliably engage Android Auto. Sometimes it works well -- Google Maps navigation and telephone contact -- other times, I cannot seem to pair it with the vehicle."

"From day 1, it's been one problem after another. After each voice navigation, the radio pops on (dangerous for high-speed city driving when I rely on voice navigation). Even knowledgeable Subaru employees can't figure out an easy way to toggle back & forth between "day" and "night" screen modes. Sometimes voice command feature disappears or is laggy. Difficult to switch between using the car for phone conversations and using the smartphone itself--stays stuck in "car" mode even when I am not the driver would prefer for a conversation to be private on my smartphone. Difficult for both an iphone user and Android user to share the same car (doesn't sync well at all). When starting driving, the car doesn't know which smarthpone within range to pair with, so the car may pair with a phone even inside the house rather than the phone of the driver. BIG problem with the GPS--at times GPS will track the car along the GPS-suggested route toward a destination, even when the car itself has departed from that route (connection has been broken). A lot of the issues are unfortunately difficult to describe. Subaru employees are given different instruction manuals than what consumers receive with the cars. It's impossible to get answers via the instruction manuals (spectacularly disorganized and hard-to-follow). This has been a terrible car for business travel. We have paid off this car and likely will not keep it. The problems are frequent. Sometimes something starts working, but is replaced by a new problem. Software updates always seem to cause new issues."

"Started after jump starting another car"

"It first worked for about a week. since then does not work. This appears to be a problem with all Subarus' according to the Subaru users online network"

"Occasionally interface crashes or cannot be started, audio comes from only certain speakers, or volume controls become unresponsive. Audio problems seem to have been resolved with Feb 2020 update; periodic crashes still occur."

"does not always connect"

"It never connects properly. And, have to play with it a lot just to connect once. Other tries were unsuccessful. Have given up trying. Need to change this software or make big improvements."

"The issue is inconsistent in many ways and seems to have gotten worse in others. It will sometimes drop all functionality and completely stop playing the audio book/music I'm listening to in the middle of driving and I have to unplug the phone and re-plug it back in to get it to work again. Can happen multiple times per trip and then not happen for a dozen or more trips. Also has lost the ability to respond to text messages with my voice. Has started always saying something like "connection not good enough to send replies". The capabilities between bluetooth and being plugged into the car are also drastic, with very little functionality over bluetooth beyond just listening to whatever the phone is playing or having a phone call. I have read some forums online and there appears to be an issue between Samsung and the Subaru system specifically."

"Same issues as I already addressed."

"Android Auto won't work, the dealer blames it on my phone. It's so unrelieable, my wife's phone doesn't reliably work either. I spent extra money to get Android Auto in the Touring Forester. I should have bought a Rav4, but I thought Android Auto would be a great feature. I've had the car 18 months and it's never worked. And, from what I can tell, I guess I don't miss it. It's just a complete waste of money."

"Sometimes I cannot get it to connect. Occasionally it disconnects during a drive while using GoogleMaps, and it affect my navigation ability. Don't like having to connect via usb port and to not always get it to properly connect."

"Initially the phone wouldn’t connect occasionally but several updates have since been dispatched and it has no longer been an issue"

"If I used my GPS, I couldn't turn on the music. If I turned on the radio, I couldn't see the GPS. Also, touch buttons on the vehicle screen wouldn't work."

"The phone would lose its connection to the car's system, and thus CarPlay would cease to function. This seems to have been fixed by my dealer installing a firmware update to the car system."

"Nothing more than I already stated in previous answer, except that I've owned a Prius and Volt recently and I prefer either of those with the use of Appleplay intergration, especially CHEVROLET Volt."

"The Car play would not allow me 35% of time to get the GPS to work through car play. No screen view, no audio. It would work on my iPhone but not link with car play. Incredibly frustrating. I am a salesman and rely on GPS everyday over all of New England. I have been forced to carry my 9 year-old Garmin dash mount GPS and use this several times a week. I have brought Car to dealer and they reset it, better, but still not better than 80% working. Becouse of eyesight on car, cant leave old GPS on dash, dealer said would mess up performance of eyesight. Dealer said Car play has been an issue. Very disappointed!!"

