The contact's wife owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that a diagonal crack had formed on the bottom driver’s side of the windshield without incident. The contact then stated that the crack rapidly spread to the upper driver’s side of the windshield. The contact stated that the crack obstructed his wife's vision while driving. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer had been notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 8,500.
2021 Subaru Forester visibility complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 90, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Having the car less than a year already have several chips on the windshield. In doing research it seems that there are a lot of issues with new Subaru windshields with chipping and cracking.
Purchased brand new from dealer. Less than 3 months later a tiny pebble came up and hit the center of the windshield, immediately you could see an indentation and a spider web. Now the whole windshield has multiple spider web cracks. The splits go from edge of driver's side all the way to edge of passenger side of the car. As well as 3 separate rings going around center indentation. Only had the car 3 months when this occured. Have had 3 instances that I could not start the car. Now the cigarette lighter charge port will not work. Moon roof malfunctioning and will not close sometimes when fully opened. Now I am having issues with the brakes sticking. It's 1 year old and this is way too many issues for a brand new car! Never again!
There was a small rock kicked up by another car, and there immediately was a 6 inch curved crack in the windshield from the bottom-most part of the windshield. It quickly spread to 10+ inches and is still growing. The car is only at 9.8k miles
I heard a ping from a small rock kicked up by another driver, and I immediately noticed a 6 inch crack in the windshield. It quickly spread to 10+ inches and is still growing. The car is only at 7k miles…and I already had to replace the left rear quarter panel glass which shattered a month after buying new. I’ve never had vehicle glass crack so easily on any other vehicle!!
While driving home 1/21/2022 I heard a rock hit the hood of my car, when I arrived home I checked for damage...nothing I could see. When I went out the next morning I had a 14 inch crack in my windshield. I took my car to have inspected at the dealership repair and they said it was due to a chip the size of a pinhead. I have contacted my insurance and filed a claim so the windshield will be repaired but I have to pay a $500 deductible. There's got to be some kind of fault with the windshield that it would sustain this kind of damage from such a small chip in the glass. I have included pictures magnified at 10X
There was a tiny pebble hit the windshield on Friday Jan 21st 2022. There was a minor chip in the windshield due to that and later in an hour or so it expanded into a 8-10 inches one. This is while I was driving, I still haven't got home.
With no impact from flying debris the windshield developed a bubble/crack potentially in the interlayer. There crack/bubble cannot be felt on the inside or outside parts of the windshield.
Today I replaced my windshield for the second time in less than 6 months of owning the vehicle. The first crack happened a few months after I bought the car with no impact while driving. The second one also happened a couple weeks ago with no impact while driving. After seeing the other complaints, I'm shocked that there isn't a recall on these windshields. It's very dangerous to have windshields constantly cracking, especially without impact while driving.
Windshield cracked with no impact. Started at top center and is expanding down the center of the windshield. I reached out to Subaru but no response.
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH and passing a vehicle, he heard a sound coming from the windshield and the windshield cracked from the driver side to the middle of the windshield. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who replaced the windshield. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred at the same spot while driving and passing another vehicle. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who replaced the windshield a second time. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred a third time while passing another vehicle. The contact stated that the windshield had a small crack at the bottom; however, the crack significantly expanded overnight. The dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 3,000.
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH, the front windshield cracked without impact. The crack started at the top right on the passenger’s side and curved toward the rear-view mirror. The contact called the local dealer and was informed that the vehicle was not covered and referred the contact the insurance company. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 9,000.
Crack in the windshield in line of sight. There is no entry point and upon research I’m seeing a lot of people complain about the 2021 models of the Subaru Forester with cracks. Living in the cold this is highly dangerous.
I purchased this vehicle one week ago and the first four miles I was on the interstate a small rock cracked my windshield. The issues with the Forester windshields extend to the 2021 models.
Windshield cracked at passenger side wiper arm area. There was no impact and no other vehicles in the immediate area. Crack quickly spread in a J shape to the driver's side.
Windshield easily cracks, without an impact site. I will be putting my 3rd windshield in and have owned the car for 7 months. 1st windshield cracked while parked at work. Not driving. May 5th, 2021. Had 1805 miles. 2nd windshield cracked while parked at home last night. Not driving. Have approx 9k miles now
Intermittently, wipers do not function, even after 2 repairs. The first time, (3 weeks after vehicle purchase) after driving approximately 5-10 minutes in the rain, the wipers (front and rear) stopped working. After approximately 10 minutes, function resumed. The second time (later the same day), after driving approximately 5-10 minutes in the rain, the wipers (front and rear) stopped working. After approximately 17 minutes, function resumed. Wiper motor replaced by dealer. (3.5 weeks after vehicle purchase) The third time (9 weeks after purchase), after a heavy dew, the wipers (front and rear) did not function. After approximately 10 minutes, wipers began to function. The fourth time (12 weeks after purchase), rain began after driving 1.5-2 hours and wipers (front and rear) did not function at all. Dealer located and fixed a loose connection. (12.5 weeks after vehicle purchase) The fifth time (13 weeks after purchase), rain began after driving 1.5-2 hours and wipers (front and rear) did not function. After approximately 15 minutes, wipers began to function. The sixth time (15 weeks after purchase), rain began after driving 15 minutes and wipers (front and rear) stopped functioning after approximately 5-10 minutes of use. After approximately 30 minutes, wipers began to function.
