I have bought 2017 Subaru Forester 2.0 XT Touring about 2 months back. I have been getting headaches and light headedness when I turn on the heating or air. It has been 2 months and no improvement. Any suggestion if anyone else also getting the same symptoms

Air the car out really well. That new car smell is somewhat toxic to sensitive people. Make sure you don't have the recirculated air on so that you are getting fresh air in.

Thanks for the replies. In the past 16 years I have always bought new cars but never a Subaru. Most of the new cars have a new car smell which generally goes away with time but it never ever bothered me with other cars in the past. But after we got the Subaru Forester I would get leather or may be shoe polish kind of smell which would stay in my clothes and body including my breath. But it turned really ugly when it was slightly cold here and I turned on my heater. I came home and now I started getting headaches and lightheadedness. To rule out it was not me only I told my wife and my son to test drive. They never drove this car before. My wife came back with the same conclusion that her head is getting like a pressure feeling. Worst that she had to stop the car and tell my son to sit on the back seat because the a/c vent made him nauseated. At this point I decided to take the car back to the dealer. They didn't find anything wrong and referred me to Subaru tech team. I am waiting to hear from them. In the mean time I googled and found to my utmost surprise that on the website of carhealth in 2007 they found the 10 best and 10 worst cars with toxic fumes from the plastic parts and Subaru Forester was one of the 10 worst. No other Subaru model was listed. I don't know if they have done anything to improve on those materials. I have been driving with windows down and not turning heat at all. Also I keep it on fresh air. I also bought a CO detecter but have used it only for 20 minutes and want to keep it in the car at least for 1 hour while the car is running and windows closed to see if it shows anything. I am just so scared to drive because of health issues it is causing now. The car is on lease for 3 years and I don't know what to do if they don't take it back. I am waiting to hear from Subaru. Any advice is highly appreciated Jay

Spooky.. hope you find a solution quickly.

I have been thinking that something terrible was going on with my throat and esophagus because I have had chronic issues with dull pain, difficulty swallowing and tightness in my chest for 3 months, gradually getting more noticeable and worse. I felt it a lot in my new car 2017 Subaru Forester, however never made the connection. I thought I was having an allergic reaction to my coffee or soy milk. This kept persisting so I made a doctors appointment thinking the worst. This past Monday I had quantum bio feedback done, a process that can easily measure and identify all chemical imbalances in the body. Within 5 minutes it was identified that my bodiy was having a severe reaction to the exposure to the toxins in synthetic fibers and rubber. My throat, and epiglottis were severely inflamed, working desperately to fight off the irritants. I bought my car on January 31st and have spent a great deal of time driving. Currently I have 6000 miles on my car. I also built a new condo and moved in last year February 2016 Holy fright, my new home and especially my new car are making me sick! Thank God for bio feedback! I have purchased a Volara Air Purifier for my new home and am using in the car. This air purifier uses high level technology created for space stations - within 3 days 90% of my symptoms are gone. Next, I will be considering a different car....that's too scary.

Did you get all weather mats? I know those have warnings on them about the smell the omit. Maybe get rid of those or clean them off very well?

I'm noticing feeling very sleepy after the heat has been on with a Forester 2015.

Check for exhaust leaks and if you run it on recirculate long enough you will run out of oxygen.

My 2016 Subaru Forester (bought new) is currently still at the service centre due to strong exhaust fumes inside the car. I had been experiencing a strong smell inside my car & when I took it in for its 50,000 klm service, the exhaust system had a crack or break in it. They fixed this then when I hopped in it to drive it home last night (it was outside in the car park), I turned it on, sat & wrote a txt message & by the time I had finished (a minute or so), a strong exhaust smell began to appear inside the car. I got out, leaving it running, & went inside to get someone. They got in, spent one minute or less inside it & drove it straight back into the workshop for further investigation. Now, something I didn't know & learned about my Subaru this service, is that Diesel Models do whats called a 'burn' & that can omit a strong exhaust smell (however not to the extent mine is now). Ask your Subaru dealer about the 'burn' if yours is a desiel model & also have them check your exhaust system as they couldn't explain how I got the break in mine. I have been experiencing unexplained frequent headaches now, twice have needed hospitalization, for the past year or more & am now wondering if it was linked to the car. I will too be buying a Carbon Monoxide detector & placing it in my car, just to make sure. At this point I have no answer, am expecting something today, so will keep you posted. I'm suspecting they will say its in relation to the regular 'burn' the car does but we'll wait & see :)

Wow. I just can’t imagine being hospitalized because of a new car. Hope you find the correct culprit and feel better soon.

I have a 2016 outback that is making us sick the smell even if you ride in it for a few minutes sticks to clothes even underclothes and hair! What is this ?

We ordered a new 2020 Forester Touring with leather. When my wife and I picked up the vehicle, we noticed a very very strong interior smell. We thought the smell would dissipate after a few weeks and all would be OK. Not so. The first time my wife dove the Forester she became very sick with respiratory issues. When I drove the car, I developed sinus headaches. In some driving exposures, I became nauseated. My wife drove the car a second time, after we had the vehicle for over a month (with windows kept open to air out the SUV). Unfortunatedly, she had an another respiratory reaction and again was sick for a few days. As a result, we brought the Forester into our dealership to have them look it over for exhaust leaks or where possible VOC's were coming from (leather seats/ other interior materials, leather treatment product applied by Dealership, etc.). The Service Manager communicated that the vehicle had no exhaust leaks and the interior and engine bay smells were all normal. At this point on, my wife would not drive this toxic vehicle. When I drove the vehicle, I was experiencing sinus type headaches. I called Subaru Corporate and communicated our situation with the vehicle. They communicated back that I should have my dealership evaluate the vehicle one additional time. I brought the Forester into my Subaru's Service department for another evaluation. Again, the Service Manager could not find a problem with the vehicle and communicated his findings to Subaru. Subaru Corporate as a result, could not offer any solution other than offering me a couple of free oil changes for my displeasure w/ the vehicle. Loved the Forester if it didn't make us sick! In any event, we sold the vehicle back to the dealership with 1000 miles on it at a significant financial loss. This was my first Subaru -- Never another!

I had a 2011 forester with 44,000 mi. My father consigned on it and we would have spent a total of 18,900 after all was said and done with insurance, financing and a 100,000 mile warranty. We got the car so I could get to and from my doctor’s appointments. My surgeon was about 4 hours away from the little town I lived in in wv. I started noticing that I would need a synthetic oil change every 2000 Miles and it just got worse. Went to dealerships all over the state and on md. 13 times to be exact. After the engine was completely re sealed just to Fail an oil Consumption test, I was finally was told Go back to nh to the dealership I bought it at. They revealed my o2 sensor was bad and no one has thought to replace the pcvalve. They told me i had To wait for the new engine block. Two weeks later, after making multiple phone calls, I called the dealership scared to inform them I was feeling extremely light headed and funny whenever I drove. They told me they would not help me out with a rental car until the engine block was there ( meanwhile my whole Life is on hold, doctors appointments, a new job etc). The day after I told them what was going on, I passed out at the wheel, landed in a bog and totaled the vehicle. I have never been so disoriented or scared. I later went to the hospital and had O2 poisoning as well as co2 poisoning. After doing lots of Blood work, Multiple medical professionals have said it was due to the emissions of the vehicle. This was a year Ago. My Life has still been drastically affected by this accident. Subaru doesn’t care.