"Sporadically, CarPlay wouldn't recognize the phone connection when I plugged it into the USB port of the car. The dealer applied a software update and that has taken care of the issue for the most part."

"25% of the time it doesn't recognize that a phone has been plugged into its USB port. Also, since new, our phones will initially answer the call using the phones microphone and speaker, then the call will cut out for 2-3 seconds as it switches to the cars speaker."

"Apple CarPlay randomly crashed while I was using it for navigation and music."

"Apple Car Play often crashes, typically while I am using Google Maps, causing me to miss exits and have to pull over to reset multiple times. Siri also does not hear voice commands."

"Software problem with the Harmon-Karden sound system. A software update resolved the problem."

"Radio/BU Camera module failed suddenly for no apparent reason, Dealer determined VIN-specific module to be defective, with replacement requiring special order and 2-week delivery. Module has been successfully replaced."

"The backup warning system failed (the beeping warning)"

"The player would stop playing in the middle of the music. Pressing the forward or back button would skip the stopped music and play another."

"If you hit a small bump in the road or make a wide turn the cd player skips and goes back to previous song or beginning of cd. And, loose the song I was playing."

"My CD's don't work! The problem is that you HAVE to subscribe to SIRIUS at at lease $60 a month, after which you will be limited to their 'packages'. I only listen to public radio and am only interested in a reliable GPS system that can guide me in the wilderness, too! It is not easy to wade through the app systems on the car: electronic systems are not very user friendly for older folks, who are not very tech savvy."

"When changing the volume of warning beeps, all display functions locked up and nothing could be operated. Turning car off and back on didn't fix. Turning car off, waiting 10 minutes and turning back on did fix it."

"The navagation screen locked up, but the dealer was able to fix by reinstalling the (same revision) firmware. That was the only means to reset the problem (most vehicles have a reset method, but this didn't)."

"This happens on occasion / but eventually it un freezes on its own"

"screen did not respond to touch...would eventually respond....subaru replaced the unit...still occasionally freezes up"

"Twice, entire dashboard would go crazy with all dashboard symbols flashing along with headlights and taillights. Couldn't turn car off without disconnecting the battery, letting rest and reconnecting."

"When connected via USB after 5 minutes the connection drops.;"

"Screen went blank. Had to bring car to dealership to get fixed."

"The screen went blank randomly, several times, and then one time it went blank and never returned back until it was repaired. I was told that it required a software update which surprised me since I had the car only about 6 months."

"crazy interface. to turn off the system I have to press and hold the power button for 4-5 seconds. Simply pushing it puts in mute mode. But either way it will sometimes turn itself on the next time I start the car. It also forgets what device I was listening to, e.g. CD or MP3 stick, and generally reverts to the radio. I have done multiple software updates as soon as they become available in the hopes that things would improve, but so far no change."

"It loses my music regularly and I can't access."

"The phone would periodically lose its connection to the car's system (and thus Carplay would cease to work)."

"Sometimes when playing music over the car's system, the music will just shut off completely and the radio input just comes on. The car is completely unable to detect the phone at all unless I unplug it and plug it back in. This can happen multiple times on some trips and then not happen again for many trips after. It is not related to the phone being in battery saver mode or any other changes in the phone's settings, and appears to be completely at random. This never happens when connected with bluetooth, and only ever happens when plugged into the car itself."

"Does not always connect with cellphone for GPS or won't stay connected."

"System often reads USB music files as wrong artist or song. This did not happen with same USB stick on my previous Volkswagen or my current Audi."

"The head unit in the vehicle was replaced twice. The audio amplifier was also replaced with the second head unit replacement. The selling dealer did their best to resolve the issue in a timely manner. Subaru corporate added a year and increased the mileage to 100,000 miles on the extended warranty (6yrs/72,000)milesI purchased with the vehicle. So far, so good with this last replacement. Other than the infotainment problem, I am very satisfied overall with the vehicle."

