2014 Subaru Forester structure problems

“Liftgate arm (or support) broke while the liftgate was in the raised position, and the liftgate came crashing down to the closed position, while my sister-in-law was very close by. I believe a serious injury could have resulted if someone had been under the liftgate at the time. We also own a 2016 Forester, and I now expect to replace the liftgate supports as a matter of safety and peace of mind. From what I see, checking the liftgate supports is not on the maintenance schedule. I assume other SUVs are also subject to this issue.”

“While I was driving to work, with Cruise control set at 65, I hit a deer head on. All airbags deployed and engine ceased and I was able to brake car to a stop on the shoulder of the road. Within minutes, the engine erupted in fire and thankfully I wasn't trapped inside and was able to get out, because by the time I got 4-500 feet from the car, it had been totally engulfed in flames. From the time I hit the deer to the fire starting was less than 10 minutes. Fire truck wasn't even on scene yet and I was still speaking with highway patrol on the phone. If I had been trapped or the vehicle had rolled i wouldn't be here today. It was that quick.”

“The contact owns a 2014 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while parked in the driveway, the contact noticed that rain had leaked through the hatchback which caused mold to form on the rear passenger’s side roof. The interior lights became inoperable. After the vehicle was started, the contact became aware of smoke coming out of the driver’s side mirror. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.”

“The contact owns a 2014 Subaru Forester. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed up an incline, the contact heard an abnormal sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related it to TSB: 12-204-16R. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 54,600.”

“The contact owns a 2014 Subaru Forester. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 mph, the vehicle’s hood had suddenly opened impairing the contact’s vision. The contact ended up swerving the vehicle and crashing into a nearby tree. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle had not been towed. There were no injuries and no medical attention needed. A police report was filed. The vehicle had been taken to a certified mechanic who diagnosed that the vehicle’s hood latch and the hood strap had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired for the failure. The vehicle’s shift release lever had failed causing the shifting of gears failing and the contact was unable to remove the key. The contact took the vehicle back to the certified mechanic who repaired the vehicle however the failure persisted. The lever within the transmission stick had detached. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 18,000.”

“Tailgate problem - car was in stopped position. I was unloading groceries so opened the tailgate. The tailgate opened and paused in it's highest position for a second and then slammed abruptly with intense speed. The speed of the closure is enough to injure someone or cause death. This is a very serious issue. Others seem to have have reported this for 2014/2015 Forester as well https://www.carproblemzoo.com/subaru/forester/2014/tailgate-problems.php”