Service bulletins for the 2012 Subaru Forester
A bulletin is a manufacturer's communication to its dealers, as NHTSA indexes it. The summary is NHTSA's. The document is the manufacturer's: read it at NHTSA. A bulletin is not a recall, and listing a model year does not mean every vehicle of it is concerned.
388 on file from NHTSA, as of 2026-10-19.
By type
By component
By trouble code
| 02-131-12R | 2017-03-08. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL; ENGINE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS BULLETIN IS TO PROVIDE PROCEDURES FOR THE DIAGNOSIS AND REPAIR OF OIL SEEPAGE WHICH MAY BE COMING FROM THE TIMING CHAIN COVER, FRONT CAMSHAFT CAP, CAMSHAFT CARRIER AND / OR UPPER OIL PAN. |
|---|---|
| WQK-47R | 2017-03-08. Service bulletin. SERVICE BRAKES. WQK-47R - BRAKE LINE CORROSION |
| SM07 - WQQ-52 | 2017-03-08. Service bulletin. SERVICE BRAKES. SERVICE MEMO ANNOUNCEMENT OF SUBARU RECALL CAMPAIGN: BRAKE LINE CORROSION WQQ-52 |
| 02-157-14R | 2017-03-07. Service bulletin. ENGINE; EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL. SURFACE TREATMENT CHANGE TO OIL CONTROL PISTON RINGS |
| 02-157-14R | 2017-03-07. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT; EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL. SURFACE TREATMENT CHANGE TO OIL CONTROL PISTON RINGS |
| 02-144-13R | 2017-03-07. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT. THIS BULLETIN PROVIDES INFORMATION REGARDING A CHANGE MADE TO THE SURFACE TREATMENT APPLIED TO THE OIL CONTROL PISTON RINGS FOR 2.5L FB ENGINES. THE CHANGE WAS MADE AS A RESULT OF SOME LIMITED FINDINGS OF UNANTICIPATED WEAR OF THESE RINGS. OIL CONSUMPTION WILL BE HIGHER THAN NORMAL AND CONSISTENT, IF THIS WEAR OCCURS, THE CONDITION REMAINS UNTIL REPAIR. UNUSUAL SWINGS OR VARIATIONS IN OIL CONSUMPTION ARE NOT CONSISTENT WITH THIS CONDITION AND MAY BE THE RESULT OF VEHICLE USAGE RATHER THAN THE CONDITION DESCRIBED HERE. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IS SUPPLIED IN THIS BULLETIN TO ASSIST IN THE ASSESSMENT AND DETERMINATION IF VEHICLE USAGE IS A REASON FOR THIS VARIED OIL CONSUMPTION. |
| SM01 | 2017-03-07. Service bulletin. FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER:FUEL FILTER. NEW SUBARU RECALL CAMPAIGN: OPTIONAL GENUINE SUBARU PUDDLE LIGHTS |
| 11-126-12 | 2017-03-07. Service bulletin. ENGINE. DTC P0456 REPROGRAMMING FILE AVAILABILITY |
| 03-70-12 | 2017-03-06. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT. REPAIR PROCEDURE FOR HIGH-PITCHED SOUND FROM EXTENSION HOUSING AREA USING LATEST GENERATION PRODUCTION PARTS |
| 02-157-14R | 2017-03-06. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL; ENGINE. THIS BULLETIN ANNOUNCES INFORMATION REGARDING A MAJOR CHANGE TO THE REPAIR PROCEDURES PREVIOUSLY OUTLINED IN SERVICE BULLETINS 02-143-13R, 02-144-13R AND 02-145-13R. THESE BULLETINS PROVIDED A REPAIR PROCEDURE FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE PISTON RINGS TO ADDRESS VERIFIED CONCERNS OF UNUSUAL ENGINE OIL CONSUMPTION. VEHICLES CONFIRMED AS HAVING THIS CONDITION WHICH ARE WITHIN THE SUPPLIED VIN RANGES WILL NO LONGER BE REPAIRED WITH PISTON RING REPLACEMENT. THE REVISED REPAIR PROCEDURE TO ADDRESS VERIFIED UNUSUAL OIL CONSUMPTION CONCERNS ON THESE SPECIFIC VEHICLES WILL CONSIST OF REPLACING THE ENGINE SHORT BLOCK ASSEMBLY. |
| 02-157-14R | 2017-03-06. Service bulletin. ENGINE. THIS BULLETIN ANNOUNCES INFORMATION REGARDING A MAJOR CHANGE TO THE REPAIR PROCEDURES PREVIOUSLY OUTLINED IN SERVICE BULLETINS 02-143-13R, 02-144-13R AND 02-145-13R. THESE BULLETINS PROVIDED A REPAIR PROCEDURE FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE PISTON RINGS TO ADDRESS VERIFIED CONCERNS OF UNUSUAL ENGINE OIL CONSUMPTION. VEHICLES CONFIRMED AS HAVING THIS CONDITION WHICH ARE WITHIN THE SUPPLIED VIN RANGES WILL NO LONGER BE REPAIRED WITH PISTON RING REPLACEMENT. THE REVISED REPAIR PROCEDURE TO ADDRESS VERIFIED UNUSUAL OIL CONSUMPTION CONCERNS ON THESE SPECIFIC VEHICLES WILL CONSIST OF REPLACING THE ENGINE SHORT BLOCK ASSEMBLY. |
| 11-135-13 | 2017-03-03. Service bulletin. ENGINE. THIS BULLETIN ANNOUNCES THE AVAILABILITY OF ECM REPROGRAMMING FILES TO ADDRESS A FALSE CEL/MIL ILLUMINATION AND SETTING OF DTC P050A. THIS DTC CAN RESULT FROM SPECIFIC CLUTCH OPERATION (ON MT MODELS) AND / OR DRIVING PATTERNS OCCURRING IMMEDIATELY AFTER STARTING THE ENGINE. |