"problem occurred Oct. 2019. Vertical stripe on display was continuous. Replaced unit Nov. 2019."

"Speaker amplifier under front seat died."

"Volume control did not work"

"All of the radio station presets reset to factory defaults. Only happened once."

"The dealer had to replace teh radio head unit in February. The new one smelled so bad that we had to leave our new car sitting in the garage with windows open for 3 days."

"The more serious problem is that it just stopped working and needed to be restarted from scratch by the dealer. But an annoyance is that it is less reliable than my old Garmin. In New Mexico, during bad weather, it instructed to to go 20 miles out of our way and then we found ourselves at a dead end needing to retrace our drive back to the highway."

"They had to replace the in dash infotainment system (hardware) which fixed all the problems."

"Nav and radio all one unit. Replaced by dealer under warrenty."

"Gives poor directions. The navigation in the 2016 Forester was more reliable."

"Car pairs with phone even if you don't want to be paired. Example: My wife pulls up in the driveway while I am working in the yard. The car pairs with my iPhone, and suddenly I don't have reception."

"Sometimes, even with my phone in the car with me, it would say that I had no phone connectivity or pairing. That seems to have been resolved with the recent software update."

"When I receive a call, the system does not activate the in-car speaker or microphone. I have to manually hack the "transfer" crt screen button repeatedly while my caller waits, thereby distracting me from driving."

"The Subarau display etc system is a PIA...but the tech person at dealership is a whiz."

"My iPhone will loss blue tooth 20% of time for not reason. Subaru Carplay is not ready for primetime."

"Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Very random. Most of the issues are GPS pairing related. Very frustrating when trying to get somewhere. The phone is brand new too, so it's not an incompatibility issue."

"Music/podcasts intermittently (since purchase) skip or drop connection while playing. They replaced the head unit, and it still happens. Corporate is now involved, since dealer doesn't respond well."

"The connection has been lost a few times and needs resetting."

"Presets keep disappearing"

"The radio would not remember settings. Manufacturer known defect and dealer installed an software upgrade."

"After saving radio station presets, in another driving session the station presets were all wiped out."

"The first 5 radio station settings settings of a possible 18 channels kept dropping and had to be reset. The rest of the station settings from 6 to 18 were fine. Subaru replaced the entire radio/navigation unit on warrantee. No problems since."

"frequently clears the channel presets when the car is turned off, then turned on either later in the day or the next day"

"Part of failed module including BU camera display. See previous comments."

"The entire radio/info/computer hardware broke. I had to replace the whole unit. Also, The radio system never turns off completely, it simply mutes the volume until the engine is turned off and the car door is opened. Audio also turns on automatically when car is started. I found that my radio was broken when these features drained the battery."

"Believe it or not, it's difficult to turn the radio off. The default is on and the radio can only be muted. It takes just the right touch to get radio muted. Also, the radio seems to spontaneously turn on when I am trying to listen to GPS voice directions, which is distracting. The dealer says others have complained about the radio."

"I have never been able to set the FM radio stations. It will take and hold the SXM stations but will not hold FM. The dealership is unable to correct this annoying issue."

"Will not save selected radio stations, very irritating"

"Could not set it in cold weather. Setting it is Unpredictable - sometimes does not set a channel. Turns on arbitrarily when I start car. It is annoying that it controls me, and I cannot control the radio. Also, there is NO WAY for me to see the clock, which is hidden in a black tunnel feature. The dashboard should have a simple clock instead of all the junk that I do not understand. Why would I want to be distracted thinking about all those things all the time? Also, the safety features (AV..?) says off and then switches to on. Unpredictable. I hate the bright light of the Tech stuff that is distracting and yet I cannot see the TIME. The black tunnel shows the outside temperature - but I want to know the inside temperature. Is the car too hot for my dog or a child? That is what I want to know. I hate the dashboards. Stuff is scattered all over - on the left, the right, above eye level and below eye level. The engineers are not helping me find a needed feature at a glance and I do not have time to search while I'm driving. Too much to remember. So unhelpful."

"The station presets were deleted each time the vehicle was shut down. This was random then failed hard. They were able to install new software which corrected the problem."

