2017 Subaru Forester Seats Problems
- Complaints
- 34about this part
- Share
- 6%of 592 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 28,000miles
- Trend
- RisingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% higher than in the 3 years before.
NHTSA recorded 34 complaints about the seats of the 2017 Subaru Forester, 6% of the 592 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 28,000 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“Passenger airbag warning light comes on/ goes off intermittently. The light warns us that the airbag is off despite having a passenger in the seat. I have seen online that many people are having this problem so I wanted to log our issue with NHTSA as well. The vehicle has never deployed it airbags nor been in a front end collision.”
NHTSA complaint #11256607, filed 2019-09, 30,000 miles“The passenger side airbags are intermittently being disabled when a passenger sits in the seat. I am alerted to this by my instrument cluster. It typically happens when within 30 seconds of starting the car and is usually still stationary.”
NHTSA complaint #11245794, filed 2019-08, 19,123 miles“Subaru Forester 2017, bought new. The dashboard monitor information signal read there was no airbag on for the passenger while one was seated there and the car was in motion. This had occurred earlier in june when I was driving from pa to ca but no passenger was seated there. I assumed it was just an oddity - and it did not occur regularly. July 16 (2018) I took it for repair which Subaru determined was an electrical problem in the passenger seat. …”
NHTSA complaint #11154746, filed 2018-11, 22,830 miles“I have caught the back of my right shoe 4 times( since buying the car in august) when getting out of the car. It catches on the hard plastic on the front left of the driver's seat. The first three times I was exiting the car in town and could have fallen into passing traffic had I not been holding onto the door. The last time my sister was standing in front of me and caught me. I have tried to locate seat covers to cover the piece of hard plastic with no luck. Any suggestions would be helpful. The design certainly needs to be changed.”
NHTSA complaint #10947614, filed 2017-01, 5,000 miles“29 june wife and I are on the highway driving when the passenger airbag light goes to off and the fault code appears on the heads up display tell us to take into service immediately. Well we car off and we don't hear anything back for a few days. We called them back on the 5th of july because of the holliday. They told my wife on the phone they were going to replace seat cushion because that seemed to be the issue. Fast forward to 9 july my wife recieves a call telling her the car is ready for pickup. My wife asks what did you end up doing to the vehicle? …”
NHTSA complaint #11110572, filed 2018-07, 18,000 milesRelated service bulletins
- 10252544Mar 28, 2024Due to limited part supply, the availability of the passenger front seat cushion may not satisfy demand. To reduce extended downtime for the customer, this bulletin announces the…
- 10213197May 23, 2022This bulletin announces a design change made to the Slide Rail components of the left and right front power seat frame / track assembliesd.
- 10201027Aug 4, 2021This bulletin provides a procedure to address customer concerns of a squeaking sound originating from where the front seat belt buckle assembly attaches to the seat frame.
Seats: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 1% |
| 2023 | 3 | 4% |
| 2022 | 1 | 1% |
| 2021 | 1 | 0% |
| 2020 | 4 | 1% |
| 2019 | 4 | 0% |
| 2018 | 30 | 6% |
| 2017 | 34 | 6% |
| 2016 | 24 | 6% |
| 2015 | 22 | 4% |
| 2014 | 14 | 3% |
| 2012 | 2 | 2% |
| 2011 | 4 | 3% |
| 2010 | 76 | 29% |
| 2009 | 16 | 9% |
| 2008 | 2 | 4% |
| 2007 | 2 | 3% |
| 2006 | 1 | 1% |
| 2004 | 1 | 0% |
| 2003 | 3 | 2% |
| 2001 | 1 | 1% |
| 2000 | 2 | 3% |
| 1999 | 1 | 1% |
| 1998 | 1 | 1% |
Other parts of the 2017 Subaru Forester
166 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
116 complaintsElectrical system
106 complaintsOther or unknown
97 complaintsEngine
47 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
46 complaintsVehicle speed control
33 complaintsSteering
25 complaintsBrakes
15 complaintsBody and structure
15 complaintsSuspension
13 complaintsWheels
13 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2017 Subaru Forester
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 29, 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