2017 Subaru Forester Electrical System Problems

There was a recall on this vehicle from 2022, and we did not own this vehicle at that time. Recall passenger side airbag contact under seat can cause fire or electrical issues. I contacted Subaru and they said the recall was satisfied in 2022. If that's the case, the repair piece must have been faulty as the issue has come back. The dealership I took the car to said they have seen about 4 of this same issue within the last two weeks. Subaru is unwilling to assist in this, and I cannot pay the 1800.00 dollars the dealership wants to repair this vehicle. I've asked more questions of Subaru since their answer and have not received a response. I would like to know why their website says this was complete July 15, 2025, not 2022. It was not complete in 2025, or we would have had the repair done. Any help in getting someone to see if this is in fact another recall and how to tell if the recall was truly completed in 2022, possible faulty recall parts now. This is crazy if numerous folks have gone in with the same issue. We need Subaru to take a good look at this.

Two incidents happened first battery died, we replaced the battery. Then Battery died again, we replaced the alternator on June 5, 2025. Then on Saturday September 13, 2025; all system lights came on at once on the dashboard then the battery died again. Car locks up and is stalled out. Cannot restart car, has to be towed. We replaced the battery cable and cleaned the terminals. Three months later, December 1, 2025; the battery light came on then all system lights came on at once, the battery died again. This happened on Interstate 95, it could easily have caused a crash. Car locks up again and is stalled out again. Cannot restart car again, has to be towed again. Something in the electrical is causing this, we do not know what.

Passenger airbag safety intermittently turns on stating that the passenger airbag is not able to deploy. If I turn the car off and on it goes away and doesn't turn until another time I start the car. Also detects a passenger in the seat when there is no passenger or weight in that seat. Overall some sort of issue with the airbag safety system in the front passenger seat. I will state no liquids have been spilled on the seat.

Previous recall for passenger ODS. Having continued issues with passenger airbag ODS not recognizing someone sitting there. Intermittently turns on and off even if no one is sitting there. Took it to a dealer and they want me to pay out of pocket for diagnostic and possible parts. Very high concern for even allowing someone to sit in the car (even my pregnant wife) in the case there was ever an accident.

I’m facing a really big issue here. I’ve been experiencing all the textbook issues in my vehicle for both of the recalls that did exist for my vehicle. I purchased my vehicle in [XXX], and I was just in to Walser Subaru in St. Paul MN where they said my recalls were completed in April 22, 2022. That is absolutely not true. I was at the dealership all day that day. So I called Miller hill Subaru in Duluth MN where it said it was done, and all they provided me with was the 2 dates I had brought it in for a general inspection and for an a/c issue. All I had done there was a transmission flush and both of those times were well after April 22nd. I purchased my vehicle from Anderson Auto in Rice Lake Township. So now I have my car with recalls that were falsified that they were done, but I am expected to pay for them. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The passenger airbag sensor often, but not always, malfunctions in my 2017 Subaru Forrester. Often it says PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF when there is a passanger. Occording to KBB Kelly Blue Book there IS a current RECALL in place for 2017 Subaru Forresters for EXACTLY this issue, including for my car - but when i typed in my liscnese plate in the NHTSA website, no unrepaired recalls showed up for my car.

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2017 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 88,000, and at the time of registration, it was discovered that the mileage was 88,223.

The WUM-98 recall fix did not address the problem with the front passenger occupancy detection system. We, and many other Subaru Forester owners are continuing to experience problems post recall repair with the SRS Airbag light on, indicating error code B1760 "Occupant Detection Sensor Mat" failure. Subaru is not covering the cost of addressing this problem, and the entire seat frame and bottom cushion (that includes the sensor mat) are required to be replaced at the consumer's expense, with bills for repair in excess of $2,000. And, due to the high demand for this repair, parts are not available to perform the repair for as much as 6 months! This is jeopardizing the safety of occupants in the front passenger seat for extended periods of time while waiting for parts, whereby the airbag is not active due to the sensor mat problem. The original recall should have encompassed not only the harness cable component, but also the sensor mat.

Suddenly ignition starts having an issue where driver cannot pull out ignition key, which creates risky situations. If an emergency and unable to remove keys, then the driver is stuck. Apparently, this has been happening to Subaru's from 2014-2018 all over the country, and clearly defective design. Here is the TSB [XXX] Subaru should do a recall to prevent dangerous cases of drivers unable to pull their keys out, or having drivers "hack" the car, which remove important safety features. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The Occupant Detection System (ODS) has failed in this 2017 Subaru Forester. The dealership tried replacing the wiring harness under a previous recall but it did not fix the problem. The ODS does not correctly identify when a passenger is seated in the passenger seat and therefore will not properly activate the passenger airbag. I ordered a replacement seat assemby in October 2023 but to date the dealership has been unable to obtain the part, and has been unable to fix the ODS malfunction in any other way.