"Three random times in the past year the radio has stopped responding to the control buttons and touch screen. It goes back to normal a few hours or a day with no particular intervention."

"All sound failed and it was diagnosed to be the high-end amplifier which Suburu said had problems, apparently due to firmware problems in the amp. This part was replaced under warranty."

"I set the station memories and after a few days the memories reset to hold - no memory - so I have to reset them all again. Patrick Subaru does not know how to fix this"

"Radio station presets keep disappearing. Dealer unable to correct long term"

"The radio lost all station presets for no apparent reason. Dealer installed a software/firmware update and the problem has not recurred."

"The radio and Starlink died immediately after jump starting another vehicle..."

"Shortly after purchase. Radio began loosing station presets. After resetting them they would disappear again after a day or so. Dealer performed a software update which solved the problem. Imagine, needing a "software update" for damn radio buttons!!!"

"Radio/entertainment system totally freezes No radio, cd,phone or screen. Has occurred 5 times randomly. Each time the problem lasted 15-40 minutes, then "magically" came back on. Each time the dealer performed a software update as the fix. Subaru won't replace system until they actually find a problem with. System always working by the time we get to the dealer. We were advised to take a video of problem if it happens again"

"they had to replace the radio"

"Radio would not hold its presets"

"Radio comes on every time the car is started, also poor sound quality. also in car electronics and safe features are a nightmare"

"Two issues with radio 1) volume control erratic,not smooth when turning (jumps higher or lower quickly) 2) When switching from listening from phone (Appleplay) to "radio" the radio cuts out after 30 seconds...apparently, it's trying to go back to Applepay. Dealer replaced radio. Volume control is better, but Appleplay to radio switching is still an issue! Will report continuing issue to dealer."

"The radio stop function whenever the screen went blank. All aspects of this system stop functioning when screen went blank."

"After 25000 miles, the radio deletes all preset stations within 3 days of setting them"

"The radio turns on every time the car is restarted, even though it had been turned off."

"Would not maintain preset stations. Continiously"

"Shortly after purchase I began receiving messages on my screen saying I needed to update the software, then later it would say the update failed. The dealer fixed the issue. Also, twice the rear gate stopped functioning. The dealer has fixed it both times. My only concern now is that perhaps one of the computers needs replacement, but I won't be told this until it's out of warranty. If this happens again before the warranty expires, I'll insist that they do more than just re-program it. Even warranty repairs are an issue with me, because I live about 80 miles from the dealership. However, the warranty service has been excellent."

"I was supposed to be able to update new software on my own. I couldn't get the car to update for the two recent updates. I had to drive to the dealership and let them do it."

"The car paired via Bluetooth with my home system but would not complete the software update. I tried at least a half dozen times."

"They said I could update the map, but it just would not do it."

"Software updates did not occur automatically and I had to take car in twice to have updates done."

"Software updates have caused problems with iPhone contacts and CD player track information."

"Two times now the rear hatch has failed to open. The only fix seems to be disconnecting the negative battery cable and touching it to the positive battery cable. This solves the problem (temporarily) but also resets all of the other owner selection parameters to default and requires 30 minutes of owner input to get it back to desired settings. Subaru admits there is a problem but has yet to provide a software fix."

"XM radio went out and presets would not save to memory, software update fixed the problem"

"Very minor issue--the radio comes on when the car starts even though it was not on when I parked. The dealer explained that this is a bug which will be taken care of by the next software update, but 8 months after I purchased the car, that still hasn't happened."

"Tailgate wouldn’t open on many occasions"

"Before my first software update, I had issues with the Sirius XM radio presets, sometimes the phone pairing with my android phone, and one of my display settings disappeared. I still haven't resolved that issue. It used to display my MPG and miles to go on a tank of gas. All but the last one were fixed with the last software update."

"Subaru has sent out a notice for 2 software updates. To do them at home, you need a good WIFI connection, better than most driveways have (the car has to running for; that lets the garage out). Yo can get it done at the dealers, but it is time consuming. We still haven't done #2."

