Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2021 Subaru Forester owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
After arriving home from a short drive to the grocery store I parked my car in the drive way and went inside. On the drive home I could hear a low humming coming from the speakers and the car was decelerating when the accelerator was not being pressed, no warning lights or sounds came on. About 10 minutes after I parked a neighbor knocked on the door letting me know my car was smoking from inside the hood. Within a minute or 2 the entire hood of the car was engulfed in flames. The entire front half of the car burned to a crisp, the fire also burned half a tree. The car was burning so hot that it melted the hood of the car, had I parked it with the hood facing my house my house would have caught fire. The problem has not been reduced or confirmed by dealer or independent service. The vehicle is being stored by the insurance and for the time being is accessible for investigation. …
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while waiting at a traffic light, the accelerator pedal was depressed, and the vehicle immediately shut off. During the failure, the message "Eyesight Disabled" was displayed and the vehicle could not immediately be restarted. The gear shifter was shifted to neutral(N) and the vehicle was pushed to the side of the roadway. The vehicle was eventually restarted and operated normally. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 37,000. The VIN was not available.
1. The car shut off several times, with the steering wheel locking up and becoming stiff, the brakes failing to respond, and loud, erratic sounds emanating from the vehicle. The car is available for inspection. 2. Yes, the car crashed resulting in damage to the car, driver, and other driver (e.g. car in front). 3. This is the second time the car has been brought to the dealership (the second time being Subaru South Hill in Pennsylvania) and they cannot identify the problem. 4. The vehicle was not inspected by police, or insurance, as far as I am aware. 5. There were no warning signs before the failure.
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while trying to roll up vehicle windows from driver sits and passenger sit they would roll up to 3/4th all the way up and they would roll back down after. The contact stated this was a recurring event. The dealer was aware of failure and diagnosed issue needing repairs for window regulator and run channels for driver and passengers side. Manufacturer was made aware of failure and let contact know it was outside of warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 22,500.
Persistent Battery Drain on a 2021 Subaru Forester Limited. Problems began in year 4 of ownership (~17,000 mileage), after Subaru Starlink Subscription services expired. Red (Error) Starlink SOS indicator light was evident, where a normal light would show green. Battery would fully drain after about 3-4 days of inactivity while parked in a commercial garage. After repeated dead batteries, a jump-starter battery pack was used regularly, as well as a wall-outlet battery charger. The problem has not resolved with a new and appropriately specified AGM battery, replaced in December 2025. The only solution is to pull the engine-bay fuse #5, which disables the Data Communication Module (DCM), as well as other features (hands-free microphones and audio system). By pulling the fuse #5 consistently, the problem has ceased, even after a two-week period of no use. …
12/14/24-I was stopped at a red light at a VERY busy intersection. The engine was in stop mode by the start/stop feature. When the light turned green, the car failed to start. The entire car shut down, with alarms sounding and dash lights flashing. The entire system had to reboot before I could restart the car. It was a freighting experience. Fortunately, I wasn't killed by traffic zooming by or by some person with road rage. 12/16/24-Issue evaluated by local Subaru dealer. Their evaluation was that when the auto start feature was activated, my car battery was too low to work. There was zero warning about a low battery before this failure in traffic. I had to buy a new battery. The auto start/stop feature is not an enhancement, but a safety hazard. Owners should be able to permanently disable this unnecessary drain on batteries and starters. …
Without any prior issue of having the engine turnover from being parked for more than 20 hours, the car would not start. It's like the battery completely died overnight. I was able to unlock it but the car would not start, and therefore was unable to go into neutral because I didn't have a long enough screwdriver with me to manually override into neutral. So it had to be jumped partially to be towed (had it towed for more than just the battery because it's under warranty). The interesting part is that my car has a factory issued battery, and my car was the third Subaru made after 2020 that had to be towed due to the same issue, in the same day. Maybe the batteries are defective? Regardless, since everything relies on power now, having a provided device to allow for manual override would prevent folks from being stranded. …
My dealer diagnosed issues with my car as: the gasket around my sunroof failed and allowed water to infiltrate the cabin and the electrical system over time. This caused corrosion in the electrical harness, which caused battery failure, failure of the adaptive headlight system, and random electrical glitches. My interpretation of their diagnosis was that this was a cascading failure that might have led to problems with other electrical components such as power brakes, other adaptive systems, etc., and affected safety, if it had not been diagnosed in time. An insurance appraiser confirmed the dealer's diagnosis. Repairs (including replacing the electrical harness) have been completed and so the situation is not available for further inspection. When the adaptive headlight system stopped working, this was reported on the dashboard, but the cause of this and the base problem was not.
MY 2021 Subaru Forester battery has died twice in the last 10 months. I could not jump start the vehicle the first time about 10 months ago. I needed AAA to jump start it. I took the car to the dealer; they recharged the vehicle and said the battery was fine. They did not bill me. The car died again this week. This time I was able to jump start the vehicle myself. The safety issue is I might need to get to a doctor's appointment or other emergency in a hurry. I may be out shopping or hiking and need to return home, perhaps in bad weather. I might be stranded in a busy intersection or a lonely country road. The battery is simply not trust-worthy. The vehicle was inspected by the dealer, and they said the battery was fine. There was no warning lamp before the battery failed. The car is not safe-I don't know when it won't work.
Purchased brand new from dealer. Less than 3 months later a tiny pebble came up and hit the center of the windshield, immediately you could see an indentation and a spider web. Now the whole windshield has multiple spider web cracks. The splits go from edge of driver's side all the way to edge of passenger side of the car. As well as 3 separate rings going around center indentation. Only had the car 3 months when this occured. Have had 3 instances that I could not start the car. Now the cigarette lighter charge port will not work. Moon roof malfunctioning and will not close sometimes when fully opened. Now I am having issues with the brakes sticking. It's 1 year old and this is way too many issues for a brand new car! Never again!
Electrical complaints in other Forester years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 2021 Subaru Forester?
NHTSA has 33 complaints about the electrical system of the 2021 Subaru Forester, 16% of the model year's 210 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2021 Subaru Forester electrical problems?
No. NHTSA lists no electrical system recall for the 2021 Subaru Forester. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2021 Subaru Forester electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 23,000 miles, and 75% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 1 fire and 1 injury to electrical system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.