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Exterior lightingPart report

2025 Subaru Forester Exterior lighting Problems

Complaints
8about this part
Share
8%of 99 total for the year
Median mileage
—not reported
Trend
Too newThis model year is less than 4 years old, so a trend is not meaningful yet.

NHTSA recorded 8 complaints about the exterior lighting of the 2025 Subaru Forester, 8% of the 99 complaints for this model year.

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.

“Both headlights have a shadow of the light bulb at the top center of both headlights causing a distraction/confusion under certain conditions at night. I have never had a shadow show up in my line of sight in all the many vehicles I have owned in the past from my headlights. I previously owned a 2019 Subaru Forester and there was no shadow appear from the headlights beam of light. I talked to the local Subaru dealer, where I purchased the 2025 Forester, and they told me it is working as designed. .”

NHTSA complaint #11664035, filed 2025-05

“The low beam lighting on my 2025 Subaru Forester is dangerous. The beam is set so that it is flat on top and too low. When the car dips at all the beam does not allow you see straight ahead. This is very dangerous when you cannot use the high beam as with oncoming traffic. I have taken it to the dealer and they state that the low beam is set according to Subaru specifications. Contact with Subaru America offered no correction.This is a dangerous condition and needs to be corrected.”

NHTSA complaint #11627686, filed 2024-11

“Significant issues with adaptive headlights having a large shadow in middle of beam as well as two smaller dark shadows at end of beam that are very distracting. It also dims very low at times severely reducing my visibility especially at different grades of the road. The headlights were so bad from the first week I tried to get the sales manager at Ciocca Subaru in Allentown to take this car back and to return my old car with no luck. I fear for safety driving this forester and I see it is a common complaint online for the 2025. …”

NHTSA complaint #11729077, filed 2026-04

“After my purchase of my 2025 Subaru Forester, I finally drove it for the first time at night. I was driving on local roads which have no street lights and is very hilly and dark. My headlights were on and I was shocked to see how poorly they were operating compared to my former 2016 Subaru Forester which I never had a problem with. My headlights even had strange dark marks projected onto the road surface. My headlights in the low beam settings, appears to be too low on the road surface especially if there’s a hill up ahead. …”

NHTSA complaint #11693904, filed 2025-10

“I find that the headlights on my 2025 Subaru Forester pose a safety concern. When on dims there is a distinct black line above which you have no light and cannot see. There is also some black shadows in the line of sight that bounce up and down as the car moves causing a major distraction. I complained to the dealer who said there wasn’t much they could do, however they adjusted the lights on August 26, 2025. There is little improvement and now I get flashed on the dim setting all of the time. I called Subaru and registered a complaint on October 3, 2025. …”

NHTSA complaint #11693414, filed 2025-10

Related service bulletins

Exterior lighting: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
202613%
202588%
202426%
202345%
202288%
202110%
202031%
201920%
201820%
201741%
201661%
2015152%
2014102%
201345%
201211%
201143%
201031%
200942%
200812%
200734%
200645%
200164%

Other parts of the 2025 Subaru Forester

Other or unknown
21 complaints
Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
20 complaints
Fuel system
17 complaints
Forward collision avoidance
13 complaints
Electrical system
9 complaints
Brakes
6 complaints
Back-over prevention (rear camera)
5 complaints
Vehicle speed control
5 complaints
Air bags
4 complaints
Engine
4 complaints
Transmission and drivetrain
4 complaints
Wheels
4 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2025 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