"Back hatch would not open with remote or hatch Release button or Button in car. The only way was to hold the hatch release button for 20 seconds then it would open. Software update fixed the problem"

"The vehicle did not have the newest software upgrade at the time of purchase and the dealership had a problem getting the must current update but eventually succeeded in doing the upgrade."

"Randomly, the rear hatch release, which has NO PHYSICAL OVERRIDE INSIDE OR OUT, fails to open the hatch. The only reliable fix is to disconnect the battery, reconnect it and restart the car. In a serious accident requiring a passenger to escape the car from the rear, there is no method of opening the rear hatch! A software upgrade fixed the electronic opening problem."

"Radio lost all the Stations programmation several times. At my 12 months maintenance visit, dealer decided to reprogram the radio. 5 days are now past and it still working fine."

"Needed software update due to intermittent phone connectivity problems. Was updated under recall with no problems"

"Not able to update myself, 1st dealer update dropped iPhone contacts, 2nd dealer update fix dropped CD track and radio information. Covid-19 prevents return to dealer."

"Front speakers occasionally cut out and volume control stops working. Dealer unable to fix."

"Rear speakers stopped working several months after purchasing the vehicle."

"The amp system box had to be replaced with another manufactures product"

"I had an issue with the speakers in the rear turning off when using the entertainment system. This was resolved by restarting the car."

"The info button stopped responding. it is supposed to change the screen on top of the dash but that screen only changes based on other things like drive mode or eyesight status. It only worked for about two months before having an issue. All other buttons on the steering wheel have continued operating as expected."

"The speed limit sign was wrong, e.g., would show 84MPH in a 40 MPH zone. Reset car to fix, which fixed speed limit sign but steering wheel radio channel changer hasn't worked since."

"Cruise controls are difficult to maintain desired speed. It also requires you to use 5mph increments instead of 1 mph. Also rear hatch door has locked itself and was unable to open on more than one occasion. Dealer finally replaced computer."

"the windshield wiper speed can't be set at a level that will keep the wind shied clear in a moderately heavy rainfall or when a another car passing or approaching splashes water onto the windshield"

"Because I can't reliably connect my Android auto app my voice commands frequently result in no help at all which forces me to stop the car and keep trying to connect or just use my phone without the car."

"Volume not working properly when using voice commands. Cannot hear siri voice"

"voice recognition is a joke. Ask a question or give direction and response is obviously wrong"

"There are 2 gauges to indicate the average mpg. On in on the speedometer panel and the other is in the screen in the middle of the on the dash board. The one on the dash board panel is accurate, and the one on the screen should read the same. The mpg on the screen sometimes read the same, but about 50 % of the time it is stuck on 33.7 to 33.9. Over time the 2 synchronize for a while and then the screen changes again."

"The dealer no I are able to set the Clock,"

"Dog activated interior lights, drained batt. 2x Rear auto door failed several times. Hardware had to be replaced. Radio comes on automatically, hate this!!! Manual is convoluted and difficult to apply info to car. Good instructions are an art. Subaru should hire an artist not just engineers!"

"My battery went dead because my key fob was in too close a proximity to the car. I hung it on my key rack in the garage as I did my previous cars. Apparently my car couldn't rest and it wore the battery down. I also had trouble getting into the rear hatch door. I had to find out how to reset it online because my manual didn't give this information. I just need to get used to this new technology."

"Rear tailgate occasionally won't open- intermittent"

"Back lift gate wouldn't open with keyless entry"

"rear hatch would not open four different times. Once to Subaru dealer - fixed. Other times mysteriously recovered after a time. Have one friend with same problem with new Subaru forester"

"Rear hatch opening failed to operate on 3 occasions. It simply would not open and that means you don't have access to the cargo area. First time I had to stop at the dealer's for them to fix it. Upon the 2nd incident I went online and discovered that by disconnecting the battery it would reset the hatch opening and it would then work fine. A nuisance but it allows me to access the area."

"On 2 separate occasions the tail gate would not open either via keyless entry or manually. Subaru dealership was awful in response."

