It’s not often that Subaru doesn’t produce a dependable, reliable product, but the 2026 Forester has a problem. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has revealed that Subaru is recalling the newest version of the compact crossover because a glass panel could detach from the roof, affecting both the regular Forester and the hybrid variant. Should this happen, it could cause a hazard for other road users, potentially resulting in a crash. 69,663 examples are named in the recall, and unfortunately, it’s going to be a little while before Subaru is ready to fix the problem.
The Problem with the 2026 Subaru Forester
According to the NHTSA recall report, Subaru is recalling 65,656 2026 Foresters and 4,007 Forester Hybrid crossovers. Non-hybrid vehicles produced between June 19, 2025, and March 13, 2026, are affected, with the hybrid’s problem period of production running from February 20 to March 17, 2026. The issue is that all these vehicles may have been produced with power moonroof assemblies whose glass panels were not properly bonded to the sliding frame. In other words, it seems that the glass moonroof panels weren’t glued in properly. In these cases, the bonding adhesion between the glass panel and the sliding frame could deteriorate, leading to the glass detaching. Subaru first became aware of the problem in February, when it received a technical report describing the problem, prompting the automaker to open an investigation.
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Over the following month and through the end of April, Subaru and its supplier determined the estimated minimum amount of primer that should be applied to ensure the glass doesn’t detach, allowing Subaru to figure out how to properly inspect which vehicles could suffer. Finally, on the 21st of May, Subaru decided it was better to be safe than sorry and decided to conduct the voluntary recall. Fortunately, Subaru is only aware of three technical reports in the U.S. market that are related to this issue, and no crashes or injuries have been reported as a result of the problem.
Subaru Has a Fix, But It’s Not Yet Ready
Subaru
Subaru says that the problem was corrected at the assembly plant on March 10, and vehicles that may be prone to the issue will be inspected to determine if there is proper adhesion. If not, Subaru dealers will replace the entire glass panel assembly at no cost to the customer. Unfortunately, while dealers were informed last month, a remedy notification is only expected to be sent to owners on July 24, which indicates that Subaru isn’t yet ready to provide the fix. At least the issue isn’t serious enough to warrant a Do Not Drive warning.
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