2026 Subaru Forester Electrical Problems

• Symptom: Total electrical and mechanical shutdown at highway speed (70 mph) immediately following the manual disengagement/deactivation of the cruise control system. • Behavior: Complete loss of engine power, power steering assist, braking assist, and all instrument cluster functionality. • Post-Incident Diagnostic: An OBD-II code reader scan registered zero active, pending, or historic DTCs, indicating an instantaneous loss of primary ECU/ECM power or a critical grounding drop rather than a sensor-driven component fault.

NHTSA ID

11775053

Incident

Oct 31, 2026

UPDATE TO EXISTING ODI 11761974 - 2026 Forester Wilderness - WRF-26 Power Moonroof Glass Adhesion Recall / 26V346000 Component/system failed: Power moonroof tracking assembly bonding area / roof panel paint. Available for inspection upon request, garaged, unrepaired with exposed bare metal. On 08/18/2026 at 3364 miles dealer completed WRF-26 recall and marked PASSED. On same repair order same day same dealer documented: "YELLOW FLUID COMING OUT OF DRIVERS SIDE OF SUNROOF CAUSING DAMAGE TO PAINT. DOWN TO BARE METAL AT THIS TIME." Macro photos taken BEFORE that RO was opened on 08/18 at 07:35 AM show yellow/orange chemical extruding FROM UNDER black rubber tracking channel seal, not deposited on top. Fluid burned through factory clear coat to primer and bare steel. Photos on 08/15 show same leak path. Photo on 10/09 at 4605 miles shows bare metal still exposed with corrosion starting at edges. Safety risk: Chemical discharge from moonroof bonding area causes paint failure to bare metal on roof structure. Exposed steel will corrode. If factory bonding adhesive is failing and leaking, potential for moonroof glass adhesion failure per WRF-26. Has problem been reproduced/confirmed by dealer? Yes. Dealer documented coming OUT causing bare metal. Authorized collision estimate $1,830 - Body 9.8 hrs, Paint 5.3 hrs, Mechanical 2.4 hrs (sunroof R&I 1.5 + headliner R&I 3.6) for full roof strip + headliner drop + side-curtain airbag disassembly. Body shop advised spot repair will not hold and still requires removing sunroof assembly. Has vehicle/component been inspected by manufacturer? Yes. WRF-26 marked PASSED. On 10/01/26 service manager issued formal written refusal: "does not have an on-site body shop, and we are not able to perform or coordinate the alternative paint touch-up/mitigation process." Manufacturer case #260817-2301925 claimed wiped away before evaluation, unable to determine if moonroof or tree sap, external environmental, customer complaint not diagnosis,

NHTSA ID

11773361

Incident

Aug 15, 2026

On Thursday October 1st upon leaving work the dashboard and infotainment system glitched and rebooted while driving. I thought I was seeing things. I was stopping at a stop sign ad paying attention to the road. Everything seemed fine at that point. On October 3rd while driving approximately 45 MPH our 2026 Subaru Forester stalled and quit running without any warning or warning lights. Both the dashboard lights and the infotainment system went black then came back on. After restarting the car the transmission would not engage. Subaru of America had it towed to the closest dealership. A loaner was obtained. Said dealership found nothing and said car was good to go. Upon pick up a buzzing sound was noted upon start. Left the car again. The phone charger was replaced. Still nothing found of the original stall while driving. Under duress, the was driven to the original dealership it was purchased from. Still nothing found of the original stalling issue.

NHTSA ID

11773088

Incident

Oct 3, 2026

The contact owns a 2026 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, the engine sputtered before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed with an inoperable fuel pump. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure returned three weeks later. The vehicle was taken back to the same dealer. The dealer was unable to duplicated the failure but determined that the failure was caused by a blown fuse and the fuse was replaced. The manufacturer was contacted by phone and made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 6,000.

NHTSA ID

11770139

Incident

Sep 6, 2026

Mileage

6,000 mi

Brand new vehicle purchased 08/29/2026, backed out of the driveway (on Sept 25, 2026.) A few hundred feet down the road turned right (going ~20 MPH?) and all the dashboard warnings including the check engine light came on and the vehicle began to lose power. Turned the car around, barely made it back into the driveway. The car would not restart after several intermittent attempts. Immediately called the dealer's service dept who instructed me to contact the towing service # listed on the window sticker. It was towed within an hour or so to the dealership. Prior to this specific incident there were no other issues. As of today, (Oct 2, 2026) the vehicle is still at the dealership's service department (7 days and counting). The service dept said they are working with the techs to determine the exact cause which is unknown at this time, but possible electrical or communication issue. No anticipated date of completed repair or return.

NHTSA ID

11768460

Incident

Sep 25, 2026

Brand new 2026 Forester's factory amplifier system completely failed within a week from purchasing at approximately 570 miles, disabling hands-free communication. California law strictly requires drivers to use phones in a hands-free manner. Drivers are prohibited from holding or physically touching their phone for any reason while operating a vehicle.

NHTSA ID

11743631

Incident

May 22, 2026

Infotainment center had popup ad about Sirius xm trial ending soon and a phone number to call to extend. Had to hit small x in the corner to disable while vehicle in motion or have no access to air, radio controls, or see map.

NHTSA ID

11741969

Incident

Jun 4, 2026

The gps/map display, displays the wrong speed, on some traffic circles it directs me to go around in the wrong direction. The auto vehicle uses the speed limit from the installed map to display the speed limit on the main dash between the tach and speedometer. Both conditions could easily cause and accident. Contacted the manufacturer, the corporate headquarters, my dealership where I purchased the vehicle, and Tomtom in the Netherlands. None will assist in the correction of the issue. Tomtom did commit to investing the issue after I gave them the specific locations, but they closed my record/complaint file. On fb, I see a good many people complain about the same issues and also that they can't get sny help from the dealership, like me, to resolve the issue. Please help the all consumers to be able to purchase a new car that is functioning as advertised and to be confident that they will be safe when driving the highways.

NHTSA ID

11738456

Incident

Feb 16, 2026

Vehicle stopped at light,auto start stop engine off,stepped on gas to go engine didn’t restart,my passenger and I jumped out and grabbed a Noco GB40 jump box I carry and jump started car,we were on a road trip out of town and could not wait for the dealership so finished our trip with the auto start stop turned off and if we had a problem starting used the jump box.

NHTSA ID

11735341

Incident

May 1, 2026