"The power rear tailgate door failed hard. There is no manual override to open the rear gate. This is very poor design. Also, there is no way to disable the engine Autostop feature. This is a safety issue because the on/off switch is located on the left lower dash where it can not be seen unless you take your eyes off the road. At the very least, you should be able to set the default for the Autostop feature to be off when the vehicle is started."

"It was the ability to open the rear hatch. Sometimes it didn't work at all. Have had it fixed twice but still sometimes doesn't work. It often will not open from the drivers seat either."

"Periodically, certain doors wouldn't open, including the rear hatch and back doors. This would happen for 2-3 weeks and then fix itself."

"The rear cargo door did not open on several occasions. The dealer states the only way to correct it is to disconnect the battery. Terrible."

"The car has a mind of it's own when it comes to opening the rear hatch. Several times it has remained stuck shut for days, then one day it'll work again. Then won't open a few weeks later. This is in the garage, or out int he open. Won't open with the dashboard button, the key fob, or the button on the tailgate. Dealer can't figure it out. Unwilling to replace whatever controls this intermittent problem. So, I have to live with it, never knowing if the tailgate will open or not. This is only one of several intermittent problems that seem related to the computer."

"rear hatch failed to open three times- had to be reset by dealer...not too happy"

"Rear tailgate would not open."

"It wasn't the monitor, it was the tires....something was bent on the wheel rim. It took 3 tires in the first 300 miles for them to figure it out. It was very unsafe....had 2 flat tires in the dark on the freeway far from home."

"the rear door hatch had to have anew module replaced"

"Multiple warning lights on & flashing at same time Do not drive car warning No clear error message in manual Dealer diagnosed as possible O2 sensor. reset & went away Came back again within a day took back to dealer, O2 sensor issue Confirmed Replacement part took 5 days to obtained & installed"

"Driver side seat creaks, took into Subaru 3 different times before mechanic acknowledged the noise. Cushion you sit on was replaced and after 1-2 weeks the noise has returned. Told there wasn’t anything else to be done. Very frustrated."

"Driver side front seat squeaking was driving me nuts, this definitely should not happen with only about 1000 miles on the car. Subaru could not fix the problem. Supposedly replaced the seat and the problem was gone for about 1 day. Was told by Subaru that if this didn't fix the problem "I was out of luck" I was in shock to hear this and totally taken back. I ended up calling Corporate and they gave me $1500 towards the purchase of another Subaru. I ended up putting another $5000. Combined with the $1500 and traded in the car I hated driving. Subaru should have just given me another car and taken the lemon. This has left a bad taste in my mouth."

"Noise and strong vibration when starting to back up with wheels turned when the car is very cold. Unfortunately does not happen all the time and dealer could not identify the problem."

"a wire bundle in the over dash compartment was rubbling"

"rattle in dash (center)"

"Persistent rattling from the steering column and sunroof area. Squeaking front passenger seat."

"There is a whistling in my car when driven on the highway. They tell me it’s fine but they are not allowed to take my car out on the highway to test it. (Crazy). My apple car play and my blue tooth only works occasionally. I’ve had my screen completely disappear with no navigation. Calls are not able to hear me. The eye sensor goes crazy and I have had to completely turn it off. The electronics are horrible. Every other oil change, they have to clean your brakes - be prepared four $500 bill every other oil change because their brakes are subpar. Such a disappointment. Worst car I have EVER owned. Do not buy the Forrester."

"The problem isnt really wind noise, the engine noise in this car is LOUD"

"Not resolved. It's a noisy cabin"

"The car was noisier that the Civic when we test drove the two, but there were some other reasons we chose it. But, the luggage rack on the car we bought just shrieks, even at 45 MPH. Annoying on trips."

"wind noise starts at 45 mph. i brought the car back to the dealer who told me they could not correct the problem. subaru is not doing a good job at correcting long standing problems with noise levels."

"When driving at highway speeds, the driver's side door has quite a loud wind noise. Dealer was unable to replicate."

"wind noise around top edge of driver window. At highway speeds it is very noticeable. Have not taken in to dealer yet to address."