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Service bulletins for the 2018 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.

411 on file from NHTSA, as of 2026-10-19.

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Only bulletins with component: Electrical system are shown. Show all

Bulletins, newest first
17-17-13R2020-02-05. Service bulletin. AIR BAGS; EQUIPMENT; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY. This Bulletin provides information regarding Event Data Recorder (EDR) functionality which has been incorporated into the airbag system.
Subaru Retailers2020-02-05. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. This announcement is in regards to the class action lawsuit regarding Harman Gen 3.0 Audio and Audio/ Navigation Head Units in certain Subaru vehicles.
Subaru Retailers2020-02-05. Service bulletin. SEATS; AIR BAGS; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. The available inventory update for the WUM-98 harness
10-96-192020-01-07. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER. This bulletin announces availability of a new HVAC blower motor unit assemblies developed to address isolated concerns of the blower motor becoming inoperative. If this issues occurs on models with Auto A/C, the blower fan may become totally inoperative. If this issue occurs on models with Manual A/C, the blower fan may operate on high speed only. The root cause of these conditions is water intrusion into the blower motor causing rust and corrosion to develop. Over time, the blower motor may begin to draw more electrical current to operate. if that occurs, the additional draw can cause the related fuse and/ or blower resistor to fail. To address this condition, additional packing has been added to improve sealing of the blower unit case along with development of a new style cabin air filter which also in corporates improved sealing.
15-208-17R2020-01-07. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; EQUIPMENT. "This Service Information bulletin announces availability of an enhancement to the Gracenote database included in the vehicles listed above equipped with F10 7” Navigation and 7” Display Audio head units. When the user plays a pre-recorded CD, Gracenote recognizes the disc then shows the artist and track name information along with the album cover art on the head unit display (when available). This enhancement brings the currently installed database up to date with the most recent information available. This update does not affect any album art displayed when using SXM."
Subarunet Announ2019-12-03. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; AIR BAGS; EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY; SEATS. Interim Owner Notification WUM-98 Forester Passenger-side Front Airbag ODS Recall.
WUM-98R2019-12-03. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; SEATS; AIR BAGS. Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2015-2018 model year Forester vehicles to replace the passenger-side front airbag Occupant Detection System (ODS) harness. A total of 366,282 U.S. vehicles will be affected by this recall.
Subaru Retailers2019-12-02. Service bulletin. SEATS; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. Parts availabilty for Forester Occupant Detection System (WUM-98). Subaru of America, Inc. is pleased to announce immediate availbilty and release of current stock of Forester seat cushions.
Subaru Retailers2019-12-02. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; EQUIPMENT. Updated- Retailer preowned reimbursement program WUM-98 Forester Occupant Detection System (ODS).
Subarunet Anounc2019-12-02. Service bulletin. AIR BAGS; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. To assist with customer inquiries regarding the ODS recall, please use the attached list of answers to questions you can expect in the coming days.
15-253-192019-11-01. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. This Service Information Bulletin provides the answer to potential inquiries regarding the STARLINK app being unable to play music files stored on a customer’s Android® phone / device through the head units (H/U) used in the applicable models listed above. This information is applicable ONLY to Android devices operating with Operating System (OS) version 10. IOS (AppleTM) devices are not affected.
Subarunet Announ2019-11-01. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION. Subaru of America Inc.. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2015-2018 model year Forester vehicles to replace the passenger-side front airbag Occupant Detection System (ODS) harness. A total of 365,515 U.S. vehicles will be affected by this recall.
Subarunet Announ2019-11-01. Service bulletin. AIR BAGS; AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) is recalling certain 2015-2018 model year Forester vehicles to replace the passenger-side front airbag Occupant Detection System (ODS) harness. A total of 355,151 U.S. vehicles will be affected by this recall.
15-214-17R2019-09-05. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. "This bulletin contains illustrations of exchange components and their manufacturer as well as a description of the proper exchange procedure. The exchange program policy can also be found in Sections 8.4.9 and 11.2.10 of your Claims Policies and Procedures Manual found in Subarunet. "
15-205-16R2019-08-30. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL. This bulletin announces new reprogramming file availability and the software installation procedure to address additional operational concerns received from the field and listed below involving “Gen 2” F10 Navigation and Display Audio units with 7” display. The procedure will involve downloading the applicable software update files then loading them onto two flash drives for audio unit installation.
11-191-19R2019-08-30. Service bulletin. ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. This bulletin announces availability of a new Engine Control Module (ECM) for the models listed above designed to address DTC P2610: “ECM/PCM ENGINE OFF TIMER PERFORMANCE”. Under certain RARE conditions, an electrostatic surge may influence the ECM’s internal timer used after the engine is turned off and store a DTC P2610 in memory. Hardware in the ECM has been changed to eliminate any impact from electrostatic surges.
11-191-192019-08-06. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. This bulletin announces availability of a new Engine Control Module (ECM) for the models listed above designed to address DTC P2610: “ECM/PCM ENGINE OFF TIMER PERFORMANCE”. Under certain RARE conditions, an electrostatic surge may influence the ECM’s internal timer used after the engine is turned off and store a DTC P2610 in memory. Hardware in the ECM has been changed to eliminate any impact from electrostatic surges.
02-170-17R2019-05-20. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:STARTER ASSEMBLY:SOLENOID; ENGINE. This bulletin announces part information for new Active Valve Control System (AVCS) oil control solenoid valves (OCV) which contain a redesigned internal oil seal. The new seal will eliminate potential oil seepage into the wire harness connector portion of the valve. If oil seeps into the connector, over time, the Check Engine lamp may illuminate and set various AVCS-related DTCs.
16-112-18R2019-03-25. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:ANTI-THEFT:CONTROL MODULE; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION. This bulletin announces a design change to the CVT select lever (shifter) mechanism in response to isolated customer concerns of not being able to remove the key from the ignition switch when the vehicle is in Park. The cause is contamination of the Park-Range switch internal components.
15-205-16R2019-02-25. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE. This bulletin announces new reprogramming file availability and the software installation procedure to address additional operational concerns received from the field and listed below involving ?Gen 2? F10 Navigation and Display Audio units with 7? display.
11-187-182019-02-25. Service bulletin. ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:EMISSION CONTROL:GAS RECIRCULATION VALVE (EGR VALVE); FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. This bulletin announces reprogramming file availability to optimize the ECM and address isolated customer concerns of hesitation on acceleration. The new logic provides enhanced ignition timing control during Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) operation.
16-112-18R2019-02-19. Service bulletin. POWER TRAIN; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION. This bulletin announces a design change to the CVT select lever (shifter) mechanism in response to isolated customer concerns of not being able to remove the key from the ignition switch when the vehicle is in Park. The cause is contamination of the Park-Range switch internal components.
15-199-16R2018-12-10. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE; EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY. This bulletin announces reprogramming file availability and the software installation procedure to address a group of operational concerns received from the field and listed below involving the Clarion Display Audio unit with 6.2? display.
15-199-16R2018-12-10. Service bulletin. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE. This bulletin announces reprogramming file availability and the software installation procedure to address a group of operational concerns received from the field and listed below involving the Clarion Display Audio unit with 6.2? display.
15-208-17R2018-12-10. Service bulletin. EQUIPMENT; ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:SOFTWARE; EQUIPMENT ADAPTIVE/MOBILITY. This Service Information bulletin announces availability of an enhancement to the Gracenote database included in the vehicles listed above equipped with F10 7? Navigation and 7? Display Audio head units. When the user plays a pre-recorded CD, Gracenote recognizes the disc then shows the artist and track name information along with the album cover art on the head unit display (when available). This enhancement brings the currently installed database up to date with the most recent information available.

The summaries are NHTSA's. Each bulletin's page links NHTSA's copy of the manufacturer's document.