2025 Forest River Forester Problems
Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component
Data refreshed
What this page shows
Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2025 Forest River Forester, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Reports by component
Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category
- Heating & air conditioning133.3%
- Electrical133.3%
- Other / unspecified133.3%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Each component in detail
What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words
Heating & air conditioning
Reports naming the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system.
From owner reports, verbatim
1. COMPONENT FAILED / AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION: Rear A/C and its electrical control box under the master bed failed completely on night one. The box suffered a severe thermal event (melted plastic odor, scorched components, with some smoke). The melted box and vehicle are available for inspection in my driveway. 2. SAFETY RISK: My husband and I were sleeping directly on top of the bed when the box beneath it began burning, creating an immediate fire and smoke-inhalation hazard while we slept. The vehicle's electrical breakers failed to trip and cut power before the component reached temperatures high enough to melt and smoke, indicating a catastrophic safety architecture failure. 3. CONFIRMED BY DEALER: Melted/burned box was photographed and sent to selling dealer (Alpin Haus). Service acknowledged photos and agreed it needed replacement. However, due to 12 weeks of dealer delays/communication failures, no teardown diagnostic occurred. We refuse to return the RV to them due to safety/competence concerns. 4. INSPECTED BY OTHERS: NO. Manufacturer (Forest River) has been notified via corporate letter, but no physical factory or official inspection has occurred as of today. 5. WARNINGS/SYMPTOMS: UNKNOWN. No warning lights or codes appeared. First symptom was waking up to plastic burning smell and light smoke under our bed.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Electrical
Reports naming the electrical system — wiring, battery, charging, control modules, infotainment and electrical accessories.
From owner reports, verbatim
1. COMPONENT FAILED / AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION: Rear A/C and its electrical control box under the master bed failed completely on night one. The box suffered a severe thermal event (melted plastic odor, scorched components, with some smoke). The melted box and vehicle are available for inspection in my driveway. 2. SAFETY RISK: My husband and I were sleeping directly on top of the bed when the box beneath it began burning, creating an immediate fire and smoke-inhalation hazard while we slept. The vehicle's electrical breakers failed to trip and cut power before the component reached temperatures high enough to melt and smoke, indicating a catastrophic safety architecture failure. 3. CONFIRMED BY DEALER: Melted/burned box was photographed and sent to selling dealer (Alpin Haus). Service acknowledged photos and agreed it needed replacement. However, due to 12 weeks of dealer delays/communication failures, no teardown diagnostic occurred. We refuse to return the RV to them due to safety/competence concerns. 4. INSPECTED BY OTHERS: NO. Manufacturer (Forest River) has been notified via corporate letter, but no physical factory or official inspection has occurred as of today. 5. WARNINGS/SYMPTOMS: UNKNOWN. No warning lights or codes appeared. First symptom was waking up to plastic burning smell and light smoke under our bed.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Other / unspecified
Reports whose component NHTSA recorded as unknown, or that do not map to one of the categories above.
From owner reports, verbatim
1. COMPONENT FAILED / AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION: Rear A/C and its electrical control box under the master bed failed completely on night one. The box suffered a severe thermal event (melted plastic odor, scorched components, with some smoke). The melted box and vehicle are available for inspection in my driveway. 2. SAFETY RISK: My husband and I were sleeping directly on top of the bed when the box beneath it began burning, creating an immediate fire and smoke-inhalation hazard while we slept. The vehicle's electrical breakers failed to trip and cut power before the component reached temperatures high enough to melt and smoke, indicating a catastrophic safety architecture failure. 3. CONFIRMED BY DEALER: Melted/burned box was photographed and sent to selling dealer (Alpin Haus). Service acknowledged photos and agreed it needed replacement. However, due to 12 weeks of dealer delays/communication failures, no teardown diagnostic occurred. We refuse to return the RV to them due to safety/competence concerns. 4. INSPECTED BY OTHERS: NO. Manufacturer (Forest River) has been notified via corporate letter, but no physical factory or official inspection has occurred as of today. 5. WARNINGS/SYMPTOMS: UNKNOWN. No warning lights or codes appeared. First symptom was waking up to plastic burning smell and light smoke under our bed.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — owner-reported complaints and the components recorded on them
Data on this page last refreshed .