Rock damage to windshield. Subaru advises to replace with OEM glass to guarantee safety systems operate correctly making this a safety issue. The problem is that Subaru windshields are back ordered. There are two problems here. First, Subaru windshields are very susceptible to damage, perhaps more than others. Second, Subaru fails to maintain critical safety system parts.
1100 miles on vehicle.Went inside business came out and 18 inch crack on windshield across my vision.No apparent reason.
I bought my vehicle and less than 24 hours later I was driving in the middle lane of the highway when my ears popped, and my windshield cracked down the middle. No rock seen or heard. Bought 8/26. Windshield cracks over 12 inches 8/27.
Windshield cracked without impact. This is on a new forester, less than 1000 miles.
The windshield cracked in the center while driving in a heavy rain storm. The temperature dropped from about 86 degrees to 73 degrees during the storm. I was operating my A/C at the time. The dealer inspected the windshield and found no external indication of damage. The repair was performed by the dealer under the new car warranty. Subaru America customer service was contacted and coordinated with the dealer for repair after inspection. Repair was listed as windshield install for stress crack.
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while his wife was driving 65 mph, she heard a ticking sound coming from the front windshield and noticed a small rock had struck the front windshield. The driver drove to the destination however, later in the day the driver returned to the vehicle and noticed a large crack had formed in the middle of the windshield. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 6,000.
windshield cracked only 3 months on road 2600 miles. long crack in middle of windshield distracts vision. yes it was estimated for repair of 1425.00. history of incidences are very high with cracked windshields since subaru change to acoustic glass. windshield seem more prone to crack damage than other vehicles.
March 2021: Windshield - cracked from a small stone on roadway (Rt 1). Crack is from top edge of windshield down and past the middle. Needed to be replaced. Paint chip needed to be repaired. Had to pay deductible of $500. Replaced with new OEM windshield. July 2021 weekend on highway(Turnpike). Stone caused a star shaped crack. Two days later the small damage radiated into 3 cracks covering more than half the windshield. Paying another $500 for replacement. Damage of two new OEM windshields in less than 5 months on a brand new car causes fear of driving freely in case the next pebble might come through. Police can ticket for driving with a cracked windshield. Loss of time and effort to replace. Causes anxiety driving even after the windshield is replaced since it is so prone to damage and costs $500 each time. Weakness in Subaru windshields known since 2015. I would expect such problems would have been resolved six years later. Have not experienced such a problem in 30 years of driving various model cars. Benefits of buying a new car is mostly lost both in expenses and peace of mind. Verified by insurance representatives.
Bought the Vehicle new. 2000 miles later I walk into my garage and notice a 6 inch crack at the top of my windshield. Completely out of nowhere. Neither my wife or I ever heard any impact that would have caused it. Immediately took it to dealership and had service rep inspect it. He seemed understanding and said he would try and get the go-ahead to replace from Subaru of America. Nothing for months. I finally followed up and now nothing again. I am at 7000 miles now and am driving with a 3 ft long C shaped crack because I am not paying for this absurdity. $30,000 and now I am to spend over $1000 more within 2 months of driving. The dealership has the original pictures from when it had just occurred.
Cracked windshield while car was parked and nothing hit it. There is a separation in the glass that is not normally seen when caused by debris
The contact owns a 2021 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 mph, the contact noticed that the front windshield was cracking from the bottom of the passenger’s side going upward. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where they informed the contact that the issue was due to an object striking the windshield. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 5,200.
The windshield was hit by a small stone on highway and show a minor chip mark a while ago. Nothing else happened and the chip mark remain as it happened on my other vehicles. I parked in my indoor garage as usual on the July 4 weekend. When I pull out the vehicle to work on Tuesday. I was terrible surprised by finding long cracks appeared on my windshield. One of them is more than a foot long.
This is the second cracked windshield on our new Subaru Forester in the past four months. We purchased the car new just over six months ago (12/29/2020). The first time, the windshield cracked, something hit the windshield while driving. The crack was extensive and we paid to replace the windshield on 3/22/2021. The second time something hit the windshield while driving (on 6/8/2021), it just chipped the windshield, and since the chip was a small star, less than the size of a quarter, we had the chip repaired to prevent further damage (on 6/10/2021). Today (7/4/2021), the windshield cracked while the car was parked in the driveway. The crack extends from the original chip. Since an intact windshield is critical to the safety of the vehicle, we will replace the windshield again. See attached photos and receipts. It is disappointing to have to replace the windshield twice within the first seven months we have owned the car. This seemed so unusual, I searched online to see if other Subaru owners have had similar problems. There is evidence that this has happened to others as well, so this may be a bigger issue. See https://www.subaruforester.org/threads/2021-3-days-new-and-my-windshield-is-crack-already-moan.821592/ and https://www.torquenews.com/1084/can-your-subaru-windshield-shatter-its-own-new-forester-and-outback-owners-say-yes
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2021 Subaru Forester?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history