2022 Subaru Forester Exterior lighting Problems

When driving my 22 Subaru Forester at night, I’ve noticed the headlight projection has rectangular dark spots which causes a huge distraction and a blind spot that moves when steering. I’ve noticed that I’m not the only person that has encountered this issue. I’m bringing it into the dealership to bring this to their attention and to see what they can do about this. I really hope Subaru fixes this problem, as it is/can be very dangerous due to the blind spot and distraction.

NHTSA ID

11568901

Incident

Jan 18, 2024

I purchased my Forester Wilderness on 11/5/22 - this problem is with the headlights. I have a serious safety concern 1. There are two large shaded dark spots directly in my field of vision. These are approximately fifteen to twenty feet directly in front of the vehicle and never go away - because the headlights are steering responsive, they are always moving which is distracting and dangerous. 2. The cutoff lines of the projection are jagged and irregular with low points dropping down. These too, are always in motion with the steering responsive headlights. 3.Two rectangular black areas below the cutoff area in my field of vision. And these too are always in motion with the steering responsive headlights. These headlights create a variety of safety concerns. The dark shaded areas result in a reduced clarity in the most needed area; directly in front of the car in the dominant field of vision. The jagged irregular moving cutoff lines are extremely distracting. When the lowered dark cutoff areas move across your field of vision, it’s as if something is jumping out in front of the car. As the driver, it's hard to know if there is an actual need for emergency action or not. Then perhaps the greatest concern of well being is the two dark moving rectangular boxes below the cutoff lines. My eyes tend to fixate on these moving rectangles. This is distracting and I'm concerned I and other Forester drivers are not giving complete attention to the whole field of vision. 4. This is especially prominent and dangerous on unlit roads which is what I mainly travel. I first thought it was an issue with my vehicle and mentioned it to the dealer a day or so after purchase. But today I found many other 2022 Forester owners reporting the same problem. Subaru needs to create a fix for this dangerous issue!

NHTSA ID

11492844

Incident

Nov 5, 2022

The contact owns a 2022 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving at night with the low beam headlights activated, the illumination was extremely poor causing a visibility failure. The contact indicated there were dark spots and shadowy lines present on the windshield within the driver’s field of view, creating a visibility hazard for the driver. Additionally, the contact indicated that the headlights failed to illuminate the roadway adequately for safe nighttime driving. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 10.

NHTSA ID

11491016

Incident

Jul 1, 2022

Mileage

10 mi

Three issues with the headlights. First, major shadowing. From the bumper to 6 feet out there is a dark spot. Second issue. Vehicle is two weeks old. We drive twisty windy roads. Headlights are almost a foot and a half low at 25ft. You can not see more than 50 feet on roads that are hilly due to the headlights being low and the auto level not correcting fast enough. I do not understand at all how this is ok from Subaru or federal agencies. Multiple times we had to slow down due to not being able to see or the headlights being so slow to adjust. Maybe raising them would help but why is this not being checked before deliver. Last issue, the high beams are literally no brighter than the low beams. My wife works nights. She drives home in the dark and in to work in the dark during half the year. This vehicle is horrible for night driving. I have never seen headlights so bad. This is after owning 4 brands of vehicles. I can send video and pics if needed.

NHTSA ID

11472295

Incident

Jul 5, 2022

When driving at night, there are two black dots that appear in my headlights on the road. They move with the steering and become an extreme nuisance. Its all your eye can focus on and are right in the field of view from the lights. They move and create blind spots.

NHTSA ID

11465028

Incident

Mar 5, 2022

There seems to be an issue with the led headlights. When on they are projecting two dark shadows of something looking like rectangle objects. This is very unsafe and definitely very annoying because all you see are those two shadows right in front of your eyes.

NHTSA ID

11458084

Incident

Feb 7, 2022

Same complaint as NHTSA ID Number: 11454147. I have a serious safety concern with a new vehicle purchased in February 2022. I have there are three issues concerning the vehicle’s headlights: 1.There are two large shaded dark spots directly in your field of vision. These are approximately fifteen to twenty feet directly in front of the vehicle. 2.The cutoff lines are jagged and irregular with low points dropping down. These are always in motion with the steering responsive headlights. 3.There are two rectangular black areas below the cutoff area in your field of vision. These too are always in motion with the steering responsive headlights. These headlights create a variety of safety concerns. The dark shaded areas result in a reduced clarity of vision in the most needed area; directly in front of the car in the dominant field of vision. The jagged irregular moving cutoff lines are extremely distracting. When the lowered dark cutoff areas move across your field of vision, it’s as if something is jumping out in front of the car. The driver struggles to know if there is an actual need for emergency action or not. Then perhaps the greatest concern of well being is the two dark moving rectangular boxes below the cutoff lines. Your eyes fixate on these moving rectangles. When fixated on these boxes the driver is not giving complete attention to the whole field of vision. The first time I drove the vehicle at night I became almost completely disoriented and would have had a accident if I had been driving faster than the 20mph under cruise control. I stopped, got my bearings and drove the last quarter mile home. I thought I had had a brain seziure.

NHTSA ID

11455717

Incident

Mar 8, 2022

This is not a specific incident but a serious safety concern with a new vehicle purchased in January 2022. There are three contributing issues to the concern with the vehicle’s headlights: 1.There are two large shaded dark spots directly in your field of vision.  These are approximately fifteen to twenty feet directly in front of the vehicle. 2.The cutoff lines are jagged and irregular with low points dropping down.  These are always in motion with the steering responsive headlights.  3.The most glaring problem is two rectangular black areas below the cutoff area in your field of vision. These too are always in motion with the steering responsive headlights.  Up close to a wall these are about eight inches wide, but when projecting on the road these grow exponentially to several feet. Note - These matters are most prominent with the low beam headlights.    These headlights create a variety of safety concerns.  The dark shaded areas result in a reduced clarity of vision in the most needed area; directly in front of the car in the dominant field of vision.  The jagged irregular moving cutoff lines are extremely distracting.  When the lowered dark cutoff areas move across your field of vision, it’s as if something is jumping out in front of the car.  The driver struggles to know if there is an actual need for emergency action or not.  Then perhaps the greatest concern of well being is the two dark moving rectangular boxes below the cutoff lines.  Your eyes fixate on these moving rectangles.  When fixated on these boxes the driver is not giving complete attention to the whole field of vision. This seems to be a design flaw.

NHTSA ID

11454147

Incident

Jan 24, 2022