Subaru Forester reliability by year
40 recall campaigns and 5,499 owner complaints across 22 model years. Best year to buy: 2024. Year to avoid: 2012.
Worst model years to avoid → — the single year to avoid for every model line we track, ranked side by side.
Years to avoid — and why 9 flagged on the NHTSA record
Cleaner on the data: 2005, 2007, 2008, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and others. Still verify the specific vehicle.
At-a-glance: every year color-coded
Each cell shows the last two digits of the model year and its 0–10 reliability score from NHTSA data. Click any year to see the full record. ★ best year · ✕ year to avoid.
Year-by-year reliability 22 model years · newest first
Per-year recall counts add up to 108, more than the 40 campaigns above, because a single NHTSA campaign often covers several model years and is counted once in each.
Common trouble spots across the Forester aggregated across 22 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a Subaru Forester?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2024 Subaru Forester scores 8.0/10 — the strongest in the 2005–2026 range. 29 complaints on file, 2 active recalls. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which Subaru Forester year should I avoid?
The 2012 Subaru Forester scores 2.0/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 105 owner complaints with NHTSA, 15 active recalls. That doesn't mean every 2012 is a problem — it means failure rates run higher than peer model years on the same platform.
Which years of the Subaru Forester should I avoid?
On the NHTSA complaint and recall record, the model years to be most careful with are 2019 (avoid — the electrical system — 7 fire-related complaints and 6 crash-related complaints on the electrical system); 2015 (avoid — the powertrain — powertrain: 90 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 19,100–76,000 mi); 2014 (avoid — the powertrain — powertrain: 37 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 16,320–86,000 mi); 2011 (avoid — the engine — engine: 50 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 22,736–103,000 mi); 2010 (avoid — the brakes — brakes: 29 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 25,000–76,000 mi); 2009 (avoid — the engine — engine: 28 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 20,000–92,000 mi). The cleaner years on the data are 2024, 2023, 2022, 2008, 2007, 2005. This is our read of the federal data, not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection of the specific vehicle.
How many years of the Subaru Forester are tracked?
22 model years (2005 through 2026) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 40 distinct recall campaigns and 5,499 owner complaints. Those campaigns land on 108 model-year entries in total, because one campaign often covers several years at once — which is why per-year recall counts add up to more than the campaign count.
What's the most-reported problem on the Subaru Forester?
visibility is the most-reported category — 1,142 complaints across 18 model years. Average shop repair runs about $350.