I noticed that the airbag light was continuously illuminated on the dashboard of my Subaru Forester. I promptly took my vehicle to a certified Subaru dealership to have the issue diagnosed and resolved. After a thorough inspection, it was determined that the passenger seat bottom occupant seat mat required replacement to rectify the problem. Otherwise, my airbags would not inflate in the event that I would need them. I would like to emphasize that I have always maintained my vehicle in excellent condition and followed all recommended maintenance procedures. I have never exposed the seat to moisture or allowed any foreign objects to be shoved under it. Furthermore, I am the primary driver of the vehicle and rarely have passengers, which makes it highly unlikely for any undue stress or wear to be placed on the seat mat. Considering the circumstances, it is evident that this issue is a result of a manufacturing defect or premature failure, rather than any negligence or misuse on my part. I find it disconcerting that a critical safety component such as the airbag system would fail within a relatively short period of time and with minimal use. There was a significant repair cost as well.

I have a 2017 Subaru Forester 2.5i touring that seems to be plagued by a parasitic battery drain issue. I bought the car used in 2019 and successfully moved from Seattle to the Boston area in it shortly after the purchase with no issues. The dead batteries started during the pandemic, when the car was sitting undriven for extended periods of time. I’ve had the battery replaced multiple times, most recently in January of this year with a Diehard (3 yr warranty), and yet, once again, the car is dead and I had to call AAA yet again today. I'm at my wits end and cannot afford to continually purchase new batteries over and over again. My online research has produced dozens and dozens of stories about Subaru knowing about this parasitic drain and not admitting wrongdoing. I even found a class action lawsuit. Some folks online have reported having a mechanic who was able to diagnose which component was causing their drain … not always the same component all of the time, however. Most recently, I read it was the DCM causing the issue. At any rate, I don’t have the technical expertise to mitigate this, so I’m looking for a mechanic who can successfully diagnose where my particular parasitic battery drain is coming from.

Key repeatedly gets stuck in ignition. Similar problem to other model years. Vehicle needs to be restarted and put in park several times to be able to remove key. Needing to start and move the car several times to remove the key puts pedestrians in the area at risk as visibility in parking spaces is often limited. It happens randomly, and is not regularly reproducible, but happens frequently. We have not yet had it serviced, and there are no warnings when it happens.

Malfunctioned component is Start / Stop switch. It is a safety Issue since not able to remove the key after stopping and parking the car. This creates issues when we need to get out of the car quickly. This issue can be reproduced. There was no warning or message.

We're having to consistently jump-start a battery that is only 4 months old. The problem has been consistent over the years (currently on our 3rd battery in about 5 years) but appears to have worsened after a DCM update to the Starlink system. Dealership has assessed the problem as parasitic battery drain (while the car is turned off) from the telematic module, but refuses to correct the issue.

We took our 2017 Subaru Forester on December 9, 2022, to change the ignition switch because our key continued getting stuck. It was covered under an extended warranty. The spark plugs were changed during the same appointment only to satisfy the maintenance agreement. Before we took our Subaru in, our vehicle was running at an optimal level, and nothing was wrong with how it drove. On December 10, 2022, we drove our car, and it started to hesitate and misfire. This has never happened before. We called the dealership, and they had us bring the vehicle back in. They performed a fuel injection cleaning and reset the computer. Once again, the same problem continued after picking up our vehicle. The same problem continued daily, and several calls were made to the dealership and trips to the maintenance service department. It is erratic when it happens, but we have experienced it more during city driving versus highway driving. It’s been over a month, and the problem is still not resolved. At this point, we genuinely feel that this is a safety issue. Not to mention that if the vehicle continues to perform poorly, it can create additional damage. We are at a point of pure frustration and disappointment.

This is the same issue we are seeing with our other Subaru where we come out to drive and the battery is dead. We would jump the battery and be able to drive for the day and the next day the battery is dead in the morning. I replaced the battery several times over the last few year and the battery would die with a less than 2 month old battery. I was driving around in both cars with jumper cables permanently. After taking it to the dealer, the battery was in great condition, the alternator was charging properly and there is a known electrical issue with this model and year that is part of a class action lawsuit. I had to replace my rear gate module electrical unit because it was going on and off in the night and draining my battery. I will be looking to get re-eimbursed for this company issue.

If you do not start the car everyday, the car drains the battery. Car must be jumped.nothing left on. It has a battery drain problem.

2 new battery drains dead just sitting in the driveway.

There appears to be a parasitic battery drain in the vehicle when it is stopped and all electrical systems are off (lights, heated seats, chargers etc) but the key is in the ignition. The most recent event was 7/20/2022 when the car was stopped for fueling and the key left in the ignition for no more than 10 minutes. Battery discharged sufficiently in that time that the car would not start requiring roadside assistance. Spoke with dealer who stated to keep the key 30 feet from the car (note, this is NOT a smart key car) and to ensure all is off as all computer electricals will continue to run even with the car off. Will be having a battery test next week but I see that this is a recurring issue for this make/model on this forum. The same problem happened in December 2021, although at that time the weather was also severely cold and the key was in the ignition (all electrical systems off) for approximately 45 minutes. The issue is one of personal safety and being stranded in a vehicle which cannot be moved (steering and transmission locked due to low/no power) as well as cost in time and money to investigate and remedy the issue. It is also an issue of functionality and usability. If I cannot leave the key in the ignition with the car off, I am unable to use any accessories or even my safety flashers in the event the situation would warrant it.