| WQA-37 | 2017-03-02. Service bulletin. SEAT BELTS. WQA-37 - REAR SEAT CENTER SEATBELT |
| 06-47-14 | 2017-03-02. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING; STEERING. REVISION TO TROUBLESHOOTING INFORMATION FOR VDC DTC C0071 |
| 02-155-14R | 2017-03-02. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT. INTERCOOLER/INTAKE AIR DUCT - THIS BULLETIN ANNOUNCES AVAILABILITY OF A REVISED REPLACEMENT AIR INTAKE DUCT FOR THE TURBOCHARGED VEHICLES SPECIFIED ABOVE. |
| 11-100-11R | 2017-03-01. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:STARTER ASSEMBLY. DIFFICULTY STARTING, ROUGH IDLE DTCS P0301, P0302, P0303, P0304 P0340, P0341, P0345, P0346 |
| 15-155-12R | 2017-03-01. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:NAVIGATIONAL SYSTEM(GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM). FUJITSU TEN (F10) AUDIO/NAVIGATION UNIT SD CARD EXCHANGE INFORMATION INCLUDING DIAGNOSIS AND TROUBLESHOOTING FOR SPECIFIC SOFTWARE-RELATED CONDITIONS WHICH MAY BE CORRECTED THROUGH A PROGRAMMING UPDATE |
| 09-56-13 | 2017-03-01. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER. "A COUNTERMEASURE THERMOSTAT HAS BEEN RELEASED TO ADDRESS A RARE CONDITION WHICH MAY OCCUR DURING ENGINE SOAK IN COLD AMBIENT TEMPERATURES. IN THESE RARE CASES, AFTER AN EXTENDED COLD SOAK, COOLANT MAY ENTER THE THERMOSTAT’S INTERNAL PISTON. IF THIS OCCURS, THE THERMOSTAT MAY OPEN AT A TEMPERATURE WHICH IS LOWER THAN SPECIFIED AND CAUSE DTC P0128 TO BE STORED IN THE ECM MEMORY." |
| 02-144-13R | 2017-03-01. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT. "THIS BULLETIN PROVIDES INFORMATION REGARDING A CHANGE MADE TO THE SURFACE TREATMENT APPLIED TO THE OIL CONTROL PISTON RINGS FOR 2.5L FB ENGINES. THE CHANGE WAS MADE AS A RESULT OF SOME LIMITED FINDINGS OF UNANTICIPATED WEAR OF THESE RINGS. OIL CONSUMPTION WILL BE HIGHER THAN NORMAL AND CONSISTENT, IF THIS WEAR OCCURS, THE CONDITION REMAINS UNTIL REPAIR. UNUSUAL SWINGS OR VARIATIONS IN OIL CONSUMPTION ARE NOT CONSISTENT WITH THIS CONDITION AND MAY BE THE RESULT OF VEHICLE USAGE RATHER THAN THE CONDITION DESCRIBED HERE. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IS SUPPLIED IN THIS BULLETIN TO ASSIST IN THE ASSESSMENT AND DETERMINATION IF VEHICLE USAGE IS A REASON FOR THIS VARIED OIL CONSUMPTION." |
| SM03 | 2017-03-01. Service bulletin. SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER. SUBARU RECALL CAMPAIGN WQA-37: FORESTER REAR SEAT CENTER SEATBELT |
| SM02 | 2017-02-28. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:NAVIGATIONAL SYSTEM(GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM). PROCESS FOR UPDATING OUR NAVIGATION SYSTEMS TO MORE RECENT MAPS |
| 18-164-12 | 2017-02-28. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL. SERVICE MANUAL CORRECTIONS - THE PURPOSE OF THIS BULLETIN IS TO PROVIDE A DESCRIPTION OF CURRENT CHANGES TO SERVICE MANUALS AVAILABLE VIA THE SUBARU TECHNICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM (STIS) WEB SITE. |
| WQA-37 | 2017-02-28. Service bulletin. SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER. SUBARU HAS PREPARED A NEW REPAIR KIT FOR THIS CAMPAIGN. - REAR SEAT CENTER SEATBELT |
| 02-131-12R | 2017-02-28. Service bulletin. ENGINE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS BULLETIN IS TO PROVIDE PROCEDURES FOR THE DIAGNOSIS AND REPAIR OF OIL SEEPAGE WHICH MAY BE COMING FROM THE TIMING CHAIN COVER, FRONT CAMSHAFT CAP, CAMSHAFT CARRIER AND / OR UPPER OIL PAN. |
| 03-67-12R | 2017-02-28. Service bulletin. POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. SUBARU OF AMERICA, INC. HAS EXTENDED THE AVAILABILITY OF REMANUFACTURED CVT TRANSMISSIONS TO INCLUDE CROSSTREK, FORESTER AND IMPREZA APPLICATIONS. PLEASE CHECK APPLICATIONS AND AVAILABILITY THROUGH NORMAL PARTS CHANNELS PRIOR TO MAKING VEHICLE REPAIRS. RETAILERS ARE REQUIRED TO USE A REMANUFACTURED UNIT FOR ALL REPAIRS REIMBURSED BY SUBARU THAT REQUIRE A MAJOR REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT, EXCEPT IN THE CASE OF A “NEW” AND “IN-STOCK” VEHICLE. |
The summaries are NHTSA's. Each bulletin's page links NHTSA's copy of the manufacturer's document.