There are 2 stored owner reports matching the body & structure leading-label group for the 2013 Subaru Forester in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 2 of 2 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)See attached document for complaint.
I PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY, WHICH HAS A SLIGHT INCLINE, PUT CAR IN PARK BUT LEFT IGNITION RUNNING AND HEADLIGHTS ON. I HAVE PARKED IN THIS SPACE SEVEN YEARS AND WAS NOT IN HABIT OF PULLING THE PARKING BRAKE. I HAD A VISITOR WHO NEEDED TO SEE DECK STEPS AS IT WAS NIGHTTIME. WE BOTH GOT OUT, WENT UP THE STEPS AND I RETURNED TO TURN OFF CAR. WHEN I LEAVE KEYS IN IGNITION I KEEP DRIVER'S DOOR AJAR TO PREVENT UNWANTED LOCKING. I OPEN DOOR, LEAN IN TO TURN OFF KEY. BEFORE I CAN REACH THE KEY, THE CAR STARTS ROLLING BACKWARDS. I THROW MYSELF SIDEWAYS TO AVOID CAR ROLLING OVER ME. BECAUSE OF INCLINE, CAR GATHERS SLIGHT SPEED AS IT ROLLS ABOUT 40-50 FEET DOWN DRIVEWAY (I LIVE ON A HILL AND DRIVEWAY INCLINE IS MORE PRONOUNCED FARTHER DOWN). IT VEERS SLIGHTLY TO LEFT AND I HEAR A "THUD." ENGINE STOPS, HEADLIGHTS GO OUT, AS BEST I RECALL. CAR WAS STOPPED BY A SIX-INCH DIAMETER TREE. WHEN I GET BACK IN, I HAVE TO ROCK THE STEERING WHEEL BACK AND FORTH TO GET THE IGNITION STARTED AND DRIVE CAR BACK TO PARKING SPOT. ODD THING IS THAT WHEN I GET IN THE CAR TO MOVE IT FROM TREE, THE GEAR IS IN "PARK." DAMAGE IS SUBSTANTIAL, NEARLY $10,000 BECAUSE OF WHERE IT HIT IN THE BACK AND INVOLVED THE EXPENSIVE EMISSIONS SYSTEM. I HAVE TRIED TO RECREATE THIS, PUTTING GEAR IN BOTH NEUTRAL AND REVERSE AT SAME PARKING SPOT. I STRONGLY BELIEVE IF I HAD UNKNOWINGLY LEFT IT IN REVERSE, IT WOULD HAVE IMMEDIATELY STARTED ROLLING BACKWARD; IF I'D LEFT IT IN NEUTRAL, THE WEIGHT SHIFT OF GETTING OUT OF THE CAR AND SLAMMING CLOSED ONE OF THE DOORS WOULD HAVE STARTED IT ROLLING BACKWARD AT THAT TIME, NOT LATER. USSA TOLD ME SUBARU HAS NOT OWNED UP TO ANY ROLLBACK PROBLEMS WHEN THE CAR IS IN PARK AND ON A SLIGHT INCLINE BUT I FOUND A SIMILAR ROLLBACK IN A SUBARU FORUM FOR A CAR THAT WAS SAME YEAR, SAME MODEL AND LOW MILEAGE, AS MINE IS. I NOW USE PARKING BREAK ALL THE TIME, NO LONGER TRUSTING THE CAR.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.