Subaru of America, Inc. recall 25V889

Affected vehicles (1)

Component / system

Defect

Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2026 Forester vehicles. These vehicles may have been manufactured with an incorrect and/or incorrectly oriented rear hatch support bracket which can detach without prior warning.

Risk / consequence

A rear hatch support bracket that detaches can allow the rear hatch to fall unexpectedly during use and increase the risk of injury.

Remedy

Dealers will inspect the rear hatch support brackets and, if necessary, replace the stay and support bracket, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 29, 2026. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRG-25. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on December 20, 2025.

Chronology of events

1. Oct 28, 2025

   October 28, 2025 – During in-process inspection, a vehicle was identified with an incorrect rear gate stay bracket installed. Additional inspection of the assembly line and post-production vehicles identified additional vehicles with either an incorrect rear gate stay bracket, or an incorrectly oriented rear gate stay bracket.

2. Oct 29, 2025

   October 29, 2025 to December 10, 2025 –Subaru opened an investigation. Open/close rear gate cycle testing was conducted for installation combinations found during the assembly line and post-production vehicle inspections. Cycle test results indicated no stay detachment for any of the combinations tested. However, Subaru determined a much longer and more comprehensive test program would be necessary to improve confidence in the result for all possible installation combinations. Therefore, to prioritize quick market action, Subaru estimated the worst-case scenario considering additional full-system variables, and determined that stay detachment without warning was possible.

3. Dec 11, 2025

   December 11, 2025 –Out of an abundance of caution, Subaru decided to conduct a safety recall. Subaru is not aware of any field reports, warranty claims or customer complaints related to this condition and there are no known reports involving accident or injury.

Notification schedule

Dealer notification

Dec 19, 2025 - Dec 19, 2025 No Dealers

Owner notification

Feb 16, 2026 - Feb 16, 2026 Phased Recall