2025 Subaru Forester: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 82 complaints
82
Total Complaints
2,750mi
Median Mileage
Visibility/Wiper
Top Issue
13
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

100 25th Percentile
2,750 Median Mileage
4,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Visibility/Wiper
12
Unknown Or Other
10
Exterior Lighting
7
Fuel/Propulsion System
7
Automatic Emergency Braking
5
Power Train
4
Service Brakes
4
Exterior
4
Warnings
4
Wheels
3

Severity Assessment

13
Crashes
1
Fires
9
Injuries
1
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"The head lights are seriously defective in low beam. In low beam the car is not road worthy. It is dangerous! It is available for inspection upon request. We did not drive the car after dark until a week after taking delivery. We were at risk as was any other vehicle on the road at that time. ..."
"The head lights are seriously defective in low beam. In low beam the car is not road worthy. It is dangerous! It is available for inspection upon request. We did not drive the car after dark until a week after taking delivery. We were at risk as was any other vehicle on the road at that time. ..."
"Low visibility and dark (shadowy) spots on road surface when low beam LED lights are on, and you’re driving on a dark rural road. The cutoff of the visual field is uneven, with a shorter visual field and dark spots on driver side. Got the car on August 17th. I didn’t drive it at night until the..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

NJ: 11 NY: 6 CA: 6 FL: 5 ME: 4 MN: 4 PA: 4 TX: 4 NC: 4 CO: 3

Subaru Forester — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
19981389
19991566
2000957
200116939
200210929
200323828
200426819
200510523
200612120
20078916
2008678
200922825
201030528
201119541
201213922
20139417
201457584
201588389
201660177
201777363
201866053
2019108163
202079144
202126728
202213211
20239410
2024344

Active Recalls (2)

Federal safety recalls issued for this vehicle.

Wheels
Campaign 25V033000 | 23/01/2025
A loss of vehicle stability increases the risk of a crash.
Dealers will inspect and replace the wheels, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 28, 2025. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRB-25.
Child Seat
Campaign 25V419000 | 19/06/2025
A loose child seat anchor bolt increases the risk of injury to a child during a crash.
Dealers will inspect the child seat anchor bolts and, if necessary, tighten the bolts, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed August 15, 2025. Owners may contact Subaru customer service at 1-844-373-6614. Subaru's number for this recall is WRC-25.

Maintain Visibility

Based on the most common issues reported for this vehicle.

  • Replace wiper blades every 6-12 months
  • Keep the washer fluid reservoir full — use winter-rated fluid in cold climates
  • Clean the inside of the windshield quarterly to reduce glare
  • Address windshield chips immediately — they spread with temperature changes

Vehicle Rankings

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Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28