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Air bagsPart report

2013 Subaru Forester Air bags Problems

Complaints
13about this part
Share
17%of 78 total for the year
Median mileage
28,000miles
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 13 complaints about the air bags of the 2013 Subaru Forester, 17% of the 78 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 28,000 miles. 6 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers. 7 recall campaigns on record are filed under a similar system.

Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“My vehicle has had two recalls for brakes. Both recalls taken care of by the local dealer. I am seriously concerned about the airbags and I believe the dealer, or manufacturer, claiming my vehicle is not affected, is not true. I need to find out, from a reliable source, if my vehicle is safe to drive.”

NHTSA complaint #11016213, filed 2017-08, 280 miles

“I had a side impact on the driver's side that crushed the driver and passenger doors and blew out the driver's window. The impact nearly caused the vehicle to roll over and again the side air bag did not deploy. I was slightly injured but there were serious injuries in the other vehicles involved. I am concerned this may be a defect in the sensor system. The driver's door was crushed all the way in to the seat.”

NHTSA complaint #10538185, filed 2013-08, 3,200 miles

“Driving down the road did not see a ups truck parked along side of. Road . Rear ended the truck had seat belt on air bag deployed and head still hit the windshield why didn't. The airbag and seat belt prevent this?”

NHTSA complaint #10732890, filed 2015-07, 28,000 miles

“I had a family member driving an 2013 Subaru Forester all-wheel drive with a manual transition. The car had crash and rolled. The car at the most rolled twice and none of the air bags never deployed. I have photos of the accident and of the vehicle at the towed yard and its clear as day that the air bags are still rolled up.”

NHTSA complaint #11707393, filed 2025-12

“The contact owned a 2013 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving at 58 mph, another vehicle behind the contact rear-ended their vehicle which caused the vehicle to spun out of control and hit a concrete barrier between highways twice causing damages to the front and rear of the vehicle. The side air bags did deploy but the front driver side air bag did not deploy. …”

NHTSA complaint #11430758, filed 2021-08, 60,698 miles

Related recalls

Related service bulletins

Air bags: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
202544%
2024723%
202368%
202244%
202121%
2020112%
2019172%
20189920%
201716728%
201610024%
201510217%
20145714%
20131317%
20122019%
20112920%
20104216%
20094022%
2008612%
200768%
200667%
200555%
20042110%
20032513%
20021011%
2001129%
200011%
199922%
199866%

Other parts of the 2013 Subaru Forester

Engine
27 complaintsBrakes
9 complaintsOther or unknown
7 complaintsVehicle speed control
7 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
6 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
5 complaintsExterior lighting
4 complaintsBody and structure
4 complaintsElectrical system
3 complaintsSeat belts
3 complaintsFuel system
2 complaintsBack-over prevention (rear camera)
1 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2013 Subaru Forester

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology