Recall
Subaru recall: eight 2026 Crosstrek, Forester potentially affected
A ball joint on certain 2026 Subaru Crosstrek and Forester vehicles may separate from the lower control arm, and owners are advised not to drive their vehicle until the remedy is completed.
Checked against 1 source (1 primary)Records from nhtsa.gov · How we report
Published · 2 min read
Key numbers
Units potentially affected as filed with NHTSA
- Loss of control
- Do not drive
- Model year
- 2026
- NHTSA campaign
- 26V-685
Jump to
Is your car affected?
For open (unrepaired) recalls on your car, enter its 17-character VIN in NHTSA's lookup by VIN.
Recall at a glance
- Vehicles
- Certain 2026 Subaru Crosstrek and Forester
- Risk
- The castle nut on the left-front lower control arm ball joint may be improperly fastened, which can lead to the ball joint separating from the lower control arm; this can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash
- Component
- Suspension: front: control arm: lower ball joint
- Do-not-drive advisory
- Owners are advised not to drive their vehicle until the remedy is completed
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and replace the left-front lower control arm ball joint assembly, as necessary, free of charge
- Campaign number
- NHTSA 26V-685 (26V685000); Subaru WRI26
- Owner letters
- Expected to be mailed Dec. 16, 2026
- Report received by NHTSA
- Oct. 19, 2026
- Subaru customer service
- 1-844-373-6614
Source for every row: source 1.
| Make | Model | Model years |
|---|---|---|
| Subaru | Crosstrek; units are the campaign total across both listed models (Crosstrek and Forester), NHTSA gives no per-model split | 2026 |
| Subaru | Forester; included in the campaign total on the Crosstrek entry, NHTSA gives no per-model split | 2026 |
NHTSA gives one count for the whole campaign: 8 units potentially affected.
What to do
- Owners are advised not to drive their vehicle until the remedy is completed.
- Dealers will inspect and replace the left-front lower control arm ball joint assembly, as necessary, free of charge.
- Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed Dec. 16, 2026.
- Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRI26.
What happened
Subaru of America is recalling certain 2026 Crosstrek and Forester vehicles, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The recall lists eight vehicles as potentially affected across the whole campaign.
The castle nut on the left-front lower control arm ball joint may be improperly fastened, which can lead to the ball joint separating from the lower control arm, the recall says.
A ball joint that separates from the lower control arm can cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
NHTSA lists the affected component as the lower ball joint on the front suspension control arm.
NHTSA's record for this recall includes a do-not-drive advisory. It does not include a park-outside advisory, and it does not mark the recall as an over-the-air update.
NHTSA received the recall report on Oct. 19, 2026. The NHTSA campaign number is 26V-685 (26V685000), and Subaru's own number for this recall is WRI26.
Is my car affected?
NHTSA's record says the recall covers certain 2026 Crosstrek and Forester vehicles.
Enter your 17-character VIN in our free recall check at /vin-check/ or on NHTSA.gov.
New NHTSA vehicle recalls: Recall tracker. Recalls NHTSA marks do not drive or park outside: Do-not-drive and park-outside recalls
This story was prepared with AI assistance and fact-checked by our AI review process against its sources, then reviewed by Paul Grice before publication. Our AI policy.
Sources
All accessed 2026-10-24.